Winding Down the Year - 2022

     So my very significant other mentioned to me, " Do you realize that your last blog post of the year will be published on New Year's Eve? No one's going to read it." My response, " Meh, they'll have something to read while they're in recovery mode the next day."

My showing earlier this year at the Taren White Gallery 

    It's been an amazing year for me. At the beginning of the year, my resolution was to get my pictures out there. In my opinion, it's far too easy to say, "I just take pictures for myself."  For me, the whole point of making visual images is to share my view of the world with others. I mean, if I can't do that, what's the point of making them in the first place? Although I had displayed my photos at a few pop-up art and craft shows in the past, I wanted to make an impact that lasted a bit longer than a simple one or two day weekend show.

    With that in mind, I booked a showing at the Taren White Gallery here in Paris. https://tarenwhitegallery.com/  and, later in the year, enjoyed an exclusive showing of my work at the Dog-Eared Café also here in town.https://www.dogearedcafe.ca/  While I did enjoy some success selling my pictures in these venues, (Hey, it's great to make some bucks!) The real benefit for me was that they established my presence in the local arts community. And what an awesome community it is! I subsequently attended shows and gallery exhibit openings from artists and photographers as diverse as artist \ photographer Dean Ellis (my photographic soul brother), the incomparable Amy Walsh-Harris, the awesome Kaitlynd Wilson, street and travel photographer extraordinaire Monique Campbell and many others. I've attended showings at venues like the Taren White Gallery, The Dog-Eared Café, The Paris Bohemian Gallery, the Tom Robertson Fine Arts Studio and Gallery,  the Art in the Workplace Exhibit at McMaster Innovation Park and the Art Gallery of Hamilton. 

Members of the Paris Photo Collective at the opening of 
my show a at the Dog-Eared Café      

    The biggest lesson I learned this year is this. Social media (Facebook, Instagram etc.) is great. But, if you really want to get "social" about your media, print out some hard copy of your work and get it hanging in a public venue. I've been astounded by the kindness and support that I've received for images that I've loved to create! It's been a truly humbling and gratifying experience.

With photographer / artist Dean Ellis and photographer 
Joe Johnson at the opening of Dean's show at the 
Tom Robertson Gallery 

    Speaking of "social", This was the year that the pandemic restrictions eased up enough for members of the Paris Photo Collective to resume meeting up face to face. In June, we started meeting again at the picnic shelter in Lion's Park. We've since met a few times on the back deck at the home of one of our members and, for the colder months, we moved to a heated loft above the garage of one of our members. I kind of dig the fact that we don't really have a permanent meeting spot. Hell, this is a group that has had informal meetings in the parking lot of a donut shop! We don't stand on ceremony.

With artist Amy Walsh-Harris at her summer art show

    What can I say about this group that I haven't said already? https://refractivereasoning.blogspot.com/2019/10/the-camera-club-that-isn-paris-photo.html Since starting the group back in 2019, the Facebook page now has a membership of 82 members. But, it's the ten or so members that regularly come out to meetings who are really the heart and soul of the group. Photographically, these people are my tribe. We get together and talk photography (a lot!), We laugh and joke around with each other (a lot!) We share some crazy stories about our experiences. We try to help each other out with some mild critique and helpful advice. What holds it all together is a common love of the photographic craft and a strong sense of friendship and respect in our pursuit of it. I've always said that we may be the craziest little photo group on the planet, but we crank out some damn good pictures!

    So, as I said at the beginning of this post, I've had an amazing year. All I can think of is thanks. Thanks to all the patrons who have liked and purchased my pictures. Your kindness and support means a lot to me. Thanks to the gallery owners and curators who work so hard to keep art and good photography in the public eye. As a photographer, I couldn't get the work out there without you. Thanks to the members of the Paris Photo Collective. You guys are a constant source of laughter, encouragement and inspiration. I am a member the best photographic family on the planet! Thanks to all my friends and family. I truly appreciate your tolerance when I want to take "Just one more!" Thanks to everyone who reads this blog. Thanks to a community that accepts and encourages my urge to share my visions of life captured in fractions of a second.

     It has been a great year and I've already got some ideas and plans for the new one. Stay tuned. Things could get interesting!

