Sitting here reading about Egypt and watching events unfold via the net I am reminded of another time,seemingly eons ago, when access was not so instantaneous and world news took a bit longer to reach the mainstream. Then was a time, when the roll of the photojournalist appeared somewhat more pivotal than it is today, with it's instant everything and it's citizen journalists. Then was a time, when photos told a concise and often cryptic story of events unfolding in some distant,or even local,corner of the world. Often times, the photographer had as much difficulty getting his or her images to the world, as they did capturing them and sometimes with as great a risk to life and limb. The wire services were a reasonably direct route, provided they were there, but still one had to get to the wire service offices, be they permanent, or temporarily set up in some hotel room or newspaper's offices. Unfortunately, in many cases, the photojournalist was faced with no existing services and the need to avoid getting caught trying to get film out of the area, while in others, the need was to get the film back to the nearest news centre, be that continents away of merely many miles to a major city.
Today, the need is only to find an internet connection and a moments peace and quiet with your laptop,but even that is not easily found at times. Beyond that however, is another problem,one of potentially greater risk and inconvenience. Today, mostly unlike before, the journalists are often finding themselves targeted by the very events they are trying to cover. More and more often they are finding themselves cast as the adversary,rather than the chronicler of events. Unlike an earlier time, when, for the most part, journalists were looked upon as non-combatants and left alone by the factions they were documenting, today they find themselves being singled out for potentially deadly attention. The digital age has brought with it, not only instant news, but instant recognition of who is saying, or documenting,what. Less and less often can one be in support of "A" at this checkpoint and "B" at another, as they work their way around a conflict zone. While further exacerbating issues, is the sometimes aggressive response to any and all journalists, regardless of their apparent published leanings towards any one side of a conflict. Witness, for example, the growing number of journalists being injured and in some cases, killed in the political struggle now unfolding in Egypt! The attitudes towards the press, are changing, both at home and abroad and the sanctity,if that is what it is, of that press is not only being questioned, but is often ignored by the participants in the events of the day,worldwide.
Saturday, 5 February 2011
Thursday, 28 October 2010
All the Little Pieces.
The creation of images is more about pieces than the image as a whole. It is all the little pieces that come together to create an image that determine how good, or bad,or even if,that image will be and those pieces are copious. From the very first grain of an idea, to the final exposure calculation,it is all about pieces. Whether the image is a formal portrait or whether it is a seemingly spontaneous event in the course of one's day, there are pieces to be collected,assembled and considered. The photographer's frame of mind,health,emotions,schedule or anticipated plans can all influence the day's creative output. There are, of course, a myriad of things that influence the actual exposing of the image and an even greater phalanx of influencing pieces governing the final output. However, beyond the technical and the technological lies the heart of the matter,the photographer him,or her self.For after all, it is the indelible style and the determination of the individual photographer that ordains the impact and the legacy of any image.
For example, take some of the circumstances surrounding Moonrise Hernandez. Adams was probably not in a spectacularly good frame of mind, he had had a disappointing shooting day. He had only a few minutes to capture the image,so few, in fact, that only one negative was exposed, yet Adams was certain that he was seeing a unique photographic moment even before, he exposed his negative. Still later , in the darkroom, many manipulations were preformed to achieve the image we all know so well. Now look further at some of the completely random pieces that played a part. Had he driven slower, the shot would have been gone. Had he taken a different route,gone. Had he found his exposure meter, perhaps a different result and had he not remembered the moon's luminance,possibly another result or none at all.Had he been alone, could he have set up the camera in time? Pieces,all the little pieces. As it turned out, everything did come together and Ansel Adams, being who he was,perhaps his single most iconic image was created and is with us today, as tribute to the talent of a great photographer. The shot, incidentally, is gone forever, as many pieces of the whole no longer exist, including, the location of the road from which it was taken.
And so, you can see, that no image is simply a creation of a single shutter release. In every image be it good ,bad,or spectacular, are many, many pieces. To be a truly good photographer you must be alert to the pieces in your life that if fitted together, may well yield the images that will define your talent.
{ For further insights into Moonrise Hernandez, see www.hcc.commnet.edu/artmuseum
/anseladams/details/moonrise.html#B }
For example, take some of the circumstances surrounding Moonrise Hernandez. Adams was probably not in a spectacularly good frame of mind, he had had a disappointing shooting day. He had only a few minutes to capture the image,so few, in fact, that only one negative was exposed, yet Adams was certain that he was seeing a unique photographic moment even before, he exposed his negative. Still later , in the darkroom, many manipulations were preformed to achieve the image we all know so well. Now look further at some of the completely random pieces that played a part. Had he driven slower, the shot would have been gone. Had he taken a different route,gone. Had he found his exposure meter, perhaps a different result and had he not remembered the moon's luminance,possibly another result or none at all.Had he been alone, could he have set up the camera in time? Pieces,all the little pieces. As it turned out, everything did come together and Ansel Adams, being who he was,perhaps his single most iconic image was created and is with us today, as tribute to the talent of a great photographer. The shot, incidentally, is gone forever, as many pieces of the whole no longer exist, including, the location of the road from which it was taken.
