The World Outside My Life

Today is a clear sunny winters day and I am preparing to venture out to split wood, feed horses, treat a sick barn cat and otherwise tend to the none photographic things in my life. My dogs are waiting patiently in the kitchen, next to the wood stove, as usual and for a moment, I am left to contemplate the world beyond my life's doorstep. It could prove a daunting process, were I to let it. I recently parted company with a lady I had been close to, let a possible assignment to New Mexico slip by, without a second glance and spent two days in bed with either the flu, or food poisoning, I am not certain of which and so my life suddenly slowed down and became a tad introspective. Today, it has resumed it's normal patterns, but with a nudge to see beyond myself and my day to day existence. It is not something I find myself indulging in of late and that is troublesome.

At one time, I spent a lot of time thinking outside my life. It kept me focused and a bit sane and very grounded. Today, I find that not to be the case and not to my benefit either. When one works in the lives and events, of others, as so many photojournalists do, one realizes, all to clearly, just how basically well off one actually is. For the moment,or the hour, one may live in a world of discomfort,or upheaval,or even life and death struggle, but at the end of it all, one can and does return to a more comfortable place. Even if the particular assignment is not in war torn dishevelment, but rather, simply some distant tourist trap, the problems are still not really yours and will all, physically, go away once one returns home. One may dwell on them from afar and resolve to try and better the situation, but one no longer has to live them,day to day. Nevertheless, the act of dealing with them and the people whose lives, they are a daily part of,brings one to better appreciate their own life,no matter how troubled it seems from the inside. It allows you to see the forest for the trees,for a time.

Many things drive the photojournalist to venture outside their comfort zone and into the worlds of others,both less fortunate and very, much more fortunate than they. The list of reasons is endless and as varied as the individual photographers, but it is these motivators which separate the photojournalist from many of the rest of society. This is not to say that photojournalists ,somehow, have some special insight into the world that no one else can,or does. But rather, serves to highlight the simple fact that,as a group, we are different, from most of our brethren, in the way that we approach that world. Whether it is a better way or a lesser way, is not really the point. What is the point is that it is a way that enables us to function, in our potentially chaotic field, without becoming mired in the lives and events we document, while helping us to remain grounded in our own lives. Assuming that we allow it to happen, this approach, if you will,gives us the detachment we need to be able to do what we do, while at the same time allowing us to better see our own lives with a clearer perspective. Seeing your own existence through the lives of others illuminates the benefits and the blessings of that existence all the more clearly.And speaking of clearly, I clearly need to get out there and tend to my chores.

Approaching the End

As one approaches the end of one's life,though, I hope, not any time soon, one tends to both look back and look ahead, with equal intensity. What one has accomplished,has been and where one has gone, all combine to make you who you are today and to prepare you for who you will become tomorrow. Essentially, you will be the same person, but with subtle changes, assuming that you are not contemplating an early departure from this mortal coil. But since life is an evolution and not a script, you will continue to grow as both a person and an artist. Looking back on your life gives one a great perspective on where to take the remainder of it.Things you have yet to experience and images you have yet to capture/create are undoubtedly a part of the process, but what of things and images you have already accomplished?

What prompted this entry, was a piece in the Guardian newspaper about a favourite photographer of mine, Bruce Davidson, who wishes to discover whatever happened to a young girl that he photographed some 50 years ago, in England. At the time, she was on her way to a concert, on an island,most probably the Isle of Wight or the Isle of Man and carrying a kitten. The shot is one most fans of the photographer will remember. Seeing it again and reading the article, I began to wonder if such an image,existed for me?I realised that there were, in fact, several. Some were of people and others of buildings or landscapes, places or things. Could I return to them to find them today? In some cases, I am certain, not, but in others perhaps they could be revisited and re-explored. Likewise, were the things I have not yet gotten to. Would I still be able to capture those, as yet unseen, pieces of my "bucket list"? Certainly some of them, I would want to think, but perhaps not all.

I am far from staring at my imminent demise, but I can see the light in the clearing, at the end of the path and although it does not frighten me, in any way, it is starting to lend an urgency to my outlook on the future. There are a host of images that I have not yet taken, many, many places that I have not visited and I realise, more than a few that I would like to re-visit. Then there are the many non photographic adventures that I still wish to embark upon and a few personal goals that are left to be satisfied. Time marches on and I, like most others, am only a few steps ahead of the old gentleman! So, the question is, will I persevere and press on with my life and my dreams, or let him catch up and try to be satisfied with what I have? At my age, 62, many people would simply rest on their laurels and wait. I will not. I will not, mostly because my laurels are not that impressive and I know I can do better, but also because life is a grand adventure and should not be squandered, nor short changed. When one embarks upon an endeavour, one has an obligation to see it through. My chosen endeavour was to live a full life and to chronicle as much of it as I could manage. Neither goal has been accomplished, as yet and I owe it to myself to see them through. I wouldn't be the person I think I am if I did not.

