Tag Archives: Lightroom 5

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

Winter Doldrums Defeated By … Walker The Sony RX100M3

January 31, 2015 streetshooter 12 Comments

Brrrrrrr, I hate it. Winter keeps me cold not just my physical being but inside also. Even my mind sloooooos down and tries to find comfort by the burning ideas region. It’s all smoke right now, no fire of ideas burning.

I try to live and work by the theory of Eye, Heart and Mind. It works but now, my eye and mind are very close in here but my Heart is down there a ways. The elevator from me head to me heart is out of service because it’s too cold. Usually this time of the year I work my LR catalog and get things ready for the new year. Usually this time of year LR always wants to mess things up with my hard drives and catalog. Well low and behold, the LR mess with shooter’s catalog and hard drive Gremlin is front and present. Oh yeah, everything is a mess. Don’t even think I’m gonna mees with today, hell no.

Anyway, back to the street. I guess that the doldrums are inside of us more than exterior. Ya get to feeling kind down and then it’s easy to place the blame on other things going on. Yeah, yeah. I’m more guilty of this than anyone I don’t know. I’t not like slump time, it’s more like focus your intent time. Time to recognize the moment with the eye, heart and mind then with many photos and seeking the moment in LR after the moment has passed. Winter doldrums could be the best tool and friend you ever have.

If your slowing down and focusing your Intent, maybe just maybe you can see the photos before you knew they were in the camera.

The Zen of Archery applies to the Zen of photography. If you go out with your camera and shoot a lot of frames thinking you’ll edit later in hopes of finding something, well, good luck. When I was an archer, I used scopes all kinds of things to help me hit the target. Just like a camera, load it up with stuff and go for it and not be from the ryr, heart and mind.

A friend Ray told me, Don, you’re a good archer but maybe you should start to enjoy it instead of making it work. I didn’t have any idea what the hell he was talking about. I was in the high 90’s all the time and that’s out of a possible 100.

I mean I had this stuff down. Then one day Ray took off all my stuff from my bow. I mean just the arrow rest was there. He said lets go find ourselves. Well, first off I was happy because another nut was now on the planet. Any way, Ray showed me how to shoot intuitive. So I started to like the feeling of standing my ground, looking at the target maybee 100 yds away and then set the arrow and breathe and just let everything go without intrusion. I would squint my eyes, draw the bow and feel the arrow come back to my chin. I closed my eyes for a second and could see in my minds eye the arrow hitting the target. I then opened my eyes and looked at the target, no aid to help me see… raise the bow and feel where it was to be, draw the arrow the to release position and let it go.I close my eyes for a brief second and then open and heart Pfttttt! Plumpt! I walked to the target and was amazed that I hit the target, no not a bullseye but I was close. I did this every time I went to the Archery range and the more I did this intuitive style, the better my hits were.

Here’s the relationship to what you do in life and now we are talking photography. A camera has to eliminate intrusions as much as possible. Yes, you can go out and shoot your brains out and maybe get something. If this is your style, you and I will have little to talk about.

When I wen to the target to see my hit, I loved seeing it in there and sometimes a BULLSeye. I mean, I did this with my feelings, I was aware of my intent and my eye, heart and mind all being aware in the here and now and I see the hit on the target and I claim it as mine. I mean really mine. I was there and remember the experience.

Shooting photos is the same. If your connected like this, the reward for you is that YOU are aware that you were there when you release the shutter and when you see it as a finished image, that image represents you in total. It is you. It is the experience as you recorded it totally aware of doing so.

Hey, ya know what. It’s too cold for archery and my back can’t do it anymore. Just go out and make your photos connected this way and you’ll have the rewards of loving what you do.

Stay connected to yourself and you’ll have the ZEN of life with you at all times.

Be blessed my friends, even youse that walked out of the room…………….

