Tag Archives: Eye, Heart & Mind

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 28 … Street … Deciphering and Realizing Intent

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Sometimes when I’m out making photos, I start to get a feeling of some sort. I mean I don’t try to define it emotionally or with words but I try to see it and make a photo of it. That must be my intent turning on and guiding me thru the world I am in and helping me to find visually what inside I am feeling. It is not an easy process but one I would never want to be without. So at what point do I determine if my efforts have realized what my intent was after. Well, it’s a process. I guess there are steps to realize intent and not always the same steps and not always the same order of steps. Not that is so ambiguous, but it tries to clarify the ambiguity of the image and even before it is captured at times, in fact, many times.

The above photo: I saw this steam coming from the ground. it was blowing out the highlights, perfect for me. I saw the light overhead and it made the steam into something more surreal, more of a piece of a dream. I’m under a tunnel so it’s dark all around, but the light shines into the darkness and makes it not so fearful. I love what I’m seeing, but I’m not seeing enough. I looked up and saw the light at the end of the tunnel, the glow was growing and I could feel the photo being formed and wanted it to be born. I looked down again and moved slightly left to create tension with the lines and then quickly looked up. I couldn’t believe my eyes. All the sudden out of nowhere the Photo Angel sent me a the Angel of darkness and I saw my photo…..Click.

The thing is, to have all three elements of the self-find and realize your intent. The Eye, Heart and Mind work together to find the subject and realize the intent. The entire process from start to finish is ambiguous and should be allowed to remain that way.

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Some say that I am obsessed with death. Maybe that’s true but who isn’t. It’s the one question we never live to get an answer too. I was at the Frankford Transportation Center, my favorite place to work, and I saw this guy with a face on his belly. It looked like the face was coming out of him. I knew before release that this photo would require post processing but I knew what it would need. Click……..

When I imported the photos into LightRoom, I saw this one and it was ok but not finished. So I opened the Develop Module and started to relax. I remembered what I was feeling at release and open my presets. ( I got these Presets from a guy named Shooter. My shrink says he’s the same as me but I don’t believe it.)…. I clicked thru a few and hit this one. It’s Afterlife. A little tweaking here and there and I saw what I felt and wanted to feel. I realized my intent.

Have a blessed day…….. end transmission …………..

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 27 … Street … Camera Bag Syndrome Pt1 … Fuji X100s

It’s starting to get cold here in the City of Brotherly Love. I mean will still have lots of warm weather but the fall brings with it, the fall ing light. There’s a noticeable change in the general attitude of people. I notice a change in my mindset also. I try to sort things out before I have to see my shrink at the VA. Ok, time for me to fess up……

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I am an addict. I been since I was in my early 20’s. Yes, true and I hide it really well. Oh no, no, no my friends…not Smack, known as heroin, no no, no alcohol, and not maryhoonie even the medical kind. My addiction is for camera bags. Camera bags of all kinds, all types, colors, sizes, makes any camera bag has the potential to satisfy my addiction…well for a little bit.

Ok here goes…… this time of year is exciting for me but not only because of the delicious light and shadows, but because of the fact I wear a jacket. Wearing a jacket is like having a very nice camera bag all over you. Pockets baby. I love pockets. I love the freedom of having a camera, extra battery and a lens pen and that’s it.

Of course this does not take into conssideration how the cameras in the cabinet feel. They start to get itchy about getting out in the Fall light. This starts the Camera Bag Carrying Syndrome. Yeah, c’mon, if your a shooter, you get this and don’t hide behind the door and pretend you don’t. I recently did a survey and it seems that most shooters between the age of 16 and 90 have more camera bags then lenses. What does this tell us, not much I suppose but it’s interesting to do surveys like this.

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See, during the cooler months a good camera bag is essential. I tell myself this because I want to justify having all these nice bags. I also want to justify having all these nice cameras. It’s Fall and time to get a bag together and get some cameras off the shelf into that bag.

The thing for me is, that when I use a bag, I want to carry more then I need to make photos. Oh yeah, don’t kid yourself, that’s an issue. For decades I used an M camera with a 35mm lens. I traveled and never felt inadequate with just one lens. That’s the reason for the Fuji X100s. One lens, 35mm, perfect with 3 methods of seeing. How does all this camera switching stuff affect vision. Well, it has a great effect on the finished image. It’s not just perspective that changes as the camera moves, it’s the idea of the image and the emotional impact that is changing also. I don’t believe what others say about not rattling the cage. I believe that our cages need to be rattled as much as possible.

