On Saturday I participated in a virtual conversation with the great photographer Joel Meyerowitz and the International Center for Photography’s Managing Director of Programs David Campany.  Many thanks Susan for bring this to my attention!  Why might you ask would I be interested in hearing Meyerowitz talk, as the bulk of his career has focused on color work, and in recent years he has gone digital? The answer can be found in some of the points he made during the hour plus Zoom discussion.  Here are a few of the most important:

• The heart of defining yourself as an artist is to know who you are.
• “Watchfulness” allows you to put yourself in the proper place for the picture, either through movement in one direction or another, or by speed to get into the proper position to capture the scene.
• Photography is all about description.
• The way to differentiate your work today when everyone is taking pictures is to have an idea about yourself in “your time” and know what is meaningful to you. Otherwise don’t take the picture because you’re merely making a snapshot.
• Find something personal. What do you respond to, not what others may respond to.
• Street photography is about the “absurdity of life”; you need to be curious.
• Develop people skills and communicate with them when you are photographing, as you need to be close in (6-8 feet).
• If you are blocked or have plateaued, have the courage to break through and move on from what you have done (That is why he took up the 8×10).
• Go back to earlier work you did to see what you have overlooked.

Meyerowitz’s thoughts are inspirational and important.  They apply to whatever type of photography you do and whatever tools and medium you use.

Meyerowitz is 82 years old.

He makes photographs every day.

Stay safe,

Michael

You already know how to make a Proper Proof because I told you everything you need to know. But just in case you need a refresher or missed it, check out my previous entries: “Don’t Be a Bozo — Make Proof Sheets!” and “My Photographic Process – Step 3 – Making a Proper Proof Sheet”.

Congratulations!  You have accomplished everything I talked about in “My Step 5 – Develop Film and File in Numbered Archival Sleeve Pages, Stored in Archival Ring Binder Containers”.  Now all you have to do is make your Proper Proof sheets for each set of negatives and put them into a notebook(s).

The key is to mark each proof sheet with the same number as its corresponding roll/set of negatives. Here is how I do it.  I use clear letter size acid free poly sleeves I purchase from Staples (#10525) that come with ring holes and space on the left hand side to note the number and any description you wish to include (e.g., what is contained on the roll and when were the pictures were made).  The nice thing about the sleeves is that you can also store your print “recipe(s)” with them! I keep my notebooks for each film format next to their corresponding three ring archival closed box binders that contain my negatives.  Makes sense to me!

So there you have it … an easy and foolproof method to catalogue all your proof sheets and easily find them when you need to, along with the right negative when you are ready to print!

You know you have some spare time now, so it’s a good time to get organized. Do it once and you will never have to do it again!

Stay safe,

Michael

We were both very young, yet I knew I loved her the day we met.  When it came time to think about college, all signs pointed to RIT and a photographic education.  But in the end I knew I couldn’t give her the life I wanted her to have and I wouldn’t have the life I wanted together with her.  In order to make it work I would have had to become a commercial photographer of some type and that’s not what I wanted. Not the type of photography that interested me. When it came time to think about what to do with my history degree, all signs pointed to law school, but I knew I would have to practice corporate law of some type to have the life together with her I wanted. Not the type of law that interested me.

I took the law school exam but decided to get a Masters degree in International Relations instead. That education took me all over the world and I brought my cameras with me. It was the right decision for me.  I’ve been able to have a meaningful career working on issues I believe in, for who I want to, inside and outside of government. All of this and making the photographs I want to make along the way! I’m one lucky man.

I’ve made the choices I wanted to make and have lived life on my own terms. I’ve never looked back from my life decisions and I have no regrets. I’m thankful that my wife and life partner has supported me all the way, and yes … I still love her!

Most importantly, the choices I’ve made have allowed me to live a photographic life as part of my whole life. I haven’t been concerned with making a living from photography, but rather have focused on making photographs that interest me and thinking about photography simply because I love it all so much.

