# 6611 / common places • common things ~ a return to yesteryear (sorta)

June 16, 2023

IT’S SORTA THE SAME BUT DIFFERENT; THERE IS the Polaroid camera whirl-like sound of the a print ejecting from the camera, the impatient wait for the image to develop, and the delight of almost instant gratification. However, different-wise, it’s not quite instant inasmuch as I need to send the image to the printer from my iPhone and, re: to obtain the result I want, I make a few simple adjustments-density, saturation, contrast-on the printer app and then hit the print button..

Nevertheless, in very short order I have a print in hand. A print that I can pass around to on-hand relatives or friends, an act which engenders much more delight than handing an iPhone around. And, should a request be expressed that someone would like a copy of the print, I can just press the print button and viola.

FYI, the palm sized printer is a Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 2 Smartphone Printer.-$100US at B&H. The prints are credit card size. Prints can be made from a just-made photo or from any picture in my iPhone’s picture library. Images are sent to the printer from my iPhone via Bluetooth (any phone with bluetooth will do). Print cost is $.66 a piece when purchased in a 6-pack. Each print pack has 10 prints. BTW, there is an Instax Wide Link Printer-2.4 x 3.9" prints-and an Instax Square Link Printer-2.44 x 2.44" prints-available.

This thing is a genuine more-fun-than-a-barrel-of-monkeys print making device. I mean, after making the purchase, how much photo fun can you have for only 66 cents a pop-actually, a whirl-is never ending.

All of that written, I now have a new objective, photography-wise. I want to create / exhibit The World’s Smallest Photo Exhibition. If I am able to get the word out far-and-wide enough, I would like to receive Instax print submissions made by others for consideration for the exhibition.

# 6606-09 / travel • common places • common things ~ from this day forward

June 12, 2023

***daughter and husband return from their Mediterranean honeymoon****~ (embiggenable)

FROM THIS ENTRY FORWARD YOUCAN ASSUME, UNLESS otherwise noted, that all pictures have been made with PRORAW.

Now that I have programmed the RAW processing process into my muscle memory-I use a lot of keyboard shortcuts-it has become obvious that that process is actually less involved / time consuming than working with jpegs. That’s cuz I do not have contend with circumventing the iPhone picture making AI that wants every picture to look like a bright, sunny-like Kodachrome day.

Amongst other things, I no longer have to soften, aka: reduce contrast, highlight values. The shadow values require less work to reveal detail and the color values, re: saturation, are much more realistic / natural. Although, I still reduce, but to a lesser extent than when working with jpegs, contrast in order to achieve a smoother tonal transitions.

My image file processing is based around the idea of achieving a file that, when printed, has the look and feel, of what some might call it, an old-timey C print (on Kodak Ektacolor paper-although Agfa color paper was very nice-made from color negative film). To my eye and sensibilities, that look and feel has a very satisfyingly “gentle” appearance that is the polar opposite of what I consider to be the retched excesses of the digital realm-i.e. fetish-like obsession with sharpness / resolution, max dynamic range, “punchy” colors and saturation, and the like.

That written, digital prints are very capable of replicating the look and feel of a C print when the originating file has the “right” look and feel. And, FYI, when I was talking with Joel Meyerowitz-I received an invitation to the NYC opening of a gallery exhibition showing the work of Meyerowitz, Shore and Eggleston-we both mentioned our surprise that, when we scanned our 8x10 color negatives, how much additional information-detail and color range-was to be had from a color negative and was subsequently revealed in a digital print.

***me looking at a Meyerowitz after my conversation with Meyerowitz*** ~ (embiggenable)

* no, they did not take the train back from Europe. Instead, they flew from Europe to Montreal-only 50 miles or so from where we live-and rode the train, The Adirondack, to home where we met them at the station. The Adirondack runs daily-both directions-between Montreal and New York City. The route, along the very edge of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River has been voted as one of the top 10 picturesque train trips in the world.

# 6602-05 / commmon places • common things ~ old dog, new tricks

June 10, 2023

I TOOK AN OATH THAT I WAS NOT GONNA do it but I gave in and did it nevertheless. Made a few iPhone Apple PRORAW pictures just to see what’s what and, damn it, it is even worse than I thought it might be. That is to write, the files are so superior to iPhone jpegs-which are very good-that I am now doomed to making PRORAW files forever.

