Category Archives: Streetshooter

November 5th, 2017 … A junkies Lament

Years ago I would walk most of Kensington Ave but I can’t now so I drive to a spot and then walk some. I parked at Lehigh Ave and started walking up towards Somerset St. I get under the Rail Bridge and I see across the street a familiar face. Mom the Ricoh GRII was at the ready and we made a photo. I put her in my pocket. I walk over to the guy on the sidewalk and say, Hey Harry, what’s up? He looks up and has a slow nod on from the dope but responds, yo ma’ whatz up? I ask Harry how it’s been and he says, 17 already. What? 17 years out here, nothing any better.

See a few years ago I worked the avenue making photos of the junkies and  hookers etc. I spent maybe 2 years there and got to know a lot of people.

Harry told me his wife and daughter both od’d years ago. His daughter was 14 and she been tricking since she was 12.  Harry asked me how I was doing and how the PTSD was creeping up on me. I smiled. Harry was in the Marines and served a few tours in Afghanistan. He was a grunt and I suppose that’s how he ended up on the streets. He said he didn’t need the VA for help cause he gets all the help he needs from the next fix.

He told me he was hungry and could I spare some cash. I handed him $20.00 and he said no. That kind of money I shoot, just a few bucks for a coffee and a hot dog. I asked hi if here had any plans and he said, someday I’ll get a hot load and then I can sleep. I ain’t got no family anymore and friends just wanna rip me off.

Don, this is my home under the bridge. Your free to pass by or stop and chat anytime. So I sttod up and said my fafrewella. He looked at me and said…

“Semper Fi”. Ya know, that’s about the highest honor a Marine can bestow upon another Marine. For him to do that for me, Damn man… Fucking Hard Ass Soldier..

 

Lighter days a comin’….. be blessed

September 4th, 2017 … One Shot per Shoot … Rekindled

Ya’all know I’m a normal guy. Seriously, my shrink tells me that, well not 3 or 4 times a week but maybe like once a month sometimes maybe. See, I got this issue with always taxing myself. Not like the IRS taxing but the kind that makes my brain hurted and then go on vacation …. but I’m used to this and it’s not normal or anything to think about. It’s just my way of keeping the inspiration going. Go on, laff… have a good chuckle. Yeah, yeah, old shooter is going off again. Youin’s be right. Ok, see we can all go out and shoot many photos in the course of an outing. I call these outings, shoots. Comes from my daze when I did some of this for money.

The thing is, without discipline, we don’t tax ourselves and maybe we even stifle ourselves. Not good and what’s worse, is that it happens and we don’t know it is or did happen. Here’s an observation. There’s a principle in photography called, The Inverse Square Law. This states that Less is More and More is Less. so if we apply this to making photos, we could see it as, making a lot of photos on a shoot,  probably gives less satisfaction or…. the shot that makes you breathe. Well, my brain couldn’t think this way, here’s why. If that’s the case that more is less, then less is more… wait, wait. So, I see it as, if I shoot less, maybe I get more satisfaction and possibly the shot that makes me breathe.

I started to think about this cause I wanted a conclusion I could not only live with, but to apply and  teach. Obviously going out and burning many exposures in hopes of a good frame is not a brilliant but very popular method of operation. Same token says, I could just shoot less and try for that shot that makes me breathe, ya know the shot that is more than anything you anticipated.

Hmmm I thought. If this Mr Inverse guy made this Square Law and we have to live by it, maybe there’s something I need to uncover. See, here it is. If your out there burning many exposures and hoping to catch the magic frame, there’s a good chance your INTENT is confused. On the other hand, if your out there looking for just one shot per shoot, well…seems to reason your INTENT is more focused. What happens with the later method is….you develop a sense of timing, framing, selection, and being in the here and now without confusing yourself. You get to feel, think, see, breathe your frame. I’m not saying to go out and just make one exposure. I have done that for years with my 8 X10 Deardorff. I am saying that by slowing down and being alert and tuned into everything, you get a ZEN sense of the moment. Instead of going out and machine gunning with you camera  hoping to catch something, you go and just try to catch just one. If you know you got it, go back and process it and start over next cycle. Do not succumb to the fascination of making many exposures.