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I think changing cameras, lenses BAGS etc is all very healthy and creative. We as shooters need the challenge of defeating complacency on a daily basis. We don’t always win but we must continue to struggle and fight so that we survive the vast desert of boredom and complacency. Changing a lens, camera whatever open the heart and mind to a new way of thinking. The eye starts to see differently and this is all good for the common cause of creativity. A camera bag is crucial. It is your best friend for new vision. It makes you want to fill it and use different things in your quest for the next photo.

Yeah sure, it’s great to be free of the extra stuff and just use a camera and a lens. I did it for most of my 66 years but! The truth is that when I get to a point that I’d rather paint the bathroom, that’s the time to load the bag with some cameras, hit the streets and open my Eye, Heart and Mind.

……………shooter out……………………………………………….

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 22 … Street … Auto ISO … On Seeing

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So I be explaining to Linda about the ZEN of Photography but really the Zen of Street. This does not apply to everyone and I am just explaining how I do things and how right it is. Photography is about light. This means that LIGHT is the main thing shooters need to be able to respond to and more importantly, understand. The way we feel and interpret light is what makes each of us different with the same tools and same things.

Back in the last Century I used mostly Leica M cameras and didn’t use a Light Meter too often. I just looked and felt the light and then set my exposure. I had many light meters but I prided myself on feeling my exposure. Some of my friends would test me when we were out shooting and ask me what the exposure was. I would quickly call back my interpretation of the exposure. 90% of the time i was within 1/2 stop.

This ability is ever so important now in the digital world. It’s very easy to get consumed by the ease and convenience of digi-cams. Even the lowest priced offers things that high end film cameras didn’t back then.  The point is that feeling the light and making the exposure the way you experience it is a birth right to all shooters. The Auto-ISO feature supports this in a way that is more then anyone could think back in the day.

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I was asked by some friends here to explain more about M Mode and I will with the next post. But for now, back to Linda and her quest. It seems her brothers filled her head with as much shit as anyone could and she was almost consumed by it all. She insisted she wanted to make photos the way she wanted to and not by the guidelines her brothers instilled in her.

So I realized the her creativity and more were encapsulated in a shell that I would have to find a way to crack open so she could emerge into her own being.

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It seems that we all at one time or another suffer the same symptoms as Linda. Just meandering thru the world in a way that we feel lost or disconnected from the well-being of ourselves. We lose our individuality, our self worth and even out independent personality. We become a number and are forced to accept that as it is placed upon us. For photographers this is especially life threatening. We have the ability to record what is in front of us and that should keep us awake. The luxury of vision is share with other photographers and we see their work and that adds to the comfort and discomfort of our world.

In time we come up with a starting point for the definition of ourselves and seek to find it thru our work. It keeps us humble, sometimes and rattles our cage when we get to cocky and think what we do is all important. We continue on a life long journey of finding the self and we record and make photos along the way.

For me this process is one I hold Holy because in the end, I want my photos to survive me and to give a glimpse of what the world looked like thru my mind, heart and eye while I was here.  Will those photos speak truth. No, it will be the truth as I have presented it to be from my reactions to and from my love of life and death. They will just be photos from another fucked up shooter that made his life’s work to entertain others. I think that’s a damn fine way to end it all.

I work as if the end is coming….but not yet my friends, not yet.

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 21 … Street …Finding Your Way … Change Your Way of Thinking

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This excerpt is from the previous post so we can refresh our minds….

I asked if she could explain the rules of photography to me and she tried. “Street photography must be… it can not be, it has to have…. you can’t do this…..” So I told her that she has to free her mind and change her way of thinking.

She says that her teachers… told her that street is an attitude, or a way to think, etc. She asked me what I felt street was and I told her, street is a place to make photos. Attitude, come with me to Kensington Ave and make photos of the hookers, junkies and cops… now ya have attitude.

The beauty of art is, we are all in the same boat in the same place and yet those true to heart see things differently and attempt to make their art more of themselves then of and for anyone else. She had a glazed eye look about her and I recognized it because I adopt that look when I but a camera and Tanya finds out… I kinda just sit like a little boy with glazed eyes and act like I’m sorry for being bad.

Ok I will use the name Linda as she would rather not be identified by name. Ok, I get it… I told Linda not to worry cause everyone reading this knows me by streetshooter and no one knows it’s really Don Springer and I’ll keep her secret if she keeps mine.

