Circumstances have caused me from taking a break from my rips through Detroit for photos of the former Motor City. One factor, though not the critical one, is the time crunch I now wade in. My time behind the lens and at the computer is very limited. If you are watching my stuff, and I am watching yours...and I have missed commenting on some of your photos (the ones I really like), it's just that I do not have the time right now.
Groups. I'm very busy in what time I have to build up some of Flickr groups I administer. And what time I do have, has me roaming through nearby cemeteries, taking photos of the dead of winter. I am particularly fascinated by the rituals we engage in regarding the dead, the grave decorations. It is really challenging to lose someone close. I struggle with those feelings myself, and not all loses are human. How people remember these loses, decorating graves with incredible care, and in some cases, incredibly bad taste. Over indulgence catches my eye. If one over does it, does that indicate the level of love and feeling of lose? (Obviously, no.)
During appropriate seasons, I visit two sites of over-indulgence. One is a Halloween display where the citizen fills his yard with thousands of dollars worth of life-size rubbery ghouls, ghosts, decapitators, etc. It's almost too much to take in, kind of like visiting a flea market and seeing all sorts of objects on the table, all askew. If it was my lawn, I think I'd set up a few really excellent scenes instead. The other over-indulgent location is one I haven't documented much in photos, a double (or possibly triple) lot filled with Christmas decor, also so randomly placed that it is difficult to create fantasy z storyline while viewing. However, when the scene is lit at night, it is spectacular, much like how a carnival looks at night.
Cemeteries are easy for me and right now I need easy.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Dead Silence
Circumstances are keeping me out of Detroit for the now. I don't mind really because I'd like to pursue other subject matter and sometimes wonder if my photos aren't doing a disservice to the city. I don't want to be the cynic who stands at the border of the city (like Eight Mile from the M&M film) flinging mud and other debris at the city, an urban area with a major hurt already. As the wealth of our nation continues to shift from the middle to the top, what happens in Detroit does have an effect on my life, personally. I'm shocked by how few people are cognizant of this, how complacent we have become, preferring to follow gossip over real hardcore news. But our corporate media fails us miserably on that account. A semi-final round of "American Idol" trumps an in-depth investigation into the corrupt illegal trading practices executed by Wall Street any day.
But I'm drifting away from my photo blog. Or am I? Isn't what churns in my mind influential of where I point my camera? Perhaps our photo galleries reveal a lot about what goes on in our inner worlds.
I was thinking about that the other day, about how I find photos...Sometimes I have a core center that influences what I look at, what catches my attention, and sometimes my visions are consciously fueled. For instance, on a certain day I may suddenly become aware of geometric shapes, or a particular color, and scan for interesting images that fit that mold. Like if the concept of 'triangle' was firmly planted in my conscious mind before I went out for a shooting session, my scan would filter in objects that fit, and I'm certain I would find interesting images who have as a key ingredient, the triangle. Or maybe an idea, like examples of contrasting the haves and the have nots (yeah, that's a theme of mine), how the rich and poor differ. I once contemplated doing contrasting images to my Detroit photos, combing the 'burbs. The wealthier burbs are well guarded and patrolled and I can get away with trolling the city for photos easier in a place like Detroit.
Well, sometimes. Then there was that time a few years ago where I was photographing out of my car in an area of the city that is mostly abandoned warehouses. Someone thought my activities were 'suspicious' and notified the police. I got a call a few days later and was grilled on a hot flame about who I was, what I was doing, what I intended to do with my photos, if I was married and working, etc. This 'interview' spanned two phone calls, probably totally at least half an hour. I wonder whatever happened to all my answers? Where did they go? Can I leave the country? Do they know about my suspicious behavior in Canada? Does Interpol have me on a list somewhere? Would a specific event trigger a visit by the police to my door at a future date? Will I be executed at dawn without a fair trial?
And the other type of photography I do is to just roam around and see what I can find. Of course, when I do that, I'm sure those filters I mentioned are influencing what I see, but this style is a bit more freestyle. I used to do that in Detroit at least three times a week, about 3-4 hours per session. That's a lot of gas, and tire repairs. And engine work. What I did was very expensive, but you can't tell that from looking at my photos.