And so, you can see, that no image is simply a creation of a single shutter release. In every image be it good ,bad,or spectacular, are many, many pieces. To be a truly good photographer you must be alert to the pieces in your life that if fitted together, may well yield the images that will define your talent.
{ For further insights into Moonrise Hernandez, see www.hcc.commnet.edu/artmuseum
/anseladams/details/moonrise.html#B }
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
Digital Capture Options and Opinions
Lately, I had the opportunity to spend a few hours with two, sometimes local, photographers, who teach workshops near my farm. They are sometimes local, because one owns a get away home, just up the road and they use it as a base for their workshops. Most recently, they asked to use some of my horses, as subject matter, for one of their sessions and from that came the aforementioned sharing of time.Naturally, both of them are digital shooters, as are their students and both are much younger than I,but the chance to exchange ideas and war stories was good fun nevertheless.One, is a commercial photographer and a chess player,a game for which I hold a particular fondness, while the other, although shooting commercial and business subjects,has an affinity for and perhaps even a desire to entertain entering, photojournalism.Both of them derive a good portion of their income from teaching,something I did for several years, many years ago. Naturally enough, we had many areas of common interest to converse about and more than a few differences on a variety of subjects.
During the course of one such discussion, the subject of going digital entered the conversation and I found myself being strongly encouraged to re-enter the realm of photography full time once again. I must admit I was more than mildly interested, but sceptical about the probability,due in part to the costs and the learning curves. Learning the new technology would be no problem,but the time it would take to master them was and remains, a quite different matter,to my mind. My new found advocate however, felt differently. His take was that with my existing photography knowledge and expertise, I would have little,if any, problem and that the medium,digital capture, had evolved so greatly that even the expense would be minimal,compared to even a few years ago. He felt that anything over 12 MP was unnecessary for good quality results and that this would allow me to purchase less than top of the line camera bodies with which to begin shooting once more. Add to that my existing lenses and he could see no reason not to be able to proceed with minimal expenditures. Keeping in mind, that minimal is a relative term when talking about photo gear, it still sounded intriguing. I was far from sold and further still from deciding to do it, but it was food for thought.
What I found equally as interesting though, was the dialogue concerning what peripherals were really needed. By his evaluation, PhotoShop was preempted by Lightroom and computer time would be minimal to none except if one screwed up in the camera. He advocated use of an Ipad and we actually agreed on a laptop,because of the type of work I would do. In his opinion, 98% of my images should not require post production in PhotoShop,a statement that was strongly at odds with everything I had previously read or discussed. It was,without question, an interesting if not downright seductive premise, since one of my greatest arguments against digital capture was,in fact, the exorbitant amount of computer time required to finish the images, in post. I understand PhotoShop, but I am far from enamoured with using it. Although I still have many reservations, not to mention a colossal lack of investment capital, I feel that more discussion is warranted.
During the course of one such discussion, the subject of going digital entered the conversation and I found myself being strongly encouraged to re-enter the realm of photography full time once again. I must admit I was more than mildly interested, but sceptical about the probability,due in part to the costs and the learning curves. Learning the new technology would be no problem,but the time it would take to master them was and remains, a quite different matter,to my mind. My new found advocate however, felt differently. His take was that with my existing photography knowledge and expertise, I would have little,if any, problem and that the medium,digital capture, had evolved so greatly that even the expense would be minimal,compared to even a few years ago. He felt that anything over 12 MP was unnecessary for good quality results and that this would allow me to purchase less than top of the line camera bodies with which to begin shooting once more. Add to that my existing lenses and he could see no reason not to be able to proceed with minimal expenditures. Keeping in mind, that minimal is a relative term when talking about photo gear, it still sounded intriguing. I was far from sold and further still from deciding to do it, but it was food for thought.
What I found equally as interesting though, was the dialogue concerning what peripherals were really needed. By his evaluation, PhotoShop was preempted by Lightroom and computer time would be minimal to none except if one screwed up in the camera. He advocated use of an Ipad and we actually agreed on a laptop,because of the type of work I would do. In his opinion, 98% of my images should not require post production in PhotoShop,a statement that was strongly at odds with everything I had previously read or discussed. It was,without question, an interesting if not downright seductive premise, since one of my greatest arguments against digital capture was,in fact, the exorbitant amount of computer time required to finish the images, in post. I understand PhotoShop, but I am far from enamoured with using it. Although I still have many reservations, not to mention a colossal lack of investment capital, I feel that more discussion is warranted.
