Guy Tal | Photographer, Author
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To be happy in this world, especially when youth is past, it is necessary to feel oneself not merely an isolated individual whose day will soon be over, but part of the stream of life flowing on from the first germ to the remote and unknown future. —Bertrand Russell This continues Remembering the Future —... Continue Reading →
Today, I share with you more thoughts on the topic of "aboutness," which I discuss in a couple of my books. As always, I offer these essays free of the annoyances of advertising and paywalls. Still, if it is within your means to contribute as little as a couple of dollars to support this blog—the... Continue Reading →
Announcements: Ask Me Anything Philosophical: Today’s post was inspired by Jason Pettit's comments on my previous post, Sub Specie Aeternitatis. After many years of writing primarily about photography, hoping to inspire readers to pursue it with more seriousness and creativity, I’d like to extend my range of topics into one of my other passions: philosophy,... Continue Reading →
If sub specie aeternitatis there is no reason to believe that anything matters, then that does not matter either, and we can approach our absurd lives with irony instead of heroism or despair. — Thomas Nagel Someone asked me if I had a “message of hope” to share. I do not. I think I have... Continue Reading →
Accustom yourself every morning to look for a moment at the sky and suddenly you will be aware of the air around you, the scent of morning freshness that is bestowed on you between sleep and labor. You will find every day that the gable of every house has its own particular look, its own... Continue Reading →
Art is too complex and diverse to be explicable in terms of a single category such as the aesthetic. ‘Artistic value’ is constituted by a set of different kinds of value. The modes of appreciating art, the means to understanding art, the kinds of objects that are artworks are also all plural. —Robert Stecker There... Continue Reading →
Announcements: After prematurely announcing its final date a few years ago, the Moab Photography Symposium will be back in September, 2025! I will join several of my talented photo colleagues and have the privilege of delivering the closing presentation. Seating is limited, so be sure to reserve your places in both the main event and... Continue Reading →
How can you expect a beholder to experience my picture as I experienced it? A picture comes to me a long time beforehand; who knows how long a time beforehand, I sensed, saw, and painted it and yet the next day even I do not understand what I have done. How can anyone penetrate my... Continue Reading →
Say yes to everything, shirk nothing, don’t try to lie to yourself. You are not a solid citizen, you are not a Greek, you are not harmonious, or the master of yourself, you are a bird in the storm. Let it storm! —Hermann Hesse The day’s light is fading. The silence is palpable. So are... Continue Reading →
Note: My upcoming book, Be Extraordinary, is now available to pre-order! Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty. It expands through successive stages of the beautiful to values as yet uncaptured by language. —Aldo Leopold Art and nature have this in common: they affect some people more profoundly... Continue Reading →