Tag Archives: Personal Work

Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street Photography

February 19th, 2017 … Not Passing the Passerby’s

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Not passing the passerby’s. Maybe that sounds confusing and I am a good source for confusion material. Remember that thing about the Inverse Square Law. Well, here we go again, another round. This round we are dealing with the head mostly and the heart is active but on vacation.  I was always interested in the things I didn’t pay attention to. I mean why do they not interest me. Why is there no connection that gets me hyped? If there is a connection of sorts, why do I not make a photo of it? If there’s a connection and I don’t make a photo, why do I even remember the moment? That’s the thing, remembering the moments NOT recorded.

 

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So I set out with the intent of finding the photos I pass by. I did this many times before but the way you get past hurdles, is not to get over them one time, but to get over them many times and then to recognize them before you have to get over them. I started thinking, shooter I said, what’s the reason you walked pass that photo and if in fact that was a photo, what was missing?

years ago, I taught vision by going to an area and making photos. I would do about 10 and from different points of view. I would take the class there and give them all the photos. Then set them free to find the photo on the print out on the street. This is easier said then done but, very worthwhile. Cultivating vision also means to be aware of what’s not the interest. Like in a garden, there are many beautiful plants growing but all around is weeds, grass etc. We need to WEED out the garden so that the flowers etc grow better.

That is the same as in making photos. We kinda weed out photos so that the photos we desire can bloom. This of course means an act of knowing what we are weeding out. Basically this is editing. So that’s the name they gave this.

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What if all the photos you don’t make are more important in some ways then the ones you do make. I don’t think it’s the value system working, I think it’s intentionally not paying attention. So I noticed a long time ago that I would walk past things, people etc and for a fraction of a second, glance at it and then continue on my journey. I get home and process and then sith to relax and let the images burn in my heart and mind. They will live there forever cause without them, I cease to exist.

All the sudden, some images pop into my mind and it’s of something I walked past and didn’t make a photo. Sometimes that image starts to burn and cause an itch in my butt. It gets to the point sometimes that I can’t erase the image at all.

So methinks that maybe, just maybe, these unborn photos are like lost messages that I didn’t get. Oh, I saw them but was to reluctant to make the image. Maybe these things are seemingly trite but to me, very intense. I want to understand my life as a photographer before I am not. I want to make the photos that mean something to me and never be that concerned by the thoughts of others that it shall effect me or detour me from the path I live with my cameras.

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We all have a responsibility to ourselves. We need to satisfy the craving of photographic creativity and continue our work. Ya know, there is a duty that we all have, wanted or not, That duty is to support photography and Mother Light the best way we can. We as shooters, for the most part work for other shooters. To deny that fact is to deny yourself the reciprocal energy that your photos may bring.

So perhaps what I am really writing about is that maybe we see the big picture for ourselves and we walk by the things we don’t pay attention to. This kind of stuff makes me nuts and it’s why Olivier and I made the Inspired Eye. What if one of the things or…. that we pass by is a shooter struggling to find his/her way with photography. Perhaps you stop and offer assistance and maybe you think that this means little to you but to the one you helped, it’s a mountain that gets knocked to a dust pile and leads the way to the an open mind and heart.

I’m rambling but not really.

Good Light my friends……………..end transmission……………………

 

 

Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street

February 12th, 2017 … Ricoh GRII

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There are times that one, well me, or you must fight off the energy that tries to slow us down or even detract us from the reality of our work. I’m not talking about the internal stuff that we all have to address or even cameras and such. The thing is, even if people don’t chat about things, those things are alive anyway. Maybe we don’t address it but that does not negate the energy. So, the web is a blessing but also a monster in non-disguise. Now I’m not gonna talk about any of youse cause I know that youse all have it together, certainly more then me and I just need to air out my sane insanity.

So just think of this as entertainment and not like I’m passing on some learning’s. I can’t really pass on learning’s cause I forgot everything and can’t remember what I forgot so I don’t wanna bother my shrink so he can jar me poor brain and give it a restart. The hard drive is to old and don’t care anyway. Ok….

