Tag Archives: Fuji X100s

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

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 7 … Fuji X100s

June 22, 2015 streetshooter 11 Comments

Sometimes I fe-el like a Mo-ther-less Child. Well, I am and it may seem like there’s no relevance to photography but damn sure nuff is. Mother Light gives birth to all we do and say as shooters. She provides us with the reason to continue. She makes it possible to stimulate our souls and pick up our cameras. She allows us to create images that in one way or another satisfy us and sometimes we can satisfy others.

So Andre and I went for a walk. Ohhh, sorry. Just in case youin’s forgot, Andre’ is my Fuji X100s. He’s got some kinda magical power over me. DO NOT TELL HIM IF YOU MEET HIM! See, many many shooters today hang a camera around their neck and walk around and shoot semi-blindly. I say that because most do not look at the screen and or finder. There is nothing against that. I do it sometimes too. Yeah, yeah, I have my moments as a hip shooter or in the hand and don’t look at the camera shooter and even a hanging from the neck against the chest shooter. It ain’t always pretty I tell ya but I have my moments.

Than brings me to the point. See, Andre’ has a kinda snobbish attitude. He’s got a screen I tellya. He’s got this finder that is an OVF and also a magic lever that when you pull it, the finder turns into an EVF. Oh yeah, you better believe it buster. I say that because woman, all woman that have ever been borne and that will ever be born know about this camera cause it’s embedded in their female DNA.

So we are walking, well actually I’m walking and Andre’ is on a neck strap around my neck. I got one of them Peak Leash things and it’s nice. I prolly have over 30 or more straps to use but I’m breaking this on in. Instinct is at play and it’s easy to just look at the scene and release the shutter. Well, Andre’ will get pissed off and let me know it ain’t a proper way to work with him. If I do that semi-blind shooting thing, well soon I get camera poop on my chest. Now normal people would say the Blue Bird of Happiness pooped on me but I ain’t so crazy, I know it’s my camera giving me a load of camera shit for now working in the right manner. See, that’s attitude.

Andre’ insist that I use the finder and sometimes the screen but usually the finder and it’s the OVF more than the EVF just because I used Leica M’s for 45 years and now feel the need to use this camera that way even tho’ I have all Roger’s Leicas but don’t want to use them cause I like Andre’ better and he’s what I always wanted all my M cameras to be. Whooosh, breathe shooter………………………….ok… I will.

See, Ande’s point is that if you feel a photo in your heart and you see it in your heart and mind, you need to see it with the camera. I think I understand but not fully. He’s mentoring me and as I learn stuff, I’ll post it. From what I get, it’s like… if your shooting semi-blind then your allowing happenstance to be part of the creative process. I don’t thing there’s anything wrong with that. I’m not a good gambler and listen, I know youse all millions of readers and faithful followers, I actually have some ego. It’s not an issue cause Da Wifey makes sure I know I’m a shithead and that’s because she loves me and wants my ego to stay in check.

So, I like to assume responsibility for my work. I would if I hipshot also but there’s a real satisfaction to SEE something and then MAKE a photo and have it satisfy you and maybe others too. You can think how you saw the photo coming together and recall everything about it that you didn’t take the time to forget.

So for me it’s about intent. The intent to be as aware of what I am doing at the moment as possible. I want to be a participant in my life, not just an observer. I love observing dn I’m good at it but to be a participant in your own photos is a gift only Mother Light and grant you.

I cherish this gift and will so for as long as there is light. When my time of dying comes and there is no light but the beauty and restful darkness, I’ll take Andre’ the Fuji X100s cause he’s great at high ISO.

Have a blessed journey and find inner peace, just hide it from your hubby or wife……………………………

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 4

June 16, 2015 streetshooter 4 Comments

Andre’ the Fuji X100s has been a loyal friend for over a year. So again today we went out together. I know many think that it’s all about the photographer and a good photographer can make a great photo with any camera.I agree with that totally but I choose my camera carefully and test it carefully and some, not all get a name. I don’t want to go thru life with just having tools and things that don’t get named. I want to love the experience of living and love making photos with a camera I’m in love with. I want to love seeing and relishing the gift of sight. I want to love making photos so much that without doing that, it’s not happening for me. I’d be dead inside and lot long after, outside.

