Coffeeshop Philosophy

    There's a fine line every that photographer walks. It's the subtle line of simultaneously being in the moment enough to appreciate it, while having enough presence of mind to capture it and do it well.

 

    This duality of mind can be a bit of a burden in that sometimes the urge to capture a moment overwhelms the joy of simply experiencing the moment. The urge to be a photographer capturing life can overpower the urge to be a human just experiencing it.

     One very real aspect of being a photographer is recognizing the need to step away from the camera long enough to experience the moment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfjkiTB1fHQ

   However, one of the greatest joys of being a photographer is having the camera as an excuse to experience any given moment in the first place!    

    Case in point;  The Mulberry  Coffehouse https://www.mulberrycoffeehouse.com/ (one of my favourite coffee shops in Hamilton) has a counter at the front windows that face on to James St. N. It's a great place to relax, sip a great coffee and just watch passersby on the street. While passing by the window, I was struck by the line of faces as I walked by on the street. I wanted a photo of it!

     However I didn't want to intrude on the patrons sitting there who were just there to have a cup of coffee. I did what to some street photographers is the unthinkable. I went inside and talked to my subjects. I walked down the line of people at the counter and explained who I was and exactly what I wanted to do. Maybe the Fujifilm X-T1 camera (Thanks Tom) slung around my neck leant me a little street cred, but, to my surprise, everyone I talked to was agreeable to the photo. "What do you want us to do?" Answer, "Nothing. Enjoy your coffee. Chat with each other. Whatever you were doing before I got here."

    I initially tried to shoot the photo using the panoramic setting on the X-T1 but that didn't work out very well. Eventually I did a quick lens change (from 35mm f2 to 16mm f2.8 wide angle) to get all of the front windows into the frame. 

    Here's the result.

    Not exactly the shot I had in mind. (I might try shooting it again.) But It's a pretty cool shot nonetheless.

    For the record, this isn't the first time I've made a photo at the Mulberry Coffeehouse. I don't know. Street photography and coffeeshops just seem to go together!

    I guess that what I'm saying is that being a photographer has allowed me to live my life with an intensity I would have otherwise not thought possible. Let's face it, the camera is the ultimate tool to capture the moment. But, sometimes it's best to put the camera down and just live in the moment.

            ...more later

    

New Year by: Gord Barker

    So it's January. First blog of the New Year. The only New Year's resolution that I really have is to lean a little harder into getting the work out there.  

    That being said, I will soon take a break from writing this to take a trip up to Treasure Mattes in Brantford. https://treasuremattes.com/ Treasure Mattes handles all of the framing of my larger prints for exhibition. I've had one of my photos accepted for a show at Art at Seven in Dundas, Ontario. I'm going to Treasure Mattes to get it framed. Jocelyn at Treasure Mattes has been framing my pictures since I started on this crazy journey of displaying and selling my photos. She is a great person to deal with and  always does an excellent job at a reasonable price. She is even tolerant of my crazy sense of humour.

     In addition to the the show at Art at Seven, I will be doing another show at the Dog-Eared Café in Paris Ontario later this year. https://www.dogearedcafe.ca/ I've currently got some matted 8x10 prints on display there. (shameless plug) I'm currently looking into a few other venues to show my pictures. I'll keep you posted. 

    Construction work has already started on the "downtown dig" which will extend through the summer season and beyond. Now, more than ever, local businesses as well as artists and craftspeople will need our support. It's going to be a tough year in Paris but we'll make it through.

 

     So that pretty much wraps up plans for this year on the photographic front. Keep reading this blog and follow me on social media for further updates. Things could get interesting.

           ...more later