Tag Archives: Streetshooter

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street, Street, Street Photography

Streetshooter … Thoughts and Findings … Life From The Street

April 30, 2015 streetshooter 6 Comments

Sometimes it bothers me when people don’t get an image I post.

For me this is life on the street. I mean of course it’s not all life but a figment of life where she is and where I am at this here and now. I relate to this as being alone amongst the masses. I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, just saying it’s a feeling. See, I respond to the street in the way I feel. I feel this image because I feel alone out there and this makes a statement that I felt. Sometimes a photo is poetic in the visual experience. Other time, the poetry may be inside us and not visually portrayed so easily. There is no right or wrong, there is just the work. So do I accept my photos because they are a part of my essence and ask nothing more from them then to simply exist? Maybe I should put them out to mass media like Flickr and let my Flickr friends take the responsibility on approving the photos or rejecting them and fucking up my mind?

I guess I’m as guilty as everyone else and I’ll do both. Of course doing this completely contradicts my intent as a photographer. Well, it doesn’t really but it puts my intent in front of the camera and my shrink for further analysis and discussion. Long ago I made photos because I just wanted to and was immune to output from anyone. I just was in a groove and loving what I was doing. Bliss I believe they call it.

Now I make photos because I need it more than breathing. I make photos because I must and have no choice and don’t want a choice either. Now I make photos because I want to.

Now I make photos because not from love of photography anymore but because I LIVE photography.

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

Philly Streets … More thoughts and Findings … Olympus Pen EP-5

April 27, 2015 streetshooter 8 Comments

I seem to get intoxicated with life on the streets and then it has a flavor of just life. See the streets are life but life is not only the street. Remember that. It means you can make photos of any damn thing you want and it’s legal and ok to do it with intent. I remember being in Nam and we were on a mission to check around Chu Lai base perimeter from the outside. I wanted a smoke, didn’t have a lighter so I asked Sgt Biggie for a light. He tosses me a Zippo. Listen, a grunt ain’t no grunt ain’t got a Zippo. So I lite my smoke and then look at the lighter. It was silver colored but tarnished with blood, sweat and tears. On the lighter was an inscription that read….“For those who fought for it, Life has a flavor the protected will never taste”. I instantly grokked that and I remember it as a memory for living.

Photography shooter, don’t drift off again….OK LET ME GET TOO THE POINT

Margaret Bourke White is quoted as saying…..“No eyes ever will, nor ever shall, see what I see now.” Well, She was a grunt in photography and all grunts grok her words. She was a warrior in life and her words equal for photographers what the grunts words mean for the Infantry. See, the point is that we must be warriors in life. As photographers we must do our work without fear of acceptance or rejection by others or by ourselves. We do our work because we must. We don’t define our work, it defines us. It makes us who we are and shows us the way to become who and what we strive to be.

Maybe you are the person that doesn’t take your photography serious. That’s fine and I hope you are satisfied with what you are doing. I see it kinda like this but it’s not a solid vision because it changes as time goes on. Who are we responsible to with our work. I don’t mean a job like weddings etc, I mean our real work, the work from the heart and soul, our personal work. When you release the shutter are you thinking about where the image will go and where and who will see it? Will they like it. Will they accept it and will they accept you. If they do accept you, will they always? The hardest part of our process is to see our own work. We have a tendency to want to please others and also want to be accepted. That’s all very nice but if it’s effecting your work, and it is, it becomes a problem quick. The thing is that we are effected by input and that in turn effects our output. The worse part of input is when it comes from inside us. That’s the stuff that has the strongest effect on us because it’s self generated and we have little control over it.

Here’s a quick thing I realize, I need to express more about this. I remember my Mother asking me why I did so much photography and how I loved it all my life. I told her that when I die and am on my deathbed and THE LORD comes to me, I will say that I lived the best life I could and that I am ready to go, I wouldn’t mind some more time but I’m ready. This moment can happen for me at any second and I feel that.

I think the fear in living is dying. The you get to the slab and lay there naked and you realize, OMG, I wasted my life. I should have done this, and that…………..

