Well, it’s cold as could be in Philly but Olivier down in Florida sent some heat up and together we did it gain. Issue 6 is published and it’s a very handsome issue at that.
Here’s a link to the Site. http://www.theinspiredeye.net/
Category Archives: Philosophy of Street
January 23rd, 2014 ….. A Muse, a Mentor and it’s Freakin’ Cold Out but the Fuji XP1 makes it WARM!
See that Kewl Kat…that’s Barsik. He’s not really cool at this moment, he’s warm. He’s my main Muse and when it comes to relaxing…he’s my Mentor. So I went upstairs and grabbed my XP1 and put the 35mm 1.4 on it. I came down and put the camera on the table and sipped some more Green Tea. Barsik looked at me with a grin. He knows when I want to make photos….like always. See, cats are easy to work with cause they just sit and try not to move. Barsik of course has a sense of humor and that is flavored heavily with a Russian taste. He will sit still until just before the shutter gets to release…..then right at that fraction of a second….he moves and sometimes changes position all together.
I know and appreciate the fact that he’s teaching me patience, framing, improvising at the spur of a moment….I get all that, I really do…what I don’t get is a good photo. Cats will only provide a good photo if an agreement is made for exchange. Food, brushing, lap holding, any number of things will do but it’s gonna be something or….no photos for you!
The above shot was a sneak attack and I used all my military training to sneak the shot. Luckily the XP1 has a good screen and even at odd angles, you can see and make the shot. I knew I had him…it was a sweet feeling, I mean I got the Barsik and he didn’t know…..Proud I was and happy with my trusty camera……then I looked at the file in LightRoom…..sure enuff…..sucker got his eye cracked open. Sheeeesh….just when ya think ya got it down……..!
I’m outside now, well not really now but then. This is my favorite Rose. We planted it this year and it did ok. I made many lovely photos of it and it’s friends all around the garden. See that last remains of the last rose just laying there all alone? Well that’s the hope of next season. It’s my favorite plant outside and we have a lot. This rose for me, especially at this time in these conditions is what survival and diligence is all about. I look at this rose every day and I get a lift to just move on and not be deterred from progress.
The temperature at exposure time was: 4F or -15.5C. Now this is Philadelphia and know for the City of Brotherly Love. Well, you can bet there’s a lot of lovin’ going just to stay warm. I wanted to make a few photos just because I could and I owe it to all this people, friends, shooters etc in Australia that are sweating it out….Tsk Tsk whatever shall they do…….
This is my bench in the back of the garden. It’s the safe spot for me when Tanya gets pissed off and I have to sit like a bad school boy. I actually don’t mind it at all. It provides a safe haven away from the ruckus in the neighborhood. Well, the snow likes the bench also. I asked it….Snow, when will you get the hell off my bench? Snow replied, it’s cold out and I have more snow friends coming in a few days. so get used to it.
I asked the bench,,,,,Bench, are you cold? The bench said to me….yo…I’m made of cement, I ain’t go no mouth, I gotz no ears…..what the hell are you doing talking to me stupid? I thought for a moment and decided that there exist no logical answer to this riddle. I also knew that if I mention this conversation to my Dr, I’ll get sent back to the factory.
So I just decided to mark the moment and make a photo. The XP1 turns me on more and more day after day. I’m hard on a camera. No I don’t mean banging it around….I mean application. I make all kinds of photos and if I find something the camera won’t or can’t do…..someone else gets to try. The Fuji XP1 so far has proven the most capable camera I have used since the start of the digital revolution. I won’t name names like Canon, Nikon, Leica, Blad, Olympus, Panasonic etc…..just know that if I’m still using a camera after a good period…..it’s a winner.
What makes me different than anyone else? I will not tolerate the slightest intrusion on my process at anytime whatsoever! I do not compromise with cameras.
Have a safe good day and night……
shooter out……………………………………….
January 21st, 2014 ….. Fuji Weatherproof X Camera in a Snow Storm
C’mom, you know the XT something isn’t released yet but the XP55 is a true weatherproof, waterproof drop proof camera that makes the drudgery of walking in the snow fun. I gotta tell ya, the snow was falling hard on the good city and people of Philly, on me too. The wind was a blowing and a howling and just making things less than enjoyable. I pulled out the trusty Fuji and started making photos. In no time flat, I was having a good time clicking away. I would have loved to stay and really do a shoot but Tanya is worried I’ll fall and won’t be found till I’m frozen solid.
