Be True to Yourself

A couple of weeks ago I received an invitation from Michael A. Smith and Paul Chamlee to attend the Photo Review Annual Garden Party to be held at their beautiful home and photographic compound, located in Ottsville PA. The event was described as being “for photographers, collectors, curators, writers, and friends”. So last weekend I went.

Not quite knowing what to expect, the party turned out to be somewhat of an experience that provided further clarity and affirmation for what I have been thinking about for some time now. For that, I am most grateful to have participated!!!

I brought along a portfolio comprised of selected images from “Gallery 1 – People” found on this website. Based on sage advice, I decided to stick with a common theme and not bring too many pictures for participants to look at. I think I brought 12 or 13.

I found a comfortable location to sit and displayed the photograph above as my opening statement.

I mostly sat in my chosen spot, but occasionally I ventured out to peruse what other photographers had brought to show.

Most of what I saw was in color — large and edgy, or large and unexciting (at least to me), … and of course digitally created. There was some other black and white, but what I saw of that was mostly digitally taken and printed. I am sure there must have been some other work done with film but I saw almost nothing during my brief forays from my corner location.

Getting back to my little corner of the world … I found that not many of the attendees were interested in looking at my small (8×10 or less mounted on 14×17 mats) “classic street genre” photographs, as a curator described them.

Those few that did stop by to flip though my mounted pictures were very complimentary. Thank You!

Many will be satisfied with producing what seems to be in vogue now because it may sell or because there is some other reward in knowing you’re “out there”. There is nothing wrong with that and without this there never is change. But is change always better, or more to the point, is it good for change to push classic ways of seeing and presenting into the background? I don’t claim to really know the answer and don’t want to be perceived as crying over spilt milk, but the event truly nailed it for me. It really is best to be true to yourself rather than constantly emulating “what’s in” or constantly searching for the leading edge.

Or as one photographer at the event told me “ trying to satisfy a group of people that live off of photographers but are failed photographers or not photographers themselves”.

Maybe that’s harsh and I am certainly not in a position to know. In fact, I am not here to judge at all, but after a few days of careful introspection I decided what I do know for myself and I’ll bet for many of you too … that it’s best to follow what’s in one’s heart. Satisfy yourself – that’s what really matters. It makes life much simpler and more enjoyable!

Gathering Artist Gallery Grand Opening Celebration on September 23rd

The Trend Continues!

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Being at the vanguard of an important social and political movement has its reward. Now Popular Photography takes up the mantle!

I haven’t picked up a copy of Pop Photo, or for that matter, any of the other photography magazines in years. This week I was handed a copy of the current issue. I began to leaf through the pages, not expecting to find very much of interest to me. And what do you know — an article about the value and enjoyment of purchasing and using classic vintage film cameras, including an interview with Bellamy Hunt who runs Japan Camera Hunter out of Tokyo. I have never met Bellamy, but had a very nice communication with him via email when I was considering purchasing a Konica Hexar RF for a back up. He steered me away from that one due to availability of electronic parts and viewfinder issues – very honest and ethical by today’s standards!

The title of the article is “Elegant Machines, An expert’s guide to shopping for vintage and collectable photo gear” – and there are descriptions and pictures of a number of the usual suspects – Leica M6, Nikon F3, Olympus OM-1, Mamiya 6 and 7, and Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic (my first new camera!!!) to name a few.

The article discusses collecting, but the main focus concerns the joy of using these mechanical wonders with film, the beauty of a slower more thoughtful pace and the value of being “unplugged”. I couldn’t agree more!

Bellamy states that he has noticed a resurgence of interest in using rangefinder and SLR cameras, fueled in part by the younger generation. It’s understandable for the same reasons that they are buying vinyl LPs. Both film and vinyl provide a much different, and to many, a more pleasurable experience vs. that of digital. It’s not about convenience but about the entire user experience and the end result.

So it was a pleasant surprise to stumble across this entertaining little piece. If you are thinking about giving film a try and are still on the fence, spend a few bucks and pick up one the low cost gems featured in this article. I think you will be glad you did!

Big Happenins’ … Well At Least They Are To Me!

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A lot of stuff seems to be happening for me all of a sudden. Not sure what to attribute it to … maybe good clean living. Not sure. So here’s the lowdown.

