On the Verge of Success and Failure - Garry Winogrand / Mason Resnick / Trent Parke / Spencer Lum

Eros - Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain / Piccadilly Circus / London (Fri 12 Sep 2014)

Garry Winogrand on Art, Success and Failure:

the most successful art is almost on the verge of failure

via Coffee and Workprints: A Workshop With Garry Winogrand by Mason Resnick.

A favourite quote, from the many I've collected here over the years. I like it because it is so true in Art and Photography, but also Paddling and Life.

I am reminded of it every now and then in my own life, through my photography and paddling experiences. And today was one of those days ...

The Sun rose over the City skyline as we did our Thursday morning high intensity session in two, six person outrigger canoes. We do short interval efforts (level 4, level 4+) over repeat efforts of 8, 4, 2 and 1 minute. It's at a pace and intensity that can be maintained for these short time periods which is a bit higher than our race pace intensity (level 3) which we maintain for much longer periods.

We are pushing ourselves at Level 4 and the rhythm in the canoe is often not quite as nice as it would be at level 3 or 2. Our effort and technique is on the edge, on "the verge of failure or breaking down".

As I reflect over a 10 year paddling career, I have found that the best Training Sessions and Races have been the ones where everything is just a little out of control and uncomfortable. It's like a being on a knife edge or the edge of a precipices. It's that boundary between the known and unknown, good and bad, success and failure, and courage and fear (thanks Kayleene). And ultimately, the fault line between our past and future (thanks for that one Chantel).

It can be stressful and can feel like a feisty prickly relationship. A disonnance. And often questions and self-doubts rise to the surface.

When you are on the edge, you are pushing yourself to the limit of your abilities and beyond. And, with that comes the risk that you push too far and fail, or you just find that easy comfort zone and also fail through a lost effort and opportunity.

Disappointment may come with the failure, but if you reflect and abstract a learning, then you are more experienced and capable for the next effort. And often, as Trent Parke succinctly notes:

mistakes and accidents usually lead to the best discoveries.

You are learning, broadening your experiences and creating the future opportunity for "successful art", if you keep caring and trying.

I love that feeling of "being on the edge of failure". Instead of fighting it, try to find it and some comfort in the uncomfort, and in the knowledge that this is, as Spencer Lum astutely notes:

where all the good stuff happens

As Jenny said, Give it a try, step outside of your comfort zone. You might be surprised where it can take you ...

Don't wonder 'What if?' - Jenny P

Doing - Iterations / Jeffery Saddoris (Sun 24 Jun 2018)

abstract - Greenfield Park / Sydney (Sun 10 Jun 2018)

Jeffery Saddoris on Doing:

We need to rethink the word perfect and replace it with purposeful or deliberate - purposeful practice - deliberate practice. Perfect suggests there are no mistakes and it is in the mistakes that provide the opportunity to learn. Practicing deliberately on the other hand means looking beyond simply going through the motions of a particular task or skill, and instead breaking it down into where and more importantly why we are not getting the results we want or expect.

In the same way watching is the flip side of doing, failure is the catalyst to practice. Failure shows us where the holes are - whether that is a hole in a swing, a hole in our game or a hole in our thinking. But it does not happen in a vacuum and it is not binary. Failure is the evidence of doing. And failure just like success is an opportunity for reflection in order to fine tune where to direct our next efforts. When we embrace the missteps we are given the opportunity to see what worked and what did not work in the doing and as a result we can build a more purposeful or deliberate practice moving forward.

via The catalyst to practice (listen to from here) by Jeffery Saddoris.

On Faliure, Success and Not Showing Up - Aline Smithson (Dec 2012)

Yoshi Jones (*) [1] - Bucknell St / Newtown (Mon 31 Dec 2012)
Aline Smithson (*) writes On Failure (*) and On Success (*):

It’s OK to fail.

You learn more from failure, than from success.

It becomes a time to take stock and reassess.

Success is fleeting anyway...it’s all about being true to yourself and making the best work possible.

And often, your best work rises from the ashes of failure, when you change directions.

where she adds:

It’s OK not to show up [..] to every opportunity.

via it’s ok to step back from the roar of the crowd (*) by Aline Smithson (*).

[1] Always something interesting on the side wall of Yoshi Jones (*). Have a few others here that I will link up with the Yoshi Jones Label (*), in my own time of course.

