Hot on the heels of my recent Coney Island outing, I decided to head over to Asbury Park on the Jersey Shore before everything shut down after Labor Day. The Saturday was a picture perfect day so out I headed! I love Asbury Park, but like every beach town with a decent pulse, it now is changing. Old buildings being torn down, high rise condos going up.  I fear for all the murals along the boardwalk.  So I go a couple of times a year and enjoy it for what it is now and hope for the best.

Anyway it turned out to be a great day to photograph and I think I got some good ones. As per my usual, I start at one end of the boardwalk and walk all the way to the end. Then I turn around and walk all the way back. Great exercise and great for taking in some good scenes. I had to wait to almost to the very end to make what I thought might be one of the most interesting pictures of the day. Turned out to be the last frame on a roll of 120. So I sat down on one of the scattered benches, unloaded my film and started to head back towards the car. Only I saw the same scene from a different angle. Same people … but different.

By this time I’d been walking for several hours. I know a lot of folks would have packed it in. Too much of a pain to load another roll for one more picture that might not be there when you return.  Fortunately I don’t operate that way so back I went and I’m glad I did! A much better picture I think, but the proof sheet will tell the tale. And if it’s not I gave myself a second chance to do better.

After that I headed back, walking again down Fourth Avenue past the Asbury Lanes bowling alley. Funny thing, while walking by it the first time I didn’t see the picture, but this time I did! Another second chance!

Two in one day!  Not too bad.

Stay well,

Michael

Back to photography, but on a sadder note … this past week the great photographer and teacher Jay Maisel passed away at the age of 95. I first learned about him when I was a teenager reading the wonderful Life Photography Library series of books that I still own. He had an amazing career making countless memorable photographs like the one on the cover of Miles Davis’ seminal album Kind of Blue.  But perhaps more important, he lived life on his own terms. You can read about much of it in a great obit that appeared in the New York Times  … https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/11/arts/jay-maisel-dead.html

The story ends with a note about a 2018 documentary about made about him called Jay Myself. “Near the end of the film, Mr. Maisel said: “There’s a quiz I give people. Do you like photographing or do you like photographs? Choose one. And you learn a lot about yourself by choosing one or the other. Some people like photographs. I like photographing.” He added: “The act of photographing is what it’s all about.”

Thanks Jay, you were so right!

Stay well,

Michael

This past week El Jefe was asked about the status of the Iran war. He said it was really just “small potatoes”.  I was driving home from Buffalo when I heard the story on the radio and almost went off the road!

Maybe he had other things on his mind this week, like whether to bulldoze the Kennedy Center, getting the rubber stamp from the Supreme Court to go ahead with the ballroom, starting work illegally on the obnoxious arch, being the only living president to have his image a coin (gold and illegal of course), his childish behavior with Canada, working with the Postal Service and the Supreme Court to restrict mail-in voting, and other stupid stuff.

Eighteen American servicemembers killed (not to mention the thousands of innocent Iranian citizens who have died), billions of taxpayer dollars squandered and the adverse impact to our economy and national security.

No, this is BIG potatoes!

Small potatoes? Perhaps only in the mind of a small potato.

From now on I will think of him as Tiny Spud!

Ok, we’re in the home stretch to perhaps the most important midterm in US history. Make sure to vote well, and if at all possible to vote in person. If we all do that we can begin to turn this thing around!  And that will be BIG potatoes!

Stay well,

Michael

I decided I would go up to Coney Island last Monday to photograph the beach, amusements and surroundings before things shut down after Labor Day. I got up early and arrived there before 9am. The lifeguards don’t show up until 10 and the amusement park opens at 11, so it was pretty quiet for a while.

I brought my Plaubel Makina 6 X 7 rangefinder which is a great travel camera when you’re taking the train and subway. It’s also perfect for this type of outing and I went through two rolls of film by the time I was done around noon.

I enjoy going to Coney Island to photograph, but also the experience of getting there and just hanging out, and this time was no different. Monday was chosen because the weather report looked promising after several days of rain.  Uncharacteristically the weathermen got it right and it turned out to be a great day to make pictures!

The sun was out and the sky was blue. I was happily walking around and when I strolled by a spot where there was a fountain built into the sand spraying mist in my path. Good time to put on the lens cap. From there I decided to check out the long stretch of boardwalk that extends out into the water. Perfect day for fishing too, so it was lined with people and their poles propped up against the guardrails waiting for something to happen. There were a good collection of people that morning so I decided to wait and see if something interesting might happen.

Soon enough a boy about 10 years old caught what had to be the smallest sea bass on record, not much bigger than size of the sinker attached to the end of his line. Nevertheless he was very proud and was willing along with his brothers and sisters to be memorialized with the trophy catch.  I happily made the picture and walked back to the main part of the boardwalk several minutes away, then looked at my camera and @#$@#$%^&@#$%!!

I left the lens cap on when I made the picture #@$%^&*@#$%^!

I hadn’t made a boneheaded mistake like that in years but chose to do it for probably the best picture of the day! Things like this bother me a lot and it took me a long time to walk it off. It’s funny … or sad … depending on how you look at it, but I still remember that image a week later. Oh well. Hopefully I won’t make that mistake again, but these kind of things can happen. You just have to push on. The good news is that I didn’t let that blunder ruin my day.  I got a few other good images elsewhere along the boardwalk, the beach and the amusement park, and despite my stupid mistake I had a wonderful time!