Last Sunday we had the biggest Photo Chat Get-Together yet! I know … I have tried to keep these no harm-no foul luaus to no more than about 3 people or so but we had 7!!! People were emailing and calling me who had heard about it from others I hadn’t even met. It’s possible we might be creating a movement here!!! These meetups are a lot of fun so stand by. The next one will be in October. Sure beats mowing the lawn on a Sunday morning!

I also hung an exhibit at a local bank. If you happen to be in or around central Bucks County during September stop by the Hatboro Federal Savings, located at 609 York Road Warminster, PA 18974. They offer lollypops at the counter!

A couple of weeks ago I found out about a new artist coop that just opened in Doylestown. I directed them to this website and was asked to join the fun. So now I have a nice spot for some of my photographs, and I just completed my first two gallery sittings! The gallery is called Gathering, and is located at 65A West State Street, Doylestown, PA 18901. If you happen to be visiting our fair little town I hope you will stop by for a visit – and drop me a note before you come – maybe we can meet!!

Finally, earlier this summer I was put in touch with Division III football powerhouse Delaware Valley University, located right here in Doylestown. They have a wonderful Center for Living in Retirement (CLR) that draws almost 600 students per semester. They foolishly asked me if I would like to teach a photography class. I thought I would be lucky if a couple of unsuspecting victims signed up. So this week I went to the instructor orientation and found out that 15 people foolishly decided to take it! The class is based on an early entry I posted here called Living a Photographic Life. I’ll be writing more about this in a future entry.

Well that’s a lot to happen all in one week … at least for me! I am very excited … and humbled.

Sandy Sorlien, Fifty Houses: Images From the American Road

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This is nifty little book that I like for many reasons. Not the least being that I am drawn to a premise behind it — that from an architectural standpoint, America has become a pretty uninteresting, homogenized and characterless looking place.

I’ve noticed in many of my travels that as our great country becomes more and more suburbanized, much of it looks pretty much the same. It really doesn’t matter where you are. Rockville Pike in suburban Maryland outside Washington, DC looks the same as stretches of Rt. 611 past Doylestown in Bucks County PA. Same as it looks in many other places you might be driving through. Truth is I live in a semi custom track house development right at the edge of town. I couldn’t find a house I could afford in the Borough that had a basement big enough for a darkroom! It’s a compromise and thankfully there are a lot of beautiful trees, but I wish I could live in house that’s more architecturally distinctive.

Perhaps all of this is symptomatic of where American culture is headed in general. But I am standing firm. I’m listening to my vinyl — using tube electronics of course — and making silver gelatin prints from my black and white film negatives. So there!

Ok, let me catch my breath and get back to this book. Sorlien spent eight years traveling over 90,000 miles across America to make wonderful “house portraits” in all 50 states. Fascinating houses of all types, sizes and shapes, each with stories to go along with them. She eventually made over 1,000 portraits and chose one for each state. What’s interesting is that she used a 35mm camera with a 28mm or 35mm perspective control lens and black and white infrared film. That’s right black and white infrared film! Not what I would have selected, but you can’t argue with the outcome! The results are different and somewhat unique. Somehow it all works in the context of what is being done. The houses seem a little otherworldly and perhaps that is as it should be given how unlike they are from what is taking over. The compositions are simple, yet beautiful. Different, but with the accompanying texts … somehow right.

In short, I like it and I think you might too!

The Zone VI Temperature Compensating Timer and Why It Is The Most Brilliant Darkroom Tool Ever Created

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Well I just finished three printing sessions in my darkroom this week and I began to think about my old but trusted Zone VI Temperature Compensating Timer, and why hands down it is the most brilliant darkroom tool ever created. I have extolled this to everyone I speak to when discussing building or equipping a darkroom, and now it’s time to tell the world!

I have had mine since it came out in the mid 1980s and roughly 30 years later it never ceases to amaze, because sometimes inventions that solve a single but critical problem simply are the most valuable of all … at least to me.

Here’s the problem. You went into your darkroom last December and spent several hours to produce a beautiful print from a hard earned negative. Of course, you recorded all the information necessary (the recipe) to make another one just like it. Now it’s August and you decide to make several more.

You pull out the recipe, expose your paper for the same amount of time as before and use the same aperture on your enlarging lens. Next you slide your sheet of paper into the same developer you used before, mixed at same 68 degrees and start the timer. So far, so good. Except it’s not!

