# 6144 / the new snapshot ~ wherein I go all gearhead

June 30, 2022

THERE ARE QUITE A FEW THINGS I DO NOT UNDERSTAND. Picture making wise, I simply do not understand the obsessive fascination with gear. Or, worse yet, the idea that creativity in picture making is dependent on technique + gear. FYI, I will have more to write, re: creativity, coming up.

That written, for the purpose of this entry my lack of understanding is tied to things automotive. Specifically, why would anyone drive a boring-to-drive car? That is, a thing that is more like an appliance than a machine that gives fun and pleasure to the act of getting from point A to point B.

My wife and I have 3 cars, all of which are considered to be so-called driver's cars. That is, a car that has responsive steering feel, linear brake feel, a natural sense of balance to its handling, a well resolved, well damped ride, it must sound good, it must have good clean throttle response, a decent gear change and seats whose springing is in sync with that of the chassis. Throw in above-average horsepower + torque with a slightly aggressive horsepower-to-weight ratio and you have a recipe for a very satisfying driving experience. Especially so here where we live with its abundance of 2-lane, over hill and dale, twisty bits.

The Abarth pictured above has all the ingredients of a pocket-rocket and more. It is a full-blooded descendant of Abarth / Italian racing machismo. 130mph+ top end, lowered, track inspired suspension, unassisted rack and pinion steering, tuned, free-flow exhaust (sweet Italian-bred howl), brembo brakes. Even the wife loves it. She calls it “very mechanical”. Hell, even Michael Schumacher-7x Formula One Champion-has one as his daily driver.

So, for me, it is, go fast, be safe, and have fun. BTW, part of the fun is bringing my good friend along and taking him right up to the edge of peeing his pants.

PS I apologize for going all gearhead, albeit automotive style. It will be back to our regularly schedule programming tomorrow.

# 6143 / kitchen sink ~ different is as different does

June 29, 2022

“For the first several years one struggles with the technical challenges, making sure and steady progress ….But, eventually every photographer who sticks with it long enough arrives at a technical plateau where production of a technically good photograph is relatively easy. It is here that real photography starts and most photographers quit.” ~ Brooks Jensen

AS I AM CONSIDERING MY THOUGHTS AND FEELING, RE: blogging and this blog in particular, I have been contemplating the idea of what exactly is / has been my intent for doing this blog. The easy answer is that I simply wished to exhibit my work to the world. There is some truth to that answer but, digging a bit deeper, there is much more to it that that.

A few decades past, as I was moving away from commercial photography, my picture making activity gravitated to the making of pictures as Art rather than for commerce. While I had garnered some significant bona fides*, re: photography as Art, as is my wont, I was driven to explore the grand and messy world of photography as Art in more detail. Specifically, what exactly is it that makes a photograph a work of Art as opposed to being just a mere picture.

In the course of that exploration, I started a blog wherein I thought out loud, re: my ideas and ruminations on the subject of photography as Art, in hopes of encouraging input from others who read the blog. For quite a number of years, that hope was realized and there was plenty of lively conversation.

The net result of all that activity was there was no easy answer to the question of what makes a photograph be considered as Art. My take on it came down to the notion of, stop thinking / worrying about it, find my vision, get on with it, and let the chips fall where they may.

Re: It is here that real photography starts and most photographers quit - I never had much toil and struggle with the technical challenges of making a technically good picture. My picture making “challenge” derived from my intrinsic, preternatural drive to be an individual who did not “follow the crowd”. So, there was no way, from the moment I first picked up a camera, that I was going to make pictures that conformed to the prevailing idea of what makes a “good” picture.

FYI, to be very clear on that subject, I did not consciously adopt an attitude to be “different”. As I later came to realize, I just flat out see the world in a manner that differs from how others typically see it. Consequently, my “challenge” was to plunge ahead and do what came naturally, essentially ignoring any internal conflicts / doubts about being “different”. If I had given in to any doubts, it would have been at that point at which I most likely would have quit photography.

All of the above written, call it vanity if you must, but I like to think that all of my blathering on-which, BTW, is likely to continue-about the medium and its apparatus might just possibly help, or has helped, some followers of this blog to-paraphrasing Brook Jensen-let go of what they have been told is a good photograph and start photographing what they see.

*acceptance of work in prestigious, juried group exhibitions, a jurist for many exhibitions / competitions (such as the final round of The Kodak International Newspaper Snapshot Competition), many solo exhibitions in art galleries / institutions, working with the author of the seminal book The New Color Photography, a stint as a photo critic for the New Art Examiner, et al.

# 6140-42 / around the house ~ never the same twice

June 27, 2022

IT WASN’T UNTIL ABOUT 4 MONTHS PAST I BEGAN TO start making full-frame pictures with the iPhone PORTRAIT setting. So it was somewhat of a surprise that I “discovered” 30+ pictures made with that combination all of which fall under the label around the house. Hence a new gallery on the WORK page by that name. ASIDE while most of those pictures were made in the house, a few were made in very close proximity to the house. END ASIDE

# 6139 / selfie ~ hello, out there

June 25, 2022

I’M GETTING BORED. IN YEARS PAST THIS BLOG had followers who engaged in lively conversation, re: the medium and its apparatus (conventions not gear). As opposed to now, where there is rarely any response to any topic even though there are about 1,000 unique visitors / month with 2,100 page views. That written, it seems that the only way to generate comments is to write about gear-especially anything Leica. A topic which is rarely seen on this blog.

