The Camera Bag Conundrum

      by Gord Barker with commentary from Jim Domke

    

    Okay, I can almost hear regular readers of this blog saying, ''Yup, he's finally lost it. He's writing a piece about camera bags! The Covid 19 isolation has finally got to him. He's writing about what might be considered the least important piece of gear in photography.'' 

    I beg to differ. If there's one thing I've learned in my years behind the lens, it's that the difference is in the details, even when it comes to gear. It doesn't matter how good a camera setup you've got if you can't comfortably get it to the location you want to photograph. Similarly, a warm, weather resistant jacket and a good pair of walking shoes or hiking  boots can contribute more to the photo of the year than the best pro series camera. Any system used in human creativity is only as good as its weakest link.

      I own too many camera bags. There. I said it. The first step in addiction recovery is to admit that one has a problem. I strongly suspect that I'm not the only photographer with this problem. Perhaps I should start a support group. ''Hi, I'm Gord and I have a camera luggage addiction.'' Chorus of fellow shutterhounds; ''Hi Gord!'' ......  But I bought another one.

    But wait, I can explain! It's really not my fault! Up until a few weeks ago, I had talked myself out of it. The story starts with my birthday. I have reached that awkward age where I pretty much already own everything that I really want or need. Anything else that I might want falls into the category of being far too extravagant for consideration as a birthday gift. ''Whaddaya want for your Birthday?''  ''A Ferrari would be a thoughtful gift.''  ''Yeah.... That ain't happenin'.''

    Before my birthday, I had been considering yet another camera bag as a gift to myself. But, in consideration of the statement made earlier,  I had talked myself out of it. My  birthday, this year, consisted of the acquisition of a new Fujifilm baseball cap and a traditional dinner of  southern barbecue ribs ordered in from a local rib joint that does them up right. I was content.

    But, then I saw a Youtube video that kind of triggered me. I follow Peter McKinnon on Youtube. McKinnon is Youtube royalty and rightfully so. He is a brilliant photographer and videographer/filmmaker. He has a fanbase that is massive. I will happily admit that I've learned a thing or two from his tutorials. Often his videos have inspired me to get off my butt and get creative in my photography. My only complaint against him is that, lately, he tends to use his huge following as just a massive market for merchandising. Yup. You guessed it. He brought out  another camera bag.

     The McKinnon bag is a backpack style. It's got a lot going for it. From what I can see, it is almost completely waterproof. The outer shell seems to be made of a very impressive waterproof material. The interior seems to be infinitely configurable with what they're calling the ''cube system''. It's a series of padded trays that can be set up in advance to accommodate whatever bits of gear might be required for the day's photographic / video activities. It sounds good in theory, but seems a little bit gimmicky to me. I could easily see myself inadvertently leaving a piece of needed gear at home because it was in one of the other ''cubes''.

    Long story longer, I didn't buy the McKinnon bag for two reasons. 1) It's a backpack. I don't particularly like backpacks for camera gear. If the primary purpose of an outing is photography, I much prefer to work out of a shoulder bag. The problem with a photo  backpack is that I have to stop and put it down to access my gear. I do have a photo backpack that has a belt at its base. It allows the bag to be slung  around to the front on my waist so I can get at my stuff through a padded back panel. I find this whole sling it around the waist thing to be a bit awkward. First of all, I'm a skinny guy. It's a little touch and go whether my scrawny waist can support eight to ten pounds of camera gear on a slightly slack belt!  I'm just thankful that the regular belt I use everyday can keep my pants up. So far, no embarrassing incidents. Well.... at least none involving my pants!  2) The whole idea of the McKinnon bag kind of irked me. I'm an old school kind of guy. I cut my photographic teeth using fully manual, mechanical film cameras. I mean, how much technology is really required to schlep around some camera gear? 

    Back in the 80's, ( I can almost hear some of my younger readers rolling their eyes.) I was a founding member of the Cambridge Photo Secession. We were a group of young photographers who shared a studio space and a well equipped darkroom in Cambridge, Ontario. (We didn't know how good we had it!) One of my studio partners had a Domke camera bag. (an original F2 I believe) I was always amazed at the amount of gear he carried around in it. In working with him on a few shoots and photo projects, it seemed like he was prepared for anything. As I remembered it, the bag itself was a fairly straightforward design made out of sturdy canvas with a simple webb strap. Despite my friend hauling around a ton of gear in it, he never complained and claimed the bag was quite comfortable. Of course we were all a lot younger then!