So for now, no serious Detroit. My circumstances are different now and that just isn't going to happen.
But I still like to take pictures!
I started photography many years ago (decades even) and I'm usually comfortable shooting in cemeteries. I think such photos cause some people discomfort, confronting the concept that we all must die.
Sorry you people who like Detroit but not the cemetery.
My Fuji is back from warranty repair.
Where is my enthusiasm?
But I'm drifting away from my photo blog. Or am I? Isn't what churns in my mind influential of where I point my camera? Perhaps our photo galleries reveal a lot about what goes on in our inner worlds.
I was thinking about that the other day, about how I find photos...Sometimes I have a core center that influences what I look at, what catches my attention, and sometimes my visions are consciously fueled. For instance, on a certain day I may suddenly become aware of geometric shapes, or a particular color, and scan for interesting images that fit that mold. Like if the concept of 'triangle' was firmly planted in my conscious mind before I went out for a shooting session, my scan would filter in objects that fit, and I'm certain I would find interesting images who have as a key ingredient, the triangle. Or maybe an idea, like examples of contrasting the haves and the have nots (yeah, that's a theme of mine), how the rich and poor differ. I once contemplated doing contrasting images to my Detroit photos, combing the 'burbs. The wealthier burbs are well guarded and patrolled and I can get away with trolling the city for photos easier in a place like Detroit.
Well, sometimes. Then there was that time a few years ago where I was photographing out of my car in an area of the city that is mostly abandoned warehouses. Someone thought my activities were 'suspicious' and notified the police. I got a call a few days later and was grilled on a hot flame about who I was, what I was doing, what I intended to do with my photos, if I was married and working, etc. This 'interview' spanned two phone calls, probably totally at least half an hour. I wonder whatever happened to all my answers? Where did they go? Can I leave the country? Do they know about my suspicious behavior in Canada? Does Interpol have me on a list somewhere? Would a specific event trigger a visit by the police to my door at a future date? Will I be executed at dawn without a fair trial?
And the other type of photography I do is to just roam around and see what I can find. Of course, when I do that, I'm sure those filters I mentioned are influencing what I see, but this style is a bit more freestyle. I used to do that in Detroit at least three times a week, about 3-4 hours per session. That's a lot of gas, and tire repairs. And engine work. What I did was very expensive, but you can't tell that from looking at my photos.
So for now, no serious Detroit. My circumstances are different now and that just isn't going to happen.
But I still like to take pictures!
I started photography many years ago (decades even) and I'm usually comfortable shooting in cemeteries. I think such photos cause some people discomfort, confronting the concept that we all must die.
Sorry you people who like Detroit but not the cemetery.
My Fuji is back from warranty repair.
Where is my enthusiasm?
Friday, January 28, 2011
Edward Hopper in a Box
Finally, after three days of folly with Fed-Ex, trying to get my precious package...my Fuji HS10 is home. They replaced the LCD screen (it was cutting out when I tilted the camera) and hopefully is ready for action.
So now what?
I'm so out of shooting mode, I don't know where to start. My enthusiasm must have gone south for the winter. And on top of it, my life has gotten in the way. There is just so much going on, so much that siphons my energy away from what I used to do, and love most: taking pictures. On top of it, the weather is not exactly cooperating, with another grey day.
Actually, I like grey days and sometimes use them to my advantage for the types of photos I like to shoot. I have been thinking about what kind of photos I like to shoot and the painter Edward Hopper comes to mind. I am not all that familiar with his work (though I do have a bargain book about him, illustrated with a number of his paintings) and haven't been successful in delving into his life (biography), even the brief accounting in the book. As I survey his work, though, I feel a sympathetic vibration with what he painted. Over the years I have had a few comments about my photos to the effect that some of my shots have a Hopper-esque look. I agree. I like that look.
