20/20 Photo Festival

I just completed the 20/20 Photo Festival in Philadelphia….. This is an event which has been occurring for 6-7 years now and it is held at Cherry Street Pier. This is a celebration of photography, as laid out in the webpage description. So true….. It is hard to explain the emotion that is attached to such as event. Photographers from all over the country and world attend and learn, and share ideas. I have been fortunate to be apart of this for a few years as I offer my zines and books for sale as well as my knowledge. You can see me below…..you know, the older dude on the right.

Every year I learn something but for this year I want to speak to one of the sponsors The Photo Lounge. The Photo Lounge has been around since 1997 and is not only an excellent source for your prints, your film purchases etc….but more importantly the comradery that one experiences just by entering this welcoming ‘lounge’….

One thing that really hit me is that this is an ‘analog’ place….a lounge where one can bask in the analog world without feeling less of a creature than those who find themselves stuck in the digital world of photography. Yes, I placed that sentence in there on purpose. It isn’t that I don’t feel welcome entering a camera store for many camera stores offer services and experiences on an equal basis for both digital and analog types of individuals.

But something about the Lounge sets it apart. The other evening I was there attending one of their events “Click Lab’ which is every third Thursday. I loved it…..an analog’s dream. Almost the entire group of 30+ were around 30 years of age give or take 5. They were attentive, engaged….willing to listen and learn and question. And I might add……..not one PHONE was drawn. Not one and that goes for the entire time of 2 hours. I am not saying this is normal but what I am saying as this is a bit abnormal. Younger folks in particular are drawn to the lure of checking one’s phone, ….you know; just in case someone wants to text them. But no one on the phone. To me, this felt like times I lived in prior to the cell phone age. People talked….they looked into your eyes. They laughed and they danced to the music. Even my wife and I danced and became someone of a novelty but a hit as well. Truly amazing.

So…. Where does that leave me here? I am promoting the Lounge for sure. I am promoting analog for sure equally. I am promoting experimentation and open-mindedness as to what can occur with film and the end product. Print it…..zine it….. do what you want.

A Challenge coming up

It has been a few months since I last blogged (3-4 months)….as we had a 3-4 week family reunion back in Philadelphia with my youngest daughter and two grandkids. plus my oldest daughter from Australia and her 4 grandkids. And I have had usual summer heat in my Tucson-based studio minus air conditioning. But let’s move on and solve a few issues now

First….my studio just got some air conditioning which allows me to shoot that temperature from 100+ down to 82. Perfect….. that is my working temp and find it pleasing.

Second…. a huge challenge on the horizon regarding my salt printing. Now the Salt printing process inherently has variables that effect the look and feel of the final product. One of those is simply shooting with 35mm negatives and enlarging those negatives to 6”x9”. I need to use a scanner to do that and even then, the quality of the negative is bound to lack in contrast and clarity, although, let’s be honest…salt printing is going to be a bit lacking in both just because it is salt printing for heavens sake.

So….a “FIX” and an”EXPERIMENT”. I have my sights on an Intrepid Large Format Camera….which will provide me with 5x7 prints. Now, not 8x10, but not 4x5 either and certainly a far cry from 35mm or 120 film. To go with that I will purchase a 210mm lens which makes for about a human eye-view, given the large format style.

The 5”x7” negative will provide me with a few things. First (and I am excited about this), is that I won’t have to rely upon any computer, scanning software etc….nada, nothing…. and second, the enlarged negative is one I am used to working with when I did enlarge. A perfect size for salt printing (well, a 6”x9 “would be nicer).

Now….. what will my salt prints look like? …..enticing, eh? For an experiment I might even toss in a pinhole no-lens. Just think of that….a 5x7 negative captured using a pinhole I create (5mm perhaps) put onto salt prints. Oh my….. oooooo la la batgirl.

Turn it Around

There is absolutely nothing wrong with capturing an image where ‘humans’ are not facing your camera. At times, it just works.

Now to offer a bit of insight….. I don’t take tourist snapshots that belong on postcards. I prefer to capture images that provoke a bit of thought on the behalf of the viewer. If a viewer can ponder the image and think about what might be going on, well…..perfect, for that is my intent. Take a look at this image below.

The people are in the background and many of them have their backs to the camera. A few are walking so you see a side view. The foreground is where the emphasis is placed as these two giant umbrellas are facing the backs of the people. 80% of the image is composed of the tops of these umbrellas. Oh, I love the ‘blue coat’ words printing on one of the umbrellas.

