In studying Michael Smith's photographs in A Visual Journey, I see much of his w ork is about relationship. How elements co-exist with each other. Tones, texture s, patterns, lines & spaces seen in unusual and interesting ways. I begin to und erstand the meaning of vision and abstraction. I get answers about my own work a nd they trigger more creative outlets for me. In what the book mentioned as ever ything-as-subject, and describing places instead of describing subjects approach es, I realised my growth in seeing had stagnated for a while. I get answers abou t my own work and they trigger more creative outlets for me. To see things "beyo nd illustration" as it said.

I didn't think I was going to enjoy the ultra-large photographs much before the book arrived. But I did. What I see in Smith's images is his effective use of th e 8"x20" format. I tried cropping smaller frames within the long horizonal image s, but never getting anything quite as interesting as his original 8x20s. In a f ormat I reckon is hard to make a strong photograph, he seemed to have done it wi th much ease.

This is not just a monograph. It's about 25 years of a photographer's life.

I have nothing to teach folks here as my exploration in serious photography is r elatively short. But I'd like to share my discovery about this great book with t hose wanting to learn more of non-machanical stuff. It gives me a new direction (at least an alternative one), and I hope it helps you too.

Thank you for listening.