Happy New Year to All!

       ...more later       

 

      

     

Shooting Monochrome -by Gord Barker

     "The camera is an instrument that teaches people how to see without a camera."                                - Dorothea Lange 

   So it's almost the end of November, perhaps the dreariest month of the year. Was it only a month ago that the whole world was a blast of colour? It's about this time that I tend to shoot more black and white photos. I mean, the world around me looks monochromatic anyway. Time to dust off the street photography skills. I've always liked shooting in monochrome. It makes me work a little harder when I don't have the advantage of glorious colour to save my butt.

Small town street photography. Paris, Ont.

    Back in the dinosaur days of film photography, I spent over a year shooting almost all of my personal work on black and white film. Back then, I was doing a lot of commercial work and would shoot colour only if the client specified it. I learned a lot. (And I'm still learning!) When you eliminate the advantage of letting pretty colours save the photograph, visual elements like composition, form, shape, texture, shadow and lines become a lot more important. I became far more conscious of the quality and direction of light and how it affected my subject. It has been a crucial part of my personal education into just how powerful this medium can be.

Waiting. Brantford, Ont.

    These days, working in the digital realm, it can be tempting to shoot everything in colour and just convert it digitally to black and white later in post processing. I mean, hey, I can have the best of both worlds right? I find that the problem with this approach is that more often than not, the images taken never get transferred to monochrome. I just end up with a lot of mediocre colour shots. For me, the best approach is this. If I think that the image would look best in black and white, then shoot it in black and white in the first place! With the digital advantage of being able to see the photo right after I take it, I can quite often make any adjustments needed and, if necessary, re-shoot the image while still on location. I'm an old school photographer. Despite the creative advantages of post processing programs like Lightroom and Photoshop, I still firmly believe that, as much as possible, the photograph should be made in the camera. I've found that a little forethought exercised while still on location, saves a ton of post processing work later! Quite frankly, I'd rather be out shooting than spending hours in front of a computer screen attempting to fix up lackluster work.

    Black and white is, perhaps, the most dynamic genre of photography. It can be bold and powerful or seductively subtle. By eliminating the distraction of colour, it can command the attention of the viewer. From the standpoint of a photographer, it forces me to see the world in a different way. And, ultimately, that's what the practice of photography is all about. 

   ....more later  

  

 P.S.   It occurs to me that my next blog post will be published after Christmas Day. I want to take this opportunity to wish everyone the best for the Holiday Season. I am constantly amazed by the kindness and support I receive in pursuing a craft that I love.  When you get to make  photographs and have the joy of sharing them with family and friends, every day is Christmas!

   ...more later (again)    

Winding Down The Fall Colour Season - By Gord Barker

     So It's early morning on October 15th and I'm up at Penmans Dam here in Paris Ontario. It's been a dull rainy morning so far. Since arriving at the dam, I've spent a good chunk of my time hanging out under the eaves of a signboard kiosk waiting for a series of passing showers to clear. I've made use of the meager shelter it offers many times in the past.

     I don't know why I came up here this morning. I'd already photographed this place twice before in this season alone! The weather didn't look very promising from the outset. I guess I had the faint hope that the photo gods, fickle bastards that they are, would give me a break. 

     They gave me a break! 

     For a brief period of about five minutes,  I got a light blast through the overcast. The colours looked awesome against a stormy sky.  In my opinion, that's some of the best light possible for autumn colour photography. As an added bonus, a train crossed the bridge during that five minute window of opportunity!    I worked fast knowing that the photo gods, after giving you a blast of beautiful light, can just as quickly, take it away again. That's the thing about the photo gods, if they cut you a break, you have to prove yourself worthy of their benevolence. Or, in the words of American photographer Arthur Fellig (aka Weegee), "F8 and be there!" ( If anyone needs an explanation of that quote, leave me a note in the comments.)  Sure enough, almost as quickly as that light appeared, the clouds closed up and it was raining again a few minutes later. Did I mention that the photo gods are a fickle bunch? But I got the shots I wanted. Weegee would have been proud! 

