Tag Archives: Inspired Eye

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

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 51 … Investigating the Olympus Pen F … Observations

March 2, 2016 streetshooter 6 Comments

Some say I’m weird naming my cameras. I suppose to those whose heart is buried up their poop shoot, I may seem that way. Naming my camera is a metaphor for my love of photography. My love of photography is a metaphor for my love of life. So in fact then who’s the weird one in the end? Not I says Shooter. I name my cameras. I get excited being in the here and now on the street. I LIVE photography. It defines who I am as a Human Being. What defines you is not what you leave behind. Friends, Family etc. they do not define you and they do not exit stage left when you do. What defines you is what you are while you are here on the planet.

Photographers are lucky if they are tuned into their life and life on the planet. We as photographers have the gift, of showing what the planet looked like while we were on it, above ground. So does that negate all reasons for making photos except for memories? Don’t look at me, I’m asking you. I ain’t about to have a one-way conversation here. Youse don’t get off that easy. Ok we make a deal.Youse read and think and I’ll write what I’m thinking and feeling. If youin’s feel the need to add to the conversation, see down there that little box that says,….”Comments”…well use it.

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, may we continue. No, not youse, me and the others inside my head. They are going nuts up there. At least I don’t have racing thought too much anymore. Oh, don’t get it wrong. I got many thoughts cooking up there but now that I’m older, they all take their time and no racing crap anymore.

So, Serendipity and I went out for a walk-a-bout and it was kinda cold. I kept her warm against my chest and we just got into a groove. Now, getting into a groove requires the shooter to be aware that they are in the here and now and aware of their intent. If there exist any intrusions, well… go paint the garage. That will be more productive and won’t leave you in a bad state of disappointment.

I’m told by one of those restless voices up top that I have to chat about Serendipity for a bit. It’s true, it’s true. Sometimes I wish I was a normal shooter and thought about my cameras as tools. It would be so easy to be detached and just use it when needed and not give much thought to the emotional stance of the camera.

Problem for me is, my cameras are not tools. They are my friends. I do feel them that way and I do care about what emotional state they are in. Serendipity is the case in point. She represents all that I am and all that MOTHER LIGHT is and all that photography is every second of my life. How dare I not have a fitting name?!

The Pen F for sure has Mojo instilled in it. Maybe I’m just infactuated because it’s the first camera in decades that makes me want to use a finder. It’s true.

I am a screen shooter because of the placement of the image on the screen in time and space. There is nothing as accurate or stimulating as using a screen. It’s like seeing your print forming in 3D reality. You have both eyes open and you have a sense of DEPTH and the flatness of the 2D image on the screen. There is nothing more accurate. NOTHING. Serendipity has me using the finder and it’s not like I never used one before. I used many and many different styles. 45 years on the Leica M and I’d still be there if I could focus the damn camera. I can’t. Tremors and vision and screen time.

The EVF is very sharp and very bright and even has an adjustment to change the brightness of the finder. It’s left side mounted and that’s crucial for eyes wide open. I always hated center mounted finders. First time I used one was in Nam. I made friends with a chap from OZ. His name was Jock and we got real close.He was a gret shooter, with a camera. One day Jock came to me and asked me to watch his Nikon F. He had a 105mm 2.5 on it and a few lenses. All in a combat carry satchel. Anyway, I looked at the camera and cot kinda shook up. I mean as I looked thru, it was evident to me that the image I was looking AT was a 2-dimensional image. I hated that. My Leica gave me an image I could look THRU not AT. So I hated the SLR and all of it’s offspring forever. I still do. Jock didn’t make it and I was extremely saddened. So, I took his camera home with me. Just 3 years ago, I got in touch with one of his daughters and I sent the camera to her.

Olivier will arrive at my place tomorrow morning for about 5 days to do some work we need to get done. Friday morning we are going to Bill’s house to hang out. Who’s Bill? If you get the magazines, you’ll know in a few issues.If you don’t well… borrow an issue cause Bill will be a most interesting read.