Remember, all the gear and stuff you acquire and use is for one single purpose….to make a photo that when you view it….makes you feel that you made a part of the portrait of you and your life. So, maybe just focus on a single frame for each shoot. This will allow your eye, heart and mind to work together with your camera and help you on your journey.

Be blessed my friends and even in this time of mass fear thru the world, stay focused on yourself and your loved ones.

seeya soon………shooter out…………………………………………..

 

August 13th, 2017 … Memory or The Decisive Moment … Cont’d

Ya know, I gotta tellya’s…. it’s summer time here in Philly and my brain is on vacation. So maybe I am writing about memory for a reason. The thing that I get from photography is the realization that I love the process and I need the catalyst that photos present. Pete and Andrey wrote some very profound comments on my last post and I urge toy to read them. You don’t have to comment but you should read them. I am basically a streetshooter. I used to do other things but for the last 30+ years, mostly street. For me, street = life. So as a life shooter, what is it I am after? I kinda think that it filters down to a residue of intent.

When I’m out shooting, I am not thinking about memories,. Sometimes but not a priority. So, I make photos with the purpose of getting them into Light Room and then making the photo represent my vision. Of course I rely on memory but truthfully, I am totally aware that there is a new reality being borne. This is my intent, well part of it. So I make photos to serve something different than memories. Any memory cast forward from the photo is really from the photo and not so much the scene or subject where I was when I released the shutter. This is very important to grasp.

The memory of the photo or making the photo is secondary to the actual photo. The experience is not as important as the end result. Don’t get me wrong. I adore, no…I breathe photography. It’s not something I do as a pastime or hobby or as an art form. I do it because I have no choice. A heroine junkie has an easier time detoxing from junk then I ever could from making photos. I don’t define photography, it defines me.  Ok, enuff of that.

The Clarity of Intent

Shhhhh, don’t spread this around. I hear tell and I know for a fact that some people are very serious about this photography thing. Seems crazy right? Well, let’s explore this serious side of this photo making thing. There comes a point in time that is marked as a moment of recognition of the self. This moment for the photographer is an awareness of intent. This is the continuing culmination of the gathering of info, thoughts and feelings. This is our supply feed for our work.

Lets assume that we are out working and something kinda captures out attention. At that moment, our supply feed and the exterior catylist join together and present us with the birth or death of the photo.

We are then faced with the option to make the photo or not.  Many things will happen quickly to come to the conclusion of the unborn photo. This is not yet intent but rather the decision to develop intent or not. Things happen and you may or may not make a photo.

You need to be alert and sensitive to this moment. All that you are is present and needs to be at the ready. What if you decide to make the photo? Well, try this for size. If you are aware that all of you is in the moment and you have accepted the responsibility to yourself and the unborn photo, then the intent of all is showing the way.

The moment and the decisive moment are working together but not the same. Being in the moment or the here and now leads to the release of the shutter. The release of the shutter is the decisive moment.

At that exact moment in your life is the realization that you either satisfied your intent or not. If you feel that you got it, then the rest is a very tuned, aware process of giving birth to the photo. If not, then the decision to move on is necessary. Just remember that not every photo is whats considered a keeper. The thing is, even if the photo is not a keeper, does not mean it fails at intent. Lets say that you were doing a street scene. Here’s the thing about The Moment and Memory. In the moment making a street photo, that satisfies your intent, provides a photo that is more about the making and satisfying yourself. This is the dividing factor of the Moment and INTENT.

 

I need another post to get the point across.

I will post in a day or so…………..be blessed my friends……………………………………shooter out…………………………………..

