Category Archives: Off Street

Remembering Lady Sara pt1

It was sometime in 2015 when I was on Market Street around 17th St. I had my M9 and a 35mm Cron. So that keeps me in a state that I am supposed to be in.  Then, then a soft tap on my rear shoulder. Ya’s gotta understand. I watched Bruce Lee. I saw John Saxox and Rocky and Arnold. I know these moves and whoever this is is in danger of my movie watching. Oh yeah, when I turn around, dead meet Buster.

Tap my shoulder, I’ll learn ya, I will I tellya.  So carefully with all the skills I learned in life, I turn to see my assailant and …ohhh my. Gasp. There, there right in front of me is the little lady street warrior with a smile that could raise the dead. Truth is truth. She says, my name is Sara and I have been a photographer all my life. I think she can’t resist me and prolly She tells me she is heading to the Museum because she sent a large donor check and forgot to sign it. She wants to jump my bones. Yeah, I’m sure that’s it. So Sara asked me to accompany her to the museum. So she waves her hand in an NYC fashion and in a minute a real fancy dancy Mercedes Limo pulls up.

We stand there for a minute and she says, Well? Huh, I said,. You do know how to open a door don’t you.?  Yes, I certainly do, but I thought you would open it for me.  Well, she says, you certainly will need some work, won’t you?  So we get to the main entrance of the Museum and I open the door for her. We walk up the stairs and enter. A security guard greets us and we pass thru, We get to the executive office, and a young secretary greets us. Oh, so nice of you to visit Mrs. A. Sara introduces me as her boyfriend. She looks at my face and smiles. Sara asked me to sit and wait as she takes care of business.

The secretary sits next to me. She asked me how well I knew Sara. Well honestly, not a long time. We have a strictly sexual relationship. Her face was kinda contorted and twisted as her mind melted. She does things I didn’t know a human woman could do.  Imagine that? Sara comes back and she sits for a minute, Ok, I’ve done fashion shoots, been married more than a few times, seen more women than I remember but…but as I watched Sara conduct herself, it became at almost 80, she has the finest legs I ever saw.

to be continued…

 

The Grass Is Always Greener … Covid-19

The Grass Is Always Greener on the other side, and it’s true. Now get this, ….I know why and I will tell you all right now. The grass nis greener over there because there’s more bullshit (pardon my profanity) over there to fertilize it.

Anyway I always thought that I’d love to have more time to work in Light Room. It’s been an unrealized dream.

I’m not a heavy shooter, just 186lbs…laffs. The thing is, I have time to process from a days shoot because ,I don’t burn a lot of pixels. The time I dreamt of was time to go thru decades of photos and re-shoot them and find the ones I let sleep in hopes of one day bringing them home. Well Mr Covid 19 has put the lid down on my thinking. Now I have the time  to do the editing and sorting I always wanted.

The time we desire is the time we waste and the time we live is the time worth dying for. Now I have time to edit and process and whatever. I even have time to discover the things in LR that Olivier shows me. What do I do, well the green green grass of home is with my cameras.  Lucky enough, We have a garden out back and big enough I can find things to make photos of.

So, having time to spare and waste, causes the brain to kinda turn to spaghetti. I said to my self,  don,, yes…. we need to do photography but spend time doing it. Hmmmm we both thinks me has a good idea. I will take the new Fuji X100V  out to the garden and make 1 frame Just 1. Ok, sooo where’s the magic? Well I go and make 1 frame and then come into the PC and do Light Room on that 1 frame.

The idea for me is, to use time productively and be aware of the process.  This method works. I have shot a fair amount of frames and processed a fair amount. This gives me the experiences that I no longer have till Mr Covid-19 let’s us breathe again.

This has been an ordeal for Tanya and me. I’ mean we all know I am easy to live with, get along with almost everyone, just a joy to be around. Well, sure we all know that, it’s a constant in the universe. The thing is, Tanya has her own ideas. Every time I go to the garden, she wants to know what I’m doing.