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

September 28th, 2014 … The Fuji X100s … My Partner On The Street

September 28, 2014 streetshooter 10 Comments

So, I went out with Tanya so she could shop for her family. I had my Harley Denim Jacket on cause Fall is here and I’m not falling for that Fall stuff. When you leave it’s nice and warm and when ya have to head back, well… it’s cool. I’m too old to Fall for that stuff I tell ya, I’m too smaat. Andre’ said he wanted to go along just to get out of the house and I quickly agree.

Ohhh sorry, Andre’ is my Fuji X100s. He said he was tired of being in the house cause I was taking Ding, the Nikon Coolpix A everywhere. So I put Andre’ in the Harley jacket inner pocket and he’s happy cause he’s riding a Harley.

We get to Neshaminy Mall and Tanya shops, I sit. Tanya shops I sit. I sit, Tanya shops… endless cycle of well being. I’m sitting on the bench just checking things out and all the sudden………….

……. this young woman that I think is around 30-ish is walking towards me and I look at her and think….nah, I’m never that lucky…… well low and behold…. she floats thru the crowd and gently like a Dove, lands on the bench right next to me. She turns to me and says, “excuse me sir, do you know anything about cameras?”

Well at this exact moment, my faith in The Lord and in mankind is restored. I turn to her and said, I know a little, what’s the problem? So she reaches into her handbag and pulls out a Canon S110. She says, it won’t come out. (Yes guys, that’s exactly my thoughts). So he hands me the camers and her fingers gently rub against mine. (At this point, I have solved, ebola, end all wars, cured the economy and everything that plagues the world.)

So I turn the camera on and sure enough the lens will not come out. She’s obviously distraught and I really feel for her, no really! She tells me her boyfriend is sill and he can’t make it come out.

(enter shooter the hero) I look closely and can see that something is wedged in between the lens barrel. So I asked her if she had a hairpin and she says no, all I have are these needles I bought for my mom’s sewing machine. (Thank you LORD for small favors) I take a needle and gently but forcefully, stick it in and work to pry the thing out. I manage to get it out and see it was a piece of salt from a soft pretzel. The camera turns on and the lens pops out and she says to me, you made it come out, how can I ever thank you?

As she is sitting there looking at me and smiling, Tanya is walking towards me. So the young woman stands up and thanks me very much and starts to walk away. Tanya looks at her and then turns to look at her from the rear just as I am doing and then gets right in front of me.

I immediately told her what happened and she say’s, I wanna walk down to Macy’s. I stand and walk with her thru the mall and as we get into the mall traffic, she reaches behind me and pats my bum. I don’t know what I did or how I did it but I averted another Russian American Cold War in the house.

But none of this is the point of the story. See, when we got home, I took Andre’ the Fuji X100s out of the Harley jacket pocket and I felt something still in the pocket. I put Andre’ down on the table and reached into the pocket again and GASP!!!!!!!!!

I saw the battery cover in my hand. NOOOOO!!!!!!! you don’t belong in my hand, you belong on Andre’.

So I went up to the office and looked at things thru my Schneider loupe. After about 10 minutes I manage to get the cover back on. I thought that maybe I should contact service but figured, I still have 7 months of warranty left so I’ll just wait it out. I did nothing to provoke this issue. It just fell off and I don’t know why. The issue is, if it falls off on the street, well, that won’t be pretty.

So I try to keep my pinky finger against the cover while working. It’s very upsetting but the camera is the most amazing camera and if I had to use it without the door, I would. It’s that good…..

Please remember, The One Shot Per Shoot is still active and you really should join the many that are participating.

Good Sunday to youse alls good peoples….. shooter out……………………………………

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

September 18th, 2014 … The One Shot Photo Project Begins … Come One, Come All

September 18, 2014 streetshooter 14 Comments

I’m making a challenge to myself and youse all shooters. The one shot photo project is just what it sounds like. One photo per shoot. Not one a day, a week, a month or a year. Simply put, one shot for every shoot you do. It’s up to you to decide how many photos you make CasinoinUS on a shoot but only one can be submitted per shoot. You don’t have to do this, you know it and I know it. This is something I learned from Ding McNulty and it has proved to make me focus on my work with a clear and clean vision. The thing is, it helps me to really commit to my images because I can only choose 1. I slowed down a lot back in the 70’s thru all my film decades. Now with digital, it’s like overabundance is par for the course.