     The Fall colour season has been a pretty good one this year. There were enough cool nights that the trees turned colour consistently. For the past few years, the colours have been a bit splotchy where some trees had dropped all their leaves while others were still green. 

     Besides my usual fall colour photos of Paris, I was lucky enough to get away with a dear friend to spend an awesome morning at Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area. Later that day we also visited Campbellville and St. George, On. It was a glorious day to be out making photos. 

     So as the Autumn colour season winds down, I feel both elated and a little sad. Happy that it was a good season this year, but sad that my favourite time of year is coming to an end. 

    But life goes on. Autumn is traditionally a time of Thanksgiving and I'm thankful that I got to make some good photos. I'm even more thankful that I got to share them with family and friends. Maybe the photo gods aren't such a bad bunch after all!

           ...more later 

As usual, if you like what you see here, feel free to hit "like" and comment. Also feel free to share to the media platform of your choice.

               

     

Community

    
     So I'm sitting at a meeting of the Paris Photo Collective. My friend, photographer Joe Johnson has just won the bi-weekly ''Golden Lens Cap Award'' for his photo of a butterfly that had landed on the side of a young lady. It's a cool shot. I get up and snap a few photos of Joe for the group Facebook page. As usual, there are lots of comments, lots of laughter and some good natured ribbing. I love this group. We take some seriously good photos but we don't take ourselves too seriously in doing it.

Joe Johnson with the Golden Lens Cap Award

    

     As I meander through this creative journey of photographic expression, one thing that I've come to appreciate more and more is the sense of belonging to a creative community. It helps to fuel my compulsion to continue on.

   For me, believing that my pictures are good enough to display and sell in a gallery or online requires a huge leap of faith. I mean, in this day and age, everyone is a photographer. Almost everyone has a camera, usually in the form of a cell phone, in their pocket. According to one source, upwards of 1.8 billion images are uploaded to the internet every day!    https://www.dailydot.com/debug/mary-meeker-photo-report/ 

Based on that, how can I possibly believe that my images are more  beautiful or more interesting than anyone else's? The short answer is... I don't. I firmly believe that everyone's creative vision or view of the world is valid. Ultimately, all I can do is make the images that I make and present them. After that I can only let the chips fall where they may. It's not up to me to gauge their intrinsic value or importance. 

    This is where being a part of a creative community comes into play. It's comforting to know that I'm not the only lunatic who loves to make visual images and present them to the world. Furthermore, the validation, constructive critique and helpful advice that I receive from other visual creative types goes a long way in helping me achieve the results I want in this creative journey. 

Members of the Paris Photo Collective  L-R Gord Barker, Dean Ellis, Joe Johnson                 At the opening of Dean's art exhibit at the Tom Robertson Fine Arts Gallery 
Brantford, On. http://www.robertsonfinearts.ca/studio-11-2/
photo by Tom Robertson 

 

Brantford Artist/Photographer Dean Ellis with
Paris On. Gallerist/Curator Taren White at the
Tom Robertson Gallery

 

 

    Earlier this year, I made a promise to myself to get the work out there. That being said, I booked a showing at the Taren White Gallery https://tarenwhitegallery.com/  in the spring and currently, I'm showing my work at the Dog-Eared Café here in Paris, On. https://www.dogearedcafe.ca/  It's been quite a ride. I've learned a lot about improving my own creative process as well as marketing my pictures. Best of all, it has catapulted me into being part of the local arts community. I have made some great friends and have enjoyed some success in selling my images.

Members of the Paris Photo Collective
L-R Maria Ko, Dean Ellis, Emily Kew, Adam Tipler
at the opening reception of my current show at
The Dog-Eared Café
Paris, On.  

Me at the opening of my spring exhibit
at the Taren White Gallery
Paris, On.

 

    So in my photographic life I'm in a pretty good place. I get to hang out with other like minded photographers in the Paris Photo Collective. I get to find the joy in making my images, as well as finding my niche in the local arts community.  The cool thing is, I'm just getting started. I've got a few ideas for upcoming projects as well as some minor changes in the style of photographs I'm making. Stay tuned. This could get interesting!

...more later 

Waitin' For a Train - By Gord Barker

    Friend, ''Do you think of your Dad very often?''  Me, ''Every time I hear a train.'' 

