Broad & Chestnut.

I’ve walked past this subway entrance more times in 45 years then I could even count. I’ve worked the streets of Center City for so many years and still, it never fails to interest me with new images. I never feel bored or complacent. I always feel inspired, invigorated and ready for a good long walk. I never fail to find a few photos to feed my soul.

 

 

Familiarity breeds contempt. I don’t really agree with that. I think that we owe it to ourselves to see the everyday things in a new way so that, that saying becomes null and void. We are photographers and as such should have the instincts and knowledge to SEE in a way others can’t unless they SEE our photos.

The best photography is about the life we live and how we live it. Even the street isn’t a place you visit, it’s a place you live. I’m not saying that if you don’t live ON THE STREET….you can’t do street. Far from that….it’s about how you relate to the life you live and more importantly how you relate to the life others are living.

 

 

 The Liberty Bell

Maybe this sounds kind of esoteric, I’ve been accused of being esoteric, and it is. Street shooting is about finding ones path thru life with a camera. It’s not a struggle. It’s not a battle. It’s a choice each and every street shooter makes. It’s a life decision and we take it seriously. If that makes me ESOTERIC…..so be it!

 

 

Like above….the alternatives are not so pleasant.

There are a few solid ways to previsualize. Any street shooter worth his sore feet should know about this. One way is to SEE in your mind a scene and the image you want to make. This works from the memory section of the street brain. Your out there on the street and your street brain is recording scenes even if your not working them at this moment. Then you go to sleep and you dream about the scenes from the day. when you go out again, those dreams could manifest into a photo because you dreamt about working them.

Another way is to have whats commonly called….The Decisive Moment. Really what that is, is the previsualization that a photo is being borne right now, right in front of you. You must be prepared for this experience at all times.

 

 

I was walking south on 18th street just below JFK and I saw this window. Suddenly my heart started skipping beats….my pulse raced….I struggled to maintain my composure…..I was still over 50′ away…as I got closer I started to raise the camera….

I got to where I should be without looking at the screen….the guy moved his head in and out and everytime I could see his entire face….then at one point…..

his head was there and his face disappeared and….CLICK!

I will start by confessing the absolute truth about how I measure a cameras worth. It’s not a money thing. It’s strictly a working thing and how the camera lets me do my work. I compare every camera to the Ricoh GRD4. Believe me, that’s not an easy task for any camera to take on.

 

 

 

One of the most important issues I deal with, with any camera is focusing and not focusing. Well I guess in a way I always focus but when I do Walk By Shootings, I’m in either Snap mode with the Ricoh, or MF with any other camera. The E-P3 has a few things going for it. One is that it writes to the card very fast. The GRD4 doesn’t….fast but not as fast.

That’s not a major issue and it’s maybe off base for this post.

 

 

 

Once you have an understanding of your focal length, then you must surrender the idea of visualizing the photo on the screen or finder. You of course will see the image in your head and you and the camera will make a collaboration on the content of the photo. So, it’s important that you have an understanding of your camera and try to stay in good spirits with it.

 

The Pen3 has a good interface. I use Fn1 button to switch between MF and AF. Then I use the RED video button for AF. Fn2 button switches the screen on/off. I then use the Olympus Distance Calculator. I stand at a wall and walk out to the desired distance, then hit the red af button to lock that distance in. Of course with the Ricoh, you just set the snap distance…imagine that…hmmmm

So like the photo above, I used f5.6 to get the DOF I want and then I just frame in a way I can’t describe and release. Working this way allows anyone to get close, even closer and not feel intimidated as most subjects never know your making a photo.

 

 

 

What I fing most exciting is the way the camera works with me. I know the subject matter in front of me but I can’t SEE the screen. The camera gets what I want in the frame and then makes the photo depending on my position. It’s very exciting. This is one area of street that I have fully enjoyed for over 45 years.

 

 

 

If you haven’t tried this kind of work, I encourage you to give it a shot. With digital cameras it’s very easy to get a strong feeling for the way the camera interprets your photo….