See, she knows when I have a camera in hand, I am in another plane of existence. I could walk on her seedlings or plants etc raspberry or strawberry plants and then not even know I destroyed things. But I get the photo I tellya, like she gives a hoot, no damn sure don’t  Even Barsik the cat is careful in the garden We have there bags and fill them with  good soil and she plants stuff in them. They are great because you can move them to where the sunlight is. Barsik thinks they are his litter bags.

Of course for me everything is camera food. I mean Mr Covid-19 has locked me in and as I write this, I am 33 dayz in.   I started to wonder what Tanya is doing in the yard. She’s smart and frugal as she’s digging a big rectangular hole. I guess she want’s fresh dirt cause it’s a deep hole.  She’s digging and the looks at me and has this kinda weird smile like a Hitchcock smile, Well, I won’t say anything we both need to have a way to spend our time.

Stay in, stay focused, stay safe and keep an eye out for others. We are all in this together so, be aware………….I’ll write again soon but Tanya just told me I don’t have to worry about that. She’s digging and a digging…..

Ricoh GRII… Garden

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Tanya is the dedicated homemaker both inside and out. She gives life to the garden and everything growing and also to me. I am no easy task for anyone but Tanya has that Russian upbringing and that seems to work. Between her and my Doc at the VA hospital, I have it well under control. Look, I don’t mind doing the dishes. I’m actually very good at it. When I’m tired of doing them, I’ll leave a small piece of food on a dish and that’s it…..I now have a few days off from that chore…..

“Go use your cameras, do something constructive. ” Okie…. so anyway, she bought some Orchards and we are seeing how we can keep them alive. I am seeing how many photo I can make of them as they change shape day by day. Flower and plants are children. We need to nurture them so that they nurture us in different ways. Our veggie garden will provide nice things that will be better than anything that could be bought in a store. The flowers nourish my heart and soul.

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As far as making photos goes, I m kinda burnt out on the street. I feel that I need a new location to work but I know that’s not it at all. I just need to readjust my frame of mind so that my mind can see the frame in a way that excites me again. Until then I usually get depressed and complacent with everything again. The garden for me is a go to eye, heart and mind refresher. So I might be a little slow on posting for a little bit and then again, maybe not.

All I know is, I’m in the September of my years and I ain’t wasting any time being depressed or lazy.It’s gonna be the Ricoh GRII for a spell cause Ricoh has always been my go to camera for just being in the moment, wherever that may be.

Seeya’s in a few days… peace and be blessed all…..

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 8 … Lesson From Ilya Bolotowsky

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This is the crossover from West bound to East bound on the Elevate train. I’ve been in love with the design and metal ever since I was a kid. I remember being around 13 and passing thru this and thinking, some day when I’m older and a photographer, I’m gonna make a photo of a lady as we look at each other. Maybe it took 50+ years but I’m glad young shooter remembered to plant this idea in our head. So as I was passing thru the time/directional tunnel, I became aware of a woman passing thru from the other side. I raised Andre’ the Fuji X100s and he was ready. She looked dead in my eyes and I got Andre’ in position and ….CLICK! The young shooter from the past is long gone. He stayed at home with Mom when the getting older shooter went to Viet Nam. I think a lot but not all of my innocence died over there. When I got home Mom said to me, looking right in my eyes, “Where is my son, your not my son”? Ya know parts of me died in Nam lke every other Vet but I managed to bring pieces of me home. When mom said that, well, the rest of me died.

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I guess that Mother Light kinda adopted me and made me her child. I was actually saved by photography. There’s many ways to get saved and I implore you to find a few ways to salvation but remember, as shooters, we save ourselves and each other.

Photographers don’t work just for themselves. They work for other photographers. We seek and find satisfaction from each other and that feeds the selves that we are. Our responsibility is to our selves and to feed each other energy so that other photographers may continue to work.

Photography is about instant gratification. It’s very easy to see what we captured almost instantly. Then bring the image to life in LR and then send it to Flickr and other social media spots. When we see hits and likes and comments, it drives us to continue the good fight. So this instant gratification is an ongoing project. It’s the battle to fight for photographic survival.