So Andre’ is in his favorite place, my hand. He’s comfortable there and I won’t think about putting him somewheres else. there’s many people walking around, it’s 93F and lots of exhaust from the vehicles. Then I see this black truck thing and this guy that’s like 1500lbs and 20′ tall. His hands are like baseball mitts. He’s got like size 50 sneakers on and the sweat is dripping off him like a river. I mean the street is getting soaked. I see the windows open as he walks away. The ground shakes with every footstep he takes. Buildings shake in fear of collapsing. But Andre has no fear. (See if you name your camera and then get caught making a photo and someone don’t like it, just tell them that Andre’ did it, not me). If that works, please let me know.

Well, the windows are open and being the smart street shooter that people think I am, I know there’s some one in the truck cause in Philly if you walk away from your truck with the windows open, well, you need to take the bus home cause even if your a 1500lb giant, they get your shit. Just then, well a bit before then but just then, this woman sticks her head out and looks dead at me. I lower the camera because I want to see and not be seen. So she looks away from me and is looking for her 1500lb giant son and then she just doesn’t see me and CLICK!

I’m walking on Market heading East, that’s the opposite of West. This young girl walks past me and says, “Thank You Sir”. See, I wearing a POW/MIA tee shirt, like I would wear anything else for the last 30 years. I said thank You Hun and as she passed me, cause shes young and not a shooter so she gets to walk faster and not see anything just look for things that may hurt her cause she’s a pretty girl and believe it, there’s ppl and things that want to hurt young girls but if I saw it happen, well I’d be in court for fucking someone up.

Then I see her back with the Tat on it and I scurry to make a photo. She turns and says, it’s my brother. He died in the war. So now I don’t care if anyone likes this photo or not, it’s important to remember those that have fallen and that are STILL MISSING so that we can be free to live our lives.

For the kitten, he’s a hero but for him, he’s a waste. That’s how society treats people that get in financial trouble. It’s not always drugs, many times it’d because the Banks take everything from you and your still in debt for 2045 more years. I wonder what the schedule is for the Presidential Candidates to come and speak with the homeless. The they homeless won’t have to worry because the lying bastards won’t waste their money or time.

Oh, I’m sorry, did I get off track?

Yes, I remember ……………

Black & White, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street, Streetshooter

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 2

June 9, 2015 streetshooter 4 Comments

The more things change, the more they stay the same. The place is where the cultured elite citizens of the region come to enjoy mostly Classical Music. It’s the Academy of Music. So maybe this guy isn’t really homeless. Perhaps he is a token patron of the arts. See, maybe the good people that frequent this place have him laying around so that all can see how the wealthy cultured people take care of the people of the city. He’s doing his job and doing a good job at that. They gave him a place on the nice hard concrete and even a bed of news papers. Oh, how lucky he is. I know you think I’m being sarcastic and maybe even making a joke. I’m not. Did you ever see a down on his luck homeless man with clean white socks. Of course not silly.

I’m walking on Market street and I see this girl and she’s very pretty. I looked at her and she had this hair like I never saw before. She looked dead at me with that Philly, I don’t give a shit Mr, I’m the shit and you ain’t look. So I was about to walk away and she turned away from me and then her hair came alive. I moved in close with Andre’ the Fuji X100s and click. She must have known I couldn’t resist because she turned and smiled at me. I looked her dead in the eyes and said, I thank you Princess. That brought an even bigger sweeter smile.

Ya know we all search for pieces of our identity out there and for some reason, I felt a connection with her. No, not cause she was pretty, it was I think because we saw each other as humans and race and age didn’t mean anything at that moment. There are many things to discover on the streets but the most beautiful is Humanity and what’s left of it.

What I love when out making photos is the pure joy of being in life. I’ll be honest. I don’t care about what anybody thinks and I don’t think about anybody when I’m working. What I do think about is what’s going on in the world. I have an implant from CNN and BBC. CNN is on the left lobe and BBC is on the right lobe. So while I am walking, I can do a Samantha thing with my nose and change stations. The thing is that I hear many people teach about the street as if it’s a shooting gallery. I mean, go out armed with you camera and take photos. I almost do that too, no exception except the Make vs the Take. The important thing for me is to be in life and not on the outside of it, taking photos. So I see life as a reference point when making photos. It always is but we are talking photography. Making photos gets me into all kinds of moods and places and doing things. When I feel disorientated, I come back to life and start over.

That’s why my cameras are my friends and not my tools. When I’m working, my camera is an integral part of what I am doing and a part of me. Just having it with me puts me in a place that all things are together and all things are possible. I don’t get that feeling ever from anyone or anything.