August 7th, 2017 … Memory or The Decisive Moment

Sorry about being absent for a while and I know youse all need my stuff in your head. Well, here’s something. I been reflecting on my self for a while and the past few weeks really getting critical. See, I have this nice mirror in my office and I sit and look into it for a spell and reflect.

No, not that self indulgent kind of reflecting. The important kind. The kind that says, dude, ya need to lose a few pounds. So I started to think about the importance photographs have for us as shooters and the motives and intent for making them and the end result of the photos life.  Probably the most important purpose for a photo is the making of a memory. This in itself is an oxymoron to the intent of photography. If a photo is a 2 dimensional image, then it should be viewed as it’s own reality. The reality of the photograph. This concept was initialized and taught by Stieglitz.  He was the one conscious of the phenomenon of photography and the one whom discovered the true nature of a photograph. The idea was that when a photo is viewed it should stand on it’s own merit and not need the crutch of the reality it was captured from. This has been passed down from generation to generation of shooters.

The idea of titling a photo supports the crutch of reality and serves to destroy or shatter the illusion of the image. We see a photo of a person and it’s titled, “Grandma, New York 1936.” The title supports the memory but what about the innate existence of photography? If we practice that a photo needs only itself to be recognized as itself, what then about Grandma? What about this memory thing? Does this mean that photos really are not what they appear to be? Does it mean the the concrete illusion of a photo being on it’s own in our reality is not a truth at all?

Stieglitz said that photos were the truth of the moment. Bresson coined the phrase, “The Decisive Moment”.  I lived my life adopting these truths and practicing them and teaching them. So why now at 67yo do I question the basis of a life in photography and stumble uon the very essence of my belief system? Perhaps I am not. Perhaps it’s an awakening of a dormant concept that is now coming to life and trying to create a new path.

I tend to believe that this memory thing is inherit in all of us. Photographs are not an island of tranquility at all. They rock the very foundation of their own existence. Street photography as important and loving as it is, is also the antithesis of memory. When I work the streets, I am not thinking about memories. I am thinking and feeling …. what?    Damn, ain’t the the $64,000.00  question.

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I have learned and taught that the photograph exist due to the shooter making it. End result, Fine Art, whatever ya  wanna call it. No not a pretentious intent and result. We look at our work and try to feel and see the reason for making it. It’s not a lost soul, it’s just photography. The real idea is that we had another reason for clicking the shutter than the memory of the moment.

The division between intent is where the problem lies (correct spelling), if there is a problem. If we make a photo and memory is a secondary intent, then post it on Flickr or any place at all and get responses, that serves to justify the  intent and process to get the photo there. While you are looking at the photo, the phone rings and you are told that Grandma has passed away. Well, let me tell ya something, you will be looking for photos of her quickly. It’s the memory of her and the experience you shared making the photo that you long for.

I will continue this in a few days. I’m interested in reading your thoughts if you care to share.

shooter out………………………………………………………………….

 

July 1st, 2017 … An Old Friend Comes Home … Leica X-E

….. Roger and I are standing at the counter at B&H. I think it’s like 2012 of 2013. The salesman is working with another customer when he sees Roger and says I’ll be right there. Sure enough in 15 seconds, he’s shaking Roger’s hand.  He doesn’t acknowledge me and that’s fine.  Roger looks at me and does that silly thing with his eye. I’m supposed to know what it means but after decades, I still don’t. He tells the guy I’m his partner and all the sudden the salesman wants to  give me his firstborn son.

Roger gives the salesman an order number. The guy goes to the back of the store an in 5 minutes returns with a look of curiouosity on his face. He says, “there seems to be a mixup with the order, they didn’t specify which camera and lens you wanted”. Roger looks in the box,  picking up the Monochrome, the M24o. There around 7 lenses in the box. Roger says to the guy, yes a mistake has been made. Where is the Canon 5D and 24-70 and the 35 1.4? The salesman says, “can we get the Leica that you want first”? Roger immediately says, this box is part of my order.  It all goes with me.