So instead of youse trying to learn or teach what I forgot or you forgot, I’ll keep this light, not light light but light light like weight but not really weight kinda thoughts weight. Sometimes, well alot lately when I make photos, I get excited as always but then I get into LR and start to select and work, things seem different then usual. I guess what I mean is that maybe I have stored preferences for photos. Well, don’t laff, we all do it’s just that I don’t know yours and I’m re-evaluating mine.  I kinda think these things become presets. On the shooting end, they are trigger mechanisms. Don’t get smug over there, every one has these. Oh yeah… for real. Then what happens is that when we get into post processing…. hold on. Whats pre processing? How can there be a post process without a pre-process. Where does the pre-process start and the post process start. If it’s post process, in my mind, that means after process. If it’s after process, when did I process.

All these things would drive normal people crazy. Luckily, for me, it’s all natural. I would like to chat with the pre, post process inventors so i have a clear understanding what cell they are in and make sure they don’t get out. Maybe this stuff doesn’t mean much to most and to the many, less then nothing. Well, I stand guilty about being a life long disciple of the entire photographic process.

To me, photography is not something I practice or aspire to do. Photography is life. Life is photography. I’m not judgemental about things. I just totally dismiss all those that are not serious and dedicated. Is that being judgemental? Don’t know, don’t care.

So, all these things and much more are living in my heart, soul and mind. These thoughts shed light on scenes and events that I want to make photos of. Some call this baggage and maybe, just maybe that’s correct. If that’s what you feel, I’m happy for you. It’s mot what I feel. I believe that photos come from inside and we seek to find them outside. Sure, maybe you go out and seek photos and look for inspiration out there, good… work on. The thing is, and I wrote something like this a while ago, that your work germinates inside and you look for it outside. Then you cultivate it it and reap the harvest.

The soil for your work is your eye, heart and mind. The energy for that soil is the life you have lived and how you wear that life. How you wear life is how you apply it to your existence. Your existence and all that ye shall be on ye planet Earth, will be summed up in your photos. Don’t believe me, I’m a crazy old shooter? Well, look at books, go to museums, study all that is in the past history. Those photos are what makes us believe that there is more to our life then living. What matters in the end is how others, yes those that follow your tracks, how they look back to what you planted for them.

Then, when it’s time…… Rest in peace my friends…. but not yet……………………………………………

 

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street, Street

February 5th, 2017 … Passing Thru … Eye Contact … of Life and Death … Paul Strand

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My problem is that I read too much. It’s true I tell ya. I read Blogs all the time. I mean many bloggers are subscribed to me and I too them. It’s amuses me that some will be so steadfast on a position that it’s humorous without being funny at all. One of the things a guy I just read was about eye contact and how it was all important in street work. Well, maybe it is and maybe, just maybe there  is a point raised about what the eyes are seeing in this point of contact. Is eye contact about the subject peering into the camera and not realizing or realizing that a photo is or is not being made? If eye contact is about just seeing the subject peering at us from the photo, well I suppose I differ on opinion and maybe even the popular opinion I don’t do well with anyway.

I studied the photos of Paul Strand very intensely. When you look at his portraits whether candid as they say but he never did, or set up, one instantly FEELS the subject and Strand at the same time.  I saw unpublished photos that Paul made of Hazel, his wife and partner thru life and love. I would feel this warmth inside me and a longing that I couldn’t explain. I would ask Ding and he just looked at me and I knew he had the same feelings I was experiencing.

I didn’t understand how we could feel things from the photos and they were shared feelings. Then it dawned on me years later as I was making photos of my wife and kids. I had made a portrait of my mother in her apartment and it was stark with just a lamp over head. When I saw the print, I understood Paul Strands work as never before.

Strand wasn’t making portraits of people or Hazel that were superficial at all. Strand was making photos of LIFE and DEATH. He was aware the the moment would pass instantly from his view and Death would haunt him for his life. Some say I am infatuated with death and it comes across a lot in my feelings and thoughts. It’s true but if we don’t appreciate death and the totality of it’s birth upon us, we will never taste life that we have and just go thru living as if there is no tomorrow.

Strand saw Hazel in his photos and the fact that he saw destiny as they grow older and reach the end of life as we know it. He had the ability to see all of life in that manner. More then any photographer before him. It’s why it took a while or the 291 club and Stieglitz to understand Strand’s work and passion. The big reason is because as talented as the others were, Strand showed promise to be a loner and a leader in the future.