I think we all need to do whatever we can to live our lives on our own terms. My decisions have worked for me and are only right for me. Every situation is different, but if we are really going to be serious about living a photographic life, we have to examine the other parts of the life we live and the choices we make … and can make.

I didn’t want a little hobby to play with when the mood struck me or when I didn’t have anything better to do … and I don’t want that now. I’m busier than ever with work, I teach, read, have a family I deeply care about, and have a serious passion for music and audiophilia. I live my life on my terms, and part of doing that means that there is always time for my photographic life.

Stay safe and live life on your own terms,

Michael

A couple of months ago I wrote an entry called Don’t Push It, but I have still been thinking about this theme when it comes to getting out there and photographing.  I work for myself … sometimes I put in a lot of hours even during Covid-19. Nevertheless, I am always thinking about photography. Always … even at night.  In fact, the other night I had an interesting dream about my negatives!

Look, I know this is a difficult time for everyone. But even in normal times there can be a lack of motivation, or maybe you get blocked.  You might feel that you absolutely have to get out there no matter what; otherwise you’re not really a photographer after all.  Wrong, wrong, wrong! The great ones do it because they need to, not because they must.  In short, they’re driven to create.

We have to keep thinking, keep fighting through it, especially during this most difficult of times.  Challenge yourself; that’s what I have been doing lately and I have made a lot of pictures. Not because I think I must, but because I need to! I feel driven and that’s good!  I want to document … for myself at a minimum … what my small community has lived through during this tragedy, and it has caused me to approach and see things differently then how I might have before.  I’m trying to build a story, rather than try to hit home runs, and that’s fine. Knowing this, I am satisfied at what I am doing and am getting out there a lot; even in the pouring rain!

Bottom line – don’t waste your precious time … especially now.  If you really care about your work and are truly excited about photography, get out there and do it because you feel you need to, not because you feel you must!

Stay safe,

Michael

I was thinking about my trip to New York just before the bottom fell out.  I had gone on business but made time to visit the outstanding Dorothea Lange exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art.  I wrote about it a little while back, but now it seems so long ago. At the time we were just talking about Covid-19, and not really doing anything about it.  The trains were packed and so were the streets and restaurants. It was a different time.

One of the things that struck me as I walked to my destinations was how many young film photographers were out and about making photographs with film. I didn’t bring a camera with me this time as the schedule was pretty compressed, but now I wished I had. The good news is that I was able to stop and chat with a few folks. Tim and the others I spoke with were truly committed to the black and white analog experience. They were all 35mm shooters, but that’s not surprising given the environment; they were using Leica rangefinders and small older SLRs like the Pentax.

What is surprising is that during my limited excursion I didn’t see one digital camera being used on the street. Not one! Warmed my heart. Now I know this is a very small sampling and most likely was an anomaly.  Still it was very encouraging and reinforced what I have heard about young people’s interest in film for all the right reasons we know.

Film will never be cheap again and neither will paper. Digital is just too convenient for most and that’s the problem. But we know that in the case of film, and especially black and white film, convenient just isn’t better.

Hey Tim, thanks for helping to keep film alive. Keep on doing what you’re doing and I hope you stay safe!

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about staying safe and staying in touch.  Now I want to say a few words about staying safe and keep your head in the game. As horrible as the Covid-19 crisis is, we have to search for the silver linings that are presented by it. In my previous entry I discussed using the free time we have to maintain the important personal relationships we share, including those related to our photographic lives. But there is much more we can do to continue Living a Photographic Life.  I written about this before, but now more than ever we must not squander the time we have been given. What we have to do is keep our heads in the game and be a little bit more creative then we’ve been before!

In my case, I mainly make photographs of people out and about living their daily lives. Where I live we have been in lockdown for several weeks now, with no end in sight so scratch that off the list.  Even if I found some people walking around I wouldn’t be able to get close enough to make the types of photographs I like. You might have similar issues you are facing. So what to do? In short, I/we have to keep out our heads in the game. It’s a theme I have also written about before, but it is now more important than ever!

