Category Archives: Inspired Eye

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

Winter Doldrums Defeated By … Andre’ The Fuji X100s

January 22, 2015 streetshooter 7 Comments

It’s no secret that Phila has not paid the Spring Summer weather service so now we have Winter. It’s ok, we just have people on the street freezing and homeless, people committing murders, divorces, marriages, babies being borne, young people and even old people dying. There’s lots going on here and maybe if I wasn’t so damn cold I could get off my azz from the couch and stop watching CNN.

Well, this is called winter doldrums and it’s a disease that creeps in when the wether gets cold and stays until it warms up. There is no known cure NOR HAS THERE EVER BEEN FOR THIS WINTER DOLDRUM SICKNESS.

So a few dayz passed and Tanya said get the hell off your ass and get some exercise. I thought to my self, Shooter, maybe she’s right. So I went upstairs to the office and sat at the Mac and started exercising my fingers by typing and opening LR and looking at photos.

Well, I damn sure felt better, no kidding, I be exercising this and exercising that and man o’ man, it was a good workout. Me brain cells even gitz werkin’. all 17 of em’. Then all the sudden, out of nowhere, I hear a voice. Now see, I’m allowed to hear voices as per VA Guidelines. I recognize dem dere voices so they are VA approved. No problems yet. shhhhhhh, closes the door to the office, pit’s Springsteen on, yup, good ole’ Bruce and then starts to listen to the unapproved voice that is not VA certified recognized warranted selected deselected and otherwise allowed to hear said voice.

Well, the voice is non other that Andre’ the Fuji X100s. He says, listen shooter. I doin’ care about you and yer fancy schmancy Leica’s, Nikons, Sony’s Ricoh’s Canon’s nuttin. You don’t get me out to work pronto, I’m a gonna give you the worse case of Mental Diarrhea ever suffered by any one in the history of mental diarrhea.

So beings da smaat shooter that I am, I grabbed Andre’ the Fuji X100s and we headed out. Well, he’s got it made ya know. He fits in my pocket to stay warm and then, yup you guessed it he gets me to hold him and keep him warm in my hand. Then he says to me, listen kid, you walk around and find the photos you want. DO NOT BOTHER ME until needed. So, I put him in the pocket and walked around. Then, oh yeah, then when all else was right in the world, I started to tune in to my inner self. It’s a dark place in there. No, no not because theres a demon or bad energy in there, sheeeeesh, I don’t have lighting inside so of course it’s dark.

Well, once I started to release everything about any preconceptions or expectations, wants or demands. I started to feel some images. Andre’ told me not to worry and just enjoy the moment. I really wanted to get into just being free with my camera but I was freezing my butt off. He don’t have a butt so what the hell does he know anyway.

All I know is this. I love making photos and the ones that I like the most are the ones that I like the most. The Winter Doldrums are def here and they ain’t going anywheres in a hurry but truth be told, Andre’ and I are up to the task of staying mentally flushed and not falling prey to the nothingness that surrounds us all….. more about this tomorrow…………..

Dreamcatcher, Garden, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

Barsik The Cat and Andre’ the Fuji X100s Face Winter

January 15, 2015 streetshooter 12 Comments

Don’t worry, Walker the Sony RX100M3 was there also. See, I don’t really like winter. It’s not just the cold, or the lack of warm sunlight. It’s not that I have to wear 200 lbs of clothes and still be cold, nah.. not any one of those. It’s not even getting lectured how I’ll be cold if I don’t wear the proper protection against the cold, nope not that either.

It’s not just the cold on the cameras that makes my hands cold because I’m not wearing the gloves that Tanya told me to wear so I wouldn’t have cold hands and I know that cause it’s been that way since I was a kid and I still ain’t learned to listen.

No it’s not any one of those things I hate about winter, it’s the whole damn package. All of the above and more are problems for me. So, what to do?

Well, first make sure your batteries are fully charged as cold makes them get uptight too and they drain faster. Keep your lens and all glass surfaces clean. This is obvious right, don’t believe it.