Minor White taught about Pre-Visualization. The idea is to SEE the photo in your head just before exposure. So, back in the day, there were no digital cameras. We went out to make photos and then went to the darkroom and made the Negs and Prints. Now with the advent of Digital photography, Pre-Visualization is all the more easy and important. The above photo ws seen in my head before exposure. So I see the frame and get it with the camera… but before exposure, I see the image being born in LR. Once I see that in my head, it’s time to check frame and release. That most likely takes a second or so. There’s something very satisfying about pre-Visualization. The idea of seeing the image before exposure and then at the finished stage, it’s exciting.

A friend of mine decades ago said that it’s not Pre-Visualization but Preconceptions. I disagreed then and I still do.

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street

Stories From the Streets

May 26, 2015 streetshooter 8 Comments

Well, it’s like 90+ degrees and I’m in shorts, tee shirt, sneakers and a Nam hat. I’m tellin’ ya’s this cause it’s my responsibility to do so. After all, no one else will take the time to tell you the adventures of streetshooter.

I was walking on I think 16yh Street going North but maybe South cause I don’t care cause I’m hearing Andre’ the Fuji X100s tell me that there’s a photo right up ahead that we have to make. I know, I prolly sound nutz talking to my camera. Well, what would you do if your camera started talking to you? See….

I’m walking and I see this homeless guy baking on the sidewalk frying pan. I know him and I’m not working at the moment so he’s not on my radar this minute. Then this Black Mercedes pulls up and parks right in front of the guy. I stopped and look to make sure the man in the Mercedes isn’t going to mess with the homeless man. I’m across the street. My brain came back from vacation this morning in the mad rush from the Jersey Shore. So I’m actually all present and accounted for. Eureka! Andre’ the Fuji X100s says to me, yo stupid, that’s the photo but get it thru the window. So all the sudden this wealthy man is starring at this man that can’t afford to eat.

I ran across the street seeing the photo in my wide awake mind and raise the camera and as I do I open from f/8 to f/4 because I dont want to loose all the shadows. I need to see the Rollex, the air conditioning vents, the beautiful leather interior and the man’s head with enough detail so that it creates the Juxtaposition on many levels. I raise the camera and then, traffic is on my ass and I mean n my ass. There’s this Red car with a guy in it that has no patience. I turn to look at him with the eyes I go to the VA Therapy for so I don’t have to use those eyes. He sits back in the car in the middle of the street. I look and then the guy in the Mercedes looks at the homeless man and I felt he had a revelation that we are all just one step away. CLICK.

I felt satisfied making the Photo of the men on the street. I’m walking again. Listen, if you ain’t walking out there, what the hell ya doing? Me, sheeeit, I’m a walking fool. Andre’ is in my hand at the ready. I set usually 1/250 f/8 auto iso. Philly has basically got the graffiti artist under control. There’s a woman that was a friend and her name is Jane Golden. She is known on the streets as Crazy Jane. She got that name cause she found the graffiti artist and dragged them to her studio and taught them to paint and gave them walls on buildings to paint murals on. The if another artist was gonna tag the mural, well, it wasn’t a pretty picture.

Why did I mention this? Ok, seethe transportation peoples saw how nice the murals looked and they made murals for the sides of buses and trains and whatever. I’m walking and this Big Bus comes up the street and I see the painting of Eastern State Penitentiary on it. I like how it looks and then Andre’ starts his shake in my hand things, to get my attention. I look and as I do I raise Andre’ to frame cause there’s this man looking right at me as I take aim and he look painted. I thought, oh my…. click!

I been asked by some readers to write more story like things to accompany the photos. I will do so and this is a start. I will ease into that and see where it goes….

Seeyas out there if not, seeya here………………………..

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Streetshooter

Living With Street Talk … Living With Yourself

May 14, 2015 streetshooter 2 Comments

Sometimes I get tuned into things that I don’t know I’m tuning into. It’s just cause I’m old now and don’t give a shit unless I can make a photo I like. I got 2 here, I mean there’s others sleeping but these two kinda do it for me. I was walking down Market and right in front of the Federal Courthouse, all these people blocked my path. I mean the nerve of these people. I have to make photos, get the hell outta my way. No, they got their fancy dance TV stations all over and every is racking up some of their 15 minutes. I’m in real close cause Andre’ the Fuji X100s told me to get close then get closer. Wonder where he got that from, imagine that.