What that means is extra processing steps-mainly adding CAMERA RAW processing to the workflow-and, in the case of making 48mp originals (main camera only), the resulting 210mb files will definitely require increasing my storage / backup needs. Fortunately, it seems that my desktop Mini Mac is up to the task of handling the bigger files. Although, that written, I have set my camera format preferences to making12 mp files - I’ll save the 48mp format for special picture making situations.

The 4 pictures in this entry are examples of the results from PRORAW files.

RE: “superior to iPhone jpegs” - the primary differences that I see in PRORAW files are; A. (obviously) the total lack of any AI applications that create a look that Apple developers think is what a picture should look like, B. hence, rather nice tonal smoothness, C. increased dynamic range (more shadow detail, smoother highlights), D. “natural” color and color saturation, E. increased but not exaggerated fine detail.

CAVEAT: Unlike that Texas based gear-head who actually believes that he can post jpegs online that illustrate the fine visual file qualities of different lens / camera sensors, et al, I realize that my sample images might not demonstrate fully the visual qualities of the PRORAW files.

My only suggestion to those of you who might be “serious” iPhone camera module users who “concentrate” when making your pictures, try PRORAW. You might like it.

# 6599-6601 / art ~ or, where's the popcorn?

June 8, 2023

WHILE IN PORTO, PORTUGAL WE WENT TO The Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art, the foremost museum for contemporary art in Portugal. The museum is located on the grounds of the Serralves Estate, which also comprises a Park and a Villa. In large part, the museum’s mission is to encourage reflection on the relationship between art and the environment.

After spending the better part of 2 hours in the museum, we took an hour walk around the park grounds which includes trails through large wooded groves, a gorge with a large pond, an elevated bridge-like walkway through the treetops, past an incredible villa and its gardens, and to top it off, a visit to the on-site farm. Overall, a very impressive place, however…

…I must confess that I could not quite connect to/with the art on view in the museum. That’s cuz what came to my mind, first and foremost, was some lyrics from Bob Dylan’s song, What Was It You Wanted…

What was it you wanted
Tell me again so I'll know
What's happening in there
What's going on in your show
What was it you wanted
Could you say it again
I'll be back in a minute
You can get it together by then

…sorta like the same feeling I get when viewing contemporary Academic Lunatic Fringe photography. That is to write, a feeling of “Huh? Say what?”

For purposes of self-preservation, under such circumstances-defined by the deflating feeling that I am just too dense to figure it out-I generally fall back on my Susan Sontag rationalization that interpretation is the revenge of the intellect on art (photography or otherwise).

Now I am not implying, upon viewing the blackened tree with nearby (dead?) golden leaves that I did not have any thoughts. Like, say, wow, big and threatening and if we do not deal with climate change there is going to be a lot of dead-as-a-skeletal-doorknob trees and a concurrent lack of golden-leaf beauty. On the other hand, maybe it’s just a Marvel Comic nightmare movie character come to turn us all into mulch. In which case, the thought / question that comes to my mind is, “Where’s the popcorn?”

# 6594-98 / street photography look ~ the question is why?

June 6, 2023

***Braga Romana Festival*** ~ (embiggenable)

WERE I TO BE OF A MIND TO I could make a monochrome body of work of scenes from Portugal that fit the street photography mode of seeing. Scenes in which color is not vital to the photograph’s visual impact.

That written, I don’t really have a reason to undertake such a project. Not sure what the point would be. On the other hand, were I to do so, make a book and present it to the wife as our trip to Portugal book, I might really enjoy her spontaneous expression-facial and verbal-of something along the lines of, “Are you f__ing kidding me? Is this a joke?”

Might be worth it just for that.

# 6591-93 / travel • kitchen sink • single women ~ a roving eye...have iPhone, will make pictures

June 5, 2023

AND I QUOTE:

“…Discovery in the photographic realm: treat the iPhone like it's a serious camera—concentrate—and you can do good work with it…” ~ Michael Johnston

Acting parse-imoniously, re: the meanings of “serious" camera / “concentrate” / “good work”, my first reaction is, “Well, well, well…better late than never.”…another doubter bites the dust.

That written, and having just returned from a trip to 4 tourist laden hot-spots, I can state with a high degree of assuredness that (seemingly) everyone has “discovered” that their iPhone-or any other similar device-is more than capable of producing very good quality photographs. How “serious” they consider the camera module to be or how much they “concentrate” when using it, is hard to determine but…I am reasonably certain that they make “good work” with it.