You then become a collaborator in another way with your photography. Maybe, just maybe…you’ll feel like naming your cameras like your trusted friends.

Go in Peace but go with a camera in your hand…..

don

 

Reflections could have many meanings. It could mean reflecting on ones work or maybe on ones place in the world.

 

 

Maybe it has different meanings at different times. It could mean trying to find or identify ones self.

 

 

Sometimes after getting lost in the society and the images we and others make, we get a strong feeling of misplaced identity.

 

 

Sometimes we look in the mirror and we don’t recognize that person looking back…….it then becomes time to adjust our position within the world we live in and help create.

 

 

 

Sometimes we just have to stand up and say to ourselves….this is what I do……

I know I’m a little crazy or out there. I mean enough people in my life have told me that on a number of occasions.  Look, I’m a dead serious shooter. Photography grabbed me at a young age, 13 or so and never let me go. So I’ve always been very serious about my image making or work as I call it. Flickr has helped me loosen up a lot thru the past years. I mean I can post stuff that isn’t what I feel is my best work and feel ok about it. My Flickr friends are the best. I love looking at their work as much as my own. I love the comments, both ways. And….I really get off on helping some people out if I can. I do a fair amount of editing, C&C, organizing for those that ask me to help. I love that maybe more then anything else.

What am I missing?

 

 

I sometimes just want to make photos. I mean I always want, maybe need to make photos but I sometimes just want to make photos because I can and I want to.

 

 

 

There is a certain spontaneity that drives me and even tho most times I question myself before release…..sometimes I don’t pay attention to my own questions. I just shoot.

 

 

 

It’s like all this energy builds up inside me and my poor brain…. and a release is needed. The feeling of working without working is a very special feeling. It can be a very satisfying experience, providing one doesn’t get caught up in the trap of outside approval.

 

 

 

 

So, if your like me and your real serious about what your doing with photography……sometimes just let go of the rules you set for yourself, let the pure enjoyment of the freedom of making photos rise to the surface. You never know what will happen, you just want to make photos because you want to make photos.

If your gutsy…you can even do the proverbial cat picture.

 

Barsik

 

This applies to all genre’s of photography but of course my concerns will be Street. The world has many people in it. Many of those people are photographers. A good amount of those photographers are very serious about what they do. Some of those photographers are Street Shooters and some of those Street Shooters are very serious and some are not as serious.

 

 

So my point is, that a very serious street shooter is part of an esoteric community of  like minded individuals. These shooters are an international group with different cultures, speaking different language but….that share a common goal of working the street….wherever that may be.  There exist a strong satisfaction when another shooter praises your photo or likes it….

 

 

The street is loaded with mystery, intrigue, history and history yet to be forged. There is life out there. There are images yet to be found. There are shooters that are called poets of society, the street shooters. Street Shooters are Citizens of the world that record what the world looked like while they were on it…..

……..if that makes them esoteric….so be it….I’m guilty as charged….

 

 

This post is dedicated to my friend from Moscow Russia………..

New Years Day, or as we say it here in Philly…Mummers Day 1971. I got home from Nam Dec 23rd 1970. This is the first shoot I did to start the new year. After the day, I went back in my bedroom for a few months.

I hate visiting my old photos. Sure I love them but each one marks a period of time that I’d probably like to forget. I’d rather leave those forgotten moments in the history of the dream world.

Someday I’ll click the shutter one last time. Then I’ll be a part of the Dream World and maybe I can find my Brothers from Nam that didn’t get a chance to be in this world….we have a lot to talk about…..

click….not yet……..!

 

Don’t get lost out there. Remember what your doing and for whom your doing it for. Y O U !

There are many good shooters out there and many have a strong cult following. Sure, it’s nice to see the work but don’t ever let it get inside you. Don’t ever let it control what you are thinking or doing. If you feel that you are loosing the self, step back and regroup. Make images that are personal and make them count. Bunk to anyone else.

Once you are strong and find your way, you can deal with the pollutants others bring to your eyes. As good as another shooter is, he/she can never make a more personal image for you. That is inside you and it’s yours.

Now go out and find it………oh…take your camera too……!