Winding Down The Year

      So Christmas is over for another year. My son is away at his Grandparents place for their annual Boxing Day Bash followed by a stint at his girlfriend's place in a nearby town. I'm left here with some time on my hands and about ten pounds of leftover turkey. In between munching on turkey sandwiches and watching YouTube videos, I thought that I'd take the opportunity to inflict yet another blog post on you.

     Santa   was  good to me this year. I acquired a LaCie hard drive to back up and store some of the thousands of images currently residing on my overworked little laptop.  I also got a very cool  Lowepro photo backpack. https://www.lowepro.com/ca-en/photo-hatchback-bp-250-aw-ii-black-and-grey-lp36957-pww/    The pack enables me to schlep my gear around to get more pictures to feed to the computer to feed to the hard drive. Lather, rinse, repeat. It's the cycle of life! Or, perhaps more accurately, a vicious circle. Either way, it's kinda what I do and I dig it.

     

                                                                                                        

         So, as I stated at the top of this post, I've been watching some YouTube videos. The most recent one I watched was " The Bucket Shot" by Peter McKinnon. Peter McKinnon has risen to be You Tube royalty and rightfully so. His vlogs and tutorials are always both fun and informative. He is a  brilliant photographer/videographer  whose skill and enthusiasm for the craft has often inspired me to just go out and make images .https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r25IWquxe9s&t=491s

     I totally relate to this video.  At the beginning of the video, he talks about getting up early in the morning while it's still dark and going to a location before sunup. Then watching as the light lifts the veil on the scene.  "That's a feeling only photographers know well." I am one who knows that feeling. While I've never flown across the country to get just one shot, I have coordinated a car rental with a weather report with a specific location  and time just to get the images I want. It's often said that, with the advent of smart phones, "Everyone's a photographer."  I don't think so.  With a smart phone, virtually anyone can take a picture, but not everyone is going to make the effort to really make a photograph.                                             

     Another video I watched was a documentary about the great Ansel Adams. His dedication and passion for the craft was powerful. He too was always in search of the perfect light and the perfect moment to capture. At one point in the video, a voice-over actor is reading from one of Adams' letters as he tries to describe the clarity of light he  experienced  in the mountains and how it defined everything so beautifully that he wanted to photograph everything. I too have experienced moments when the light is so pure that every detail of a scene is caught in perfect definition.  In many ways, I found myself relating to Adams' experience as well. Adams was a proponent of what he called pre-visualization. The ability to perceive the finished image in the mind's eye before even tripping the shutter. I'm quite confident that he would have approved  of McKinnon's cross country quest to get the perfect shot of Moraine Lake                                                                                                          . 

     So where does that leave me? Do I dare to have the audacity to compare myself to the likes of Peter McKinnon or the incomparable, legendary Ansel Adams? Hell no! I'm just a small town photographer who sells prints and postcards in a couple of local shops. Once or twice a year I might  do a display at  an arts and crafts show. But I do share their spirit in my attempts to capture the essence of the beauty that I see around me.  That sense of joy,  wonder and adventure is the spirit that I want to bring into the New Year.                                                                    

     To quote from the Desiderata, "With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world."

...more later


P.S. I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity to thank all of you who read this blog, who appreciate the images that I post to Facebook and other sites and who support my efforts as a photographer by purchasing or licensing my pictures. I am forever grateful. As usual, if you like what you see here, don't be afraid to hit "Like"  comment or share to the media platform of your choice. I'm looking forward to sharing more photos and content in the New Year. "....more later" isn't just a tag line you know!                                           

Fall Colour Season 2018

    So Remembrance Day is over and, when I went out for a walk the other day, they were putting up Christmas decorations downtown.                                                                                      

So, I guess the fall colour season, my favourite time of year, is pretty much over. I had a pretty good autumn this year.  The colours were a little patchy, but, overall, I managed to get some good images. I took some time off in October and rented a car for a few days. I didn't travel far enough out of town for an overnight excursion but opted to do a few day trips from home  base.                                                                                                                                                            On my first day with the car I went out and purchased a new pair of hiking boots that I had seen advertised on line. I know. This is a photography blog.  What does a pair of hiking boots have to do with making photos? I'm a practical photographer. I subscribe to the advice attributed to the famous (and infamous) New York photographer, Weegee. "F8 and be there." A good pair of warm, sturdy and comfortable boots goes a long way to helping me "Be there." Too many photographers spend too much time worrying about their camera gear and not enough time worrying about the rest of their kit. Hmm... Probably a good subject for a future post.                                                

     


   

 

 Beyond acquiring some new footwear, the only thing I achieved photographically that day was a photo of an old Fargo truck. It sits in a field just outside of town across from a local farmer's market. A few of my photographer friends  in town have photographed it so I thought that I would try my hand at it. 

