Tag Archives: Fuji X100T

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street

August 6th, 2016 … Fuji X100T … READ THIS … INTENT

August 6, 2016 streetshooter 13 Comments

The streets are different now and I don’t really have an answer why. It’s almost like everyone is walking around and feeling the difference between Dems & Reps. It’s like I get looked at and maybe the person thinks I’m a member of that other party, you know the one that is backing that person for the election. The there’s the smug person on the corner waiting for the traffic light and we all know that person is an Indy. They couldn’t care about the him or her running cause they got their own Hymn to deal with.

What does this have to do with photography? Well, life shapes the street. We want to capture the essence of the street as we see it. So when things are in an unstable way, so is our images.

I had a chat with a few shooters, of different ages and skill levels. They wanted to direct the conversation to Bresson, Winogrand, Kertesz and all the famous shooters from back in the day. Well, that raises a flag for me about the size of Philly. I was asked who my Favorite shooters were. I replied, anyone contemporary turns me on. Then I said, let me explain.

I feel it’s best to divorce from the past and use your own work as a guide to what you should be doing. Going after Kertesz for example, and expecting to get it as your own, is insanity. Lithium will not help. If you need a reference point, maybe pick someone you like alive and working in a similar genre’ as you are. You will be cleaner, more relaxed and certainly much more inspired.

One of the dangerous things is, when someone or you, comment on someone’s photos and say something like, reminds me of Bresson, very dangerous. What will happen is that the shooter at first is delighted to hear that. Now they are stimulated cause you say they made a photo that was like Bresson’s and everyone read the comment and that shooter gets a shot in the ego.

The, the shooter realizes that they aren’t like Bresson and there is a Gold Ring they have been chasing and it’s all stored away and done with mirrors. They simply can’t continue to keep up with the illusion and or pressure that they have had planted on them.

If that shooter gets comments like, really like this dude or dudess….I check your stuff a lot and I relate to it.

Let me tellya, that will do more for both, than any Kertesz or Bresson or any, dare I say…yes yes…. I dare any master before us. The reason is, we are programmable. We can’t stop that procedure. All we can do is to Give Peace a Chance….opppps sorry John…..

We need to filter as much garbage entering our minds and brains as possible. Then we need to determine what garbage we allow to influence us while we are here on the planet.

If you wanna make photos and rest assured that what you are doing, regardless of what the asses of the masses are doing, heed my warning and advice, if you wanna run around with a camera and pretend to be some Master, then be alone at the end because you lived as someone else and not true to you…..well, that’s cool but…well you’ll find out…

next post Monday…. well, hopefully……

Inspired Eye, Street, Streetshooter

08/04/16 … Fuji X100T … RIP G.

August 4, 2016 streetshooter 10 Comments

Wasn’t such a great meeting at the VA Group. Another Vet committed Suicide. I knew the guy for a few years and we are all troubled when this happens. I guess Trump & Clinton will fix things and all will be well. RIGHT!

So I was going home and then I saw the doors and the light on the other side and I envisioned passing thru. All the sudden, Andre’ the Fuji X100T started vibrating in my hand a a man passed by me and was now mostly in the blackness of oblivion going to the light of never ending Peace. CLICK! … Rest in Peace G. Statistics show about 22 Vets a day take their own lives.

Better to send $400 Million to Iran so they can fund terrorist groups than to add support for Veterans.

As I walked thru the Historic Park to catch the train home, I saw Polly. She waved and gave me a hug and told me she has friends in from Japan. She said she was taking them on a bus ride to see the city. Anyway, I moved around a little and then out of nowhere, I saw the bus and sure nuff…Polly was in view. I quickly made a photo and smiled. She didn’t see me. She will see the photo when she reads this post.