''All around the water tank, waiting for a train. A thousand miles away from home, sleeping in the rain.''   *Jimmie Rodgers, ''Waiting For A Train''  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbzc77Tz6PA

     So I went to Woodstock, Ontario as part of a little tour of Southwestern Ontario. I had rented a car for the weekend to attend a friend's wedding and had a little rental time to use up. On the way to Woodstock, I got the urge to do some train photography. I had photographed trains there before back in the dinosaur days of film. 

     Trains have always had a strong symbolism in western popular culture. Fundamentally they symbolize escape. A ticket to a better place. Opportunity. As a kid growing up in small town Northern Ontario, the train was, quite literally, my ticket to the opportunity and adventure of the outside world. Also my Dad was a brakeman/conductor on the Ontario Northland Railway. I come by my love of trains and all things railroady quite honestly.  

     I navigated to the train station in Woodstock. It was a bit depressing. It was a dull cloudy day with a light drizzle coming down.  The station was run down and badly in need of work. I made a few uninspired  shots of the scene. While I was there, a homeless guy came out of the station's waiting room. He said Hi and asked how I was. I considered the drizzly weather and the grey desolation of the scene around me, "Well, I've had better days." His response, ''Yeah, me too. But I'll rebound.'' After that he stretched out on the concrete by the waiting room door and promptly fell asleep.

     I hung around a bit longer, hoping a train would show up. I was about to leave when a car pulled up and a young family as well as an older couple got out.  I could only surmise that  Grandma and Grandpa had driven their offspring to the station to catch a train. I could hear the young children chattering excitedly in anticipation of their train ride. Traveling by train can be a little like Christmas. The anticipation is almost as exciting as the main event. I decided to wait a bit longer. Clearly a train was coming               

I have to admit that I was getting a little excited too. My inner photographer kicked in. How was I going to shoot this? Colour or black and white?  Black and white. It was a dull overcast day and colours would be muted anyway. Camera and lens choice? I had my 16mm wide angle (Thanks Dean) already coupled to my old Fuji X-T1 body (Thanks Tom) in my camera bag. (Thanks Jim Domke) If I got close to the train, the natural slight  distortion of the wide angle would render it big in relation to  it's surroundings. It could make for some interesting shots. The Fuji X-T1 camera is an older model released in 2014. By today's standards, it's positively ancient. But mine still works perfectly and would be more than adequate for the job. You really don't have to have the latest wiz-bangery to make a decent photograph. Both the camera and lens are weather resistant so I wasn't too worried about them surviving the drizzling rain. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              The train arrived and I went to work. Get in close. Check the focal point. Check that the shutter speed is fast enough to eliminate camera shake and subject motion when the train starts to move. Stop down the lens for better depth of field, ISO be damned! You're shooting a big subject! Compose the shot. Get in close. Move back to show the subject in relation to its surroundings. It's raining out. Check that there are no water droplets on the front of the lens. Wipe them off if necessary. Work the scene! Work fast! At best this train is only making a five minute station stop....Did I mention that I love being a photographer? 

                                              I got the shots I wanted.

    As I drove away from the station scene in Woodstock, I couldn't help but think of the words of the homeless guy I saw there. ''I'll rebound.'' Although my situation wasn't nearly as dire as his, I couldn't help thinking that I had made a bit of a rebound myself. After almost giving up, I had made the photographs that I wanted to make. I did it under crummy conditions. I made the photographs with second-hand gear that I had purchased  from some photographic friends.

    I know. As rebounds go, this was a pretty minor one. But maybe, just maybe, it's the culmination of the little rebounds that result in achieving  bigger ones.

...more later

As usual. if you like what you see here feel free to comment and share to the media platform of your choice. If people keep reading them, I'll keep cranking them out!

    

      

    

    

Street Photography 101 - By Gord Barker

    So I woke up the other morning and, after the prerequisite two cups of coffee, opened up the photos section of my laptop. My plan was to sort through, edit and perhaps print some photos for some possible upcoming shows. The last photo I had uploaded to the computer was this one. It was the first picture I looked at that day.