Be blessed my friends…………………………………………….. end transmission…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

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

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 50 … Investigating the Olympus Pen F

March 1, 2016 streetshooter 8 Comments

OOC

Amazing, truly amazing! No, hell no, not the camera… the WEATHER. Bright harsh sun, beautiful rich shadows, mid tones to blow apart….the temp was 61F today. Well, I ain’t no Spring chicken but I damn sure can still get around. So Serendipity the Olympus Pen F wanted to go out and see the sites. We got an extra battery and a lens Pen and hit the streets. She was sporting her 17mm lens. Then, of course, she had her Black Leather Italian neck strap. Then she kinda upset me. She said, “Shooter, it’s very bright out and I need my lens hood.” Ohhhh, I don’t use hoods but she insisted. So, after making a small fuss I mounted the hood on her. She’s very cute I have to admit.

OOC

We decided to hit town and do some final testing about contrast and stuff like that. I have to do JPEGs because Adobe hasn’t released the profiles for the Pen F. So I want to really know what will give me the best files so that I can destroy them like a gentleman. So far the 20mg files, even tho they be JPEGs develop very nice in LR. Here’s the thing. I do raw all the time but now will for sure do Raw and LF. I am always an idiot about this isse because the end produst is more than likely, JPEG anyway. Another thing is, these files work nice. I mean I am a maniac when it comes to images. I distort tones, grain etc all the time.

OOC

I met Polly and Suzanne today at their place. They live together now so it’s convenient for a meet up. They are both Japanese and doctors. So obviously, we have a lot in common….NOT! Well as far as photography goes, we do. Polly calls me the teacher and Suzanne calls me the Mentor. I call them my friends. Anyway. I’m in their Living Room and it’s Leica Village. Yea about 6 bodies, more lenses than I can count on two hands and yet Polly takes my Pen F. She says ” Mr Don, this is new camera”? Yes Polly and you need not worry about it. I’ll let you use this for a while and you can check it out. Suzanne looks at thePen F and I hear from the other room… Mr Don, what lenses I need. 17mm, 25mm…. ok.

OOC

5 minutes later and she tells me she ordered 2 bodies and 2 sets of lenses. Well, I’m glad for them. They are hard working Docs and dedicated shooters, thanks to my Mentoring them. I do take credit for that. So on Thursday they will have the cameras and I’ll no doubt be teaching them how to use them. I love those girls. So sweet and sooo dedicated to photography.

OOC

The streets are getting busy with shoppers, hustlers, junkies, drunks, it’s like old home for me. As the temperature warms, many start to crawl out of their holes and from the undergrounds. Fo me, it’s the tourist.I love the heavy tourist season. It won’t be long and I’ll be hitting again. Perfect time for me to breakin a new camera. I know, I know…. what’s the big deal? Well, for me it damn sure is a big deal. If you know me and maybe ya do, ya know I’m a screen shooter. Well, now I have to get used to a EVF. Funny thing. I been using Andre’ the Fuji X100s for almost 2 years and always used the OVF. The last 4 months I been heavy on the EVF. Maybe Andre’ knew I’d cheat on him and have a love affair with Serendipity the Pen F. At any rate, I am doing ok with the finder and it changes the way I think and that’s always a welcome thing.

OOC

So as Spring moves closer in time, I look forward to breathing the cheap perfume, exhaust from the cars and buses, seeing all the people making their way thru the city, the sounds of the trucks, cars buses, Harleys, babies crying, junkies, begging for money, guys fighting with their woman, Cops trying to stay safe but laying it on the line getting unappreciated, sirens trying to cut thru traffic jams, tourist asking for directions from native Philadelphians that have no idea where the Beloved Liberty Bell lives.

ahhhhhh hot town, summer in the city……………..

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

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 49 … Investigating the Olympus Pen F … GASP!…Mode 2

February 26, 2016 streetshooter 4 Comments

OOC

Well, Serendipity and I just got back from a meeting of the “Intergalactic Raw Shooters United”, Planet Earth, Philadelphia Chapter. I’m a long time member and I even eat it RAW. Hey, hey…. oysters and clams….ok, sheeeesh. Serendipity felt nervous and clung to my chest. I told her to relax and all is ok. (It really wasn’t ok cause all the Raw shooters were looking at her cause they know she’s right now a JPEG’er. So I stood there with all eyes on Serendipity and got very protective. She said to me, Don….let’s split. (She is the first camera in photographic history to call me Don) The she said, Don…let me mentor you on some things I can do.