The thing is for me… winter makes me aware how precious life is. I mean I see my beautiful garden covered in snow and the remains of all the work and all the love in a frozen state. I see the cold all over the world I live in and it effects my energy, my vision both internal and external. So I guess I’m stuck in a mode of not stagnant but kinda like slo mo forward with a lot of looking back. I mean winter is a slow down time. It’s a most important time and I look forward to it every year. Why? Well I slow down and smell the dead frozen roses.

It’s a time for reflection, a time for cleaning the memory banks and deleting those things recorded that make us complacent. It’s a time to dream about the warm weather and the body loosening up and how we can’t wait ti get out and really work.

Winter is a reality check for Lightroom. Oh yeah, I got the balls to say it. Time to work the catalogs, just ask Judy, she knows. Time to organize everything. Time to drink Kona in the morning and Spatlese at night.

I’m not the only one waiting for warm weather. All the birds in the world come to my birdbath. Now they just sit and wait. No camera, no lightroom, no Kona or Spatlese.

Just sit and wait…… patiently and in the cold and wait… yup, just wait………….

Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

Seasons Groovin’ With The Sony RX100M3

December 27, 2014 streetshooter 18 Comments

Tis the season the be Golly cause the RX100M3 is a awesome compact camera. I have been testing the camera and it’s done perfect with ease. Unfortunately, I am not on track to be doing to much shooting. I’ve been studying my diet. I’m really inso salad and not a big meat eater so, I watch Tanya as she makes the salad and avoid anger and divorce by not testing the Sony RX100M3 as she’s cooking.

It took me 9 years to learn that camera testing procedures don’t mix with Da Wifey cooking stuff.

The guy laying there, he’s not homeless, he’s drunk. Oh and that’s not booze running down the ground behind him either, that from the Philly open air

toilet system. Dude on the left is very cool. I see him down Market all the time. He makes money there but he always gives to the needy. For him, it’s Xmas all the time.

Ya know the 70mm is not hard to take. It draws me in and allows me to get close enough but still have a tighter crop. I didn’t like the long end on the Fuji X30 as it was too long and made me move back. I guess that’s a strong reason why I always preferred the 35mm on my M Leicas. This lens goes to 24mm on the wide end and 70mm on the long end. I’m not a zoomie lover but the RX100M3 is working it’s way into becoming a Zoom Liker.

The camera is named Walker after Walker Evans. We had a private naming ceremony and it was very nice. I named it Walker because Walker Evans was a very dedicated photographer that could do anything with any camera. He worked in every genre’ and did so beautifully. I remember Ding McNulty showing me photos and then he put Walker’s down on the table. I think at that very moment I had a real complete understanding on what photography can mean to life and death. This was after my tour of duty in Nam and I knew that Walker had influenced me and I hadn’t ever seen his work. So I name my Sony RX1003M after Walker Evans with all due respect and love because the camera can do just about everything and do it well.

I’m actually feeling inspired by the RX1003M. Well, that means something to me cause the cameras that live with me inspire me or they can go inspire someone else. So that’s a big statement in it’s own.

Ok, shhhhh I have a friend named Judy. She’s a good shooter and she has the same camera, different name but same camera. In fact, I don’t think Judy names her cameras so I have to have a talk with her about that. She did most of her work in the last year or so with the RX1002 and I saw most of her stuff and a lot is good. That kinda pushed me over the edge to get the camera.

So as a New Years Resolution I will do my best to keep this blog going and make it interesting. I want to keep this blog open to the readers so if you have a story and some photos, your welcome to let it come to life right here.

Have a good weekend and I’ll be posting again on Monday.

……………………………………………………..end transmission shooter out………………………………………………….

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street, Streetshooter

Walker The Sony RX100 3 … Likes The Streets of Philadelphia … So Does Ray Sachs

December 17, 2014 streetshooter 4 Comments

Ray Sachs, Market Street

As I was getting ready for my trek to center city, I noticed on my phone that Ray sent a text message about meeting up. Well, I texted back and we made a spot to meet and did.