   I did a little research on line. Yup, the Domke company, now owned by the Tiffen company, still make  the original design F2 canvas camera bag. From what I could see from the pictures on line, little (if anything) had changed since Jim Domke started marketing them in the late 70's.  I also found that one of my favourite camera shops, Downtown Camera in Toronto, had them in stock available on their website. Maybe it was a feeling of nostalgia. Maybe it was a reaction to the McKinnon offering that just had too many bells and whistles. And the store had it in green, one of my favourite colours. Anyway, out came the credit card and with a few clicks of the mouse, it was on my doorstep 48 hours later. Did I mention that I have a camera bag addiction? 

     Anyway, I unboxed it and set it up the way I wanted. I loaded it with two camera bodies, three lenses and some assorted accessories and took it  for a walkabout. It's an awesome bag. Anyone who's been into photography for a while, knows that sometimes you find a piece of equipment that just feels "right" the moment you start to use it. For me, the Domke F2 camera bag falls into that category. 

     I was so impressed with the bag that when I got home, I did a little more research. The Domke F2 and indeed the whole Domke line of camera bags have achieved almost legendary status in the world of photography. Photojournalists and serious photographers around the world swear by them. I decided to try to  contact Jim Domke and get  some background on the line. I already knew some of the story but was hoping to get a little more detail from the man himself. Jim Domke graciously responded to my message and kindly answered my questions sent to him in subsequent messages.

    Jim Domke is an award winning American photojournalist and also the designer of the famous line of camera bags that bear his name. He studied journalism at the University of Missouri. In his career, he has worked for the Greely (Colorado) journal, the Aspen (Colorado) Times, Newsday, the San Francisco Examiner, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Now retired, he divides his time with involvement in environmental issues, he's a contributor to the website Greensource DFW and also is a proponent for the preservation of the American Post Office. You can check out his website here https://www.jgdomke.com/  Click on Postal Preservation and you will be treated to a  series of black and white photos of post offices in Texas. These pictures are a masterclass in black and white photography and the capture of architectural detail. I think that I've been around photography long enough to recognize a true labour of love when I see it. The archives section of his website features images from a career in photojournalism that provide an interesting take on the times in which they were made.

    So how does a guy with a solid career in photojournalism find himself the designer of what would become an iconic piece of photo equipment? Quite simply, he couldn't find a camera bag that adequately met his needs. Back in the mid to late 70's the soft sided camera bag , as we know it, didn't exist. Most camera bags of the time were hard shelled cases covered with either leather or vinyl. They were clunky, poorly designed contraptions. Inside, they offered hard dividers or clips to secure the equipment and provided little, if any, way for the user to configure them to their needs. Although they usually came with a strap, you didn't want to carry one on your shoulder. They had a nasty tendency to bounce off your hip as you walked along and made simple tasks, like boarding public transit or just getting through a doorway an awkward experience. When I started working in the camera shops, we still stocked a few of these monstrosities. We couldn't give them away!

     At the time, there were some soft sided bags for photography. However, they were usually too small to accommodate a camera with a lens attached. They were called "gadget bags" and were designed to carry small accessories and maybe a few extra rolls of film for a day's shooting. A working pro would often carry two camera bodies, two or three lenses, a flash unit and upwards of ten rolls of film for a day on the job. The "gadget bag" was hardly adequate. 

     Some photographers would improvise by using canvas fishing bags. These were a little bigger than the average gadget bag but offered no dividers for keeping gear organized. They usually had a couple of small pockets on the front but that was about it. In the words of Jim Domke, "I'd been using an Orvis fishing bag and started from there. Had to have webbing run all the way around bag was something many of us had been doing to fishing bags.  Canvas fishing bags!  Nylon was strong but too thin. Canvas soft and right thickness. Flexible to bend around body..."  Side note here. The idea of running webbing all around the body of the bag for extra support is a feature still found on Domke camera bags today. Also most of the bags in the lineup are still made out of canvas. Canvas fishing bags were a workaround solution. But, they tended to wear out quickly and offered no way of organizing photo gear. The design parameters for a new bag were starting to take shape. 