That look...is hard to capture with spontaneous candid photography, capturing people with their guard down, lost inside their thoughts, oblivious to the outside. Those are the people I see in Hopper's paintings. I unconsciously try to achieve that feeling without the people. I do note that Hopper did quite a few landscapes and images sans people. Short of hiring a model to pretend, it would damn hard to get the shot. Painting this image seems easier (assuming one has the skills to paint) because the painter/drawer/etcher has more control of the subject matter, the objects in the painting/drawing/etching and in fact can conjure ANYTHING
I would think I'd love to sit down with Hopper and have a cup of coffee. And yet, I don't think we'd have that much to say to one another.
We all live in two worlds, that of the outside and interacting with others and the environment, and our rich inner lives, a swirl of thoughts, feelings, and impulses.
Detroit sometimes looks like a Hopper painting, but with added decay and neglect. There is this common theme of alienation, something I am very familiar with in my own life as I have been walking to a different cadence than those around me all my life. For my early years, it was very uncomfortable, feeling out of step, but as I had a chance to explore my thoughts and feelings, I grew to cherish this feeling of independence, of not just going with the flow. Regarding alienation, inner alienation is the dangerous one and not where I roam.
Writing all this about Hopper is inspiring me, and now I want to know more about the man, about his life. I can start with the book I have and perhaps I'll find a flash of inspiration that will translate into photographic images.
Thanks.
So now what?
I'm so out of shooting mode, I don't know where to start. My enthusiasm must have gone south for the winter. And on top of it, my life has gotten in the way. There is just so much going on, so much that siphons my energy away from what I used to do, and love most: taking pictures. On top of it, the weather is not exactly cooperating, with another grey day.
Actually, I like grey days and sometimes use them to my advantage for the types of photos I like to shoot. I have been thinking about what kind of photos I like to shoot and the painter Edward Hopper comes to mind. I am not all that familiar with his work (though I do have a bargain book about him, illustrated with a number of his paintings) and haven't been successful in delving into his life (biography), even the brief accounting in the book. As I survey his work, though, I feel a sympathetic vibration with what he painted. Over the years I have had a few comments about my photos to the effect that some of my shots have a Hopper-esque look. I agree. I like that look.
That look...is hard to capture with spontaneous candid photography, capturing people with their guard down, lost inside their thoughts, oblivious to the outside. Those are the people I see in Hopper's paintings. I unconsciously try to achieve that feeling without the people. I do note that Hopper did quite a few landscapes and images sans people. Short of hiring a model to pretend, it would damn hard to get the shot. Painting this image seems easier (assuming one has the skills to paint) because the painter/drawer/etcher has more control of the subject matter, the objects in the painting/drawing/etching and in fact can conjure ANYTHING
I would think I'd love to sit down with Hopper and have a cup of coffee. And yet, I don't think we'd have that much to say to one another.
We all live in two worlds, that of the outside and interacting with others and the environment, and our rich inner lives, a swirl of thoughts, feelings, and impulses.
Detroit sometimes looks like a Hopper painting, but with added decay and neglect. There is this common theme of alienation, something I am very familiar with in my own life as I have been walking to a different cadence than those around me all my life. For my early years, it was very uncomfortable, feeling out of step, but as I had a chance to explore my thoughts and feelings, I grew to cherish this feeling of independence, of not just going with the flow. Regarding alienation, inner alienation is the dangerous one and not where I roam.
Writing all this about Hopper is inspiring me, and now I want to know more about the man, about his life. I can start with the book I have and perhaps I'll find a flash of inspiration that will translate into photographic images.
Thanks.
Monday, January 24, 2011
A Seasoned Photographer
Autumn rules! Well, in my book. The colors, the chill, the sweet smells of rot, as the forces of Nature recede into the earth for a stay underground as winter covers the earth. Freshly crushed apple cider...autumn harvest. When I get that hint of autumn during the last days of summer, my excitement surges. Summer is a real drag for me as I don't like being hot and sweaty, and I don't like artificially controlled temperatures, I mean, AC. I also don't like how the entire everything outside is green. Green green green. All the greenness blocks my view, too. What could be more boring than taking photos in a cemetery in the summer! I've always had issues with that. But autumn kicks in, the colors really enhance what I see in the cemetery. Late fall, early winter and the leaves are gone and the environs is reduced to sticks (trees) and basic ground. The sky reappears from the screen of leaves. And the snows begin and the world is transformed into black and white. The barren landscape is fantastic for shooting in cemeteries, adding to those uncomfortable feelings that many of us feel about death, the topic we prefer not to think about until we have no choice.
