Tag Archives: Philly

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January 11th, 2014 ….. Fuji XE1 40mm ….. The Ricoh Shooters Dream ….. Part 1

January 11, 2014 streetshooter 5 Comments

Tanya and I went to Atlantic City to visit Joe and Mary. Well, par for the course….Joe and I went to the beach to get in touch with uh…uh..shhhhhh…a camera store because Joe wants to get the camera all Ricoh shooters ever born or ever will be….the XE1. No, not just the XE1 but the XE1 with the 27mm lens. See, here e go again…that mathematical head game that we all play because some execs and some engineers wanted to see what would happen. Ahhhh, heck…that was years ago anyway.

See, Ricoh makes about the best 28mm lens on their cameras, better than most. Now the issue……many if not all Ricoh shooters wanted a 40mm lens or even camera to go along with their 28mm GRD4 or GRD3 or GR thing, dust magnet that it is. Yeah, that’s right…I said it! Well Fujifilm found out about this from some FBICIASECRETSERVICEXCAMERAMAKERSORGANIZATIONTHAT’SNOLONGERSECRET and they made the 27mm lens that mathematically and optically and every other thingy equals 40.5mm. The ideal combination of course is 28mm & 40mm.

Anyway, back to the beach. Joe had some Russian Vodka under his blanket and insisted that we kinda do more than sip on it but not get to the point that the ladies…nah…the wifeys would suspect that we were drinking at the beach. Well, being the friend and standup guy that I am, I quickly acknowledged Joe and his good idea. I mean after all….with all due respect to da wifeys, bringing back 1/2 a bottle would prove disrespectful. Bringing back an empty bottle would do likewise but..AHHAAAA…finishing the bottle the way 2 Nam Vets would do and send the empty to the ocean but with a shot or two still in it is a show of deep respect to da wifeys and whoever finds this magic bottle.

Now to the important part……

Joe has found making photos a very interesting and positive way to spend time. I have introduced to him that it’s also a way to spend money, not just time. So while we were on the beach, I handed Joe my Fuji XE1 with the 27mm on it. It’s dark man, I mean real dark. Joe made the above photo with my camera. He fell in love very quickly when he saw this shot on the screen. Of course I am in the process of putting together a deal for him on the XE2 and 4 or so lenses. Mary, his wife called me this morning and was very happy. She said that Joe seemed to have found a new love. I told her not to worry because she would always be #1 and this ain’t about a new love, it’s about Joe finding a reason for himself to stay alive and not for her or anyone else. She thanked me for helping Joe finish the Russian Vodka.

The temp was 61F here in Philly today. As I walked up Market street, I could see many homeless out in the warm rain. Some were taking cover under facades and other things to stop the rain. This lady is about 45 and has no one or no place to go and won’t go to a shelter.

This is all this kid has for a home. He’s maybe 25-30 but is well worn from family etc. I asked if he wanted to go to a shelter and he said no. He was in a few and was attacked and his stuff taken and he was almost raped.

Sometimes I feel like I’m on the other side of life. I see things in my head as I release the shutter and when I get into LightRoom, I find my way.

Thanks for stopping by and I’ll do the best to keep my end going.

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January 8th, 2014 ….. 20F The Fuji XE1 Makes Me Warm

January 8, 2014 streetshooter 10 Comments

Don’t get things wrong now, 20f is cold. I know, I know…my wife Tanya laughs at the Americans and spoiled way of living. So as she walked outside to the garden, it was obvious that America has worked it’s way into her mind and heart. She comes back in and says….”You better dress warm because you can’t take the cold like me”. Well, of course she ran into the living room and got under a blanket to warm up. I smiled and just let her think she’s still a Russian Comrade that doesn’t flinch in the cold.

But she did set the course for the day. See, I am told that I am not the sharpest pencil in the box…(yeah right)….but I know when it’s cold. I also know that film will reticulated in cold but sensors aren’t as sensitive to weather conditions. So I headed out with the XE1 and 21mm Skopar to just take a nice walk in the more than brisk cold.

I was on Market Street and I have to admit…it was cold and then…this young woman walked by me and for some strange reason, the sun came out and I felt warm…well warm all over. Funny how things like that can stir your day. Obviously beings the elder gentleman that I am I wouldn’t even look at her…..my camera, well….that’s another story.

I gotta be frank now. The Fuji’s are excellent to work with but using a good lens like the Skopar or Heliar or Summicron etc, brings the camera to life. Using a DOF scale is the joy that can’t be matched by Auto Focus lenses, no matter how good that may be. Tomorrow I’ll be on the streets with the XP1 and 35mm 1.4 because I promised to get that 50mm FOV under control.