I think the salesman is like 27 yo but he needs to wear a diaper. I think he dropped a load.

He says Yes sir, be right back. On his return Roger says he wants to see the Leica X-E. Well the salesman runs and comes back with a new X-E. he opens the box and loads a batter in it. He hands it to Roger who in turn hands it to me. I start checking it out. They finalize the bill and for some things ordered a few weeks ago. I figure it’s around $80,000.00. A man walks over to Roger and thanks him, shakes his hand and says’ “We want you to have the X-E as a gift to a loyal customer”. Of course Roger is very gracious and thanks all concerned.


We carry the two boxes out to Roger’s Jag and put them in and we head back to Philly. We get to the first rest stop and of course I need to go. So, we pull in and Roger waits in the car as I go in. After a few minutes I come back to the car and get in. Roger starts the car and hands me a box. He says, I want you to have the X-E. I tell him thanks but no thanks. That cmera goes against everything I have going on. I like to set my camera on M mode, auto iso and then choose f/stop and shutter speed. This way I can control my exposure and the camera works with me selecting the ISO.

The Leica X2 and X-E do not do this. They will not allow auto ISO in M mode. I tell him forget it. Then as we are driving along, he’s telling me that I am too comfy in the way I work and with the cameras I work with. He tells me that I don’t think anymore but just respond to the scene kinda like a very open minded auto mode. Inside, I am getting pissed. Not because of what he’s telling me but because it’s all true. He reminds me that in my film daze, I would have a fixed ISO, sorta of maybe but I ain’t sayin’ nuttin about that stuff. I smile and admit he’s right but I don’t want to fix something that’s not broken. He tells me keep the X-E and just enjoy it. I used his X2 many times before so I know the work involved in un-taking-for -granted and adapting-what-I-know-but-don’t-use -properly.

So I used the X-E for almost a year along side other cameras but it doesn’t like to share experiences and knowledge with any other camera. Leica’s are greedy with time and love. They do not like to be with a ny other camera out working. So after a while I stop using the X-E. All my other cameras are ok with each other. So, why rattle cages when it’s not necessary. Roger is in India and Pakistan working on a case and I take some things out to his home and put the X-E on the shelf. Life goes on. Time passes and here we are. Weekend before last Roger and Mary come to Philly from Hong Kong for a visit. He wants me to come out to his home on the main line and check things out. I do the inventory for his acquisitions. This at times is a task but I do it because he’s my friend. So we are in the vault and looking at some nice Leica’s. He picked up a 250FF I think it’s called. Nice stuff. Then I see on shelf where I placed it years ago, the Leica X-E. I smiled.

Roger said once again….”take the X-E and use it. Don’t return it, it belongs to you and it will help you discover your inner self again.I shrug my shoulders because I know the camera pretty well and I know it will do what it wants and not what I want. There is a compromise with it but I need to just let go and open my mind and heart. I tell Roger, ya know something, I will take it and use it. I need to be on a screen camera again. Even the GRII is very fast and intuitive but the X-E makes me slow down and live and feel the moment.

The Leica X-E will not give you Auto ISO  in M Mode. The screen is the pits. It takes a while to turn on and it goes to sleep in a minute. It focuses ok and manual focus is very good. The lens is a Leica Lens and any Leica shooter will be happy. It’s an outstanding lens. You can make an exposure and it’s slow to write to the card.

So why use this age old camera? Ok, first off, it is ELEGANT. Even tho it’s not fast it’s very Elegant. What it does it does well and what it doesn’t do, I don’t need with this camera. There is a cerebral connection that this camera offers and supports and all I need to do is stop having pre-conceptions about what I want it to do. So, I am back to the raw elegant basics and I have a companion with me that is an old friend. I will not take any other camera out with the  X-E. If I did it would be Mom the Ricoh GRII because she’s a screen camera also. You all have a fine weekend and HAPPY JULY 4th to one and all. I’ll be working with Dad the Leica X-E for a while.

