Tag Archives: Eye

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street, Street Photography

January 16th, 2018 … The Eye, Heart & Mind … and something else but I forget

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Suzanne called me and wanted to meet. That’s always a pleasurable experience for me, well both of us., and I was anxious to see her.  So I went to her home on Spruce Street and  we sat and had coffee. Now. Suzanne is a Starbucky kinda lady and has a few of their rot gut dead burnt beans in the house. She also has Pure Natural Organic Kona beans cause I gave it to her for when I am there. She makes me a cup of kona and  she makes herself a cup of rotgut starbucky crapola.  Then she says….Mr Don…at tihs point I know I’m there to work cause when she addresses me as Mr Don, it’s work. She ask me to sit at the dining room table and brings over a box of prints.  So the box has around 120 prints with sizes from 8×10 to 16×20. She looks me in the eyes and says, “your my mentor, my friend and my teacher, make sense of all this”. Ain’t enuff Kona in my cup to get me into doing this, but I have to.

So, I tell Suzanne that we need to re-experience the frame of heart and mind from exposure to now.  Now THE LORD blessed Suzanne with aa amazing heart, brilliant mind and a very clinical way to look at things. She’s a Heart Doctor and excellent at that. This causes her to look at photos more as her patients than the new reality that they are.

We start going thru the prints and I’m curating as I go. I know her and she’s a gentle lady with the heart of a Tiger. I also know that I don’t want to hurt her feelings in a ny manner. If I do the edit hard, she maybe gets upset cause photo’s she cares about are not selected. If I go to easy she will know and thinks I was just doing this to satisfy her. So I decide to just be myself and edit the way I feel it should be.

I pull the 4 16×20’s and look closely. I tell her that the size is wrong for the image. We don’t make large prints cause we can. We make the print to preserve the intimacy and content of the image. We are going deep into the box of prints. They are calling to me for attention. Suzanne sees me diving into her heart and mind and ask me if I’m hungry. My ears perk up and I calmly tell her, of course. See Suzanne makes amazing sushi and it’s better than any restaurant I ever been too. So she’s making sushi and maki and I”m being diligent with her work going thru it very carefully. There are like 10 photos on the third pass thru that continually call attention. We stop to eat and sip some saki at exactly 105F because she’s true Japanesse and insist on tradition.

Now is the moment of reckoning. It’s the moment that she has commissioned to me and the moment of truth for me that shines if I flatter her or get real.  We sit together on the floor. We are looking at prints. I lay 10 in a pile next to her. She looks at me and has that Suzanne loves don as long as don is kind and doesn’t hurt her feelings. That’s not exactly true, more like I have a fathers look to his daughter and just wants her happy.

That’s really the issue here. Do I just paint a pretty picture or do I stand my ground and as a friend, explain my real thoughts? I opt for the 2nd scenario.  She ask me which pile of prints is really worthwhile to represent her. I  point to the 10 and she kinda gets set aback but not visually upset. She ask why just 10 and what do they posess that the others don’t? I explain that when anyone looks a a photo, if you see the scene or whatever is in it, then it may be a great photo but not representative of the eye, heart and mind.

If you look at a photo and see and feel the shooter in the photo, that’s it! She gets quiet for a few moments. Then she says, Don I remember these 10 specifically and how present I was in the moment. It’s like I was in a state of consciousness that was heightened. In my country and my family, we would call this Zen. When this happens to me, I feel like BUDDHA is with me. Well, that is an amazing observation and experience.

I told her that was the reason I selected those 10 prints. She smiled and said she understood completely. I knew that she did. She mentioned to me that she wanted to work how I work. I said she is too young and too refined and elegant to do anything like me. Not in the visual elements but in the intent. My intent is that I am me, I work for me, I show photos because I like to. I am not trying to impress anyone. I am a photographer all my life because I have to.

Suzanne is a fine photographer, 28 years my younger so I feel she needs to experience all that her life will bring to her. The experience was very rewarding to both of us. I love to learn what I teach and I love to gteach what I learn. Most of all, her sushi is amazing……

Peace all, be blessed and never, ever doubt yourself.

Philosophy of Street, Photography, Street Photography, Streetshooter

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

4 Comments

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…………………………………..