What this means in photography is that you come in alone and you go out alone. It’s your camera and your life. Make photos for you and if others like them along the way and maybe buy them or collect them, wonderful, but if that’s why you made them. That’s a waste of love and life.

Who Loves Ya Baby…………

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

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

Philly Street … Thoughts With … Olympus Pen EP-5

April 22, 2015 streetshooter 16 Comments

So I grabbed Ruth the Olympus Pen EP-5 and an extra battery and a lenspen. The camera has the Lumix 20mm f1.7 II. We headed out the door for the trip down to Center City, namely Market Street. There’s a feeling on the street something like we are all coming out of hibernation. For me it’s like breathing. I met a young shooter from Philly and we chatted for a minute. He had those fancy dancy headphones on. I asked him what he was listening too and he replied 80’s rock. He asked if I listen to music while I work and I said, the street is my music. His head went back a little and his eyes squinted somewhat. He had that look my shrink gives me when he ask how I’m feeling and I tell him I don’t feel. Well, that’s the look.

He asked me if I was nervous about taking photos on the street and I told him I’m an American and I have The First Amendment as my protector. Then we sat and sipped some $50.00 burnt Starbucks wannabe coffee. He said he likes it and his wife does too and it was then I realized he was more fucked up then me. ….but we got into a conversation about making vs taking photos. Now it was I talk and he listened and sipped the Starbucks rustocoffee. So he wanted to know whar the difference was and could I explain it where it makes sense. So I sipped my spring water with a slice of lemon and started to explain about Intent and the aftermath of it.

After 15 minutes he started to understand and he thanked me for the free lesson. OMG, a lesson, ok dude, your welcome. I didn’t know it was a lesson and then, then all the sudden it occurred to me that everything in the universe has the ability to teach and to learn. So even on the streets making photos the energy you receive is equal to the energy you send. So your intent is to make photos but ya know, you aren’t in it alone. Those that think they ARE EITHER SUPER EGO MANIACS OR JUST FRUSTRATED WITH LIFE. If life is a give and take miracle then it stands to reason that photography is also. So that means that we think we are the origin of our work but that’s not true. We are not alone in life.

Our photographs and I am only talking about photography, are a collaboration between life and ourselves. We hope for and strive to find a synergism with the street and make the photos that represent that synergism. We can not rightfully state that we are the Origin of our work. There are those amongst us that think they are the Supreme Image Maker and that life had nothing to do with their work. Bullshit!

If your out there and your not tuned into life and the street, then you may as well drink that shitty coffee because your better off not destroying your energy. If you are like every reader that ever was or ever will be on this blog, then you are aware that you don’t take any photographs, you collaborate wit Mother Light and The Street and you make your photos.

Tomorrow is another day and if I wake and am healthy, I’m hitting the streets. I hear tell Life is out there and I’m gonna look for it.

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

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

April 17th, 2015 … Streetshooter Thoughts … aka The Red Shoes Syndrome

April 17, 2015 streetshooter 12 Comments

The tourist season here in Philly is just starting. It’s my favorite time of the year and I love all the travelers from all over the world coming here to find the roots of American History. Because of the clash of cultures, it provides shooters with a potpourri of things to work with. I hear tell that other places in the world have a tourist season also but I never saw it so I don’t believe it.

So when I’m on a walk-a-bout looking for the photos that want to find me, I keep me poor brain awake by thinking about things that I wanna or shoulda be thinking about. I been a thinking about the here and now. It’s a place here in Philly that I visit from time to time. There’s prolly a here and now where you are cause it’s just like Starbucks, all over the place.

Anywayz, here’s something I been pondering about and thinking about too. If we work in there Here and Now, does that rule out the past? I mean if we are using the thoughts and facts from out past, are we not in the here and now? Well, we all do that. It’s called yeah, I remember that, or maybe I thought about this before. So if we bring this to the here and now as we work, what does it mean and how does it effect us? Well we can’t get rid of the past experiences or knowledge but we have to be selective as to what we allow to penetrate our present here and now. This could be things like exposure memories, cameras, lenses etc. That’s all fine and dandy and productive but>>>>>!