Portraits - You can't ask more of any portrait - Reciprocity Failure (Mon 09 Jul 2013)

portrait - Deng Adut - Archibald Prize / Art Gallery of NSW (Fri 22 Jul 2016)

Reciprocity Failure on Portraits:

[portraits] gives us reason to pause, focus and reflect at the wonder and challenges of their lives... as well as our own. You can't ask more of any portrait. [previously here]

via Russell Frederick by Reciprocity Failure.

Entered this photo in the Art and About 2016, Australian Life Competition. A great quote about portraits and it is what inspired me to enter a portrait this year.

The most Successful Art is almost on the Verge of Failure - Garry Winogrand (Aug 1976)

Olympic Welcome Home Parade #1 and #2- George St / Sydney (Mon 20 Aug 2012)
In Coffee and Workprints: A Workshop With Garry Winogrand (*), Mason Resnick writes about some photographic advice given to him by Garry Winogrand (*):

[..] treat editing photographs as "an adventure in seeing" and to enjoy the whole process.

[..] tension between the form and content of a photograph makes it succeed.

[..] the most successful art is almost on the verge of failure.

I think all these points can be applied to all aspects of life. Photography gives photographers a great chance to experience life and to abstract what they observe and learn.

Particularly like the last point. I know from my own paddling experiences that our best efforts have verged on the edge of failure. You are in, then you are out. Things are breaking down and coming back together again - and so it goes all way the way through the set or race. My GPS has told me this time and time again in our training sessions. The sets that feel the worst are often better than the ones with that perfect feeling. Something I have known for a long time. It is hard to talk to others about this counter intuitiative observation of performance. This quote might come in handy.

Olympic Welcome Home Parade #3 - George St / Sydney (Mon 20 Aug 2012)

On Failure and Success - Stephen DiRado - Two Way Lens (Sun 23 Jun 2013)

Stephen DiRado (*) reflects on the relationship between Failure () and Success (*):

[..] I am not afraid to fail because failure (*) breeds success (*). Strange as it is, making an incredibly bad photograph, and be painfully aware of it, means you hit rock-bottom. This sets up a series of challenges to break into a new territory. It is frightening [..]

via Stephen DiRado (*) by Two Way Lens (*).

On Remembering - Reciprocity Failure (Sun 20 Dec 2015)

I can't remember where I took this one - Somewhere between Ultimo and Chippendale (Fri 04 Dec 2015)

Reciprocity Failure writes:

What possible life lesson is to be learned when one can no longer remember, let alone understand?

via Good Riddance 2015... by Reciprocity Failure.

fail forward! - Vern Gambetta (Tue 02 Apr 2012)

Chinatown (1 of 2) - Lower Manhattan / New York City (Fri 12 Aug 2011)
Chinatown (2 of 2) - Detail - Lower Manhattan / New York City (Fri 12 Aug 2011)
Note to self - Need to shoot at higher ISO on the street.

Vern Gambetta recently wrote [Tue 02 Apr 2012 (*)] ...

Lets face it mistakes and failure are part of the growth process of [oursleves]. Failure and mistakes are only bad if we do not learn from them. [..]

fail forward! It is ultimately a failure or a mistake if you do not learn from it - Vern Gambetta (Tue 02 Apr 2012)

The Reward of Photoblogging for the Little People - Reciprocity Failure (Wed 29 Jan 2014)

Untitled - Barcelona (Thu 08 Aug 2013)
Reciprocity Failure (*) writes On Photography (*):

And then there's a whole 'nother echelon, the rest of us- guys like me. The bottom of the barrel, the pissing in the wind crowd, the no respect guys- like most everyone else in blogdom. We do it for the same reasons we continue to photograph without fanfare- although we may aspire to bigger and better, after a coupla years, it becomes obvious it's because we want to, have to. For better or for worse...

And the reward (*) is, the reward is whatever we find of it within ourselves..

via The Art Of Photoblogging... (*) by Reciprocity Failure (*).

Happy to say this little blog and the photos here, are for me, but I hope maybe there might be one or two others out there who enjoy what has appeared here over the last almost five years.

On Street Photography - Reciprocity Failure (Thu 27 Feb 2014)

Street Portrait - Atochia Street / Madrid (Fri 09 Aug 2013)
Reciprocity Failure (*) writes On Street Photography (*):

Street photography (*) has always been about capturing the fleeting nuances that somehow coincide and create a sum larger than its parts in public view, for those astute enough to notice. The magic lies in the subtleties, not the obvious; learn to do it right, or move on...

via In Your Face- Photo Complaints III (*) by Reciprocity Failure (*).