So, if your interested, submit a photo under the One Per Shoot Project, send it to me by email (streetshooter.us@gmail.com) along with a statement about the photo and the experience of making it. A paragraph or so is cool. You can do this more than once soooo be awake and alert and find that ONE SHOT.

If your up to doing this, then here’s what will happen. You will be put on the Inspired Eye Blog and have a chance of getting into the Inspired Eye Magazine.

The idea behind this is to create energy to work but not to have to make it a burden. This will actually tune your vision and help to eliminate boredom and loss of direction. If you make a good effort doing this, you will find a new strength in your work and vision.

I hope that youse will partake in this project as I am committed to doing it again, and again.. and again……

……………………………………………………end transmission, thanks again Ding………………………………………………………………………….. shooter out……………..

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

September 15th, 2014 … Andre’ The Fuji X100s … Meets … Ding The Nikon Coolpix A

September 15, 2014 streetshooter 26 Comments

Look, don’t get me wrong, ok. I really do love the X100s and it provides a wonderful working experience.

What, but everyone knows that already. Ok, ok! Andre’ is upset because I called the camera X100s and not it’s proper name, Andre’. He also said, “Look shooter, everyone calls you Don or shooter. No one calls you the human or photographer and you wouldn’t be without me anyway.” So now I get it. Andre’ the Fuji X100s is jealous

See, word on the camera shelf is that there’s a new kid on the block. Yes, it’s very true. The Nikon Coolpix A has taken up residence on the current camera shelf. The new camera has been named Ding, after Kneeland Ding McNulty.

Ding mentored me for a while and gave me valuable life lessons and how to youtubemp3now.com have photography fall in love with me. He wasn’t concerned about my love affair with photography but wanted to make sure that photography and I had a life long symbiotic relationship. So I decided to name the Nikon after him. So of course Andre’ is upset and kinda jealous because he thinks he will get less street time than he used to get. Nothing could be further from the truth. See, both Andre’ and Ding will be out with me always starting Wednesday. Till then, Ding and I are reacquainting our selves as it’s been decades since we spent time together, at least on the physical plane.

See, for me it used to be a 35mm lens on my M Leicas. The when the digital imaging made cameras that worked like cameras, it seemed that 28mm was the preferred focal length. I still lean to the 35mm FOV but the 28mm FOV has a place embedded in my brain’s firmware. Well, now that my brain is back from vacation, I will have to update it’s firmware to the Nikon;s UI and FL and combine that with Andre’, the Fuji X 100s.

There are thing for me to write about and I am excited again to feel visual freedom once again. Ding is proving to be a worthy companion and I hope in due time that Andre’ and Ding will get along.

At any rate, I’ll be posting more for the next few weeks as the discovery and challenges arise working with these two cameras.

Shooter Out……………………………

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

September 1st, 2014 … Fuji X100s Light Duty

September 1, 2014 streetshooter 1 Comment

It’s Labor Day Weekend and I’m doing little to labor myself. Had to go to the shore cause my friend Joe died a few weeks ago and I had to secure the house and things. So after I set the alarm secured.onlinegambling2014.com code and organized a little, we went to the Boardwalk in Atlantic City.

I just made a few snaps cause I wasn’t in the mood for much of anything. Anyway, her’s a few photos that were made with the FujiX100s.

Ya know, color is really nice with this camera but I still don’t see or feel it, I’m kinda trusting the camera to get it right and it does.

Well, I guess I’l go do the Bar B Que for Tanya and get back to photography tomorrow…..