     According to Jim Domke, ''Where most thought of a camera bag as simply a place to store the gear, I saw it as a tool to be able to find and get at the best lens, film, accessory quickly and get the photo.''... "The goal was to be able to get at all your equipment without having to stop and set the bag on the ground. My thinking has been that when I see a picture I want to take it as fast as I can before it goes away... That requires being fast at finding the filter you now need or changing from the wide angle to a telephoto lens quickly. Using it while shooting meant having one hand holding the camera and only one hand to open the bag and get at the lens you need. Spring clips can be opened with one hand and closed with one hand. Can't say that for plastic. No flap on front pocket. Just gets in the way. Pocket in main flap, don't waste any space. Size of bag was based on those old 35mm lenses, but wanted it to fit under plane seats and be able to carry in crowds and not get noticed.''

    Part of the incentive for Domke getting into the camera bag business was a strike at the Philadelphia Inquirer in 1977. Needing to supplement his income, Domke took his design and started a part-time business. With an initial order for 20 bags, Domke found an awning maker in Philadelphia to make them up and the rest, as they say, is history. The bags caught on with photojournalists and working photographers. Not fancy, but well designed and purpose built to do the job. More than forty years later, the design is still popular with photojournalists and serious photographers all around the world. Domke bags are also now the official camera bag of the White House News Photographers Association.    

    So I've been using the Domke F2 Original camera bag for a few weeks now. Here's my take on it. First off, it's very well made. When I took it out of the box I couldn't find a loose thread or a stitch out of place anywhere. The bags are still ''Proudly made in the USA'' and it shows. The workmanship is excellent. When I first contacted Jim Domke about the F2 he said, ''The old F2 Original Bag holds too much.'' He's right. If I were to shovel in all the the gear this thing will hold, I wouldn't want to take it out of the house! Jim uses the smaller F5 model which was originally designed as a belt bag.  But, I don't own a car, so I like having room for some extra stuff when I'm out and about. The huge end pockets will easily accomodate a water bottle or a small thermos of coffee and some trail snacks. I live in a country where there's often snow on the ground for six months of the year. It's nice to have space for an extra pair of dry gloves or a toque. The design of the bag is a bit dated. It doesn't have a padded pocket for a laptop or small pockets for spare SD cards. I don't care. I don't take my laptop out when I'm shooting and I usually stow spare SD cards in a little wallet that comes with the lens cleaning cloths that I use. Unlike some bags on the market, there's lots of room for small items like spare batteries, pens, a small notebook etc. It's a bag that will easily accommodate my needs. 

The Green Monster. My new Domke F2 Original camera bag

                                                                                                                                                   

     I like the look of the bag. I got mine in the olive green colour. It kinda looks like something I might have picked up at an army surplus store. It is a rugged straightforward design that doesn't draw too much attention. It's a bit old school, but so am I. The strap is made out of a very comfortable cotton webbing which has some rubber strands woven into it to help keep it on my shoulder. The canvas used to make it helps to conform the bag to the side of my body. It snuggles in like an insecure lover. Despite its size, it's a  comfortable bag to use. It's big, but it doesn't feel big when I'm carrying it. Overall, I'm very happy with it. 

     I guess that if there's a backstory here, it's that  "Necessity is the mother of invention.'' Jim Domke needed a better camera bag to do his job. He designed one. He needed to supplement his income during a labour disruption. So he took his designs and started a small business which grew. In an age where we can get almost anything we want, we tend to throw up our hands in frustration if we can't. Jim Domke faced his problems head on and solved them himself. It's a kind of self reliance and self confidence that we don't often see anymore.

     In my contact with Jim, he told me a story about being sent to cover the 1977 power blackout in New York City. He arrived about noon and there wasn't much happening. He later discovered some looting going on and returned with a great photo. However the newspaper wouldn't run the photo until they confirmed the situation with NYC police. They had trouble contacting the police due to the power outage. Sort of a Catch 22. Great photo of the power outage, but can't use the photo due to the power outage!  Eventually they got confirmation and ran the photo in the morning paper. But the evening news beat him to the punch as the power was restored about 10:00 p.m. 