Sunday, 22 August 2010
The Everyday and the Searching Eye
Photography for me has always been about the imagery and never really about the business of being a photographer. That I tended to leave to professionals, like my lawyer, accountant and business manager. All I really ever wanted to do was shoot. I knew how the rest worked and how to do it, but I chose not to involve myself in the day to day grind of running a business,except for the need to interrelate with people. That I enjoyed doing. As I look back now on 40 some years as a photographer, I realize that the people I met were equally as important to my career as the images I captured. They added a rich depth to my images and rewarded my efforts with lasting glimpses into another's perspective on life,living and humanity. Now, as I move from assignment work towards more rewarding efforts in documentary and fine art photography, I find I am looking forward as much to the interaction with potential subjects as to the imagery it will produce. I also am beginning to realize that great imagery and stories are no further away than your own front door! Not, that I would turn down any opportunity to go to the far ends of the earth for an image or story, but rather that great stories and images are right here at home in the meantime.
I think that many of us, tend to ignore the obvious, in favour of the exotic, when often the obvious is just as rewarding. Some of the greatest social historians amongst us realized that and accomplished some of their most memorable work right here at home. Bruce Davidson comes to mind ahead of most others, with his bodies of work shot throughout the United States. Works such as East 100th Street are magnificent examples of great works and stories found at home as opposed to halfway across the world. Now an octogenarian, Davidson is still shooting and publishing as well as being shown in the art world worldwide. Of course, photographers such as Elliot Erwitt, Diane Arbus , Eugene Smith and Robert Frank all fall into this same category and have produced some equally compelling work. I can not place myself in that company, by any means, but I do feel compelled to try and see the world around me from my kitchen window,rather than than the window of an airplane.
I think that many of us, tend to ignore the obvious, in favour of the exotic, when often the obvious is just as rewarding. Some of the greatest social historians amongst us realized that and accomplished some of their most memorable work right here at home. Bruce Davidson comes to mind ahead of most others, with his bodies of work shot throughout the United States. Works such as East 100th Street are magnificent examples of great works and stories found at home as opposed to halfway across the world. Now an octogenarian, Davidson is still shooting and publishing as well as being shown in the art world worldwide. Of course, photographers such as Elliot Erwitt, Diane Arbus , Eugene Smith and Robert Frank all fall into this same category and have produced some equally compelling work. I can not place myself in that company, by any means, but I do feel compelled to try and see the world around me from my kitchen window,rather than than the window of an airplane.
Saturday, 13 June 2009
Rushing to every latest thing.
As the title suggests,this is an effort to probe why,as photographers, we seem to always be rushing after every new thing that comes along,rather than concentrating on what we know is successful. Not, that I am against having an open mind and trying new things, far from it, but lately it seems that a large number of us appear to have lost our focus and are drifting,so to speak, on an ocean of unproven and often unlikely ideas and business approaches. Take for example, the posting of images on such sites as Flicker, or Facebook. These sites are totally unsecure and they are notorious for image theft and other forms of plagiarism and abuse. Most recently, a family in the United States found that their family Christmas photo was being used in Europe as an in-store advertisement! When contacted about it, the shop owner did agree to remove it and apologized,but claimed that as it was on the internet,it was free to use. It is hard enough to protect one's images, on a secure web site,let alone on a public one. How any sane photographer could consider placing valuable images in the public domain, simply baffles me. In their defence, of doing so, most of them claim that it drives business to their own sites and so is worth the risk and even the loss of some images,which to me is bizarre. These same photographers will rant on about copyright infringement and yet will turn a blind eye to leaving the door wide open to just that, why? Even watermarking or applying copyright notices to your photos is of no avail really, as these things mean little to the thieves and even less to most people who,quite often, have seldom if ever, heard of either one. In fact, most people look at them as seriously annoying obstructions to their viewing of the photos. Even worse, some believe that they have a right to use anything they like,however they like, as shown by a recent article I read about someone who stole several images from a photographer's site and was using them to advertise their business,on the web. When the photographer discovered this and blocked the use of the images,prior, I hope, to suing the idiot, the business owner threatened to sue the photographer if they did not immediately return access to the images! Clearly, the entire internet thing is getting out of hand.
But apart from things of this sort, there are now, amongst us, those who are jumping on another new trend, video imaging. Now as the printed newspaper fades into the internet version, more and more photojournalists are being asked to shoot digital video instead of stills,so that the web version of the paper can be animated while the print version will use a frame grab instead of a still image. This may make some sense for this application,although the result will not have the same quality,it will be good enough for a newspaper. A term, by the way,that drives me crazy. Nothing should ever be just,"good enough"! But getting back to my point,professional video is a field unto itself and justifiable so. It takes years to become an accomplished videographer and it is a field that has little in common with stills. Several camera manufacturers, have started to bring out models that have a video capability. A video capability is not a video camera. Professional video equipment is far more sophisticated than still cameras and hugely expensive,just ask any true videographer. The editing equipment and all the subsequent support equipment is also pricey and the learning curve is steep.