    The next day I went to Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area. Rattlesnake Point (I've never seen a rattlesnake there.) is on the Niagara Escarpment near Milton, Ont. It is a beautiful place that offers some awesome views of the surrounding countryside. It was wonderful way to spend a perfect autumn day.

                            

       Before relinquishing the car the next day, I made a trip to another conservation area a little closer to home. The colours at Pinehurst Lake were not quite as brilliant as Rattlesnake Point but it was a beautiful morning nonetheless.                                                                                

                                                      

           The Thanksgiving weekend was overcast and rainy, not the sort of light I like for my traditional "Autumn at the Dam" pictures that I usually post on Facebook. It wasn't until the following Tuesday that I managed to get the morning light that I wanted. I know that I photograph this place far too often, but, it's impossible to not feel thankful when I live a five minute walk away from such a beautiful spot.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

     Since getting back into photography, I have been doing mostly landscape stuff. I want to expand into doing more portraiture but don't have enough digital photos of people to present in a digital portfolio. I have a lot of people pictures from my days of shooting on film. But, it is time consuming to go through my old collection of slides and negatives and transfer them to digital. Besides which, an image transferred from film generally does not look as good as an image originally shot on digital. To that end, I am looking for new faces to photograph to develop a digital portfolio. I have a friend who had done some modelling for a photographer friend of mine. When I explained my situation, she agreed to a photo shoot.

     The day of our planned shoot was heavily overcast and threatening rain but we managed to get a good hour of shooting in before the showers started. It  was great to work with Haley. She is  comfortable in front of the camera and can pull off any look, from "Girl next door"  to "Tough street kid". She also has a creative mind and is great for contributing ideas to the shoot. It was fun and a bit of a challenge for me to be doing that kind of photography again.

,

     So as the Autumn season winds down, the Christmas season is ramping up. (Shameless plug alert!) I will be setting up a display at the Wincey Mills Christmas Market, December 1st, 2018 from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The plan is to market prints, both framed and unframed, in sizes up to 11"X"14". Christmas cards as well as a selection of my Paris postcards will also be available. I had a great time the last time I participated in one of these market events and I'm looking forward to this one.

 So that's about all that I have to report in the life of a part-time, small town photographer. As usual, if you like what you see here, don't be afraid to hit the like button, leave a comment or share to the media platform of your choice. As always thanks for reading and checking out the pictures.

....more later 

Fuji X70 The Little Camera That Can

     Sometimes the vagaries of photographic life can  simultaneously cause a tribulation to be a blessing. Such is the case with the Fuji X70. It's a camera that continuously surprises me with its capabilities. Its greatest capability is its power to keep me happy as a photographer. From an equipment standpoint, it is my ace in the hole. It is my little backup street shooter that can do a whole lot more.

   The X70 was my entré into the world of Fuji cameras. I was so delighted with it that I subsequently purchased an X100F and have, for the most part, been happy with both of them. Unfortunately, my X100F developed problems with  sticking aperture blades and some white balance issues for which it had to be sent to Fuji's repair centre. It kind of forced me to renew my appreciation of the little X70.

     I remember reading about the X70 when it was first released. At the time I thought "Fixed 28mm (equivalent) lens. Not for me. I want a camera to do a little more than just shoot landscapes." Truth be told, I actually shoot a lot of landscapes! 

     I initially bought the X70 as a replacement for my Leica D-Lux which was in the shop during the fall colour season a few years ago.  https://refractivereasoning.blogspot.com/2017/03/the-cult-of-brand.html

The pocket sized marvel surprised me. It pleased me then. It pleases me now.

