"The graphite's not important. It's just the means of revealing their indentations."
- Douglas Adams
There's a passage in Douglas Adams' "Mostly Harmless" where one of the characters confronts an astrologist about the lack of science and logic in astrology. The astrologist flat out admits that all of that is completely beside the point. The point is to apply a set of arbitrary rules to see how people look at, interpret, and use them; astrology has nothing to do with stars, and everything to do with us. The astrologist compares it to placing graphite filings onto a piece of paper to reveal the patterns underneath from previous writings. The finer and more arbitrarily you distribute the filings, the more clearly the pattern will emerge.
I've always felt that way about photographing the way I do. By letting my eye guide me around the city, finding things that interest me that day, I can then figure out things that are in some ways about myself. The process of finding, photographing, editing, and selecting the best photos have allowed me to see patterns emerge over time. This has been as much about introducing, learning about, and reconciling myself with the places I go, as it is about doing the same with myself.
Please let me know if you have any interest in the photos shown here. Prints are available for sale or I can make some photos specifically for you. Contact links are available below. Thanks for taking the time to look.
Adam Lanigan
I'm a resident of Halifax, Nova Scotia and I've had a long held a fascination with photographs, cameras, and the photographic process. I use a variety of digital and analog equipment and techniques to collect and create images of the world around me, focusing mainly on the urban landscape, architecture, and live music. I've exhibited photos in New York, London, San Francisco, Texas, and Halifax and been published in several books.