I met Linda at 2nd & Market streets and we walked towards the Historic Park. Once we arrived, we sat on my favorite bench and she seemed kinda down in the dumps. We started talking and Linda said that much of her problems were due to her 2 brothers always telling her what to do. She bought and uses a Fuji X100s and they say it’s the wrong camera. Well, I told her that Andre’ the Fuji X100s would be beside himself. She smiled and asked me if I really named my cameras. I acted very surprised to learn she didn’t. So I told her first up is to name her camera. Quickly she named it Gina. She smiled and was glad at my approval.

So I asked her what mode she used on Gina and she said “A” 90% of the time. Then I started to explain the benefits of using “M” mode and we talked about it for a good while. So I explained that M mode keeps you in the scene and in the here and now. See, Manual mode requires you to have an understanding of light and exposure. You feel the light not just look at it and you feel the exposure not just make it.  The she asked THEE QUESTION…. what happens if the exposure is off? I said my cameras, all of them have Auto ISO or I don’t have them.

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So I took her camera and set it up like mine and she had settings that were like from another planet. I then showed her how to use Auto ISO and explained that this is the most efficient way to keep some control over what’s happening. I explained that if I set the camera to f5.6 1/250, the ISO will adjust according to the light to maintain proper exposure. So I could shoot for a certain aperture or shutter speed and the camera makes the ISO  If I wanted to play more, I could set the exposure way off and the ISO would have to jump or lower to meet the exposure. So maybe in medium to low light I could push the ISO up by making the exposure force the ISO. Like I could set the camera to 1/250 F5.6 and the ISO would just to like 3200 or 64oo. This would give me qualities I might want in the photo. Like for example, grain and maybe irradiation in the high tones. Or maybe I would set the camera to like… 1/60 f/4 and then the ISO might drop to 400 or 250. This would give a cleaner image.

I figured that her and I need to get the mechanical issues under control before we get to the aesthetic ones. Of course, we need to get rid of the brothers issues before we do anything and that’s on Linda…….So I greed to meet her again tomorrow morning and work some more things out…..

Meds kicking in… gotta sleep…… ni ni alls…………………………………………………………….

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 20 … Street …Finding Your Way

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So I hear squabbling on the camera shelf. Oh yeah I hear it I tell ya and my shrink at the VA says I hear it too soooo? Well, anyway as it turns out Andre’ the Fuji X100s and Garry the Nikon Coolpix A got into it. No fist were thrown, c’mon cameras might talk and curse but they ain’t got no hands to fight with. So that means in a camera battle, features are what wins the war. As it turns out Garry the Nikon Coolpix A decided he wanted to move and find a new partner. Andre’ and Walker the Oly Pen EP-5 were both happy. So I packed Garry up and got him ready for someone to love him. In actuality, I have only made 701 frames with him and that’s not using a camera at all and he’s right, he should be with someone that will appreciate him and use him.

Then Penelope the Ricoh GRD4 jumped to my shoulder and whispered in that sweet voice she has, listen babe, I got you covered and you know that. Never worry about the guys, it’s you and me on the long run.

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So I realized she was right and started to feel calm again. I put the add up on eBay for Garry and he was acquired in a fast auction. He’s moving to Portland Oregon. So that allowed me to make a deal on a Mint Condition Pen EP-5. So now I have a pair and how sweet it is.

I remember being an Admin at MU-43.com with Amin. I was ecstatic when the Pen 1 came out. I fell in love immediately and then the Pen 2 and the Pen 3. The Pen EP-5 takes the line to an entire to range. I just love this camera.

Enuff camera chatter………… So I’m on 9th Street walking south and I hear a voice call my name. I stop, turn around and I see 3 ppl with cameras dangling around their necks. (All 3 are members of the Inspired Eye and Flickr stuff, so I won’t mention names)…. 2 guys and 1 girl. They are in their mid 30’s. S we do intro’s and such and they ask me to go grab a bite to eat and chat. I ask what they wanna eat and they respond with Ramen. They just made the right decision. So, I suggested we walk and work the streets as we do. the 2 guys want to walk on the other side of the street. The girl wants to walk with me and ask questions. Sure… we start walking…. westbound on Market and have to get to 18th Street.

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So we get to 12th Street and I saw this. Quickly I frame and ….click!  So the girl says, can I see the photo? Sure but it’s not born yet till I butcher it up in LR. She looks at the screen on the camera and states, you did that so fast, how could you even see it? Here we go, I start to explain that we need to be tuned into the environment and be at the ready when something tickles our fancy.