What else we bring is the memories of past experience and images. We walk around looking for photos that we made or almost made and that influences what seek now and actually kinda pollutes the present. This could be a factor in cognitive repetition. I mean that we will repeat the same successes and failures until we recognize that and make a change. One way is to put your brain on vacation like I do when my wife Tanya ask me to do something I don’t want to do. She looks at me and ask, what are you looking at, I need the dishes washed. I reply, who are you and who are you talking to. She will turn away and say, Brain on VACATION. Very effective but we don’t want this for our photography.

So I think we need to find a way to compartmentalize things in our brain so the mind can be set free to wander the streets and make photos. We are never going to release the past and we are destined to live it over and over. We will make photos that are similar to what we did before because we uh…uh.. well, we are stupid that way. Yo! I ain’t the only stupid one ok, I just ain’t afraid to admit it. I wonder if this is what some call habits? hmmmm maybe.

OMG, I just realized that I been walking the streets of center city Philly and Market Street in particular for well over 40 years. Is that a habit? It might just well be but it’s a lifelong project that has no value other then to me and those that know my photography.

Ya know, If I can walk the same streets for 40 years and always find photos to make that I like and some that are even really good, why do I need to go anywhere? Why should I need some exotic place to make photos like Jersey? I don’t need to go anywhere.

Take your camera in your hand, stand tall and closes your eyes. Click your feet together 3 xs and say with each click, There’s no place like home”. Open your eyes and make photos.

Enjoy my friends and remember, I don’t trust a damn thing I write… you shouldn’t either………………………………………

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

Philly Streets … April 7th, 2015

April 7, 2015 streetshooter 9 Comments

I took Ruth out for a walkabout a few times and I have to admit, she’s wearing on me. No, not cause Ruth is my Mother, but because this Ruth is my Olympus Pen EP-5. I must admit, OLY did a smashing job on this camera. I knew this 19 months ago but forgot because I just did. So now it’s like a rekindled love affair.

If there’s one reason and only one reason to love this camera it’s the AF. Simply put, there is no camera that focuses faster. My favorite M43 lens is the Lumix 20mm. I had the original version and now I use the 20mm 1.7 ll. This lens is known to not be the fastest focusing lens in M43 world. Well on the Pen EP-5 it.s lightening fast. No joke, it comes alive on this camera and the camera comes alive with this lens. This and the fact that you have a 5 point IS system that works and is amazing, makes a streetshooters dream come true.

Don’t let my

photos leave a bad impression of the IQ of the camera. It’s about pristine to 24oo and 3200 is excellent. The images compete against my Fuji X100s and are equal to it up to and including these high ISO’s. Amazing, I tell ya, amazing. Ok, ok so I am not the most neutral shooter with this camera. Fact is I don’t have to be and I’m not. I loved the EP-1 when it was released and this is light years ahead of the excellent EP-1.

Ya know, first time in a long time I’m having fun again. I mean the EP-5 is a gas to work with. It makes me feel like shooting and it’s all metal so It’s protection in seedy neighborhoods, not that Philly has any like that.

The thing is with cameras and me, is if I don’t love it, then maybe someone else will. I’m a shooter and more than that, a street shooter. I have no times for nonsense with cranky cameras. These photos represent play and learn time. I’m just groovin’ on life as I see it and enjoying being a shooter. The streets are coming alive and ppl are mosyin’ around. The battery is charged, lens is clean, the smell of exhaust is in the air, trucks and busses and cars are making loud noises, the light is starting to cook and it’s almost warm enough to go with a light jacket.

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

Ruth … The Olympus Pen EP-5 … Starts Working After 19 Months

March 31, 2015 streetshooter 4 Comments

A recap. I used to be an Admin at MU43.com and I really enjoyed the group and helping it grow. It also helped me with Micro 43 gear because the members there tested everything and posted results. So I was at home in the beginning because I loved the Pen EP-1 and ten the Pen EP-2 oh and let’s not forget the Pen EP-3 besides the Panasonic cameras and lenses.

Word came down the pike that I was leaving the forum and many wished me well and I went with BB to Amin’s other forum, Serious Compacts. Great place and crowd and many members belong to most of Amin’s forums.