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This relationship with others is most important, especially for fuel to continue. But if we look at what’s going on in our process, we begin to see many symbiotic relationships thru the entire process. Many years ago I was photographing American Artist. I travelled all over to make the acquaintance of the artist and to make the photo. I made many including BB King, Salgado and his wife, Harry Bertoia, Luciano Berio, Edmund Bacon and many more.

I started to ask questions about the art that they were producing. One conversation was with Ilya Bolotowsky. I used an Arca Swiss 2×3 with a roll film back and also a 4×5 Deardorff. These cameras intrigued the artist. Ilya asked me why I used the Arca Swiss. I said it was a great tool, compact and extremely efficient. He looked at me and said, “Pity”. Then Ilya called me to his table where he had his brushes. I looked at them and thought he has many brushes. He said, Don, there are my friends. We work together and they know more about holding paint then I do but we work together to make the painting. He pointed to one really used brush. He said, this is “Jasper.” He helps me get the lay of the canvas. He picked the brush up and held it like it was alive. He looked at it, and I know he said something to it quietly. I could almost hear it but I definitely felt it. So we sat and sipped tea. It was the same tea my Grandfather gave me when I was very young. I looked at Ilya with a love that  I didn’t understand but knew someday, I would grasp it.

After tea, we made the photo. Ilya smiled and so did I. He said to me,”your camera is your friend but it’s your partner more then a friend.” On the train back to Philly from New York, I started to understand Ilya and what he was teaching me. I looked in the bag and saw Ilya laying there in rest and peace. See, I named my 2×3, Ilya. When he came to Philly for the opening of his exhibition, I brought 2 framed 16×20 prints. Ilya saw me and walked to me right away. I was honored because this master recognized me. I showed him and his wife the print. She dropped her jaw and Ilya look at it carefully and said, thank you maestro. I handed Ilya his signed copy and he immediately said, I didn’t sign yours. I panicked and went in the back of the gallery, opened the frame and then Ilya signed it. I still have that framed print on the wall.

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I learned from Ilya about symbiotic relationships within my work. I name all my cameras and they may be subject to name change but they all have a name. They are all my friends and they are all share a synergism with me in my work and my life. Sure many younger shooters think I’m crazy. It’s ok I accept the charge and I will continue to be crazy. The Ilya Bolotowsky photo was made in 1976.

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The beauty of life is found in the streets but it’s not the only place to find it. We should strive to see and capture life wherever and whenever we can.  I love the garden because it sings of new life daily and praises the passing of life from those plants that died. Tanya does all the work and I do all the photography. Sometimes I am allowed to use the lawn mower but never the weed wacker. she doesn’t care if I kill the grass but hurt a plant, I sleep in the garage. This is one of my Sunflowers. It’s now about 5′ high and will get to over 8′. I have 15 planted and 13 living. I looked at this in the morning going to the bus stop and after I came home, I wanted to make a photo. The wind had a sense of humor. See, it was still all over the garden, not a wisp of air. Then as I framed the camera, wind came and blew the flower all over.I looked at the garden and saw the beauty of the stillness and as I focused, the wind moved the flower all over. I closed my eyes and felt the blessing from above.  Ilya was making sure I had a name for my sunflower and he made sure I wasn’t forgetting anything. I named the flower Oscar, and then the wind slowed, and then the wind stopped and ….CLICK

Thanks Ilya………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

September 15th, 2014 … Andre’ The Fuji X100s … Meets … Ding The Nikon Coolpix A

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Look, don’t get me wrong, ok. I really do love the X100s and it provides a wonderful working experience.

What, but everyone knows that already. Ok, ok! Andre’ is upset because I called the camera X100s and not it’s proper name, Andre’. He also said, “Look shooter,  everyone calls you Don or shooter. No one calls you the human or photographer and you wouldn’t be without me anyway.” So now I get it. Andre’ the Fuji X100s is jealous

09-14-0053-EditSee, word on the camera shelf is that there’s a new kid on the block. Yes, it’s very true. The Nikon Coolpix A has taken up residence on the current camera shelf. The new camera has been named Ding, after Kneeland Ding McNulty.