     

     

     Because of it's small size, the camera is also very useful for street photography. In that application, I find that the flip up screen works well as a waist level view finder . Most people don't realize that I'm taking a picture when my head is down and I'm looking at the screen. Think Vivian Maier with her waist level Rollei. The flip up screen is also useful for making photographs at low levels.  
                                      

Ok. I didn't use the screen at waist level for this shot. It's a vertical shot and the screen only flips up in the horizontal format. But you get the general idea.

                                                  

       The wide angle lens on the camera precludes it from being particularly useful for portraiture. If you get too close you get the dreaded "pumpkin head" effect common to all wide angle lenses. However at a respectable distance it can make a decent street portrait. I find that the camera's diminutive built-in flash works well as a fill light. It's not the ideal camera for the job, but it will do in a pinch.

     The depth of field of a wide angle lens is always useful when you want to keep foreground detail in focus when doing landscapes, or, in this case, a townscape.                    

         I like that the camera has old school controls. It features a shutter speed dial, aperture ring and focus ring. That may not mean much to a generation that has grown up with touch screens and electronic menus. But for a guy that started his photo career in 1979 with a Yashica FX-3, it's a nice touch.

     What more can I say about this little wonder? It's a joy to use. It's a camera that  kept me shooting when it's more sophisticated brethren were in the shop. If "the best camera is the one you have with you," it's a camera that I hope to always  have with me.


                        ...more later

    

End Of Summer 2018

     So it's the Labour Day weekend and Summer is pretty much over. I know, I know, Summer doesn't officially end til September 21st, but, the kids go back to school on Tuesday, so for all intents and purposes it's pretty much done.

    I'm always somewhat ambivalent about this holiday weekend. While I lament the passing of the long warm days of Summer, I also happily anticipate the coming of Autumn, my favourite time of year.

     I had a pretty quiet summer this year. Apart from a few trips to Hamilton, Ont. to view the Vivian Maier exhibit at the Art Gallery of Hamilton       http://refractivereasoning.blogspot.com/2018/07/finding-vivian-maier-and-searching-for.html and to try my hand at the art of street photography, I didn't travel much. I did manage to get away for a few days for a brief trip to Tobermory, Ont. and a little tour along the Lake Huron shore down to Goderich. I always enjoy the Lake Huron and Georgian Bay area. While in Tobermory, we took a sunset cruise along the Bruce Peninsula. It was beautiful to spend a Summer evening out on  Georgian Bay. 

 

Lake Huron Shoreline, Goderich, Ont.

                                                                                                                                                     I've been updating my collection of local images for use in the postcards and prints that I market here in beautiful Paris, Ontario. This Summer, the local B.I.A. installed hanging flower baskets on both the William St.  and Nith River bridges. It's a minor thing perhaps, but it provides a nice splash of foreground colour to photographs that I have taken dozens of times. In regard to my fledgling little photo business and local photography in general, I have a couple of interesting irons in the fire. Nothing is carved in stone yet and I don't want to jinx things  by  reporting too soon. But stay tuned, things could get kinda cool! 

   

 So, as the Summer of 2018 draws to a close, I've got enough stuff  happening to keep the shutter buttons clicking and the hard drive on my computer heating. Much as I love the long  days of summer,  for me, life really begins in the fall.

                               ...more later 

Further Adventures In Street Photography

     So it's like I stop paying attention for two minutes and ,,,BLAM!   It's August and the summer is almost  over. So far I haven't done anything resembling an extended road trip. I've got a few ideas about places that I'd like to go and will probably report on them in my semi-traditional Labour Day post.

     I have, of late, been trying my hand at street photography and doing a little more than I used to in my urban and semi urban walks about. In a previous post, I noted my hesitancy to photograph people without their knowledge and consent. http://refractivereasoning.blogspot.com/2017/02/small-town-street-photography.html Up until now, it has resulted in my attempts at street photography being nothing more than the creation of streetscapes. However my nascent appreciation of the work of Vivian Maier as well as my ongoing appreciation of the work of Henri Cartier-Bresson and other master street photographers, has caused me to come up with a workaround for my reticence in photographing people on the street. It's simple. I ask them.