Well time moved on and I heard the Pen EP-5 was being released and the specs turned me on. Ok, right from the git go, my preferred viewing system on a camera is the screen. I wrote and lectured extensively about that. So I waited a while to see what ppl were saying about the new Pen on the block. Maybe 6 months went by and finally I got a deal and bought the body. I still had a few lenses I didn’t sell so that was cool.

The camera is delivered and it’s beautiful. Olympus makes the Flagship Pens better than almost any other maker.

I open the box, put the 14mm on and wow, very happy. I decide that this camera is female and that it’s name would be Ruth after my mother. I knew it’s a good name and I was happy. Well after a week shooting and learning how the camera works and how it makes me think and work, I come homw and she’s on my shoulder. I swing her off the shoulder and there, there in the oddest place, there in the oddest place in the universe is a corner on my desk that wanted to see the camera up close. Smash!. Now there’s not much on THE LORD’S green earth that upsets me anymore. actually one thing that does is my own stupidity especially when I can’t blame someone else for what happened. I tried blaming the strap, the desk, the corner, can’t ever blame the camera. Mom always said,“I may not always be right, but I’m never wrong”. So I had to eat it and hold myself accountable.

So I contact Olympus and get a return authorization. I know that this is not covered but I don’t care, I want it fixed. The camera goes to Oly and the give me a price and I pay. The frame is mangled also that holds the tilting screen. Ok, fix it. Well about a week later the camera comes back in a beautiful box and I take it and put it on the shelf. 18 months later brings us to about now. The Pen EP-5 named Ruth has been lying in the shipping box from Oly and I never opened it. I don’t now what’s going on in my photo psyche at the moment but I do know I was to open the box and call the Pen-5 to duty. Box opening any camera is great but doing it with a Pen, well, there’s an excitement that surpasses opening an M camera. Oh, yeah, I opened many of them and this was more exciting to me.

I had already charged a battery the evening before. The elves and fairies were dancing in the air. The unicorns were standing by. Big Fish and all his friends were standing behind me waiting for the sacred moment of feeding the Pen-5 named Ruth here power to come to .

We got a call that Dr Frankenstein was on the way and he wanted to say the words that all Cameras worthy of a name love to here when the battery is inserted.“It’s alive, it’s alive”.

Tanya yelled up, Gene Wilder…uh..uh.. Dr Frankenstein is here. We were all at the ready. Everyone waited patiently to see Ruth the Pen-5 come back to life. So I took a deep breath, Winslow patted my shoulder to relax me. Like a surgeon, I opened her carefully. Her insides were exposed and I was careful to protect her. I put the battery in my right hand, picked Ruth up with my left and slowly inserted the power of life into her. There was nary a sound, not even a breath from anyone as the battery slowly butwith intent made it’s way in. Then, as if a miracle happened, the power of life battery was at home inside Ruth.

Everyone was supportive. Big Fish said, “Shooter, go for it son”. I looked around and all 1500ppl in my office were smiling at me giving me emotional support. I turned to Ruth the Pen-5 and put my hand on the switch to bring the power of Eye, Heart and Mind to focus on the moment of Power On Procedure. So I took a few deep breathe and felt Winslow patting my shoulder in support. I knew I wasn’t alone. I mean damn, 1500 ppl in my office and ppl doesn’t mean ppl, we had dragons, dinosaurs, fishes, fairies of all sorts and elves.

So, being the Veteran that I am I mustered up the courage to….FLIP THE SWITCH! Well, at once when the flipping procedure was completed, I could hear, awwww such a shame, will he be alright,..so sorry shooter, bummer and 21847 different things all in the matter of a few seconds.I looked at Ruth the Pen-5 and felt this sick feeling all the way to my soul. She didn’t start. Just a machine like some guys call a tool. No soul, no warmth, nothing, just a tool. PPL started leaving and after 45 seconds, I looked around and I was all alone, except for the dragon shit in the corner.

I get the return authorization and off she goes. I a phone call last week that they can see that I never used the camera from the shutter count but the warranty period is still over. The guy tells me that there’s serious damage to the circuit boards etc. Then he says, “Look shooter, if you pay $???? we will send you a brand new not reconditioned body just like yours. I kinda felt bad but relieved. I give him my credit card number and in 2 days, last week, there, there in the UPS man’s hand is a box that houses my new Pen-5. I quickly run up to the office and unpack the box. Now listen here folks, I didn’t tell all the friends about this so it’s kinda secret.