Ding mentored me for a while and gave me valuable life lessons and how to youtubemp3now.com have photography fall in love with me. He wasn’t concerned about my love affair with photography but wanted to make sure that photography and I had a life long symbiotic relationship. So I decided to name the Nikon after him. So of course Andre’ is upset and kinda jealous because he thinks he will get less street time than he used to get. Nothing could be further from the truth. See, both Andre’ and Ding will be out with me always starting Wednesday. Till then, Ding and I are reacquainting our selves as it’s been decades since we spent time together, at least on the physical plane.

09-14-0152-EditSee, for me it used to be a 35mm lens on my M Leicas. The when the digital imaging made cameras that worked like cameras, it seemed that 28mm was the preferred focal length. I still lean to the 35mm FOV but the 28mm FOV has a place embedded in my brain’s firmware. Well, now that my brain is back from vacation, I will have to update it’s firmware to the Nikon;s UI and FL and combine that with Andre’, the Fuji X 100s.

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There are thing for me to write about and I am excited again to feel visual freedom once again. Ding is proving to be a worthy companion and I hope in due time that Andre’ and Ding will get along.

At any rate, I’ll be posting more for the next few weeks as the discovery and challenges arise working with these two cameras.

Shooter Out……………………………

September 1st, 2014 … Fuji X100s Light Duty

08-14-0419-EditIt’s Labor Day Weekend and I’m doing little to labor myself. Had to go to the shore cause my friend Joe died a few weeks ago and I had to secure the house and things. So after I set the alarm secured.onlinegambling2014.com code and organized a little, we went to the Boardwalk in Atlantic City.

I just made a few snaps cause I wasn’t in the mood for much of anything. Anyway, her’s a few photos that were made with the FujiX100s.

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Ya know, color is really nice with this camera but I still don’t see or feel it, I’m kinda trusting the camera to get it right and it does.

08-14-0424-EditWell, I guess I’l go do the Bar B Que for Tanya and get back to photography tomorrow…..

 

Seeya’s, ………………………………. shooter, exit stage left…………………………………………………………

August 30th, 2014 … Hurry, Hurry, Read All About It … Inspired Eye Issue 13 Published

default_presentationWell, it’s out. It’s no secret anymore. The Inspired Eye Issue 13 has been released. The news stands are backed up with a line a block long. Every bookstore in the known Universe has a line that will take you an hour to check out, It’s that good.

Here’s the thing….. because you are a faithful follower of my antics and writings and thoughts, I am giving you a pass to the back door. You can use this pass for all your friends and family too…..please spread it around.

Here’s the pass to get the new exciting just published, hot off the press, Issue 13:

http://www.theinspiredeye.net/street-photography-magazine/

Don’t waste anytime on this one it’s bound to sell out….is that even possible, dunno but it’s a great read…..

Enjoy your weekend, be blessed and find peace on your journey.

shooter out………………………………..transmission terminated by user with brain on vacation…………………………………………………………………….POOF!

 

 

 

 

August 27th, 2014 Breathing Street With Fuji X100s & Fuji X20

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The streets of Philly are starting to mellow out and I guess it’s time for me to do the same….NAH! Don’t dream. I’m never mellow, always adjusting energy to meet the reality i’m in.

The thing I recognize about life is that the number one thing to sustain life is BREATHING. Try living without it, you’ll see that I’m probably right. So, if this is so important, why not really get into it and apply it to everything you do, I know, I know…. we usually run in AUTO-BREATHING mode. Well, maybe that’s cool for those that don’t pay attention to breathing. I do and ya know, it’s the one single thing I’ve learned to love most thru my life.

What the heck are you talking about shooter and what does any of this have to do with photography? Ok, ok… cut me a darn break… relax, we’ll get there.

Remember… the journey is much more than the destination.