This is not a heavy post, it is a lite post. If it was a heavy post youse would have more to read and more photos to see. The fact is it’s a lite post and youse reached the end……

seeyas tomorrow………

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

Tuesday, August 2nd 2016

August 2, 2016 streetshooter 5 Comments

Andre’ the Fuji X100T and I hit the streets for a walk-a-bout. I hear tell that we as shooters should seek the fleeting moment. I dunno, I mean isn’t every moment a fleeting moment? So how to distinguish between a fleeting moment of time and a fleeting moment of time worth making a photo of? Well I guess it depends on your frame of mind and your emotional state at the moment of exposure. So, maybe we kinda get in the zone that I always talk about. Maybe that zone creates a preconceived set of emotions and thoughts that will influence the subject of your photos. I know a few shooters that say they shoot clean. They don’t let anything get into the mix of what they are doing. How is that possible? I mean, is it really possible to be clean, to shoot clean.

For me, it’s impossible to be clean to the point they say. I have emotions and thoughts and they have the freedom of existence. I don’t stifle either or more either. So, what is this clean they talk about? If in fact there is a clean state to work, does that imply that without that state, we work dirty? Perhaps a dirty state is one which has baggage in it. I’m not a virgin shooter. I like to work and have my thoughts and emotions working with me. I like the movement from frame to frame that comes from working this way. I like when I get to Light Room, seeing the image and how it conjures up what I was thinking and feeling at the moment of exposure. So at this late age, I am learning that there are those amongst us that try to shoot clean and that it’s fine with me but it ain’t my style.

Do our photos reflect any kind of truth? I know that they don’t really reflect the truth that many think or expect them to do. There is a difference in the photo if the viewer is the viewer or if the viewer is the shooter. As a viewer, the photo holds the truth of it’s own special existence, no more, no less. All that lives in the image is gazed upon and brought to life for the viewer, no questions answered and no lies become truths. The shooter as viewer has a much more interactive position because they remember the moment leading up to and exposure. The have locked in their memory banks in the brain, the experience of making the photo.

So the shooter is the problem in viewing photos because they may have made the photo with a so called Clean plate but when they view it, they are filled with the baggage that was at the moment of exposure. It it very hard to disengage the brain or mind from process to viewing.

More tomorrow………….

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street

42 Years of … Slipping … In and Out

July 27, 2016 streetshooter 8 Comments

What bugs me, to this day when I shoot in a working environment is having to slip in and out of my frame of mind. What I mean is, I do my thing in life and making photos of it. I answer to me for the most part, yes I’m married and that’s where I have to answer the most. Now the DNC is here in Philly and I find myself doing shots that are press worthy. I also find I do my own work for me.

Many years ago and I do mean many, like about 42 years ago, I did freelance work for the Bulletin Newspaper here in Philly. The assignment editor was named Jack. He called me in to the shop and explained about a soot and how he wanted it to be and how I could make like $2000.00. Well, I was all in as I was out of work, wife, kids, mortgage and Leica’s.

Jack wanted me to live and work in the Bowery. That area is no longer here and to tell the truth, I miss it and all the folks I met there…. soooo….I of course took the assignment. Jack wanted me to find the human element and the way people lived there. So, I set course to go and live there and see what I could learn. I had a green trench coat on, jeans, work boots, denim shirt. Small waist pack that held the M4, 35 Cron and a 50 Cron. I had a dozen rolls of Tri-X in my coat pocket. I learned in about 20 minutes why Jack offered me the assignment. It’s a rough area and the people living there don’t have anything to lose by waisting you and taking your shit.

When I was working on the assignment, I knew I had to get the Bacon for the paper. I also knew that I wanted to choose the bacon before I shot. My personal thoughts and emotions and everything were running on course but were also taking control of what I was to accomplish. After 3 days, I went to the shop and gave some film to Jack. He told my I smelled pretty ripe and I was kinda insulted but let it slide. about 35 minutes later we went to the light table and looked at the negs, It was like 4 or 5 rolls. Jack patted me on the back and said, great work. Now I felt super charged and as I left the office, I mentioned to Jack, look, I haven’t had a shower in 4 days. I’m sleeping n an abandoned bldg and I eat what they eat ate the mission.