Those first snowfalls are so nice, usually wet, heavy snow that subdues the sounds around.
I see the seasons as colors. Winter - white, spring - brown/green, summer - green, autumn - fiery palate.
Back to winter, the two aspects of this season that are most appealing to me are trees and the deep long shadows of the season.There's just something about the look of a barren tree!
And who knows what lives in the shadows?
Those first snowfalls are so nice, usually wet, heavy snow that subdues the sounds around.
I see the seasons as colors. Winter - white, spring - brown/green, summer - green, autumn - fiery palate.
Back to winter, the two aspects of this season that are most appealing to me are trees and the deep long shadows of the season.There's just something about the look of a barren tree!
And who knows what lives in the shadows?
O Camera, Where Art Thou?
My favorite camera (Fuji HS10) has been 'out' for a few weeks and will finally return to me this week. What a horrible feeling...not having that camera in hand. I suspect when I get it back, and with it [hopefully] functioning properly for the first time, I'll be inspired to get out for some shots. It's not that I have been uninspired, but more that I just have a very full plate at the moment.
Fuji has me by the short ones...this is the SECOND Fuji camera I have purchased brand new and defective right out of the box. The first was my first 'real' digital camera, a S5000, with a whopping 3.1 MP and 10X optical zoom. That camera was my window of opportunity in heading into Detroit for photos. Even though that one went back twice for warranty service, it was never properly fixed. After the warranty expired, I retired the camera and vowed to never do Fuji again.
And then the HS10 hit the market. It is supposed to be a bridge camera, 30X optical zoom, and a CMOS sensor. It was quite entertaining to see the forum posts about this camera at DPREVIEW just about the time it was hitting the market, first in China and then the UK. There was quite a bit of excitement about it, really. Photos started appearing, samples of what the camera can do. Orders rolled in...and then a very curious thing happened...some users returned the camera, mostly siting 'image quality' as the culprit. I got mine and started using it right away, adjusting to the new zoom feature, a manual zoom control. And I never once had the thought of returning it. I do use a tripod when at all practical, and that has helped me capture images I really like. It's really a nice urban ghetto camera to have in hand, IMHO.
Two strikes on Fuji. I'm not vowing to never guy from them again, but I guess I'll have to have some money first. That is in short supply. I think my allotment of money is sitting is some arse-hole Wall Street bankers offshore account.
(Don't you get it...the rich are taking over the world!!!)
Maybe I'll exercise my right to the American Dream, the new one that replaces the concept of working really hard and realizing your dream. No, the new one is...play the mega-million lotto...and WIN! If I do win (I suppose I'll have to start buying tickets now) after I purchase those Leica and Hasselblad cameras and lenses, I'll look into the new Fuji HS20EXR that will probably be out this spring, an updated HS10. But considering how much money I'll have after I win, I think I'll hire a third party agent to check out the camera before and make sure this one works, the very first Fuji that isn't defective out of the box!
So, I'm excited about getting my camera back. My other camera, a Canon Powershot SX30 IS just doesn't excite me. I think my days as a Canon user are coming to an end...with a S50, S3 IS. SX10 IS, SX30 IS, and a Rebel XTi.
I really would rather be a rebel, but not of the Canon nature. I like to support the underdogs like Fuji (when I can get one that works properly) or Pentax.
Since I just started a new Flickr group Cemetery - Winter I think I'll get me cold arse into a cemetery and see if the [hopefully] fully functioning Fuji will catch me some nice shots.
Fuji has me by the short ones...this is the SECOND Fuji camera I have purchased brand new and defective right out of the box. The first was my first 'real' digital camera, a S5000, with a whopping 3.1 MP and 10X optical zoom. That camera was my window of opportunity in heading into Detroit for photos. Even though that one went back twice for warranty service, it was never properly fixed. After the warranty expired, I retired the camera and vowed to never do Fuji again.
