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November 3rd, 2013 ….. Eye, Heart and Mind … What About The Soul?

November 3, 2013 streetshooter 8 Comments

It was 1970 and I had been in Nam for just a few weeks. I hadn’t been in the bush yet but I knew it was coming. I was 11B, what the Gov’t calls Collateral. I made photos of everything, of everyone I saw, everyone I talked to and everyone that needed someone to talk to. My M4 got a real workout but nothing that was ahead of it, or me. I was sitting against a bunker in DaNang cleaning my lenses. All the sudden a very tall guy was standing over me blocking the sun. He introduced himself as Jock. He had a OD camera bag and a Nikon F around his neck with what looked like the 200mm f/4. He asked me who I worked for and I said I was a grunt and was just making photos to record the experience.

The next day I was sent to Chu Lai. Before I left DaNang, Jock told me to look at the shy every sunrise when I wake and if I survive the day, look at the sky at sundown. He told me that if I every get lost or ever feel my humanity slipping away, that sky would should me the way home.

It was Saturday evening November 2nd, 2013. I was in Atlantic City with Tanya visiting my Nam Vet buddy Joe. Joe lost his legs 7 months ago and has been on a watch list that many vets and I keep tabs on. Tanya was a gem cleaning Joes kitchen and helping his wife Mary cope with the new reality.

I took Joe out for a stroll and when we got near the beach, Joe asked me to carry him to the waves of the ocean. So I asked a chair person to watch Joe’s wheelchair. No sweat. Luckily enough 2 of the chair people assisted me getting Joe to the beach. They sat down and smoked a hmmmmm natural smoke. We did not indulge and I did not inhale.

Joe was telling me how he wanted to end the pain he was causing Mary and his friends and family. I told him to stop being an A-Hole and he argued that life isn’t worth living the way it is. I looked Joe in the face and all the sudden, as we both gazed upon the sky the sound of the waves gently moisturizing the sand, the people on the beach, the gulls landing on the sand and every one peering at the most wondrous spectacle that could only force one to realize that no matter where you are, no matter who you are with we are not in power, we are not alone.

Joe had tears in his eyes as I told him the story about how a photographer from Australia who saved my life, NO…saved my soul in DaNang in 1970. I hope in time Joe can find his way home and the inner peace he so well deserves.

I only truly know one thing. In Nam when I gazed upon the sunrise and the sunsets and now in Atlantic City I became acutely aware that I may very well be a troubled soul wandering the earth making photos but in my very ESSENCE and the depths of my SOUL, I know I am not and never will be alone!

This photo is Dedicated to Jock.

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October 27th, 2013 ….. The Good Thing about the Cold Weather is….:

October 27, 2013 streetshooter 4 Comments

……, ya don’t need a camera bag cause your coat has very nice pockets. Shhhhhhh….I have more camera bags than my wife has pocketbooks. Oh yeah…it’s just that mine are hidden in the darkroom that doesn’t get used anymore because digital cameras have won me over even tho my darkroom is a Leica darkroom and my cameras are Fuji or some other thing so I had to have a good use for the darkroom besides being a true photographer so the darkroom is now the hidden dark zone of mystery that my wife has not ide to enter because all the bad chemicals in the world are stored in there waiting to fly into her lungs and make her a human being. I wonder how she thought about all that….hmmmm…..

So my criteria for coat purchasing procedures are different than my wife’s. First off, I look at the pockets. Then after deciding if my coat at hand can be a camera bag, we go to step 2.

Step 2 is hood evaluation and testing. See, if ya have this coat on and it has a hood…the hood is not allowed to interfere with camera strap neck installation procedures. The camera must be able to go from pocket storage space to the chest working region without interference form the hood as you try to get the strap over your head and under the hood so that the strap can rest against the collar and do this without looking like a complete idiot as you fight with the HOOD because it wants to keep the strap from going where YOU want it to go because you don’t want to look like an armature with your fancy dancy camera and everyone is watching you and in a half hour when the hood and collar battle against the camera strap is over, you can never walk that street again because everyone will know your no better than a 6 year old kid.