The understanding of what photography does most and best, is the recording of memories. Look at any photographer you admire and the observance of life and death will or should be in the work. It’s the single common denominator and yet, countless shooters will deny the power and reason for the intent of making memories. They will feel and believe that for as long as they are gifted not with their life but with the life of their loved ones.

Perhaps this is a good reason to learn to MAKE photos and not TAKE photos. So, the next time you make photos,  be aware that time will pass and things will change but the biggest change will be inside you. Paying attention to the change of seasons of our life will make us be alive not just be present.

Dreamcatcher, Street Photography, Streetshooter

January 28th, 2017 … Philly Streets … New Format …. Wouter Brandsma

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A lot has been going on in Philly this week. I won’t get into the political crap and just stay with how it all effects me and photography. President Trump and all the political whatsoever in the USA were here. Barricades were and still are all over. Streets blocked and then police were out in force. I saw a few that I knew and talked with them about all kinds of things. I asked how the barricades were working to keep all the people out of the event and Sgt…laff’s. Don, the barricades aren’t there for the politicians, they are there to protect you and everybody from the politicians. So I bought 6 cups of coffee for him and the others standing with him. Funny tho, I always thought that. I feel that politicians say they are going to do for the working man but I never felt what they say they wanted to do. Turns out many feel as I do. Enough politics.

Anyway I feel kind of anxious and the pressure of the blog is making me uptight. So, I hear tell of a man somewhat younger then me and he does photography and a blog also. This guy is a legend.  Wouter writes about life and photography and it’s all one and the same. He blends both in a web that draws one in and forces one to accept that good times and hard times are one and the same in life.

Anyway, I like his work and words and I always feel somewhat edgy and perhaps that’s because Wouter finds a catalyst to make us and me more in touch with humanity. twitter.com/wouterbrandsma

Enough of the mushy stuff. The thing is he changed his format a while ago to just posting photos from the week but leaving open space in case he wanted to change that at any time. I see that this releases the pressure of posting a a lot but making it more better.

I suppose that the inverse square law is in effect here. Less is more/more is less. So I will borrow and adapt this format for my blog and see how it goes. Maybe less post will generate more interesting content.

I also feel that my family of cameras are directly screwing with my head. If it’s true that less is more, and it is, then maybe less access to my cameras will be more productive. So for the next month I will use Mom the Ricoh GRII only. That’s not a hard task but it means to release the energy from my other cameras. So I placed them all on the shelves and told them to be nice and quiet any leave my head alone. The only one I will miss truly for the month is Andre’ the Fuji X100T. But I understand the need for simplicity and clarity of heart and vision.

I experience the most freedom with Mom, the Ricoh GRII. There is a synergism between us that is undeniable. Not that I don’t have it with other cameras but with her, I just am a total observer and even when I make a photo, I never leave the stance of an observer. The other cameras are beautiful also but at the precise moment of exposure, I am a maker in an observation. The Ricoh transcends that experience and keeps me as an observer.  I often times am not aware that I am making photos, just seeing them. For me this is Nirvana and allows me to just exist without conscious efforts.

So, there ya have it, the new thoughts from my head. I hope that youse all will get something out of this and that our efforts together will make us all aware that there is life out there. We must live it but without a camera in hand, well perish the thought.

……….end transmission……….shooter out……….

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street

January 20th, 2017 … Thoughts on Inauguration Day … Fuji X100T

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I woke this morning for very big important changes about to set in. This is not something that happens often but when it does, the world changes. I see that there is a changing of the guard in the near future. I am excited for the new generation and feel sad about the generation about to leave.

C’mon, youse all know me, I couldn’t care about politics. The change I’m talking about is the new Fuji X100F being released in February. The old generation is Andre’ the Fuji X100T and his days are numbered. That in itself really saddens me. Andre’ has about 1000 shots on him in 10 months. He’s still like new and performs flawlessly. His replacement has some new features that I am anxious to experience. I started the X100 series on release of the 1st model, the X100. I was completely blown away by that camera and named him Andre’. At this time I was still doing some work with my Leica M6 and was noticing focus issues. Essential tremors were starting to take their toll on me and I knew shortly I would need AF. When the Fuji X100 came out I was relieved to say the least. I was an Admin at M43.com and using the Pen and Lumix cameras. I loved them, still love M43.

