It’s almost here!  That’s right! June 29^th is just around the corner and I know you have it marked on your calendar or in your iPhone or whatever you keep track of monumental events.

Yes, it’s National Waffle Day.  And yes, it’s also National Almond Butter Crunch Day.  Wow I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!  But wait, it’s so much more.

Drum roll please!

You’ve been counting the days with anticipation and just itching to use it. Yes, it’s also National Camera Day!!!!

No one seems to know for sure what the origin of this most important day is, but who cares! It exists to remind us to dust the cobwebs off our machines of choice and get out there and make photographs.

According to the NBC story, there are no official numbers of how many photos are made each day, but estimates are that more than 1 trillion are made yearly!  An average of 95 million photos are uploaded daily on Instagram and over 300 million photos are uploaded to Facebook every day.  The vast majority is shot with digital cameras or mobile phones and it’s mostly useless rubbish.

Look we all know that it takes a much greater effort to first make sure you have film, then to make sure you remember to load it into your camera. Ok, I get that, so here is what I suggest … you still have a couple of days to make sure you have some film. If not go get some and load your camera. Then on National Camera Day go and find a moment during lunch or whenever and make a photograph or two.  Better yet, make some more and don’t wait to Wednesday. Could be pictures of family or friends, or anything that captures your imagination. And for gosh sakes don’t travel to do it!  There’s more than enough exciting material right where you live. Concentrate on that … it might create a whole new creative phase!

So there you have it. June 29^th is National Camera Day.  Be there, or be square!

Stay well,

Michael

What can be said about Ansel Adams’ greatness that has not been said before?  Like Cartier-Bresson, Adams has inspired and launched the careers and aspirations of thousands who would seek to emulate his greatness. The great master of the grand landscape as well as much, much more! He also happened to be a great American. Adams was a terrific writer and technical expert. He was instrumental in helping to establish photography as a recognized art form and was a key player in the foundation of the Museum of Modern Art’s photography department, the Friends of Photography and the F64 Group. Adams was also a member of the Sierra Club board of directors and on and on.

Like many, I own his series of books on the craft of photography, The Print, The Negative, and The Camera.  It was this trio that started me on my own quest to make high quality photographs. Then there are his many monographs, all of which are something to behold.  But nothing can really prepare you to seeing the real thing.  I have been fortunate to see many Adams exhibits, and as much as I favor small intimate photographs, the large Adams prints are unbelievable and almost mythic in nature.

Early in my career and much younger I would occasionally walk down to the Wilderness Society headquarters in downtown DC from my offices in the State Department and the New Executive Office Building, where open to the public were some of Adams greatest images (I believe they were the so called “museum set”) and just hang out. I would gaze upon the majestic landscapes and dream. They transported me to an America that no longer exists and maybe never really did. But all of his work is great and inspiring, from the quiet and sublime to the truly heroic.

For my 30^th birthday my wife sent me on a workshop with with John Sexton, where I had the opportunity to visit Adams’ home. And yes, I became one with the holy temple and stood on the hallowed ground that was his darkroom. And no, I didn’t kneel down and kiss the floor, but it was most certainly a profound and mind-altering experience I have never forgotten!!!!

I don’t own an Adams print, but some of my most prized possessions are several autographed books and a large signed and framed special addition poster of Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico.

Ansel Adams, the man, the legend.

Stay well,

Michael

Would those that fought in WWII recognize what has become of our nation? They defended democracy and then two and half decades later they put a man on the moon. In 1962 John F. Kennedy said “We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard”.  It seems so long ago. Were we or our nation perfect? Not be a long shot!  No one is, and certainly no nation is.

But look at us today? What would the “greatest generation” think of America today? Rampant racism, hatred, tribalism, political division of epic proportions and mass shootings and other violence happening on daily basis.  Things seem to be spinning out of control, with many becoming almost numb to it all. In a couple of weeks we have witnessed several mass shootings, the latest at a school in Texas. Nineteen innocent children and two teachers murdered. I heard someone say that perhaps children will not be victims of senseless gun violence when gun owners finally choose to love them more than their guns.

Ok, time for me to take a breath …

Then on Memorial Day I got up early, did my normal walking, took Sparky for his walk and then finally walked to the parade to enjoy and photograph it. Same thing I do every other year (except during the height of COVID).

But something strange happened. It turns out where I live things are split pretty evenly between Democrats and Republicans, but on this beautiful sunny day all those lining the parade route were smiling and friendly with one and other … just happy to be out enjoying themselves and commemorating those that gave the ultimate sacrifice.  Even when a float for one of the political parties drove by no one skipped a beat, clapping, smiling and being nice.

