Category Archives: Philosophy of Street

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

January 7th, 2017 … Burst The Bubble … Ricoh GRII

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There exist a comfort zone in life that keeps us nice and safe thinking and feeling like we are all together with ourselves. This zone of living comes from our experiences of life and the thoughts shared with others in their comfort zone. This comfort zone is really the bubble. We all have one and even if you don’t accept the bubble, you still have it and live in it. Ever hear the expression, “don’t burst my bubble”? Well that is proof enough for me. So, how does this apply to photography? Well, just like everything else, we get accustomed and used to and addicted to gear, software, the need for positive reinforcement on our work and much more. So we create the bubble and it surrounds us and maybe it’s to keep us safe or, maybe to keep others out or, maybe it’s an efficient way to gather and keep things organized for ourselves. I bet there are many ways to use the bubble and all have the right to do so as they please.

I think it’s normal to have a bubble. I think it’s healthy to want to protect it and to keep close to it and thrive inside it. So maybe this bubble not only protects us and our thoughts and out life but it also keeps us confined to the inside of it and maybe we need to consciously get outside of it. The thing is, getting out may mean bursting our bubble. THE HORROR! What happens if we burst our bubble and can’t get back in? Well….I think we should all find a way to just install a door or crack or something to get out and allow us to get back in. How this manifest into trouble for shooters and others too but I concentrate on  shooters…..is we love doing our work but it could come to a time that we are getting stagnant. I knew a very famous photographer, he died recently but he would work in spurts and produce a lot of work. Then he would look at everything and try to see how it fit into his body of work. This of course makes sense but I wonder how one burst the bubble to see what’s on the other side. I mean the bubble is a comfort zone and thus we are comfy in there. The idea of someone bursting it is not pretty.

My bubble gets burst all the time and if I don’t do it, my shrink does. I like to do things opposite from what I just wrote. Yeah, I’m serious. See, I take all the stuff out there that creates problems and stick it in the bubble. So if I have a bad day or a good day or do something boring or interesting, I blame myself cause I’m not in the safety net of my bubble.

I think our vision is like a bubble. I mean we get out there and work and we feel safe when we are working on series or a body of work or whatever we do. It’s not being complacent, it’s being comfortable, big difference. Only you know the safety and confines of your bubble. I kinda think that’s a safe bet but many can burst your bubble. So how does that even happen. If we have our safety net in the bubble then how can anyone burst it? Perhaps the fabric of the bubble allows others to see inside and to be able to rattle our cage and burst the bubble.

I know this all sounds tedious and maybe it is but maybe, just maybe it’s a very important life lesson. When you can apply a life lesson to what your doing, that’s a beacon for standing tall on your work and not letting anyone get inside your bubble.

 

Perhaps the bubble isn’t a bubble at all. Maybe the bubble is just inside our head. Sounds like it could very well be. I mean if we stand on what we believe and what we think about things, we should be able to take criticism and even abuse about ourselves and our work. Perhaps what we do for ourselves gets misguided onto a track of trying to please others. That’s normal and acceptance is much more desirable then rejection.

So, I care what people think about what I do. I am deeply concerned with helping others in any way i can. I love doing my photography and learning how it relates to my life and my essence as a Human Being.      I know one thing after all this tedious stuff. No one is bursting my bubble, well except for Dr G my shrink.

Be blessed…………………………………………………………..

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street, Street

January 1st, 2017 … Dazed and Confused … Camera-a-Phobia

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Back in early September I started thinking about how I would work the Fall and Winter thru next Spring. I guess I’m kinda nutty going thru these motions but I always did and will do. The issue mainly is the I have some cameras that I really care about. I name them so that should speak somewhat. Unfortunately from my Leica Daze, I still am natural with the 35mm FOV. Not having any other lenses with me is an asset because it limits some variables of finding photos. So Andre’ the Fuji X100T is like the perfect camera for me. He’s responsive like an M camera but the added advantage of AF and I need that due to essential tremors.