OOC

So she told me to work one Mode at a time and to really give it a shot. So I set her on Mode 2. Now there are some things that I need as a contsant in Photography. The one I’m discussing here is the PRINT!. I use that term to mean, the finished photo. Maybe it’s on the screen whatever but it’s a print if it’s in a finished state. So I normally shoot Raw and process in LR and find my vision. Well, Serendipity has me trying Mode 2 and getting a JPEG. (The HORROR).

OOC

I have a vision for many of my photos. It’s born in my heart years ago. Then The Heart sent it by courier to my Brain. So, whn I’m out there making photos, I have a preset in my mind and a few variations on a theme, that when I get to LR, I can find that vision and start from there. Some call this Presets. Well, I guess they are presets but they have to be a start to satisfy not preconceptions but, expectations. Serendipity has presets in her and I think all her brothers and sisters do too. Unfortunately, many of the Pen F’s will go unnamed, pity.

The thing is, many cameras have modes or presets whatever but I never ever liked any of them enough to stop using RAW. Now because, I don’t have Raw, I’m loving the JPEGs from Serendipity. Ilove them so much that I could just use her like this. More than likely I’ll do Raw when Adobe releases it but I will definitely use R+LF.

OOC

The files are very elastic and easy to work. I also find that for me, not much is required to get it right. Most of these are OOC and if it’s not marked, I did something to make what I feel.

Let me clarify something. The idea of a preset or a mode comes under fire by many. The general consensus is, using a preset is like mass producing the images. I understand that but definitely strongly disagree. It’s true that if we all use a same preset, like Mode 2 and keep the settings the same, well we end up with a similar look to the image….. That’s a load of crap.

“No eyes ever shall nor ever will, see what I see now”. (MBW) See, Margaret Bourke-White knew that even if she used the same Pen F Presets her work would be different because her time and place and subject is unique. So I thought about this for many, many um… well a log time. My conclusion is that yes modes and presets set up the concept of mass produced photos. The idea is destroyed because like Margaret, we all have different Here and Now and everything, so we are all using similar things to get different results.

So lets all agree to disagee and just bear in mind that using the modes in the Pen F really will provide a freedom of vision and still be individual.

Serendipity calls me and I won’t keep the young lady waiting…………

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

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 48 … Investigating the Olympus Pen F … MOJO!

February 25, 2016 streetshooter Leave a comment

The winds were howling all night due to the crazy weather patterns. I awoke a few times and then I stayed awake and went to the office to see my camera friends. They were on the shelves in the cabinet except for the new girl in town. She was sitting next to the PC named Sara. So, Serendipity told me she was anxious to see the city and make some photos. I agreed and we headed out. She said she wanted to be close to my heart so she wore a neck strap.

OOC

I haven’t figured the camera out completely and prolly never will. I just need to have a synergism with it and be able to do my work without intrusions from it. One thing I don’t get is Metering. I like to set metering to a Fn button and be able to go from average to spot, like real fast. I don’t have that yet. I’m holding off about reading the manual. I have not done that yet. I want to see how I intuitively adapt to the camera. So far very good. I am not at the point where I can just let go and get absorbed in making photos butI feel that’s what I was striving for. Not sure about that. I like the way Serendipity and I are together.

I’ve never had a camera where the OOC jpegs were just right. Now that I can’t use raw I’m getting into the processing engine in the camera. I will do raw but i’ll do it with the jpeg attached. The color shot up above, that’ OOC. The B&W above, OOC. I gotta tell ya, I love that front dial. I’ts nice to just change the screen real quick and see what ya wanna see. So I guess when Adobe finally releases the ACR for the Pen F, I’ll do raw and keep the jpegs as notes.