Seeya’s, ………………………………. shooter, exit stage left…………………………………………………………

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

August 30th, 2014 … Hurry, Hurry, Read All About It … Inspired Eye Issue 13 Published

August 30, 2014 streetshooter 2 Comments

Well, it’s out. It’s no secret anymore. The Inspired Eye Issue 13 has been released. The news stands are backed up with a line a block long. Every bookstore in the known Universe has a line that will take you an hour to check out, It’s that good.

Here’s the thing….. because you are a faithful follower of my antics and writings and thoughts, I am giving you a pass to the back door. You can use this pass for all your friends and family too…..please spread it around.

Here’s the pass to get the new exciting just published, hot off the press, Issue 13:

http://www.theinspiredeye.net/street-photography-magazine/

Don’t waste anytime on this one it’s bound to sell out….is that even possible, dunno but it’s a great read…..

Enjoy your weekend, be blessed and find peace on your journey.

shooter out………………………………..transmission terminated by user with brain on vacation…………………………………………………………………….POOF!

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

August 27th, 2014 Breathing Street With Fuji X100s & Fuji X20

August 27, 2014 streetshooter 10 Comments

The streets of Philly are starting to mellow out and I guess it’s time for me to do the same….NAH! Don’t dream. I’m never mellow, always adjusting energy to meet the reality i’m in.

The thing I recognize about life is that the number one thing to sustain life is BREATHING. Try living without it, you’ll see that I’m probably right. So, if this is so important, why not really get into it and apply it to everything you do, I know, I know…. we usually run in AUTO-BREATHING mode. Well, maybe that’s cool for those that don’t pay attention to breathing. I do and ya know, it’s the one single thing I’ve learned to love most thru my life.

What the heck are you talking about shooter and what does any of this have to do with photography? Ok, ok… cut me a darn break… relax, we’ll get there.

Remember… the journey is much more than the destination.

When I’m on the street, I listen to the heartbeat, smell the fragrances, not always sweet but nonetheless stimulating. I find a rhythm to life where I’m at and try to adjust my stance, my pace, my gaze and my breathing to my surroundings. Maybe that’s why I never ever get bored being in the same city, the same streets and sometimes even the same people. It’s never the same. It’s different in time and space and the light is different and the breathing is on a different rhythm.

So how do we as shooters adapt to this situation on the streets? Well, we need to change our way of thinking, destroy preconceptions, gray out our history and try to see things as if we will never see them again. Maybe for some, try to see things as if it’s the first time.

So the point really is not to let yourself get complacent. If you can just tune into the rhythm on the streets, it will talk to you and grant you clues as to where your next photo may lay.

Life is what we are making photos of. Life as a heartbeat. A heartbeat happens because of breathing. If your not breathing with what is around you, what are you doing?

If ya find that rhythm and breathe with it and have a camera in your hand, well, there’s photos all around you, just open your eyes and have an open mind and heart… well, drink Kona in the morning or none of this means rubbish…..

See ya’s tomorrow,,,,,,

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

August 24th, 2014 … Fuji X100s and Fuji X-20 … The Important Difference

August 24, 2014 streetshooter 26 Comments

There is one major difference between the Fuji X100s and the Fuji X-20. No, it’s not the mp or the processing engine. It’s not the UI or Grip. It’s not the size or even the battery. All these things one could compare and see a difference. I think the most important thing that distinguishes the the cameras from each other is none of the above,

The important thing for shooters is the ASPECT RATIO. Yeah of course it’s obvious but, why didn’t you write about it? ok then, let me get into this a little. Here’s the thing. The frame or box as we call it must be seen from a few vantage points.

!st…. the idea of seeing your frame as a BOX or a Window. This works in a few ways…..

psychologically, if we see a frame as a BOX, that means we are seeing a confined area and we deal with what’s inside that frame on it’s own.

