/serendipitous surrealism v/s extremely efficient executions

There is a hairline difference between serendipitous surrealism and extremely efficient executions. Surrealism has always courted accidents, welcomed the uninvited, flattered disorderly presences. What could be more surreal than an object which virtually produces itself, and with a minimum of effort? An object whose beauty, fantastic disclosures, emotional weight are likely to be further enhanced by any accidents that might befall it?

But that’s the thing with extremely efficient executions — the planning, the praying, the photographing is strung up so beautifully as to give the illusion of it being a chance encounter with the extraordinary. I am not discounting the role of destiny but highlighting the effort it takes to envision and execute something that feels surreal.

For instance, say you think of a natural landscape, you travel a thousand kilometers, you monitor the weather, the movement of clouds, the direction of the wind, the intensity of the sun, you frame your shot, and then you wait. You wait for the conditions to be just right. You fail. You sleep. You try it the next day. Because you know, you’ve done the work to get it right. You know it’s just a moment of time before it happens. You chase after it whilst standing still with your tripod.

After a triduum, you notice the clouds slowly inching away from the scene. And there you have it — your vision nature-incarnated. Is it surreal? You bet it is. It is serendipitous? You decide.