The hardest thing for me with this camera is breaking habits. I am focused on doing so tho’. First habit to break is the screen vs finder. I don’t like finders but I like them enough to torture myself. It’s very bright and clear but I still lost a few shots. Not because of the camera but because of my habit of using the screen. So I put the screeen away and have just the finder to use. I saw a shot and raised the camera and intuitively, looked at the screen, quickly, I used the finder. So, I have to break that and I will.

The other habit is the 35mm only habit. 35mm is my natural field of view.So it’s just a very comfy way for metowork. I started to challenge this 25 years ago and switched to a 50mm fov but always went back to 35mm.

So I went out with Serendipity and she had the 25mm 1.8 and that’s 50mm for me. It’s a nice feeling cause it’s not foreign to me cause I been beating myself up for 25 years trying to change my fov.

The idea is not so much a change of fov but to force a new way of thinking and seeing. The Pen F for some reason has a way of just adding to the experience of making photos. Maybe it’s due in part because of the excitement of a new camera but I’m old enough to know that’s just a start. The Pen F has MOJO. I’ts got a vibe that in an elegant manner, makes you want to work. I will say this. more then most shooters, famous and not so, I challenge a camera and photography more because of where I usually work. I work center city Philly and have done so for decades. So, inspiration is hard to come by. The Pen F is inspiring. It has me examining things I have done so many, manytimes. I find a lasting memory and click.

OOC

Ya know how ya get a groove on? I mean the streets are moving life around and you kinda slip into the clock of life. Then you are at one with everything and you have your camera with you. The feeling that photos are around and you just need to feel and find them.

The street is about life and life is about time. Time moves along and drags life along with it. We just need to bein tune with it all. There are many cameras that can be with you and many will create some kinda intrusion and break the flow of time. There are many cameras that can be with you and just be a part of your life on the street and just flow with you rhru time and space.

The Pen F is just that camera. I am just amazed at how the magic and mojo are in here.

I’ll be out again tomorrow and make some photos and post. Don’t expect any bad press from me on this camera. Ihaven’t anything bad to say.

I’m not getting paid from Oly and don’t really care what they do or say. Serendipity is my girl and our love affair is growing stronger day by day.

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

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

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 46 … Olympus Pen F … (Serendipity)

February 23, 2016 streetshooter 10 Comments

(photos are with GRD II)

Well, you all know I name my cameras. Walker and Garry left the home front thru eBay and are no longer my cameras. So I no longer have a Pen EP-5. They sacrificed their well being so that I could acquire my new camera, the Olympus Pen F. I sold some lenses also that I never used anymore so all in all, it worked out fine financially. I must admit that it took over a week to get the camera because it was lost in traffic. But SHE is home and we are bonding. I’ll have some photos in my next blog.

I always ask youse all to help in the naming process and many great names are presented. This time, I decided on a name before I had the camera. The name is”Serendipity“. I am going to ty to live to the name. I mean I am always focused on what I want and what I am looking for and even how I plan to satisfy those elements. I guess it’s a way of being in the here and now without much force to effect an outcome. I mean I want to just BE and instead of constantly searching for photos, maybe let them find me. I teach that and I guess it’s time to rethink my own process. I just want the freedom of thought and feelings and for that to be in my photos

I guess I do that all the time but I need an excuse to beat myself up. I seek the synergism between photography and my part of it. That totally encompasses all the facets of camera. process and vision and all the things I didn’t mention. The idea for me is to be out in life, on the streets and to have an energy of serendipity lingering over my heart and mind. It’s not that I won’t be seeking photos, it’s just that i want a natural feeling when photos find me. I want the collaboration of life and the energy of life to find me and I want to be awake and have that energy mix with me and together find harmony and peace.

Why is this important to me? Well, maybe because the last few weeks I am afraid to sleep. I have nightmares that put me in a place I was at as a young soldier. I thought that when I left, I escaped the ravages of war. I thought I would at last have peace but I never found it. I can’t sleep and when I drift off, I am horrified that I won’t wake up. I won’t take sleeping meds because I can’t force myself to wake. I only have a sense of what peace is when I am making photos. It’s the only thing in my life that offers me the escape and that brings together the energies that surround me.