Till then…stay warm and if your in OZ where it’s like 66F…sheeeesh……

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January 5th, 2014 ….. Fuji XE1 & XP1 do the Mummers Parade … Part 3

January 5, 2014 streetshooter 4 Comments

I think I need to explain why I am using the Fuji XP1 and XE1. For me and what I do photographically, it’s like a ZEN experience without being a ZEN experience. What I’m trying to say is that I must feel connected to my subject matter, the light, air camera, breathing etc. I have been known to call this, The Here and Now. So the act of making photos for me is about being fully aware of time, space and myself.

What the heck are you talking about shooter and how is this relating to Fuji cameras? I’m glad you asked. If I’m working and totally in the here and now of the photographic moment, one thing that could be a big issue is….camera intrusion. That’s a big no no. If you were working and seeing photos and getting ready to raise the camera and make a photo…would you like to be assaulted by the camera making sounds, flashing lights, not focusing, focusing but not fast enough etc? Another major issue that Fuji has dealt with is the UI between cameras. On the XP1 & XE1 the interface is so similar that it’s never an issue going between cameras…..and…..even if your using AF on one and MF legacy lens on the other….no sweat.

It’s early Sunday morning and I have to get going in the physical world. This is the last post for the Mummers stuff and tomorrow I will be back to my normal street stuff….normal, ain’t that a joke…..?

have a great day……later…….

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January 4th, 2014 ….. Fuji XE1 & XP1 do the Mummers Parade … Part 2

January 4, 2014 streetshooter Leave a comment

With the shots from the 35mm 1.4, all were made with the XP1 and I used the OVF. On this post, the ones with that Mr Bokeh are the ones from the 35mm. The guy above is MR. BOKEH and I found him wondering around with those glasses on to fool people. He’s the guy responsible for all that Bokeh stuff that was and will ever be.

Anyway, my Queen photo has gone viral and is on explore at Flickr. Well deserved and it once again shows that the Flickr editors do have eyes. I used the XP1 with the strap I saw when Ray, Pete and I met in Sept or something. Ray is my front man on new products. I think he knows that but at any rate, he has a talent for spotting a product that has quality and more importantly, that works. He had this slider strap on and I watched as he pulled this ring and the strap changed length in a second. I didn’t say anything but shortly after our meet, I ordered on and it came from Pop Flash…Tony Rose http://www.popflash.com/index.php?p=catalog&mode=search&search_in=all&search_str=slider+strap because he has it in stock and it was the best price. For many years, decades I have resisted a strap like that, you know…the sling thing. This strap changes my way of thinking and I use it all the time. I have installed the “LeHook Cady” http://www.lehook.co.uk/index.html and this makes changing to a wrist or different camera a very elegant task. I hope the links work.

Battery power is quite remarkable for both cameras. I have the cameras to never sleep and to have the screen always on. I’ll just say that I might be in disagreement with a few that say the power management is not good.

This was in front of the Urban League and it’s a place for the wealthy people to look at the commoners and feel like they are in touch with reality. Eh…once a year they can have the pleasure of seeing all the people that they crush financially act up and have a good time. I’m sure they get double showers when they get home. I’m sure all the ladies with their fancy mink coats get horny and when they get home, their husbands are sleeping because they had sex with the young parade goers…(male or female, I hear they don’t care).

The guy above has no idea that he’s in a bad spot but later he’ll find out because those guys on top can’t hold their drinks and the guy on the bottom s in direct line of fire. Obviously, he’s a Marine not Army……shhhhhhhhh!

See these guys….they are the crew that test Beer Can Camouflage. If they don’t get busted, the company that sponsors them will make millions of dollars because the company can sell beer can covers to all the beer drinkers in the world. I think these guys are off to a startling success.

Jimi was at the parade this year……

There’s more stuff sitting in a LR5 folder but I’ll post some of them tomorrow.

Tom, the Heliar is BRILLIANT. Most of those that have issues have used cheap adapters. I use the Fuji and never have any issues at all….

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January 3rd, 2014 ….. Fuji XE1 & XP1 do the Mummers Parade … Part 1

January 3, 2014 streetshooter 9 Comments

Don’t look for the traditional Mummers photos here. There are many good shooters that made those photos but I ain’t one. I have worked the parade bystanders and not the traditional shots of the participants for decades.