And then the HS10 hit the market. It is supposed to be a bridge camera, 30X optical zoom, and a CMOS sensor. It was quite entertaining to see the forum posts about this camera at DPREVIEW just about the time it was hitting the market, first in China and then the UK. There was quite a bit of excitement about it, really. Photos started appearing, samples of what the camera can do. Orders rolled in...and then a very curious thing happened...some users returned the camera, mostly siting 'image quality' as the culprit. I got mine and started using it right away, adjusting to the new zoom feature, a manual zoom control. And I never once had the thought of returning it. I do use a tripod when at all practical, and that has helped me capture images I really like. It's really a nice urban ghetto camera to have in hand, IMHO.
Two strikes on Fuji. I'm not vowing to never guy from them again, but I guess I'll have to have some money first. That is in short supply. I think my allotment of money is sitting is some arse-hole Wall Street bankers offshore account.
(Don't you get it...the rich are taking over the world!!!)
Maybe I'll exercise my right to the American Dream, the new one that replaces the concept of working really hard and realizing your dream. No, the new one is...play the mega-million lotto...and WIN! If I do win (I suppose I'll have to start buying tickets now) after I purchase those Leica and Hasselblad cameras and lenses, I'll look into the new Fuji HS20EXR that will probably be out this spring, an updated HS10. But considering how much money I'll have after I win, I think I'll hire a third party agent to check out the camera before and make sure this one works, the very first Fuji that isn't defective out of the box!
So, I'm excited about getting my camera back. My other camera, a Canon Powershot SX30 IS just doesn't excite me. I think my days as a Canon user are coming to an end...with a S50, S3 IS. SX10 IS, SX30 IS, and a Rebel XTi.
I really would rather be a rebel, but not of the Canon nature. I like to support the underdogs like Fuji (when I can get one that works properly) or Pentax.
Since I just started a new Flickr group Cemetery - Winter I think I'll get me cold arse into a cemetery and see if the [hopefully] fully functioning Fuji will catch me some nice shots.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Where's My Camera?
Sorry if I seem to be a bit absent from the photo scene lately. I did not go into hibernation and have many personal obstacles in my way that prevent me from roaming/combing the streets of Detroit in search of who knows what.
I have had a touch of shooter's block, too, but that's the least of it.
And equipment failure. My favorite weapon of choice is the Fuji HS10. I had a lot of fun with that one because when it first came out, there was a lot of excitement about it, the ultra 30X optical zoom, etc. I followed it closely in the forums of DPREVIEW. The first wave of cameras were showing up in China and people were posting examples. Then the camera hit the UK and people seemed to be ordering them in droves. And then in the USA. But soon after, a new wave started, of dissatisfied customers who were returning it. I think the whole thing was like some kind of a contagious infection and when certain photographers bailed on the camera, it became more fashionable to return it and toss praise to Panasonice or whatever camera was next, than it was to keep the camera and see what it could do.
My problem with this camera was not that I was dissatisfied with the images but that it was defective out of the box. Not having a decent back-up camera, I wrote them immediately but didn't return it. Return it...hmmm...I wanted to buy the camera locally after touching it but that was not an option since Fuji did not have one dealer in Michigan. Return it. Who wants to return a camera they just purchased because it doesn't work properly? I was able to work around the problem (the LCD screen cut out when the camera was tilted) so I started shooting with it. My back-up, a Canon Powershot SX10 IS, was failing me. It had been into warranty repair once and a few of the issues were not resolved. I was about to send it back in at the end of the warranty when a brand new issue arose. Repairs on it would have been not much less than buying a new one, so I got a warranty replacement, the newer SX30 IS. It's a nice camera but I don't like it. I don't like the way it handles, the hesitation in the zoom, and the excessive weight. That's funny becuase my first camera in this series, one I used before the SX10, was a really fun camera. If you're getting the impression that I've owned quite a few digital cameras, you're spot on. I am what you'd call a heavy user, shooting at least three times a week, taking hundreds of photos on a run each time.
