I’m curmudgeonly and snarky as hell. I’m also terribly opposed to religion—all of them. I’m a leftwinger. I rarely do “pretty” in my images, although periodically I cave in and do it. My theory is that beauty already has more than enough promoters, and my mediocre efforts won’t add much to the genre. My favorite subject matter leans toward the absurd, the ironic, the disgusting; and most of that relates to human activity on the planet. If that hasn't scared you off, then welcome.
I used to disdain those who just faved and had nothing to say. I’m kinda over that. Seeing countless comments to the effect of, “awesome,” "sublime," or, “superb,” I’ve come to realize that most of us have neither the time nor the inclination to carefully critique an image. And some people seem to use the words with such frequency and insincerity, as to render them meaningless (unless used to describe my images, at which point they become marvelously articulate critical comment). And, then, there are those who don’t take well to criticism. But let’s not dwell on that.
I tend to not just blindly hit the “Follow” button. If I do follow someone, I expect them to show me some evidence that they are at least occasionally looking at my images. It’s the interaction that makes Flickr useful to me. So, if I haven’t offended you by this point, and you should decide to hit that “Follow” button on my photostream, I am not likely to return the favor if; a) I don’t like your work (and that has nothing to do with quality, or; b) you show no evidence that you are really interested. If you do super work or mediocre work, and it is mostly in the category of gorgeous landscapes, or animal pics, I’m likely not going to reciprocate. I love quirky and meaningful. That said, I will confess to being awed at the tremendous skill of many thousands (maybe millions) of Flickrites. IMHO there are probably a million photographers on Flickr who are as good as Weston, Lange, Evans, Strand, Adams, et al. They don’t get publicized and are doomed to relative obscurity. But most of us know that is the case going in and we’re just content to play with our toys and to see our vision on the screen for ourselves and our circle of associates.
One final thing about my images. Many if not most are of derelict rundown buildings, towns, landscapes and objects. It is easy to think of these things as past. To me they are harbingers of the future that is coming our way. Global warming is and will continue to affect everyone. Rich or poor. Social breakdown and mass migration are coming our way. So, I aver that what appears to be gone and/or worn out, is merely a vision of the future. Sorry to be so bleak.
What might describe my worldview comes from Ambrose Bierce:
"Mad, adj. Affected with a high degree of intellectual independence; not conforming to standards of thought, speech, and action derived by the conformants from study of themselves; at odds with the majority; in short, unusual. It is noteworthy that persons are pronounced mad by officials destitute of evidence that they themselves are sane."
"If mankind could be good, it would."
---Dave Meyer
"Man is so intelligent that he feels impelled to invent theories to account for what happens in the world.
Unfortunately, he is not quite intelligent enough, in most cases, to find correct explanations.
So that when he acts on his theories, he behaves very often like a lunatic.
Thus, no animal is clever enough, when there is a drought,
to imagine that the rain is being withheld by evil spirits,
or as a punishment for its transgressions.
Therefore you never see animals going through the absurd
and often horrible fooleries of magic and religion.
No horse, for example, would kill one of its foals
in order to make a wind change its direction.
Dogs do not ritually urinate in the hope
of persuading heaven to do the same and send down rain.
Asses do not bray a liturgy to cloudless skies.
Nor do cats attempt, by abstinence from cats’ meat,
to wheedle the feline spirits into benevolence.
Only man behaves with such gratuitous folly.
It is the price he has to pay for being intelligent,
but not, as yet, quite intelligent enough."
— Aldous Huxley, Texts and Pretexts, 1932
And, lastly, this: "This then: to photograph a rock,
have it look like a rock,
but be more than a rock."
----Edward Weston
Peace
I originally had another Flickr account, and somehow managed to not be able to access it, so I had to start anew with this one. My other images can be found at:
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- JoinedApril 2008
- OccupationCulture Critic
- HometownDes Moines, Iowa
- Current cityKingsburg, Ca.
- CountryUnited States
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Testimonials
He could have been a hobo Like the moon tugging at the water Distant subjects yet to fill his magic box pull Dave Onto the road not any old road but the old ones that promise Eroding remains of better days conveyors of sins and joys of recently departed pioneers and pioneer children Farmers, railroaders, mercantile, h… Read more
He could have been a hobo Like the moon tugging at the water Distant subjects yet to fill his magic box pull Dave Onto the road not any old road but the old ones that promise Eroding remains of better days conveyors of sins and joys of recently departed pioneers and pioneer children Farmers, railroaders, mercantile, hotels all tell Their leaves of grass stories to his magic box attesting to The sins and joys of those whose bones fill dusty church yards But the bricks they laid the siding they nailed onto fresh sawn Timbers Still remain eroding still exerting their pull on Dave in his car Sailing the dusty back roads until yet another Trace pulls him over and silently slips into his magic box.
Read lessIt is a pleasure to view Mr. Meyer's photostream. David has a keen eye for the uniquely mundane, absurdly normal, and simply complex images of historical, forgotten and revered places strewn about modern world. A wonderful commentary on society and/or lack thereof......just extraordinary! Its a privilege to still have… Read more
It is a pleasure to view Mr. Meyer's photostream. David has a keen eye for the uniquely mundane, absurdly normal, and simply complex images of historical, forgotten and revered places strewn about modern world. A wonderful commentary on society and/or lack thereof......just extraordinary! Its a privilege to still have 5,000 more to view. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Full disclosure: as a fellow cat person my opinion maybe somewhat bias! Did I mention, thank you?
Read lessI can't add much - if anything - to David's description of himself and his approach to photography. He has a unique gift for capturing images of the cognitive dissonance that is life in America in general, and California in particular, these days. He says that he does't "do pretty," or words to that effect, but - IMO -… Read more
I can't add much - if anything - to David's description of himself and his approach to photography. He has a unique gift for capturing images of the cognitive dissonance that is life in America in general, and California in particular, these days. He says that he does't "do pretty," or words to that effect, but - IMO - when he wants to, he makes genuinely beautiful photographs. If you aren't already following David Meyer, you owe it to yourself to add him to your "following " list. He makes you think, and he helps me make it through the existential dread of our times. I believe that everyone should make time, and take the effort, to follow David Meyer's photography.
Read lessWell, anyone who quotes Ambrose Bierce can't be all bad.
David is a truly great artist is the medium of photography. He has created a large number of images that have attained a level of excellence! He is a keen observer of our American society and often his shots are witty, cleaver and "laugh out loud" humorous! Also, there is often a poignancy and beauty in his seemingly… Read more
David is a truly great artist is the medium of photography. He has created a large number of images that have attained a level of excellence! He is a keen observer of our American society and often his shots are witty, cleaver and "laugh out loud" humorous! Also, there is often a poignancy and beauty in his seemingly spontaneous, yet thoughtful and well-composed photographic statements! Keep up the good work, David!
Read lessI want to write a testimonial, but am somewhat intimidated by David's writing ability and the fact that he has said in his profile most of what I wanted to say about him and his work much better than I could. He has certainly reached his goal of posting images featuring social commentary. His ability to constantly fi… Read more
I want to write a testimonial, but am somewhat intimidated by David's writing ability and the fact that he has said in his profile most of what I wanted to say about him and his work much better than I could. He has certainly reached his goal of posting images featuring social commentary. His ability to constantly find and capture so many images with an underlying or obvious and often important message is very impressive. It is always a thought provoking treat to see what he posts next. A man very much worth following.
Read less