The she says, the sin of all time to me…. “but you didn’t observe the rules of street shooting”.  I didn’t have any toilet paper so I couldn’t take a dump and I was totally beside myself. I looked her dead in the eyes and I said, what f***ing rules are they and who the F*****k made them and taught them to you? So her and I stopped at 13th street and sat on a bench. The guys kept walking. She apologized for saying I was breaking the rules. I told her I need a saw so I can cut her head open and reprocess the thing in there called a brain. She smiled.

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So she started telling me about how she felt so inhibited and inept at making photos on the street. She said that every time she was out shooting, she was afraid to be doing something wrong. I felt really bad for her, I mean she is very nice, dedicated, sincere and her optimism was extinguishing. So she asked me if I did workshops and I stated that I don’t anymore but I have been working with 2 woman about her age from Japan. I said I would call the and if it was ok, she could join our sessions. She was excited and asked how long to find out, I said a few minutes. I called Polly and she agreed next session that she could go. I told her that her boyfriends were not invited. They aren’t my boyfriends, they are my brothers. ….cool.

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So I set a morning session up for Monday and even the POPE might attend…..

I asked if she could explain the rules of photography to me and she tried. “Street photography must be… it can not be, it has to have…. you can’t do this…..” So I told her that she has to free her mind and change her way of thinking.

She says that her teachers… told her that street is an attitude, or a way to think, etc. She asked me what I felt street was and I told her, street is a place to make photos. Attitude, come with me to Kensington Ave and make photos of the hookers, junkies and cops… now ya have attitude.

The beauty of art is, we are all in the same boat in the same place and yet those true to heart see things differently and attempt to make their art more of themselves then of and for anyone else. She had a glazed eye look about her and I recognized it because I adopt that look when I but a camera and Tanya finds out… I kinda just sit like a little boy with glazed eyes and act like I’m sorry for being bad.

Dinner time so I’ll do more tomorrow….. I promise it will be interesting…..

…………………….shooter out………………………………………………………………………………

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 19 … Rainy Day … the Fuji X100s

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So I’m on the couch watching CNN and I hear a ruckus upstairs. I start to walk up the steps and it becomes obvious that the noise is coming from the office or back bedroom. So, slowly I walk down the hallway, being very careful so the cameras that are sleeping don’t wake up. Quietly I walk into the office and there, there on the 1st shelf, there on the 1st shelf all by his lonesome is Andre’ the Fuji X100s dancing. Not a slow dance either. Ya’s gotta trust me here. If’n ya’s never saw a camera dance, well, Andre’ the Fuji X100s is dancing kinda like Disco. Oh, yes, don’t you laff at me, just because my camera dances and yours doesn’t, well, that there is your problem.

So I took the headphones off of Andre’ and as it turns out he was listening to Donna Summer. I figured, I ain’t saying nuttin, he gotz class. As I am bent over, Andre’ shoots a lasso of the Luigi Neck Strap at me and it goes right around my neck. I take this to be a subtle action that means he wants to go out. So I figure, any camera that can dance to Donna Summer, turn on the iPad and use headphones, find Donna Summer, throw a lasso of Luigi neck strap and get it right around my neck, well, he’s bad ass and I don’t mind being on the street with him.

Don’t forget my friends, he never woke any other camera up. That’s a feat in itself. 09-15-0119-Edit

Andre’ says it’s raining and maybe we should call off the shoot. Well, at this point, I felt like the hero Andre’ thinks I am. I said, look my friend, there exist a beauty in the human condition under diversity that one should go to and not run from. Andre’ the Fuji X100s looks at me and says, look kid, your a nice guy, smoked toooo much funny shit when you were a kid but all in all, your ok. What does all this have to do with being in the rain?

Ya know, he had me stumped for sure, I couldn’t answer him so I made that face like… I’ll pull your battery out sucker…. sometimes ya have to just find a natural compromise with life and it’s inhabitants. I decide and Andre’ lets me decide to just be in the beauty of the rain and to just feel our way around. I don’t mind Andre’ feeling things hanging around my neck but if he’s in my pocket, I don’t want him feeling anything down there.

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So we are in this really nice natural just wanna see and make photos of what we see mode. No expectations, preconceptions, wants, rules, suggestions, ideas, anything but just seeing.

Now I gotta tell ya, lets keep this between you and me. Andre’ the Fuji X100s is a great camera and a great friend. We have good conversations and everything. The thing is, When we are out working, he’s very quiet. Most he will do is let me have control and he usually set’s the ISO,. That’s it. So I think he figures by being this way, if the photos aren’t that good, it’s my fault and not his. Some friend huh?