…..so then the wifey gets to get in the mix with coat acquisition. Of course her being from Russia, has a different set of husbands coat acquisition guidelines because she says she loves me and wants to make sure that I will be warm when she grants me permission to go out and make photos. She doesn’t care about the things menz photographers care about. She likes coats that will keep me warm in the frozen tundra region of Center City Philadelphia. I told here there exist grates in the ground that have heat coming from them and I can always war up on those if need be. She told me that those grates are there because the Good Politicians of the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia put those grates for the Homeless people so they can have heat while they go looking for food, shelter and money.

That’s the first thing she ever said to me that ever made a drop of sense. So after many a trip to Boscov’s or Macy’s, we will find common ground for the coat purchasing procedures. I never feel what Tanya wants for me in the coat selection until….Mummer’s Day Parade. Then…I all the sudden get the gist of what she was talking about during the coat episode. As I am out on the street looking for photos, feeling nice and warm…cameras in pockets, lenses in pockets, batteries in chest pockets….I get it! I am warm and feel like I can shoot al day….but my hands…..

my hands…the glove testing, acquisition and purchasing procedures, that’s another story for another time…..

later….don

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October 20th, 2013 ….. How Not to Make Photos of Idiots

October 20, 2013 streetshooter Leave a comment

My neighbors are idiots. Oh yeah…I’m being nice not calling them anything else but idiots they are and it seems, proud to be idiots. See, we live on a tree lined street. Trees have leaves and leaves give us air to breathe and a place for the cute little birds to sit and crap on our cars, motorcycles, baby carriages and sometimes, our heads. Trees even get to drop leaves all over so all the trees on the street can watch the idiots sweep all the nice leaves in piles and watch as the wind blows them all over the street. Of course, being in Philadelphia Pa, we can’t burn leaves like when I was a kid.

We used to pile the leaves up real high and let the girls run in the piles. Then we would go in an rescue the cute girls from the monsters that lived in the leave piles that only guys could see. I used to like to rescue Susan cause she was built like….uh …uh…she was mu friend and far be it from me to leave her in that pile of leaves where the leaf monster could grab her. I loved grabbing Sue and saving her from the leaves and monsters. I like to think she like it too.

So today there was little or no wind. I watched as my neighbors started sweeping leaves. The 2 of them briskly sweeping and organizing little piles so that they could push the piles together and make the mother lode of leaves in 1 pile. There were no boys near the piles and no girls crying for rescue and protection. I guess they found better ways to grab each other.

So my neighbors had about 4 piles about 1 1/2 meters high and wide. That’s a lot of leaves. As I looked out the window with the curtain drawn ever so slightly so that I couldn’t be seen from the outside, I saw a slight very gentle breeze blow some leaves from the top of the pile. They didn’t seem bothered by that and kept sweeping and a piling all the pretty little colorful leaves from the trees all around that were watching every move they made. I heard one tree whisper to the other…..Yo…(Philly Talk)….call the wind and have her start up the fun. The other tree nodded and used her iTree phone to call mother wind.

Well, I’m not one to make photos of idiots that are my neighbors that might see them or maybe find out that I posted photos of the idiots standing there as the trees are laffing at them and mother wind is having fun blowing all the leaves in the world all to their lawn. he he he……..

See, when the wind started, all the leaves on our lawn blew over to their lawn. I decided it best to go upstairs and do a Diopter adjustment on the XE-1. (See photo above.) Sometimes it’s best to just keep away from idiots. That’s why on the street, sometimes I act like an idiot and it gets me out of a tense situation.

Seeya’s shortly…….