So,why, would a still photographer ever need to venture into another professionals realm? Well, if you are a wedding photographer, video is very important these days. However, in most cases, it is not the video quality of television and Hollywood we are seeing here,but rather something between that and uncle Joe's home video camera. But more importantly, the still images sold to the happy couple are not frame grabs as far as I understand, but regular DSLR or even FSLR prints. As mentioned, if you are a newspaper shooter, they want video images, but otherwise, I see no reason to deal in video.
I still believe that there is a very strong market for and a very prominent role, for the still photograph in todays world. I even believe that there is a strong role still to be played by film today. There is an old adage, "Jack of all trades master of none", it is as true today as when it was first coined. Do what you do, to the very best of your ability and remain focused. By all means stay abreast of your changing world,but you can only wear one hat at a time and still be taken seriously. There is a place for innovation and diversification and there is a place for solid expertise and acknowledged excellence. Don't confuse the two.
But apart from things of this sort, there are now, amongst us, those who are jumping on another new trend, video imaging. Now as the printed newspaper fades into the internet version, more and more photojournalists are being asked to shoot digital video instead of stills,so that the web version of the paper can be animated while the print version will use a frame grab instead of a still image. This may make some sense for this application,although the result will not have the same quality,it will be good enough for a newspaper. A term, by the way,that drives me crazy. Nothing should ever be just,"good enough"! But getting back to my point,professional video is a field unto itself and justifiable so. It takes years to become an accomplished videographer and it is a field that has little in common with stills. Several camera manufacturers, have started to bring out models that have a video capability. A video capability is not a video camera. Professional video equipment is far more sophisticated than still cameras and hugely expensive,just ask any true videographer. The editing equipment and all the subsequent support equipment is also pricey and the learning curve is steep.
So,why, would a still photographer ever need to venture into another professionals realm? Well, if you are a wedding photographer, video is very important these days. However, in most cases, it is not the video quality of television and Hollywood we are seeing here,but rather something between that and uncle Joe's home video camera. But more importantly, the still images sold to the happy couple are not frame grabs as far as I understand, but regular DSLR or even FSLR prints. As mentioned, if you are a newspaper shooter, they want video images, but otherwise, I see no reason to deal in video.
I still believe that there is a very strong market for and a very prominent role, for the still photograph in todays world. I even believe that there is a strong role still to be played by film today. There is an old adage, "Jack of all trades master of none", it is as true today as when it was first coined. Do what you do, to the very best of your ability and remain focused. By all means stay abreast of your changing world,but you can only wear one hat at a time and still be taken seriously. There is a place for innovation and diversification and there is a place for solid expertise and acknowledged excellence. Don't confuse the two.
Saturday, 6 June 2009
What about the Photography?
There is a new movement within the photography world that I believe has absolutely nothing to do with being a photographer. It is called "Social Media" and it's advocates would have you believe that you can not be a success without it. In fact, they go so far as to say that your photography should occupy only 10 or 20% of your time and SM and other forms of marketing should take the other 80 to 90%. Social media, is things like Twitter and Facebook and Linkedin and Myspace. It is your web site and your blog and anything else you care to do, in the public domain, on the internet. The new buzz word is Web 2.0 and if you aren't part of it you are bound to fail. It is all about "branding yourself and your business and not so much about your ability to create outstanding photography. It most certainly is not why I became a photographer!
As you can read, I have a Blog and I even have a Twitter profile, but that is about as far as I go. I do not have a web site and I have no intention of learning how to create one either. I will eventually get one, but someone else,someone whose job it is to weave such things, will be creating it for me. If that makes me a dinosaur and destined for the oblivion of the tar pits, I guess I am as good as gone. Frankly, I find Twitter to be a huge waste of time, except for it's ability to bring me numerous news sites from which to glean knowledge of my changing world, as well as story ideas. The site is cluttered with ready made and self proclaimed SM Gurus,who promise to bring you thousands of followers and tons of cash and an equal number of assorted snake oil sales people. Most of the day and night, the site is interminably slow and customer service is pathetic at best. On top of everything else, otherwise intelligent people,when not on Twitter,totally forget how to compose and express a thought.They write the most horrific abuses of the English language imaginable,simply because they can not think in 140 character segments. You see, the limit of your correspondence is a mere 140 characters,including punctuation.If you can not write a sentence with 140 characters,you should go back to grade school! Using accepted abbreviations is one thing,abusing the English language is something altogether different. There is no such word as "u" in the dictionary, nor will you find "ur" or "ppl"or for that matter,"pls". I do not object to a bit of poor grammar in the name of required brevity,but inventing words is childish drivel and perpetuating it, one of the many problems with education today.