The X100 gave me the Leica experience again but with AF. Time went on and the X100s was released and once again, I was blown away. Andre’ did Astral Projection and moved into the new Fuji X100s. We worked together for a long time. I use other cameras and get deep with them but I am aware that Andre’ is the top dude. My young business partner Olivier came to my place March of last year. When he left, Andre the Fuji X100s went with him. Well, actually, the nameless Fuji X100s went, as Andre” is my companion. Within a week, I had the Fuji X100T and of course, Andre’ found his way home in there.

Why do I tell you all this? Well, for me it’s extremely important and emotional. I do love my cameras. My cameras are a pure metaphor for photography and my love of it. So I get attached to them. I have a synergism with my cameras which means I have a synergism with photography. I wish I had that with LIFE but I don’t. Life is a struggle for me but photography is a natural course of being and it moves thru me like a wave of fresh air. It doesn’t move me or stir anything, it just guides me from one breath to the next.

My cameras are the transport mechanism that I share the experience with. So, having to make a change soon is an emotional experience and not just for me but for my camera also. (I didn’t say his name now because I don’t want to shake him up).

I had a session about 16 months ago and a new guy came on board. We were 7 total and sitting at a table for a very early breakfast. I’m won’t mention names because most read my blog and contact me on a regular basis and I don’t want to embarrass anyone. So, I asked who named their camera and 5 said they did after understanding the connection. New Guy, herein called NG smiled and said I was nuts and he felt he was at the wrong place. So I told him, I’d gladly give him his money back and wanted to because I didn’t want him disrupting the energy of the group. He looked at me like a lost puppy. He completely turned around with just a few words I said to him.

So it’s time to pull prints out. I ask for this session, 10 of the best. We are going thru prints and everyone has an equal say and is to respect each other. Comments are going around and then nervously, NG pulls his prints out. Now, this group is no way a group of accomplished shooters but they have the desire, passion and knowledge to move forward and know the path. Susanna starts the comment flow and she states that NG is not connected to his work. NG is looking at his photos and wondering what everyone is talking about.

I ask him abruptly what the name of his camera is and he says that it’s crazy to name a camera and he doesn’t. I try to explain. The idea of naming your camera is to create a relationship with all of photography. It is a way of establishing the love that you have and the love you give and the love you get from photography. That love connects every step from thought to execution to print and maybe even exhibition etc. There exist not 1 inch of space to wander off from your passion. You need to focus on every single facet of your photographic life.

I told him that I can see he has an eye for making photos but no eye for the frame. Like many, he is center weighted like a light meter. He is not seeing the frame in the camera. He sees it as a box and makes everything nice and tidy in that box. I explained that he needs to see the frame in the camera as a window and not to confine his photo in the box but capture what he wants thru the window. We decided to meet again in a month and I wanted a head count and NG was eager to say he would be there. I gave him my phone number and told him to feel free to call. He was to name his camera and feel every thing he does and the connection that exist with or without him. That connection has no name and he was to do that.

A month later we meet and have coffee and I ask all to show current prints. NG brings his to the table and all are ohhhhhs and ahhhs.  I gotta say, NG is a really talented shooter with all the right things and I was hoping he was connected now. I asked him the name of his Camera and he said Robert after Robert Frank. He said, ya know, when I go to work, I can not only visualize the photo I am making but the process all the way thru. I feel different processing styles and It’s all a part of me.

I wrote this because if your not seeing out there what you want, maybe it’s because you don’t know where it will end up and thus, lost.

All this is important to me and that’s why upgrading my camera is such an emotional experience. Andre’ the Fuji X100T is a great partner and I look forward to upgrading him into the new Fuji X100F body. Sounds nice huh…. Andre’ the Fuji X100F.

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street

January 17th, 2017 … Getting What’s Inside to the Outside … Compromise With the World … Lesson from Ansel Adams

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Many times I have mentioned that I name my cameras. Some say it’s crazy and some just shrug it off. Well, I am if nothing, a very dedicated shooter. So, how things work are what interest me. Then I like to know why things work the way they do. I am alway testing myself and my reasons for anything I do or attempt to do. Life is a struggle and it is said that without the struggle, there is no fruits of the efforts you go after. Well, no one told me anything would be easy but I never expected so hard.