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Enter the camera gremlin. It’s been proved that once the gremlin gets a hold of you, it’s over. Never have to many cameras but worse, never have enough either.   Enter Serendipity the Olympus Pen F. See, she’s a fine lady that surprised even me and many others. Problem: She gives the so called advantage of different focal lengths. Just what I need, right….NO! Anyway thanks to Ray Sachs a while ago, I now love the 12mm on her. He had the 12mm on his unnamed camera and I looked thru it and that was it. I also love the 20mm or the 14mm and even th 25mm. Not an easy camera to handle.

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Then of course there is Mom the Ricoh GRII. In all honesty, there exist no finer camera for the street then the GRII. I do call her the Camera Killer. Once you take it out for a spin, she won’t let you go easy.

Did I mention a camera bag. I have more them my wife has pocket books. The main one for out there is the Cosyspeed Streetomatic. I’m not trying to sell anything, recommend anything, just laying out the variables in my quest to get out the door and work. This is a hip bag and I can get Serenity with the 12mm in and Andre’ in the other pocket. I added a velcro flap and the lets me put the Oly 25mm under it and the Serendipity slips in nice. I now have 3 lenses and for events, perfect. For my regular life, too much but I feel guilty not taking the kids out so I do at the expense of my comfort.

So it’s confusing but I wouldn’t have it any other way. By having variables to tackle, one gets to focus more clearly. It’s that inverse square law again. I’ts the first day of 2017 and I feel good already. I hope you all find focus in your efforts and continue to grow as humans and shooters. I try hard to follow that but I figure, if youse all are doing that, I can slack off and just relax.

Happy New Years to All and Be blessed on Your Journey.

…..end transmission……………………….

Color, Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street

December 31st, 2016 … Last Post for 2016 … New Years Eve …

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There comes a time in life when one has to reckon with oneself.  In fact if we are attentive to life itself, this time of reckoning comes more then once. We may not always be ready for it or want it but it arrives, like it or not. In the life of a photographer, when it arrives, one must be prepared to deal with it regardless of what it brings with it. I wrote in my last post about organizing work to get a clarity for the present and future. That’s all well and good and should help prepare for the demons of uncertainty and the land of complacency. We as warriors in life need to be prepared for the battle to produce and stand by our work, the very essence of who and what we are. Life will continually throw shots at us and try to defeat our efforts and the love we have for our life’s work.

Having clarity on our past efforts and successes allows us to stand tall with confidence as we move forward on solid ground. It’s way to easy to get hammered and be effected by others. Even the fact of going out to work requires a solid background of what we did and how it effects us now. It’s called clarity. Shooters love clarity, sharp lenses, good MP sensors, good Depth of Field etc.

I hope all of you find heart and mind with an openness of clarity so that you continue to work in peace and be productive more each and every day.

Happy New Years to All and to All a Good Night…(borrowed from Santa)

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street, Photography, Street Photography

December 29th, 2016 … Finding Your Place Amongst The Masses

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When we look over our work, it starts to become obvious about how we approach photography. I think it’s maybe time to rip into what we did for the year and seek a solution for our spot in the grand scheme of things. The masses I’m referring to are the masses of photos you made and fell in love with. I suppose this could be thought of as a way to organize ones work. Years ago I used to lay out my work and get answers to the riddle of my photography.

I would lay out about 12 prints on the floor in a horizontal line. Then try to make sense of what they were saying to me. Maybe take one out, add one whatever. The scrabble system. I would look at photos and try to find a belonging to one on the line. Then add this photo horizontally up or down in line where they fit together.after a while, it starts to become clear where my efforts were at.

We can’t do that digitally unless you make many prints. There is no software that does this either. So I needed to find another method. Ok, this is the hard core method and if you need less of  strong result, by all means change the numbers I lay out.

Here we go. Look in your catalog for the year and very carefully, select the very best images and just 1 per week. If you worked every week, you should have between 48-52 photos. If you worked less, just take one from every week as long as you feel it’s your best work. Open a collection in LR or whatever you use. Move the photos around to get them in a sequence that makes you happy and it makes sense. What you are looking for is the common denominator between photos. It may at first seem very random but trust me, and trust yourself, it’s not random at all.