I used the Fuji XP1 with the 35mm 1.4 and the XE1 with the 15mm Heliar. No other lenses or cameras were used and more importantly needed. I gotta say first off….the XP1 is now the camera it was designed to be. I used the OVF only and I loved every second of it. The XE1 was a screen shooter except for one frame where I tried the finder. Works great but with the 15mm, you need to get the camera moving in space and not at the eye.

For me the screen is still where it’s at but the OVF in the XP1 is as close to working with a M camera as Fuji probably could get. This is not meant to compare at all, even tho I feel more than qualified to do so but more of an observation on how a camera works within the vision of the shooter. The XP1 is a joy to work with, especially since the new firmware. It’s amazing how accurate the frame lines have become.

When I’m working, I can’t tolerate a camera that fights my vision. If the camera intrudes on my vision even a little….eBay….bye. I’m not selling Fuji’s and certainly I’ve had major issues with them in the past but truth be told, credit should go where credit is due. Enough props for now.

I don’t want to write too much as I feel the photos will speak better than I can with those words. I’m not as a loss mind you, just paying respect to the images.

This photo will no doubt go to the Homeless Advocacy Group I work with. Of course all the Lawyers there are either wearing or their mates are wearing these fancy schmancy fur coats. There’s nothing wrong with that, don’t get me wrong. If a man has been hungry and cold for a while, what’s one more day? Am I being sarcastic, I donotcanknow……..

More tomorrow as I have many nice photos. Peace be with you….

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December 31st, 2013 ….. Happy New Years To One and All

December 31, 2013 streetshooter 9 Comments

Don’t look for photos on this post….ain’t time for that. It’s 27F outside and Tanya & I walked to the ShopRite to get the things she needs to make a lavish, well lavish Philly, well…lavish NE Philly on Montour Street dinner. She’s downstairs cooking what no doubt will be another dinner to never forget….A big crowd tonight, her and I and of course Barsik the camera bag inspector.

I’m upstairs cleaning the Fuji’s and lenses to get ready for tomorrow’s Mummers Parade. I set the clocks so that capture time is recorded and everything is in order. Ya know many years ago the parade route was wide open. What I mean is that there was no fences to constrain anyone from making contact or going into the crowds or streets. I loved that. I just mingled around and made the photos I wanted without any freedoms being fenced in and or out. Then the City felt it needed to put fences all around the parade route and I was really upset and so were the Mummers. For a few years I went to the parade and felt restricted in movement and in the right of passage.

Then in 2011 as I was leaving the parade, I bumped into an old friend that was a great shooter for many news agencies etc. His name was Bob C……He passed away this year around March and was 83 at that time. So Bob asked me how I was doing and we talked and I felt really happy and at one with myself talking to Bob. He was the kinda shooter that loved to get in the middle of things and I’m just the opposite, he knew that.

Bob said to me….”Don, isn’t it great how they put those fences all around?” I said no Bob…why would you think that? He then said something to me that I will never forget as long as I exist, the other side included.

He said…“Don, those fences are for you. They keep everyone contained so that you can work easily and move thru the parade watchers like you always do. You never shoot the parade like other people. You alway shot it like watching from the inside, just like your street work, how life effects people…from the inside, you have to see those fences as being put there for you to work and not as a barrier from your work.”

I should add that I met Bob thru Ding McNulty. So obviously the life lessons I gathered came from a source that I try to pass on. So now as the year passes on and we move to another set of numbers, I think I’ll try to understand something I may have just taken for granted for many years. See, I always understood the lessons of life and photography etc that Ding, Bob and others passed on to me. I learned these lessons well and applied all to my work and more importantly…LIFE. What I didn’t get for many years was the actual source of the lesson. I don’t mean the passeron person or mentor, whatever. I mean the actual crux of the spark that created the material to make the lesson.

So, it’s up to me to try to decipher it all and at the end of the year, going into New Years I do have a lesson learned to tell to all…….Ding, Peter, Bob won’t like this but here’s 1…..

If you want to bring New Years in, in a special romantic way…..heed my warning! Don’t drink beer and eat hard boiled eggs……..

Happy New Years to all and to all a Good Night…….

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December 30st, 2013 ….. Fuji X-Pro1 & 35mm 1.4 ….. Some Thoughts

December 30, 2013 streetshooter 9 Comments

Yeah, yeah…just a dry practice run till tomorrow.