Every outing is an experience. And sometimes writing about it helps make it complete.

While I lost that photograph I will always have a fond memory of what I saw.

Stay well,

Michael

Thursday, August 19^th was World Photography Day.  While I couldn’t go photographing, I did think about my photography a lot and the type of work I want to do for the remainder of the year and beyond. While I wasn’t out there this was important … and meaningful for me!

Being out there is always best, but it can’t always happen.  Thinking about what you want to do and making plans, with the notion that you actually are going to do it is the next best thing! Of course being in your darkroom is a pretty good thing too, but this wasn’t my day for that. Not only did I think about and start to make plans, but I also started do research for the continuation of project I started several years ago. I thought it was done, then I had a little epiphany in terms of making it more expansive and better for me.

When I think about projects or photographs I would love to make I often envision them in my head. When this happens I know I’m on to something and really get excited. Now I know it’s time to get moving!  I also thought about what camera(s) and format I would be using and even whether I might knock the cobwebs off my tripod and give it a spin!

Doing this sort of thing is all part of my living a photographic life!

All in all a very stimulating and productive World Photography Day!

So if you weren’t aware or forgot about World Photography Day, mark it on your calendar for next year. Make it a special day … and a part of your photographic life!

Stay well,

Michael

We made it to the finale!

Finally!

Be your own dog!

That’s right!

I don’t give a flying fig about what others think about my pictures. Instead, I care about making pictures that are meaningful to me. And isn’t that what it’s all about?  The other way you may produce some good images, but will they be great ones … ones you think are great?

I remember reading one of Fred Picker’s newsletters where he stated something like “if gallery owners could see, they would photograph”. Chances are they will reject your work for all the wrong reasons. Assuming your print quality and presentation are first rate, as they should be, consider this a badge of honor! But if showing your work is what you aspire to, you will eventually get there, because you believe in the efficacy of your work, not because you want someone’s approval.

So forget about what others may think about your pictures. The lemonade just isn’t worth the squeeze.

You may now have photographic bliss!

Stay well,

Michael

It goes without saying that you MUST print your work! It’s amazing how many people don’t get around to printing their photographs, or if they do the fruits of their efforts often languish in an empty photo paper box.  Sad. So I’m hoping that you will carefully study your proof sheets and print the images that move you.

But printing isn’t the end of the line. Now you must mat the prints. I still dry mount my prints made on 8 X 10 paper (the size of my prints are never that large though) onto 14 X 17 4 ply mat boards.  Some people use hinges. Doesn’t matter. Then I study the prints for a while. The best way to do this is by standing them up on the strip of molding I have attached to one of the walls in my workroom just for this purpose.  This deceptively simple device works wonders!

One of two things will happen.  Either you will come to the decision that the prints you are studying are statements of what you saw in your mind’s eye and deserving of a place in your portfolio, or you will decide that they need more work or aren’t very good after all.  In any case you will have learned a lot and taken a major step to create what speaks to you and is only your best work!

Now 4 ply “picture frame” mats are cut and placed on top of the keepers to protect the image surfaces. I connect them to the bottom mat with archival tape, then a sheet of protective archival paper is placed between the mats for storage in an archival box for safe keeping.

But the ultimate goal is to see the results of all your work placed in a frame (I prefer black Nielson Style 15) and mounted on a wall, so you … and perhaps others … may see and enjoy them! It really doesn’t matter what wall it is. I’m not driven to show my work in galleries anymore.

The key is to get to the finish line and savor what you’ve accomplished … because you’ve accomplished a lot!  Knowing that matters … because it’s much more than what the vast amount of those who photograph will ever do in a lifetimes!

Stay well,

Michael

Well, if the current environment we live in isn’t enough to cause you to be fatigued, there’s more … “digital fatigue”! That’s right and what a great segue to get back into discussing photography! On April 5th, WBZ Radio in Boston did a segment discussing how Gen Z And Millennials are opting for analog life, citing digital fatigue. Going back to everything from film to music. Even analog clocks and written journals! Written journals … can you believe that! And a July 6th New York Times entitled Film Photography Is Making a Comeback. Just Look at All These New Film Cameras stated “A growing wave of digital fatigue is driving photographers back to film, and camera makers are sensing an opportunity. That’s why, for the first time in several decades, we’re seeing new film cameras hit store shelves every year.”

The author notes that while he still uses a digital camera, his photo time is even divided with almost ten film cameras! The article goes on to discuss the test results of three cameras, the Pentax 17, Kodak Snapic A1, and the Lomography Lomo MC-A, and provides a round-up of all the film cameras that have come out since 2020.  And guess what … there are a lot of them!! All the way from $30 super cheapies to the $7000 Leica M6 reissue.

Yes, film is back baby! I am seeing more and more people out there using film cameras … both new and older models. And people come up to me and ask me about my film cameras when they see me making pictures!

As with vinyl, people want to use something they can really identify with, tactilely and otherwise. Something more real … and … truer. Away from the screen, away from the phone.

Digital fatigue … now that’s something you won’t get tired of!

Stay well,

Michael