    I love stories like this. In my opinion, as a photographer, if you don't have a few good stories behind some of the shots you've taken, you're not trying hard enough!  

    And that's the cool thing about this piece of equipment. Yeah, it's just a camera bag. But there's a great story behind it. It's a camera bag that was designed  over forty years ago and is still in production. It is still a good, hard working piece of equipment today. It's a product that has achieved almost legendary status amongst the photographers who have created their own stories while using it. 

     I'm very fortunate. I've got some very good camera gear and a very cool camera bag to haul it around. Time to go out and create some stories of my own. 

     ...more later 

    

   As usual, if you like what you see here, feel free to hit ''like'' and share it on your favourite media platform. The deal is, If you keep readin' 'em, I'll keep crankin' 'em out!                                                                                                                      

    

    

   

      

     

     

     

     

    

    

    

     

     

    

       

   

     

    

       

       

    

Changes

     I'm feeling restless. Spring is here and I just want to go out and make photographs. However, as of this writing, the province is in its third lockdown due to the coronavirus and my travel options, once again, are pretty much limited. Up until now, we've had a pretty good run.  On my social media feeds, it seems everyone has been posting pictures of flowers, birds, trees budding out and just the general return to life of our natural world. After a winter of isolation under the demands of a global pandemic, it seems that the celebration of the vernal season is even more intense than ever. I love the passion that people are bringing to creating images in celebration of the warmer season and longer hours of daylight.                    

      In the spirit of the season,  I too, have contributed to the  frenzied celebration.   

                                                                             

                                                          

    I also find myself wanting to create images that are a little different. I want to try to make photographs from a slightly different point of view. I want to frame a vision of the world around me with an eye to creating interest out of the commonplace or mundane. However, I don't want to go too far outside the conventional.

                                                           

...

     Abstract art has its appeal, but it has never been my forté. I find that I can create images that are interesting and visually appealing with the simple use of form, texture, angle of view and other visual elements. I feel no need to inflict a visual guessing game on the viewer.                                                                             

   In the words of American photographer, Garry Winogrand, ''There is nothing more mysterious than a fact clearly described.'' So, for the present, I'm challenging myself to create interest from the prosaic.  Considering the seemingly interminable endurance test of the pandemic, it may be the only option left to me. 

...more later 

    

On Photographic Expression

     A while ago, a good friend and fellow photographer asked me an interesting question. "Do you consider yourself an artist?" It's a question that I've been asked before and so I gave her my stock flip answer. "Nah. I'm just handy with a camera."

     I don't know why, but I've always shied away from the idea of considering myself an artist. To consider myself an artist in any field of creative  endeavour seems to me to be taking on a mantle that I haven't earned.  At different periods in my life I have participated in various forms of the arts. Music, (I played in a couple of blues bands.)  Writing, (This blog as well as having a few small pieces published in local press.) and, of course, photography. In any of those creative fields I have generally considered myself a student of the craft. 

     A fairly long time ago, I wrote a blog post about my definition of art. https://multifarious-musings.blogspot.com/2012/08/on-artistic-expression-in-interest-of.html   To me, art is the communication of concepts. Fundamentally that definition  comes down to two things, communication and concept. 

    For photography it works this way. It doesn't matter how beautiful or interesting the subject matter is if I don't have the skills required to make a good photograph of it. Conversely, It doesn't matter how skilled I am as a photographer if I portray the subject in a boring manner. Or as the great Ansel Adams is quoted as saying, '' There is nothing worse than a sharp image of a fuzzy concept.'' 

    So old gray bearded photofreak, how does one avoid the dreaded ''fuzzy concept''? For me, it primarily comes down to asking a few simple questions before making the image. ''Why am I taking this picture?''  ''What aspect of the scene or subject  do I really want to emphasize?'' ''What skills and tools do I have available to make that happen?'' 