So I did get in there and a few Fed agents were probably nervous but that’s ok cause I don’t give a shit right. Here’s something to ponder. It’s not easy to digest and act on but you really must in order to achieve self satisfaction.

Defining your photos is the most important thing you will ever do. I don’t just mean the content. It means content election, timing,approach, presentation and some other things I can’t remember this moment. When your working hopefully you know what your stuff is and that helps you find it. What makes us different from everybody else is not location or camera etc. It’s your eyes. How you plug your eyes into what you are seeing is the key. Then seeing the photo in your mind is the goal. It’s called Pre-visualization. Ok, no one can do it all the time but think about it like this. In your mind you have a preset that you feel is your vision. So when you raise the camera to make the photo, the preset should activate.

In LightRoom there are presets and you can make your own. The mind needs to think like a preset or it’s lost. Some might say that this is making preconceptions. It is and even if you don’t work this way, you have preconceptions about a photo or you wouldn’t make it. What I’m saying is, don’t live by others preconceptions. Make your own so you recognize your work.

There is no one way to do anything in life. There is no path to take to get you to the magic garden. It’s inside you and always was. It’s up to you to fight and say, “I am me and good or bad, these are my photos. I love them because they are me and I am them and they do not exist without me and I don’t want to exist without them. ” That means that you have committed to your work and committed to make a signature that you recognize.

If your out there trying to fit in to the IN Crowd or to be accepted by others, well I pity you and you have my condolences for a wasted life. I the end we all get to lay on our death bed and that’s not the time to be sorry about what you did with your life, it’s the time to say, hey, I did what I felt was right and I made what suited me. I am ready to go to the other side.

Excuse me, do they have battery chargers over there?

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

Streetshooter … Thoughts and Findings … Defining and Finding “Intent”

May 5, 2015 streetshooter 11 Comments

Sometimes I just want to make photos and not for any other reason then the enjoyment it gives me. Whenever I do tho’, I feel guilty. I feel like I’m not working which is bullcrap. I mean I still get my 5 miles walk in. I’m still carrying my camera. I’m still trying to find my photos and trying to allow my photos to find me.I would think it’s a matter of intent but I know that is wrong. My intent is to make photos. I feel that everytime I pick up the camera, Hmmmm. So what is happening when I feel that I’m somehow working different but I’m not.

So if I’m doing things kinda the way I do things and I’m thinking about things the way I do and the camera is too, where is the variable?

Maybe it’s not me at all. Maybe theres some kinda Kinetic energy from the subject matter that is working in a strange way and maybe I am responding to that energy in a different way. Nah, even if that’s true, I can’t let it alone like that. I am accountable for everything I do and make in this world. There are no accidents and there is only my incompetence or inability to deal with life and all things living or dying or dead. So that must mean photographically that I am the origin of my work and I don’t accept that. I believe that I am only partially the origin of the work. That must mean that I am only partially accountable for the things that’s don’t work. Mayne this sounds like a bunch of contradictions and maybe you think you don’t have these issues but I beg to tell you that you do. I see it as more an act of discovery. I’m 65 and been a shooter all my life but doing something for a long time don’t make it right, it just makes it a long time coming.

It is also said that doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is insanity. I have my VA Shrink, what’s your excuse? So maybe it’s the fact that I work in Center City all the time, well, most of the time that is finally taking a toll on me. Funny, I was shooting Market Street for a while last year and I felt like this. So I took the Elevated Train out to 69th & Market. I walked around about 90 minutes, went back to Center City and worked for 5 months and never felt stifled. That alone amazes me. I mean it’s not like going to Paris for vacation. It’s just a few miles away from my normal stomping grounds.When I’m having these moments, even changing cameras means nothing. I just see the same shit with a different camera.

I write this because I know everyone with a camera goes thru this. It’s normal and it might seem like the doldrums will never pass. Well, let me point a beam of light onto the subject. I think for me, it’s more internal then external. I mean if I bring up the old preconceptions that are harbored in my mind and heart then my eyes shall see them as old preconceptions. Regardless of my intent, I am destined to fail.Sure, I’ll make photos and sure I’ll probably like some but, I wont get what I am looking for because I am not connected on all levels.

Here’s some things I discovered and figured out. I am not claiming to be the inventor or Doctor of Photography. I am just a guy that’s made photography a very important of my existence and these are things I try to live by.