So Ray and I swapped some camera stories and much to my surprise, he had the Nikon Coolpix A and I had the Sony RX100 3. Now I was prepared for the moment Ray wanted to get coffee. Sure enough in less that 15 minutes, Ray wanted to get a cup. So we headed over to La Columbe on 15th Street. Ray ordered a Double Whammy thing and I asked for a regular coffee with extra cream, no sugar.

See, the thing about caffeine with me is that I am really in love with it but I am hypersensitive sensitive to it. Ray can drink 400 proof coffee, latte stuff and just go about his business. Me, I had my cup of Kona at 0530 and that’s all I’m allowed to have… hahaha… truth. So we sat and talked about many things as we have a lot in common. I guess about an hour later, we started walking to get Ray to the train. We parted company and I brought Walker the Sony RX100# out to see what we could find.

I have to tell you. When I’m breaking in a new camera, I am not trying for my best efforts. I’m really just learning how to work the camera and get used to how we are together. There are 2 distinct things about this camera that I have to learn. First off is the size. I wanted a camera that would fit into any pocket I have and not play games when I need to get it out of said pocket. The RX1003 does this well. If I lost a few of the pounds I found in the last month, it would work better but that’s me, not the camera. So the camera passes easily on this very important point.

The second very important point I have to learn is the zoomie lens. Yeah, yeah, this is the advantage of this camera. I’t a 24mm 1.8 – 70mm 2.8. That’s actually a very steep learning curve for me. I mean 24mm is sweet and in the range of my natural wide angle fov stuff. The 70mm is sweet but I’m not comfortable out there but I must get comfortable.

For me, anything that rattles my cage is lovely. I don’t like getting complacent with my cameras or worse, my images making. So I stand up ready for the challenge fully aware that things will change. Hey, New Years is fast approaching and it’s good to do new things. Well, I had the first version of this camera and really did like it. This version put’s the RX1003 into a new orbit untouched by many of it’s competitors.

There are many features that really stand out but I’m more concerned how those features work with me. I’m thinking after I spend a week steady with it using the screen, which is awesome because it tilts all over the place. This camera is made for young woman. hold on, hold on. See, when I’m on public transportation, I like to watch the girls do their makeup using the phones. Well, this camera lets you see like that. So now the girls can make a photo and do a close up and see the frame as they make it. I think Sony calls it the Makeup checking procedures. It’s in certain models of this camera.

I used the name Walker after Walker Evans. I studied his work decades ago at the Museum. What stood out to me, for his time, he was the most versatile photographer around. I mean the man could use anything of anything or anyone and make an amazing photo. Ding would hold the prints and explain to me what he got from them. Then he asked me to explain wht I got. Seriously, I sometimes got tears. Ding would put his hand on my shoulder and say, “Don, it’s ok, your a Human Being too”.

So I named the Sony RX100 3 after Walker Evans and I;m proud to have Walker with me.

I have a lot more learning to do and luckily I have a dear friend Judy that has the same camera. Not only that but she’s been using version 2 for a long time so she can help me when I get stuck. Little does she know but, her and I are going to have a Judy’s camera naming ceremony. So if”n youse want know who she is, well get the next issue of The Inspired Eye and you’ll see she’s in it.

Well tomorrow is another day and I’ll take Walker out for another shoot. I’m heading to the Shore for business to help my friend’s family at their house. So I’ll do some more learning and post again then.

I made a promise to many readers to keep the blog going on a steady basis and I will follow thru on that promise.

I appreciate all you great people reading this and let me say this….. if you send me stuff, I’ll post it….. shooter out…………………………………………………

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Photography, Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

Goodbye Fuji X30 … Hello Walker The … Sony RX100 3

December 16, 2014 streetshooter 8 Comments

Well, I shot my Grand Niece’s sweet 16 party. I decided that I would take the camera that does family and events better than my other cameras because it has a zoomie lens thing on it. We it does zoomie nice and it gives the illusion that every-things gonna be ok. Well, the Fuji X30 has a sense of humor and displayed it to me at the most appropriate time. See, i really needed these photos to be special because it’s my family. So I get to the party with My daughter and her hubby, nice guy for a hubby. I’m sitting down and decide to put the Fuji EF-X20 Flash on the camera because this is a flash event. See, here’s the thing. I have many flash units that would work, like Mets and other good units. I want to use the little Fuji because it’s dedicated and small. Really vey cool.