     This approach in no way revolutionizes my fledgling attempts at the genre. I doubt my name will ever appear on a list of the masters of the craft. However, at least I'm incorporating the human element in my attempts to make images on the street. You know...Baby steps right?

                                                                                          

    The theme for the above photo is "Old and New." I liked how one guy was looking at a laptop while the other one was reading a magazine. I also liked how the old, architecturally ornate bulding had been re-purposed as a trendy little cafe. Before taking the photo, I had approached both gentlemen and explained briefly who I was and what I wanted to do. They were both okay with it. I asked them both to go back to their reading and pretend I wasn't there. Afterwards I showed them the shot and they both liked the image. In retrospect, I wish that I had include a little more of the ornate architecture above them. 

     In the picture below, I noticed the young lady sitting on the curb and thought, "If I can get low enough, the curb will provide an excellent leading line straight to her. Again, I approached her and explained who I was and  what I was attempting to do before making the image. She agreed to let me take the shot. As an attempt at using leading lines, it's not a bad shot. However I hate the fact that she was sitting in shadow and, as a result, to get a decent exposure on her, the background detail is pretty much blown out. I would have liked more detail in the background to provide context.

But hey, it's street photography. You don't get to control everything!                                                                                                            

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          For the picture below, I took a page out of the Cartier-Bresson playbook and utilized a staircase and hand rails to provide leading lines. I also like how the trees on the street provide a natural frame for the activity on the sidewalk.                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     In retrospect, I probably should have stayed in that location longer in an effort to get a more interesting shot of the passersby. But time was fleeting and I had  a bus to catch to get back home.

        .    

  Speaking of buses. Did you know that the tinted windows of a highway coach can act as a polarizing filter  to really make a stormy sky  pop as you roll through the countryside?  It's kinda cool!                                                                                                                                              

  All in all, I had a great day in the city.  I'm really enjoying my foray into street photography. It helps me sharpen my skills behind the camera. It also helps  pull me out of my shell, both as a photographer and as a human being.   

...more later  

                                                                                                                                               

The Romance Of The Camera

     As I was getting up from my desk to go outside for a smoke, ( Yes I'm still a victim of that filthy addiction.) I glanced at my little Fuji X70 sitting on the nearby work table in my room and thought "Damn! That's a nice looking little camera!"  Just looking at it made me want to grab it and go make photographs.                                                                                                           

   

     I had just uploaded some pictures from it to my computer and had yet to put it away. Just a side note and a bit of advice to newer photographers, ALWAYS PUT YOUR CAMERA AWAY when not using it! In the years that I spent working in camera shops I saw just as many cameras damaged by household knocks, drops  and spills as cameras that were damaged in the great outdoors. The same camera bag that protects it out in the field will protect it at home!

     Anyway, I got to thinking about the camera and how it can affect one's thinking about photography. I know, I know. there are endless articles and  videos  in the photographic community that tell you that, to a great degree, the camera doesn't matter. And it's true. A good photographer should be able to make great images with just about any camera. Ultimately it's the photograph that counts. To that end, this could just about be the least  important photography piece that I will ever write.

     When I was working in various camera shops back in the dinosaur days of film, I attended several sales seminars and workshops. In one of those seminars I remember the presenter posing the question, "As a salesperson, is it important for the customer to like you?" His answer, "Only if you want to sell them something." Let's take that concept and apply it to functional photography. "Is it important to like the camera that you're using?"  My answer; "Only if you want to take pictures with it." 

     As stated in a previous post in this blog, my other very handsome camera,  a Fuji X100F,  garners a fair bit of attention when I'm out and about with it. http://refractivereasoning.blogspot.com/2017/04/the-silver-camera.html

     One of the comments I often hear is something like "I have a really good camera at home but I just couldn't find the time  to learn to use it properly." Or, "I have a really good camera at home, but it's  too big to carry around. I just  use my cellphone." 

     I don't want to appear to be bashing the huge cellphone community here. I'm all for making great images with whatever technology you have in hand.  I'll support you even if you're chipping out pictures  on a cave wall with a rock!