                                                   At first glance it's kind of a nothing shot. Just a young couple walking over a bridge with a lot of traffic going by. But look more closely. They're both smiling or laughing at something. Perhaps a joke or a funny story. They are in their own little world. They are oblivious to the traffic going by. They are oblivious to the scruffy old photographer who just took their picture. They are connected in a beautiful moment. Look closer still. He's reaching for her hand. He hasn't quite got it yet. But he wants to make their connection even more complete. If you want to know what love looks like, well... I've got a picture of it.

     From a photographic standpoint, it was a lucky shot. I managed to capture them in a nice shaft of light. A few seconds more and they would be in dark shadow. When I first saw the shot, I considered cropping in tight to focus attention on the couple. But cropping in that tight would have reduced the resolution of the image. It was already a tad out of focus because it was a quick grab shot. The light that they're walking through as well as the light posts and bridge rail all serve as leading lines to direct the viewer's eyes to the main subject. The picture stands on its own. 

     So the title of this post is, "Street Photography 101." I can almost hear some of my readers asking "So old grey bearded camera slinger, what exactly is street photography?" The answer to that  question is wide open to interpretation and is something that has been debated in the photographic community for decades. Some say it's only a street photograph if it shows people. Some say it's only a street photograph if it was taken in black and white. Some go so far as to say it's only a street photograph if it was taken with a Leica camera ala Henri Cartier-Bresson, Garry Winogrand or  Joel Meyerowitz. To all of the above definitions I say hogwash! My definition of street photography is pretty broad. "If I was on the street or in a public space  when I took it, it's a street photograph!" I don't have time for silly nuanced debates. I want to make and process photographs with the gear I've got at hand!

     So for me, street photography can cover a pretty wide range of subjects. Sometimes it can even be the street itself captured with some beautiful morning light.

    Street photography can also be as simple as a quick portrait. A dear friend and I had attended a photography exhibit at the Art Gallery of Hamilton. Inspired by the photographs we had seen, we hit the streets to do some photography ourselves. We stopped for a coffee at a local coffee shop and I couldn't help but notice the nice window light illuminating the face of the patron sitting near to us. I approached him, explained who I was, and asked to take his picture. He agreed to my request and asked what I wanted him to do. My response, ''Nothing. Ignore me. Pretend I'm not here.'' I went back to our table and made this shot. I later showed it to him and gave him my card so that he could send me an email if he wanted a copy of it.        

    So sometimes all the elements come together. Let's see. I've got beautiful window light, interesting lines and angles in an old coffee shop, an agreeable subject for the human element and some inspiration that comes from seeing a very good photo exhibit in an excellent gallery. Kinda hard to go wrong here!

    Sometimes a good photo can be made from just seeing life going on around me.

Look around. Sometimes look up. For me, part of the joy of street photography is often seeing things in a way that others don't see. In the words of American photographer Dorothea Lange, ''A camera is a tool for learning to see without a camera.''                                                               

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Often a good photograph can be made simply by the juxtaposition of the main subject against an interesting background. For example. a photo of a woman checking her cell phone in front of a wall mural that reads ''Everything is much more connected than we think.''              

 

                                               

    Sometimes a street photograph is nothing more than a simple depiction of life on the street.  

                                                                                                                                                           And sometimes a street photograph can be simply capturing an interesting interplay of light and shadow on an everyday subject.                                                                                   

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Street photography can be as simple as an image taken while having a chat with a friend or acquaintance. My friend, Pat, was on her way home after dropping her grandchildren at their parents' place. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the stuffed critters in and clipped to the bag she was carrying. 

                                                                                                                                                           Street photography usually doesn't require a lot of gear. Some of the best street photographers, like Henri Cartier-Bresson and Garry Winogrand, worked with one camera and one or two lenses. Probably the camera you have now will do the job. In a pinch, a cell phone will suffice. The trick is in learning to use it quickly and, in the words of Cartier-Bresson capture ''the decisive moment''. My street photography kit usually consists of two small Fuji cameras. A Fujifilm X100F and a Fujifilm X70. When not in use, they are carried in a Domke F3 super compact camera bag that also allows me to carry a few essentials of photographic life. (spare batteries, spare SD cards, a notebook and pen, my cell phone etc.) I find that it's a kit that I can comfortably carry all day if necessary. 

