Throwback Thursday

September 8, 2021 Ray Pfeiffer

Henri Cartier-Bresson once said that your first 10,000 images were your worst.. Of course, this was during the film age and long before the digital age, so for mostly digital photographers, the math should look much different. In other words, the 10,000 images you made at the wedding you shot last week won’t make much of an improvement in the 10,000 you make at this weeks wedding. Just sayin’…

Nevertheless, there is, I think, something to love about the work we make very early in our careers. Long before we get bogged down in all the “rules”, we make work for the joy, for the fun, because it satisfies some innate need, and we can’t say no. (For me, the need was to get out of class, but that’s another story…)

The two contact sheets here are from some of the first rolls of film I shot with the first camera I ever owned. (A Yashica 35mm that I got as a kit with three lenses and a camera bag!)

*Contact sheet 0001! made sometime early spring 1979*

This first contact sheet is of the very first roll of film I ran through my new camera, images made while walking back and forth to school. Because I was working on my college yearbook at the time, I believe the missing strips are from frames that were shot for yearbook use. Like all the work I made in high school, those images are lost to time.

*contact sheet 0006, made sometime in the spring of 1979*

While there are certainly some technical issues and the framing for many of these is a little loose, there is no denying the joy that’s apparent in their creation. In those days I took my camera everywhere, photographing whatever I found interesting, and I was having a great time doing it.

And maybe at the root, that’s why in some ways, I like a lot of my early work better than some of the work that followed while I was learning the “rules”. This work seems freer to me, less formal, less constricted. Or maybe I’m so fond of my earlier work because I was so much younger when I made it. Who knows?

But looking back, it should come as no surprise that my client work as well as my personal work became much more satisfying for me as a creator, when I worried less about making work the “right way” or the way everyone else made their work, and just made work “my way”. And also no coincidence that right about the same time my career started to take off. Not everyone “got” what I was doing, but in the end it didn’t matter. What mattered was the people who did “get it”, loved it. Just as it should be.

Long time and sharp-eyed viewers of this blog may have noticed that the first contact sheet made an appearance on the September 19, 2019 post, and frame no. 24A from the second sheet was discussed in detail on July 25, 2019. Check them out!

Throwback Thursday

May 28, 2021 Ray Pfeiffer

Through the years, photographers have often defined themselves by the gear they used. Early in my career, I’d often get questions like: “Where are the square pictures?”, “Do you use the ‘hass-lee-blad’?”, “Are you a ‘professional’ photographer?”

Ugh.

Advances in technology have made creating images more accessible and easier than ever. (I didn’t say “better” than ever…) Thus proving the dictum: “The best camera is the one you have with you”.

This group was made while on a trip to Savannah, GA a few years ago. I had a bag full of cameras but these were made with my iphone using the Hipstamatic and Snapseed apps.

Throwback Thursday

January 3, 2020 Ray Pfeiffer

Going back into the archives and dusting off images from projects that for one reason or another, have never quite made it beyond the contemplation stage.

Sometimes they are referred to as B-Sides. But that would presume there was an A-Side…

Metaphorically speaking, there is something really interesting about an empty chair. There are so many questions that could be asked: Whose chair is this? Where did they go? Are they coming back? So many stories that could be told. Whether we are even conscious of it or not, an empty chair stirs up all kinds of thoughts and emotions.

So, for many of those reasons I find them fascinating. And if you’re really looking, they’re everywhere. I will almost always stop and make a picture when I see one.

The picture above was made in a private yard near the small town of Victoria in southern Virginia. I had parked my car and was meandering when I stopped to photograph the patterns in the stone on the opposite side of this wall.

Naturally, I was spotted almost immediately by the home owner, an elderly women who I guessed to be somewhere about in her 70’s. But instead of chasing me off or calling for the authorities, she very graciously invited me into her garden where I would find “more interesting” things to photograph.

She wasn’t understating. The garden was more than three times larger than it looked from the outside with beautifully weather-worn stonework everywhere I looked. I spent the next 45 minutes darting from spot to spot taking in as much as I could. I could have stayed through to the following summer and not run out of inspiration. Not wishing to wear out my welcome, I thanked her for her time and patience and went on my way, thinking that I would stop again the next time I was in the area and bring her a print.

Too bad I didn’t also think to write down the address. In my excitement I failed to make a note of where I was or how I got there. Initially, I wasn’t too worried, thinking I would recognize the landmarks when I returned.