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So, when I teach a class there is always someone that ask me if I talk to my camera. Well, I say, what are you crazy, cameras can’t talk. Sheeeesh, we use mental telepathy to communicate. If they get that, they have a good shot at being a human being with a camera. If not, they will struggle their entire life looking for what they can never find.

So I had Andre’ hanging around my neck. I have my left hand covering his top and like a cover over the lens. Then my right hand can raise him to my eye and he stays kinda dry. I mean I didn’t get a drop of water on the lens all day. I made a lot of photos, well for me it’s a lot but I posted just a few cause that’s what I did.

Tomorrow if you remind me I’ll show you what I did to my thumb grip. It’s a great idea and I been using it like this for a while….

no  no……. ya gotta wait till tomorrow… till then

…. be blessed on your journey……………………………………………………………………..

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 18 … Fuji X100s …Allows You to See You

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Andre’ gets me into a groove. I mean I suppose any camera can do that but with Andre’, it’s like I feel the connection more to that groove. That doesn’t mean I get better photos it just means that when I miss, I am more aware of it. Like the 2 shots on this post. It’s not like they are earth shattering or anything BUT!…. they do shoe exactly what I was going thru and how I was feeling at the moment of exposure. I wonder how important it is for a camera to help make photos that reveal you in the photo and not so much trying to please everyone else.

Maybe they all do that but I am more aware of the here and now and my presence in it with the Fuji X100s. I think the camera that taught me that the best was my Leica Black Lac M-4. The camera had no brain at all. It worked just on an emotional level. I set it and it released. Period. So I became very tuned into the mechanics of photography. No light meter, manual everything and no AF. The X100s does not work like this at all but what it does do for me is give me the emotional experience of my Leica’s.

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So these 2 photos were made with Andre’ and me and we were in the here and now together, without intrusion from each other and made these and they reflect that experience. Maybe they aren’t the best photos I will ever make but I was there, I made them and that’s what matters. The point is… it’s nice to be aware of where you are in your journey and even if your now knocking it out, at least your making foot notes for your good work….

Be blessed on your journey….

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

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 16

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It’s September 1st here in Philadelphia. I hear tell it’s also September 1st in other places of the world but I don’t believe it. Humbug I tell ya. Actually it’s a Pen EP-5 day with the 25mm 1.8 lens that thinks it’s a 50mm. So I worked Independence Historic Park for a while and I gotta say, it’s empty. I mean the other day it’s packed and then someone turned the Visitor Flowing Device  down and today not even 50 people. I’m kinda sad to see the place like this. I guess it’s a sure shot of the forthcoming winter season.

I think most people kinda slow down and stay warm in the winter. Well, I like to step up the pace in the Fall and Winter. I mean I like to get out there and work. Of course it’s easy to say that as it’s in the low 90’s today and the rest of the week.

I am considering taking 2 cameras out to work but that means a camera bag of some sorts. Yuch, I hate being bogged down with bags.

Well, it’s almost tomorrow and I’m off to lala land. Have a blessed day and good light to all….

 

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 15 … The Jeff Story Continues

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So Jeff and I are studying my photos. He starts grouping them in ways I never did. Then he makes a comment of an observation. He says, “Don, you have a thing for legs and a good eye for interesting ones”. So we looked at my photos and I had about 60 with me. As it turns out, there were arounf 20 leg shots. All sorts of leg shots but good photos. Jeff says, “You got a whole game going on here”. Your doing a Gambe’ Game. That defined a  body of work I had been doing for many years and still do to this day.

I was very excited because I felt a revelation had happened. It’s ok thatI was doing these images but it became very exciting for me to understand what I was doing and to see my intent with these images. Then we looked at other photos and I started to understand the way Jeff was grouping them. Now mind you, I had grouped my work on my own and I had good training with editing from Ding. This was different. Jeff was very precise in his grouping and in the way he explained the work to me. It was like watching a surgeon working on your body and you start to understand.

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After a little bit of moving and working, it was obvious that there were triggers that got me to make photos. Besides the triggers it became evident that I worked in a methodical manner and was aware of working on series without really understanding the series. Many things were uncovered and I felt like for the 2nd time in my life, I had an understanding of what I was attempting to do with a camera.

 

Some of the things we discovered  were that I had groups as Jeff called them, not series. He felt that these ideas would eventually become series but for now, groups are a better idea.