When it comes to photography, I don’t struggle as much. Sure I wrestle with my heart and mind but I am always able to find resolution. So when I met some people for breakfast  and we were doing our probing and trying to understand each other’s motives, when the question came up about visualization, of course I was put on the spot.

I tried to explain that Pre-visualization was similar but not the same as Ansel Adams taught. Ansel practiced a method of subject acquisition and print finalization. It was early 1973 when I grokked Ansel’s method. I understood the methodology and adopted it and breathed it. It was great for sheet film and for rolls, kinda limiting. I asked Ansel about roll film and the Zone System and he told me how to do it but he thought any serious Photographer was using Large Format. My daughter was borne August 17th, 1973 and we named her Bethany Ansel. When Ansel came back to Philly in March of 1974, I took a print to him I made when he was here in “73” and told him I named my daughter after him. He was very honored and happy and all was well.

By this time, I was steady on my Leica’s again doing the streets. I had worked out the Zone system for roll film but decided I’d rather develop according to how I felt and not to the method that could control me.

 

 

So visualization has circumnavigated for me from silver/platinum to now digital. Digital, long time here already. So what I believe as the truth of one’s vision, is the culmination of subject awareness all the way to final image. This may be the path to self satisfaction but it’s also the path that is easy to get lost on.

I always worked in a manner that was, awareness of the subject, capture and then processing. There are basically 2 phases to processing,. The first being negatives that supports positive energy because the awareness of the healthy negative is very comforting. The second is printing. Things kinda change in the digital realm of photography but not necessarily a very dramatic change.  I tend to keep things separate but together. Get to the street and work. Hunt for photos and then let photos find me. Great feeling to be alive with a camera in my hand. At the very moment of exposure I can have an idea of what the print will feel like.

Well for me, it has never really been about trying to capture a slice of reality and preserving it so that it resembles the reality that gave birth to it. Of course for work stuff, I do things that way but for my personal work, I don’t give a hoot about 3 dimensional reality. I make the image the way mother light and I want it to be. Life is a collaboration with a million things and photography is really the only collaboration with life I am concerned about. I’m sure family and friends etc sense a disconnect from me and always did. It’s true. Photography and I have a collaboration that I can’t live without and won’t.

So all these things run thru my heart and mind and camera. They feed the PC and LR and the hard drives. At the moment of exposure I am at last connected again. No, not to friends and family, but to the world and my life. It’s not about fame or fortune, it’s about finding a way to live with your heart. My photos are the culmination of everything I am at the precise moment of exposure.

I have found a way to communicate with the world and myself. My photos are out there and to be honest, it’s me naked to the world and I can’t succumb to the inspection, judging or anythings even positive reinforcement.

I make photos because I have to.

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street, Street Photography

January 12th, 2017 … Magic of the Street … Being a Visual Alchemist

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Maybe I’m just to sensitive to things but the mood on the street at this time, in Philly is one of confused mixed emotions. I don’t mean politics or work, or financial issues, it’s more about the magic that is missing. Yeah, I know I’m crazy. See, life is a beautiful things and it’s good to live it. The thing for me is to have the magic and that makes living more special. Photography is based on visual magic. Seeing a scene and making a photo is magic. The idea of seeing, the idea of making a photo….nothing short of magic. When I was doing my darkroom for 40+ years, the alchemy turned me on to a high that no drug could ever match. For me, making the negs was the most exciting part of the processing part.

I mean, going out and working and then coming home to my darkroom, making negs, that proves that all went well so far. So if in fact that photography is magic then it seems to me that when I make a photo, and that is magic, how about the people in the photo? Do they see or feel magic? Do they even believe anymore in magic? Is the magic contagious? Where does the magic get it’s energy from?

Is it possible to share the magic? Does magic need to have people convinced that it exist? Don’t they know that just the fact that they exist means they live with and in magic? So, if we as shooters seek and fine magic and make a photo that has magic in it, does that mean we are magicians? Well, we are alchemist in the darkroom, much like Merlin, so perhaps we are magicians in a world that has lost the magic. I name all my cameras like I named my guitars. I don’t really talk to my cameras but if I did my Shrink needs to know about it.