There are 3 facets to photography. Eye, Heart and Mind. The Important thing is INTENT. Try to visualize a Pie. In the center is INTENT. Equally at three points are Eye, Heart and Mind. There are 3 parts because Intent is why you do things and not how you do things. The other 3 are how you do things. All parts are the sum of one and effect each other at different times.

Now I am distracted on the streets and don’t know why. SoMy intent is to make photos and my heart and eye are working together butmy mind is preoccupied with why it isn’t working right.

So if the center of the pie is intent and lets say, that’s where the photo wants to live,it’s impossible because even tho my intent is good and my mond and eye are good, my mind is on vacation so I can’t get what I want because the system is failing. All parts must work and if one part doesn’t, well, don’t fight or pressure yourself like me, just go with the flow and in time it will fix itself.

Thee is a place I try to live in most times but I can’t be there all the time because I’m human as you and it’s impossible. The place is called, “The Here and Now”. To get there you must apply the principals I just described. If you don’t know where this is, it’s no on a map, it’s not found by Google, no GPS will get you there. The only way is to Understand and LOVE your Eye, Heart and Mind and then when your out shooting, pay attention to the MOMENT because that’s where you need to be to be in the HERE and NOW.

If you think this is nonsense, well look at your work. I promise you that this is where your images live. They may only speak visually but you need to be able to understand why and how you came together with the. If your not in the here and now with your camera, where the hell are you and why?

Color, Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street

Fuji X100s … Juxtaposes an iPhone 6 on ThE StReeT

March 25, 2015 streetshooter 5 Comments

One of the most important uses of syntax in street is Juxtaposition. Some may call it contrast and they are right in a weigh. I don’t think it weighs enough so lets call it what it is, Juxtaposition. Without it, your photos won’t work. Juxtaposition is one of the most important elements in making photos. Just like exposure and a few other things, we need to be aware of the juxtaposition we are seeing and making. Hopefully it’s not an after thought but that happens sometimes, cool beans.

Well, I’m sure you all are aware that I was an Admin at Amin’s forums for a few years. I worked MU43 and really liked the activity. I bought tons of m43 gear and my favorite was always the Olympus Pen. I have the Pen 1, 2, 3 & 5. Well, my Pen 5 was a beautiful camera and it’s name is Ruth, after my mother. Not long after I had the Pen5, I accidentally hit the corner of a table and smashed the screen. So I sent the camera in to be repaired. When it came home, I never opened the box and just put it on the camera storage shelf. This shelf is different from the camera working shelf. We, I sold off most of my m43 gear and kept the 14-42 (28 – 84) and the 14mm 2.5. Maybe there’s something else down there, dunno.

So, here’s the point. I use Andre’ the Fuji X100s and Walker the Nikon Coolpix A. So, I’m thinking, if I take Ruth the Oly Pen 5 out, then she can sport the 28mm and the 50mm which is something the Nikon Coolpix can’t do. This exercise is due to me being old and lazy and not wanting to carry 3 cameras. So I go take the box with Ruth the Oly Pen5 off the shelf and anxiously open it up. It’s been maybe 19 months.

So I pre-charged the battery and look at the beautiful Pen5. Silver shining and the design that no other camera comes close to. Can’t wait, can’t wait. The batter goes in real nice and I sit back ready to redo the menu cause I figure Oly reset the camera. Hit the button and wait for the screen to light up. Hmmm me thinks something is wrong. Put the battery in the meter and low and behold, full charge.Well,I need Tums cause at this point my stomach is having hissy fits. I’m breathing and I’m a doing all the good things Vets in Therapy do to stay calm and not go off the deep edge.

Shit, ain’t nuttin working and especially the camera. I do everything, like the button reset that I know about from the forum. Ok, hit the phone.

Hi, it’s shooter in Philly. My camera was repaired and now it won’t start. Ok, I’ll hold on. 5 minutes later, we had your camera a year and a half ago, who worked on it since and what was the problem. Well, I never opened the box when you sent it back to me. I can hear smirks in the Oly office.

Ok, Mr Shooter, I’m sending you an email with instructions to send it in. We will look at it and notify you of the cost to repair it.

I’m a happy camper. I sent the camera and in 2 days, I get a call and an email. It’s an estimate for repairs. Well, it turns out that theelectronice are fried in the camera and some other things. I want my camera. I’ll pay but I want my camera.