Well, I’m a clicking away, clicking a here and a there and starting to get in the groove and then, than on a single press of the shutter as my beautiful daughter is standing in front of me but at a distance and I want to make this portrait of her cause it’s gonna be nice… I press….and the camera says, .. uh uh, I don’t think so shooter. Well, see, I get a little upset when my cameras don’t work with me and intrude on what I’m doing especially since it’s my daughter I’m making the photo of. This is why I name cameras. So at this point, we can talk about why the camera is not cooperating. It becomes more personal and comfortable for each of us.

I was able to secure 166 photos of which 1 used 140. So far so good. Uh uh, I don’t think so. See, when I used the flash, sometimes it worked so well I could smile.

Then the dew do started. The camera would not lock focus and would not release. White AF box…hmmmm! My Doc at the VA gives me meds so I don’t over react. They work fine but this time, no way.

So im breathing now and figured out that the camera was not at fault. THE FLASH! See the flash is good to about 15′. As long as your in the range it’s a great setup. But see it’s the nature of the beast to use a tele at longer distances.well, the UN NAMED FUJI EF-X20 will not let the camera fire regardless of what I want to do.

See, I have this problem with a single word in the English language. Trust me, no matter what language is native to you, this single word is in there.

OBEY! I just can’t and I won’t obey especially a camera or flash. Well, the flash told the camera that … we ain’t making no photos over 15′ and that shooter guy.. he will OBEY.

Yes, I did OBEY because I had to. It’s like when da wifey says, take the garbage out. I just OBEY, I don’t like it but I don’t want her to do it so I OBEY. With da wifey, it’s actually ok to OBEY because we have no choice. If we did have a choice, we wouldn’t have a wifey.

So when I got home and did Lightroom I realized that I was very upset. I did many, many pro shoots of events all over and never once had a problem.

So I thought about things and decided to let the X30 sit for a while until I come to grips with the anger I was experiencing. A few weeks went by and I realized that our time together was over. I hadn’t touched it and didn’t miss it. What a bad feeling, I gotta tell ya. To love a camera and then have it just go sour, well.. not a pretty picture. I know it wasn’t the camera totally and it’s completely my fault. I admit that I hadn’t used the flash the way it was designed. In that range, it’s amazing on the camera. Small very efficient and the battery life was great. 2 small AAA batteries and your good. Lovely.

Well, I realize the the old adage my Uncle Birney told was true. “Poison Your Mind”. That means that for example, people shove crap into you and when you try to do something, your mind in poisoned because there’s crap blocking free thought.

Well, low and behold, sure enough….when I looked at the Fuji X30, I got a feeling of failure and discomfort. It’s a bad feeling and I’m upset about it but at any rate, I sold the camera. I have the flash but will sell it also, in time.

So that’s the legacy of the Fuji X30 and you should notice that I did not call it by name. That alone is a big statement.

I have used the Sony RX100 1 for a while and forgot about it. A deal came to me by way of B&H and I have the Sony RX100 3 and I gotta tell ya….

no, no, no….. ya gotta come back to here the adventures of Walker the Sony RX100 3……………………………………….shooter out…..!

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

Nov 25th … Fuji X100s … Enlightenment! … Opens My Mind for the Street

November 25, 2014 streetshooter 22 Comments

Twas the night before the 25th and all thru the house, not a camera was stirring, not even, hey shooter, what the heck are you doing? It’s November silly. sheeeesh XMAS is a month away.

The winter is arriving soon. I’m told that I should expect this to happen soon. Actually, I love the change of seasons. Temperature changes and it gets colder…yeah…yeah… the light, yup the light gets clean and bright. The air is cold and moist and chills my bones all the way thru… yeah… yup. My hands get so cold I can’t feel my camera. Yeah… I love the friggin winter.