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October 17th, 2013 Tis a Sad Day in Shooter’s Bag …. A Day Of Reflection

October 17, 2013 streetshooter 6 Comments

I found myself in a situation that demanded the immediate decision of what camera system I was going to commit to. The choices are the Sony Nex 6 and the Fuji X-E1.

I have to say that there was one deciding factor that made me make the move…..not yet, soon but not yet…then you’ll know. The Nex 6 is probably the finest camera for using M lenses, bar none. The focus peaking is way beyond what any other camera can do. The screen and EVF…about as good as it gets. The interface is very good and even the menu system is manageable.

The Fuji X-E1 has a certain Retro look about that I couldn’t care less but it’s nice. The peaking is so so but one gets used to it after a spell. As my Grandfather would say…well, he wouldn’t say it now cause he’s on the other side but when he was here physically he would say….“Ya get used to hanging if ya hang long enough”. The screen and EVF are very good and the refresh rate being a little slow doesn’t bother me in the least.

The Sony lenses, Zeiss 24mm, Sony 35mm 1.8 and even the 50mm 1.8 are actually way better than I ever expected. The Fuji lenses are very good but on par with the Sony. Truth is what one sees and then believes. This is my truth, don’t like it….go find your own.

So what do you think could be the deciding factor? It’s as simple as it always is with any camera I try and end up either keeping or moving away fro me.\

There is one feature that I will not tolerate in any camera for more than a few weeks. That’s when I get serious about keeping a camera and investing money, energy, time and my vision. If I want to shoot at 1/250 f/5.6 ….I don’t give a hill of doggie do do…I want the camera to say…we got that, here’s the ISO I will use with that…and how high should I limit the ISO? On the X-E1 I can do just that. I will never use a camera that can’t offer that feature. The Nex 6 will do that with a M Mount lens and using S Mode. (Shutter speed I can select, the aperture I can select, the camera meters the light and sets the ISO to keep the exposure proper. The Nex 6 can’t do that with it’s own lenses.

Bye, and I truly will miss you.

That was the deciding factor and it also killed the wonderful Ricoh GR. Crazy, the GRD4 does it easily. I guess Pentax got into the Ricoh coffee machine and the Ricoh engineers lost their minds…..I will really miss that Nex 6 because it’s an amazing camera.I would be forced to use something like A mode and that’s unacceptable do to no control over shutter speed. At any rate, The Fuji X system is up at bat. So far so good. http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Fujifilm-X-E1-X-Pro1-Pfirstinger/dp/1937538311/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381494821&sr=1-1&keywords=Fujifilm+XE-1

Rico’s book is a real nice read and I learned a lot about the Fuji Cameras. I don’t know if the link above works but you can figure out where to go.

I’ll be shooting the Fuji’s for a spell and I’ll post how things are getting along.

P.S. For Dan. I had to make a choice between the 2 systems due to financial needs. I am not dumping on the Nex 6, just so you know….if I could afford both, I wouldn’t be writing this.

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October 13th, 2013 ….. Autumn … Leaves Aren’t the Only Things Falling

October 13, 2013 streetshooter 1 Comment

There’s a somber mood on the streets now. Perhaps it’s the fact that the United States Government decided to shut down because there’s no money to operate. Oh, the monies there but it’s just not allocated to go where it’s needed…THE PEOPLE WHO PAY TAXES AND WHOSE MONEY IT IS!

As I walk Market Street, I feel a kind of detachment from the passer-bys and even those that grace my presence and camera with a look back. The eye contact that reaches to the Soul from another Soul. The eye contact that needs reassuring that one is not alone in the boat. As odd as it may seem, eye contact is not a fearful thing to deal with at this time. I mean, people want to be recognized as someone that counts, as a living person not a number as the way the Govt sees them.. Pointing the camera is no longer an attack on privacy but a sign of recognition of another persons worth.

I’m kinda in an introverted mode, well an introvert that uses a camera to make photos that reflect my thoughts. Truthfully, I don’t give a hoot.