One of the darkroom techs came to me and asked me if I needed anything special. I said look… there is one thing that keeps homeless people feeling like a human being and it ain’t food and it ain’t help from anyone…. it’s fucking Toilet Paper. So Adolpho gave me like a dozen rolls.

So I went back and worked and worked. I met people that amazed me. One older man way very clean kinda looking but he talked very educated. I was told his name was Doc. Turns out, he really was a doctor. Has a nice house in the suburbs, nice wife, 3 kids…all the things we are programmed to seek. Doc told me that he had an affair with a nurse and his wifes lawyer wanted to wipe him out. He went to the streets to be rid of his life and just be left alone. So I made portraits and got permission from some to use the photos and stories.

I’ll get to my point in a sec. Nah, let me get to it now. See, Jack knew better then me that when I did assignment work, I would connect to the essence of myself and the life I’m living and not distinguish between Work and Self Work.

So, now that this DNC is here, I’m making photos like I always do but there’s a clutter in my head as to what and why. I know that being in the here and now is essential and being there with an open hear and mind is also essential. Then to be there with a focused, awake intent, well…. it doesn’t get better then that.

So, regardless of the subject matter you choose, or cheeses you and regardless of the intent you impose on your work or allow the intent to impose on you…the important thing is just doing and feeling. The results need only matter to you. If your an assignment shooter, the same holds true.

Being aware and able to Slip in an out of your self and the frame is a gift that not everyone can tackle. The rewards are not just the pay you get or the amount of more work, or even the fame that comes with it all.

The reward is being in bed at night and drifting to sleep and being excited to be able to go out tomorrow and find photos that satisfy you. The gift is having the peace of mind and the knowledge that above all else in the universe, your a photographer and you know your doing the right thing for your life’s work.

Have a blessed evening and I’ll be back tomorrow if I’m supposed to be. If I don’t make it, there’s a shitload of stuff to read here…..

shooter out……………………………………………………………………………………

Philosophy of Street

It’s The Time of the Season

July 5, 2016 streetshooter 11 Comments

Damn hot & humid. For real. I see tourist with du rags on their head, towels over the shoulders and people selling Ice Cold water running out. Amazing. Personally I love the hot weather but I have an issue when the heat mixes with the humidity.

So, Andre’ the Fuji X100T and I were out on a walk-a-bout. We covered a few miles and made some photos. Some won’t get posted because they belong to a project I am working on, Faces and Spaces. The happen to be the better images because my intent is flying high on that project and I just see it. This stuff is basically Flikr & Facebook stuff. I try to support the community at both places and I feel it’s important to do that.

So, we are cruising around City Hall and going thru the walk ways. I used to do that with Ed Bacon but now I just have the memories of him telling me all sorts of facts as we walked around the building. Then as I went thru the West corridor heading to the East corridor, I get a glimpse of a young woman walking with a bag in her hand and it has a face of Marilyn Monroe. Now, she’s young and I’m not so young.This means she can walk faster then I can even see but I wanna make a photo so I focus on her and realize, it ain’t gonna happen cause she’s far ahead of me. The, the Angel of Grace floated down to her and put some other woman next to her. I thought geeze, I need to get the Angel a present. I walk close and know it’s just a one shot deal and I know what I want and get close and ….CLICK!

The great thing about photography is seeing how things get when they are flat. It’s a real amazing experience and then to make it B&W, well…..

I remember going to museum and Ding showing me photos. Sometimes I would see a self portrait of the shooter and could not stop looking at it. I wanted to understand that person just by seeing them in a photo. Then I learned that I would realize that person by the body of work they produced.

What I found and still do, is selfies, selfies by anyone interest me. I have many of myself for all these decades. Maybe when we look at someones work, we see what that person felt and saw and responded to at the moment. When we see a selfie of that person, for some reason, they become human and they are real for us. It’s a trick of photography. A trick of freezing time. A trick of Life after Death.

I used to wonder what people that were not photographers saw and what they responded to in photos. Now that an exercise one can only dabble in but must at certain points in our life. I remember many moons ago I had been at the Museum and Ding picked a handful of my prints that her liked and felt were worth owning.