    Okay. so I've let this blog post run a little long. Clearly, this is a genre of photography that I could write about all day. But if you haven't tried it, grab a camera and get out there! I can almost guarantee that you will learn a lot about photographic technique, using the gear, composition, timing etc. You'll learn a little about yourself, your personal vision, interacting with people and your environment. You'll learn about the essence of life itself, captured forever in fractions of a second. Ultimately that is what the practice of the art and craft of photography is all about.

               ... more later 

Living With A Photographer - By Greg Barker

              

                                                   ''It's about the work. It's always about the work''

                                                                     - Garry Winogrand

    A change of voice. When he's taking photos, I'm telling him what hashtags to use. When he writes, I edit and reflect before he publishes. I am his son. A son not only to a photographer, but a creative spirit.

    Sitting in front of our house. Cars Drive by. Loud, never deafening. Flickers of burning light. 2 cigarettes lit. Seconds pass. 

    ''Fuji Cameras sdajfhsdkljf.... Garry Winogrand ewoldkfjds....''

Rhetoric I hear often. When I do, I am looking up from my phone and doing a lot of head nodding in agreement. At times, something compels me not to. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. True enough. Not without bruising. Two creatives. But we like the aspects of our creative fields cut from a different cloth. We inhale those two lit cigarettes. Debating begins.

  

    We talk for minutes, other times, hours. My father speaks of Gary Winogrand, among other heroes. Street photography, philosophical concepts to his craft. We speak on the survival of a photographer in a climate where photos are common. Too common. Ideas, branding and marketing, the social media game. Dwelling on it all. But never pitching a tent.

    The ember now flirts with the cigarette filter. The sun begins setting. He observes it. Grading it. Will it be good enough to photograph? I return to my phone screen. A thought in mind. Being the son of a photographer stays the same as a father who writes, and works as a mechanic to support himself and his kid. The difference though, is not only experiencing, but capturing. The shutter opens, closes and clicks.                                                                                   

                                                                      Captured

                                       ...More later                       

Shooting From The Soul

          The "Wow Factor." I love it. That moment when I look at an image presented by a photographic friend or colleague and the first word out my mouth is "Wow!" With all due respect to ego, I'd be a liar if I didn't admit that I like being on the receiving end of the "Wow Factor" as well. It's gratifying to know that I have the equipment, skills and experience and sometimes  just the dumb luck to create an image that can make someone say, "Wow!"            

     Often  when I press the shutter button, the resulting photo is less than spectacular. It does nothing more than capture the essence of the scene or subject in front of the camera. It's not necessarily a bad shot. It just lacks the "Wow Factor". American photographer, Garry Winogrand is quoted as saying, "The photograph should always be more interesting or more beautiful than what was photographed." By that standard,  the vast majority of images in my collection are pretty lackluster. However, there's something to be said about simply capturing the essence of the scene or subject. When an image exists without pretense, the reality of the subject or scene is all that's left. It's a glimpse into its soul. 

     I don't want this to devolve into a defence of mediocrity. I firmly believe  that I have a responsibility as  a photographer  to create images that attempt to  exceed conventional expectations. I wrote a blog post about this a while ago. https://refractivereasoning.blogspot.com/2019/06/shooting-with-intent.html   What I'm trying to express here is that sometimes photographs that don't garner significant interest (or sales for that matter) can still be important to the photographer who created them. 

 

    

    Firstly, they can function as learning tools for the creation of better work. If I can make an accurate analysis of an image's faults, I'm in a much better position to create better work if I find myself in a similar situation in the future. Secondly,  they can serve as a catalyst to an emotional response.  Often a photograph can trigger a memory of my state of mind when I took it. A photograph can serve  as a simple, yet valuable record of an event, place or time.  It is the reason that, until recent times, the family photo album was the most precious book in the house. A photograph doesn't always have to be brilliant to be of intrinsic  value. 

     So, in my quest to make images that have the "Wow Factor ", I try not to fret too much over the thousands of images I create that are less than stellar. In my journey in this craft, they might just be the most important pictures of all.

...more later