Reflecting, Icons, Gambe’ Game, Street, Dreams (Dreamcatcher), Public Transportation, Human Condition, Light/Shadows/Contrast, Walk by shots, Drive by shots, Isolation, Juxtaposition.

So if for example these common denominators are prevelant in my work, it should become easier to find the next photo. Don’t friggin’ believe it. Maybe I became more familiar with the territory and the mechanics and even the trigger mechanisms but, esthetically, none of that meant anything. What I wanted was a definition for intent. I wanted to know why and what I was doing. Not really the mechanics of it all but the motivation that fuels me.

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I wanted to seek and find resolution of all this minutiae. I still do because it’s part of the insanity of being human and even more so a shooter. I learned that no matter how hard I try to find the word to explain everything all that remains is the photos. I ask myself millions of questions annd mostly never find a solid answer. When I look at my photos, I start to see the light of what I’m doing. I understand my work and often wonder why many don’t. Maybe it’s not importany about resolution or answers. Maybe the beauty of art is not in the finding of answers but in the way your work presents more questions. Can it really be that simple? I don’t know but I am trying to just love the work and not trying to find answers or the acceptance of others. My photos guide me and now with an understanding of what it maybe means and maybe just a little means, I have some resolution.

You can’t control anything and once you accept that and stop trying to get control, then you actually get some control.

Ya know, maybe I seem kinda crazy at 65 figuring things out. Well, now I’m old enough to take the time to see what’s going on and take the time to try to understand what’s going on. It’s no excuse and there is no easy way out either.

shooter out………………………………………………………………………………………………..

 

 

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 11

 

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I’m in the …  it’s friggin hot outside what the hell you doing walking the streets with a camera mode shooter? Well, I guess I am a creature of habit. I mean where else would I be and what else should I be doing? Dunno, I don’t know either. Tanya does, oh yeah. She thinks I should be mowing the lawn, or fixing the hole on the wall, or doing the dishes, whatever.  In a way she’s got the right idea. I mean making photos or any art form requires imagination and the struggle to create. Doing the dishes is a perfect example.

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So, standing in the kitchen at the sink, washing dishes is supposed to be therapeutic. I don’t get it but I get really clean dishes. I guess it’s the mindless way of being that allows the imagination to spring forward and begin free thought. It’s at these moments that I get really focused on what I have in my collection and in my mind. I go over what’s been ticking in my brain and try to understand the meaning of it all. I never get an answer because I don’t like asking questions of myself and I don’t like having to come up with answers, especially because in time, they will change anyway.

Maybe it’s not just washing the dishes but allowing a time to reflect. At these times, I always think about very heavy important things about my photography like why do I keep buying camera bags and straps? It will take many dish washing sessions to get a true answer to that. The point I’m making in a round-a-bout shooter way is, that it’s all in the mind.

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Reflecting, what an interesting concept. I remember Ding McNulty, telling me how to sort my work and make a map out of it. So I would go home and lay print out on the floor but couldn’t grasp the concept.My daughter was around 4 at the time and she comes over and she stands there looking. Alright, get this shit straight. I’m at the Museum and Ding is helping me. I come home and  Bethany, the 4 year old curator is standing over my work.

Don’t laff, the story is not over. One of the things we did with our kisa was to teach them anything we could afford to. We had the kids version of Scrabble. Bethany is standing there with the Scrabble board in her hand because she wants me to play and I do always and so did my wife. She was most attentive as I was doing photography.

I look at the board and I look at the floor and all the sudden, I see the road map for my work. This entire process happened in a few minutes and it’s been with me forever.

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The format. Take your prints and lay the out horizontally and make sure they are working together. You have to do that part. Then pay attention for an image the fits in the group but has other things going on. This image is a transition image. Place it in the group and fit it where it works best. Then as you look at your images try to see what goes in the horizontal row and then… find some that work with that transitional image and work a line vertically from that image. Keep grouping images like this and visualize a Scrabble Board After a while, you should see your body of work and what interest you.

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There is always a catch right? Well, so far I have not been able to figure out how to do this on  PC screen. There really is no better way to organize and because of that I have even lost my way for the past 3 or 4 weeks. It’s hard for me to see where I was, where I am and where I need to go. I can’t blame my loss of work energy to just this can I? Hell yeah I can and I am.

I’ll be back and it will be sooner or later. I’d like to thank all those that wrote me being concerned for my absence. I appreciate everything from everyone.

Thanks, be blessed on your journey………shooter out………