Don’t remove anything from the catalog yet. In fact, go back over everything and pull one shot from each month and work them on the collection. By now you should be seeing photos that work together or look like a series, group, no matter hat you call it, just look and feel the photos.

Lets say you have 8 photos of the rain and umbrellas etc. Gather them together and open a new collection named “Rain” and put them in there. Ohhh you just discovered 9 photos of low light, so make a collection “Low Light” and put them in there. You get the idea. Now go back again and pull 1 photo for every other month. Sort them and place them in a collection.

After you feel you have all the really good photos that resonate with your eye, heart and mind…….close LR or whatever and forget about the stuff for at least a week. Go make photos and do not look at your collections. The reason is that the collections are looking at you.

After a week or so passes, open LR and look at the collections, 1 at a time. Do not edit anything out. Every image has the potential to push you against yourself and lead to a new direction or lay a solid foundation with what your doing now. When you study this work, you are studying all that you are as a human with a camera. Your thoughts, feelings, sensitivities and everything you are is here in front of you. It is said that every photo is part of a mosaic of the portrait of yourself. So, your looking at yourself. You also can see what attracts you, what trigger mechanisms etc are working with you.

Life is a passing dream but it doesn’t mean you have o be asleep to dream. The best dreams are the ones we have while we are awake in the here and now.

The point here for this method is to get you organized in the here and now and to understand how and why you work.

Be Blessed Everybody and have a Lovely Romantic Happy New Years.

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

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street, Street, Streetshooter

December 22nd, 2016 … In Between Time … 1979 –

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Well, I never claimed to be anything more than a collaborator with life and photography. So this way, when things aren’t exactly square, I also get to blame Life for the issues. Smaat huh. Well, I used to go to New York City a lot to make photos. I usually would have $ & 3 with me. (ok, before I found my sanity I still named my cameras. My Black Laq M4 was named 4. My Silver M3 was named 3. It took time for me to find the right names but it worked.) Anyway, 4 was the main shooter and one day I was near St Francis and I raised my camera and made a shot. I heard a familiar sound but not at the right moment. See, I was set to 1/250 f11. I’m using Tri-x rated around 640. Most Leica’s and a very unique sound around 1/15. It’s a ball dropping. Any one familiar with Leica’s knows that sound and also to check the drive train with that sound.

George Butler showed me this stuff. He would take the lens off and close his eyes and put his nose right to the mount. He was sniffing the smells from the camera. Of course I wanted to be like Geo and I smelled the cameras too. Even in Camera Barn, I would look very professional standing there in front of the sales person and closing my eyes and sniffing the camera. Truth be told, I never smelled anything special and Geo told me that’s why I’m a user and will never be a collector. I always thought it had something to do with money, go figure.

So anyway, I am making photos at 1/25 but I think I hear the ball dropping. Smaart as I am, I decide to just overlook it because if I acknowledge the sound, I must accept the fact that 4 is in trouble. I decide to be like so many before me and just say, I ain’t heard nuttin.

I’m on the train heading back to my home. The train does not stop at my home but not far away. I’m coo, I have 4 rolls to develop and the next day, I go to my darkroom in my basement and develop the film. I think I was using Rodinol @ 1:18 with little Sulphite. The idea was to punch contrast and the recoup in printing. So I run the film and hang the negs in the film dryer and the go up and see my wife and the kids.

All the while, I am having awake nightmares because I heard the ball @1/250. I don’t wanna hear it and I don’t wanna accept the fact that I did when I didn’t wanna, really…. shhhh 4 .

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Next day I go down to make contacts. Set the printing side up and get everything ready and am excited about a few frames. Ok, The Leica Enlarger is cooking. The bulb is nice and warm, or hot and should be stable. I cut the negs down and sleeve them. I always made 7 strips of 5 frames in the preservers. I think they are Negafile. It’s true with the and Perma Wash. Use them properly and they reach 50 years no contamination. Now I’m really hopped up cause this is the part I love. Foot switch, lights go off, time starts and the enlarger sheds light on the truth.