You smugly go through all the remainder of the darkroom chemical process steps, and make sure you have compensated for your particular paper’s dry-down characteristics, etc. Finally you leave your prints to dry (I place mine on window screens). Next morning you go back into the darkroom to collect your now dry prints, turn on the lights and … they don’t look exactly right!

@#$%#@$%^

What happened? You followed every step from the August session to the letter. You mixed the chemicals at 68 degrees, just like last time. Good for you, but you made a fatal mistake. You failed to take into account that the temperature of your solutions can drift dramatically during the course of a printing session. So it’s summertime now and you have started at 68 degrees. Well guess what … the temperature of the water is going to increase! Maybe a lot, perhaps into the 80s! Oops … higher contrast. Now turn that around and say you want to make a print in the wintertime that you originally made in the summer … now we are talking about your solutions perhaps dropping into the 50s, yielding a weak low contrast result.

Same thing when developing negatives where temperature control is even more critical! Negatives developed in the summer could end up being much too contrasty and the opposite for those developed during the winter.

Of course there are workarounds. Placing your film developing tank or print developer tray in a larger one containing ice water, etc. But in the end all solution temperatures drift. Life is too short; there’s an elegant solution that solves the problem once and for all.

The Zone VI Temperature Compensating Timer has three setting on it: Real Time; Paper; and Film. Connected to the timer is a temperature probe that’s placed in the developer tray for paper. For 35mm and roll film a water bath tray is used. The probe is placed in it, as are your film tank containing developer, and graduates containing stop, fixer and hypo clear.

The timer automatically compensates for any deviation from the standard 68-degree time so that every negative is developed properly and every print developed looks the same, no matter what the temperature of the developer and other solutions may be! That’s all it does and it does that perfectly – every time!! Simple and effective. Brilliant!!!!

Also connected to the timer is a footswitch that activates it. A digital display shows the amount of seconds that have elapsed and a beep softly goes off every 30 seconds so you don’t nod off!

Sadly the Zone VI timer is no longer made. I forgot what it cost when first introduced, but about ten years ago it sold for almost $400 before it stopped being produced (after the disastrous acquisition of Zone VI by Calumet).

Not to worry. If you are patient they are available from time to time on the used market for about half that price or thereabouts.

Look for them used on APUG, eBay or Craigslist, etc. and get one!!!!!!

You won’t regret buying one. I promise!

My Recent Show and Workshop Experience

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I want to take a moment to thank everyone who came to the open house that launched my recent show at Manu Propria Photographic Studio, in Staunton Virginia. I especially wish to thank my family and dear friends who came to share this moment with me, as well as those who could not be there but encouraged and supported me in this endeavor!!!

I met a lot of interesting people and had a lot of fun. There is something exciting about seeing your work beautifully displayed on walls that are not your own! I also enjoyed speaking with visitors about my work and watching them move in close to look carefully at the photographs. I print them on 8×10 paper – meaning in practice they are smaller than that. I came away very encouraged and learned a lot … and in the end that is what really matters!

I encourage you to try to find a venue to display your work. However, what is most important is that you keep making meaningful photographs … those that are meaningful to you!

The show stayed up for a few weeks, than I traveled back to Staunton, Virginia and conducted the Shenandoah Valley Workshop with Richard Pippin. This too was great fun for me, and again I learned a lot. In particular, just how easily it is to make a beautiful platinum contact print … from the coating of the paper to the final print. Part of the objective of the workshop was to show participants that they could do this with little or no experience, and with a minimum of equipment — even without having a darkroom, using either the sun or a UV light source. Richard did a great job demonstrating this and removing much of the mystery and fear. While alternative processes are not for me, you can’t argue with the beautiful results!

And since we were in Staunton, we paid a visit to the really cool Camera Heritage Museum, the largest camera museum open to the public in the US. Museum Curator David Schwartz held court, showing us how camera technology has evolved over the years. This is THE camera candy store, and we saw some unique and extraordinary equipment! All I can say to you gear heads and everyone else that would like to see and touch the exquisite tools that made photography possible … this is THE place!

For me, the workshop was a test. Could I do it? Would I freeze up, or be stiff and boring? Could I motivate? In short, could I teach what I know and learn something myself?

I answered my all of my questions and achieved my goals; I hope this is the first of many workshops to come!

Stay tuned!