I’m finding the Nex6 and XE-1 to be a nice combination of cameras. They are stubborn and will not swap lenses with each other because of some ego thing they have going on. I trick them both easily by using a few M mount lenses. So, camera wise I think I’m good for a spell. No trades in sight. I won’t rock the camera boat even tho’ the G’ men are rocking the boat for the entire world.

I guess my point is that, as shooters we also need to feel connected to our work and other shooters. The real gift is when another shooter relates to and likes your ideas and photos.

With all this going on it’s not easy to stay focused. It’s not easy to breathe your work but you must do that. I must do that and I try and try again but it’s not an easy battle. It would be easier if I had a stupid camera to blame things on but I don’t. I have 2 smaat cameras that make great photos until I get in the mix and screw things up. They are learning my ways and I’m learning their ways and maybe by the time the winter is over, together we can continue the journey together to find photos but if not….the NexFF will be around and I’ll have to get money from Roger to get it…..nah…..

I need a nap as I’m tired from something but I don’t know what and I can’t figure it out cause I can’t but I shouldn’t have to cause my VA Doc will see me on Friday and tell me that everything’s ok and normal cause I didn’t do anything stupid but I didn’t do anything smaat either…….

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October 3rd, 2013 ….. Angels On The Street

October 3, 2013 streetshooter 9 Comments

It’s a very rare occasion that I use headphones and listen to music on the street. I love the sounds, the rhythm, the meter of life. I don’t want to cover that up with music. So I was walking around on Market St as usual but this time I had those Apple buds stuck in both my ears. I gotta tell ya…it’s not my favorite feeling on my head with those buds just itching my ears. There are about as much synergistic energy as doggie do do when you step in it.

The Fuji XE-1 and 27mm were ready for work. Ok….the music thing. There exist a piece of music that I LIVE and when I die, I want to hear it for eternity. I listened to this when I was a kid, I heard it in Viet Nam, I still am moved so much by it that I thought I’d share it with youse fine people.

Ralph Vaughan Williams “The Lark Ascending”. If there exist Angels on Earth, this is music for their ears as it is for our Souls. As a photographer, I am drawn to the energy that is around me all the time.

The woman above was standing there and people just ignored here and walked past like she didn’t matter, she didn’t exist. I walked close to her and was stunned, I couldn’t look anywhere else, I couldn’t hear a sound, I couldn’t move. I raised the camera and quickly made a photo. I wanted to be closer to her but I feared that I would break the spell. I clicked the shutter and the XE-1 did it’s job.

After a few seconds I started walking closer to her and she was walking to me. I looked her in the face and she turned to me and said……”Don’t ever stop, continue on the path”. I was actually set aback by her words and I walked maybe 20 feet further and turned around to see her once again. WHAT! She was gone. There’s no place to go, no doorways, stores, stairs nothing….just buildings all around.

I am not suggesting to anyone that you believe this or that you believe in a higher power or angels or anything. I do, I stand for it and am proud to state that I do.

Sometimes I feel that it’s my responsibility to make photos that question and attempt to answer the mysteries that surround us every day. Maybe I just make them for myself and that’s fine, that’s safer for sure as I would think many will assume I’m a little out there at this point. The thing is, I’m not, not at all.

I was still stunned by the Angel that whispered to me on 11th off Market. I walked in a semi-daze and headed to Love Park. I go there to think about Edmund Bacon and the things we talked about, the things we shared and understood together. I decided to go thru the Municipal Services Plaza. There’s sculpture and it’s a cool place to be. What I find very interesting is that at this location, this place of City Government, homeless people never get chased away. There’s usually around 10-15 but they rest in peace and comfort.

I walked and I was still in a daze…..the light was changing from bright to very bright. I guess it’s about a 3 stop difference. I enjoy the way people interact with the sculpture and I saw a woman in white and felt a calling. I stood on top of the domino piece and aimed the camera, I wanted her back against the bright concrete…..just as I aimed the camera and was ready to shoot…she turned to me and said…it’s your path, do it. To be honest, I trembled…I smiled at her and started to walk to the Love Park. I was so shaken again…I was afraid to turn around and look at her…….