All of that written, if the cell phone picture making hoards even think about it at all-and I would guess that they do not-very few of them would consider themselves to be photographers. Rather, if asked, they might say that they were just taking pictures. Very few would ever say that they were making photographs. That’s cuz, as Jean Shepherd wrote:

“…he is [they are] the simple householder who desires only to ‘have a camera around the house to get a picture of Dolores in her graduation gown’…What artistic results he [they] obtains are almost entirely accidental and totally without self-consciousness…”

iMo, this voluminous picture making craze is a very good thing. Who gives a damn if pictures are being made without the use of “serious” cameras or a high degree of “concentration”. And, if their definition of a “good” picture is one in which “Dolores in her graduation gown” are in focus, properly exposed, with decent color values, made easy by the simple touch of a button, that is a very good thing cuz…

…there really is such a thing-as KODAK phrased it-The Joy of Photography. It can be a very simple joy and you do not have to have a serious camera and a lot of concentration to experience it.

# 6587-90 / travel ~ separating the wheat from the chaff*

June 3, 2023

*my brother asked, “Why are you taking a picture of that*?” ~ (embiggenable)

*who would have guessed*? ~ (embiggenable)

***it’s true, I am the fucking artist*** ~ (embiggenable)

I AM AT THE 130 PICTURES MARK, re: pictures made while in Portugal. The wife is sending me a few of the pictures she made for inclusion in the total. I’m thinking that I will edit the pictures down to about 100 for inclusion in the Portugal book / album.

That written, it occurred to me while staring at the complete folder in Adobe Bridge that, just as an exercise in editing, I would see if I could make a collection of just 20 pictures which would, in minimalist kinda way, represent a believable summary of our trip. As it turned out-at least for me and the wife-it was possible.

Re: at least for me and the wife, it was possible. That is to write that, for other viewers, it might be a reasonably indicative view of our trip, but that impression would very limited relative to how the pictures “work” for me and the wife; i.e., that’s cuz, for us, each of these pictures trigger numerous memories associated with what each picture represents. Memories that other viewers would not associate with each picture unless they had visited Portugal.

That written, the fact is that this selection of pictures is more suggestive of what I saw-aka: my experience-in Portugal than it might be for the wife. That’s why I have asked her to sit down and work her way through the Adobe Bridge album and select 20 pictures which would incite the most memories, specific for her experience in Portugal. Looking forward to seeing the results of that exercise.

* this subtitle is not meant to suggest that there is any “chaff” in the entire body of work. It is, of course (iMo), all “wheat”. That written, some of the wheat, in this case, was more suited to my specific editing purpose.

ADDENDUM the wife has read this entry and, to reinforce my point-re: my experience, her experience-she states that she would not have chosen the same 20 pictures. That’s cuz, for instance, she did not drink as many sangrias as I did. And, furthermore-re: incited memories-she has no idea where I made the WR triptych pictures even though she was sitting right next me (having a refreshing drink) when I got up and made the pictures.

# 6578-86 / travel ~ more than just a sense of place

May 30, 2023

all pictures ~ (embiggenable)

WHEN I TRAVEL IT IS ALWAYS MY INTENTION to make pictures of what I see. The challenge of doing so is to make pictures that convey a sense of place that do not look like pretty picture postcards. Actually, truth be told, that ain’t too much of a challenge cuz my vision dictates how I see what I see. And pretty picture postcard pictures just ain’t part of that program.

That written, when one is a stranger in a strange (to you) land, the temptation to make pretty postcard pictures can be a powerful force. You know…you see some thing-aka: a people, a place or a thing-that looks different than what you are used to seeing back home and wham-o, you wanna make a picture of the thing forgetting that the best picture can be more than just a picture of a thing. It’s kinda like a Pavlovian going home to mama, rules of picture making wise, by reverting to the idiotic advice that, when you are making a picture of some thing, you must simplify. That is, to eliminate any thing (or things) that “detract” a viewer’s attention from the thing you wish to picture.

Now, if your picture making intention is to make pictures for the picture viewing simple-minded, that’s good advice. However, if your intention is to make pictures that invite a viewer’s visual senses to spent a little time moseying around your picture’s real estate, providing a little more visual information, iMo, is the way to go.

Of course, the counterpoint to my way of picture making thinking is that too much information can cause a viewer to struggle with figuring out the point of a picture. To which I write, “Good.”, cuz maybe, just maybe, that consternation might just lead a viewer to the idea that the “point” of a picture is the picture itself, not just the thing that it depicts.