So I quickly put the battery in and low and behold, “She’s alive, she’s alive”.

Color, Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street

Fuji X100s … Juxtaposes an iPhone 6 on ThE StReeT

March 25, 2015 streetshooter 5 Comments

One of the most important uses of syntax in street is Juxtaposition. Some may call it contrast and they are right in a weigh. I don’t think it weighs enough so lets call it what it is, Juxtaposition. Without it, your photos won’t work. Juxtaposition is one of the most important elements in making photos. Just like exposure and a few other things, we need to be aware of the juxtaposition we are seeing and making. Hopefully it’s not an after thought but that happens sometimes, cool beans.

Well, I’m sure you all are aware that I was an Admin at Amin’s forums for a few years. I worked MU43 and really liked the activity. I bought tons of m43 gear and my favorite was always the Olympus Pen. I have the Pen 1, 2, 3 & 5. Well, my Pen 5 was a beautiful camera and it’s name is Ruth, after my mother. Not long after I had the Pen5, I accidentally hit the corner of a table and smashed the screen. So I sent the camera in to be repaired. When it came home, I never opened the box and just put it on the camera storage shelf. This shelf is different from the camera working shelf. We, I sold off most of my m43 gear and kept the 14-42 (28 – 84) and the 14mm 2.5. Maybe there’s something else down there, dunno.

So, here’s the point. I use Andre’ the Fuji X100s and Walker the Nikon Coolpix A. So, I’m thinking, if I take Ruth the Oly Pen 5 out, then she can sport the 28mm and the 50mm which is something the Nikon Coolpix can’t do. This exercise is due to me being old and lazy and not wanting to carry 3 cameras. So I go take the box with Ruth the Oly Pen5 off the shelf and anxiously open it up. It’s been maybe 19 months.

So I pre-charged the battery and look at the beautiful Pen5. Silver shining and the design that no other camera comes close to. Can’t wait, can’t wait. The batter goes in real nice and I sit back ready to redo the menu cause I figure Oly reset the camera. Hit the button and wait for the screen to light up. Hmmm me thinks something is wrong. Put the battery in the meter and low and behold, full charge.Well,I need Tums cause at this point my stomach is having hissy fits. I’m breathing and I’m a doing all the good things Vets in Therapy do to stay calm and not go off the deep edge.

Shit, ain’t nuttin working and especially the camera. I do everything, like the button reset that I know about from the forum. Ok, hit the phone.

Hi, it’s shooter in Philly. My camera was repaired and now it won’t start. Ok, I’ll hold on. 5 minutes later, we had your camera a year and a half ago, who worked on it since and what was the problem. Well, I never opened the box when you sent it back to me. I can hear smirks in the Oly office.

Ok, Mr Shooter, I’m sending you an email with instructions to send it in. We will look at it and notify you of the cost to repair it.

I’m a happy camper. I sent the camera and in 2 days, I get a call and an email. It’s an estimate for repairs. Well, it turns out that theelectronice are fried in the camera and some other things. I want my camera. I’ll pay but I want my camera.

Mr Shooter, give me your Card info and I’m hitting it for $227.95. It will be as new with a warranty. I authorize the repair cause I want mom back. My mom died years ago and this is the only Mom I got now.

So now I can’t wait to get her back and put her to use. I know one thing in this damn world, when it arrives, I’m opening the damn box and testing her out.

One of the cool things about juxtaposition is that you get to see it before you release the shutter. It actually becomes a star on the map of your photos….. you do see this before release …..right……?

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

Nikon Coolpix A … Meets The Dreamcatcher

March 19, 2015 streetshooter 9 Comments

Walker the Nikon Coolpix A is getting inspired and is starting to find his way around the block. Listen, I know I sound nutty but truth is, I let my cameras think they are the source of inspiration for our photos. Well, in a way they are but then again so am I. I’m not about to have my cameras thinking they can do this without me. By the same token, I don’t say that I can do this without them. Like Billy Jean said, “Fair is Fair”.

