HAIKU PHOTOGRAPHS

The following is an excerpt from the electronic edition of a book that I published with William J. Higginson last year (my photographs, Bill's original translations of classical Japanese haiku).

“What are haiku and what do they have to do with photography?
Haiku are short “one-breath” poems, written in the present tense, that describe the writer's perception of some event taking place in the natural world. They are thus “in the moment”, a verbal snapshot, if you will, and may include all of nature (including humanity) as their frame of reference. The haiku poet tries to be objective and transparent, i.e. not allowing his or her ego to stand between the verse and the reader, although some say that simply the act of selecting a subject demonstrates a bias of sorts. Many haiku appear simply descriptive and straightforward on the surface, but may contain layers of deeper meanings. Reading haiku should not be a passive experience, but is like playing “fill in the blanks”. The poem should be suggestive and evocative as well as documentary, and should invite involvement. Rather than allowing you to sit back and admire the technique and artistry, it engages you in the process—Can you feel what the poet felt at the moment of inspiration and insight? Can you see the butterfly wings? Can you hear the cicada songs? And what else?
Now re-read the preceding paragraph again and substitute photography for haiku. Not a very difficult jump to make, is it?”

A "haiku photograph" also leaves the viewer with a part of the story to fill in.