Recent Prints

A twelve day trip, ten rolls of film. After quick inspection....about a half dozen images I really like. There are many more that will "work," but MAYBE a half dozen that will get print. Others will be scanned, and sent, scanned and archived, etc.

I have a self portrait, as you can see here, that looks really great, in my opinion, and I have no recollection of shooting it. I just the contact sheet, then the negative, and said, "Hmmm." It was shot on a London street corner, that's all I know.

Leica, 35mm, Foma warmtone matte, 11x14,

My Morning

Rare.

A moment of peace.

The sound of pen on paper.

An Orchard

100 degrees.

Mate.

A few pictures.

Photo Nonsense

Hey kids,

This is what happens when you add too much coffee, too little food and two photographers with time on their hands. But, for all of you lucky viewers, pure bliss baby, pure bliss. Just kidding.

I'm still learning this camera, yes, still learning, so sound is a little thin, but luckily thin is my middle name.

Who Am I?

Wow, talk about a sobering reality.

In short, I'm not sure I know what I'm doing anymore. Commercially yes, I know, but personally, with my work, I'm really teetering on the brink of I don't know what.

I'm looking at starting this new project. In fact I'm here, right now, starting the damn thing, and I realized I REALLY don't know what I'm doing.

This was never the case before. Ever. But is sure is now.

I can do anything I want, in any fashion, or at least what I can afford to do, and like I do with my students I presented myself with the question, "Okay, now what, what are you going to do?" And, I don't know.

I'm not even sure what format I'm going to shoot. 35? 6x6? 6x9? Both? All three?

This might seem trivial but it isn't when you consider I must have a consistent theme and style to what I'm about to produce. I spoke to another photographer yesterday who cautioned me about this, and explained that his only project of mixed formats was never published. All the rest, single format, were published.

I'm sure it was because it was more difficult to figure the style, to place the work under one description. Doesn't mean he, or I, shouldn't do this, but I understand the idea of complicating matters.

I would love nothing more than to do the entire thing with Leica and 35mm, and I might. But the 6x6 is also really nice, and I have been using a lot lately. But, each format creates VERY different pictures, and I'm not sure at the moment which is best.

Again, I knwo this sounds like it isn't a big deal, but I find when I, or most others, do two things at once, we do them half as well. And, the type of picture I make with a Leica is FAR different than with a 6x6 camera. So, it makes it difficult to put both bodies of work together. Then, one body is typically stronger than the other, and here is where things get tricky.

This isn't a small story, or one that I can do in a short period of time. We are probably talking several years to even come close, but that is what I want. That is what documentary work is all about. It ain't a quick fix.

I think part of why I'm having this problem is from doing much of my work for other people, people who need specific things in a specific style, and consequently you ofter work in a style that may or may not be your own. That's commercial photography for most people. After a while, it's more difficult to quickly fall back into the "your" style, and this is where I find myself.

Over the past few days, as I begin this project, I find myself so out of sync. I fumble with my gear because it isn't comfortable in my hand. I'm thinking too much and not reacting, and that never works.

I feel like a marathon runner who hasn't trained in several years.

I'll figure it out, eventually, but it sure does feel odd. Years ago I was crystal clear. I never doubted anything. I had one choice and I just stuck to it. Perhaps it is time to try that again?

Just Hangin

So I volunteered today, most of the day, over at the somewhat local darkroom. I planned on printing a little, just playing around with split toning, which I THINK I have an idea how to do. There was only one other person there, someone printing paper negatives, which is a very cool process.

But, an amigo came down from LA and we just sat around talking for most of the day. It was like a vacation in some ways. It was actually really nice to not do anything other than talk. We mostly talked about photography. What a surprise. About the business, about marketing, but also about something that I have been thinking a lot about lately.

Do you have to BE a photographer to BE a photographer. I think we were both in agreement that you don't have to be a photographer to be a photographer. In fact, we both know people are who making great work who don't work as photographers, and in some ways, these folks are making better work, and more work, than those we know who are working as photographers. In fact, I met someone last year, who works as a chef, who in the past year has made three new bodies of work, one from overseas, and has even made all his own prints, both color and black and white. I wish I could say that, even for ONE body of work.