At this point in the day we had around 5″s on the ground and it was just getting started. The buildings protect the pedestrians and the homeless from the wrath of the storm. You can see that the snow is very light on the ground here near the Reading Market. Of course I had to go to the Market to eat before I go to the hospital. I just needed prescription refills and anger management session.
By the time I got out…the snow in West Philly was hitting around 8″s and climbing. The buses. I didn’t make any photos on the trolley, train or bus. See, we all know that Philadelphia is the City of Brotherly Love. Everyone in the world knows that. What they don’t know is that in times of stress, duress,storms,rain, lack of toilet paper, cold weather, warm weather, hot weather, I’m fighting with my husband…if you breathe near me I will cook your heart for dinner…
See, in Philly if any of the above situations or any other situation…..the law of the City of Brotherly Love is null and void. That means that as I’m on the bus, trolley or elevated train, if I bring out a camera….well, it won’t be a pretty picture. So beings that I’m smaaart, I chose to just look at everyone and spare all of us the agony of seeing my camera.
On the street, people just think I’m an idiot. I like that cause I’m an idiot with a camera. They don’t know that I’m a very serious Pho….idiot! So this storm will pass and the VA Hospital will treat more Vets and I’ll continue working on the next Issue of the Inspired Eye Magazine.
So be smart, safe and find the courage to continue your work….without using GAS for a reason to do so.
On the sidebar you’ll see some blogs that I like and visit. Check it out and if you have a blog etc, I’ll be glad to set a link for ya…..
Till later…..
January 20th, 2014 ….. MLK Day ….. Was I even Thinking Today?
Sometimes I like to just walk the streets and not look for photos. I suppose it’s an exercise to see if I can not make photos. I have tried this many times and I fail almost all the time. Some may think it’s a good failure but I on the other hand, think it’s important to pass this test. I don’t like to get complacent with my surroundings etc. So, by not making photos…I am passing some trigger mechanisms and just letting them be.
Could I be just clicking photos because I am there and the camera is at the ready? Is it possible that I am taking things for granted, like my wife says I do with her? Not a real pretty thought I tell ya. At what point do I say about my photos, “I like this, it matters to me”? How easy is it to just make photos just because I can? At what level do I have to make a photo to be satisfied? Can I just be happy being an old shooter and not be thrown off because I feel that some works are beneath my standards I set for myself?
I know that youse do not share this problem and that’s why i ask these questions for you to ponder.
If I think an image in my mind at the time I see some stimulus and I compose and click the shutter….is it justifiable to the state of my craft?
Here’s what I think. I think it’s ok and important to just make photos because you are in love with the entire process. I think that the standards we set for ourselves are beneath what they should really be. It’s easier to succeed and harder to fail with a lower standard. I think that I am my own worst enemy to my life and my work.
It’s ok to slack off once in a while. It’s not ok to not know your slacking off. If you are aware of your work, and work in the here and now…it’s ok to drift for a spell as long as you know your drifting and more importantly….you know where to get back to.
Have a good day………
January 19th, 2014 ….. Observations With The Fuji XP1
It’s a very interesting observation using the XP1 against the XE1. I’m not saying one is better than the other, just different working with them. The XP1 by default for me draws me to the OVF. I’m not talking about settings, I’m talking about working with the camera. The XE1 for me, draws me to the screen. Yeah, yeah, they both have screens and they both have EVFs. It’s a fact that I prefer the screen on any camera because of the way it presents the image to me. I haven’t likes any viewfinder since the Leica M cameras.
This is the OVF with the 27mm (40mm). I’m close and the accuracy is very close to what I’m seeing even tho’ I’m close. C’mon man, we all know the EVF is closer…yeah but the OVF allows me to use both eyes open. The thing that turns me on is that I can use both eyes. Well, there has to be adjustments made due to Focal Length. So, like the M, we can see the AF patch and frame lines with the right eye and by either squinting and or opening and closing the left eye, see the scene without the frame lines etc.
I’m not posting the most amazing images but I am posting different ways I see and work with the XP1 and now the 27mm. Tomorrow I will try the combination of the 18mm and the 27mm. That’s the Ricoh dream.