So…it’s time to think about a change. Kill the whole thing? Kill the blog and just have picture galleries-albeit greatly reduced in number? Kill the galleries and the blog and just post 1 picture at a time with the replaced picture disappearing into never-neverland?

All that written, just thinking out loud.

# 6136-38 / people • landscape ~ it's all the rage

June 24, 2022

JUST YESTERDAY, RIGHT THERE ON/IN THE NY TIMES, AN article titled, The Rise of the 0.5 selfie. A few excerpts:

..All of a sudden, one day, everyone was taking 0.5 selfies…Unlike a traditional selfie, the 0.5 selfie — so named because users tap 0.5x on a smartphone camera to toggle to ultra-wide mode — has become popular because it is far from curated. Since the ultra-wide-angle lens is built into the back cameras of phones, people can’t watch themselves take a 0.5 selfie…You really don’t know how it’s going to turn out, so you just have to trust the process and hope something good comes out of it…These images are best when they have “ominous, creepy” vibes.

Having read the article-with sample pictures-it was incumbent upon me, last evening while dining out, to teach the bartender how to make an 0.5 selfie. She done good, getting the wife, daughter and me well placed in the background.

Question: is there something in human DNA which causes people to get crazy / weird when making a selfie? - the question arose as I sat stoically by while the selfie was made.

Had a nice drive home after dinner. Happy to be a passenger which allowed for some on-the-go picture making.

# 6132-35 / in situ (street photography) ~ an instant of life captured for eternity

June 23, 2022

“‘A photograph can be an instant of life captured for eternity that will never cease looking back at you.” ~ Brigitte Bardot

AS MENTIONED IN MY ENTRY, STREET PHOTOGRAPHY ~ a first world problem, my intention was to make a photo book-the same pictures in color and monochrome in separate groupings-to investigate the differing viewing and appreciation experience (if any) between color and monochrome versions of the same pictures.

Initially, my thought was to limit the number of pictures to 10. That was, in part, cuz, not being a street photographer, I thought that coming up with 10 good street pictures might be a stretch. As it turns out, much to my surprise, I came up 30 very good-(iMo) picture possibilities, So, my now second first-world problem is editing down the choices to 10 just pictures.

After several go-arounds I narrowed it down to 15 strong pictures. So I thought, 15 it is until…I started designing the book-each spread with a picture on one page, location caption on the facing page-at which point I realized I was creating a 66(ish) page book. While the number of pages, per se, is not an issue, the cost of such a photo book with the design and production values I want-premium paper, lay-flat pages, 6C printing-would be in the $100USD + range. Once again, the cost is not an issue for me….except….

…what I hoped to create was a book in the $30USD range in order that some of you, the blog followers, might be interested in acquiring the book. Not because I am a brilliant picture maker but, rather, to partake in the investigation, re: color v monochrome of the same pictures, of whether there is a difference in the viewing and appreciation experience.

If there is an interest, I will edit the pictures down 8 or so and make a soft-cover book with 4C instead of 6C printing. The book would be available direct from the POD printer, Blurb. If anyone is interested just hit the LIKE button. FYI, I am not looking for big numbers. 5-6 would be enough for me to make the effort. And, BTW, I would be selling the book at cost.

# 6123-31 / common places (civilized ku) ~ thinkin' 'bout the good ol' days

June 21, 2022

WOKE THIS MORNING TO A GREY DAY. IN AN EFFORT TO brighten up the day, I decided to get out and about, use the sky as a blank slate and make some pictures. Throw in some neutral grey road surfaces and, iMo, you have got the stage set for pictures in which colors come to the fore.

In a perfect picture making world, I would have grabbed my dad’s Kodak Brownie Hawkeye camera out of the closet, went down to the drugstore, bought a roll of color negative film, then taken a stroll around the neighborhood looking for something to prick my eye and sensibilities. Instead, I picked up my iPhone and headed out with FRANK BREUER on my mind.

6118-22 / civilized ku (urban landsape) ~ drinking in Brooklyn

June 20, 2022

***drive-by picture*** / ***Manhattan*** ~ (embiggenable)

***Gowanus Canal*** / ***Brooklyn, NY*** ~ (embiggenable)

***Brooklyn Street*** / ***Brooklyn, NY*** ~ (embiggenable)

SPENT SATURDAY IN BROOKLYN ATTENDING A KINDERSCHULE graduation event followed by a private party. There was quite a sunset. The party was at a bar / restaurant called Pig Beach-BBQ pork their speciality.. Kinda thought that was a strange place to have a Jewish / Socialist party.

Pig Beach-no beach, just a name-is in Brooklyn along the Gowanus canal. The canal is one the most contaminated sites in the US of A. It is currently undergoing a clean up that will take 10 years. So, even if there had been a beach, there would be no swimming.