I take the paper and  hit foot switch 2 and now the room is ready to develop the prints. I was using a formula called the Winchester Developer. I hadn’t altered this yet. I’s great with Bromide paper. So, the paper is in the tray and I am rocking the tray is a very methodical manner. (See, every variable must be accounted for and analyzed and the adapted to the system, even a sound that isn’t at the right time.

So the paper is starting to show the magic. There, there in the tray is a sheet of paper that shows my efforts as a shooter. Paul started me on RC paper and I liked it for Contacts or press prints but not for finished work. I pulled the print ad rinsed it for a few seconds and then squeegee it off. Wow am I excited!

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I hit the foot switch and all white is on. I pick up the Schneider 4X Lupe and look thru it as it rest on the paper. At this point I must explain. I am a Viet Nam vet but we aren’t vets yet or humans at the point in time. I seen my share of stuff. I have survived the streets and all kinds of things. My eye looks at a frame and I get this clutching feeling around my chest that is getting tighter and tighter. In my mind I hear the sound of the ball dropping and I know with all my heart and soul that is not a good sound at 1/250. I now have proof that 4 has a virus or something and the Doctor is gonna be expensive. I clean up the darkroom. Then I try to sleep and all the sudden, it’s morning.

I have a number for Leica that Geo gave me and told me to ask for Ernie. Now this is the time that Steve Jobs hadn’t mad a real computer yet. So, I am living in an analog world and I call Leica. I figure I’ll be on the phone till my kids get out of High School. A woman answers and has the voice the is so pleasant that I instantly start to cool down. I explain that I want to talk with Ernie. She ask my name and I figure, that’s it…I’m cooked. Meanwhile 4 is on my lap and not crying but I hear sniffles and he’s not looking good.

The, then out of the world, a man answers with a very strong German Accent, and says, how may I help you sir? 4 could hear the voice on the other end of the phone and I can see, he’s excited. He’s wiggling on my lap and I hear him playing with his shutter speeds.  I explain everything to Ernie and he says, “Ok, send the Camera to me and I’ll fix it. I will have it back to you by Thursday. Now I’m an not a clock watcher usually but it’s Monday around 10:00 am est. Ernie says, anytime you have a problem with your cameras, call this number directly and ask for me.” I said yes sir and 4 was all jumping up and down…. he said to me… wanna go see daddy. Then Ernie said, have a good day Mr Springer and tell George I said hi. I never even mentioned George….hmmmm? I packed 4 really carefully and told him to behave. Sure enough, on Thursday, UPS delivered 4 and an invoice marked paid in full. Thank you for your service.

But this isn’t what the story is about. See I saw this blur across many photos. It was not intentional at all but a freak accident. I started to study photos from other shooters. I remember I had books my Duane Michals and started studying why he was doing this stuff. So, I made prints and in time I felt that these photos are about “In Between Time.” There are many in my catalog and after a while I started seeing deeper in some and that became the “DreamCatcher”.

I’ll do more shortly but this is a basic idea how I think and how the process of discovery is so important to us. It also shows that we need to be open with our heart and minds to move on with our work

Be Blessed all…………. I have been criticized about foul language and thought about it all day. He’s right and I openly apologize to all and will not do that again.

 

Philosophy of Street, Streetshooter

December 20th, 2016 … Dealing With Your Cameras Personality

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Yeah I know I’m the crazy one. I’m the one hanging my ummmm, well… for the ladies, my head on the wall. I tellya it’s true darnit. I hate not cursing and using all the proper werds that a street shooter should know and use. But I am the gentleman warrior. See, we all get cameras and fall in love with them. My young co-publisher Olivier is an expert in gathering gear and then writing about it. He’s on it 100% but (looks around…hmmmmm he’s not here) so we can relax and tell our stories. Hmmm this won’t work either. I’m not one to spread rumors or instigate things but I know I am going  this alone. I will confess and explain and by proxy, speak for most of you but youse alls ain’t gotta worry about anyone thinking your crazy cause that’s my job and the VA gave me a Doctor so that even if I’m crazy, I don’t really know it. In other words, I’ll take the heat on this one.