I was excited. I went home and when I got there my in-laws were there. I showed my prints that Ding wanted to my wife and she smiled and was proud and happy for me. My Mother-in-Law came over and asked me…:Donald, why do you always make pictures of nothing?

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

STREETS OF PHILADELPHIA … A VISUAL DIARY … PAGE 67 … FUJI X100T

April 20, 2016 streetshooter 8 Comments

So I been having Issues with Word Press. I won’t get into it cause my anger level is about 1400 pts above the safety valve. It ain’t a pretty picture when I get the anger going.

Anger management class, been going for a long time…. bullshit, outta my way dudes. Word Press started a war and I am in it for keeps.

I did get to the streets and make some photos. I went with Andre’ the Fuji X100T. Ya know he’s a great friend and does what ya want a camera to do. I mean as long as ya like the 35mm FOV.

So I met Polly again and she is still concerned in finding images that mean something to her. She’s been thru the wringer with cameras and usually goes for good quality in all respects and also ask me what I’m using a few days before we meet. Hmmmm, maybe that’s why she always has the same as me when we meet. It’s ok, her findings with the Leica M’s was similar to mine. I love the cameras, always did for almost 50 years. I just can’t focus the Range Finder anymore. Vision combined with tremors and the Fuji X100T is a life saver.

Polly is concerned with acceptance syndrome. It’s an affliction that most fall prey to from time to time. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I live in that illness. I’m so used to it that it doesn’t really bother me anymore but I am totally aware of it.

See, when the affliction is running rampage thru your mind and everything else, all you think about is having gratification from others to justify what your doing. Maybe we all need that. I mean, FaceBook, Flickr, 500px and all the other sites capitalize upon this illness. You shoot and process and then post to your places and hunger for the attention from others. It’s normal and there’s nothing wrong with it but…..you have to make sure that you are staying true to your vision and not shooting to satisfy others.

There’s a definite satisfaction getting props from others. There’s a mature satisfaction getting what you feel and see as yourself. It’s real nice to have others FAV or make a Comment on your work. Very nice. It’s better, for me, to see my work as what I feel represents me. I mean, making a photo with the camera and bringing it to light and loving it, is the most rewarding feeling there is. Well, unless you do all that and others love it too. Maybe that’s kinda cool, for sure but you can’t let that stop you or detour you from finding yourself.

I hope this finds you all in good health and surrounded by peace.

I’ll be back…………….

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street, Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

Streets Of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 66 … Reflecting Reflections … Fuji X100T

April 9, 2016 streetshooter 10 Comments

It was friggin cold again. I know I’m old and cold inside but I’m talking about the weather, COLD! Andre’ was cold too and he’s no help keeping my hand warm. There be a cold metal feeling to him and it’s not pleasant all the time. Ya know… maybe it’s the cold metal of Andre’ the Fuji X100T that awakens something in me. Maybe it’s the cold feeling and the craving for warmth or even emotional warmth that I search for. I mean, Andre’ the Fuji X100T is a great friend but he don’t talk much……well, he does but not out loud. I mean him and I talk all the time. The photos we make together transcend spoken language and work in a visual way to get our point across.

We are a reflection of each other. We don’t work well without each other. It’s a synergism that I find I must have to survive. I think he feels the same but never tells me so.

To clarify, Andre’ is the name of my Fuji X100T. I name all my cameras and here’s why. I like to keep my experiences with photography as free from the world’s shit as possible. I don’t mean subject matter, I mean an adjustment on the psychology of working. I want there to be a difference between being a carpenter and a photographer. A carpenter works with his/her tools to get the job done properly and efficiently.

As a photographer I practice and it is my life’s work. I always knew it was and hope to continue on the journey. Doesn’t that mean more to me than being a carpenter? I use carpenter as an analogy for anything I would or have done in the past but not only the past but maybe the present and the future.