We all have reasons for what we do.I’m not seeking salvation or any kind or repentance. I’m looking for the solitude and a certain peace of mind that maybe isn’t shared but doesn’t have to be. I know my work defines me. I know I don’t really care if anyone relates or understands it. I do and that’s all that matters.

That being said, the Pen F is a baaaaad ass camera. I’ll introduce youse to her in a little bit. She’s silver and very elegant.

Her name is Serendipity.

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

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

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 45 … Ricoh GRII … Lost in the Familiar (6 pack)

February 9, 2016 streetshooter 14 Comments

Being lost is probably a shooters dream. Not knowing where you are, what your feeling being in an undiscovered region. Very romantic and actually stimulating, especially visually. Being lost in the familiar surrounding that is familiar to you, well, not so easy and rather unsettling. I’ve heard it taught that photographers are supposed to see as if seeing the subject for the fist time. I always felt that we should see as if it’s the last time. I now question both methods and kinda feel that the shooters truth is someplace in the middle.

We walk the paths of photographers before us and try to find a new way to see the subject matter. We look for the souls of lost photos and hope to be able to breathe new life into ourselves and our work.

If we wander around the familiar and feel as if we are at home base, is that being complacent? If we wander around and feel as if we are lost in the familiar, is that wishful thinking? A famous photographer said to me decades ago, “Life is but a Dream”. Well, I lived by that statement in part and in whole my entire life. So, when do I get to wake up? What do I find when and if I do? Do I get to have a camera handy so I can make photos of the awakening?

Why do I see things and most times they aren’t like seeing the first time or last time, just odd in the here and now. In my case it’s not odd it’s natural for me. Does that make me odd? Do I care? NO! Yes! Of course, I do. I won’t admit that I care but I do even if I don’t.

I wonder if others get thoughts like this. I wonder when I am making a photo and someone is in it and looking directly at me, what is the experience like for them? I know it depends on the person just like it depends on the shooter and I feel there is no common answer to this question. So maybe as I make each photo as an individual, just maybe, as crazy as it seems, each person in the photo is having a unique experience. So let’s assume I’m on to something here. Let’s assume that for once in my life but not the first for once but just this for once, I have it right, not totally in full right because there’s no such thing in the world but right as right can be for me and also for my readers and friends. (My Shrink at the VA too.)

So I am lost in familiar places. Maybe it’s not the streets where I’m lost but in me poor mind. Maybe it’s both and I am having an awakening of sorts. Maybe not and maybe I don’t care enough to figure it out. Maybe I think too much and try to justify what I’m doing. Dunno and don’t really care.

I’ve been on the streets of Philadelphia since the late 60’s making photos. I’m never bored. I am always loving making photos in the familiar places that others get complacent in. I don’t and am happy for that.

For me it’s about the here and now and not beeing lost at all. Maybe the familiar place I’m lost in isn’t the streets abut my mind. Maybe I lost my mind or better yet, maybe I’m lost in my mind. Maybe Garry was right. “It’s all a Dream” and maybe when I have my camera with me, I wake up.

How about you?

……………………………………….end transnission…………………………..

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

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 40 … Ricoh GRII … One ShoT pEr ShOOt

January 11, 2016 streetshooter 6 Comments

Twas the night of the day and all thru the streets, I was out with my camera some photos to meets, huh? Yeah shooter, yourstarting to loses it. Hmmm who you anyway?

So it goes in the mind I’m wrestling with. I never have complete peace of mind even in just a piece of mind. Maybe that’s too much to ask for, dunno and dunno about caring anyway. I know this or, at least, I think I know this but maybe not really know this but I try to live with know-ing this.

See photography for shooters is based on the concept of discovery and self-discovery. We make photos that we uncove things out there and discover or try to discover the meaning of and also we try to discover what we are about in the photo. These are things that don’t go away. I mean I have a seat in my brain for unresolved issues. It’s always a full seat.

As it turns out, if we don’t address the clutter of knowledge and anti-knowledge in our brains, we can’t focus on the subject at hand. Pun Intended, Maybe this sounds kinda boring and useless but think about this. How many have an understanding of what’s going on in thier work. I know, I know… that’s what discovery is about. Granted, truth but!!! If you don’ t have an idea what your looking for how do you expect to find it. How do you think you’ll recognize it?