Mr Shooter, give me your Card info and I’m hitting it for $227.95. It will be as new with a warranty. I authorize the repair cause I want mom back. My mom died years ago and this is the only Mom I got now.

So now I can’t wait to get her back and put her to use. I know one thing in this damn world, when it arrives, I’m opening the damn box and testing her out.

One of the cool things about juxtaposition is that you get to see it before you release the shutter. It actually becomes a star on the map of your photos….. you do see this before release …..right……?

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

Walker the Nikon Coolpix A … ain’t LoSt on the StReEt

March 16, 2015 streetshooter 4 Comments

As I get myself geared up for the season, I seem to be thinking the same way I always have. Imagine that. I have a thing for fixed focal length cameras. Andre’ the Fuji X100s sees 35mm and Walker the Nikon Coolpix A sees 28mm. These 2 focal lengths will do almost all my work for ever. As youse know, I picked up the Canon EOS M2 and lenses etc for it. It’s a nice camera and good quality but, it’s not my cup of tea. I knew that when I got it but wanted to see if this year would be different from last year, nope. I don’t like zoomie lenses and I can’t bond to that camera cause Walker and Andre’ do what I need. So I don’t need it and it’s being sold by tomorrow on the bay.

Funny thing. I’ve had every variation of the 28mm Elmarit for my M cameras. I got a pair of M6’s because I would use the 35mm lens and the 28mm on the second body. Nope, years of struggling and I never adapted to 28mm. I always used 35mm. So now digitally, I find the 28mm getting used a lot like the last 10 years maybe. I still love the 35mm FOV but no longer have issues with the 28mm. Now I need them both, the horror. Of course Penelope the Ricoh GRD4 does 28mm very well, in fact better than any camera ever released…but…I really like APS-C sensor. There’s just something about it that floats my boat. So I find myself with the Fuji X100s and Nikon Coolpix A and feel very well covered. That means anything else I have, hmmmm won’t get much use.

It’s been said that a good shooter can get a good shot with any camera. So what? What does that mean. I can get my photos with any camera, but so what, bunk to all that shit. I wanna use my cameras that I want to use. I ain’t using a camera that intrudes on my vision, you’ll know that, damn.

Ya know, we don’t get enough time to live let alone to make photos. We have that responsibility to do both with passion and in the way we choose to do it. That responsibility belongs to us at first and then if you choose, to others. You have to own yourself and do for yourself. If not, others will own you and you end up doing for them and you still get to die alone.When you release that shutter, all that you ever were and are at the moment of exposure is right there with you.

Why would anyone let others influence us to the point that we don’t recognize our selves or our work? It happens mostly out of a lack of confidence and the need for approval. The idea that others like what we do can and will steer us into a direction that may not be our chosen path but the path influenced by others. We are all guilty of this phenomenon in both ways and it’s ok as long as we recognize it as deal with it.

It’s when we refuse to recognize it or just don’t that we have problems. How do I know about this stuff? I’ll tellya. I have a shrink and he recognizes me even when I don’t. Whats your excuse?

Be blessed everyone.

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

A Chat With Andre’ the Fuji X100s

March 9, 2015 streetshooter 5 Comments

Shooter, c’mere for a min. Well, I recognize that voice anywhere anytime. I also know Andre’ the Fuji X100s is gonna have his say on something but I don’t know what yet. Listen Shooter, the boys and girl on the shelves are a bit upset by some of your actions. Ya got the Canon EOS M2 on the shelf with flash, lenses. I gotta tellya Shooter, we are all upset by your latest acquisition. Even Penelope the White Ricoh GRD4 is like beside herself. She’s real cute by the way but I can’t calm her down anymore. Sexi little lens cap…mmmmmm.

Now, it’s been decided that The Nikon Coolpix A is now named Walker. This is not a request, we have decided that and end of story. So when you and I go out and it damn sure better be a lot, we are taking Walker the Nikon Coolpix A with us. Once again, this is not a request.

Now tell everybody about today and we will discuss the EOS M2 situation over a glass of Spatlese. later.

Finally a temperature that will allow snow to melt. So I take Andre’ and Walker and load them in the Cosyspeed. Wait for the bus and I feel it getting warmer every minute. Awesome. I can feel my hands and me fingers.