     Those of you who follow me on Facebook have probably seen the above picture already. It was taken on a dreary rainy day. Apart from a quick trip downtown, I had spent most of the day indoors editing pictures from my old laptop and saving them to an external hard drive. When I stepped outside for a break, there was a brief break in the cloud cover and this blast of golden light shone through. The light was amazing! I had to capture it! I quickly grabbed a camera. (my little Fuji X70  https://refractivereasoning.blogspot.com/2018/10/fuji-x70-little-camera-that-can.html ) Okay, I had a camera, gorgeous light, I needed a subject. Fortunately, I live very close to the William St. bridge and quickly went over and managed to get the shot. I was lucky to get it. Within a few minutes, the break in the overcast closed up and it was back to being a dull dreary day again. 

    Okay, enough of the backstory of the picture. What did I actually photograph here? The obvious answer is the bridge since it is the object that takes up the most space in the shot. A visually astute person might suggest that it's the buildings downtown as almost all of the leading lines in the shot direct your eye to them. Remember, that at the outset, my intent was to capture the beauty of the golden light. To my mind, that's what the picture is all about. The bridge and the distant buildings provide nothing more than a means to showcase that beautiful blast of light. Don't believe me? Here's a shot of pretty much the same scene taken under more mundane conditions. Don't tell me it's not about the light!

  

 The problem that plagues most of us visually, is that in our day to day lives, we see things just long enough to identify them. It's not just a traffic light, it's a study of three distinct colours of light. The plastic lawn chair in the backyard can be a study of shape, contrasting lines and monochromatic colour. If I am photographing things just to identify them I might as well be working for the police dept. 

     
I think that if ''Art is the communication of concepts.'' (my definition) it would serve us well if we were to think in terms of abstract concepts when attempting to make art with a camera. Here are some examples.

This isn't just a bunch of flowers.
It"s a blast of colour!

This isn't just a frozen mud puddle.
It's an abstract pattern of frozen ice crystals.

 

       

    

  

This isn't just a picture of orange leaves. What makes the picture work is the contrast 
of warm tones (the leaves) verses cool tones. (the background)

   

     So, in answer to the question posed at the beginning of this post. Am I an artist? No. But I will grudgingly admit to being a student of the arts. What can I say? It's a process. And I'm in  love with the process.                                                                                                               

            

   

            ...more later

    If you like what you see here, feel free to hit ''like'' and share to the media platform of your choice. Leave a comment if you like. The deal is, ''If you keep reading  'em, I'll keep crankin' 'em out!

It's All About The Camera

     ''I really love your pictures. You must have a really good camera'' That is probably one of the most irritating, backhanded compliments a photographer can hear. Yup. It's all about the camera . I'm just the support staff. I just haul the damn thing around. Usually I just respond with a somewhat snide, ''Yeah. I taught it everything it knows.'' 

                                                                                                  

Manitoulin Sunrise
A shot I took on an eighty dollar Kodak digital
camera that I bought on sale at a Canadian Tire store

    You would be hard pressed to find a creative activity that relies  more on  technology than photography or filmmaking. I mean, someone whose favourite pastime is knitting, is capable of creating clothing with nothing more than a couple of long straight needles and some skeins of yarn. I know that I don't have the knowledge or skill set to perform that task.  Perhaps the non photographic crowd can be forgiven for thinking that, in the field of photography, it's the camera that does the lion's share of the work.  

    It was George Eastman, founder of the Eastman Kodak Company who, in 1888, coined the slogan, ''You press the button, we do the rest.'' Thus, photography was simplified for a massive market. That simplification has resulted in a perception of photography as a straightforward process of simply aiming a camera and pressing a button. That perception is valid if the intended result is nothing more than a snapshot for the family photo album. (Does anyone keep a family album anymore? Or do photo collections  exist solely on the hard drives of computers or the memory banks of cell phones?  Perhaps in a future post I'll make a case for printing as the best way to save important Images.) 

   

Snapshot of Greg and me after a sightseeing flight
over Georgian Bay. Matt, the guy who took the picture,
is a very good photographer and is really  really good at
flying airplanes!

