THERE IS SO MUCH MORE TO SEE during the Autumn color extravaganza than just vast expanses of color saturated landscapes. The natural world is so much more interesting than just that.
# 6718-22 / landscape • kitchen sink • common things ~ there's no place like home
BACK HOME AND WORKING WITH PS ONCE AGAIN. After nearly 7 weeks away from home and my desktop set up, I am realizing, now that I am back in the PS saddle, how much I depend upon PS to realize the full implementation of my picture making vision.
It’s not that I make any drastic / dramatic file processing procedures with PS. Rather, it’s a host of small, subtle adjustments that I feel significantly impact the look and feel of my prints. And, many of those adjustments are simply not possible to achieve with any mobile device software. I can come close enough-for web presentation-but not enough for the finished look and feel I want in my prints.
BTW, working from the iPhone RAW DNG files with the full PS software makes me really appreciate the file quality of those files. Really pretty amazing.
WARNING semi-gear stuff: Even thou I have not used it much lately, I have not completely abandoned my µ4/3 gear. However, I do haul it around on trips and shorter get-a-ways just in case I want to make a picture of something that is to far away for the iPhone reach. At which point, I mount up my 50>200mm f2.8-100>400mm eq.-Zuiko lens on my E-P5 and snap away. FYI, that large lens on the small E-P5 is truly a case of the tail wagging the dog.
That written. my E-P5 is getting rather long in the tooth and prudence dictates that it just might be time for a replacement. At this stage of my life it would most likely be my forever camera. However, replacement wise, I have been far less than enamored with the available candidates.
I have no interest in the multi-thousand dollar Olympus wunderbar cameras. That’s cuz, in large part, I don’t want a DSLR form-factor camera. I much prefer a rangefinder-like form-factor. But that’s a form-factor that the Olympus Systems camera maker has seemingly abandoned.
So imagine my surprise and delight upon discovering that a new rangefinder-like Olympus Systems camera, the E-P7, has been introduced. It is, essentially, an E-P5 upgrade or, depending on your perspective, an Oly PEN downgrade (Oly PEN minus a few that-I-don’t-care-about features).
The only problem is that it is not available in the US. However, it is showing up for order on some e-bay and used camera sites. And, at a very reasonable price - $600-700USD range. On the other hand, my son is currently in Japan for a 2 week vacation…hhmmmm.
# 6709-12 / landscape • kitchen life • people ~ a time for reckoning?
RECENTLY A GREAT DEAL OF INK HAS BEEN SPILLED (or keyboards pounded) on TOP and VSL, re: what am I doing here? That is, the respective authors thereof seem to very concerned about their very raison d’etre, blogging wise. So I thought I might chime in on that topic but not on the comments section on those sites cuz, in both cases, the comments are fan-boy inspired I-love-everything-you-do, don’t change anything, I think you are absolutely fabulous.
Right off the top / outa the gate let me write that I do not consider either of these sites as to be about the medium of photography and its apparatus (conventions and practices, not gear).
In the case of VSL, there is never any content about the medium itself. Rather, it is all about-elevated to the level of fetish-the tools of the medium. The author seems to think that he can show us-literally, with pictures-the rather subtle difference in sensors and lenses even though he readily admits that the medium of the interweb, image display wise, pretty much obliviates those differences. Sounds to me a lot like a fools errand.
In the case of TOP, while there is a reasonable amount of content, re: the medium and its apparatus, there is an ever-increasing amount of off-topic content that strays pretty far afield from that of photography. Add to that situation the fact that the blogging platform used by TOP is absolutely unsuited to the display of photographs and what you end up with is a very compromised photography experience. But…
…iMo, the real problem with TOP-for me-is the fact that the author’s first love is the act of writing, not the act of making of photographs. In a sense, he loves to”hear” himself write. Not to mean that he does not enjoy the making of photographs but, I suspect that, if he were to be required to choose between writing or picture making, all his photo gear would be listed for sale on ebay in a NY minute.
I also believe that the author is hindered from creating a more photography-centric blog by his self-professed doubts that; a.) is photography…ending? and, b.) everything to be written about photography has already been written. 2 ideas that I believe are; a.) ridiculous and, b.) even more ridiculous.
In any event, to certain extent, I believe that both authors are old coot hidebound and therefore rather unimaginative, re: how to carry on in the blogging sphere. In a very real sense, they are trapped in a blogging paradigm of their own makings. Nevertheless, it might be interesting to follow where this all ends up inasmuch as it can be amusing to watch a potential train wreck in the making.
BONUS CONTENT - Re: is photography…ending?
FIRDAY EVENING THE WIFE AND I WENT DOWN the driveway to a restaurant / tavern for dinner only to discover that it was OPEN MIKE NIGHT. Except , quite fortunately, the hitch was that is was open mike for musicians, not for any drunk wanting to sing.
As it turned out it was a lot of fun and very entertaining. The musicians performed individually, in pairs and, eventually all jamming together. As is often the case, I had my INSTAX printer with me so I commenced to making pictures (and prints). Primarily of the musicians but also of the audience.