Not so. In several return trips I couldn’t find anyplace that looked like that neighborhood as I remembered it. In odd moments I wonder if the place really existed. Although I do have the photographic evidence.

The print is still in my files.

Now, of course, with digital technology, I’m able to tell exactly where I make a picture and even the time I made it, right down to the second I clicked the shutter. Even so, I still make notes on a location for later reference, especially if I’m shooting with film as it will be the only record I’ll have.

Well, mostly I remember to…

Keeping notes wasn’t an issue for the top two photographs as they were both made with my phone. The best camera is always the one you have with you.

All three of these pictures are part of my grand collection of empty chair pictures which will probably never amount to anything except a growing collection of empty chair pictures. While I do enjoy making them, the reality is, there are hundreds of photographers making chair pictures, and many far more interesting than mine.

And as I think about it, given the problems I’ve had with law enforcement and chairs in the past, it’s probably best I keep them to myself. But that’s a story for another day…

Throwback Thursday

November 21, 2019 Ray Pfeiffer

Our haul from the archives this week brings a few favorites I’ve not looked at in a while.

One of the things about being around photographing for this length of time is not just the abundance of material in the back catalog but the perspective it gives you looking back. Hindsight, they say, is 20-20.

I’ve mentioned a few times in this space how it took several years before I was able to find my “voice” as a photographic artist. Like most, early in my career I tried to do things like many of the successful photographers of the day. While I admire many of those artists, I never felt comfortable working as they did. And, needless to say, my work hardly measured up. And why would it? The cover band rarely sounds better than the original.

It’s one thing to think you know what you need to do, and it’s entirely another to get out and do it. I remember being very unsure of myself as I gradually let my work evolve to where I could honestly call it my own. Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, it all seems so predestined. The perfect path. Who knew?

This little guy couldn’t be more relaxed as he waits for his turn on stage…

Because I do love a grand love story, I’ll illustrate this weeks thoughts with a few wedding pictures. The two images above and the one below are everything that a wedding photographer would never do in those days. Grainy black & white? High speed films? Shallow depth of field?Motion blur? TOY CAMERAS??? A kid yawning? Are you kidding me? What kind of “pro” does that? Who’s gonna buy any of those?

Well, those are all the wrong questions. The real question should be: With what tools in my kit can I best tell my clients story?

Once I had that part worked out, the answers just flowed, and I finally felt like I had something that belonged to me. Sometimes it’s not enough to just ask questions. It’s more about knowing what questions to ask.

He won’t appreciate this moment until he’s a little older…

I just LOVE these three pictures. They tell such a great story. Seeing them now takes me right back to the moment I made them.

While I may be a little fuzzy on the names, the emotion of the moment has never left. And that’s what makes for a powerful story.

Throwback Thursday

November 14, 2019 Ray Pfeiffer

Dipping into the archives once again…

This picture goes back about 25 years to the time I was still based in Buffalo, NY. About three quarters of the work I did in the spring and fall during that time were weddings. If there were more air conditioned churches (I only knew of one!) I might have taken more work in July and August. (I know it’s hard for some people to understand, but it does get hot there in the summer. It’s the winters that kind if get to you…)

Unfortunately, I’m not sure of the year, or the church. I believe the church is on Main Street near the University of Buffalo campus, but I could be wrong. Perhaps a sharp eyed viewer can fill in the gap.

If this picture looks a little dramatic, it’s because it was made using the now dearly departed Kodak B&W Infra-red film. This film is sensitive to the far red end of the light spectrum and beyond what the human eye is able to see. Alternatively dramatic and dreamy, I felt that the special characteristics of the film lent itself particularly well to telling a wedding day story.

Because the film is sensitive to wavelengths of light that humans cannot see, it could not be metered for exposure, nor did infra-red light focus along the same focal plane as white light, so you could never be completely sure what your pictures would look like until the film was processed and printed. And, oh yeah, you could only load and unload your camera in complete darkness because the film could fog through the film slit in the canister.

Every time your prints came back from the lab you’d feel all the anticipation and excitement like you would opening a birthday present. What could be inside this package? Will I like it? How could any photographer NOT want to work with this film?

Well, because the film was so unpredictable and difficult to work with, few photographers would ever dare to use it in a situation where you couldn’t go back and redo, or take a bunch of pictures and bracket exposures like crazy. But like anything else, the more you use a tool, the more familiar you are with it and your hits will out number your misses.