First, explore new ideas to make photographs in any safe way you can. Don’t feel you have to travel far or even leave your house.  Come to the realization that there is so much around you that is interesting if you are only open to it.  What else can you do?  Here’s a list of neat ideas I’ve discussed before and you won’t need to worry about social distancing!

1. If you have a darkroom develop your film that has been sitting around and make proof sheets.
2. Carefully examine your proof sheets and make prints of only the best images.
3. Go through your old proof sheets and make images of keepers you somehow missed. You might just be surprised at what you find and what you produce!
4. Read books about photographers.
5. Study monographs you own of your favorite photographers
6. Learn about photographers you aren’t familiar with online and buy some monographs via Amazon, online used bookstores, or eBay.
7. Utilize the Internet for interesting and useful forums, blogs and websites for good ideas.
8. Visit museums and galleries online for virtual photographic and painting exhibits.
9. Take a photographic workshop remotely with someone you respect that is supportive and will help you. There are also video tutorials that can be purchased and don’t forget about youtube.

What is important is that I/you keep trying to learn, be productive and to continue living a photographic life.  Do whatever it takes!  Everyone is different. I will do whatever I have to do to keep my head in the game.  Do whatever works for you to keep your head in the game to keep your photographic spark alive. Don’t not squander this opportunity we have been given!

Stay safe,

Michael

Just before things got out of control with Covid-19 I drove to Princeton with a friend to see the Life Magazine and the Power of Photography Exhibit at the Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton. My friend isn’t a photographer but he was enticed – in part, because after the show and lunch, we would be heading over to the Princeton Record Exchange to hunt for vinyl (spoiler alert … he was really glad he saw the show!).

Now, like most things, the Princeton Art Museum is temporarily closed, but with any luck things will be better before the show is scheduled to end on June 21st. Perhaps it will be extended – I hope so!  I am writing this in the hope that those who can make it will be able to see this show because it’s truly worth the visit!

For all of us that grew up with Life Magazine and looked forward to its arrival in the mail every week, this is a must see.  I remember as a kid looking at all the great pictures and the accompanying text that made up Life’s fabulous photo essays. In 1972 Life went from weekly to monthly publication and ceased publication in 2000, except for some occasional special editions. I still miss it, but this exhibit provided a wonderful chance to relive some of those memories of the hours spent reading Life from cover to cover!  And it was exciting to view some of the famous work I had seen on those pages or had heard about, now in the form of beautiful silver gelatin prints.

Life’s stable of photographers was truly first class; here are some of the highlights. The first thing that struck me was seeing the cover of the 1936 inaugural issue of Life as a pictorial magazine (It had previously been a weekly humor publication that folded during the earlier part of the Depression. Henry Luce bought the name and re-launched the magazine.) was Margaret Bourke-White’s Fort Peck Dam, Montana, 1936. Side by side were the original cover and a beautiful silver gelatin print. Other famous silver gelatin prints on display included several of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s images made in China, Robert Capa’s Normandy Invasion on D-Day, Soldier Advancing Through the Surf, June 6, 1944,  (photographs made in China); Alfred Eisenstaedt’s VJ Day in Times Square, New York, 1945; J.R Everman’s Audience Watching Movie Wearing 3-D Spectacles, 1952; and Yousuf Karsh’s Winston Churchill, 1941.

Additionally on display were the silver gelatin prints and magazine print of some of Life’s most famous essays including Margaret Bourke-White’s Women in Steel, and Carl Maydan’s Lake Tule that depicted the lives of Japanese Americans in a California internment camp during World War II.

Also very special were silver gelatin prints and marked-up proof sheets for classic essays by Gordon Parks (Harlem Gang Leader) and Eugene Smith (Nurse Midwife).

What a great show! I feel so lucky to have been able to spend time reminiscing, seeing the iconic images as silver gelatin prints and studying the proof sheets to get an understanding of the what the photographers saw and their editors thought.

If it reopens, and it is at all possible, do try to see this wonderful exhibit. Highly recommended! If not, then consider getting the companion book, Life Magazine and the Power of Photography, edited by Katherine A. Bussard and Kristen Gresh.

Stay safe,

Michael