Just for fun, I had a waitress hand the pictures out, as I made them, to the person pictured. The point was to create a sense of confusion about where the hell these pictures were coming from. Eventually the cat was out of the bag and, when, at the end of the night, the crowd was applauding the various musicians, one musician suggested a round of applause for the guy making the pictures. The crowd turned to me and gave gave a rousing all hail and hardy applause and a few tips of the hat.
I am certain they did that only cuz, ya know, photography is…ending.
# 6704-6708 / COMMON PLACES • COMMON THINGS ~ small is beautiful
AS I NEAR THE END OF WEEK 4 AT Rist Camp, I have made, by my count, exactly 50 INSTAX prints during my stay (so far-but another week to go). FYI, 20% of those pictures have been made in the kitchen. Add to that total another 65 INSTAX prints made at the Jersey Shore and I have quite a bundle of pictures that I need to figure out how to deal with.
My current what-to-do-with-them is, quite simply, my life-long affinity for small things. I do not have a clue as to how to explain it. That written, a fun example of this proclivity is the little tiny loon who lives on the binnacle-not be confused with the bonnet, boot or windscreen-of my vehicle’s instrument cluster. I find him (her?) to be very amusing as, when driving with “vigor”-the wife calls it excessive speed-through a string of twisty bits, the loon swims from side to side (g-forces at work) across the binnacle. It never gets old - I break out in a smile, if not an outright laugh, every time. One might suggest that simple pleasure goes together with a simple mind, but that’s another story.
In any event, my plan for this plethora of prints is to make 2-3 regular prints-non-INSTAX-of selected images from each collection. Then select 9 INSTAX prints from each collection to be presented as pictured below-not an actual framed piece, just some prints placed on a frame I had handy to see how it might look. As for the rest, I have discovered that there is a considerable number of picture albums for INSTAX prints.
One rather exquisite example is a fabric-covered, hard bound cover, 8x5 inch horizontal format (2 vertical prints per lay-flat page) album that holds 52 prints. It is right up my alley cuz…it’s small.
# 6681-84 / common places • common things ~ baby it's hot outside
HALF WAY THROUGH HELL WEEK. Although, to be honest, my misery has been tempered by my position at the top of the golf event Leader Board-helped along by an eagle on a par 5 and a birdie on a par 3-and by garnering the longest drive award. However, that consolation was compromised by playing golf in 100% humidity / 86º heat (feels like 92º) during which I rinsed my face, neck, arms and torso with cold bottled water 5 times.
I mentioned in a previous entry that 1 of the things I dislike about the South Jersey Shore was the fact that it is being overrun with the ultra rich and their grossly ostentatious McMansions. See the above old/new normal pictures to see what I mean…it must have been a really quaint unpretentious beach community at one time.
Making lots of INSTAX print pictures. And surprise, surprise - they have kitchen sinks in New Jersey.
# 6676-79 / common places • common things • landscape ~ 2 different neighborhoods
SPENT THE DAY ORGANIZING AND PACKING FOR MY so-called annual week in hell, aka: a week at the South Jersey Shore. Don’t like it for number of reasons; fast becoming an enclave for the ultra-rich and their truly gross McMansions, heat and extreme humidity, and people crammed elbow-to-elbow on the beach. This trip I am sharing the place with 110 of the wife’s relatives (both sides of the family). For many, whiskey and weed will be the order of the day (and night). Me, I’ll play some golf and make a lot of pictures - I’m toting 36 10-packs of INSTAX instant print film in my kit.
RE; the last evening in my neighborhood picture in this entry-I can walk to this place-points up the difference between where I live-a place where people visit to escape the extreme summer heat-and the oppressively hot South Jersey Shore. That and the fact that, while I live in an actual park, it nearly impossible to find a place to park at the Jersey Shore.
In any event, I will most likely survive the week cuz I can take solace in the fact that at the end of the week we go directly to our Adirondack Mountain retreat, Rist Camp, for a five week stay.
# 6675 / common things ~life in the photo ghetto
OVER THE PAST DECADE-GIVE OR TAKE A FEW YEARS- there has been an emerging sentiment amongst “serious” amateur picture makers that picture making, aka: photography, as they know it is dead and/or dying. The primary perpetrator of this heinous crime is most often ajudged to be the the cellphone with its camera module, picture making function. Although, most recently there is the AI generated-looks just like a photograph-bugaboo lurking in the PS shadows adding to the photography-killing death count.
To paraphrase US broadcaster Herbert Morrison,
“This is terrible; this is one of the worst catastrophes in the world. Oh it's...crashing dying…Oh, the humanity, and all the passengers photographers screaming around here!”
