Throwback Thursday

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…

Waiting for a Friend

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.

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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…

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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

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.

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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.


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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

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

Kids at Play

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

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.

St Louis Church, Buffalo, NY

St Louis Church, Buffalo, NY

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...

Looking forward, looking back. something from the archives…

Flag sale, July 4th

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.