The other ways is to see the frame as a WINDOW and leave ourselves open to the possibilities to what may come into our frame and thus be aware of things around us. Both methods are acceptable and should be applied as the shooter sees fit. Of course the camera plays a bit in the but it’s easy to adapt to any camera if one desires to use it. I can’t of course and will throw cameras out the window if they bug me…..of course this has never happened but it could. I leave myself open to the possibility of Camera Throwing Out The Window Procedures.

The real important thing between cameras is how IT SEES and how it FORCES you to SEE. The ASPECT RATIO is just about that. You have, well I have 3:2 in the Fuji X100s and I have 4:3 in the Fuji X-20. It may seem like it’s not a big difference but dynamically, it sure as heck…..is. The words active/passive come to play here. NO! I’m not showing examples altho’ I did really.

Use your images to compare, ok? 4:3 is a passive rectangle. 3:2 is an active rectangle. This means whether you are aware of this or not, it effects how you frame you shot. It also effects how the viewer sees the photo and the info it contains.

So using the 2 cameras means to be aware more of aspect ratio than anything else.

Then of course we have to take Horizontal vs Vertical into play. This also has an effect on framing and viewing. You need to be aware of this so that you can understand how your camera works with your vision.

So both cameras have their merits but really, aspect ratio is the biggest advantage between the two.

It’s Sunday morning and I’m beat. Another bad night for sleep. So, I’ll sign off and continue this tomorrow when my Brain comes back from vacation. I think it’s due back on the job tonight sometime……..

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

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

August 19th, 2014 … Fuji X20 … Great Street Camera (brain still on vacation)

August 19, 2014 streetshooter 17 Comments

Yaeh, yeah. That’s right, I said it and I believe it too. The Fuji X20 is an amazing camera for any use but for the street, well you didn’t get this from me and I ain’t responsible for any cameras store grabbing yer monies. The X20 is a great camera. It’s a wee bit smaller than the X100s and the megapixel count is less but there’s a real gritty attitude to the images that only the Ricoh GRD4 compares to.

Whoa, hold on. Daido the Fuji X20 comes close to Penelope the Ricoh GRD4 in Grit but there’s still a difference. I don’t know what the difference is but it’s there….. I think. I told you my brain is on vacation so I’m going along in Auto Brain Wave Mode. Anyway, back to the streets. I am happy to report that most times my subject matter is not affected by the camera I use. I also notice that regardless of the camera in hand, I still like a cup of Kona at home and on the street, I like a cup of whatever they call coffee out there. It kinda scares me when even in Starbucks, the coffee is always burnt cause young kids make the coffee and they are too damn busy on their walkman ipod ipad iphone android kindle thingys to notice they are burning the coffee. So the coffee philosophers sit and drink that crap not know that real coffee isn’t burnt… ohhh sorry, I forgot… I ask a young girl, “Can I have a Kona Cream and no sugar?” She says, what’s that?. Cream, it’s the stuff that looks like milk but it’s not milk, it’s cream. She says with a cute smile…(Ok, I lost it, not afraid to admit it. She could sell me anything and I’m good, happy to see here smile.) ….not cream silly, and not sugar, I know what that is… what’s Kona… well the little cute angel just got pushed sooo far off my smile list…hhhhhmmmmm. I said, I’m sorry, I thought this was a pharmacy… and they had Kona…..it damn sura ain’t easy being a streetshooter…. sheeeesh.

So I figured I don’t need no Kona coffee out on the street because I getz it at home and home is where the Kona is. The Fuji X20 has some interesting things going on.
I mean I wrote about this camera a few times, actually more than a few times but not really a lot of times but enough times that well, let me get some meds in and maybe I can manage to keep on track. One of the great things is the small sensor and the DOF it makes. Say your shooting at f/4.0. …. ok waiting… say it ok…eh… I’ll say it for ya… I’m shooting at f/4.0 shooter. Well with the lens set to 28mm and focused to 5.0′ we get this DOF from 2.5′ to infinity. Now, I ain’t the smartest pencil in the box when my brain is on vacation and I certainly wouldn’t wanna do much but drink that coffee I love… uh… damn…uh.. oh yeah.. Kona.. see….but I gotta say this…. 2.5′ to infinity… I think that means.. I could hold my arm out, make a photo, have my hand in focus and be in focus at tommi, or Wouter…yup.