We are given choices in life. One of the choices is how we see the world. I mean as shooters, how do we see the world. Do we just walk around aimlessly and wait for photos to find us and we can TAKE them? That’s a way many seem to work. Then there is the shooters that walk around and they are visual alchemist and they seek and find material to MAKE photos. It’s like there is a passive/aggressive method of working. I see it as either an observer or a participant. You can even be both at the same time. So really I suppose it’s a matter of stance again. How we feel about ourselves and our subject matter.

Harry Bertoia told me that I need to dance thru life. Life is a dance he said. As you dance thru it, sometimes the music is not to your liking but you just dance anyway because in time, the music of life will change to your liking. Just the very concept of what Harry said is magic. The magic in the dance of life, tat’s what I want to see and experience and make photos of.

So when we look at our work, we see the magic of life thru our lens. We experience life in a way that not everyone gets to do. We have a gift and we get to share it with other like minded people. The beauty of that experience is beyond words. For me, life with a camera is magic and life without the camera is almost unbearable….not almost, it is! I am at the age that I make my photos and the real magic for me now is that I need no reinforcement from anyone to make me feel better. My photos do that for me.

Enjoy my friends and love the magic and if you can’t find it, look at your photos and then you should see it.

 

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

January 7th, 2017 … Burst The Bubble … Ricoh GRII

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There exist a comfort zone in life that keeps us nice and safe thinking and feeling like we are all together with ourselves. This zone of living comes from our experiences of life and the thoughts shared with others in their comfort zone. This comfort zone is really the bubble. We all have one and even if you don’t accept the bubble, you still have it and live in it. Ever hear the expression, “don’t burst my bubble”? Well that is proof enough for me. So, how does this apply to photography? Well, just like everything else, we get accustomed and used to and addicted to gear, software, the need for positive reinforcement on our work and much more. So we create the bubble and it surrounds us and maybe it’s to keep us safe or, maybe to keep others out or, maybe it’s an efficient way to gather and keep things organized for ourselves. I bet there are many ways to use the bubble and all have the right to do so as they please.

I think it’s normal to have a bubble. I think it’s healthy to want to protect it and to keep close to it and thrive inside it. So maybe this bubble not only protects us and our thoughts and out life but it also keeps us confined to the inside of it and maybe we need to consciously get outside of it. The thing is, getting out may mean bursting our bubble. THE HORROR! What happens if we burst our bubble and can’t get back in? Well….I think we should all find a way to just install a door or crack or something to get out and allow us to get back in. How this manifest into trouble for shooters and others too but I concentrate on  shooters…..is we love doing our work but it could come to a time that we are getting stagnant. I knew a very famous photographer, he died recently but he would work in spurts and produce a lot of work. Then he would look at everything and try to see how it fit into his body of work. This of course makes sense but I wonder how one burst the bubble to see what’s on the other side. I mean the bubble is a comfort zone and thus we are comfy in there. The idea of someone bursting it is not pretty.

My bubble gets burst all the time and if I don’t do it, my shrink does. I like to do things opposite from what I just wrote. Yeah, I’m serious. See, I take all the stuff out there that creates problems and stick it in the bubble. So if I have a bad day or a good day or do something boring or interesting, I blame myself cause I’m not in the safety net of my bubble.

I think our vision is like a bubble. I mean we get out there and work and we feel safe when we are working on series or a body of work or whatever we do. It’s not being complacent, it’s being comfortable, big difference. Only you know the safety and confines of your bubble. I kinda think that’s a safe bet but many can burst your bubble. So how does that even happen. If we have our safety net in the bubble then how can anyone burst it? Perhaps the fabric of the bubble allows others to see inside and to be able to rattle our cage and burst the bubble.

I know this all sounds tedious and maybe it is but maybe, just maybe it’s a very important life lesson. When you can apply a life lesson to what your doing, that’s a beacon for standing tall on your work and not letting anyone get inside your bubble.

 

Perhaps the bubble isn’t a bubble at all. Maybe the bubble is just inside our head. Sounds like it could very well be. I mean if we stand on what we believe and what we think about things, we should be able to take criticism and even abuse about ourselves and our work. Perhaps what we do for ourselves gets misguided onto a track of trying to please others. That’s normal and acceptance is much more desirable then rejection.

