At the last minute I decided to pull out Frank, my heavily modified Leica SL. For long time readers, you may remember I wrote about my FrankenLeica, made possible by my madness and Don Allen Goldberg, the great Leica repair guru. And yes, like the original creature, it lived, and I loved it. But during the last few years Frank hadn’t seen very much action as I focused on using my 35mm and medium format rangefinders. That meant my wonderful last generation Leica R lenses had been gathering dust as well.

One of the great debates that has raged on the Internet since its inception has been over the superiority of rangefinder cameras … meaning Leicas … over single lens reflexes and by extension, the lenses they use.  Well, I own both Leica rangefinder and SLR systems, with vintage and modern glass so why not see what happens!

So off I went to photograph the D-Day Rally, packed with Frank and his sidekicks, the 35mm f1.4 Summilux E67, 50mm f1.4 Summilux E60 and 90mm f2.0 Summicron E60 ASPH lenses. For those into Leica, yes I know, that’s a lot of firepower. In the end I used only the 50mm. I’ve yet to develop the film or make proof sheets so there’s nothing to say regarding look and feel of pictures compared to those made with my beloved 50mm f2.0 Summicron (rigid) and 35mm f2.8 Summaron lenses.

But that’s not the point … at least for now. The point is that in dusting Frank’s cobwebs off and taking him out for a spin … drumrolls please … I found little if any difference in the making of pictures. Didn’t miss any shots, no one was scared by the sound of the shutter, or offended by its Frank’s size. Yes my camera bag was heavier, and if the light was weak the M2 or M3 might have been better for handholding at low shutter speeds. But during my outing none of this mattered or interfered with my enjoyment and presumably the results.

I remembered reading something years ago about the great documentary and street photographer Jill Freedman so I went and found it. “She uses 35mm cameras, SLRs or Leicas according to her mood or the subject, and Tri-X film”.

There … go ahead … have at it!

Stay well,

Michael

Many of the great photographers were great musicians as well. Think Ansel Adams and Paul Caponigro. Their playing benefited their photography. I’d like to think I’m a good photographer. I listen to a lot of music, but I don’t play an instrument. After lunch on Saturday I attended a beautiful concert performed by a New York based violin, cello and oboe trio of classical music by American composers that for the most part I was unfamiliar with. Didn’t matter, it was wonderful and the three women that played it were even better! As I left I felt both inspired and energized, then went on to the next big thing of the day … to participate in and photograph the local D-Day Rally commemorating the 82^ndanniversary of D-Day and the ongoing struggle against fascism in our country.

The rally was great. Run by veterans that are activists fighting the onslaught on our democracy. I sang If I Had A Hammer and other protest songs from when I was young. Then I shed a few tears as the veterans spoke about their parents and grandparents who participated in D-Day, the sacrifices they made for our nation, and how those in power are trying to take away from us all that those brave men and women fought for.  One of the scheduled speakers, a former Army Ranger who had deployed six times to Afghanistan and Iraq couldn’t make the event because he was arrested and detained for the second time protesting out front of the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, New Jersey. I cried again as another veteran spoke on his behalf.

Between all of the speeches, singing and sobbing I made some pictures. Maybe even a few good ones.

Oh and by the way … one of the wonderful musicians I listened to was an immigrant. How fitting!

All in all, a pretty damn fine and meaningful day if you ask me!

Stay well,

Michael

It was pretty dreary outside, but I wasn’t deterred. After all, the marching bands and the cub scouts were out there, so why shouldn’t I be?  Every year I photograph the parade and the always moving memorial at the cemetery that follows its conclusion. Though it rained on and off I think I got some good pictures and maybe even a keeper or two.

So thinking about that meaningful day and what it stands for … remembrance of all those that fought and made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, as well as the many POWs and MIAs that never made it home … I was struck about these unselfish and brave men and women who stand in stark contrast to the steaming turd currently occupying the Oval Office and all the terrible things he has done in less that a year and a half since his return.

Here are just some of the current highlights out of the many that have made a mockery of our democracy and jeopardized our national security and standing in the world.

Where to begin?

How about the illegal war with Iran?

But wait there’s so much more!

His continued fawning over Putin while making NATO weaker.

His agreement to give China some of our most sensitive technology.

The now billion dollar ballroom.

The monstrous and obnoxious arch that just got jammed through the “packed” National Capital Planning Commission.

Paving over the beautiful and historic rose garden to make a patio that resembles the one at Mar-a-Lago.

Putting El Jefe’s face everywhere possible with the latest illegal idea of creating a new $250 dollar bill that includes his likeness.

Construction of a gargantuan Ultimate Fighting Championship arena on the South Lawn for cage matches to be held on His Highness’ 80th birthday.