June 18th, 2017 … Father’s Day … Some Observations … Pen-F

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Happy Father’s Day.  I’m an observer. Not just a photography observer but a life observer. What I notice and find most interesting is the search for identity. It seems to that everyone struggles with identity. Brands are all over everyone and everyplace. Racial identity, gender, religious, education, city, state, country, camera, lens…. the list goes on and on. We form groups of like minded people so our search for identity is not a lonely one.

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So as photographers, what are we really searching for and how do we know if we find it? Let me say this: I don’t have an identity issue. I know who I am and the others inside my head know me also. So there!

Lets cut the search to bare bones. We all have cameras, lenses, dark rooms, computers etc. We all fit in our gear and lives neatly and perfectly. We have our vision, our stance and everything we as individuals deem necessary to travel our quest. Nice feeling. Nice to be equipped with stuff and more importantly, emotionally stable.

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So what in our inventory is missing or worse, there but quiet? What do we have to hold stock of our life and our struggle to find our selves?  What is it that we produce, protect, promote?  Perhaps, maybe just maybe our photographs. Is it even possible that an image we produce has the ability to justify all that we are or hope to be? Is it possible that our images are or could be the catylist for conversation, criticism or self exploration and even self discovery? Well, believe this, it’s totally true. Your identity is visible in your images.

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Think about this. No 2 photos can ever be the same. Don’t get cute and think about copies. “No eyes ever will nor ever shall see what I see now”. MBW

So then if we are lost in a world that swallows up our identity, it is the simple fact that our photos are our identity. They are the artifacts and DNA of us as individuals. They are the evidence that we are alive and here and working. So, if it’s just this photograph that is a record of our individual existence, maybe we need to take it more serious than we do. Well, I don’t know about youse but for me, it’s over 50 years as a photographer and my awareness of myself, makes me happy. It’s time to stand tall if you can and be proud and happy with the life you live and the work you produce.

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We need to understand that whatever our work does, it represents our existence. If it is a truth and it is that Margaret Bourke White, (I pretty sure this is hers….) “No eyes ever will nor ever shall see what I see now”, then that means that your work is unique and you should be proud of it. You also may feel the need at times to defend it but I wouldn’t. I don’t think anyone serious about photography would give bad words and thoughts to another’s work. The ones the do are obviously lost in the world of confused identity and that is the reason they do such horrible things. Those that love photography must and should bear in mind that when they see your work, they see you.

The only bad photos are the ones that don’t get made………

Peace and be blessed all…………………………………………..

May 27th. 2017 … Working thru GAS … NOT the Tums Kind … Fuji X-Pro2

We all know what GAS is. Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Most address this a a detriment to your character and work and you are to feel inefficient if you have GAS. You are maybe hiding behind your gear because you don’t have it enough to make good photos. You are to feel that if you get THAT camera or THAT lens, all will be well in the world. Damn right your right. Go for it. I do and stand proud to say I am a Gas-aholic, well… tums usually cures my gas but I have no issues acquiring new gear if I feel it will open me up some.

I have posted countless times, well at least a few about standing on your own and making your photos the way you want them to be and don’t give a hoot who likes it or not.  Well, here’s something against the grain of most shooters and bloggers.  Gear does make a difference to your work. Like it or not, every single shooter and every single person on the planet, planted or walking around, needs INSPIRATION.

I will expose my GAS and you will see that I’m nuts and you are rather not as nuts or maybe more nuts than me but we doin’ care anyway.  Recently I acquired the Fuji X100F. Great camera and I had no choice, nor wanted one because I had every version of the X100 series and loved them all. The X100F is a very capable camera that can do most things. The camera is named Andre’ after Kertesz. all is well so far but then Serendipity the Olympus PenF wanted to go out and work.