You see when you "become" a photographer, a real one, there are many things that accompany this transition, and many of them do nothing but lead you away from actually taking pictures. Marketing, advertising, billing, setting up your business, permitting, follow up, packaging, etc, etc. Before long, the most successful you get, the less time you spend in the field making pictures. Or, the other options is to start hiring people to do much of this, which is a valid option. But what I see happen, most of the time, is suddenly not only is the business farmed out, but so is the edit, the design of the work, etc, and then you become a production line of predictable work. Now for some people, those who come to photography from the marketing or advertising world, and who are totally happy just shooting commercial work, then this is great. But for me, there are too many different kinds of work I want to do.

It is very difficult to find a balance. But, the only thing that remains is the work, and if you don't lose track of that, then you can succeed.

We are both Leica geeks, so I wanted to post this photo of what two Leica users, or really what most photographers do who happen to both have gear with them, which is yak about it. My friend has had this same camera for 29 years. LET ME SAY THAT AGAIN PEOPLE. MY FRIEND HAS HAD THIS CAMERA FOR 29 YEARS. AND STILL USES IT. In a day of 18 month life spans for cameras, this is a remarkable thing, even for Leica users.

Oddly enough, both of us have shot many different systems over the years, but both believe our best work was done with these cameras.

However, and this leads me back to my first point about being a photographer. I think the best documentary work I have ever done came during a time when I had a full time job. I was still working in the photography field, but not working as a photographer. In fact, I couldn't work as a photographer, it was written in to my contract. And, the only cameras I owned during this time was Leica rangefinder.

So, when I went out to make pictures, it was the only equipment I had, AND, when I went out to shoot, I only shot my work, my projects, in my style. Four and a half years of this.

Just so you know, many of us photographers shoot one kind of work as our commercial work, with the goal of using the income to finance another style of work. This has been a very common method of photographer survival since the beginning of the medium. In fact, most of the legends in photography did this at one time or another.

But, I think, this is happening, successfully, less and less. As the industry changes so does the reality of working this way.

Now, most of the "good" photographers I know are either doing NOTHING but their work, or are working outside the industry, but yet still doing their projects on the side.

I think this is true because it is harder now to be a photographer. I think the job requires far more marketing, advertising, and the computer takes so much of our daily life. There are exceptions to this rule, but most exceptions come with exceptions.

But, even in the midst of frustration there are moments of clarity and happiness that extend far beyond the norms, such as when the guy stocking the vending machine comes over with two broken bars of chocolate and says, "Hey, these are broken, so I can't put them in the machine, but they are for you."

And, if you aren't a total pig..........my friend........you can save half the bar and pass it along to the woman working at the reception desk, prolonging the joy created by free chocolate.

That's all for today.

Don't Worry People, It's Here

Lens+Body=pictures

Something So Small

It's amazing that something so small could be so pricey, important,etc.

If you saw the physical size of the things I traded to get this little item you would laugh. In physical mass, I came out way behind.

I was packing up today, for an upcoming shoot, and had a full bag of stuff, film, bodies, lenses, etc, and I grabbed this last. I thought, "Geez, how nice would it be to go out with two of these and nothing else.

I wouldn't need to pack. There would be no more large bags. There would be no more back pain.

It got me to thinkin...........and when I end up thinkin.......I end up making some changes.

What I also like with this baby is that it requires no computer, no software, no firmware, no upgrades, no power converters, no portable hard drives, nothing.

You just need a bag of film and something to aim the camera at.

What is interesting is I am now seeing a fairly sizable push-back in regards to digital imaging. Not that there will be a large return to film, but I think we have been at the digital game long enough that A LOT of photographer are realizing that digital may or may not be what they were bargaining for, and yet another day spent in post production, FOR FREE, isn't the dream life they envisioned when digital came along with the whispers of "the best thing ever."

I'm pleased by the number of young photographers who are shooting film. They are versed in digital, but use what is best suited for a job. My generation were told digital was the only solution, and now we are seeing the chinks in that armor.

I think the idea of speed being the most important aspect of our work is quickly wearing off. Speed got us where we are today, instant gratification and an overwhelming need to meddle and control every pixel haven't really done us any favors. We now see hundreds of thousands of images, seconds after they are taken, but most are not anything to remember. And hey, I'm guilty of doing the same thing.

So now I have my Leica again. Biggest gear mistake I ever made was selling this stuff. In reality a limiting style of camera, but for what it is good for, there is nothing better.

And for those of you who don't know. This little camera comes with it an entire cargo load of historical baggage. The Leica signifies many, many things. History? An age gone by? Perhaps, but it also represents some of the most famous images in history, including the 2008 Picture of the Year. There is something about these little things that have always sparked debate. These cameras are also collected items, so you have an entire set of buyers who never actually use the camera, but instead buy and sell them like other commodities. These are referred to as "The doctor/lawyer crowd."