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street Photography

June 2nd, 2017 … a Matter of Perspective … True Confession … Fuji X-Pro2

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Ok, first off I will explain that I do things in a semi deliberate manner. That also means that I do things in a semi un-deliberate manner.

Flashback to 1970. I have my M-4 with a 35mm Cron on it. My M-16 at the ready. WE are going thru a small village near Chu Lai and I’m snapping away making photos. There’s some press corp guys with us cause they wanna see where theB52’s dropped their load and how close it was to the village. Click, click….yup, I’m working. Jock is about 25′ away from me. Jock is a tall guy thin stature and from OZ. OZ = Australia. He works for the Press Corp for France and OZ. We became friends and I looked forward to him being around because it gave me the illusion that I might survive this shit hole.

Jock comes over to me and  says “Jingles, why don’t you use your 50mm more?” Eureka! I replied that I wasn’t comfortable with the compression and the crop of the frame. I wanted to portray the scene the best I could and a 35mm was perfect. … it dawned on me at that moment that I should try the 50mm and be serious with it. With all the film I shot over there, I don’t think I used 2 rolls with the 50mm. It just didn’t click with me.

Inside me, I had this nagging feeling that Jock was implanting in me to use the 50mm. Flash forward to the mid 70’s and I shooting the street with my 35mm Cron and of course my trusty 50mm Cron in the waste pack. it’s been years since Jock mentioned the 50mm to me. I still have that nagging feeling that I need to get the 50mm and use it.

Yeah sure, sometimes I’d use the 50mm just to do it and prove to myself I can. Then another year would pass and I’d have it with me but not use it. If I did use it, I didn’t have a sense of being with it.

So, the issue for me is to adapt my aspect and frame to the 50mm FOV. Let’s get something straight from the get go. PERSPECTIVE.  There are 2 perspectives that we deal with in photography. The first is, stance. Where you stand sets your perspective….but really the position of the camer is setting perspective. Set your camera on a tripod and then move all around but leave the camera where it is and the perspective changes for you but not the camera. When the camera moves, the perspective changes. If you hold your stance and then change the lens on the camera, the perspective stays the same but the Field of View changes. If you change aspect ratio, perspective stays the same.

So, the reason for me to wrestle with the 50mm is not perspective but the FOV crop. I guess most take it for granted that just changing lenses is an easy thing and requires not much thought or practice. Lucky for them, for me it’s like a new set of eyes and a new way to think. It challenges me to see the world thru different eyes and to think and work differently all the while protecting my 35mm FOV.

So I’ve had many cameras and many lenses that wore the 50mm crop. I was not comfy with any of them until the Fuji X-Pro2. When my lady friends gave me the camera and the 35mm = 50mm lens, they knew what they were doing. They knew I would love working with the camera and they also knew that at last, I’d be able to use the long lost love, 50mm FOV.

So, it seems that it took decades for me to find mt stance with this lens and I did. I have to telly youse that for me, the Fuji X-Pro2 is the finest camera I could ever with to work with.

Whenever I get a brain fart, I can always use the Fuji X100F.

seeyas after the weekend my friends…… peace

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street, Streetshooter

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

19 Comments

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…………………………………….

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……………………….

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 Photography, Streetshooter

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

10 Comments

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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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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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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 …

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

November 7th, 2016 … Choosing a Camera Amid the Confusion

12 Comments

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Let me start off by stating that Septa, the local Transportation Authority has been on strike for a week …. and then of course it’s election time  here and that all kinda settles out tomorrow. Don’t forget Halloween and hiding some candy from Tanya to enjoy later but she knows all the hiding places I use and she took all the M&M’s and put a piece of garlic there and then I knew I was caught and well… more fodder for the non productive fishes.

So, anything to blame a period of non productivity on except maybe the real truth, and even that is subject to change.

To the point. Well, ever since I was a fetus in mom, I used a Leica M4 with a 35mm Cron. Wasn’t much subject matter in there so i mostly wrote on my Mac. One day, mom decided it was time to empty the fetus apartment and I came out to a world that wasn’t digital. Imagine that. I was breast fed and of course had my trusty M4 that only I had cause it wasn’t invented yet.

That part may be hard to believe but it’s truth as far as I remember. Of course, I don’t remember shit anymore but I remember this part even if I forgot it.