I see things this way. I get an item or camera, lens etc to inspire not direct my energy. Scenario….: I’m laying in bed and relaxing and letting myself fall asleep. Well, a few hours of that and my mind starts to wander. I get maybe a vision or thought train about walking around with my Ricoh GRII. It’s an omen I tellya. In the morning I’ll take Mom the Ricoh GRII out to work. Like it or not, that’s inspiration and the moment is inspired. Usually when this happens, I’m on a very inspired session. Maybe I saw a vision of the PenF with the 12mm. Perhaps I just saw the Ricoh GRII and the Fuji X100F.

This is normal GAS and it is not dangerous at this point. I have gone thru this for decades. I’m a GAS survivor. See, getting gas is normal and how you approach it it the all important thing.

I had a session with some students/friends and we were at the diner and Suzanne and Polly handed me a box and insisted I open it immediately.  I opened the box and low and behold, there was a new Fuji X-Pro2. There also was a 35mm F2WR lens. I asked them why and Polly answered, you have the Fuji X100 so this gives you 35mm & 50mm, your favorite combination.

Ok, no GAS there but inspiration. Ever hear of buyers remorse? Yeah, yeah, we all get it at one point or another. Usually for me it comes when I am tired of a camera and it no longer inspires me. Then I get remorse like, WTF is this stupid camera here for anyway.

So if you don’t have a justification for something, then it’s not inspiring you. Little did the ladies know that the Fuji X-Pro2 would be the camera that lites a fire with me that hasn’t been a flame in a long time. Is this GAS I ask you?  I did not buy the camera. It inspires me more then I thought because it’s a gift from 2 student/friends. I can’t imagine falling out of love with this camera.

It’s impossible to not think about a camera you have or want to have. To be slammed into a corner because someone says you have GAS is self defeating. We all need inspiration and we all need to allow our creativity to flourish. Taking the heat from others and implanting it into ourselves is extremely self destructive and eventually we do as others say and do and not captain our own ride. THE HORROR! We talked about how this scenario is similar to your photos but we doin’ need no more talk about that. Youse are all Life Warriors with a Camera.

So, this is like Rolaids for GAS. If something calls out to you and you feel that it will inspire you, then go for it. ( note ) GAS is an issue that is widely discussed but, in no case should you allow GAS to take funds from your families needs etc. We must always follow a prioritized structure of acquiring things.

So, I hope you get the message that you need to satisfy your creativity without guilt or remorse. Remember that no matter what you feel or think about GAS, it’s true that it can control your expenditures and have a drive that seems to take over. It’s also true that GAS can provide inspiration that feeds your soul. The way you deal with this is like a stance that you take as if your making photos. You are you and how you do and present things is the beauty of you. If you need a camera to satisfy a need, by all means get it.

I need to write about GAS for camera bags and I will try to confess my illness.

next post…..Have a Blessed Memorial Day and even if your in another Country…….

April 13th, 2017 … Philly Streets … Observations with the … Olympus Pen F

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Perhaps it’s because I have a love affair with seeing and photography that drives me to continue my journey. One of my companions is Serendipity the Olympus Pen F. There’s something about really fine cameras that not only inspires me but also creates a sort of freedom for my thoughts and emotions. I suppose that thoughts and emotions are the foundation of creativity. When I work the streets, I want to feel free to do as I wish without intrusion from my mind or any source of energy. Maybe that’s why I get attached to cameras. The fact is that the right camera at the right time can be a life raft in the sea of uncertainty. In my life so far, there’s been very few things or people that have allowed me to be as I desire. My cameras do that. So with respect to my process, I name my cameras.

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Seeing photos is the first step in making them. For me there’s a few ways that the seeing works. Sometimes I am walking and a scene triggers me and i make a photo.  Sometimes, I feel something inside and I try to find it outside. Sometimes, I see a photo or the basics of a photo in my mind and then I try to make it visible to me. The photo above is just that.

I have been in combat and experienced things that killed me but left Don alive. I kinda got freaked out about the conflict in Sierra and especially the chemical attacks. The the MOAB that was dropped. In my heart and mind, I felt the need to see visually what impact this had on me. One thing is the kids. The Orphans of Love. The Forgotten Innocence. Well this photo conjures the feelings I have and displays it for me.