So, I care what people think about what I do. I am deeply concerned with helping others in any way i can. I love doing my photography and learning how it relates to my life and my essence as a Human Being.      I know one thing after all this tedious stuff. No one is bursting my bubble, well except for Dr G my shrink.

Be blessed…………………………………………………………..

Color, Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street

December 31st, 2016 … Last Post for 2016 … New Years Eve …

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There comes a time in life when one has to reckon with oneself.  In fact if we are attentive to life itself, this time of reckoning comes more then once. We may not always be ready for it or want it but it arrives, like it or not. In the life of a photographer, when it arrives, one must be prepared to deal with it regardless of what it brings with it. I wrote in my last post about organizing work to get a clarity for the present and future. That’s all well and good and should help prepare for the demons of uncertainty and the land of complacency. We as warriors in life need to be prepared for the battle to produce and stand by our work, the very essence of who and what we are. Life will continually throw shots at us and try to defeat our efforts and the love we have for our life’s work.

Having clarity on our past efforts and successes allows us to stand tall with confidence as we move forward on solid ground. It’s way to easy to get hammered and be effected by others. Even the fact of going out to work requires a solid background of what we did and how it effects us now. It’s called clarity. Shooters love clarity, sharp lenses, good MP sensors, good Depth of Field etc.

I hope all of you find heart and mind with an openness of clarity so that you continue to work in peace and be productive more each and every day.

Happy New Years to All and to All a Good Night…(borrowed from Santa)

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street, Photography, Street Photography

December 29th, 2016 … Finding Your Place Amongst The Masses

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When we look over our work, it starts to become obvious about how we approach photography. I think it’s maybe time to rip into what we did for the year and seek a solution for our spot in the grand scheme of things. The masses I’m referring to are the masses of photos you made and fell in love with. I suppose this could be thought of as a way to organize ones work. Years ago I used to lay out my work and get answers to the riddle of my photography.

I would lay out about 12 prints on the floor in a horizontal line. Then try to make sense of what they were saying to me. Maybe take one out, add one whatever. The scrabble system. I would look at photos and try to find a belonging to one on the line. Then add this photo horizontally up or down in line where they fit together.after a while, it starts to become clear where my efforts were at.

We can’t do that digitally unless you make many prints. There is no software that does this either. So I needed to find another method. Ok, this is the hard core method and if you need less of  strong result, by all means change the numbers I lay out.

Here we go. Look in your catalog for the year and very carefully, select the very best images and just 1 per week. If you worked every week, you should have between 48-52 photos. If you worked less, just take one from every week as long as you feel it’s your best work. Open a collection in LR or whatever you use. Move the photos around to get them in a sequence that makes you happy and it makes sense. What you are looking for is the common denominator between photos. It may at first seem very random but trust me, and trust yourself, it’s not random at all.

Don’t remove anything from the catalog yet. In fact, go back over everything and pull one shot from each month and work them on the collection. By now you should be seeing photos that work together or look like a series, group, no matter hat you call it, just look and feel the photos.

Lets say you have 8 photos of the rain and umbrellas etc. Gather them together and open a new collection named “Rain” and put them in there. Ohhh you just discovered 9 photos of low light, so make a collection “Low Light” and put them in there. You get the idea. Now go back again and pull 1 photo for every other month. Sort them and place them in a collection.

After you feel you have all the really good photos that resonate with your eye, heart and mind…….close LR or whatever and forget about the stuff for at least a week. Go make photos and do not look at your collections. The reason is that the collections are looking at you.

After a week or so passes, open LR and look at the collections, 1 at a time. Do not edit anything out. Every image has the potential to push you against yourself and lead to a new direction or lay a solid foundation with what your doing now. When you study this work, you are studying all that you are as a human with a camera. Your thoughts, feelings, sensitivities and everything you are is here in front of you. It is said that every photo is part of a mosaic of the portrait of yourself. So, your looking at yourself. You also can see what attracts you, what trigger mechanisms etc are working with you.

Life is a passing dream but it doesn’t mean you have o be asleep to dream. The best dreams are the ones we have while we are awake in the here and now.

The point here for this method is to get you organized in the here and now and to understand how and why you work.

Be Blessed Everybody and have a Lovely Romantic Happy New Years.

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