Lets all agree on the fact that we all hopefully have different ideas and visions to make photos. I personally use the Oly Pen F with a few different lenses, mainly the 12mm that thinks it’s a 24mm.  She is named Serendipity. Then I use the Ricoh GRII and that camera is named Mom after my Mom. Now we have the small big gun, the Fujifilm X100T named Andre’ after ….yes him. So many people think I’m crazy for naming my cameras. I been thru this many times and I haven’t changed, have you, or you?

Here’s the thing and no one, bar no one can hold a valid argument on this simple fact. Cameras have a personality. No, they don’t have personality disorders. They don’t serve us as a tool. Thats the biggest crock of shit I ever heard and I pity the ones that think they have a tool in their hand.

I will explain the Streetshooter conceptual approach and diagnosis of the Camera Personality. You will not get this anywheres else and it’s one of the most important concepts that you must understand. Lets imagine we are out working. We have our trusty camera named **** and it has a 50mm lens on.  I’m telling ya, you are like really seeing, feeling anf breathing the experience of MAKING photos. Your eagles eye vision that you heard about from Henri is like kicking in overtime. If at this point you haven’t named your camera and worked out the personality traits of said camera, well…your ass is grass and the camera is the lawn mower.

Well, your a cocky shooter, got your do do together. Standing tall and knowing, there ain’t nuttin’ better then being a street shooter and then, just then as your cockiness is in high gear, you get the   idea that ya wanna use a different camera. Hmmm, it’s so crazy it just might work. So you and your un named camera # 2 get ready to do it and make the photos that all street shooters for all the rest of time will gaze upon them and just admire the genius that you are…BUTT and it’s a damn big BUTT! You look thru the finder, or at the screen and OMG!… the camera has played a trick on you. It’s function buttons are in the wrong place…. the FOV is totally different, the weight is different, dammit… the friggin color is different. HELP… I NEED A SHRINK! Who the hell said any good shooter can make a good photo with any camera? BULLSHIT! I’m friggin melting and no one can fix this…..

Along comes Don to the rescue and states… if you name your cameras, then when you switch, even a few days or longer, you will be in ZEN and you NAMED camera will be a part of that ZEN. Look, you can go to any number of websites, blogs, classes whatever but you wont understand that the things that make each camera different, well that’s the personality traits. If you want to think that all those differences are like mechanical things and you learn to work them, that’s fine.

I’m a fuck up and I know it but I believe in magic. I believe in the magic of love. I believe that my camera is an integral part of my process. I’ll be damned if I’m going out with my FUJI X100T and calling it just that. Oh yeah, I took this shot with my Fuji X100T. I used F11 @ 1/250… yup… draws hard on the stinky ass cigar and knows he’s a bad ass shooter. NO FUCKING WAY!

Where’s the love of Mother Light? Where’s the magic of MAKING photos? Where’s the connection with the one most important partner in your work? It’s lost and that’s a damn shame. I’m the guy that takes Andre’ the Fuji X100T out and we go looking for photos. I understand the relationship between shooter and camera and post process and the visible feeling of love.

You can do anything you want. You can just be what every book or master or stranger or friends programs you to be, including me. Maybe you take your Fuji X100T out and just know you have a fine tool in your hand. It does as you instruct when and where you say. You are a GHAAAAD and your camera a mere tool and nothing more. This is your choice. If we ever meet on the street, I will be honored to meet your presence. I will even be honored to introduce you to Andre’ and tell you the tales that we experienced making our photos.

I wish you all the blessing of the magic of love and life.                                          Once they let me out of the ward, I’ll post something else……..