    Don't get me wrong. I'm not disparaging the value of the family snapshot. Like most people, I have a lot of photos of family and friends taken during various events and celebrations. They are some of the most important images in my collection. However, I would not put them forward as stellar examples of the photographic craft.  To move beyond the basic snapshot requires some knowledge, a photographic skill set and, yes, ideally, a slightly more sophisticated camera.

 Emphasis more on the knowledge and skill set  than the camera. While working in several camera shops I had customers with top of the line professional series cameras who couldn't take a decent photo if their life depended on it. I also had customers who were doing amazing stuff with nothing more than a basic camera purchased second hand. As in all forms of human creativity, the tool is only as good as the person behind it.

     Ultimately, almost every photograph is a snapshot. Consider the minimal amount of time required to press a shutter button. Consider also that the subsequent exposure of light to film or to an electronic light sensor is usually measured in a fraction of a second. Making a photograph is really just the final act of what is (hopefully) an assiduously applied process. Perhaps my earlier comment about schlepping the camera around is rooted more in reality than it is in sarcasm. Almost every photographer I know owns several camera bags. We're obsessed with camera luggage! You know that you're in a good camera shop when the camera bag section is almost as big as the section for cameras and lenses!  A photographer with any experience knows that much more time is spent carrying the equipment than actually using it. Even a studio photographer is probably going to spend more time setting up lights and backdrops than actually shooting. Photography is really about what the viewer doesn't see. It's about the time spent in the process of getting the shot. 

    Here's an example.

    The picture above is an image that I've seen in my mind hundreds of times. It's an image of one of my kitchen chairs illuminated by the under-cabinet light over the sink in my kitchen. I liked the shadows cast by the dowels of the chair from  the single light source. For quite a while I would see this little scene while passing through the kitchen to the front door of ny scruffy little home. Each time, I told myself, ''I want to photograph that.''  Simple enough, right?

    Okay, to start with, the little light under the kitchen cabinet was not really powerful enough for photographic purposes. However, introducing another light source would reduce the effect of the shadows cast by the chair back. I could open up the lens aperture to gather more light, but that would reduce the depth of field (area of acceptably sharp focus) in the shot. I wanted  both the chair back and the shadows to be reasonably well defined. I could shoot at a high ISO (increase the camera sensor's sensitivity to light) but that would reduce the overall resolution of the shot. Solution? Put the camera on a tripod to steady it and allow the use of a longer shutter speed with the lens stopped down and a low ISO. Problem; Using the tripod with the shot as originally planned, introduced an unwanted shadow into the frame from the sole light source. Solution? Shoot from the opposite side of the chair into the light source. Problem; The kitchen table is in the way. Solution? Reduce the height of the tripod and mount it on the kitchen table. Problem; Can't see the focusing screen of the camera when mounted on the table. Solution? Stand on another kitchen chair to look down into the focusing screen on the camera. Problem; Having the camera and tripod on the table changed the overall framing of the shot. Solution? Take the camera off the tripod and change lenses on the camera. And on it went....

     Kind of a lot to simply make a photograph of some shadows and a kitchen chair. I probably spent the better part of an hour at it. Not to mention some time spent in post processing the image. Overall, I'm not really happy with the shot. I'll probably shoot it again with some minor changes. Yeah, I know. I'm a tad obsessive.  But if I have the knowledge and equipment to make an image in my mind's eye a reality, why not do it? It's the attention to detail that makes the difference between a good photograph and a merely adequate one. But hey, it's all about the camera. Or so I'm told.

My first camera. An Imperial Instant Load 900.
 I bought it with grocery store coupons when I was 9 years old.  

                                                                                                                                                                           ''I really like your pictures. You must have a really good camera.''  ''Yes. I was lucky to get it. Now I'm in the market for a hammer that drives nails straight and a guitar that plays beautiful music.''