I remember Ding explaining to me about the consistancy of vision and how the masters learned that and stuck to it. He showed me many prints that spanned decades in the work of many photographers. Even the grand Master Kertesz had a very consistant vision. Vision is not so much what you see but how you see. I studied the prints of countless masters and after a while, I could look at a photo and pretty much tell who made it. I can still do that today.

The work doesn’t live in the shooter, the shooter lives in the work. Good work has the signature of the shooter but the work stands on it’s own. I guess this is really about SIGNATURE. This is not about a watermark or copyright on the image. It’s not a technical thing that can be recognized like that. Signature is the definable presence of the shooter in the image that is embedded for all time. It is recognizable as as the thoughts and emotions of the maker. Recognizing your own signature allows the freedom to be selective in your work and also to know what your doing.

So I look at what I’m doing and see what I’ve done and maybe, just maybe I can see myself. That’s a major statement to make and even more to observe. Some times when I’m feeling kinda lost, I just look at my history and seek a new direction. To be honest, it don’t usually work for me.

I see what I see and the way I see most times. What changes for me is why I see what I see.

….more ramblings after my visit at my Shrink. He no doubt will attempt to loosen up some brain pixels in me…….

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Streetshooter

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 38 … Olympus TG-4 … Happy New Years

December 31, 2015 streetshooter 12 Comments

First off, Happy New Years to one and all. If you’re from Philadelphia, Happy Mummers Day.

“Time keeps on slippin’, slippin’ into the future”. Now that year’s end is upon us, personally, I sit and look at what I have set out to do and what I have accomplished thru the year. I do this every year and the task is the same but the things I look at and realize the truth of is slightly different every year. It’s kinda like a cleaning out and sorting of energy. We can all have different energies for the different things we do in our lives. This is a known fact and not just here in Philly. I’m not kidding ya either. The way I see it is, we have a volume of energy inside us. Let’s say we have 1000ml of energy inside us. Ok, go on, say it….ty kindly.

Our eye, heart, and mind decides where to distribute this energy. Some goes to everyday task, some to risk and challenges, and some to the area we are concerned with, creative arts, namely photography. Lets assume that we are allocated 500ml for photography. As the year goes on and our vision and work progresses, the level of energy may stay the same, go up or even go down.

We can’t hide from the demons or angels inside us. We must and have to confront them and try to change the way we see things and deal with things. This is the only way to move forward in a positive manner. I get a lot of messages and emails etc from ppl that are dealing with thier work and seem kinda in love but lost on thier path. This is really good. It shows that these ppl are aware that what they do is being scrutinized by thier own eye.

I don’t claim to be a guru or anything other then a shooter that fell madly in love with photography over 50 years ago. I struggle like everyone else but the difference is, I know to blame myself for all the shit that happens.

So, as we wind up the Year 2015 and start the year 2016 maybe we can sort out the energy and get a refill in our energy cup to continue the journey but with a fresh outlook for the new year. For me that comes tomorrow morning with the Mummers Parade. For the rest of you it means, Happy, Healthy New Years. Mummers Day marks the celebration of a new year but more importantly., it marks the continuing journey of LIFE.

Be Blessed and Be Safe youse all. I wish youse were all here…..nah… keep thehell out, too many damn shooters here as it is…..

…………………………….end transmission………..2015……….over and out………………………………………………

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, One Shot, Philosophy of Street, Street, Street Photography

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 35 … Ricoh GRII … One ShoT pEr ShOOt

December 13, 2015 streetshooter 12 Comments

Ruth and I, ummm hold on. I better explain. My GRII is named Ruth. I named her Ruth after my mother. She died a while ago and I wanted to name this camera after her. I didn’t name the GRII to give new life to Mom. I did it because Mom gave me life at birth and several times during our time together. I am hoping naming the GRII after her will give me life once again.

Well, I never called my mom by her name, Ruth. Maybe once or twice for a reaction but never because I felt it disrespectful.

