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. The first, and last of a photo series.

Why Black and White

Why Black and White….. Why only grays and contrast….and white and starkness and shadows and mist, or paleness ….Why Black and white?

Number one….it is the essence of who we are when all is taken away. Leave yourself one day and just scan the world as if in a BW film or image. See what comes thru. Raw emotion, if one looks at faces. Impact, if one looks at objects. Take a photo that has both, and you have eaten away at the outer layers of flesh and have forced the abstract upon all else.

That is what Black and White is…..purity. The bottom line, openness ….. vulnerability. Put color in, and your images become like a frolic down the park…. In fact I might argue, you have a circus with color. You have a playground or a game within an arena.

Number two….Black and white not only is abstractness in the end result, but Black and White makes you, you the photographer; think in a different manner. It isn’t just grabbing a gay shot and then taking it back to your computer to enhance the colors beyond fairness. No sir…..not in Black and White. But there you force yourself to look into a world not normal, for you in your eyes, your human lens…..only see colors. So by forcing yourself to think in Black and White, you begin to change your thought, your view…. You are not just looking at a shot, but you are looking at ‘behind the shot’. What makes that shot, a shot and not just a shot to shoot.

Number three….Sharpness. Yes, I hear you……Black and White can be pencil thin sharp too but no….don’t go down that road. Your eyes are not perfect so why should your images be. Look for blur and I don’t imply bokeh. Look for blur and roughness in the subject or focus. Look for blur because it is natural and abstract at the same time. A good Black and White photo is a stunning representation of reality when not in focus. It is your mind, deep in sleep, or perhaps even barely cognitive. It hasn’t quite put forth the image yet and yet, there it lays.

Number four….Black and White leaves an impression upon others…..a color image just plays with their minds,….teases them. It is peripheral in nature as it never quite is lasting. But now think, please think. Take some of the best photographs you have in your memory. Go back as far as you want….. They have left an impression upon you that nothing in color can equate with.

Number Five….black and white is challenging while color is just ….okay, fun photo….now what? Cameras are set up for color and people just think in color, so why not take it in color. But a challenge is black and white. It isn’t just the focal point you need to be aware of but the entire surroundings. What blends….? what doesn’t…. You should be able to walk down the streets and instinctively be aware of what will work and what won’t. You don’t need that with color. In fact instinct doesn’t even come into the picture in many cases. But with Black and White, without instinct….you have cheap shot….

So there….five reasons….there are more and yes, I will talk more to that. But here are five to represent or to ‘start’ the game….