I am not trying to do a review of these cameras. I feel that in order to get a firm grip on the camera and my photography, it’s only right to do so after using them for a good period of time and experience. Yeah, you can go to the hot blogs and read all about any camera and get all excited and then, after a week, the blogger is selling something else. I’m not writing about getting yours or my GAS in high gear. I’m writing about making photos with a well tested camera that I still use after 15 new models came and went.
January 15th, 2014 ….. Fuji XP1 and 35mm 1.4 brought me home …..again
Well, time to go to the VA Hospital (Veterans Administration) once again so that they can tell me all the things that they want to fix so I can live longer and maybe find my way home. I appreciate everything they do and any issues are inside me and not because of them. You must know that they do the best they can with what they have to work with.
Now we all know that going thru Center City on the bus and the elevated train, well….it might just be an inspiring event. hmmmm, for me it certainly is. So I loaded a roll of TRI-x into the Fuji XP1…c’mon, we all know that it’s a digicam….darn good and ya know…I gotta, it’s one of the best I ever used.
It’s got the 35mm 1.4 on because I committed to finding my way with a 50mm FOV. I don’t push things but I do strive to get things done and I will. On the way back I decided to do my standard 3.5 mile walk and find these pesky photos that are hiding from us. I said to Andre’, “We gotta find something out here”. He agreed….oh…sorry, Andre’ is my XP1 and Ding is my XE1. I know that you also name your cameras and also talk to them….no question ….. right? We walked for about 2 hours and truthfully< I wasn’t seeing anything that floated my boat.
I was thinking all last night in bed and all this morning about Minor White. When I get into this brain using procedure, everything except auto functions disconnects. I remember sitting in a field of all this beautiful grass that I would never see again and Minor said to me….“Don, it will always be right in front of you. You may search far and wide but in the end, it will be right there, right there in front of your heart.” Ya see, I had another man give me insight to life also….his name was Dr Murray Banks.
Dr Banks said this….“As you go throughout your life, brother, whatever be your goal….keep your eye upon the donut and not upon the hole”.”
Photography SHOOTER….PHOTOGRAPHY! See, I walked all over town on the path I’ve taken and loved for well over 45 years. I really didn’t see anything that could break the thoughts going thru my mind. I finally got on the bus to ge home and just think about Minor and Ding because they are alive in my heart and my mind.
I’m sitting on the bus….just glancing and then…all the sudden, Andre’ (Andre’ Kertesz) started heating up….he was just trying to get my concentration…….I looked at the door at the rear of the bus and thought, ain’t no life nowhere….. I changed the f/stop and the shutter speed without looking at Andre’ and slowly raised the XP1 up and on the rear screen,
behold…a photo that has awaken my concentration and said to me…..
press the shutter stupid!
January 14th, 2014 ….. Some Memories about Photography & Ding McNulty
When I was younger, I would go out and shoot with the goal being 5 rolls. See, my developing tank at the time held 5 rolls. If I actually made the 5 rolls I felt as if I achieved my daily goal. I mean shooting 3 rolls meant that I was wasting chemicals because the tank held 5 rolls anyway.
I would process the film and make contact prints and search for that photo that made the experience even more memorable.
So one day Ding, (Ding McNulty (Curator of Prints and Pictures at the Philadelphia Museum of Art) asked me to bring in my months contact prints so he could see how I was thinking. A few days later, I did just that. I think I had about 70 sheets all nice and printed very well and shiny and looking so fine.
I handed Ding the box and he kinda gasped…..in disbelief. I instantly got nervous and realized that the darkroom secrets meant only for me was now naked in front of a real important curator at a museum. After 5 minutes, Ding asked me what I was doing, my method of working.
I explained about the 5 roll rule I set for myself and I was sure every master adhered to this kind of rule.
He took a magic marker, I remember yellow but I’m a B&W guy so yellow could be wrong and he boxed 3 images and told me to print them and come back.
When I returned in about a week, Ding looked at the prints. He once again used that marker and made shapes on the photos and made little notes. He told me to print the way he made the marks. This was the most exciting thing to me but I really didn’t get any of this yet. I returned in about a week once again and hold on…..(look, I was a Nam vet, poor upbringing in many ways, never went to college and this man was mentoring me without me even understanding why)….. so I showed the prints to Ding. He sat back and just studied each print as if he were looking at something so valuable that it would hurt to remove his eyes from them. That was the most important lesson I ever learned or would ever learn.