I know one thing, I feel lucky, NO! I feel blessed, I feel blessed that in a single day, 2 Angels acknowledged my existence and guided me on my path. I can only hope that you at some point in your life will experience a similar situation.

Am I crazy, Yes…the Veterans Administration says I am. I know that as a Human Being I am open to the experiences that life presents to me. I also am smart enough to have a camera with me when it does…………

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September 29th, 2013 The Fuji XE-1 and Nex 6 Chronicles

September 29, 2013 streetshooter 4 Comments

The Nex6 has been a very reliable, trustworthy friend. It’s the kind of camera a serious shooter uses and just makes photos without the crap about this could be better, that should be better etc. The grip is unmatched by any camera without an accessory grip.

It has beautiful files that process in a most natural fluid manner. So why am I even writing about this……? Well, my dear friend Roger saw fit to send me the Fuji XE-1. Oh, he also sent for my pleasure the 18mm f/2 and the 27mm f/2.8.

The XE-1 has pretty much the same specs as the Nex6 but different. There’s one big advantage that I like and that is Auto ISO in Manual mode. Of course just when you get comfortable with that nice feature, the world collapses again because Fuji saw fit to insert the DR feature. No, oh no….DR does not mean Dynamic Range….sheeeesh, it means Don’t Relax. Don’t Relax because now just when you thought that you found your way, ya have to pay attention and thing before you make photos.

Of course the Nex6 won’t give ya Auto ISO in Manual mode and that’s the big reason I dumped the Ricoh GR. So I was asked, Why can you live with the Nex6 with no Auto ISO in M mode and you couldn’t with the GR that has it? Well, the GR uses kinda of Auto ISO in TAv mode but there’s no way to top it off. These are just my findings, so don’t let them sway you from buying a camera. There’s just certain things that engineers work on and don’t understand the way a shooter thinks. Engineers see cameras as marvels of thought and invention. Shooters try to see cameras as friends to make photos with. Of course that’s usually easier said than done…….

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September 24th, 2013 ….. The Fuji XE-1 Experience

September 24, 2013 streetshooter 6 Comments

Before I even start, let me say that the Nex6 is laughing and doing so heartily. The real biggest difference between the Nex6 and the XE-1 is the sensor. No, they are both the same size but….the Fuji lost the AA filter in production. That may or may not be a good thing, depends on your wants/needs. For me, it’s the only reason I can justify keeping the XE-1 around. I thought that with out the AA filter,that the camera would be ideal for M Mount lenses. Well, it is….after a fashion.

The camera’s nice and quick on the street. I personally like the grip. Maybe a few others like it also but most don’t. I’m trying out the 18mm (27mm) and it’s an ok lens. It focuses fast even in lower light.

So the testing will go one for a spell and it will be a spell. Tomorrow if all goes well, I’ll meet up with Ray and Pete for the day. They both are very familiar with the X Trans sensor cameras and guess who’s the self elected info picker from their brains because that dynamic range stuff drives me crazy and they both can explain that too me so I don’t have to get in touch with Rico, the worlds only dFuji Dynamic Range Master.

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9/21/2013 … Fuji XE-1 & 21mm Skopar … Field Testing

September 21, 2013 streetshooter 4 Comments

Maybe because I have Groked the Nex6 that working with the Fuji seems somewhat standoffish. Don’t take this wrong, the XE-1 is a fine camera and it does everything rather well. I’m sure in a day or two I’ll be right at home with it. I think the Nex6 is developing a crush on the XE-1. Not sure and I don’t understand camera gender that well……

The Fuji has a grip I find wonderful. I know, I know everyone and their mother hates the grip. Well, I like it very much, here’s why. On a neck strap, the camera has a movement from both sides of the body that is very assuring that you won’t let it go or let it get banged against a wall, mailbox or something. See, if it moves a little then you have to pay a little attention to it and this is a very good thing. The Nex6 is the same experience except the grip was made and installed in Camera HEAVEN! I like the feeling of a camera moving slightly in my hand. The film M’s did this naturally and it’s a great feeling.