Now I understand the need to be a business person if one is self employed, or, at least, the need to hire one to help run your affairs. I also believe in advertising and marketing,however,so did General Motors and Chrysler. What they most certainly forgot, was how to build automobiles that people wanted to own, at a price they could afford. I believe, that, that, was supposedly,their primary business.Mine, as a photojournalist or photographer,is to produce photographs that people want to publish,or to own and if I do not, I will end up exactly where GM is today,minus the government assistance. I can not do that by spending several hours a day reading inane Twitter posts and playing on the internet. In case no one has noticed, I tend to update this Blog rather infrequently. there is a reason for that and it has nothing to do with my internet marketing initiatives.
Unlike many of my peers,it seems, I have never been motivated by money. As long as I had enough to get by,I was content. I did not want to be the world's foremost advertising shooter or fashion photography wizard,making $10,000 a day and all the accolades I could amass. If I was driven by anything, it was the deep seated need to be creating images. I became a photographer to shoot,not to be a financial wunderkind. I still prefer to shoot over eating. At times,I shoot images that will never be published,or sold, in any way, whatsoever.Which I suppose, is a failing of sorts,but I shoot. It is all I have ever really wanted to do and the only thing that I am really good at. I have referenced the fact that photography is not what I do,but is who I am,before, but it is very true. To me, the sole purpose of being a photographer,is to create images,everything else is secondary,not the other way around.One of my most favourite photographers is Brit,Don McCullin. To me, he is the epitome of what a photojournalist should be. To this day, Don works in film and prints all his own stuff in his own darkroom. Admittedly, he rarely works as a photojournalist anymore, but he is still a working photographer,who steadfastly refuses to succumb to the world of the computer. Don and I will probably meet at the bottom of the same tar pit. At least we will be in good company.
As you can read, I have a Blog and I even have a Twitter profile, but that is about as far as I go. I do not have a web site and I have no intention of learning how to create one either. I will eventually get one, but someone else,someone whose job it is to weave such things, will be creating it for me. If that makes me a dinosaur and destined for the oblivion of the tar pits, I guess I am as good as gone. Frankly, I find Twitter to be a huge waste of time, except for it's ability to bring me numerous news sites from which to glean knowledge of my changing world, as well as story ideas. The site is cluttered with ready made and self proclaimed SM Gurus,who promise to bring you thousands of followers and tons of cash and an equal number of assorted snake oil sales people. Most of the day and night, the site is interminably slow and customer service is pathetic at best. On top of everything else, otherwise intelligent people,when not on Twitter,totally forget how to compose and express a thought.They write the most horrific abuses of the English language imaginable,simply because they can not think in 140 character segments. You see, the limit of your correspondence is a mere 140 characters,including punctuation.If you can not write a sentence with 140 characters,you should go back to grade school! Using accepted abbreviations is one thing,abusing the English language is something altogether different. There is no such word as "u" in the dictionary, nor will you find "ur" or "ppl"or for that matter,"pls". I do not object to a bit of poor grammar in the name of required brevity,but inventing words is childish drivel and perpetuating it, one of the many problems with education today.
Now I understand the need to be a business person if one is self employed, or, at least, the need to hire one to help run your affairs. I also believe in advertising and marketing,however,so did General Motors and Chrysler. What they most certainly forgot, was how to build automobiles that people wanted to own, at a price they could afford. I believe, that, that, was supposedly,their primary business.Mine, as a photojournalist or photographer,is to produce photographs that people want to publish,or to own and if I do not, I will end up exactly where GM is today,minus the government assistance. I can not do that by spending several hours a day reading inane Twitter posts and playing on the internet. In case no one has noticed, I tend to update this Blog rather infrequently. there is a reason for that and it has nothing to do with my internet marketing initiatives.
Unlike many of my peers,it seems, I have never been motivated by money. As long as I had enough to get by,I was content. I did not want to be the world's foremost advertising shooter or fashion photography wizard,making $10,000 a day and all the accolades I could amass. If I was driven by anything, it was the deep seated need to be creating images. I became a photographer to shoot,not to be a financial wunderkind. I still prefer to shoot over eating. At times,I shoot images that will never be published,or sold, in any way, whatsoever.Which I suppose, is a failing of sorts,but I shoot. It is all I have ever really wanted to do and the only thing that I am really good at. I have referenced the fact that photography is not what I do,but is who I am,before, but it is very true. To me, the sole purpose of being a photographer,is to create images,everything else is secondary,not the other way around.One of my most favourite photographers is Brit,Don McCullin. To me, he is the epitome of what a photojournalist should be. To this day, Don works in film and prints all his own stuff in his own darkroom. Admittedly, he rarely works as a photojournalist anymore, but he is still a working photographer,who steadfastly refuses to succumb to the world of the computer. Don and I will probably meet at the bottom of the same tar pit. At least we will be in good company.