So since about 1985 I have been struggling with the idea of using the 50mm FOV as a main focal length. I mean of course I’ve used it in many occasions but I never felt that it was a real part of my vision. Well, the Leica’s are retired and no other camera has ever offered me the excitement of another focal length. I am or shall I say, I was always a 35mm FOV guy and never switched hit in anything. Hey, hey…married and anyway, there ain’t nuttin wrong with it anyways….

so I’m using the Fuji X PRO 1 and the X E1 and I have to say….I have the 35mm 1.4 for a good spell already and thought I’d sell it cause once again….50mm ain’t my thing. Well one day, don’t remember when I looked at my photos and my camera and low and behold…it was all working with 28mm. Oh, that’s just great….I mean let’s add fuel to the mental fire in me poor head…. So I use 28mm for many years, so much so that it went from an acquired FOV to a Natural FOV. Horrors, I thought!

I was just about to unload the Fuji 35mm and the 27mm and maybe the 18mm. I really like the Voigtlander lenses. I mean they have a focus scale, a DOF scale….a real lens! I was ready to make a few eBay listings and then the Fuji Engineers got word of me getting ready to move their stuff out of my coat pocket and then, all the sudden, without fair warning to all good Fuji users of any level of commitment, released a firmware update that rocked my uh…uh…nah, not world but got me to thinking again…..

The X-PPRO 1 now does things it tried to do before the update but couldn’t get it right.

They got the frame lines very accurate at all but the closest distances and even then, it ain’t bad. The framing box is so accurate that I decided to take the 35mm out for a spin. Well, for the 1st time since 1985, I am really excited with this focal length. I am seeing the frame box a little more accurate then the Leica M cameras. That doesn’t matter but to me it really does. I do not now nor ever like cropping my images. I know, I know…but it’s my process to crop before release…..not after…unless it’s a Million $$$ shot then crop the heck out of it…..sheeeeesh! I tested the frame box with all my lenses that I like to use and accuracy is incredible, even the Voigtlander 15mm and 21mm are right on.

Antwayz….I’ll be around tomorrow and hopefully make a few photos but if not…..Mummers Day is just a few shots away……NO NO….not photo shots…..Single Malt Shots…….

Till we meet again……..shooter out…………………….

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December 29th, 2013 ….. The Waterproof Fuji Saves The Day

December 29, 2013 streetshooter 3 Comments

Man, it’s raining cats and dogs here in Philly. I don’t mean cats like my buddy Barsik, I mean cats like my ex drummer, ex bassman that kinda cats….huh….hold on…..yeah, ok….I’m told by the left side of me poor brain that I spelled cats wrong….it’s supposed to be Kats or Katz…sumptin like a dat…..~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ anywayz……..

I went out with Tanya to go return some stuff. It was and still is rainin’ like….uh…uh… crazy. So I was thinking about making photos, of course I’m always thinking about that and I said to myself…. self, the Fuji XE1 is not gonna be a happy camper in this weather….hmmmm…..I thought, what about the Fuji XP1, I mean it’s a real PRO camera that does everything including have a meltdown in the rain……

what to do, oh my….what to do. See, the Yellow Mother invented a law that the gov’t of all nations far and wide base their law and financial matters on….. It’s called the Inverse Square Law. That law means less is more and more is less. For us, the original followers of this fine law, it means…the larger the hole, the smaller the number….hold on….check this out….it also means the smaller the hole, the larger the number.

So as shooters, we know that the more you spend on a camera, the less risky use you’ll do with it and then…the less you pay for a camera, the riskier you can get.

For the gov’t, all gov’t…this means that the more people you have the less they get to eat and have less money because they have to share it amongst themselves…..well…the less people..like in Congress etc, the less people there, the more food and money there because they get to steal it from the masses of people that trust them with their lives…….this ain’t no lesson on astrophysicaldynamicalpoliticalmathematicalbeanimpotantpersonandstealbecauseyoucanandhaveajunkysexlifesoallhastopay conversation…..

So, anyway….Tanya and I ventured out in the pouring rain and the Fuji’s didn’t…..HOLD ON A MINUTE! Enter the Fuji-film XP-50. It’s a very small point n’ shoot. It has basic settings but….it thrives in the rain, snow, dust, dirt, heat, cold and even in a politicianspocket…THE HORROR!

This camera is very nice to deal with. If you want to adjust all the settings and everything….take yer XP1 out in the rain. If your just interested in making photos in adverse conditions……The XP-50 is a great choice…. I got this on eBay for cheap….

When we got home because we didn’t go anywheres but the rain because our shoes and boots leaked and out feets gotz wet so we had to come home….

I put the file in LR5 and of course it was in color because it only does jpeggies and I leave it in color so I get the best file to work with…..

The camera is a gas and I like being able to work in bad weather etc….