He sat back, placed the prints on top of my box and we started to talk. After a few minutes of I guess lecturing he asked me a crucial question. He said to me, “Don, do you see these 3 photographs?” Of course I see them, I made them, sheeeesh. “Don, do you see the 70 rolls of film here?” ( at this point I was elated because he saw the work, efforts and passion I had to get this 70 rolls of film.) He again asked me a question that the answer would rock my world for all eternity! What has more value to you, the 70 rolls or the 3 prints? I thought about for a few good minutes, sitting back in the chair like Ding always did. I inhaled thru my nostrils like Ding always did when he was deep in thought.
For some reason, even tho I breathed like Ding and had his posture in the chair, I kinda knew that his mind was in a place that I would work to achieve all my life. (I’m really good at what I do but truth be told, I’m not a pimple on Ding’s butt.)
So I answered when I really felt the answer. I said, I am sure that the 3 prints are the most important things to me. Then he said to me, “How many times can you get 3 good photos on a roll of film?” I answered 11 because I get 35 frames and this gives me 11 xs with 2 shots to spare or waste or whatever.
Don, why do you need 70 rolls of film that you can’t afford so easily to make 3 photos? Don’t answer! Just think about a possible answer.
Well, it’s been around 40 years since I was asked that question. Ding no doubt is curating the greatest most important exhibition of all time in HEAVEN. I’m really praying that at some point, no hurry either, that I may contribute to that exhibition.
I search for that answer every time I have my camera in hand, every time I sit and look at LightRoom, every time I look at my friends work on Flickr etc.
January 13th, 2014 ….. Fuji XE1 and 27mm (The Fuji XE1 and 40mm teach an old shooter new tricks)
Let’s just get this straight from the get go. I don’t like to have fun with my cameras. I never did in over 50 years and I ain’t starting now. Well, The XE1 has a different way of looking at things and well….sometimes in our conversation, (you do talk to your cameras, right)…the XE1 tells me to just relax and we will work together to find the right images. Yo’ I ain’t no Fuji fanboy…in fact, I don’t know what that even is. What I am is a very serious shooter that needs a camera to be as serious as me and my work. The truth is, man I hate to say this and you didn’t get this from me….. I am having fun with this setup. There, I said it and hopefully it will not last for long. I know….but it’s fun nonetheless…..
So I had the 27mm on the camera. This lens is the sleeper of the line in Fuji glass. I was walking with Serge and we went into the portal, well tunnel for normal shooters but for me and my cameras, it’s an image portal. The light was just calling out and Ding, Ding McNulty, my XE1 is named after Ding McNulty who was the curator of Prints and Pictures at the Philadelphia Museum of Art….well, Ding started moving in my hand, he gets this nervous twitch and I must at that point be getting to the Here and Now because he’s ready.
So I stopped walking and got lost in the moment because this woman is standing there on the phone against the walls that have heard everything for over 150 years. I saw the walls get darker with those tones that just intoxicate you. I felt the presence of lives past echoing and bouncing around. Then I raised Ding to get position, I didn’t have to move very much at all because the XE1 named Ding has worked with me to find my stance. She didn’t know I was there and I knew that most shooters would wait for her to turn to them, it would be a good shot also BUT…..it’n not my shot. I framed the photo and just took a slow breath and the…CLICK!
See, I could do that with many cameras but I am using the Fuji’s because they work with me. No, not Fuji….because they don’t know me at all but I know them. I have spoken about the here and now and intrusions etc for centuries and most get it….some think I’m nuts, especially my shrink at the VA cause he sayz I should be using my Leica’s and he’s right for the past but the past is now the present and in the present, I’m happy with what I’m using.
Tomorrow is another day and I’m out again for a spell.
The next issue of The Inspired Eye Magazine is in production and should be published shortly.If you would like to submit work, there’s the reader gallery and also send me a note if you have an interesting idea….thanks, later ….. don
January 11th, 2014 ….. Fuji XE1 40mm ….. The Ricoh Shooters Dream ….. Part 1
Tanya and I went to Atlantic City to visit Joe and Mary. Well, par for the course….Joe and I went to the beach to get in touch with uh…uh..shhhhhh…a camera store because Joe wants to get the camera all Ricoh shooters ever born or ever will be….the XE1. No, not just the XE1 but the XE1 with the 27mm lens. See, here e go again…that mathematical head game that we all play because some execs and some engineers wanted to see what would happen. Ahhhh, heck…that was years ago anyway.