Street Portrait (Detail) - Atochia Street / Madrid (Fri 09 Aug 2013)

On Risk and Failure - Quentin Tarantino (Wed 19 Dec 2012)

It's a Little Bit Scary - Glebe (Sat 24 Nov 2012)
Quentin Tarantino (*) talks On Risk (*) and Failure (*):

I’ve always been pushing that envelope.

I want to risk hitting my head on the ceiling of my talent.

I want to really test it out and say: O.K., you’re not that good. You just reached the level here.

I don’t ever want to fail, but I want to risk failure every time out of the gate.

via Quentin’s World (*) by Charles McGrath (*).

A thought to start the year.

A Reflection on the Little Things - Kirk Tuck (Sun 09 Nov 2014)

The Little Things - Monet's Garden / Giverny (Wed 17 Sep 2014)
Kirk Tuck (*) writes Success (*) and Failure (*):

Funny how all the little things add up to success or failure

via I wrote a blog about an LED panel on Friday. I wrote it in a hurry. I didn't like it so I ultimately deleted it. I'll get a new one up after tomorrow's shoot. (*) by Kirk Tuck (*).

A reflection on the Little Things. My experience (*). Little things are hard to catch first time around. Only when you reflect (*) that you can see the reason for the success or failure. That's why it is important to reflect. Now you have this experience, if you are paying attention, you can catch the little things next time around. This is what experience brings to a situation. Sometimes it is ignored or undervalued, but good people want to find it, draw on it and react to it. In some ways this blog is a reflection of the little things and that's what keeps me going. Thanks Kirk, I learnt a lot from those little words above.

On Failure - Venkat / Ribbonfarm (Fri 19 Dec 2014)

Flower Detail - Monet's Garden / Giverny (Wed 17 Sep 2014)
Venkat (*) writes on Failure (*):

You just have to have failed at a given level enough times to have become well-calibrated to the severity of your own responses, and effective at managing those responses. You are adapted to a domain at an advanced beginner level when you can keep trying indefinitely despite failing. You are at an intermediate level when you can look at failure data to learn, instead of being so traumatized you look away in aversion. You’re advanced when you begin failing in ways nobody has failed before.

via Learning from Crashes (*) by Venkat (*).

On Portrait Photography - Russell Fredericks / Reciprocity Failure (Mon 09 Jul 2013)

Street Portrait #5 - Lisbon (Tue 13 Aug 2013)
Reciprocity Failure (*) writes On Portrait Photography (*):

For the most part his subjects are posed, yet remain very much involved in their everyday lives, aware of the photographer's presence but continued to be engaged in the environment that is so much a part of who they are. And we see them in every situation that life throws our way: the good, the bad, those truly memorable that survive us throughout our years, and those that are momentary, frivolous, lost to us if not for the miracle of the photograph. Frederick gives us reason to pause, focus and reflect at the wonder and challenges of their lives... as well as our own. You can't ask more of any portrait.

via Russell Frederick (*) by Reciprocity Failure (*).

On Failure - I Wrote this for You (Tue 30 Jun 2015)

Self Portrait - The Photographer - Ultimo (Wed 01 Jul 2015)

I Wrote this for You on Failure:

You fail with your heart on your sleeve.

You fail like you mean it with every part of you.

You fail attempting the impossible and the ridiculous.

You fail in front of others and you fail and they laugh at you and you fail and you feel nothing and regret less.

You fail sincerely and earnestly and you risk everything at every opportunity.

This is how you fail: You fail beautifully. You fail with grace.

via The Millions Ways To Fail by I Wrote this for You.

An amazing piece of writing. Passionate, powerful and, oddly enough, incredibly Inspiring. To be a must, and often read post.

On Failure and Persistence - Cate Blanchett - Spectrum / Stephanie Wood (Sat 07 Sep 2013)

Onwards and Upwards - Dubrovnik / Croatia (Sat 03 Aug 2013)
Cate Blanchett (*) writes Failure (*) and Persistence (*):

'I'm not saying I'm happy with what I've done in Blue Jasmine, I'm never happy, but I've got better and it's from tackling those great roles and failing (*) and getting up again (*) every night.

via Return of the queen: Cate Blanchett steps back into Hollywood's spotlight (*) by Stephanie Wood (*).

On Perception - Drew Ginn (Tue 01 May 2007)

Den lille Havfrue (*) - The Little Mermaid - Copenhagen (Fri 23 Aug 2013)
Drew Ginn (*) writes On Perception (*):

It’s a fine line between success (*) and failure (*). In fact I could even argue that they are one in the same. That really the difference between experiences (*) that we judge as successful or as failure comes down to our perception (*).

via G get t THe g GLIDE R riGht (*) by Drew Ginn (*).