More tomorrow when I get back from the streets of Philly….. By the way….if you get out a little…if you see my brain someplace…tell it that vacation is over…..

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December 28th, 2013 …… Countdown to New Years ….. shooters history lesson, part 1

December 28, 2013 streetshooter Leave a comment

With or without fears, New Years will come in a few days. Why is this day special? If’n ya have to ask, yer not from Philadelphia. See, back in the early 1900’s the Philly Forefathers of Business and Prosperity invented New Years Day. The idea was to get everyone from all over the world to come to Philly and stay in hotels, eat in the restaurants buy cameras and make photos of the most famous event in the history of the world…The Mummer’s Day Parade.

Well, the forefathers didn’t realize that this parade was gong to share time and space with New Years Day that’s celebrated all over the world. The called everyone in the world even those in the Old Country and asked if they could move New Years Day to a different time slot. Much to their surprise, the answer was no, only because New Years Day happens at different times at different places in the world. Hard to believe but it’s true. My dear friend Roger is in Adelaide Australia and he’s 151/2 hours ahead. I get the 15 hours cause he’s always ahead of me anyway…but what’s with the 1/2 hour? Who invented that? (side note) Roger and I have tried to win the lottery in the Land of Oz but it’s not working. I figured he’s really ahead of me so he could tell me the winning numbers and we could win.

hmmmm, not working but it goes to show that just because someone is ahead of you in time, doesn’t mean that where you are ain’t where you is in the here and now. So I guess I have to be in center city Philly for the parade once again. This of course means that many of you will miss it because you have a messed up time clock for New Years Day. Once again youse will miss the most important invention from Philly besides the Cheese Steak. I know you all heard of Alexander The Great. He didn’t find his way hear but he wanted to cause he heard about the Greatest Cheese Steaks in the new world. Hannibal and his troops did make it to Philly and that’s really a part of how the Mummers Day Parade got it’s start.

Anyway, I’ll be there again and this year I’m using the Fuji X-E1 with the 15mm Heliar and the Fuji X-pro 1 with the native Fuji lenses. I’ll probably keep the 35 1.4 on it because it’s a tele photo for me. Ever since a firmware update, the frame lines are very accurate…much more than any Leica M I have or have used…..all….he he

This is not the last post before the New Years Parade….I got a call from Hannibal’s kinfolk asking for 35,000 rooms with a HOT SHOWER and parking for Camels and Horses……no sweat…the Hilton is always available…….

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

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December 24th, 2013 ….. Happy Holidays To All Youse Good Peoples

December 24, 2013 streetshooter 2 Comments

No, it’s not a hipshot. No it’s only tilted if you look at it that way. Look at the left door frame….see….it’s not tilted. Some one did that a lot in his photos….there is always a reference point in photos and in life. Reference points in photos are to explore and play with like Garry but reference points in life are to anchor by and to live by. When you stumble into the here and now, those reference points may come together to create…uh….something. C’mon…the road to self discovery is not here with me or the blog….it’s inside you….find your own answers.

You like juxtapositions? ….. Yeah, me too. Making photos sometimes is like working on a jigsaw puzzle. I don’t have the patience for puzzles that live on my table. I mean it’s too convenient to have all the pieces there waiting to find where they fit in puzzle society. I’m a streetshooter. I like to find the pieces of the world and life in front of my camera so I can see where I don’t fit in. When I find a part of that society or life that I do fit in, I don’t like to feel like I fit in. I’d rather struggle to make it in the street and the world so I don’t get complacent like so many others do.

See the guy with the mask. He’s struggling not to fit in even tho’ he’s at a Santa party at an Irish Bar. This bar downtown gets a lot of Irish and Scottish people in especially at this time of the year. I don’t think the younger ones make it home for Xmas because the Guinness is really cold and the Single Malt is very good. I think they do a good job of celebrating Xmas because their bellies show their commitment to the festive season. I used to go there all the time to do what they do until I got married again and became a mature married man with certain responsibilities. My wife tells me that all the time but I’d rather be at the Irish Bar trying to make a Santa Belly. Hey, we all have dreams…even if some are nightmares…..!

This is the real Santa. He’s just left the Irish Bar because Mrs Clause talked with Tanya and he has to go home to the freezing North Pole because he’s a mature married man with certain responsibilities. All the young female elves are sorry to see him go. They really like riding in the sleigh.

Be safe, be loving, even to those that you feel don’t deserve it because, they do. Have a great holiday and I’ll be back on line Thursday…..if da wifey can keep out of Macy’s.

End Transmission…….Shooter out…………………

Street Photography Chronicles by Don Springer