Throwback Thursday

On a spooky Halloween night going deep into the vault and bringing treats back out into the light…

In thinking about Halloween and spooky things, one of the first things that comes to mind (after candy!) are the horror movies we watched as kids, and one of the best of all, The Phantom of the Opera. My favorite parts were the scenes of the Phantom playing the organ. I thought that was really cool.

One of the great joys of the time I was still living and working in Buffalo was the opportunity to photograph Shea’s Performing Arts Center, the crown jewel of the theatre district. For several years, prior to leaving, I photographed events, musicals and the occasional concert. I met and photographed many of the stars that came through with touring Broadway musicals.

I also photographed the restoration of the theatre and the stage expansion. The stage expansion allowed the larger touring shows to move in. The first show after the completion of the expansion was The Phantom of the Opera.

Shea’s Lobby

The image above is of the theatre lobby and grand staircase. My first time attending a musical was while in middle school. As a school trip we attended a matinee performance of 1776. I didn’t even know what a musical was, but my parents insisted I go. I still remember sitting in the middle of the theatre before the show, staring up at the ceiling and being overwhelmed by how opulent it was. I grew up in Riverside. I had never seen anything like this.

I may dig a little deeper into the archives and bring up some of the interior shots at another time, but this one will have to suffice for now.

Also apropos to the Halloween theme, are many people who believe the theatre is haunted. There are those who claim to have seen the ghost of Michael Shea wandering the hallways reminding people how “magnificent” it is.

I cannot prove or disprove the veracity of those claims to having seen him. But I can say with certainty, he is absolutely correct in his opinion of the theatre. It is truly magnificent.

Throwback Thursday

Another excursion into the archives…

As I’ve mentioned, I rarely leave home without a camera, and I suppose if I consider that my phone is also a camera, I never really do.

Family lore will have it that there are never people in my photographs.In my personal work, I suppose that is largely true, although I do believe that while you don’t actually see people, their presence is always felt.

But, the image below belies that notion.

Here, the people are actually present.

Kickball

This picture was made roughly 25+ years ago while attending a family reunion. Jeremy and Christopher are the sons of two of my (many!) cousins. Both boys are now married with children of their own.

I recall watching them try to kick the ball around which, not surprisingly, given their size relative to the ball, wasn’t going very far. Even so, their enthusiasm never waned. Results matter less than just having fun. Such are the ways of the very young.

Looking at this picture now, I go right back to that day, and then further back to when I was that age, and some of the most enjoyable days of my youth spent with my cousins on Sundays and on holidays running, yelling and laughing until we collapsed from exhaustion, or it was time to go home.

Great times. A time of joy and innocence, which I think I’ve been able to capture here.

Throwback Thursday

Once again, here we go, searching the archives and bring the past into the present…

A couple of quick throws this week.

Architectural Geometry

Intently looking is a major component of a photographers DNA. We are always staring, looking for something to capture our attention that then compels us to make a picture. Something I often refer to as “restless eyes”.

Sometimes referred to as “vernacular photography”, Stephan Shore is the Godfather of all practitioners. There is no one better. He is one of my photo heros.

Each of the images here was made while out and about, with no particular goal in mind. In the case of Architectural Geometry, I was standing in line waiting to see a film during the Full-Frame Film Festival in Durham. Being captivated by the lines and graphic elements of the office building across the street, I couldn’t resist the impulse to take out my phone and make a few pictures.


Diesel

Diesel was made while stuck in traffic. I was totally entranced by the graphic elements created by the smudges on the bus next to me. A picture had to be made.

Looking up

Looking Up was made while on a lunch date with my wife. I was particularly taken with the contrast between the umbrella and the clear blue sky. Initially I thought the moon (as a small spot on the left) was a cool addition. Now it strikes me as an annoying dust spot but I’ll keep living with it for now.

None of these pictures are especially noteworthy or potentially award winning. But who cares? What all three of them do have in common is the joy that comes from sharing the vision of our “restless eyes”.


Throwback Thursday

Once again, here we go, searching the archives and bring the past into the present…

An often annoying character trait of many photographers is the obsessive need to discuss gear. Put more than one photographer in a room and before you can say: “Say Cheese!” there will be a conversation on the type of gear they’ve used in the past; what they’re using now; what they’ve sold to buy more gear that now they wish they’d kept; and what they’d like to buy in the future.

Ugh…

I don’t know why we do, but we do. I am occasionally as guilty as anyone else. Perhaps it’s because it’s bond we all share. Perhaps it’s because we have nothing else interesting to say. Who knows?

All i do know is, it just doesn’t matter.

The best camera is the one you have with you, and most often, it’s your phone. As convenient as that is, with all the apps available, it couldn’t be more fun to make pictures. Even when I’m carrying another camera, I will still use my phone if I think I might want to play around with the images later.

Farm House

The picture above was made on one of those occasions. While out working on a project, I passed the abandoned farm house and after making several pictures with my larger cameras, I thought it might also be fun to make a few with my phone.

Generally, my go to phone app is Snapseed, mostly because you can make all your adjustments later, and if you don’t like them, you discard them. But I really love my Hipstamatic app and that’s what I used here.

So while technically, this IS about the gear, it was really mostly about the fun!

Throwback Thursday...

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.

Alaska Triptych

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…