Just over seven years ago since Drew's posted this one. Could relate to it from the paddling point of view and it would take some time to fully understand all of what he was saying back then. Experiences (*) bring a lot to what you learn (*) and retain. Miss his blog posts (*) now, though he does post (*) on twitter a bit.

On Failure - Some Notes on Photographic Intent - Ground Glass / Spencer Lum (01 Mar 2012)

Mont-Royal Red - Mont-Royal / Montreal (Thu 18 Aug 2011)
Ground Glass / Spencer Lum (*) writes (*):

Failure is the sound of a thousand wasted efforts screaming in unison. [..]

So the goal [..] should be to use those things that inspire us as a framework for exploration, so we can learn the process behind them.

Shots aren’t preordained.

They are happy accidents, lead by intention, and founded on a combination of preparation and discovery.

In other words, photography isn’t seeing the big picture.

It’s knowing how to stumble from one adjustment to the next, eliminating choices along the way, while focusing on others, until we find that one thing that says just what we want. [..]

Success is the sound of a single action made of a thousand efforts.

On Creativity - Spencer Lum / Ground Glass (Thu 15 May 2015)

Shoulder - Oxford Street / London (Sat 17 Aug 2013)
Spencer Lum (*) writes On Creativity (*):

Success (*) can be so much worse than failure (*). Failure (*) hurts, but it pushes us to keep exploring. Success (*), on the other hand, limits us. It tells us to keep doing the same.

via How we Kill Creativity (*) by Spencer Lum (*).

Icarus - Paste Up - Newtown/Redfern (Dec 2010)

Icarus - Paste Up - Wilson Street / Newtown (Dec 2010)
This Paste-Up has been there for quite a while - it has virtually fallen apart. I have photographed it quite a few times over the last few months and there is another one in a small park off Little Eveleigh Street (see below). You can see the Green Bone Head I featured here recently (02 Dec 2010).

Each time I pass it, something has gone missing (i.e. various parts of her body) or there have been various additions via the caring use of coloured textas. She is now careful adorned with earrings and some more than necessary shoes.

I have had a lot fun watching and photographing this poster.

It has made me think about what may have inspired its creator to design this piece. For me, when I first saw it (it was the one in Little Eveleigh Street, which I pass it on the way to the gym), I instantly thought of Icarus of Greek Mythology fame. Icarus attempted to escape Crete using wings, made of feathers and wax, his craftsman father had made for him. Icarus did not heed his father's warnings to not fly too close to the sun or sea, and as a result of the wax melting from flying too close to the Sun, he plummetted to his death into the Icarian Sea.

The Myth has inspired many derivative works in all fields of the Arts, including a Poem by W. H. Auden, titled Musée des Beaux Arts (poem), which is named after the museum in Brussels that houses the painting Landscape with the Fall of Icarus by Pieter Bruegel the Elder.

For some reason the Poem and Painting have made me think a lot about what has happened over the last year and a half. Hard to explain but there is something there, particularly the painting where one can barely make out the legs of Icarus just after his impact with the water.

Life goes on ...

[Thank you to LottieP for technical advice on Icarus, the Poem and Painting. The shoes are for you LottieP.]

Icarus - Paste Up - Wilson Street / Newtown (Dec 2010)
Icarus - Paste Up - Wilson Street / Newtown (Dec 2010)
Icarus - Shoes - Paste Up - Wilson Street / Newtown (Dec 2010)
Icarus - Paste Up - Little Eveleigh Street / Redfern (Dec 2010)
Landscape with the Fall of Icarus by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Musée des Beaux Arts (poem)
by W. H. Auden (1938).

About suffering they were never wrong,
The Old Masters; how well, they understood
Its human position; how it takes place
While someone else is eating or opening a window or just walking dully along;
How, when the aged are reverently, passionately waiting
For the miraculous birth, there always must be
Children who did not specially want it to happen, skating
On a pond at the edge of the wood:
They never forgot
That even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course
Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot
Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer's horse
Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.
In Breughel's Icarus, for instance: how everything turns away
Quite leisurely from the disaster; the ploughman may
Have heard the splash, the forsaken cry,
But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone
As it had to on the white legs disappearing into the green
Water; and the expensive delicate ship that must have seen
Something amazing, a boy falling out of the sky,
had somewhere to get to and sailed calmly on.

But for him it was not an important failure; the sun shone by ThePoetryPost (06 Apr 2010)