     But for a true photohound there is something about using a cool camera. A real camera. Something with  great design and full manual controls. There is a romance to it. Think Henri Cartier-Bresson haunting the streets of Paris with his beloved Leica. Robert Capa covering the Spanish Civil War or Vivian Maier making her incredible images on the streets of Chicago and New York with her trusty Rolleiflex. Using a really nice camera makes a statement. It says that the images I make are a little more important to me than an Instagram post that will be forgotten in twenty four hours. It says that I want a be in control of the images  I make. I'm not just taking snapshots, I want to  make photographs                  .

     Maybe I'll walk back what I said earlier about this being the least important photography piece I'll ever write. Maybe it's the most important one. I mean if just the look of the photographic tools in my arsenal can inspire me to go out and use them, I'm way ahead of all those who have "good cameras " and leave them at home. In my experience, half the battle of being a photographer is just getting out with a camera. And as the old saying goes, "The best camera is the one you have with you."

     That being said, I think that I will grab one of my very cool  little cameras and go for a walkabout.  Somewhere out there are pictures that need taking!

                                                      ...more later 

     

                                                  

Finding Vivian Maier and Searching for Myself

      We truly live in an age of mass media. By that I mean,  media both  by and for the masses.  For example, I am writing this post while sitting on  a plastic lawn chair outside my home. I'm writing my own content to  be illustrated with my  own  photos.  With the click of a mouse, (or, in this case, the tap of a screen) it will be uploaded to the internet to be accessed by anyone who wants to see it. In a very real sense I am my own production and publishing company. Just about anyone with a Facebook or other social media account functions,  to a greater or lesser degree in the same way.     

                                                    

     I am a big believer in the sharing of creative, artistic expression.  I've always thought that it is  kind of pointless to learn and practise any craft if it is never to be shared with anyone.  I mean there must be millions of  artists of all kinds, practising their various crafts in seclusion,  whose work will never be known or appreciated.  In the case of Vivian Maier,  the world almost never got to see the work of a master street photographer.  Indeed,  the appreciation of her work came about, almost by accident, after her death.

     Ok, let me back up a bit. This nascent interest in Vivian Maier all started with my employer encouraging me to use up some of my holiday time. They don't like to do a large payout at the end of the year. Fine with me! I decided, without any holiday plans, to take the equivalent of a week off. After a few days of getting caught up on housework, and coming to the realization that one is NEVER caught up on housework, I decided to do a day trip to the nearby city of Hamilton, On.

     I like Hamilton. It is a very cool place. It is a city built on an industrial core, (the steel industry) but yet has a strong arts community. It has an aesthetic which is all it's own. It is a combination working class feel along with a fundamental appreciation of beauty and history. The city has a lot to offer and punches well above its weight in terms of attractions. Yet it does so without the pretentiousness of a larger centre like Toronto.  

     So, anyway, I thought that I'd head to  to Hamilton for my little day trip. Before going, I decided to check out what was on at the AGH (Art Gallery of Hamilton). To my surprise, they had an exhibition of the work of Vivian Maier.

     You'd almost have to be living under a rock, (especially if you're part of the photographic community ) to not have heard of Vivian Maier. Her story is intriguing. The reclusive nanny who, in her spare time, pursued  street photography in New York and Chicago. She amassed a collection of over 100,00 images, yet in her lifetime never shared them with anyone. Her genius as a street photographer was not discovered until after her death.  Like most people, I had heard of her enigmatic story and seen a few of her photos on line. Yet, I had never taken a serious look at her work. So it all came together. I would spend the day in one of my favourite cities making photographs of scenes that are a little less familiar and also go to the AGH to view the Vivian Maier exhibit. 
      
     I arranged for a local shuttle to take me to nearby Brantford where I caught the Go bus to Hamilton. To get to downtown Hamilton,  I had to change buses at McMaster University. The bus that I took from McMaster was one of the newer (Well new to me.) double decker buses that Go has been operating for a few years now.  I took the opportunity to go up to the upper deck and managed to get a seat right at the front windshield. It was kind of cool. I rode into town like a conquering general, snapping pictures all  the way! 

  

            

    
     It was almost lunch time when I got downtown. I decided to grab a bite before I went to the gallery. It's no fun  trying to appreciate great images with a rumbling stomach.  It's even harder to MAKE great images on an empty stomach. At least so I've been told. I'll let you know when I make a great image! 