Two weeks ago I sent back the Fuji finally. It's been painful to be without it, to only carry my Canon SX30 IS and a little pocket Lumix I use for tight spots. Actually, the Lumix is more fun than the Canon, and it only has 12X and a quite small sensor. Lumix DME - SZ7. Nice camera.
And this week I'll get my Fuji back. I'm sure I'll have to go out and shoot something with it.
It's not the winter that slows me down because I love the winter, and it only takes second place to the glorious colors and sensations of the autumn, my #1. Summer takes last place for me.
Not going into Detroit puts a damper on my work because that is what sells the best, in a manner of speaking. Maybe I've not attracted the kinds of viewers who would like my other stuff, or maybe my other stuff just isn't that good. I sure don't know.
Left to my own devices, I am now leaning more to a vernacular style of color photography in the style of people like Stephen Shore, William Eggleston, Joel Sternfeld, etc.
I am still mentally active in photography and besides all the reading I do (books on the aesthetics, not the technique) I have been reviewing all my old photos and going through to review them. It has been interesting to see which photos I selected vs. which ones I really like. I can see my choices were more based on what I thought people wanted to see.
I can look through my photos, my favorites, anytime.
I always have a few cameras with me.
I have had a touch of shooter's block, too, but that's the least of it.
And equipment failure. My favorite weapon of choice is the Fuji HS10. I had a lot of fun with that one because when it first came out, there was a lot of excitement about it, the ultra 30X optical zoom, etc. I followed it closely in the forums of DPREVIEW. The first wave of cameras were showing up in China and people were posting examples. Then the camera hit the UK and people seemed to be ordering them in droves. And then in the USA. But soon after, a new wave started, of dissatisfied customers who were returning it. I think the whole thing was like some kind of a contagious infection and when certain photographers bailed on the camera, it became more fashionable to return it and toss praise to Panasonice or whatever camera was next, than it was to keep the camera and see what it could do.
My problem with this camera was not that I was dissatisfied with the images but that it was defective out of the box. Not having a decent back-up camera, I wrote them immediately but didn't return it. Return it...hmmm...I wanted to buy the camera locally after touching it but that was not an option since Fuji did not have one dealer in Michigan. Return it. Who wants to return a camera they just purchased because it doesn't work properly? I was able to work around the problem (the LCD screen cut out when the camera was tilted) so I started shooting with it. My back-up, a Canon Powershot SX10 IS, was failing me. It had been into warranty repair once and a few of the issues were not resolved. I was about to send it back in at the end of the warranty when a brand new issue arose. Repairs on it would have been not much less than buying a new one, so I got a warranty replacement, the newer SX30 IS. It's a nice camera but I don't like it. I don't like the way it handles, the hesitation in the zoom, and the excessive weight. That's funny becuase my first camera in this series, one I used before the SX10, was a really fun camera. If you're getting the impression that I've owned quite a few digital cameras, you're spot on. I am what you'd call a heavy user, shooting at least three times a week, taking hundreds of photos on a run each time.
Two weeks ago I sent back the Fuji finally. It's been painful to be without it, to only carry my Canon SX30 IS and a little pocket Lumix I use for tight spots. Actually, the Lumix is more fun than the Canon, and it only has 12X and a quite small sensor. Lumix DME - SZ7. Nice camera.
And this week I'll get my Fuji back. I'm sure I'll have to go out and shoot something with it.
It's not the winter that slows me down because I love the winter, and it only takes second place to the glorious colors and sensations of the autumn, my #1. Summer takes last place for me.
Not going into Detroit puts a damper on my work because that is what sells the best, in a manner of speaking. Maybe I've not attracted the kinds of viewers who would like my other stuff, or maybe my other stuff just isn't that good. I sure don't know.
Left to my own devices, I am now leaning more to a vernacular style of color photography in the style of people like Stephen Shore, William Eggleston, Joel Sternfeld, etc.
I am still mentally active in photography and besides all the reading I do (books on the aesthetics, not the technique) I have been reviewing all my old photos and going through to review them. It has been interesting to see which photos I selected vs. which ones I really like. I can see my choices were more based on what I thought people wanted to see.
I can look through my photos, my favorites, anytime.
I always have a few cameras with me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)