To be clear, I do not subscribe to the death-by-cellphone hysteria simply cuz the fact is, with a zillion billion (exaggeration employed to make a point) cellphone pictures made every second of the day, the cellphone is responsible for exponential growth in picture making and, if not photography, what the hell are those picture makers doing? Sure, Sure. Most of the picture makers are not “taking it seriously” but, nevertheless, they are making pictures - an activity traditionally known as photography.
Re: AI generative stuff - it may be photo-based, but the end result, although it may look just like a photograph, is, in fact, a photo-derived illustration. That is, an illustration / image which bears little or no connection to the real world as captured / recorded by a picture making device.
All of the above written (as a mere prelude to my actual point), I do subscribe to a certain category of the death of-as I know it-photography. One that is defined by the following interview Q&A:
What are some of the biggest obstacles you have faced as an artist?
Early on it was difficult because I don’t have a MFA, I didn’t come from a prestigious university like Yale. So getting the eyes on the work and getting it in front of the right people was challenging.
Despite the artist’s “burden” of not having an MFA, the answer is what I would expect from that cadre of murders, photography wise. A group that I have, for years, labeled as the Academic Lunatic Fringe. The MFA / advanced degree crowd that idolizes content (concept) over form (the appearance of the referent). A fetish which leads to picture making that attempts to photograph that which, iMo, cannot be pictured - emotional states, mental states, conceptual / intellectual ideas that invariably require lengthy artist statements to try to explain what a picture “means”. A meaning which the picture itself can not “explain”. Pictures that in most cases are vehicles for dealing with the picture maker’s deep personal mental, emotional, societal, issues - a self-diagnosed therapy activity for what ails them. To which I write, good for them, have at it, do whatever floats your boat.
However, the problem as I see it, death of photography as I know it, is that the ALF crowd has taken over the gallery / art institution (photo division) directorship world. Which has led to the fact that the ALF gallery / art institutional power structure admits only certified fellow traveler’s work on the walls of such facilities. Traditional photography*-pictures which represent actual, tangible real-world referents as seen / aided by the camera’s eye-is no where to be seen.
That written, I do not believe that “traditional’ photography is dead or dying. In reality, it just might be flourishing as never before. Unfortunately, for me, it is disappearing from gallery / art institution walls. And, no, viewing a photograph online is not remotely the same experience as seeing a print on a wall.
*pictures which evince the joy of seeing. Pictures that do not require an MFA, either to be made or understood - no mental / self-analytical, psychological deep-dive interpretation required. ASIDE: this does not mean that a “traditional” photograph can not have a significant emotional impact or stir up some mental activity. However, that outcome is determined by the punctum found in photograph as the result of what is pictured (and how it is pictured), not a multi-thousand word essay. END ASIDE
# 6671-74 / common things / places • landscape • people ~ TMI
SOMETHING I DO NOT UNDERSTAND…why would anyone interested in the medium of photography bother to follow a (obstensibly) photo site / blog wherein the author constantly loads it up with chit-chat about swimming / pool / other non-photo activities, coffee, broken refrigerators, audio equipment..hell…even the weather. Reminds me of the few times I was the speaker at some camera club events-do actual go-to-meetin’ camera clubs even still exist?-where the assembled crowd mingled about (pre-speechifying) sipping wine and chit-chatting about all kinds of things other than photography. The exception being, of course, showing off and or talking about a new camera or piece of gear.
Now I’m not suggesting that a camera club meet up should be all photo-talk / business and no play. It is, in fact, a social gathering and it’s normal (almost natural) that people might want to talk-faceo a faceo-about their recent skid into a snowbank, how they got right with their maker or some such conversion before they get down to the business at hand. I get it cuz, unlike visiting a blog, it’s an actual face-to-face gathering / event. I been there, done that.
That written and at least for me, when I am on the interweb looking for interesting photography or interesting writing about the medium and its apparatus (aka: conventions, traditions, and practices), I have no use for those sites that are little more than a (chit) chatroom wherein it becomes all about the author and the inconsequential (photo wise) minutia-verbal, not visual-of his/her daily life.
Quite a while back-3-4 years?-when I was contemplating the direction I wanted to pursue, re: this blog, the one thing I promised my self and readers was that I would never turn it into a my-life chatroom. So far, mission accomplished.
And that is why, as an example, I could write all about my weekend…
…like how the wife and had breakfast in Lake Placid with our daughter and soon-to-depart for college (where he will play college hockey) grandson and describe in detail the bloody mary with pickle I had with breakfast after which I picked up some meds and then went to the framing shop to order a frame for an INSTAX picture a local craft gallery wants to display for sale OR like how on Saturday evening the wife and I went to a newly opened, renovated former ski lodge for a drink and live music and write about the sangria I had and how it compared to the sangria(s) I had in Portugal OR like how on Sunday I played golf on the Lake Placid Club Links Course with the aforementioned about-to-depart grandson and give a detailed account of the course conditions (to include the weather), my score (and how it might effect my USGA handicap index) vs my grandson’s score and whine and complain some more about the idiot 4-some in front of us who refused to let us play through even though there was no one on the course ahead of them…
..but I won’t.