Here, I was bobbing in and out of the crowd as a test to the comfort and speed of the camera. It passed very well. This is the 21mm Skopar, one of my all time favorite lens. I framed the photo in my head and then as I got closer…I raised it and used the screen. By moving the camera slightly, I could make this the way I wanted. The camera moves very comfortably in the hand. Twisting and turning, changing the angle…all very ease with the Fuji…easier than the Nex6 because it’s grip is like cement in your hand. You will never drop a Nex camera.

I’m not overly excited about the Fuji files and I wasn’t with the X100 either. This camera is slightly better but still likes to overexpose. I’ll get it with the XE-1 because I like it. I’ll spend the time and adjust the most important presets and then I’ll do serious work. Till then, it’s just an exploration.

I counted 135 people walk past her and only 2 gave her anything. I slipped her a few bucks and was a little angry that people can just brush off those that need. Maybe she can take care of herself, maybe she wants to be here, maybe she doesn’t! It’s not for us to judge or decide….?

I’ll be on the streets again tomorrow. I’ll post again and if your in the area, let me know…a greasy hot sausage with cooked onions on a real Italian roll is in order. Peace……shooter

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September 20th, 2013 National POW/MIA Recognition Day

September 20, 2013 streetshooter 2 Comments

I’m not gonna preach about what this day means, because I shouldn’t have to. Every RED Blooded American and even those without blood like the politicians on Capitol Hill should know the meaning of National POW/MIA Recognition Day means….and dammit…it should be held every day, not just once a friggin year.

If you don’t know what this means…be glad you didn’t have a kinfolk walk out your door to defend this Great Country and then…you don’t know where that soldier is and even worse….no one gives a shit either! Count yourself as lucky. That’s it…..I’ll move on to photography but remember…..because we all have the responsibility to never forget!

So the day for testing a new camera was just that…a test. If it wasn’t for a call to Ray Sachs, the XE-1 would be in the river. No, it wouldn’t be a floating test…it would be a how fast can this stupid camera sink to the bottom of the river test.

See, Fuji has this sense of humor. They implement a thing called Dynamic Range in the processor. Well, I don’t like or believe in this Dynamic Range thing. I am a raw shooter, just like how I eat my clams and sushi. So I’m testing the 21mm Skopar and the 35 1.4 Nokton. I had a conversation with both lenses and tried to ease their mind because they really like the Nex6. The both agreed to work the day with the new kid in the bag. The Skopar was first and I’ll tell ya….that lens has a real bad azz atitude. See no matter what I did, the Skopar was over exposing. Oh yeah….like it was teasing me. My highlights were blown 2 stops easily. I guess I look kinda nutty standing in front of the Liberty Bell talking to a lens. Well, I ain’t that stupid…I had the lens on the XE1 and so it looked like I was talking to the camera…..something every street shooter does naturally.

Anyway, Ray explained to me about dynamic range and I did as her suggested and that saved me a walk to the river…..and of course as we all know…the XE1 ain’t a Sony Nex so it can’t swim. Oh….sure, the Nex firmware update that is only available to a small, really small group of just one Philly streetshooter lets the Nex6 swim.

So after an exhausting trip to a few cemeteries and memorials….all by bus, I managed to just snap off a few. Tomorrow promises to be a better day for photography but the same old shit for our MIA/POW brothers and Sisters.

This blog post is dedicated personally to:

SFC Daniel R. Phillips

USA 07 Feb 1968 SVN MIA Pa

Street Photography Chronicles by Don Springer