So what does happen is that the complacency of seeing the same things all the time really wakes up the mind. Andre’ the Fuji X100s is the perfect companion all the time because he allows me to work the way I choose and yet he opens my mind to other possibilities also. Gently but he does. See, cameras have the ability to intrude on your vision. What I mean is you decide to make a photo and the camera either supports that or it doesn’t. Sometimes with Andre’ I find myself needing the EVF and when that happens, and it happens fast, it makes me feel that the camera is helping me make the photo. Beings a really big advocate for the screen, Andre’ has that too.

What this means is not megapixel, screen brightness, grip, anything like that at all. It’s about opening your mind and having a camera that can assist in that process.

Making photos should be about what YOU see and feel in life, not what others put upon you. So maybe we should be more selfish making photos because we only need to satisfy ourselves. Sometimes we satisfy others too and that’s very nice but should not be the motivator or goal of your intent. So it’s good to make photos of things you normally don’t make photos of. It helps to remove the guilt of doing something you fell is not up to your standards. It also helps to reshape your preconceptions and alter your mind and vision. This gets you to see things differently and helps to stop getting complacent.

There’s a beauty in the ugliness of the world. Then there is an ugliness in the beauty of the world. If we approach everything as if it’s the last time we’ll see it, maybe it’s possible to live with both. What’s important is to not pre-judge yourself or anything around you. Pre-judging is kinda like being really close minded as you seek your images. It’s ok because it’s another way of being selective. This may or may not be good. You have to decide. This pre-judging happens before exposure because it’s a process of selection of subject matter.

The danger of course, is that one gets kinda boxed in the frame and can’t see outside of ones self’s frame. Probably many photos are lost at this point.

Preconceptions are pre-judgements that have anchored into our images after exposure and that have a direct impact on the viewer of the images. An example is a title. Many but not all titles can limit what your viewer gets from the image because you may have anchored a preconception to the entrance to the image. The same is true with cameras and lenses.

I could very easily say the Andre’ the Fuji X100s can’t do many things on the street or anywhere’s for that matter because he limits me to 35mm FOV. I could say that and it may be true but I won’t say that because it’s not true but it is sometimes but it’s just how I look at things and not always how I thinks about things si it maybe true and maybe not.

There was a Doctor named, Dr Murray Banks. He was a shrink. He told a story about 2 kids. One was an optimist and the other was a pessimist. Each was placed in a room filled with horse manure. The pessimist started complaining like.. get me out of here, there’s manure everywhere.

The optimist was digging around the manure and said, where’s theres manure, there’s gotta be a horse.

I’m gonna ride that horse and take Andre’ the Fuji X100s with me and hopefully I may find some things to look at that I never paid attention to before. If not, I’ll try to make photos of things that I may never see again.

shooter out……………………………………………………………………………………………….

Color, Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Photography, Streetshooter

Andre’ The Fuji X100s … Rises To The Call

November 23, 2014 streetshooter 16 Comments

Life has been providing me with many things to occupy my time. Even Mother Light has given me cameras to test and decide the fate of the beloved camera shelf.

Well, I was sitting at my desk and looking at my shelf where some cameras are sleeping and then, then without warning, without any warning at all, I had a total Momentary Lapse of Reason. What the hell youse thinking huh? sheeeesh…. I had Pink Floyd playing on the Mac. Well, things were going good and I was feeling chipper ’cause the music had me just being relaxed and then,,,, OMG.. a voice. I heard a “Click” sound that was kinda familiar but long ago forgotten. It was in my memory but I can’t remember what I forgot. So I closed my eyes and listened to Pink Floyd and then, very quietly I could hear a gentle faint voice.

I thought to myself, self… we know that voice don’t we? I answered myself and said, yeah, we know that voice.

See, my VA Dr likes this kinda thing. It’s not that there is i voice, see that’s normal in un-normal situations. Nah… that’s not it…. it’s the We thing that gets ya. I mean if I’m talking to my self, who the hell is the other guy that makes us a we? And why the hell is he bothering me and invading my conversation. The I had a Momentary unLapse of Reason. See, if I’m having a conversation with my self, I need another me so that I can talk and answer me other wise I might be seen as nutz. Imagine that.