08-14-0340-EditWhen I’m on the street, I listen to the heartbeat, smell the fragrances, not always sweet but nonetheless stimulating. I find a rhythm to life where I’m at and try to adjust my stance, my pace, my gaze and my breathing to my surroundings. Maybe that’s why I never ever get bored being in the same city, the same streets and sometimes even the same people. It’s never the same. It’s different in time and space and the light is different and the breathing is on a different rhythm.

So how do we as shooters adapt to this situation on the streets? Well, we need to change our way of thinking, destroy preconceptions, gray out our history and try to see things as if we will never see them again. Maybe for some, try to see things as if it’s the first time.

So the point really is not to let yourself get complacent. If you can just tune into the rhythm on the streets, it will talk to you and grant you clues as to where your next photo may lay.

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08-14-0337-EditLife is what we are making photos of. Life as a heartbeat. A heartbeat happens because of breathing. If your not breathing with what is around you, what are you doing?

If ya find that rhythm and breathe with it and have a camera in your hand, well, there’s photos all around you, just open your eyes and have an open mind and heart… well, drink Kona in the morning or none of this means rubbish…..

See ya’s tomorrow,,,,,,

August 24th, 2014 … Fuji X100s and Fuji X-20 … The Important Difference

08-14-0231-EditThere is one major difference between the Fuji X100s and the Fuji X-20. No, it’s not the mp or the processing engine. It’s not the UI or Grip. It’s not the size or even the battery. All these things one could compare and see a difference. I think the most important thing that distinguishes the the cameras from each other is none of the above,

08-14-0247-EditThe important thing for shooters is the ASPECT RATIO.  Yeah of course it’s obvious but, why didn’t you write about it? ok then, let me get into this a little. Here’s the thing. The frame or box as we call it must be seen from a few vantage points.

!st…. the idea of seeing your frame as a BOX or a Window. This works in a few ways…..

psychologically, if we see a frame as a BOX, that means we are seeing a confined area and we deal with what’s inside that frame on it’s own.

The other ways is to see the frame as a WINDOW and leave ourselves open to the possibilities to what may come into our frame and thus be aware of things around us. Both methods are acceptable and should be applied as the shooter sees fit. Of course the camera plays a bit in the but it’s easy to adapt to any camera if one desires to use it. I can’t of course and will throw cameras out the window if they bug me…..of course this has never happened but it could. I leave myself open to the possibility of Camera Throwing Out The Window Procedures.

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08-14-0219-EditThe real important thing between cameras is how IT SEES and how it FORCES you to SEE. The ASPECT RATIO is just about that. You have, well I have 3:2 in the Fuji X100s and I have 4:3 in the Fuji X-20. It may seem like it’s not a big difference but dynamically, it sure as heck…..is. The words active/passive come to play here. NO! I’m not showing examples altho’ I did  really.

Use your images to compare, ok? 4:3 is a passive rectangle. 3:2 is an active rectangle. This means whether you are aware of this or not, it effects how you frame you shot. It also effects how the viewer sees the photo and the info it contains.

So using the 2 cameras means to be aware more of aspect ratio than anything else.

08-14-0207-EditThen of course we have to take Horizontal vs Vertical into play.  This also has an effect on framing and viewing. You need to be aware of this so that you can understand how your camera works with your vision.

So both cameras have their merits but really, aspect ratio is the biggest advantage between the two.

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It’s Sunday morning and I’m beat. Another bad night for sleep. So, I’ll sign off and continue this tomorrow when my Brain comes back from vacation. I think it’s due back on the job tonight sometime……..

……………………………………………………………………..end transmission……………………………………………………………………………….

August 19th, 2014 … Fuji X20 … Great Street Camera (brain still on vacation)

08-14-0202-EditYaeh, yeah. That’s right, I said it and I believe it too. The Fuji X20 is an amazing camera for any use but for the street, well you didn’t get this from me and I ain’t responsible for any cameras store grabbing yer monies. The X20 is a great camera. It’s a wee bit smaller than the X100s and the megapixel count is less but there’s a real gritty attitude to the images that only the Ricoh GRD4 compares to.