See, Ricoh makes about the best 28mm lens on their cameras, better than most. Now the issue……many if not all Ricoh shooters wanted a 40mm lens or even camera to go along with their 28mm GRD4 or GRD3 or GR thing, dust magnet that it is. Yeah, that’s right…I said it! Well Fujifilm found out about this from some FBICIASECRETSERVICEXCAMERAMAKERSORGANIZATIONTHAT’SNOLONGERSECRET and they made the 27mm lens that mathematically and optically and every other thingy equals 40.5mm. The ideal combination of course is 28mm & 40mm.
Anyway, back to the beach. Joe had some Russian Vodka under his blanket and insisted that we kinda do more than sip on it but not get to the point that the ladies…nah…the wifeys would suspect that we were drinking at the beach. Well, being the friend and standup guy that I am, I quickly acknowledged Joe and his good idea. I mean after all….with all due respect to da wifeys, bringing back 1/2 a bottle would prove disrespectful. Bringing back an empty bottle would do likewise but..AHHAAAA…finishing the bottle the way 2 Nam Vets would do and send the empty to the ocean but with a shot or two still in it is a show of deep respect to da wifeys and whoever finds this magic bottle.
Now to the important part……
Joe has found making photos a very interesting and positive way to spend time. I have introduced to him that it’s also a way to spend money, not just time. So while we were on the beach, I handed Joe my Fuji XE1 with the 27mm on it. It’s dark man, I mean real dark. Joe made the above photo with my camera. He fell in love very quickly when he saw this shot on the screen. Of course I am in the process of putting together a deal for him on the XE2 and 4 or so lenses. Mary, his wife called me this morning and was very happy. She said that Joe seemed to have found a new love. I told her not to worry because she would always be #1 and this ain’t about a new love, it’s about Joe finding a reason for himself to stay alive and not for her or anyone else. She thanked me for helping Joe finish the Russian Vodka.
The temp was 61F here in Philly today. As I walked up Market street, I could see many homeless out in the warm rain. Some were taking cover under facades and other things to stop the rain. This lady is about 45 and has no one or no place to go and won’t go to a shelter.
This is all this kid has for a home. He’s maybe 25-30 but is well worn from family etc. I asked if he wanted to go to a shelter and he said no. He was in a few and was attacked and his stuff taken and he was almost raped.
Sometimes I feel like I’m on the other side of life. I see things in my head as I release the shutter and when I get into LightRoom, I find my way.
Thanks for stopping by and I’ll do the best to keep my end going.
January 8th, 2014 ….. 20F The Fuji XE1 Makes Me Warm
Don’t get things wrong now, 20f is cold. I know, I know…my wife Tanya laughs at the Americans and spoiled way of living. So as she walked outside to the garden, it was obvious that America has worked it’s way into her mind and heart. She comes back in and says….”You better dress warm because you can’t take the cold like me”. Well, of course she ran into the living room and got under a blanket to warm up. I smiled and just let her think she’s still a Russian Comrade that doesn’t flinch in the cold.
But she did set the course for the day. See, I am told that I am not the sharpest pencil in the box…(yeah right)….but I know when it’s cold. I also know that film will reticulated in cold but sensors aren’t as sensitive to weather conditions. So I headed out with the XE1 and 21mm Skopar to just take a nice walk in the more than brisk cold.
I was on Market Street and I have to admit…it was cold and then…this young woman walked by me and for some strange reason, the sun came out and I felt warm…well warm all over. Funny how things like that can stir your day. Obviously beings the elder gentleman that I am I wouldn’t even look at her…..my camera, well….that’s another story.
I gotta be frank now. The Fuji’s are excellent to work with but using a good lens like the Skopar or Heliar or Summicron etc, brings the camera to life. Using a DOF scale is the joy that can’t be matched by Auto Focus lenses, no matter how good that may be. Tomorrow I’ll be on the streets with the XP1 and 35mm 1.4 because I promised to get that 50mm FOV under control.
Till then…stay warm and if your in OZ where it’s like 66F…sheeeesh……