So, what are you thinking when viewing this? Multiple things perhaps….you are ‘thinking’….. you are wondering. Most likely you will never find an answer to your questions but you will have questions. Again, my intent. But the sections within this photo all support each other. The umbrellas being the focus point wouldnt’ be much if it was just that. The people with backs facing are not important but without them, the umbrellas would almost be meaningless. The two parts need each other and yes, the peoples faces are not needed. They become immaterial.

Now take a look at the next photo.

Another shot from behind….. You have much the same going on here as the first photo with the exception of no umbrella but the individual in the foreground takes their place. But you also have people with their backs to the camera. Same situation in that sense….. but not as passive. …more action. The action, what there is….is the guy with his arm extended to the crowd with the crowd being supportive. Without that crowd, would the image have any impact? So again, no faces needed.

Now none of these scenes are going to win any awards. But what I enjoy about images such as this as that they support a theme of images. To toss in one or two of these amongst other images causes a bit of shakeup, a pause…. When creating a zine, there are times when the author might have no images on facing pages. Blank. That creates a pause…. So do images like the ones I just shared…. Hope you enjoyed.

Continuing to Kick the Tires

Yeah…I kicked the tires. But I do this on purpose to bring in my style or my element of abstractness to my images. I want to end up with something that speaks to me….that has impact. In this case I have a poster of a battered /abused lady and overlayed in some sense over a risque lady in the bikini bottom.

To me….in our world today…this speaks to the situation that many women find themselves in as they are degraded by some men. Whether it is trump, or gates…or whomever…. the can is open and their true nature is coming thru. Leaders of the world….pillars of society. People with money are becoming the new scum of our society. I have no respect for them.

So…. I created this image that I dont want to scream out as pure politics… ….rather I want it to speak to humanity.

Kicking the Tires

I have spent the past few months tinkering with experimentation and lomography as the two really do equal one. If I can create imperfection/creativity within either the camera / lens or in the film development process, I feel I have achieved my goals.

But does Lomography imply ‘flying by the seat of your pants’? … Not even close. First there are two main types of cameras that Lomography works with. One is your basic Holga or Lomo or cameras such as the Olympus XA series. In those cameras you shoot with ‘auto’ and set you focus by zone. That’s it.

The others are cameras where the photographer has more control over shutter, aperature and even ISO as you can push or pull or purposely shoot low light film in high lighted areas or vise-versa. In either of those two cases you still approach your shots with an unpredicatable and untraditional style. IE: Just snap without focus or speed, or shoot into the sun, or perhaps view obstructions as a positive. On and On……

Take for instance this photo below:

Can you say “Lomographic”? This was shot with no concern for focus. It was composed of negatives that were shot in the evening hours with a low 100 ISO. But more importantly it was shot with an ‘eye’ for composition, and that is something that is not easily taught. Try to teach a person to think creatively, just try.

Or look at the next shot”

Most people would view this as a throw-away but not me. I view this imperfection as perfection. Just look at the stray light etched in. Now when taking this shot, I didn’t know I would obtain this degree of light but because I knew where I was in the roll of film, I could guess what might come of it. So framing the shot and using composition simular to each, let alone exposure….gave me ‘this’ as a final product. I happen to love it. It just looks cool.

Or this shot….

Again, it just works and it has an awesome appearance. The main characters are grouped in the middle …but activity floats 360. Faces appear to just be staring off. Emotion or boredom or an “I don’t care attitude’ …. The three figures are melded together and crop out of the other. A nice blend but notice here, unlike the other two, that there is more clarity and definition found in the faces. So lomography is unpredicatable ….it involves clarity where it might work, and messiness when needed or ambiguity to focus on. So my experimentation continues as I have a gallery of ‘puzzle-type photography in mind. I just need to keep being creative.

The Pictorialistic Movement

Sometimes in the world of images, we forget to just take the shot. Take it and forget about anything techy related. Just enjoy the moment and the times it was created. So take this shot as an example:

You can feel the gentle stir of the air as it passes thru you…..the shadows of the tree as you sit are blocking the heat. One is just here, in this moment….enjoying the day in the lazy days found in the state of New York. Or take this one, which I happen to enjoy.

The paddle boat is just floating on by. This could be a shot taken just about anytime in recent history. No cares….just laying here and watching the world as it takes a pause in being ‘busy’…. I love the open sky, vague at best…..but the boat nestled down has a purpose, but to where? I don’t care.

And finally a diptych of a stream with the light pouring in….blinding but present. The stream continues to move towards me as I sit on the bank watching this unfold. The water flowing while little bugs and insects dance upon the ripples. I love the peace that this shows.

So you see….beautiful and timeless images of nature that can be captured if you just allow them to be.

