A couple of weeks ago I wrote about Elliott Erwitt’s huge and incredible volume Personal Best. If you are serious about photography it’s a book you simply need to have!

I won’t be bashful, I love Erwitt and he’s just what we all need during these somewhat dark times. Why? For one thing, all his photographs are great! They capture the hilarious and absurdity in life, especially those with the dogs … just what we need today … and probably tomorrow!  I look at these pictures and they make me laugh, but most of all, they make me happy.  I’m certain the laughing contributes to the happiness. But Erwitt is more than a one trick pony … he’s made many truly poignant images that will touch you in a powerful way.  Just look at his picture of Jacqueline Kennedy at John F. Kennedy’s funeral. And there are many more such wonderful and moving images.

Erwitt’s photographs are all gems and yet there are just so many of them! The fact that many of the wonderful pictures in Personal Best were never published before really says something.

He’s lived an incredible photographic life and has had a career spanning seven decades.  Still active in his 90’s, he believes “the best things happen when you just happen to be somewhere with a camera.”  Damn!

I like everything about Erwitt. His pictures, the life he’s lived and his philosophy.

As I previously wrote about Personal Best, it gives me something to dream of and aspire to, even if I cannot have the life Elliott Erwitt has had. It forces me to strive to do what makes me happy and do it in the best way I can, so I can create mypersonal best.

Stay safe,

Michael

It seems like déjà vu doesn’t it?  A year ago I wrote about getting through 2020, having lost 350,000 Americans. Now we’re up to over 820,000 dead and counting.  Since then we have gone through the original, then Delta (still going strong) and Omnicron, which is currently spreading through our country like wildfire. 600,000 cases the day I write this! It’s difficult to process this knowing that it could have been much different if only a segment of the population decided to behave in a rational fashion.  I know several seemingly intelligent people that refuse to vaccinate, one is in the midst of recovering from Covid as I write this.  All of this is compounded by an increasingly nastier political climate fueled by lies and ever-stranger conspiracy theories.  Then there are the ravages we’ve experienced caused by climate change that add to an already difficult situation.

What a way to start 2022!  Another bad year, right?  Well you could look at it that way, sit around and become creatively paralyzed, or you can think about all there is to be grateful for and get out there! With all the crap that went on this past year, 2021 turned out to be a pretty damn nice year for me … family, work and photographically.  So how did that happen?  I was resolved not to let the bastards get me down, did what I could to make some kind of difference and continued to “live a photographic life”.  You know what … I’m going to do the same thing for 2022!  And I hope you will too.

Best wishes for a happy, healthy new year filled with meaning and purpose.

Stay safe,

Michael

I finished watching The Beatles: Get Back documentary Thanksgiving weekend. You might say I’ve been a little obsessed since then … just ask my wife! If you care about, or just want to get a better understanding about the creative process and what it takes to fully realize your vision as intended, then you need to watch this! Oh, and by the way, the music happens to be pretty good too!

In addition to thinking about how these musical geniuses went about creating their art, I also thought about how similar their process was to that which has been and continues to be used in black and white analog photography by those who truly care about their work.

The greats and those who aspire to be great go back again and again if the light isn’t right or the picture isn’t just so. They throw away the also-rans during and after long printing sessions and only print their very few best images.  Sometimes the print takes days to get it right … trying different papers, developers, etc., until the final result that recreates the vision originally seen in their mind’s eye is achieved.

It’s hard and often frustrating work, but when it all finally comes together, there’s nothing quite like it. And when you have experienced one of those special moments, there’s no turning back.

Stay safe,

Michael

Well folks, the short answer is yes!  I guess I never really thought about this existential question before, but it was brought to the forefront as a result of the call for younger members announcement Monalog posted recently on the Large Format Photography Forum. The announcement is similar to what I posted here last week. Of course we ended up with several stupid and snarky postings in response. Was I surprised? Yes. Should I have been? No. Unfortunately it’s typical.

I guess in the world we live in people that photograph can be bozos just like anyone else that traverse the social media landscape.  Maybe I thought people that make pictures would universally be better. Silly me!