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The detachment of the social being intrigues me to no end. I made selfies like anyone else but in time they started to mean more to me than just a selfie. Above, makes me see that I am the observer and the one that captures the moment. There exist an internal connection that we are harbor but sharing that with others is unlikely. Maybe that’s at the core of my being for being a shooter.  I find it easier to observe than to be a participant.

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I was at Independence Hall and I saw this crowd, detached as usual. The this guy and his son came into view and I realized that maybe the detachment is not with everyone. Is it possible that I have created a trigger to seek the detachment? Is that why these two stand out from the crowd?

The reason I made this post is to maybe shed light on a way to develop a vision that becomes personal and even if the photos don’t strike a chord with too many, at least for us, they reverberate inside our being. They could feed the reason to work. They could provide that creative energy to get things flowing.

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Photography creates a great illusion of being detached or attached, your choice. The way you feel is not necessarily the way you work. We have options to carve the path for our journey or to go over the steps of those whom went before us. Being an observer doesn’t mean that I am detached  same as being a participant doesn’t mean that I would be attached.

Being in the moment and being aware of the difference is what makes the attentive shooter. I learned years ago that I make my work for me and some others that respond to it. I had many exhibitions, many collectors, galleries and museums and what means the most to me is, having my camera with me and being in the here and now.

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I will not be sad to die because photography has been my companion all my life. My cameras have names because they deserve the respect and love that they have given me. I will lay in the ground for all eternity and not be sad. What would make me sad is to be alive without photography. That my friends is a fate worse then death.

……………………………….I’m outta here……………………………

February 28th, 2017 … Wants vs Needs … Fuji X100F

Thanks everyone for reading the blog and posting comments. I am honored and humbled that you would do that. The reason I’m doing the blog and now writing about the Fuji X100f is not about recognition. I know Fuji would never choose me as an X shooter. I also am not doing this for money or fame and fortune. I do it for love.  L O V E.  That’s a big word and even bigger feelings and thoughts. So where most approach writing about the camera from a work ethic or financial standpoint or a step to a higher level of fame, I am doing it because I love photography and I adore this camera.

So, let’s cut the crap out the X100F and get it out of the way. Dang it…. why didn’t Fuji put a tilt screen on it? Duh… it don’t need it. It’s not just a street camera but a camera that guides us in a way to think and a method of discovery of our subject. What I mean is, regardless of the task you are doing, the X100F becomes an ally or maybe it just bonds with you and forms a synergism that magically adds to the experience of making photos. Here in NE Philly on Montour Street, it’s called Mojo.

See, the idea about making photos is to always be in touch with yourself while working. Just being able to see, think and feel is the ZEN of life that is required to give life to your work. I’m not saying I can do it, I’m saying I understand it and try to maintain the stance so that it can happen at times and I can write about it. So, having the awareness that you are a part of something wonderful means you have to accept the mechanical things that get used in your work.

I was out for a walk with Andre’ the Fuji X100F and I bumped into Dude. Dude has a unnamed Silver Fuji X100F. We start talking and I’m feeling almost comfy because we share the streets together and we have the same camera and then…..OHHHH! Dud is complaining about the lack of a tilt screen. He doesn’t like the way the camera fits his hand. I’m starting to get fidgity.  Andre is in my hand and I feel him burning up. His battery is getting hot because Dude is basically insulting Andre’s sibling. Anyway Dude tells me about 7 things that he feels should be on the camera. Inside I need my shrink cause I’m laffin’ and afraid o let it come to the surface. So I said I had to go because life was calling me and I can’t stop life.

As I walked away, I had a kinda sick feeling in my gut. I mean, I’m feeling this camera perfectly as is and would rather go with positive energy. I realized that things are never perfect and I don’t want it perfect. I want to learn myself with this camera and see what we can find mutually.