So, being the fool that I am, I named the GRII Ruth and I should have called it Mom. So maybe this post is the official Ricoh GRII renaming procedure post. From now on I will call the camera, Mom.

So Mom and I, the Ricoh GRII formally known as Ruth went to the streets to look for a photo. I know, I know. The photos are looking for me too. Well, it’s been slim pickings in the shooter heart and mind. I mean, there’s stuff out there, but I like to detach from others and myself mostly and find out there what’s in my head. Sometimes what’s out there isn’t in my head and I accept those photos graciously. Then there are those photos that seem to be a collaboration of what’s out there and what’s in my head.

So I am off on a tangent again. Well, that’s what I do. I am working with a few people here in Philly and we are now at the shoot but use just one photo part of the course. Having in your mind that you need just one photo that does it for you is a very difficult way to work. Imean it’s easy to burn many shots on an SD card. Then go to LightRoom and edit. It’s important to know how to edit in your processor, but it’s more important to know how to edit before release. So by doing the one shot per shoot method, it helps to focus me on what I’m working on. It will help you too.

There was a protest at City Hall about the Mayor and his Immigration Ideas. When I was younger I’d be all over the place shooting from the ground, the sky, laying down. flying by, on top of people and anything else I wanted to do. The paper loved it. So when I was walking and just feeling the vibe of the day, I came upon the scene. I listened carefully to the lady with the megaphone. She had a powerful but lovely voice. Smart. You kinda listened to her talking and the info got into your heart where she wanted it to be. Awesome. Well, I didn’t understand jack shit what she was saying cause she was speaking a language other than English. Oh, she was speaking American but not English.

Lucky for me I have a very clear understanding visually about communication. Isn’t that what shooters do, no? Well, I felt the vibe of solidarity and peace. The press shooters were all over singling out the most interesting faces for the spread in their paper whatever.

For me, it’s about the solidarity of the nothing. The nothing people that want to be heard and counted for. The people that become masses and even collateral. That’s why they are protesting. The want and deserve to be heard. Well, the words had less meaning for me then their presence. Not because I didn’t understand their version of the American Language but because I understand the universal version of the visual language.

I looked around and the I saw the shadows that hadn’t been there 30 seconds prior. If I shot the people and that would be the normal way to do this, then it would be about individuals instead of the reason they are there. So I was framing and it just wasn’t perfect. I could feel it going to either happen or quickly fall apart. hen for no reason at all except to make me happy in the here and now, then all the sudden….the to shadows in the center held hands and I knew that it was the shot. CLICK!

Have a blessed day my friends, seeya on my next outing. ……………………………………………………………………………………………….

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

Streets of Philadelphia … A Visual Diary … Page 34 … Ricoh GRII … One ShoT pEr ShOOt

December 1, 2015 streetshooter 6 Comments

So I am looking at my catalog in LR to see what’s in there from recent walks. Well, I do that cause I’m too lazy to go out and work. I convince myself that this is work too and it is but should not be used for an excuse not to be out shooting. It’s all part of the process and I enjoy all of it unless I feel lazy. So I decided to head to the Reading Terminal Market to get my lunch. I go to Sang Kee, a Chinese spot that’s about the best anywhere’s. To get there, I went thru the tunnel and I have been in this a gazillion times. There’s a funky light in there and it’s not very interesting to photograph but yet, I am always making photos in there. I walked thru and passed this window frame as I did many times. Then all the sudden, I saw a photo in my head.

I don’t know about youse all but it’s Monday and my brain is still on vacation from the weekend. So I can’t really trust anything in my head cause there’s nothing in there to process anything. Ok, so my brains on vacation, what the hell to do? I turned up the power to my heart and let my eye decide on the frame. So I’m looking at the frame and I see this guy walking towards me. He seemed like a normal guy and then I saw myself in the window frame and as he walked to the frame, I said, “hi”. He turned his head and……….CLICK!

It’s a good idea to get back into the one shot a shoot mission. That’s what I should be doing, but not doing and now will be doing…….

Have a blessed journey…… seeya’s shortly…………..

Street Photography Chronicles by Don Springer