A bit of good news though, regarding this particular example of foolishness … one of the posters apologized. Thank you! To the others, I would love to see your work to find out if you are photographers Monalog would consider for membership or merely those with impressive large format cameras that occasionally venture out to take a mediocre picture?

If you’re a serious black and white analog photographer that wishes to be part of a great group of like-minded and people doing something truly exciting I would like to hear from you!

Stay safe,

Michael

I have talked about the Monalog Collective plenty since we founded it less than two years ago and I am extremely proud of how we have grown and what we have accomplished during this short period of time!  Monalog is a group of passionate black and white photographers dedicated to the art and craft of traditional image making utilizing 19th and 20th century monochrome processes. All aspects of our craft are analog based, and we are promoting our passion for this approach through exhibitions, projects and regular gatherings to share our knowledge with each another.

Now we would like to expand our group to include members, 35 and under, to strengthen the diversity and creative thinking of the group. Including younger photographers who are committed to all-analog black and white photography will broaden the Collective’s perspective as we begin our new project “Visions of America” next year. If you are a young photographer that embraces light sensitive film, paper and chemistry to create your work, please consider contacting Monalog for a portfolio review. Our membership of thirteen is spread throughout the United States from Washington to Maine and we welcome potential new members from across America. Please see our website: www.monalogcollective.com for more information.

Stay safe,

Michael

I haven’t even used them yet, but the IC and 2C are making there hulking presence known in my darkroom … and my life.  My last two weekends have been spent enlarging my enlarging table so that three enlargers could be accommodated with enough room between them to comfortably work. That’s a lot of enlarging in one sentence, isn’t it! With the help of my talented next-door neighbor we were able to extend the table on both sides from near the edge of my entrance door to the wall. After painting the top flat black and the base/legs white to match the existing table you would almost think it was all one continuous work surface.  Things always take longer then expected, especially when you knock over the paint onto the floor, but I am excited … I think … about the outcome.  I had to get rid of a metal bookcase that had been repurposed to hold all my chemicals and paper safes, but those items will easily fit underneath my sink and/or the table top on the built in shelf.

Now for the really fun part, getting a few missing pieces and figuring how to use these beasts as they were meant to be used. I finally managed to get instruction booklets for each enlarger, but of course they are for older models and don’t provide the most “how to”.  I think the IC will be more straightforward and I found an interesting YouTube video on the 2C. Unfortunately the person while looking very knowledgeable is speaking Chinese. I am sure it would have been helpful but $#%@^&* !  Then, I couldn’t get the housing that holds the 60mm and 100mm lenses to shift positions for use; the mechanism was jammed. Again #@$%^$#@%.  After taking things apart I found that a tiny, tiny, cylindrical bearing was jammed and one was missing.  Yet another $%#^%$^ moment!  I needed my neighbor’s help again. Without his help the remaining bearings would certainly fall out and scatter to who knows where (well a few did, but I was lucky to track them down).

Only those pesky Wetzlar elves could have designed such a thing (they had a reason for everything they did, didn’t they?), and even though I was able get things working again sans the missing bearing, deep down I knew it might not be right. I mean it seems to be working, but it’s not Leitz ultimate perfection, is it.

That damn tiny part is on my mind. Perhaps I am loosing all sense of reality because I have begun to see if I can locate or fabricate one if necessary @#$%^&!

I’m also beginning my hunt for the missing negative masks I will need, but think I might have a line on some new ones if necessary from Kienzle in Germany.  And then there are two tiny knurled screws to hold a light bulb socket in place to illuminate the enlargement indicator scale and the red filter that goes underneath the lens.  Why not be a completest? After all, this is a Leica isn’t it? Kienzle is known for supporting these wacky things as well as making their own fine autofocus enlargers. I have communicated with them and we will see that they have to say.

I know it’s all worth it, right … or am I beginning to slowly loose my mind?  Someday I hope to know.

Stay safe and happy Thanksgiving,

Michael