I ran into a few friends and someone even stopped to asked me about my Leica and where he could get his old Minolta fixed so he could start using film again – I was really feeling it!

I felt like I was an American again, like I did before our national nightmare began.  When the parade ended I walked over to the cemetery and attended the annual memorial ceremony put on by the United Veterans of Doylestown. I listened to the closing benediction and made my last exposure; then I spoke to an older veteran and thanked him for his service.  A fitting end to an enjoyable and moving experience!

I knew that the next day I would hear of or read something that would snap me back into the current reality, but on that fine day there was hope in my heart for our country and for all of us.

Stay well,

Michael

I feel like I am watching the last episode of American Idol with my wife. Yes I admit I’ve caught an occasional glimpse of the show here and there and sort of know the drill. After the voting there are just three left standing on the stage.  So here we go … This, America, Is Your Top 3!  Do I sound like Ryan Seacrest or not?  No matter, but we are down to the final three of my My Favorite Top 10 Black and White Analog Photographers!! And who is my number 3. That’s right, it is none other than Henri Cartier-Bresson!!

Henri Cartier-Bresson or HCB, is in my humble opinion the greatest street photographer of them all! Think The Decisive Moment. Not just a book, but a concept and a way of photographic life!!!

Every Cartier-Bresson photograph tells a story and is special. And there are just so many of them! His hit rate was simply astounding! So much so that he was and is the photographer that has inspired and launched the careers and aspirations of thousands who would seek to emulate his greatness.  Her are just a few of my favorites out of the many: Behind the Gare Saint-Lazare, 1932; Children Playing in the Ruins, 1933; Madrid, 1933, 1933; and Rue Mouffetard, Paris, 1954.

And now for something to ponder from the preface of The Decisive Moment … “To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression” — Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Damn!

I could never afford the original copy of The Decisive Moment published in 1952, but when a beautiful new addition came out several years ago I jumped on it. It soon went out of print and became very expensive like the original. It proudly sits on my bookcase shelf alongside a number of other wonderful HCB monographs.

Take a look at what passes as mainstream street photography and then look at The Decisive Moment or any of HCB’s other work … he also made marvelous environmental portraits (Tete a Tete) and even did cityscape and landscape work (Henri Cartier-Bresson: City and Landscapes)!  There is no comparison.

Please, if you’re not familiar with Henri Cartier-Bresson’s splendid work, check it out ASAP!  You might well have your own decisive moment!

Happy Memorial Day and stay well,

Michael

I’ve just about wrapped up my basement project and am about to reclaim my darkroom from the storage facility it became. All that terrible classic rock music I had to endure with my neighbor during the project has yet to fade from my memory … like a bad dream that won’t go away, or an adolescent zit that kept growing. As I wrote before this stuff has not aged well at all, and for good reason … it was weak, over wrought and/or bombastic to begin with and has certainly not improved with time!

I’m trying to move on, but while I was cleaning up the other day I started thinking about my recent entries regarding kitsch and photography and how not to be derivative.  Then when I was on my morning walk it all came together.

When something is good it will stand the time!

Duh.

Some things are a hit right off the bat and continue to stand the test of time because they are truly great. But often things that were not widely accepted when first introduced grow to be appreciated because of the fine work and originality they represent.  As with the case of bad classic rock, bad photography does not. Both hang around like a bad odor that just won’t go away.

So what does this mean? Not completely sure, other than people have questionable taste in everything from politicians to culture to art. Can’t help that. Ok, so what do we do as photographers trying to make work that will stand the test of time? I think the only thing we can do is to make well-seen pictures that are personal and come from the heart. They should clearly say something or tell a story, either individually or as part of a group. If not why bother?  I also think that carefully seen and well thought out pictures, not made as part of barrage of hundreds produced over an hour or so using the latest digital camera and later doctored by Photoshop have a much better chance for immediate and long-term greatness.

Think hard, see well, make it from the heart, and don’t worry about what others think … it’s your picture … and it will stand the test of time.

Stay well,

Michael

I’m pretty sure we were all born originals.  Great … now hold that thought!

Some time ago I wrote an entry called Make Your Pictures Stand On Their Own.  I talked about an interview I had read of social documentary and street photographer John Free. There’s a lot that can be taken from it.

Free said “I think that the three most important and also difficult forms or types of photography, is social documentary, photojournalism and fine art street photography, which was called straight photography when I started. I think that the difference between them is rather simple to understand. In photojournalism, six photographs with captions might be required. Social documentary photography requires 25-50 photos, which are each supported by a caption or short story. In street photography, it all must be done with one photograph and with no caption to help explain what cannot be seen. No caption and no posing, make street photography the most difficult form of photography that I have ever been involved with. My professional work in social documentary photography was very helpful in teaching myself how to get closer to the subject. Closer in many ways, not just where I stand, but how I can convey my feelings about a subject in my photograph of that subject. To bring as much life and understanding into the image, in order for the viewer to better understand the image.”