Of course, like many specialty films it was discontinued several years ago. There are digital equivalents but I don’t think they measure up. For purely nostalgic reasons I still have one roll in my refrigerator. Even cold stored, after all this time I’m not sure I’d count on getting much were I to shoot it now.

But maybe that’s the reason I ought to…

Throwback Thursday...

October 3, 2019 Ray Pfeiffer

So in honor of Holga Week, once again we go deep into the archives to bring the past into the present…

I’ve probably mentioned it more than just a few times that I have a sizable collection of cameras most of which I’ve owned for a very long time. With the exception of my digital gear, I don’t think that there is a film camera in my arsenal that I’ve owned for less than a decade.

And I still use them.

All the time.

Because of this, whenever I travel, I feel the need to bring it all with me. Not a big deal if I’m going by car, but, lacking a Sherpa, any other mode of transportation presents many logistical challenges., not the least of which is the sheer weight. The old stuff was mostly made of metal, built to last forever and it’s heavy …

Fortunately, one of my favorite cameras, is small, made almost entirely of plastic, fits easily in my bag, and weighs practically nothing.

Yes, it’s the Holga.

I absolutely love this camera and never venture out without one. I have at least 6 and of varying models. I have versions with a plastic lens, glass lens, panorama, stereo, pinhole, you name it, I probably have it.

So naturally, on a trip to Alaska a few years ago, my 120 GN got an extensive workout.

Alaska is like no other place I’ve ever seen. It rained just about every day we were there. This is fine by me as I prefer the light on cloudy days as it’s much more diffuse. This tends to soften the shadows and reduce the specularity of the highlights. It’s “God’s softbox” as I like to say. So the feel of the light and way it presented the landscape made me think the soft and dreamy look of the Holga would work well together. I think I was right.

The sequence above is a strip from one of the contact sheets. It wasn’t planned but the three images really work well together, so I had them printed as a single panorama print. That’s one of the great things about analogue photography. Had I just been looking at files on a screen, I don’t know that this sequence would have made itself known. As much as we like to think we’re so clever, we really aren’t. Sometimes the discoveries come to us…

Throwback Thursday

August 22, 2019 Ray Pfeiffer

These two images, having been made just a little over a year ago, are probably closer to toss-backs than full-fledged throw-backs to the archives, but we’ll say that it’s close enough that the judges will give us a pass.

I’m inclined to believe that visual artists suffer from some mutated form of attention deficit disorder. It’s not that we can’t focus and pay attention, but that we can’t stop looking, and so are constantly paying attention. This tends to make us especially sensitive to people, places and things the rest of the world just misses. We’re often so focused, we get lost in the details, and so to the rest of the world we’re walking around with our heads in the clouds (or, perhaps somewhere else the sun isn’t shining..).

We tend to be especially sensitive to the interplay of light, of form, of color and gesture. Once this visual switch is activated within us, it’s rarely switched off. If we’re awake, we’re looking. We have to. It’s what makes us feel alive.

I don’t know if there is a scientific name for this, but I call it “Restless Eye Syndrome”. If this doesn’t cover the process behind an artists visual perception, at least it explains why I often look like I’m bored and not really paying attention. Trust me, I’m not bored. I really, really am paying attention. It just looks like I’m not.

And so it was the day these pictures were made. I was with a group of friends in Charleston, SC, waiting for an Uber to take us to dinner. As we stood in front of the hotel chatting, I couldn’t help but notice the shadows as they were falling along the building across the street. And because the best camera is the one you have with you, I pulled out my iPhone, wandered away from the group and went to work.

I took several photos, zooming in and out, of the various patterns made by the power lines and the buildings architecture when I noticed the young man walking down the street dragging his skateboard behind him. Thinking that if I could get in the right position, I might capture something interesting, I hurriedly positioned myself in what I thought would be the best position, composed the frame, and waited for the young man to enter.

At the same time, I’m scanning up and down the street to make sure no people or vehicles would get in the way of the shot. Nothing ruins an image made on location like a wandering tourist or a wayward vehicle. Fortunately, this time there were neither.

Click!

Got it.

As I stared at the back of my phone analyzing the shot, my reverie was broken by the shouts of my friends calling me to the car. Our driver had arrived and I hadn’t noticed. If I didn’t come now, I would be eating alone. Not wanting to miss neither dinner nor desert, I quickly made my way to the car and jumped in.