 

 

Philosophy of Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

December 13th, 2016 … The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

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Well, the title for the post is true. I have all these I guess ya call them series going on for decades and as much as I like to add something, I can’t. So at the workshop over the weekend, I was asked by a woman about the way things work photographically. I explained that we are subject to the Inverse Square Law. Ears opened and I was again asked to explain the Inverse Square Law.

So, I went on to try to make sense of Mr Inverse’s Law.  Now it will be assumes that everyone reading this understands this law, even without meeting Mr Inverse personally.

It goes something like this. I will demonstrate some examples. With regards to negatives, (these are film things that shooters used to do back in the Pre-Digital age.) The darker something in the Neg is, the lighter in the print. Then, the lighter something is in the Neg, the darker in the print. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s tried and tested and found to be true. Ok ok…. with a lens, the larger the fstop, the less light it transmits and the smaller the fstop the more light it transmits. The shutter speed works in a similar manner. The larger the speed, the less movement and the smaller the speed, the more movement. The less expensive a camera is, the more it does and the more expensive a camera is the less you want it to do.

So, in the natural order of things photographically, if we are aware of the Inverse Square Law, the better of an understanding of being a shooter we have.

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See, image wise, I notice that …

the more I pursue stuff for a series, the less I want to work on the series. Now check this out…… if I have a series or no series with low volume, the more I am excited to work on it. It’s stimulating to find new images that I can file away in my catalog  and say goodbye to them as time passes and they become a part of history. The more photos you have for a series, in time will be less stimulating and the less you have in a series, the more stimulating because your excited to fill in the blanks. Why am writing this? Well I get concerned when someone ask me to help define them and their work. I’m very good at it but of course the Inverse Square Law works here too.

The more I see someones work and help them, the less I can see my own work. The less I see of others work, the more I see my own. Here is where I detour from the norm. A looooong time ago back in the age of darkness in a little room, I discovered that I liked sharing what knowledge I had. Of course this is all based on my personal experiences and the data that was input into me. Many people, friends and of course, not wives, would talk with me and THEN, ask my opinions. That for me was so exciting. I felt that maybe my contribution would be worthwhile and needed. Where I felt inept was anytime I met an educator from a college, university etc.

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See, the only education I had was what I learned on my own. Then, then one day, then one day when not expected, a friend told me…..”Don, colleges, universities, schools are there for one reason. To build an appreciable audience.”  I started to thinks that what a shame for the teachers and what bigger shame for the  students to be in that cycle but her was right and that’s the nature of Art, regardless of the medium you practice. I felt that I was set free to live my life and to no longer be overwhelmed by educated people that maybe will have the understanding of them selves, mother light and their work.

A lot of what I write changes along the way but for me, I guess I stay the same. As a person for sure but as an artist, I’m not. I don’t declare to be an artist. Unfortunately I’m nothing but a human being on a journey thru life and that has a camera with me. I make photos because they are about the only things from me that I produce that give meaning to my life.

….. end transmission …..

 

 

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street, Street Photography

December 6th, 2016 … Reflections of a Shooter … Harry Callahan

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What I do have is over 50 years as a shooter. Uh oh, didn’t realize youse alls was here.  Anyway, to get ya’s caught up….we are discussing the reflections of my reflecting inner self. Oh, scuse me again. I should introduce who be having this chat. There’s yours truly, there’s my reflection and we are both reflecting on my inner self that comes out for photography.

It is said and I do believe that every photo is a self portrait of the shooter. It does not imply a selfie only as a self portrait. What i mean is that if we are awake and in touch with ourselves at exposure, then all that we were or all that we are is present at exposure and thus the photo is a reflection of the self. Whatever your thinking or feeling is present in the photo. Of course the old adage of …There are none so blind as those that will not see, applies always.

 

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We were heading to the McDowell Colony to see Harry Callahan. I was invited to make a Portrait of Harry. So Harry & I talked a little and I asked him to sit on the steps leading to the entrance to the  house. I set up my 8×10 Deardorff with the 420mm Red Dot Artar. I frame and focus, lock the camera, put in a film holder and start chatting with Harry. He looks at me and smiles holding fast in position as a shooter would. CLICK! I pull the holder out ant put it in my bag. All the sudden a voice of the Photography Angel, Anne Tucker says, Don your going to make  a few more exposures aren’t you?