For me, thinking and feeling that my life has been about my photography and photography has been my life, it seems fitting to name things so that I may attach more closely to it. My oldest daughter is named, Bethany Ansel. My Son’s name is Paul Weston. I didn’t call them child # 1 and child #2. I kinda love them and they were given names that were born out of love.

So, I could be like many shooters and just go thru life making photos and not really connecting but thinking I am. Instead, I’m the guy many think is nutz and crazy cause I name my cameras, because the camera is a metaphor for my entire photographic process. I stand guilty as charged.

So Andre’ and I were on a walkabout and we were at the Historic Park. This is where the Liberty Bell loves. It wasn’t always here but some smart ass politician decided years ago that more people could see it if it had it’s own house with easier access. Anyway, I am a fool and I believe in History and i believe that it means something. I also believe that feelings come to us from the past and if we are open for them, we get messages that may or may not have importance but we get them anyway.

So, I been reflecting on the reflections of the thoughts of my life. Maybe youse didn’t get it and that’s a shame cause I do and did and hopefully will again.

I will say this, if you name your camera then you get me. If you don’t but want to means you may get me. If you don’t give a shit about a name for your camera and process that you love and cherish cause it gives you reason to continue…well, your a politician anyway.

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

Streets Of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 65 … Fuji X100T … Explaining Making A Photo

April 7, 2016 streetshooter 5 Comments

………. well, I don’t think that’s the case all the time. I mean….ohhh, scuse me, folks didn’t realize you were here, hang on a min plz….. Doc, I gotta go, my friends are here and I have to pay attention to them.

Sorry all youse fine people, I was chatting with my Doc about my trigger mechanisms. Yeah, you know, those things inside you that are activated by the things out there when youin’s are making photos. Well, Doc wanted me to explore these trigger mechanisms and show him visual examples of what they are.

I mean, look at the photo above. I kinda think that it’s related to Depression. It’s true, it’s true but that’s not the trigger, that’s the subject. See, I saw this guy at the terminal and didn’t want to bother him by asking to make a photo of him cause I rarely ever did that and still rarely don’t do that. For me, it’s about elements and the way they fall together either in Harmony or Disharmony. Sometimes it can be both together. No set rules in Shooter world except seeing and feeling and responding.

Anyway, I looked at this guy and I was on my way to see my Shrink at the VA Hospital. It was the start of an interesting image and I guess maybe many would click on sight but I kinda wanted something more. So, I made a call to my mind and asked it what it thought about this. Well, there was a meeting between the eye, heart and mind about said subject matter and then called me and said….”wait for the juxtaposition”. Big friggin help guys, WTF does that mean.

“wait for the juxtaposition shooter, see the light”. Big friggin help guys, WTF does that mean.

Big friggin help guys, WTF does that mean.

Turns out, Central CommandCenter, commonly known as Shooters essence and brain decided to bypass ME and send the message to Andre’ the Fuji X100T. So, I’m in the middle of all this shit going on….the meeting between, eye, heart and mind, the camera, known as, Andre’ the Fuji X100T and the subject and waiting for WHAT? WTF am I waiting for…. 47 million shooters would have made the photo already,….WTF am I waiting for…..

……….then, very softly in me poor brain…a few words……. wait for the trigger mechanism……

well, all this above happened in about….. 1/1000 of a sec. then, then with theGrace of Mother Light, then when all was just about in place, then I saw and felt the darkness get darker and the depression grow for my guy in the photo and for me and all the sudden,

the most magnificent thing in all the world, MOTHERLIGHT shined her beacon of brightness and hope and made the separation between hope and despair and her light, with royalty and love and compassion shined so bright and showed me the way to the photo finish.

I got a kick in the brain as the eye, heart and mind said MAKE THE FRIGGIN PHOTO STUPID………CLICK!

Now that was an exercise….

I walked a little while downtown and saw this and Click!

Black & White, Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street, Street Photography

Streets Of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 64 … In Search Of…..?

April 6, 2016 streetshooter 6 Comments

Word on the street is, that I ain’t the only one in search of….something. Oh yeah, youse don’t get off that easy. I hear tell that each and every one of youse is searching for….something. Now this might just be a Philly phenomenon but I don’t think so and I don’t believe it no matter what anyone says or doesn’t say or implies or not. It’s human nature to be searching for something and we all as humans do that.

This does not apply to politicians as they lost the humanness when the were elected to office and forgot about being a compassionate human and just became a money hungry greedy piece of shit that robs from all Americans and doesn’t do anything but rob more and more. Enuff of politics. So the political types are searching for money and power but they don’t know that the DEVIL is searching for them to…well, it ain’t gonna be a pretty picture.

So, back to the brighter side of depression that we all have and don’t need to search for……. The point is, that all this stuff inside you gets activated when you work and make photos. No matter how good your Mind’s filing system is, it can’t help but let out some shit it has stored when you work. So, this stuff will and can influence what you see and do out there. It’s the basis of the struggle of ART. Yes, photography is an art form just like painting or anything else.

So, it works kinda like this. We have input and out put. The mind sorts thru the stuff it has filied and is adding to the junk bin and sends signals down to the heart and eye. The eye and heart try to decipher all the crap that the mind is sending and also, all thestuff that is being brought to the mix from what they see outside the mind. I call it “Instant Recognition” See, we get stuff in that interest us and we need to process the stuff in our mind and find a middle ground so that we are free to make photos.

The point is that we are saturated with input so then how to get clean output? That is a problem huh? Don’t look to me for the answers cause I’m as lost as you are. I know this, I work and make photos without too many preconceptions getting in the way. (or so I think)

The thing for me is to recognize trigger mechanisms. The things that make us see and shoot. Missing these and your out there in never never land and you might as well be a politician. Why, because without trigger mechanisms and the recognition of them FOR YOU, means you ain’t connected to your self. If that’s the case, decide if your a Democrat or Republician and want to be in office, cause you lost your humanity anywy.

Trigger mechanisme are the fruit of being on the street. Of course that means all of photography, not just street. I think it’s a beautiful thing to be out in LIFE and make photos. I love feeling awake and aware and when I release the camera, I feel connected to my work. It’s why I name my cameras. Today Andre’ the Fuji X100T and I will go out and see what we can find…..we will search together…….

What are youse searching for…..?

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, One Shot, Philosophy of Street

Streets of Atlantic City … A Visual Diary … Page 62 … The Difficulty of a Single Shot

April 3, 2016 streetshooter Leave a comment

All along I have been going out like I was fishing. I mean every fisher person wants that big ass LUNKER. So they fish and fish and hope for the BIG ASS LUNKER SON OF A BITCH FISH THAT WEIGHS 700LBS AND IS 45′ LONG. What a tale to be told. Well, photography is very similar if you think about it…. and even if you don’t think about it.

See, we have cameras that shoot 2000 FPS and get each exposure perfect and I mean damn perfect! But maybe I’m going off on one of my Streetshooter needs some candy modes or tangents. Well, here it is, nice and neat and compact with all the frills taken out and left stripped bare ass naked and just the facts counselor, just the facts.

What it comes down to is this. It’s really about the Inverse Square Law again and me thinks we ain’t gotz no choice but to abide by dat dere law. It says kinda simply stated that less is more and more is less.

So to apply that to our work is difficult. I mean it’s easy to go out and think about getting some photos that you like but damn….it’s a Mother Fugger, (no cursing here) to just go out and search for just 1 photo. Sure, maybe you shoot 25,789 frames per hour but you just need that one BIG ASS LUNKER of a PHOTO. to make the day. This, my friends, is not an easy task.

I have been doing this for a long time and I fall prey to my have fun with my cameras and don’t worry about making a good photo cause tomorrow is another day anyway. Well, is it really. I mean who’s got the inside info on when we exit the stage?

I’m not saying that every photo should be worth dying fir, don’t get it wrong.

I am saying that every photo you feel connected to is worth living for.

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

Street Photography Chronicles by Don Springer