Mark Muse

I use the camera to explore. It is a reason to go to special places, a way to be immersed, a way to look carefully. I work largely in the tradition of straight photography. I am not intellectual about what I do – my approach is completely intuitive, and not the least bit conceptual.

I can tell you more about my work by telling you what I don’t do and what my work isn’t. My images do not contain a narrative, they do not tell a story beyond whatever connection the viewer might make with them. My approach is not conceptual in any way. If they are documents, they document the inside of my head. I hope my images are purely visual poems.

I don’t intellectualize my work or process because I want to respond to visual stimuli. Having words and preconceived notions in my head interferes with seeing clearly and having an emotional and intuitive response. This applies to image capture and to preparing the image for printing.

This is not to say that I am casual about what I do, quite the contrary. I just know what approach works for me. Technical discipline is vital, otherwise one has no control. Without control all one gets are accidents – sometime happy ones, but mostly not.

The creative process itself is a meditation. The more one is absorbed completely in the process, the more likely it is that the Muse will bestow her gifts. It is all a frame of mind.

The process is innately healing. It can break the rumination cycle. But it is a dichotomy: one must be able to slip the chains long enough to become absorbed, sometimes not so easy to do. But the rewards are there for those willing and able.