Saturday, 2 May 2009
Too Soon Old, Too Late Smart
The title is an old European witticism, a Dutch one I believe, but no matter it is true, true enough at least, as it relates to my career as a photojournalist.From the beginning, I was captured by the lives of those often referred to, as the concerned photographers and by many of their early contemporaries. I had visions of becoming a social documentarian and scouring the world in search of meaningful images,that would speak to the masses and the leaders of that world.I did not see wealth and fame,at least not while I was alive,at any rate, but I did see purpose and dedication and a degree of self satisfaction. Alas,reality intervened, in the form of a wife and later a son,both now long gone and somehow I took a less fulfilling, but more profitable, road. I still worked as a photojournalist, but never a renowned chronicler of my times. Not even as an unknown one for that matter. I covered elections and sports and the occasional riot, or visiting Royalty. But I never did get around to social change. Not, mind you, that I regret my choices or my career path,both were rewarding,if not quite what I had envisioned. Nevertheless,as I am now,once again,faced with the task of rebuilding my career, something I have encountered before,courtesy of adversity,divorces and catastrophic economic town turns,I am drawn back to my beginnings.
I am older now,much older and I am seeing with the eyes of one I would never have recognized all those years ago. A man who has witnessed his chosen field morph into something akin to a fantasy world,where photography has become so dependent upon computer sciences that it bares little resemblance to what I embraced so passionately, so many decades ago. Personally,I think it tragic and wasteful,but it is what it is and I must find a way to come to grips with this new beast. And so it is, that I am once again drawn to social documentation. This time, however, I am not dreaming of changing the world,only my little corner of it. This time around,I can see clearly,what I could not see at all before, that change happens in tiny increments, that together form a greater good So, I will look no further than around the corner for my inspiration and my subjects. Oh they could, eventually, take me the world over, but they may also just take me next door and that is alright. There are so many things to see and expose in this world,that do not command the world stage,but that matter to that world and more importantly to the people involved. Will this new vision make me riches,no, but it will make me an instrument of change and change is good.
I am older now,much older and I am seeing with the eyes of one I would never have recognized all those years ago. A man who has witnessed his chosen field morph into something akin to a fantasy world,where photography has become so dependent upon computer sciences that it bares little resemblance to what I embraced so passionately, so many decades ago. Personally,I think it tragic and wasteful,but it is what it is and I must find a way to come to grips with this new beast. And so it is, that I am once again drawn to social documentation. This time, however, I am not dreaming of changing the world,only my little corner of it. This time around,I can see clearly,what I could not see at all before, that change happens in tiny increments, that together form a greater good So, I will look no further than around the corner for my inspiration and my subjects. Oh they could, eventually, take me the world over, but they may also just take me next door and that is alright. There are so many things to see and expose in this world,that do not command the world stage,but that matter to that world and more importantly to the people involved. Will this new vision make me riches,no, but it will make me an instrument of change and change is good.
Friday, 10 April 2009
Driven to Shoot
Looking back over the 40 odd years of my career,I have come to the realization that I have always been driven to photograph. A friend once commented that photography was not what I did,but rather it was who I was. In a multitude of ways they were correct in that analysis. My grandfather was a photographer and from an early stage in our relationship,I can remember being fascinated by his darkroom. Later,as I accompanied him on various assignments and outings,I became fascinated with the whole idea of photography. Later still,I worked with him and began what would become my life's obsession.He trained me on the view camera and for many years he held a disdain for anything smaller than a 5x4 camera. These lesser contraptions were for the amateur,the hobbyist whose use for a camera was to record family events and vacations. Although his attitudes would eventually evolve to acceptance of the 21/4 X 21/4 format,Pop was never comfortable with the 35mm for professional work. His attitudes and meticulous attention to craftsmanship and quality stayed with me as I ventured out on my own and stood me in good stead, even when I embraced the 35mm format. I brought the same attention to detail and composition to that small format,that I had with the larger view cameras and it has always rewarded me.Pop always insisted that you had to use the film to capture exactly what you wanted and not just have it in there somewhere and get it out in the darkroom. He also made me very aware of the concept of capturing the image with a single shot,or two, at the most,the second for backup,because that was all you had time for with film holders. That discipline,that mantra of not wasting time or film came with me to the 35mm and has never left.I have never been an advocate of the shotgun school of photography,"shoot enough film and you are bound to get what you need",RUBBISH!!! That mentality is for amateurs and fools. Photography is a craft and it's true practitioners are craftsmen,not tradesmen. As such,the craftsman must know and understand not only his craft,but also how his craft is to be used by others. If it is to be reproduced,how will that be accomplished and what must he do to best facilitate the optimum results. One does not simply capture an image and move on.