Anyway, there are those amongst us and un-amongst us that think a camera is a tool. Well, to each his/her own even if they are wrong. So, shooter, why you name your camera, it’s a tool? True enough. I’ll bet there isn’t one single person in the world that doesn’t name his hammer. I’l talking Union Carpenters, the backbone of this great nation. Ya think I’m wrong.. read on.

This is for you, yeah you, with the smirk on your face. So we take our un-named hammer and we bang some nails in. Alls well with out tool right. Then you set the nail and get ready to swing and all the sudden, the dog bites your butt. TOO LATE TO STOP HAMMER SWINGING PROCEDURES! Oh yeah, sure as there’s another camera your looking at… BANG. Now look. This part is not funny. See, when a 16oz or 20oz hammer bangs right on your thumb, well this is Hammer Naming Time. Let’s see, hmmm what is a good name for a hammer that is not my friend and is just a tool that smashed my thumb. Well, it doesn’t take this long to find the name….

It’s something like this. I speak from experience. Swing, dog bites ass, total distraction of the un-named hammer that just smashed the thumb…. “Damn you, you M…er F…er! Now these two words, (blocked out for Judy and all my female friends)….are universal. I mean regardless what language you speak, when the hammer smashes your thumb.. these 2 words are the only two in existence that describe the name of your Hammer.

So, I suggest that you name your hammer and make it your friend. Then when you smash your thumb, you know it was a shared experience between friends.

The Dreamcatcher

This series goes back a long time. When I start to see these photos pop up I get very excited. For me it means that I am as open as I can be at the moment. This series keeps me awake but in a different way. I mean, normally I just make photos and do my thing. When these start popping up, I start to think and see images in my head. Not at the moment of exposure, I get that too but like in my dreams. I see some images and then when I’m out there and I’m really out there but I know it so it’s ok according to my Doc, I see the basic substance of the image in my mind. Then I kinda wake up to a new level and it’s like Photo DejaVu. It’s very exciting and stimulating. I mean it’s like self actualization.

My friend Walkser the Nikon Coolpix a made both these photos. That’s cool for me because usually, Penelope the Ricoh GRD4 makes these and stimulates me to doing so. So now that Walker is doing it, I’m very happy my friend is willing to help me find these images. Andre’ the Fuji X100s isn’t really into the Dreamcatcher and I don’t force the issue. We should never force friends to do anything, it should happen naturally.

Anyway, I’m tired again and have todomeds. I’ll be back hopefully tomorrow.

You’ll have a blessed evening, morning or afternoon depending where you are in the world.

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

Walker the Nikon Coolpix A … ain’t LoSt on the StReEt

March 16, 2015 streetshooter 4 Comments

As I get myself geared up for the season, I seem to be thinking the same way I always have. Imagine that. I have a thing for fixed focal length cameras. Andre’ the Fuji X100s sees 35mm and Walker the Nikon Coolpix A sees 28mm. These 2 focal lengths will do almost all my work for ever. As youse know, I picked up the Canon EOS M2 and lenses etc for it. It’s a nice camera and good quality but, it’s not my cup of tea. I knew that when I got it but wanted to see if this year would be different from last year, nope. I don’t like zoomie lenses and I can’t bond to that camera cause Walker and Andre’ do what I need. So I don’t need it and it’s being sold by tomorrow on the bay.

Funny thing. I’ve had every variation of the 28mm Elmarit for my M cameras. I got a pair of M6’s because I would use the 35mm lens and the 28mm on the second body. Nope, years of struggling and I never adapted to 28mm. I always used 35mm. So now digitally, I find the 28mm getting used a lot like the last 10 years maybe. I still love the 35mm FOV but no longer have issues with the 28mm. Now I need them both, the horror. Of course Penelope the Ricoh GRD4 does 28mm very well, in fact better than any camera ever released…but…I really like APS-C sensor. There’s just something about it that floats my boat. So I find myself with the Fuji X100s and Nikon Coolpix A and feel very well covered. That means anything else I have, hmmmm won’t get much use.