Photography is about being an observer or a participant. I like to live as an observer most times and that means having a camera that will not intrude on my vision. That’s an absolute must. I know I’m crazy and I get random racing thoughts. I know that Andre’ is like my partner on a journey that I choose to live and must do to breath. So, here’s a few things I did. Mind you, normally I have the camera and an extra battery and a lens pen when I work.

Andre’ the Fuji X100F is sporting a neck strap, a soft release and a lens hood and a B&W UV filter. I have an ACMAXX on the screen for protection. I never use a hood. I never use a filter. I never use a soft release. I am in testing phase and bond so I will go crazy. Oh my, a lens hood.

This photo up top is worked on in LR. The idea was to see what the JPEGs can handle. It’s amazing how much I blew the highs and mids because that’s how I feel and see it. So I’m seriously considering not doing raw for a while. The JPEGs from this camera are the finest I’ve seen from any, bar none. It amazes me … look at the whites and they are not wasted. Even the shadows are holding details. Yeah, yeah, the original file is very nice but I want to see how far I can push the envelope.

I am getting a slew of emails etc and will answer each one as quick as possible.

Ok ya’ll….. seeya tomorrow. They are calling for rain here but I might get out anyway. Peace and be blessed…………………………………….

January 28th, 2017 … Philly Streets … New Format …. Wouter Brandsma

A lot has been going on in Philly this week. I won’t get into the political crap and just stay with how it all effects me and photography. President Trump and all the political whatsoever in the USA were here. Barricades were and still are all over. Streets blocked and then police were out in force. I saw a few that I knew and talked with them about all kinds of things. I asked how the barricades were working to keep all the people out of the event and Sgt…laff’s. Don, the barricades aren’t there for the politicians, they are there to protect you and everybody from the politicians. So I bought 6 cups of coffee for him and the others standing with him. Funny tho, I always thought that. I feel that politicians say they are going to do for the working man but I never felt what they say they wanted to do. Turns out many feel as I do. Enough politics.

Anyway I feel kind of anxious and the pressure of the blog is making me uptight. So, I hear tell of a man somewhat younger then me and he does photography and a blog also. This guy is a legend.  Wouter writes about life and photography and it’s all one and the same. He blends both in a web that draws one in and forces one to accept that good times and hard times are one and the same in life.

Anyway, I like his work and words and I always feel somewhat edgy and perhaps that’s because Wouter finds a catalyst to make us and me more in touch with humanity. twitter.com/wouterbrandsma

Enough of the mushy stuff. The thing is he changed his format a while ago to just posting photos from the week but leaving open space in case he wanted to change that at any time. I see that this releases the pressure of posting a a lot but making it more better.

I suppose that the inverse square law is in effect here. Less is more/more is less. So I will borrow and adapt this format for my blog and see how it goes. Maybe less post will generate more interesting content.

I also feel that my family of cameras are directly screwing with my head. If it’s true that less is more, and it is, then maybe less access to my cameras will be more productive. So for the next month I will use Mom the Ricoh GRII only. That’s not a hard task but it means to release the energy from my other cameras. So I placed them all on the shelves and told them to be nice and quiet any leave my head alone. The only one I will miss truly for the month is Andre’ the Fuji X100T. But I understand the need for simplicity and clarity of heart and vision.

I experience the most freedom with Mom, the Ricoh GRII. There is a synergism between us that is undeniable. Not that I don’t have it with other cameras but with her, I just am a total observer and even when I make a photo, I never leave the stance of an observer. The other cameras are beautiful also but at the precise moment of exposure, I am a maker in an observation. The Ricoh transcends that experience and keeps me as an observer.  I often times am not aware that I am making photos, just seeing them. For me this is Nirvana and allows me to just exist without conscious efforts.

So, there ya have it, the new thoughts from my head. I hope that youse all will get something out of this and that our efforts together will make us all aware that there is life out there. We must live it but without a camera in hand, well perish the thought.

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