Well, I have always migrated to a M4 and 35mm either a Cron or a Lux. I felt the FOV was the most natural for me. I had many Leica lenses for my cameras and always struggled to bond to any other then my 35’s. It wasn’t the lenses that I had an issue with, it was the FOV.

Natural Field of View

Natural Field of View is when you spot a scene, frame it in your mind and then raise the camera to make the photo and the FOV of the lens on the camera sees the frame closest to what you envisioned. This is absolutely crucial to the failure or success of the “Decisive Moment”. For me it’s always been natural with a 35mm FOV. Then enter the acquired FOV. Acquired FOV happens when you use a lens that changes the FOV and you need to adjust for what it sees.

There are other factors involved such as. Let’s say the my Fuji X100T is my natural FOV because it sees 35mm, and it is. Then I decide sometimes against my will to take out my Ricoh GRII. Dang it, that camera sees 28mm FOV. Hmmmm, maybe I want to take out my Pen F and that camera really shakes things up. I have a variety  of lenses for Serendipity.

When I’m ready to go out to work, I have to decide which camera to take. I don’t like the decision making procedure. I really love my cameras to the point that I name them. Yo’, my shrink thinks it’s ok to do this. It establishes a connection. CONNECTION! Perhaps  a connection is what is needed for all shooters in the way of camera, mind, heart and subject matter.

I don’t know for sure but here in Northeast Philly, it’s thought to be true. There are truths and lies to the universe and then there is the undiscovered. The truth is that we are all in love with photography. The lies is that we don’t need more gear to mess things up.

The undiscovered is out there and waiting for you and your camera to make a photo. Go on, get out there and find it….that’s what I’m gonna do.

Philosophy of Street, Street, Streetshooter

October 18th, 2016 … The Case For Auto ISO … Part 1

10 Comments

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Ramblings are not always bad or good, I suppose. Look at Clinton and Trump. They are both rambling, spreading bullshit and not getting anything done. Maybe the plan is to divert the citizens from finding out there is no plan and that way nothing gets done so the citizens can’t complain. Ya don’t think this is true. Look at President  Obama, perfect example. Well, that’s my political views all tied up.

So, the streets are filled with many different energies. I posted last about change and it’s true. The political scene has brought out the best, well…the worst of people. This effects me as well because the energy out there is not pure. I mean it’s always filtered but now it’s polluted.

I was at the National Historic Park and as always looking for juxtapositions that I relate to. This guy is watching me like a hawk. He’s looking at Serendipity  with that look of building lust. I hold her tight but loose enough to do her job.  He’s still following me and then I turn and there, there in front of me is the guy follower and the ….CLICK!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

To the point. It is a disbelief to assume that manual mode is not manual mode using Auto ISO. I’m going to explain.  There are those amongst us that feel the ISO should be fixed in M Mode. I beg to differ. What happens is if you  use a fixed ISO, all 3 points of exposure are locked. if you read the scene and you see that you are 1 1/2 stop off, then you have to make a decision to sacrifice the exposure equivalent. I am not putting the Exp Comp in the equation. I never use it, don’t believe in it and think it doesn’t exist.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The thing is this. When I am shooting out there and I believe at least a few agree with this….I want to work without restriction from the camera. If I was using the 3 points of exposure, I would constantly be checking the meter etc to male sure I wan’t under or over. Back in the days of film cameras, you set the ISO and then adjusted the aperture and/or shutter speed to get proper exposure. This system is what many call manual exposure. All 3 points are locked.

Well, I’m not about to be locked into anything except my cell when I act up and that’s rare. The idea with a camera is to make adjustments to secure the image. What happens if your out shooting at 1/500 F8 ISO 400? well, nice exposure and then you turn to the bldg and this amazing scene is there and you simply must make the photo. Well, ok so what? The issue is that the light is 3 stops less because f the dark doorway and shadows. Now, you can’t get the shot. Because you listened to the guys and gals that told you M Mode is all 3 points locked. Sure you can move the aperture and loose DOF or even change the shutter speed and run the risk of movement from the subject or worse, you and the camera. The Horror! Isn’t the point of any camera to make the mechanical aspect of photography easier so that you can concentrate on the aesthetics? Well?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

 

I will continue this discussion in the next day or two. I know many M Mode shooters will not like this but that’s to damn bad. Even the Mighty M is digital now.