One of the many things that disturb me when I hear people touting the benefits of digital capture is this concept of shotgun shooting approaches. Statements such as,I can shoot so much more now and sort it all out later,or I can get sooooo many more images on a flash card and if I don't like them I just delete them and shoot again,do not bring me any feelings of improvement over film,but rather ones of dismay at the implied lack of professionalism and craftsmanship.Likewise the idea that you can fix it in the computer later if it isn't quite right,reeks of amateurish disregard for quality,composition,exposure and craft. The idea behind being a "professional photographer" for me, has always been my ability to produce what the client requires,when they require it and with as little out of the camera work as possible. Yes, we always had to have film processed and such,but the point behind it all was that we saw, in the viewfinder and captured on the film,in as few frames or sheets as was prudent,what our client wanted to see. If all a professional did that an amateur did not,was to shoot a horrific amount of film in hopes of achieving a winning image,then why hire one in the first place? For God's sake even a blind squirrel will eventually find a nut! Surely as professionals we must expect more of ourselves than that.
One of the many things that disturb me when I hear people touting the benefits of digital capture is this concept of shotgun shooting approaches. Statements such as,I can shoot so much more now and sort it all out later,or I can get sooooo many more images on a flash card and if I don't like them I just delete them and shoot again,do not bring me any feelings of improvement over film,but rather ones of dismay at the implied lack of professionalism and craftsmanship.Likewise the idea that you can fix it in the computer later if it isn't quite right,reeks of amateurish disregard for quality,composition,exposure and craft. The idea behind being a "professional photographer" for me, has always been my ability to produce what the client requires,when they require it and with as little out of the camera work as possible. Yes, we always had to have film processed and such,but the point behind it all was that we saw, in the viewfinder and captured on the film,in as few frames or sheets as was prudent,what our client wanted to see. If all a professional did that an amateur did not,was to shoot a horrific amount of film in hopes of achieving a winning image,then why hire one in the first place? For God's sake even a blind squirrel will eventually find a nut! Surely as professionals we must expect more of ourselves than that.
Saturday, 4 April 2009
Life Beyond the Camera :Part Two
My horses have become a large part of my life now. Although I have been around horses most of my life, I have not, until recently, been able to own and breed them as a part of my everyday life. Since leaving the city for life beyond the "big smoke" I can now do that. For the moment,my herd consists of a Belgian mare,two geldings,one a Canadian,the other a Clydesdale and Mats,a registered Quarter Horse stallion. It is with Mats that I am finding my greatest pleasures,as he is a true cow pony and a willing accomplice in my rodeo ambitions. Not that we are likely to win any overall championships or gold buckles,but we are competing in team penning with an eye on doing some hazing or perhaps even roping.I grew up emulating cowboys of the old west and now I guess I have my chance to live a tiny piece of that heritage. Mats on the other hand,just loves pushing cows.
The cowboy and his history and the live style holds a lot of value for anyone willing to step back from todays over paced and frenetic world and settle on a more pragmatic way of seeing things. Theirs was and to some extent is a simpler world based on simple truths and hard work. It is a simpler set of values and they are based more on what a man does,than on who he is or was,his skin colour or his native tongue. Not that cowboys were saints,they were not,there were good and bad,bigots,racists and villans,but in general they were accepting of anyone who pulled their weight and did their appointed tasks with skill and diligence. Over all, that isn't a bad way to look at or live your life. I guess I've spent more than my fair share of time,in "cowboy country". Taos NM is like a second home to me and I have traveled the highways,byways and back roads of New Mexico,Arizona,Texas,Montana,Wyoming,Alberta and BC,in search of parts unknown and western adventures. Tales of the wild west and the frontier have fascinated my imagination, from the fur traders and the mountain men to the cattle barons and the gunfighters. Whether it was Clay Allison,William Bonney or Wyatt Earp,I knew their stories and followed their steps through history as best one can in today's hustling world. Much of what they saw and lived is gone now,the buffalo herds,the beaver,the tribes of free roaming Indians and the vast herds of cattle headed for the railheads and the eastern cities. The frontiers are settled and the wild rivers tamed,but the cowboy is still here,still pushing cattle across not so open ranges and still living by many of the same codes and rules as they did in their heyday.Todays working cowboy is likely to be university educated and gets to work in a pick up truck,but he still works cattle from the back of a horse and he still takes better care of his gear than he does of himself. Cowboys heal up,broken gear stays broke!There are more than a few today who could do worse than work harder than they play,speak only when they have something to say and expect to be treated as they treat others.