No Kings Day

It was a cloudy day in Philadelphia……deemed perfect for outside BW photography; well….at least the way I shoot. But really, no color needed although contrast would be nice. But I would sooner take a cloudy day over a sunny one and today, June 14th in Philadelphia proved to suit my needs. Misty….cloudy…..no wind.

The streets were not in that glistening mood though. A touch of mist doesn’t get you the reflective quality of a true ‘all and out’ rain. But I’ll take it as out the door I went with my Olympus OM2sp and 400 Fomapan. I had 8 rolls with me, plus the one in the camera. I also went in with one lens; my 55mm Zuiko. If you come in with ‘one only’ option, your eyes are trained for one focal perspective. I never get the people who use zooms as mentally, they are all over the place and in my thinking, taken as a complete body of work, their photographs miss a unity….a smoothness. One can’t always place their finger on this artistic flair, but something just misses with multiple focal points.

My selective approach for taking shots means ‘less shots’…..more keepers. I also knew I didn’t want the kind of shots that almost everyone else is looking for. While I did take shots of the crowd; for I feel they are needed to capture the ‘complete unfolding of events’…..I strived for more. I wanted a personal touch. I wanted the feeling of humanity as opposed to masses of humanity.

Take a look at this shot for instance. You can feel his tiredness by looking at his face….his aching feet, as he spent an entire day holding and walking with his sign.

Or this image below…..again capture with 400 film. I love the emotion of the lady holding up the flag in the middle. Feel it…..sense it. Look over the older lady beside here and see how she is just trudging along….her voice taking a momentarily reprieve.

This shot below also is emotional but in another sense. An older chap….eyes looking over the flag as it drapes in front of him. Lost democracy…lost hope. Lost America. Then the photograph below that shows a blur but a ‘nice blue’ as the overall read of the crowd is one of passion.

And at times…you just need no face…no emotion…but the image still oozes it.

I’ll end this blog with a couple…One is just of the front of the protest with 80,000—100,000 strong following behind. While the other, might just state what many of us are thinking privately to ourselves. This will be part of my Resistance Zine which is based upon 2025 Philadelphia No Kings + movements in NYC from 2016.

West Coast to East Coast

I will be traveling from Arizona and my photography studio across country by car….to Philadelphia. And to boot, will be traveling first by going west to San Francisco and then up to eastern Washington State and up into Glacier National Park, before making the trek back. Yes, a trek…..surely a trek as we will have two solid weeks bopping around and close to 3500 miles.

So when up against those miles, what is my gear? First….it will be all film. No digital gear allowed which wipes out my GR11 and my OM Systems OM5.

My preferred choice will be my Olympus OM2SP with a 24mm Zuiko lens and my favorite standby lens; a 55mm Zuiko. Now, you have to understand the way I shoot….rough and ready. The 55mm is a wild, wacky and wonderful imperfect lens….. and since it can shoot at F1.2 it allows me enough light to capture ‘indoors’. This dynamic duel of lens’s is a combination allowing me to shoot a wide focal point (24mm) as we gear up for Glacier NP, Yosemite, Joshua Tree etc….

My second camera is my Lomo Kompakt Automat, and yes….it is Russia (A Ruski) and it is real and spectacular … just like my Olympus OM2SP. I selected this camera, being a point and shoot since many times when I walk the humidity of Philadelphia, I really do not want to lug around my OM2SP with a lens. The weight, although not that much relatively speaking as it is still lighter than most digital gear….still weighs on me. I am not a fan of humidity. But I do love CANDID street photography and the Lomo is perfect for that endeavor. It is really light, really small…..it is automatic if desired…and for me and of course, the way I shoot….it provides me with almost perfect results.

I have several favorite cameras….with the Lomo being right in the running. That along with the OM2SP, the OM1 and my Barnacks 1 Model A. If I had any combination of cameras, that would be it. Thus, no GAS. I don’t know what I would buy. I have fended off purchasing the new Rollei AF….fended off the Pentax 17 half-frame ( I have an original Pen F half-frame). I haven’t bought digital gear that really amounts to much in a long time. In fact, if I look at the number of shots digitally taken, it has to be less than 100 over the course of this past year. Why shoot digital when you have film?

The famed actor Paul Newman was married to his love….his wife Joanne Woodward for 50 years and they were true to each other. Since those Hollywood types are constantly playing ‘bed roulette’ ….Newman was asked why he and Joanne are still married. Newman responded that ‘why should I go out and eat ‘hamburger’ when I can have ‘steak at home’…… implying…well, you figure it out.

The point is,….my ‘steak’ is my OM2SP, my Lomo….my OM1….. …… and ‘hamburger’ is…..just about anything else.