Immediately Harry says, He’s got it, he knows what he’s doing. I pack the bag and Harry comes over to me, puts a hand on my shoulder and says, let’s walk and talk a little. We walk a little and Harry says, your a cocky fucker aren’t you? I said, you really think so? He smiles and says, nah… I’m the same fucking way. Harry says, if your not in it 100%, where are ya.

We go back to the porch and harrygoes into rest. In a minute, Barbara comes to me. Don, as you know, Dad always made portraits of Mom and me. He says he’s to old to do it with that camera and ask if you would make it for him?  It’s an honor to meet, chat & do a portrait of Harry. The to make a portrait of Elizabeth and Barbara is beyond comprehension.  Ya see, only Harry ever made a photo of his beloved Elizabeth and daughter Barbara. I make the photo with all that I am, all the attention and spirit I have.

Barbara gives me their address and ask me to send prints. Elizabeth comes to me and holds both my hands between hers. She says thank you. My Harry has never asked anyone to make this photo and please respect his wishes and not send them all over. I looked her in the eyes and said, it was never an issue my lady.

I made some portraits of Anne Tucker, Robin McNeil and some I may not mention. The platinum prints went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Houston Museum of Fine Arts.

As we were walking, Harry said some things. Don, I watched you work, make the photos, even pack Margaret away. ( My Deardorff is named Margaret) You have a focus that is all of you at once and that’s what’s required. Don, as serious as you are there is a mission you must undertake. Making photos is great but teaching is all the more important. You have to carry on the love and chart of being a photographer.

Harry and I looked at each other and both knew we would never be in each other’s company again. Harry turned around and lowered his head and walked to the house. I got in the car and everyone was excited but I was so sad. I felt I lost my dad again.

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Life without photography for me is suicide daily. Life with photography keeps me here. Photography & Life go hand in hand. Without one, the other ceases to exist.

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

November 27th, 2016 … Dancing In The Moment With Andre’ the Fuji X100T

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We talk of “Being in the Moment” as if it was some metaphysical esoteric place to be. Well I suppose it is. For me it’s the coming together of the Here and Now and being aware of my place in it. Then feeling and breathing photography. I talked before about intrusions and we all agree that we don’t need them. I suppose the only ones we should and have to deal with are the ones out there where our subject matter is. Those are the only ones we need to be concerned with.

Well, ain’t I the lucky one, I have those intrusions all the time. When I taught workshops, I made it a point to make sure the members, (I don’t like students because I’m not a teacher) understood the importance of timing and the need to anticipate it. The shot above called me to be present with the Airstream. I was framing and moving around and I could sense something but not sure what. Andre’ the Fuji X100T as always is at the ready….I held my stance and ….CLICK!

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I have mentored, taught, guided many people about photography. There is one lady that still calls me to go out and work. Polly, the Japanese Heart Surgeon. She told me a few years ago that I don’t walk thru life with a camera but I dance thru life with a camera. That is one of the most special statements anyone has ever said to me. The photo above is me doing exactly that.

When I was a young lad, my mother used to put movies on and we would watch them with little interest but she was happy we were spending time together. There were many actors and actresses (proper term back then, considered politically correct) that I enjoyed watching. Gene Kelly. Singing In The Rain. That’s what I thought of when Polly told me I danced thru life. I was Gene Kelly with Andre’ the Fuji X100T.

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Ya know, I will miss Philly and the people and my family and my cameras and especially Andre’ the Fuji X100T when I’m dead. But I ain’t going anyplace yet my friends and I’m gonna make my photos my way and stand for them and not think about much else when I’m out there making photos.

At any rate, time for me to rest my weary legs and back cause tomorrow is a shoot day again and I’m excited.