It’s been said that a good shooter can get a good shot with any camera. So what? What does that mean. I can get my photos with any camera, but so what, bunk to all that shit. I wanna use my cameras that I want to use. I ain’t using a camera that intrudes on my vision, you’ll know that, damn.

Ya know, we don’t get enough time to live let alone to make photos. We have that responsibility to do both with passion and in the way we choose to do it. That responsibility belongs to us at first and then if you choose, to others. You have to own yourself and do for yourself. If not, others will own you and you end up doing for them and you still get to die alone.When you release that shutter, all that you ever were and are at the moment of exposure is right there with you.

Why would anyone let others influence us to the point that we don’t recognize our selves or our work? It happens mostly out of a lack of confidence and the need for approval. The idea that others like what we do can and will steer us into a direction that may not be our chosen path but the path influenced by others. We are all guilty of this phenomenon in both ways and it’s ok as long as we recognize it as deal with it.

It’s when we refuse to recognize it or just don’t that we have problems. How do I know about this stuff? I’ll tellya. I have a shrink and he recognizes me even when I don’t. Whats your excuse?

Be blessed everyone.

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

The Zone Of Awareness … Continued … But Not Finished

March 12, 2015 streetshooter 8 Comments

So it’s like kinda maybe just happen to be like above everyone else but only visually and connected with your eye, heart and mind. See, shooters are always in the same space and reality as everyone else but for real, they are connected to Mother Light in a way that they wait for her to grace their presence and give them a breath of light to share and experience and make their photos.

I can only explain what happens sometimes when I’m not interfering with the natural order of things. I say the natural order because there is a harmony in making photos. There exist a rhythm and beauty in life that one must try to tune into. Shooters can’t be themselves without dancing to the rhythm of life. This rhythm fills our essence and when the subject matter is present and the rhythm of life is in us and we allow our minds to dance freely then and only then will the shooter make photos that reflect the time of the moment of awareness. At the very time of release. all is accountable and all is suspect. If we dint get the photo as we visualized then something is wrong in our perception of time and space and how and where we fit in.

The value of the photo is what we desire it to be. If if reaches that range of acceptance to us, then the ultimate goal is achieved. Yeah sure, it’s nice to have ppl like our work. It’s sweet to sell the work and get shows and exhibitions. If this is the reason you work and find the value that others place on your work most important, well you are destined to die a very lonely death.

Your photos will not miss you because they are busy entertaining others and not you, the parent.

I was sitting at the desk that Ding had and he pulled some prints out for me to study. We looked Strand and Evans because Ding knew I was most in love with them. Of course Kertesz was in my brain and heart at all times. So Ding put back the Strands and the Evans prints and said, for you Don, we will chat with Andre’. Well it’s 1976 and Kertesz is still alive and I’m thinking that a visit is going to happen. I asked Ding when Andre’ was arriving cause I wanted to have my Leica ready.

He smiled and said, Don, here is Andre’ in total. He opened the box of prints I knew so very well. Ding said, as you go thru life remember this as you ever remember anything. Kertesz is the most important photographer that lived and worked in the moment. He never was outside life. I looked at the photos in a new way. I mean I could feel Andre’ in the work but more than that, I felt him inside me. I mean it’s as if I was aware of him in a way I had never understood before. I had tears in my eyes and Ding smiled. He said, Don I love how you take it all in and absorb life.

So I thought about this experience for decades and in fact, I’m in thought now. See, shooters must work from the heart. You gotta feel what your doing. Don’t give a fuck if anyone responds to your your work. You work for you. Ya know what, you work for me too because shooters make photos for themselves and for other shooters.

The awareness of your life is the presence you make and the photos you make. The camera will either be your tool and master or become your friend. In order for it to be your friend you have to surrender to the controls ppl place upon you. I take Walker the Nikon Coolpix A out and we are friends. We get into the moment to and work together to make photos that I can learn from and relate to. Maybe if things go well, someone else can relate to them also.

I feel that the most important thing to digest is that my photos for me represent the moment of awareness and dammit, I’m friggin’ loving that.

ok, gotta run the ambulance is outside to take me to my VA Doc…….he’s not a photographer byes………………………..

Street Photography Chronicles by Don Springer