Pick up and Run

I was talking with a good friend the other night and he was marvelling over a photograph, from Libya, that had been taken by a French photojournalist. During the conversation he mentioned several times, that he would love to be in Libya, at the moment, as he had worked there,in another life, before photography and he knew the country and the people well. Subsequently, he felt that he would be able to get some exceptional images. What came next, was very interesting, he commented, that he did not think, that he would have gotten the image, that we had just been looking at, despite his belief that he should be there. His reasons for the statement are really not important, nor in my mind even relevant, but the statement itself was revealing. Here was a photographer, a very good one and one for whom photojournalism was a passion and yet he felt that he would not have been ready to capture this iconic, once in a lifetime( and it was ) image. I was actually quite surprised and it started me thinking. Having worked as a photojournalist and to an extent still doing so, I began to ponder the role of the photojournalist as documentarian, rather than news gatherer. Was my friends belief that he could capture unique images of the turmoil,false, or was his definition of his presence, that of a photojournalist,gathering news,inaccurate? Larry Towell, a renowned Canadian photojournalist and member of Magnum, does not gather breaking news, but rather documents the depth and the affects of a struggle on the people involved. Larry is a documentary photojournalist, rather than a hard news gatherer.Was this what my friend was trying to describe when he referred to his desire to be in Libya? Could he, subconsciously, have felt that he would not have gotten the aforementioned shot, because he would have been prepared not for hard news,but for life stories?

The traditional vision of a photojournalist, in the vein of a Burrows, or a Capa, was an individual whose bags were always packed and who could be expected, at a moments notice, to pick up and run, to whatever conflict or event, wherever in the world it happened.To the extent that that, is possible, in today's highly complex and profit oriented world, that may still be the case, but more and more, it is not. Today, such ventures must be intricately planned and authorized. Winging off to Vietnam, with a borrowed camera and a lust for adventure, as Tim Page did in the sixties, is not that realistic today. The glory days of photojournalism, are mostly, behind us now, replaced by the corporate dictates of profit and loss, versus, acceptable risk and exposure. Yes they want the stories, but not at great cost in relation to responsibility for photojournalist's remains or health care. Hence, you will see many more images from highly experienced shooters, from VII, or Magnum, or a news agency such as AP, or Reuters, than you will from some adventuresome individual with a camera and a dream. Such is not the case however, with the photo-ducumentarian. Here lies the path of the photojournalist of old and here lies the true recording for posterity, of world events. The risks, financially, are high. There are no guarantees of a front cover and an inside spread, after the initial public impact subsides, but here are where the real stories get told. Here are the people, left behind, to pick up the pieces of their broken lives and their broken countries. Here in the aftermath of the trouble and strife, are the images of the real cost of conflict and disaster. Here is where the photojournalist's eye is most challenged and most needed and all too often, absent.

Evening of the Day

I've been sitting, listening to an old Rolling Stones album and one song in particular is ringing in my mind. Though written by the Stones, it was given to Marianne Faithful to record first and, as it turned out, was a hit for both,eventually."As Tears Go By" begins with the line,"It is the evening of the day" and as I sit writing this entry, that is exactly what is unfolding, outside my window. As the day, slowly, draws to a close, I find myself thinking about other such evenings and other places and events.Some, have a definite photographic reference, while others, not so much. This day, I did nothing photographic, save, perhaps write this blog entry. Today, was the first really warm day of the spring and brightly sunny to boot. It was a day for outdoor activity and spring cleaning, of which I did very little and none at all.Nevertheless, it was a productive day, in other ways and ultimately, a day to think about some of those "other" evenings.One, in particular, comes to mind and re-minds me that some of our greatest moments,as chroniclers of the world around us,can frequently happen when we are contemplating other things. I captured one of the best sunset images/cityscapes, of my career while standing out on a tiny, apartment, balcony with a glass of wine, watching the evening pass into night. It suddenly dawned on me, that I was watching a rather spectacular image unfold and my cameras were nowhere in sight! I suppose, that I could have simply stayed and watched the evening sky,lord knows, I had a million sunsets, in my files, but something, in my soul, just would not let me. So, in a blind fury, I rushed about gathering camera and tripod and set up, half in the doorway and half on the tiny concrete pad.I metered the sky, adjusted for the sun, framed and re-framed the shot but,eventually,I waited. Somewhere amidst all the fuss, I had come to the realization, that my shot, was not yet complete and that when it was,I would see it. I did and the image was truly worth all the turmoil and upheaval, in an otherwise perfectly beautiful,calm, evening. Of course, as it turned out, I could have taken all the time I needed to set up and the calm of the evening would have been more ,or less, unruffled, but such is not often the way of photographers. We tend to always react as if our very lives depended on our next few seconds of life and although at times, it might,generally, we needn't rush about madly. One may miss more of life and it's images than one captures when always in a hurry. Sometimes, the evening is meant to be lingered over,as well; maybe the day preceding it. Often, in our rush to accomplish, we fail to see and beyond all else, that is what garners us our greatest accomplishments, accolades, images and pleasures. By definition, a photographer must be one who sees, sees light ,sees life, sees the world around them and captures moments,from that,for us all to contemplate. Whether those moments, change the world,or simply change your perception of it, it is the photographer's eye that presents them to you. Perhaps, were we to take more of our time to see more of our world, there would be more of those moments, to make more of those changes.

Events of the Day

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.

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 }

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.

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.

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.

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.