08-14-0207-EditWhoa, hold on. Daido the Fuji X20 comes close to Penelope the Ricoh GRD4 in Grit but there’s still a difference. I don’t know what the difference is but it’s there….. I think. I told you my brain is on vacation so I’m going along in Auto Brain Wave Mode. Anyway, back to the streets. I am happy to report that most times my subject matter  is not affected by the camera I use. I also notice that regardless of the camera in hand, I still like a cup of Kona at home and on the street, I like a cup of whatever they call coffee out there. It kinda scares me when even in Starbucks, the coffee is always burnt cause young kids make the coffee and they are too damn busy on their walkman ipod ipad iphone android kindle thingys to notice they are burning the coffee. So the coffee  philosophers sit and drink that crap not know that real coffee isn’t burnt… ohhh sorry, I forgot… I ask a young girl, “Can I have a Kona Cream and no sugar?” She says, what’s that?. Cream, it’s the stuff that looks like milk but it’s not milk, it’s cream. She says with a cute smile…(Ok, I lost it, not afraid to admit it. She could sell me anything and I’m good, happy to see here smile.) ….not cream silly, and not sugar, I know what that is… what’s Kona… well the little cute angel just got pushed sooo far off my smile list…hhhhhmmmmm. I said, I’m sorry, I thought this was a pharmacy… and they had Kona…..it damn sura ain’t easy being a streetshooter…. sheeeesh.

08-14-0216-Edit08-14-0219-EditSo I figured I don’t need no Kona coffee out on the street because I getz it at home and home is where the Kona is. The Fuji X20 has some interesting things going on.
I mean I wrote about this camera a few times, actually more than a few times but not really a lot of times but enough times that well, let me get some meds in and maybe I can manage to keep on track. One of the great things is the small sensor and the DOF it makes. Say your shooting at f/4.0. …. ok waiting… say it ok…eh… I’ll say it for ya… I’m shooting at f/4.0 shooter. Well with the lens set to 28mm and focused to 5.0′  we get this DOF from 2.5′ to infinity. Now, I ain’t the smartest pencil in the box when my brain is on vacation and I certainly wouldn’t wanna do much but drink that coffee I love… uh… damn…uh.. oh yeah.. Kona.. see….but I gotta say this…. 2.5′ to infinity… I think that means.. I could hold my arm out, make a photo, have my hand in focus and be in focus at tommi, or Wouter…yup.

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Now it seems to me that if you can’t find a photo somewheres between 2.5′ and infinity… whoa.. wait a second… let me think about this…. If I Only Had A Brain…. if”n we can get that kinda DOF at f/5.6.. well I ain’t even gonna think what happens at like F/8,f/11.. nah… when my brain returns I’ll address this but till then… well, hmmm uh.. what the hell am I even talking about…? Dunno… I hope youse do cause I damn sure don’t…..

c’mon… just kidding…. what’d ya think…. “I’m smaaat Mikey”……

08-14-0231-EditThe Fuji X20 can set you free. It’s really the perfect companion for the Fuji X100s. The size difference is negligible but smaller which is nice. The lovely 28mm FOV captures me in a way 35mm doesn’t. Ray Sachs mentioned to me a few times that he felt that 28mm was better for me than 35mm.  He’s a friend and I respect his opinion highly and I must agree that there’s something about 28mm I adore. Luckily the Fuji X20 named Daido lives with me and now will be getting more use again.

08-14-0247-EditSo, all I can say is that I am enjoying the break from 35mm FOV and enjoying the time my brain has taken for vacation.

I’ll post again tomorrow for sure….. but listen…..

tomorrow I’m going to Starbucks to chat with the little knucklehead cute angel that thinks coffee comes from a bag…yeah right beautiful… coffee comes from that bag… it kinda just grows in there…hmmmm

well, what could an old streetshooter have in common with a young, cute coffee attendant? Well, at the moment, neither of us has a brain…..

shooter out…..uh, I think that’s me but it might be the guy typing at the keyboard….hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm