Tag Archives: Eye, Heart & Mind

Black & White, Color, Dreamcatcher, Garden, Inspired Eye, Off Street, Philosophy of Street, Photography, Street, Street Photography, Street Presets, Streetshooter, Uncategorized

Philadelphia … August 28, 2013

August 28, 2013 streetshooter Leave a comment

These photos were made yesterday. After I got home yesterday I had to wash some dishes, make the bed and a man’s favorite thing in the world to do….. change the cat litter. Oh yeah, talking about getting in to the poopie, well this is the highest form of what that means.

My cats name is Barsik. My wife Tanya tells me that it’s a good Russian name for a cat. I love my cat, he keeps me company while Tanya is away with her family. I feed him, make photos of him pet him and most of all…..clean his toilet. Oh yeah….I’m that guy. Ya know…I wouldn’t mind so much but Barsik just sits there while I scoop the litter and inspects everything I do.

See, he understands English very well. If I ask him if he wants to go out, he walks to the kitchen door and is ready. If I ask him if he wants some food, he goes right to his clean bowl that I was 3xs a day. If I ask him if hes tired, he goes and lays down and takes a nap. He’s a professional sleeper and I’m told that sleeping is a trait that all cats no matter where on the LORDS green earth live, they share that and do so very professionally.

With all this that he has going on, why does he have to sit 1 meter away from me and watch while I clean his S**T?

I notice that many people don’t seem real happy these days. Of course we all know the economy has improved. I mean all the politicians, doctors, lawyers are taking wonderful vacations while the majority of citizens that pay their salary are home cleaning cat shit from the litter. There’s a certain reward in that. NO! Not cleaning the shit but taking paid vacations from people that can’t afford it.

Am I being CRUDE? Maybe….Am I being sarcastic and political, maybe. What’s this got to do with photography?????????????

This attitude is the attitude on the street. That’s what is permeating the air on the street. That’s what shooters are seeing and making photos of on the street.

So the stuff is out there if one chooses to find it. It’s almost impossible to miss it well….unless your a politician, doctor or lawyer etc. If your just a human being, the smell and visual playground of the street is where you will find your work…..be careful…you’ll probably find yourself out there too. See, the streets are unavoidable because if your a living person, then you’ll find life out there. The street is life.

Well, enuff fun for me. See, Barsik wants a snack. That means I get to lay on the couch and watch Jerry Springer and throw pieces of cat treats to the dining room so that Barsik can chase them and have some goodies to eat. No, I did not train Barsik to do this….I am very open minded and he taught me well. After that I get to go to Barsik’s toilet and clean the fresh new poopie from the litter.

It’s raining out so I can’t go out and make photos so I’ll play with Barsik, think of Tanya and let’s see…hmmmm…0800…time for a Kona.

Black & White, Color, Dreamcatcher, Garden, Inspired Eye, Off Street, Philosophy of Street, Photography, Street, Street Photography, Street Presets, Streetshooter, Uncategorized

Philadelphia … August 26, 2013

August 26, 2013 streetshooter 1 Comment

From now on, I’m planning on titling the blog post on the date like above. If you have a better idea, let me know…..thanks…don

The weather was nice this morning. Uh…let me see… I’ll explain the way youse will grasp it. Slightly overcast and exposure about 1/400 f/8. Choose your own ISO. My cameras choose mine. I got off the Elevated train at 30th St Station so that I could get the tickets for New Your on the 5th of Sept.

I’m hiring that guy up front to walk around the city to entice shy shooters to make photos. I think it’s a better idea than what that other guy teaches. Anyway, this New York thing is Olivier’s idea. Well, he started the idea and then we both got it rolling the way we do. It’s a funny thing….I’ve taught workshops live on the street but never did a Video. I was reluctant at first but the kids energy just feeds me in a way that I see things his way and then we make it our way.

The Inspired Eye magazine is proof that it works. He’s the driving force behind that until we get it going. The Presets are basically my idea from concept to delivery to Oliver and then he packages it real nice and sends me a little money once in a while because they are selling….my wife likes that part the most.

What the hell’s all this got to do with making photos Shooter? …… Relax…..I’m getting there. Well, this about a frame of mind. See, when you get preoccupied with things they have a way of flooding into everything your doing.

See that guy over there……nope, the one behind that young lady…..yeah that’s him. He’s lucky cause he’s got the means to allocate the energy moving around his life. That lady there with the yellow dress, she’s a secretary and takes her work home all the time. Then there’s the plumber, electrician, teacher, IT person, lawyer etc.

Everyone has to serve somebody. Geeze, Dylan said that. So what that means is, when you get out there on the street, you must know how to get into the here and now and work to the most focused way that you can.

Variation On A Theme Part 1

Variation On A Theme Part 2

Some of you get me and that’s very cool. Some don’t and I hope someday they do. For the most part, I’m just a guy that’s totally involved in photography and always was and always will be. I believe the way things progress and get better is if someone has knowledge about something, that person has a responsibility to spread it around and does. That’s all I’m trying to do.

Till next time, get the hell out there and make photos……..

Black & White, Color, Dreamcatcher, Garden, Inspired Eye, Off Street, Philosophy of Street, Photography, Street, Street Photography, Street Presets, Streetshooter, Uncategorized

Streetshooter’s camera and lenses had a union meeting…….

August 24, 2013 streetshooter Leave a comment

It’s a great thing to think of a camera as a tool. Man o’ man, I wish I could do that. Such a shame that I can’t……so the GXR has been pardoned and saved by Nex6. Oh yeah, I think they planned it all along.

See, I put the GXR M on eBay the other day because I wasn’t using it as much as I should because the GR was hoggin’ the limelight and the Nex6 was afraid to speak up. Well, low and behold it didn’t sell. The Nex6 told me to think about what I was doing…..hmmmm methinks I should listen to my cameras.

So I set up a meeting with the camera crew and of course the lenses wanted to have their say also. Well of course GR got nervous because she’s a one eyed camera. Look, she tried to convince all of us that she can see like 35mm and even 21mm if I wanted to. GXR M told her that GRD4 had that covered and was even better with grit than her…….I know she was pissed but she maintained her cool….

Well, here’s what they wanted me to think about and plan on doing. It was agreed by GXR M, Nex6 and GRD4 that GR was a bitch and had a bad attitude. GRD4 said that he needed a long earned break but not retirement, just some time off with pay. We all agreed and then GR told GRD4 that he was being replaced by a classier her….hmmmmmm I wonder about that…….

Well, Nex6 got pissed off at me and said that it wasn’t fair that he had to do all the lens crap I like to do. He said he wanted to choose which lens and when it would be used by him. Then Nex6 stated that GXR M could cover like he could but without a finder, could make me work differently. I thought about it for a spell and agreed to spend time this weekend to try this 2 camera thing out. Ya know, it’s so crazy…it just might work.

I asked the cameras which lens they wanted to use and they agreed that Nex6 would mount the 35mm 1.4 Nokton and GXR M would mount the 21mm Skopar. GR would just sleep in the bag and come to work only in an emergency. Of course Nex6 and GXR M and myself set out to prove that we could do it all and not need the GR bitch for the weekend. She smirked and took a nap in the camera bag. That’s another story and I’ll get into it tomorrow after I get back from the days shoot.

I told the cameras and lenses and bag that I was the president of the union, the treasurer and the shop steward so I decide what, when and who do what.

They all told me to F+++++ off and that they would get both computers, the iPhone 5 and LR5 on board with them if I didn’t watch myself.

So I don’t call my gear tools, first off I’m not allowed. That’s in clause 119 section 21 of the contract we all signed. I found out why the GXR M didn’t sell…… HP Envy sabotaged the listing so that it wouldn’t. This was Nex6’s idea and it worked.

Maybe you think I’m crazy and that’s a strong possibility but I love my cameras and gear and they love me back.

I’ll do another post here tomorrow and put some shots from the day…..

Thanks all…

Black & White, Color, Dreamcatcher, Garden, Inspired Eye, Off Street, Philosophy of Street, Photography, Street, Street Photography, Street Presets, Streetshooter, Uncategorized

The Camera’s Intent “Memory” for the Eye, Heart & Mind … Part 2

August 14, 2013 streetshooter 4 Comments

Here’s what’s going on with INTENT. There is the INTENT of MEMORY and the MEMORY of INTENT.

The intent of memory is like when you make a family snapshot. The photo above is of my daughter when she was around 7 years old, I no longer have the exact time in my memory and am thankful that this photo was made to remind me of her at such a young age. She will turn 40 on Sat 8/17/13. So this clearly shows the intent of memory. It means I wanted to make a photo of a certain person in a certain place in time. I wanted to make a record. In this case of someone that was/is a major part of my memory in this life experience.

So with this in mind, I made the photo fully aware that it shall outlive me and probably her. Our families of the future will see the photo and hold it special because it’s a record of existence for both of us. This is the INTENT of MEMORY. My INTENT was to make a lasting memory as a record for future family members.

Tanya made this with a cellphone. I don’t remember which one, her’s or mine nor do I care. The cat’s name is Barsik. It’s Barsik because Barsik is a good cat name for cats in Russia. The guy under the cat is me but I don’t remember my name nor do I care.

Her intent is very obvious. She wanted to make a photo of her family here in the house. Her INTENT was to make a lasting MEMORY. Thus, the intent of memory. She is not a shooter, she is a person that wanted to make a memory. In that respect, she has made a great photo. Think about this………. a little more………….ok, get it. Her intent was met and succeeded without all the hoopla that we shooters apply to our art.

The art of living should be met with as much respect by shooters as the art of knowledgeable image making. The two are inseparable to those that follow the path of the EYE, HEART and MIND.

Next…side two, the reverse but yet the same.

Street Photography Chronicles by Don Springer