One benefit to being tall and having long legs, is that when traveling with a group, I usually get a window seat. This tends to give me the best view of the scenery as we roll by. It also allows me to photograph as we go if I feel so inclined.

Generally, since sitting in a vehicle won’t afford one much opportunity in the way of selecting the best angle of view to photograph, if I take a picture from the car, even if I have one of my other cameras with me, I use my phone so I can use the geo tag to return when I am able to spend the necessary time to make the picture. On that evening, the phone was all I had.

As we pulled up at a traffic light, my attention was again drawn to the shadows and textures highlighted by the sun as it raked the building next to us. Not being able to control the window, I hesitated to take out my phone as I thought it would probably be a waste of time shooting through the glass. But because making a picture is as reflexive as scratching an itch, I pulled out my phone and was able to get off two frames before we pulled away.

Pocketing my phone, I was able to spend the remainder of the evening enjoying the company of my friends and, of course, desert. Feeling that I had a pretty good photo in the first image, I didn’t really look too closely at the second image until several months later. Only after downloading the image to my computer and viewing it on a larger screen did I realize that I had an image that really worked. Who knew? Two keepers within 10 minutes of each other?! Unheard of!

Beyond the lessons on being prepared and paying attention, is a reminder that we should never prejudge our own work. Because I felt fairly certain that the first image really worked, I didn’t even consider looking at the second one very carefully until I stumbled back over it while clearing photos off my phone.

The value of that was recently made especially clear when the second image was juried into the Depth of Field show at The United Arts Council MJH Gallery. The first image was not.

I hope if you’re in the area you’ll be able to stop in and see it. The show runs for another week. Details are on my landing page.

Throwback Thursday

July 18, 2019 Ray Pfeiffer

This is one of my favorite photographs, and also a great example of what you can capture when opportunity meets preparedness.

This photo was taken in the Black Rock section of my hometown, Buffalo, NY. during one of my many walk about’s. Unfortunately, the business is no longer extant.

When I’m out on one of my photo walks, typically I will take a meter reading and set the camera aperture and shutter speed to my preference. Depending on how bright the day is, I’ll use either an f8 or f11 and set the shutter accordingly.

Then, I pre-focus the camera using the depth-of-field scale to as close as possible with infinity as the farthest distance. And off I go. This is my version of “Point and Shoot”. I still use this method with my film cameras today. Mostly because I’m still using them! Modern digital cameras with the auto everything’s require far less pre-planning. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…

When I look back at some of my older work, I often wonder what the place is like, where the people are and what they’re doing today. This photo was made sometime around the fall of 1978. That would mean the girls would be entering middle age. And that’s one of the greatest things about photography. In this photo, they’re kids forever…

Throwback Thursday

July 11, 2019 Ray Pfeiffer

This image was made with a 35mm Widelux panorama camera. With this type of camera the lens rotates in front of the film plane exposing the film as it turns. If I remember correctly, you only get 24 images on a roll of 36 exposure film. It’s really cool. This image is from the first roll of film I ever shot with a pan camera. I use them all the time today.

I was wandering the streets near my studio looking for something to photograph with the camera when I passed by the church. The doors were open and I could see the light streaming through the windows. I went inside to take a closer look and was met at the door by the custodian who was preparing to lock up for the day.

“Just one shot!” I said as I ran past him.

Before he could object I had the camera on the tripod and ready to shoot. I didn’t have time to fish the exposure meter from my bag, so I made a quick calculation and took the shot. I may have lied to him and actually taken two. But after the second exposure I picked up my gear, thanked the custodian for his indulgence and left as quickly as I had come, praying all the way back to the studio that I would be forgiven for the lie, and that the exposure would be correct.

Both prayers seem to have been answered as the film came out great and the negative prints beautifully.

Can I get an “Amen!” somebody…?

Throwback Thursday...

July 4, 2019 Ray Pfeiffer

Looking forward, looking back. something from the archives…

Throwback Thursday, July 4th edition. Shot on the 4th of July ca. 1978’79.

Photographed while wandering through the neighborhood as I often did in those days. The girl was sitting outside a diner selling balloons and American flags. Back in the day, it was a very popular place, well known for their meatloaf. My dad would take my mom there back when they were dating. It’s still there, although I can no longer vouch for the quality of the meatloaf.