His demand to red states to redraw Congressional districts and his promotion of the reimposition of Jim Crow to maintain Republican control of the House of Representatives.

His actions to turn our government into a kleptocracy.

His corruption of the Department of Justice in support of his ongoing “revenge tour”.  His actions to turn ICE into a paramilitary organization used to terrorize both immigrants and US citizens.

And last but not least, his attempt to create a $1.776 billion taxpayer dollar slush fund to pay off those that nearly destroyed the Capitol building on January 6th, coupled with getting the IRS to he and his family and the Trump Organization immune from any IRS enforcement actions or audits based on past filings.

There are also many pieces of good news, including this one … A federal judge has ruled this past week that Trump’s name was illegally added to the Kennedy Center and must be removed.

Which leads me to the following.

Research shows that Hitler and all autocrats were enabled by the many average citizens who buried their heads in the sand or just chose to look away while things got worse and worse.  If they had only stood up, things might have been far different.

Our democracy hangs in the balance.

Don’t make the same fatal mistake others did.

Oh … and keep making pictures that matter to you.

Stay well,

Michael

A couple of weeks ago I went to the opening of the Bruce Katsiff exhibit at the Michener Art Museum where I got the chance to meet Bruce himself. But because it was so crowded I really didn’t have a chance to seriously study things I would have liked. Katsiff is a photographic legend in Bucks County so I had to come back!

I enjoyed our conversation so much that I asked Bruce on the spot if he would like to get together for lunch! We scheduled the time to meet, but before that I needed to get over and see the exhibit again! Entitled Bruce Katsiff: Pieces of Life, it’s a wonderful sampling of key projects from a lifetime work, including Rivertown Portraits, 1970-1980, composed of large black and white portraits made of his neighbors in nearby Lumberville,  where he had lived; Nature Norte, 1981-2005, striking platinum prints of animal remains; Face Maps, large color distorted and rearranged portraits of friend and family; street scenes made in Europe and Latin America during the fifties and sixties, as well as photographs melded to together with paintings and drawings done in collaboration with other artists. The shows runs through August 2^nd. Highly recommended!

Next up, lunch with Bruce. What a wonderful time I had! Bruce is funny and a great guy!  I heard all sorts of stories from his great career including ones about the great legends he had met. What fun! Most interesting though was how he categorized photographs … either as “directed” or “windows to nature”.  The former were constructed or created; the later were what was found and seen in the world. Simple and it makes sense!

Finally, I attended Bruce’s lecture at the Michener on the history of photography up to the dawn of digital capture. Truly outstanding and entertaining!  So much so that I asked Bruce if he would be willing to give it again at CAMP!  He has agreed and we look forward to scheduling it later this year!

Bruce is a great photographer … and a terrific and supportive guy!  I wish there were more like him and look forward to staying in contact in the future!

Stay well,

Michael

Since I was sixteen, except for some early years of marriage and impoverishment, I’ve always had my own car, even if it was a beater. But recently, I decided to sell my beloved hardtop/convertible (A very neat car … the best of all worlds!).  I did it for a couple of reasons. It wasn’t very practical which often meant I had to rent a car rather than leave my wife stranded without one. And with 16 mpg city/20 mpg highway and a hunger for premium it was costing a small fortune to keep running (The high octane stuff is now creeping toward $6.00 where I live unless I’m near a Costco).

So now we’re down to one car and I’m going to do my best to work it out with my wife so we can both be happy.  But it may not always be possible to schedule who gets it when, time I’d be gone, etc. The easy thing to do would be to buy a Prius or an all-electric vehicle … sorry not a Tesla for some obvious reasons you may think of. That means for the time being I’m going to try to make this work out despite the psychological hit I seem to be taking … my rugged individualism and independence … that sort of thing.

The key question is what will this do to my photography?  Well the short answer is not much. Why? Because I’m not going to let it!

The easy thing would be to dial things back or only photograph really nearby. While focusing primarily on what is really close might actually be a good thing for a variety of reasons, I’m just not going to let that happen. If anything, now that my car is gone, I’m going to move ahead without it being a diversion in my life that it had become, work hard to schedule things with my wife and just rent a car whenever I need one. It’s really pretty simple when you think about it.

Well, there is one reoccurring problem that seems to be popping up in the new world order. Our remaining car … my wife’s … is very nice, but very complicated … at least for me.  No surprise there!  Every setting has been set up perfectly to suit her needs and believe me I don’t want to get in the way of that. It’s got a lot of faux buttons on the very large touch screen that serves as the center of all things. So here’s a newsflash … despite my best intentions, I’ve somehow managed to screw things up several times.

Toleration probably has its limits so I’ll try to be better … I promise.

So what would this kind of change to your life do to your photography?

There’s always an excuse you can find not to get out there … like getting rid of your car. Don’t fall for them!

Stay well,

Michael