Look, it’s ok to talk to yourself. It’s even ok to answer yourself. As long as you know who is doing the talking and the answering, your ok. If you think it;s someone else, well, my doctor had=s a very comfortable couch.

Why did I write this? Well, see I heard this faint voice and it was Andre’ the Fuji X100s and he was saying he wanted off of the shelf and wanted to make photos.

Well, after I realized the voice was Andre’, I took him in my hand and we walked around the house looking for some photos. As it turned out, the bathroom was the most interesting. Barsik thought so too and he was doing something in the toilet that I used to do when I was young and got pissed. But Barsik was drinking water and I was uh…uh…working on un-processed food removal procedures, accompanied by alcohol ignition ejection systems.

The light has shined on me once again and I made these two photos because I am blessed with sight and love the process of photography.

The thing is, I am madly in love with perhaps the finest camera ever designed and produced, The Fuji X100s. Tomorrow… tales from the street.

Be blessed my friends………………………………………………….

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

November 18th, 2014 … Streetshooter Blog Reaches Out To The New Era

November 18, 2014 streetshooter 20 Comments

Well, they say ya can’t teach an old dog new tricks. That is true but being a smart old dog, I got the young dog Olivier to redo my blog and to handle the plumbing. I’ll no doubt be working on this for a while but it’s exciting and I hope my readers enjoy the experience.

So as I stand at the crossroads, my mind is wandering and getting stimulated by the ideas that the future may hold.

Look for new insights and outsights on a regular basis….. thanks for your support…..

shooter out……………………………………………………………………………….

Black & White, Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Photography, Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

October 1st, 2014 … The Nikon Coolpix A is Not to be Missed

October 1, 2014 streetshooter 3 Comments

Well, I spent a few weeks getting to know Ding, the Nikon Coolpix A and it was very nice. Then I felt the desire to go out with Andre’ the Fuji X100 s. Well, that was a great reawakening and it was wonderful to be be out with my old friend…(even if he screwed with my head on the battery cover dropping off procedure.) All was well with the cameras in the shooter household. The cameras were clean and had charged batteries, they had fresh formatted cards in them and they were happy just resting on the shelf. I took my meds so I was kinds un-edgy, don’t ask Tanya cause she thinks I’m completely nuts… imagine that…hmmmm!

Even Daido the Fuji X20 is just comfortable on the shelf looking and sexi lil’ Penelope the Ricoh GRD4 in white.

So I went to bed to rest for the trip to the VA hospital where they talk to me and give me things to make me feel better. About 0200 I feel something knocking against my head. Tanya was sleeping and Barsik the Cat that’s 1/2 American and 1/2 Russian was sleeping too.

I thought to myself, the 45 is loaded so relax but this doesn’t feel like someone I want to shoot….

then, in a very quiet tone, ever so softly, I heard a voice in me ear I tell ya…. it said…. yo pop, I wanna go back on the street. It’s pitch black like Zone -1. I’m thinking with my brain that came home from vacation so I am working on all 4 cylinders again.

Yo pop, it’s me…. it’s Ding. I wanna go out and work but that funky ass X100s named Andre’ thinks hes the king of the hill….sheeeeeet!

He ain’t gettin’ in no pockets like me…..dang it, you could get Penelope and me in yer pocket……..

STOP! I said, Penelope is a lady and you don’t get to be alone with her in my pocket. Ricoh has enough problems with Ricoh/Pentax we doin’ need no Ricoh/Nikon things ’round here.

So I told Ding the Coolpix A to go back to bed and hi m and I can get to work for a little…. he said, ok pop, I’m gonna rest till you wake me… g’d night.

Now so far everything seems normal, right. I mean I know I ain’t the only shooter around that communicates with his cameras. But ya know… I can’t figure out, how the heck did Ding get from the office, down the hall, jump on the bed, talk with me and then make the hike back?

Fancy firmware I suppose.

So I grabbed Ding and put him in the little pouch that goes on my belt and took an extra battery that I will never need cause the Nikon Coolpix A has great power management. We walked around town and just kinda relaxed and was checking out the sites.