Free focuses on the areas of photography that are of interest to him, but as we all know there are many genres and styles of photography beyond that of photojournalism, social documentary and street photography – landscape, architecture, and portraiture to name those we may be most familiar with.  The key is to be yourself for whatever photograph you make. Don’t think about what category your picture falls under, or whether you could somehow emulate someone else’s work.

I’m pretty sure almost every type of picture has now been made in some manner.

Who cares?

Unfortunately, in today’s world there is great pressure to do “something different” and “unique” otherwise you will be seen as derivative and passé. Sad. I don’t think you want to focus on being different. Your pictures might become really large mediocre junk … just like much of what you see in the current gallery scene.

In another entry I wrote, “I think it’s vitally important that our photographs be able to stand on their own as complete and self-contained personal statements.  All of your creativity and vision must become dedicated and focused to ensure that the picture you make faithfully reproduces what you initially saw in your mind’s eye … and felt in your heart ….when you make a photograph it should be a personal and intense experience.”

Do that and your picture won’t be derivative … unless you deliberately set out to make it that way.

I’ve read that some people try to find Edward Weston’s and Ansel Adams’ tripod holes at Point Lobos and Yosemite. Now that’s being derivative and a complete waste of time. The results will only be cliché. Do that and you’re a bozo. Time to hang it up and do something else.

No – the photograph should be yours. Actually, it must be yours! It doesn’t matter if someone’s been there before or made a similar picture. Nothing will be the same as your picture because no one felt like you did, saw what you did, and cared like you did during that fleeting moment in time when you clicked the shutter … unless you’re trying to copy someone else.

So be yourself and make your picture! It will be an original, just like you!

Stay safe,

Michael

I am truly lucky to know some outstanding photographers. Many of them are members of Monalog. When I came up with the idea for the Monalog Collective the first person I called was Jim Fitzgerald. I had met him a couple of months earlier at Steve Sherman’s PAX event and just couldn’t stop thinking about his work … and his accomplishments. First of all, his large format contact prints were beautifully seen with a vision unique to him. But, what really made his work so special was that they were produced with a little known historic process call Carbon Transfer Printing.

To be honest, I’ve never seen anything like a Carbon Transfer print and I never cease to be amazed when I look at Jim’s work.  Quite simply, they’re three-dimensional jewels. You can really look into the pictures! All I can say is that you have to experience this in person to appreciate such a thing. If you truly love photography nothing can prepare you for such a moment.

It takes an incredible amount of dedication to create work like this. That and a lot of time! It takes a minimum of four days to produce one finished print!  Think about that.  But when you have a passion to create one of a kind images that are a such a personal labor of love, then it’s worth all the time and effort.  At least it is for Jim.

Then, not satisfied with available commercially produced cameras, Jim decided to build his own to create the negatives he needed to pursue his craft – 8×10, 8×20, 11×14 and 14×17 beauties made from walnut.

But what really sets Jim apart in my opinion are the books he has made. No ordinary books mind you, they are made and bound by hand, and every image and the accompanying text is printed using the carbon transfer process. I was awestruck when I saw Jim’s first book, Survivors I, with its walnut paper cover. Printed using the finest watercolor paper, each image was exquisite – just like individually mounted prints! His second book, A Banquet of Light, composed of panoramic images is covered with amate bark paper and is 15 x 52 inches in size! Only several copies of each book will be produced.  Alas, while I’ll never be able to afford one, I will never forget what Survivors I looked like and how I felt that evening when I saw it!

What can one do knowing that such a person so driven in the pursuit of excellence for his unique vision and its presentation exists? There’s only one thing if you really care – continue to strive to be the best you can be, doing all you can to make your own art in your own vision.

Until recently, I walked five miles a day. I wanted to increase that to 10 kilometers. Sort of has a nice ring to it and was a good goal for me.  I’d been thinking about this for several months but hadn’t tried it yet. The last week a saw a news story about a women twenty-one years younger then me who had lost a leg to cancer. She had just completed running the equivalent of a marathon for 104 straight days!  I was inspired! Two days later I did my first 10K. I will never be able to do what she does … not even close.  And I will never do what Jim has done either. But like that incredible women, Jim’s accomplishments will inspire me to be the best version of myself … in my photography, and in my life.

Jim can be reached for information about his books, prints, and unique workshops (yes, he also teaches at Yosemite and other locations!) through the contact page on his website at https://www.jimscarbonartphotography.com/contact/

Stay safe,

Michael