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

 

 

Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street, Street Photography

November 19th, 2016 … the Mechanics of Aesthetics 

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

This will be a series of articles about what and how photography attempts to work. I say attempts because whether you are aware of this or not, it attempts to work. The title of this  part is a key to what I’m getting at.

                                                                                                                                                        The Big Idea

The big idea of photography is to capture the light of something in a 3 dimensional world and make a new object on a 2 dimensional world. The photo can co-exist in the 3 dimensional world but the 3 dimensional world can’t exist in the 2 dimensional world or photo. There is a translation of realities that happens that forces us and allows us to hold witness to the new reality. It’s not always a pretty picture.

We hold witness to the moment of time and the photo made for it. That moment of time forces us to be accountable for the truth of the photo that marks the lie of the moment. See, the photo captures a fleeting moment of our life. As soon as you release the shutter, the photo, yet finished is already dead. It does not move with or change with time. It is a stagnant representation of what we felt necessary at the moment of exposure. Meanwhile, the reality that inspired the release of the shutter has breathed countless breathes to the future leaving us behind to make the truth as the camera saw it. That truth of the photo is the lie of the reality that inspired its existence.

Something that I learned on my own decades ago but do not claim to be the origin of, just the self discoverer of an uneducated photographer is….Titles. This has been a long arduous journey with many opinions from many different people. I always stood for what i believed to be the truth as I knew it, whether others believed in this truth or not.

The Truth About Titles  

There are times to use a title and there are times not to use a title. A brief example: in police work as evidence, a photo usually needs a title or even more description. A Horticulturist may use a title in a photo of a flower to aid viewers in understanding the plant in the photo.  A tourist on a journey may use titles on the photos to show location and other info. There are countless examples of using a title on a photo.

There is a common usage and purpose to most photos being with a title. That purpose is to provide information to the viewer as the viewer enters the world of the photo. It is a semi-description to aid the journey of the photo. This of course also sets to play, the dreaded preconceptions.

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Shooters and Titles.

I was asked to curate photos for a project. So, it’s been going on for  a  while. I have seen many hundreds of photos. Almost every single photo has some sort of title to it. The titles are mostly descriptive and certainly have poisoned my mind. Try as I may, it’s impossible to enter the photo with a clean slate. Example: standing on the corner. Well, maybe that is the message wanted to pass on to the viewers but for me, when I enter the photo, I absolutely look for: standing on the corner. The shooter has given me the photo and told me what to see. It’s almost impossible to discover the beauty of the image.  I am forced to seek the meaning of the title in the photo and not allowed to discover any hidden or not hidden meanings on my own.

Active vs Passive Title

We as photographers inherited the title crap from painters etc. Yeah, it’s true. So, here it is. An active title is like so: sunset at Mary’s, ferris wheel at 9:00 pm, John doing the jig and anything more descriptive then needed.

A passive title is like: Untitled, RT 61, Phila, New York, July 21st, 730 am Pittsburgh, Andrews Ave, Paris, The Outback, McDonalds…. a title like this presents a time and place but not descriptive to the point of interference of the investigation of the photo.

So, back to mt task of curating. After going thru hundreds of photos more then a few times, it seems to me the ones that are most interesting have a passive title. I didn’t go into this task seeking the title stuff, I went in to find my selection of photos. I saw photos that at first glance I liked, then saw a title and instantly felt locked in vision.

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OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Portraits are also effected by titles. Of course it’s easier to get into a photo if it’s a portrait because of the nature of the image. A title usually doesn’t hinder the visual experience although it could. What does this all mean? Well, when you take your camera out and choose a lens, or get into LR and process, whatever, you give thought to what you are doing. If your serious, you tend to be aware of what you are doing. You also are very committed to your vision and making sure that photo you made represents you. We can get complacent with french fries and burgers and salad and tea and coffee but we dare not get complacent with our images.

Hold on now….hmmmm ya know, if we are that careful and loving about what we are doing, maybe, just maybe, I know it sounds crazy but…. maybe we should pay attention to titling our work and making sure the title supports OUR VISION and not detracts from it.

… go in peace my friends but go with a camera in hand …