The cowboy and his history and the live style holds a lot of value for anyone willing to step back from todays over paced and frenetic world and settle on a more pragmatic way of seeing things. Theirs was and to some extent is a simpler world based on simple truths and hard work. It is a simpler set of values and they are based more on what a man does,than on who he is or was,his skin colour or his native tongue. Not that cowboys were saints,they were not,there were good and bad,bigots,racists and villans,but in general they were accepting of anyone who pulled their weight and did their appointed tasks with skill and diligence. Over all, that isn't a bad way to look at or live your life. I guess I've spent more than my fair share of time,in "cowboy country". Taos NM is like a second home to me and I have traveled the highways,byways and back roads of New Mexico,Arizona,Texas,Montana,Wyoming,Alberta and BC,in search of parts unknown and western adventures. Tales of the wild west and the frontier have fascinated my imagination, from the fur traders and the mountain men to the cattle barons and the gunfighters. Whether it was Clay Allison,William Bonney or Wyatt Earp,I knew their stories and followed their steps through history as best one can in today's hustling world. Much of what they saw and lived is gone now,the buffalo herds,the beaver,the tribes of free roaming Indians and the vast herds of cattle headed for the railheads and the eastern cities. The frontiers are settled and the wild rivers tamed,but the cowboy is still here,still pushing cattle across not so open ranges and still living by many of the same codes and rules as they did in their heyday.Todays working cowboy is likely to be university educated and gets to work in a pick up truck,but he still works cattle from the back of a horse and he still takes better care of his gear than he does of himself. Cowboys heal up,broken gear stays broke!There are more than a few today who could do worse than work harder than they play,speak only when they have something to say and expect to be treated as they treat others.
Life Beyond the Camera
So,after almost two years of forgetting about my Blog,I return to it. A lot has happened in those two years and still much has remained the same. Anna is still a huge part of my life and the most inspiring reason to carry on. I have become more involved with my horses and somewhat less with my photography and yet the driving force in my life is still the creation of imagery. Now however,I find it is imagery that is relevant to me,rather than clients, that motivates me. In the two years since I started this blog,I have undergone eye surgeries to both save and enhance my vision,while finding myself falling further and further away from my old client base and the photography that drove me for so many years. Today,as I look at the world of image creation,I see,not the traditional life of a photojournalist before me,but perhaps more that of a social documentarian. With the onslaught of digital capture and the need to be more of a computer tech than a craftsman,the markets for old style photography and photojournalism are rapidly changing and diminishing. Most clients no longer want to deal with film and want everything yesterday,despite the reality that most of them do not need it anywhere near that quickly. A magazine,with a six month lead time,has no need of images yesterday. Nevertheless,they want them,because they can have them and that is the reality of the world today.Unfortunately,they do not wish to pay either as quickly,or as well as such speed of delivery deserves. Still, we as photographers have only ourselves to blame for that situation and we may as well rail at the wind as hope to change it now. All of which,has lead me to search for other outlets for my work.
To document the human condition has been a calling for photography since it's earliest days,however,that calling has,in the past,relied on the photo essay and the pages of books for it's expression but, both those mediums may soon be gone replaced perhaps by the web,or some new communicator. Noble as it may be, recording the human condition has never attracted large sums of money for it's recorders and today is no exception. Still, it resonates within a few in society, who still see the relevance and feel the hope,or the hope for change that it can bring. Perhaps,I am just old enough to remember the great documentaries of the 30's and the intervening years and still young enough to feel the inspiration they could invoke. Regardless, I still believe there is a place for such work and not only in the dark places of this world but in the bright ones as well. The human condition is not merely turmoil and strife,agony and angst. There are a host of bright moments in every life and they are equally as inspiring and revealing.
There are other avenues,from stock imagery to prepackaged essays,ready to deliver at a moments notice,but exempt from the dark shadow of WFH and copyright demands and there is,that bastion of the left,Fine Art. The latter comprising large amounts of the nude and the avant garde amidst the landscapes and the nature and the work of many of the Old Masters of photography. All have a single common denominator,they do not demand digital capture. Digital printing or delivery,perhaps but film is still more than accepted as the medium of choice. I have no idea where my search will lead me,but I do know that I can no more forsake my photography than I can forgo breathing. Photography is not what I do,it is who I am and where it will take me is who I will become.
To document the human condition has been a calling for photography since it's earliest days,however,that calling has,in the past,relied on the photo essay and the pages of books for it's expression but, both those mediums may soon be gone replaced perhaps by the web,or some new communicator. Noble as it may be, recording the human condition has never attracted large sums of money for it's recorders and today is no exception. Still, it resonates within a few in society, who still see the relevance and feel the hope,or the hope for change that it can bring. Perhaps,I am just old enough to remember the great documentaries of the 30's and the intervening years and still young enough to feel the inspiration they could invoke. Regardless, I still believe there is a place for such work and not only in the dark places of this world but in the bright ones as well. The human condition is not merely turmoil and strife,agony and angst. There are a host of bright moments in every life and they are equally as inspiring and revealing.
There are other avenues,from stock imagery to prepackaged essays,ready to deliver at a moments notice,but exempt from the dark shadow of WFH and copyright demands and there is,that bastion of the left,Fine Art. The latter comprising large amounts of the nude and the avant garde amidst the landscapes and the nature and the work of many of the Old Masters of photography. All have a single common denominator,they do not demand digital capture. Digital printing or delivery,perhaps but film is still more than accepted as the medium of choice. I have no idea where my search will lead me,but I do know that I can no more forsake my photography than I can forgo breathing. Photography is not what I do,it is who I am and where it will take me is who I will become.
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