My ears aren’t numb as well as lower extremities and stuff.I set the clocks on the cameras cause Andre told me cause he knew I’d forget. I got my POW/MIA hat on so when I’m talking to Andre’ no one pays me any mind. I get to Market East and as I’m walking thru, I see a guy sitting by himself. I move past him and Andre’ says, you need to work, make this shot work. So I walk back, get Andre’ at the eye, slowly frame, and I mean I’m not hurrying at all. Then I release the shutter. The guy turns to me and laffs. He say’s it’s fuggin’ hot out. I say, well, you dressed for the cold bro’. He laffs and says you crazy mudder fugger. I smile cause he’s right.

I say, what makes me crazy? He says, how old you is? 65. You pay a mortgage? yup. You pay lectric and stuff? yup. He says, I told ya you waz fuggin crazy.

I’m in therapy for years and this guy gets me zero’d in, in a few minutes and tells me I’m crazy and now I believe him.

I wonder if he has office hours. Sometimes I feel disconnected and it’s an awkward feeling until I see what I’m feeling all over the place. People lost in the environment, lost humanity, just a sense of not being in the moment. Well, I don’t suffer from these things cause I’m always aware of the moment whether I am in it or not. Even if not, I’m usually aware that I’m not.

………but, maybe I need to get out again tomorrow with my dear friends, Andre’ the Fuji X100s and Walker the Nikon Coolpix A. Yes, good idea and I’ll continue the conversation with Andre………

……………………………………………………………………………..end transmission………………………………………………………………

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

Winter Doldrums Defeated By … Andre’ The Fuji X100s

January 22, 2015 streetshooter 7 Comments

It’s no secret that Phila has not paid the Spring Summer weather service so now we have Winter. It’s ok, we just have people on the street freezing and homeless, people committing murders, divorces, marriages, babies being borne, young people and even old people dying. There’s lots going on here and maybe if I wasn’t so damn cold I could get off my azz from the couch and stop watching CNN.

Well, this is called winter doldrums and it’s a disease that creeps in when the wether gets cold and stays until it warms up. There is no known cure NOR HAS THERE EVER BEEN FOR THIS WINTER DOLDRUM SICKNESS.

So a few dayz passed and Tanya said get the hell off your ass and get some exercise. I thought to my self, Shooter, maybe she’s right. So I went upstairs to the office and sat at the Mac and started exercising my fingers by typing and opening LR and looking at photos.

Well, I damn sure felt better, no kidding, I be exercising this and exercising that and man o’ man, it was a good workout. Me brain cells even gitz werkin’. all 17 of em’. Then all the sudden, out of nowhere, I hear a voice. Now see, I’m allowed to hear voices as per VA Guidelines. I recognize dem dere voices so they are VA approved. No problems yet. shhhhhhh, closes the door to the office, pit’s Springsteen on, yup, good ole’ Bruce and then starts to listen to the unapproved voice that is not VA certified recognized warranted selected deselected and otherwise allowed to hear said voice.

Well, the voice is non other that Andre’ the Fuji X100s. He says, listen shooter. I doin’ care about you and yer fancy schmancy Leica’s, Nikons, Sony’s Ricoh’s Canon’s nuttin. You don’t get me out to work pronto, I’m a gonna give you the worse case of Mental Diarrhea ever suffered by any one in the history of mental diarrhea.

So beings da smaat shooter that I am, I grabbed Andre’ the Fuji X100s and we headed out. Well, he’s got it made ya know. He fits in my pocket to stay warm and then, yup you guessed it he gets me to hold him and keep him warm in my hand. Then he says to me, listen kid, you walk around and find the photos you want. DO NOT BOTHER ME until needed. So, I put him in the pocket and walked around. Then, oh yeah, then when all else was right in the world, I started to tune in to my inner self. It’s a dark place in there. No, no not because theres a demon or bad energy in there, sheeeeesh, I don’t have lighting inside so of course it’s dark.

Well, once I started to release everything about any preconceptions or expectations, wants or demands. I started to feel some images. Andre’ told me not to worry and just enjoy the moment. I really wanted to get into just being free with my camera but I was freezing my butt off. He don’t have a butt so what the hell does he know anyway.

All I know is this. I love making photos and the ones that I like the most are the ones that I like the most. The Winter Doldrums are def here and they ain’t going anywheres in a hurry but truth be told, Andre’ and I are up to the task of staying mentally flushed and not falling prey to the nothingness that surrounds us all….. more about this tomorrow…………..

Street Photography Chronicles by Don Springer