Ding was in my hand and he was reminding me how when I was a real photographer shooting film and bringing him contact sheets to the Museum that I need to always just look for my own stuff and not worry about anything from anyone else.

Then, at that exact moment, well, it was really a few moments later but it’s more interesting to make it sound like an instant revelation…. I see this big azz rat on the sidewalk. So I said to myself, self…lets try to find something interesting with the big rat in center city Philadelphia. I mean, there’s no ratz at all in center city and there’s no ratz in Philly even in City Hall. For real… this is a one in a million opportunity to get a shot of the next Mayor on the street. So Ding was ready and I set the Aperture and Shutter speed and Ding did the ISO. I looked up from behind… and the ears………CLICK!

Ding was happy because he gets to be a part of the process more so than the other cameras,,,(shhhhhh he thinks he’s special cause he can get from the office to the bedroom and back without help…..)

Well we walked around and we snapped a few pics just cause we wanted to and cause he needs the exercise. Then he said to me… “Shooter, yeah you pop, don’t even think about pulling that One Shot Per Shoot crap with me…..” I started to get a little peeved, is that a word even? I told him, Ding, this is about me and MAYBE you making photos. I like talking to you and even my Shrink thinks it might be ok and we talk about that each session, but I need to concentrate and your bugging me.

I realized I hurt his feelings. I saw the lens sloooowly go back into the body and the lights go off. The screen was dark. So, being the Viet Nam Vet that I am I found a corner that no one was near and I apologized to Ding. I mean I damn near kissed his but… but couldn’t find it anyway.

Then, Ding came back to work… that cool whirl sound and the lens popped out quickly and with substance like any ,an..uh…uh…..sorry Judy.…

He was ready, we walked around and we came upon the Dilworth Plaza Etiquette School of Walking with a book on your head. This student was doing really well and I made a photo or her progress but I soon realized she had not attended the nice language in the open space with many people around class. She spit out a few choice words of which most I heard and have adopted into my arsenal of vocabulary but there was a few she said that stumped me and even some people around were wondering what she was saying.

Anyway, I’m heading out again tomorrow for a few hours and Ding is the only Kat coming along for the walk.

Have a good one and The Inspired Eye Issue 14 is hot off the press. Also, I’ll be posting more post on the IE Blog for the shooters that sent in the photo and info. It’s a nice turnout and I’m damn proud and happy to know youse alls good peoples….

hopefully, youse can feel likewise for me…….. shooter, sayin’ good night Johnboy……………………………………………………………………

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

September 29th, 2014 … The Fuji X100s … Better Every Day On The Street

September 29, 2014 streetshooter 2 Comments

Well, I spent around 3 weeks getting used to the Coolpix A. No doubt it is a nice camera and performs better than any camera need to for street use. It was nice getting back to the screen and I really enjoy that as it lends itself to photography better than any other viewing method. The camera is fast, focuses fast, exposes accurately, has minimal noise, all in all a great camera and worthy of the name “Ding”.

Well hanging in the closet I found my old Tamrac Velocity 4 sling bag. So I thought, what the heck… give it a shot. So I put Ding the Nikon Coolpix A in the bag and then low and behold, I tried to fit Andre’ the Fuji X100 s and guess what. The both fit nice and easy with no pinching at all. This is a very small bag and both cameras fit with 2 batteries for each, lens brush and micro fibre cleaning cloth and still theres some room. I was amazed but more than that, elated that I can carry both cameras and sling it over my shoulder. It doesn’t even hurt my neck and that’s really surprising.

So I headed out and went for a walk on Market Street. After a little bit I pulled Andre’ out and man, I gotta say, nothing beats the experience of this camera. The Fuji X100s is a dream camera capable of doing anything asked of it and with no streets to the shooter. I love this camera and I really mean love it. It’s the best friend I’ve ever had and gets me into the zone of the here and now and works flawlessly to assist me getting the shot.

The above photo was taken in the matter of a few seconds, so fast that I couldn’t get the camera to my eye and not enough time to turn on the screen. Now, 35mm has been my natural FOV for decades and knowing that, I told Andre’ I need you on this…. well I raised the camera and click!

Street Photography Chronicles by Don Springer