        ...more later

    

    

         

    

    

         

Waiting

     We're all waiting.  It's a new year. (relatively)  South of the border, there's a new president in the white house. Vaccines to prevent the spread of the coronavirus have been approved and, albeit with some glitches, are being rolled out and administered. But still, all of us are in some form of lockdown and we're all waiting.                                                                                   

    But maybe it's not so bad. Maybe what we've all needed is  a time out. I'm still in the process of backing up files from my old laptop. In doing so, I've probably deleted more files than I've saved. Do I really need twenty photos of the same sunset? Pick the best one of the group and move on. Am I ever going to use that photo of the flower which is not quite right? Hey, it's a pretty good shot. But by my standards, ''Pretty ain't good enough!''  I mean,  the subject was beautiful but did I do a really good job of capturing its essence? I know that I could probably spend some time in Photoshop or some other post processing program trying to enhance it enough to save it. But to what end? For a handful of ''likes'' on social media? Does a heavily doctored picture really represent who I am or who I aspire to be as a creator of visual images? .........Delete! 

     This exercise of going through old photos has been something of a revelation to me, both as a photographer and as a human being. What is the criteria for saving an image from the past?  Though photography is one of the most immediate forms of human creativity, every picture is an image of the past as soon as the shutter closes and the picture is taken. To my mind, for a photograph to be successful, it has to have historical significance or  have a timeless quality to it.

     Regarding historical significance, almost all pictures of family and friends are saved. Also saved are pictures of community events, images of streetscapes whether local or taken on my travels. Even if the value they possess is questionable now, they might be of interest or have some historical value in the future.

    In regards to the timeless quality, I'm entering an area where the criteria is more subjective. Does the image elicit an emotional response?  Will  it peak the interest of the viewer? In regard to the first two questions is a third one. Does it do it well? Often it's that last question which keeps my cursor hovering over the delete button.                                                                                 

    That immediacy of photography is the craft's greatest strength and also its greatest weakness. In going through the hard drive of my old laptop, the question that keeps coming to mind is ''Why did I take so many shots of such a boring subject?'' The truth of the matter is that the subject wasn't boring. It was  my  approach and technique (or lack thereof) that rendered a boring image. If it is true that  American street photographer Garry Winogrand was right. ''Everything is photographable.''  The better question I should be asking is ''Why did I fail to capture the essence of my subject?'' or ''What could I have done to make the image better?''  Better yet, I should be asking that question while still in the field with the subject right in front of me. It would save me the process of examining and deleting twenty expendable images later.

     So the upshot of this exercise is this. I've got to stop being so lazy when it comes to the editing process. Otherwise my collection of photos becomes just a clutter of lacklustre images with, hopefully, a few gems hidden in the mix. I put out a post a while ago about shooting with intent. https://refractivereasoning.blogspot.com/2019/06/shooting-with-intent.html  I need to start doing that more in my own work, both while out shooting and in the editing process. As New Year's resolutions go, at least photographically, that's a pretty good one.. 

    To quote the great Imogen Cunningham, ''Which of my photographs is my favourite? The one I'm going to take tomorrow.''

            ...more later

    

  P.S. If you like what you see here, feel free to comment, ''like'' or share on the media platform of your choice.   

      

    

    

         

Post Christmas Week And A New Lens To Play With

      Christmas is over for another year. Now begins that quiet time between Christmas and New Year's Eve. In some ways, it's a time I enjoy even more than the big day itself. No rushing around to get gifts and stocking stuffers ready. No need to prepare an elaborate feast. There are enough leftovers in the fridge to prepare simple meals or perhaps just a turkey sandwich as needed. It's a time of complete decadence. I can sleep in if I want to. Conversely, I can stay up late reading, editing photos or  just surfing the web. I can even be so daring as to enjoy a cup of coffee past my usual cutoff time. Such luxury!

    Christmas in our household is a relatively low key affair anyway. I've long ago given up on excessive rushing around in an attempt to please everyone on an extensive list. To paraphrase my own writing from a post I published a while ago, I doubt that the celebration of the  arrival of the Prince of Peace was meant to cause stress and mayhem in the souls of those that would follow his teachings. https://multifarious-musings.blogspot.com/2011/12/ghosts-of-christmas-past.html

    So Christmas is over and I've got some time to play with my toys. This year I acquired a zoom lens for my Fuji camera system. It's a fairly big one. Well, big for me. One of the reasons I switched to the Fuji system is that the cameras are smaller. (a little more suitable for travel and street photography)  Although I sometimes dabble in wildlife photography, I'm not known for hauling around one of those huge bazooka barrels attached to my cameras. But,  compared to either of the other lenses in my Fuji kit, this thing is big.