     With that in mind, I wandered in to Jackson Square but decided that I wanted something a little different than the usual food court franchise fare. From Jackson Square, I meandered over to adjoining Hamilton City Centre. I found what I was looking for in a food counter called Perfect Plate. The owner said that he was going to make me a regular customer and he did! He put together an awesome plate of shawarma  chicken, long grain vegetable rice and a very nice fresh salad. I think it  all came in at under $10.00 complete with a can of pop. Great deal for a great meal!

     With lunch out of the way, I made my way  across King St E. to the Art Gallery of Hamilton. I paid my admission and went into the gallery rooms.  Like most people, at first I just looked at the images long enough to identify them. Most of the photos were taken in New York and Chicago and, having visited Chicago a few years ago, I could recognize some of the landmarks that appeared in her streetscapes. But then my inner photographer kicked in and I started to really appreciate what I was looking at. I started to understand what she was trying to say with each image she took. Almost every image told a story or made a statement in some way. Even the ones where the meaning was a little more obscure  were  just damn good street portraits! Although she never worked as a professional photographer, here was a woman who knew about light and, more importantly, knew how to capture it in amazing images.

     

     

     So how did she do it? I think there are many aspects at play here. For one thing,  the camera she used for most of her work was a Rolleiflex. The Rolleiflex is a fairly sophisticated camera offering complete control of shutter speed, aperture and focus. It has a waist level viewfinder so that the photographer has to look down to focus and compose the picture. However,  to the photographically uninitiated,  the camera would appear as nothing more than a slightly fancy box camera. Inexpensive  box cameras, like the Kodak Brownie  were a common camera used by family photographers and tourists of the day. Secondly, most professional  photographers of her day were men. The average person on the street probably wouldn't associate a woman with doing serious photographic work. Thirdly, she was an unassuming looking person.  She did a lot of self portraits. She would photograph her reflection in mirrors or other shiny objects. ( The selfy obsessed generation of today would do well to learn from her skills. ) In each of them she appears as a rather plain woman. Perhaps even a little strait-laced , not particularly  pretty or fashionable.  She was  the kind of person who would not stand out from the crowd. 

     So she would appear as a plain middle aged woman on the street. Head down, fiddling with what looked to be an old box camera. Perhaps a misplaced tourist. A slight oddity perhaps, but nothing more. I  believe this gave her the ability to just blend in. She found that perfect photographer's balance of being part of the scene but simultaneously being far enough separated to perform the task of capturing it. Also, with no intent of  sharing her photos with anyone, she had the lonely luxury of composing her images to simply please herself. In this age of the internet, photo sharing and social media, she achieved a Tao that most photographers and artists struggle to attain. She had consummate faith in her own vision.   

     Of course the question that will never be answered is why she took so many amazing photographs if she had no intention of showing them to anyone else? That is the enigma that is Vivian Maier. She took the answer to that question to her grave. 

    Lastly, as a photographer, I have to ask myself, "What can I learn from the work of Vivian Maier?"  Two things come to mind. One is to find that ineffable balance of being of the scene while simultaneously being in the process of capturing it. To a modest degree I have achieved that. In the small town where I live, people have become so accustomed to seeing me wandering around with a camera that I  am usually only questioned when I appear without it. A simple walk to the variety store often includes someone asking "Hey! Where's your camera? " I guess, to that end, I've become part of the scenery around here. It allows me a fair bit of creative freedom. The other aspect of my photographic sojourn that needs work is an increase in faith in my own vision. Like everyone else in this age of mass media, I post a lot of  my pictures to the web. Also, like most people these days,  I'd be a liar if I didn't admit to looking at the number of "likes" and views my stuff accumulates. It may sound a little self centered, but I need to think outside the box a little more without worrying about  how my stuff is regarded. It really is the only way to develop a more progressive approach to the craft. 

     

 I need to develop a bit more faith in my own view of the world. That being said, I'm going to grab a camera and go see what I  can see. I might share some of the shots I take. I might not. It's not enough for me to take pretty pictures of the world around me. I have to find my own vision. 

                                   

                           

      

     

               ...more later