Now it seems to me that if you can’t find a photo somewheres between 2.5′ and infinity… whoa.. wait a second… let me think about this…. If I Only Had A Brain…. if”n we can get that kinda DOF at f/5.6.. well I ain’t even gonna think what happens at like F/8,f/11.. nah… when my brain returns I’ll address this but till then… well, hmmm uh.. what the hell am I even talking about…? Dunno… I hope youse do cause I damn sure don’t…..

c’mon… just kidding…. what’d ya think…. “I’m smaaat Mikey”……

The Fuji X20 can set you free. It’s really the perfect companion for the Fuji X100s. The size difference is negligible but smaller which is nice. The lovely 28mm FOV captures me in a way 35mm doesn’t. Ray Sachs mentioned to me a few times that he felt that 28mm was better for me than 35mm. He’s a friend and I respect his opinion highly and I must agree that there’s something about 28mm I adore. Luckily the Fuji X20 named Daido lives with me and now will be getting more use again.

So, all I can say is that I am enjoying the break from 35mm FOV and enjoying the time my brain has taken for vacation.

I’ll post again tomorrow for sure….. but listen…..

tomorrow I’m going to Starbucks to chat with the little knucklehead cute angel that thinks coffee comes from a bag…yeah right beautiful… coffee comes from that bag… it kinda just grows in there…hmmmm

well, what could an old streetshooter have in common with a young, cute coffee attendant? Well, at the moment, neither of us has a brain…..

shooter out…..uh, I think that’s me but it might be the guy typing at the keyboard….hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

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

August 13th, 2014 … Fuji X100s … Observations On A Walkabout

August 13, 2014 streetshooter 11 Comments

Ya know, if ya ever been on a walkabout, well it’s the perfect time to do some observing. Better yet, have a camera at the ready and your good to go. Now I understand that not everybody from every country gets to do a walkabout but if ya have friends from OZ, well your qualified to be a walkabout camera toting shooter.

Don’t get this wrong, that Wouter fella is a Stroller. Word here in NE Philly is that Wouter invented the strolling procedures for shooters. It has caught on to millions and millions of photographers and other kinds of walking peoples, imagine that.

Sometimes when I’m on a walkabout, I think in terms of B&W and other times, not many but it does happen, Color. What does this have to do with the Fuji X100s? Good question and here’s the nitty gritty answer. The Fuji X100s can make either a B&W or a Color photo. I know, I know, hard to believe but it’s true. I hear tell other cameras can do this too but I an’t never seen one do it so I don’t believe it.

It should be obvious to you that my brain is on vacation and that’s why I’m posting like this. Sometimes we need to et the brain go on vacation because we start to over think what we are doing and how we are doing it and why we are doing what we are doing the way we are doing it. It can be a good thing to work without too much thinking. Luckily the Fuji X100s allows this non-thinking method of working because the engineers at Fuji thought about the thinkers and non thinkers using this camera.

Because of this thought out fact from the thinking and non thinking engineers at Fuji, we have a camera that doesn’t interfere with our work whether we are thinking or not thinking, the camera just works and does what it is supposed to do about what we want it to do and what we think it should do.

Sometimes there is negative energy on the street and some one may not like me making photos of their storefront and after they learn that I have the right to do so and now she understands, I make a photo of her and that’s that. I don’t bully anyone but I never run from confrontation. If she didn’t yell at me and call me an old man, well I would have remained the Proper Gentleman that I aspire to be but yelling at me and making empty threats… well…CLICK!

It’s an interesting thing this Life Photography is. I find it most satisfying and I will attempt to do it again tomorrow.

Peace be with you and always believe in what you do and who you are…………….if you don’t how can you expect other to…….

Street Photography Chronicles by Don Springer