At 55mm this lens isn't so bad.

Zoomed out to 200mm with the lens hood attached, we're
entering ''Holy Crap!'' territory.

    Christmas Day being what it is, I really only had time to test the lens with a few close-up shots of Christmas ornaments on the tree.                                                                                                     

    But, this morning, I took it for a little walk up to the dam near my home. Yeah, yeah, I know. I photograph this place too often. But hey, it's a beautiful spot. And it's handy. And when I try out a new piece of kit there, I know that I've already got about a thousand images on file for comparison. Anyway I really like what this lens can do. It allows me to pick out interesting details of a landscape. (or in this case riverscape) I even didn't mind it's overall size too much. I could easily operate the zoom, aperture and focus control rings without having to take my gloves off. I loved how I could feature specific aspects of a scene with which I'm very familiar.

                                                                            

   

 Is it a lens that I'm going to leave on the camera all the time? Probably not. But for those times when I want to pull things in a bit closer or simply narrow my angle of view it's more than  adequate for my needs. It's a nice piece of equipment to have in the old LowePro. 

    Since this is my last blog post for this year I want to close with a note of thanks. To say that 2020 has been a hell of a year would be a huge understatement.  If there's a silver lining to this pandemic, it would be that I've come to appreciate, more than ever, the sense of caring and community that exists in this small town where I make my home. Thanks for all for the ''likes" and comments on social media. Thanks to everyone who has purchased my prints and postcards.  Thank you also to all who follow and read this blog. Your kindness and support is greatly appreciated. 

    Thanks also to the shutterhounds of the Paris Photo Collective.  Although the  group has essentially been reduced to a Facebook page due to the pandemic, it's great to see that people are shooting and posting their work. Keep the passion alive! I'm confident  we'll all be able to meet in person again in the new year. There'll be coffee, laughter, wild stories, and...oh yeah, maybe some pictures and photography stuff! You know...the usual insanity! 

     Wishing everyone all the best in the New Year. Stay safe.

                                                  ...more later

     

 

     

    

                                                      

     

Fall Colour Season 2020

    Well, I guess the fall colour season is over for another year. About a week ago, a pretty substantial windstorm blew in and pretty much annihilated the last of the leaves  left on the trees. Ahh November, that dreariest of months. Almost no colour left on the trees, not enough snow for a pristine winter wonderland. 

     With the restrictions of a world dominated by a global pandemic, my travels  during this fall colour season were somewhat diminished this year. From what I heard, in chatting with other photographers, many places, provincial parks , conservation areas, etc. were functioning on a ''reservations only'' basis. They were trying to control the number of people who access these places to view and photograph the sweeping vistas of colour. So, for the most part, I limited my fall colour photography to places and scenes I could access easily within a short walk from home. This year my images were often just a small burst of colour in the in the overall drama which is the fall colour season. My usual ''Autumn at the Dam'' photos were published with my last blog post.  https://refractivereasoning.blogspot.com/2020/10/gratitude.html

     My last blog post was entitled ''Gratitide'', published (appropriately enough) on the Thanksgiving weekend. One of the things in my life for which I'm grateful is being a photographer. The strange thing about it is that I don't always have to be actively engaged in the craft to experience the beauty and wonder of the scenes and situations in front of me. One beautiful Autumn morning I went to the dam near my home and just sat, savouring the beauty of the scene.   Sometimes it's better to just be in the moment rather than fiddling about, trying to make a photograph of it. Sometimes less is more. 

     A few years ago, I saw the movie ''The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty''. The  scene that stuck with me was the one where Walter Mitty finally connects with photographer Sean O'Connell played by actor Sean Penn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfjkiTB1fHQ 

I remarked to the lady I was with, that I could completely relate to Sean Penn's character in that scene. 

     In reality, the cameras, the photographs are not the be all - end all of my existence. My photographs are, at best, an adjunct to the life I've lived. Through photography, I can more completely experience the wonder that is right in front of me whether I photograph it or not. 

While photography is a method for me to share my perceptions of the world around me, ultimately, it is the perceptions themselves that matter most.

           ... more later