And to further complicate matters, other photographers, working photographers, buy them and don't really ever get to know this camera, a camera that takes a while to get to know, and thus end up wearing them more as jewelry than a working tool.

I read somewhere recently, about a photographer in Iraq, being somewhat perturbed by the "artist with a Leica" passing through Baghdad, making jealous those who are saddled with massive amounts of digital imaging equipment.

What I like goes beyond the size. I like how quiet this camera is. And, not this particular model, but many of their others don't even require a battery. No electronics needed. And, you can carry this thing all the time and not bother about it. How many times have I heard from pros and amateurs alike, "Well, I was leaving the house and I looked down at my big slr and realized I don't want to carry it around."

I knew someone who was robbed on a bus in Bolivia. He had a digital point and shoot and a Leica, and the gunman took one look at his Leica, tossed it aside, then stole his digital point and shoot.

You get where I'm going? It's just an old piece of metal. Nothing flashy.

This will be my fourth Leica. The first came around 1990, an M4P, probably the best one I ever had. No meter. Dropped onto a concrete floor, never missed a beat. Around the corner from where I sit right now, a framed piece hanging in my hallway. 1995 Guatemala, Nebaj, inside the house of a 80-year-old who had died the night before, a funeral. The lone foreigner in the house, one shot taken. Click. That was all that was needed. That same shot hangs 30x40 in a house in Phoenix, and another here in California.

My realization came when I began to look back on the work I have produced over the past ten years or so. Much of the best work was done with this camera. As I think about this, images tick by in my head, Salton Sea, Sicily, El Mirage, etc, etc.

And, even a portrait or two, and many weddings. Believe it or not, I used to shoot weddings with one camera, M6, and one lens, 35mm. No flash, and all black and white.

I think those weddings are some of the best work I ever did, back when the industry was more humane, more subdued, long before the 10,000 frame wedding day capture explosion that seems to be creeping more towards the norm of today.

I would shoot the film, process it myself, scan the negs, make 20 prints and that was it.

I'm thinking this could become a reality for me again.

Of course being a photographer, I'm never satisfied with my gear. So now that I have one Leica, I want two. And another lens. That's just the way it is.

Packing Up

My friend Eric and his allotment of "stuff" as he heads out for his next trip.

A manual focus camera, looks like R6 Leica, two of them actually, and other assorted items. A nice, light load in today's world. No need for say laptop, backup laptop, drive, backup drive, cards, card reader, backup card reader, discs, chargers for cameras, laptops, converter for camera and laptop charger, and oh yes, mental storage for knowing how much computer time you will have to spend in your favorite travel destination. No need. Just shoot.

Okay, Eric just checked back in for a list of what he was taking.

2 Leica R6's w/ 28& 60
1 leica m-2 w/50f2
Microtrack 24/96
24 rolls of fiml trix/ Neo1600
gossen light meter
vivitar 283 w/ off cam cord
two cohiba red dot cigars
1 2.5 oz. flask of Belvenie 12 doublewood single malt scotch
cable release
1 nikon coolpix 8400
and enough nonsense to use it all.

1 gittzo tripod

Morocco Photo Moment 4

Okay, we are nearing the end of this Morocco trip. I ended up proposing to my wife in Essaouira, a beautiful white-washed town along the ocean. There are no cars inside the walls of city but the streets are packed with humans and animal alike. One of our favorite places on the entire trip.
This image is trying to make something with the harsh light of midday. One thing about harsh light, it always throws hard shadows, and if you print those down they can add to an image.
Leica M6, 35mm f/2. Tmax 3200

Morocco Photo Moment

In honor of a recent blog I found I wanted to go back and feature a few images from my last trip to Morocco. I was technically on vacation, so it was not a "real" work trip, although with the amount of travel we did and range of experiences we had, it makes it difficult to say we were on a REAL vacation. In fact, can't remember the last time I had a REAL vacation. Not sure I woul
d know what to do.

All Leica, 35mm, Tmax 3200 film, pure street shooting I guess you would call it. For me it all starts with the light, without it, hard to make great pictures, and as you know sometimes you get find great light and others times no. When you have limited time in places you have to work with what you get. Morocco light, after 8am is harsh, if I remember correctly, so you work early, late and work around the edges of the light during middle parts of the day. You can backlight, rim light, work inside out, etc, to try and snatch images.

The first two pictures here are from Marrakesh.