For the Sake of Art

I suppose there is nothing special about this photo. But, I like it. I am not even sure why. I spend the better part of my day editing photos....other photographer's photos and I can tell you, and them, all the reasons why I like or do not like a photo.

I shot this photo on assignment last week. I did not submit this as one of my photos for publication. And I think the reason I did not, was I could not figure out exactly why I liked it.

I had a photo instructor tell me once that just because you liked a photo it does not mean that it is good or even appropriate for the assignment or publication you are shooting for. In this case he would have told me if I liked the photo that much, call it art and hang it on my wall.

That was nearly 30 years ago, now I can post it to my blog and call it an object lesson.

I still like it

One Arm Wonders and How I Final Joined the Crew of the Enterprise

James "Scotty" Doohan, me and DeForest "Bones" Kelley, circa early 1990's.

There's a lot of life lessons to be had, even if they might come from television. I mean...come on...we all learned pretty early on never to wear red when beaming down to an alien planet!

I was flipping channels the other evening and landed on one of the original Star Trek series reruns...okay I purposely tuned in. I've always enjoyed the series. As a kid growing up in the 60's, this show completely captured my imagination. I don't believe the show shaped any decisions I've made in my life but it certainly opened my mind to the seemingly impossible. Sometimes I'd look at the show and some of the highly unbelievable plot lines and I thought...well if grown people can make a show like this...I suppose it's okay for me to engage in some daydreaming myself. It's like I'd been given permission. So I was pleasantly surprised when I opened a box of old photos and found this print. It was like discovering a couple long lost friends.

Periodically through my career I've taken the opportunity to shamelessly engage in one-arm wonders. And I'm blogging about this photo because today, some 20 years later, because dreaming is what led me to become a photographer. Dreaming is what removes barriers and frees the mind to overcome the impossible. It, dreaming, is what has allowed me to be the photographer that I am today.

I know it doesn't sound very logical...so I suppose it's a good thing Leonard Nimoy wasn't in the photo that day.

It All Comes Out in the Wash

This Lexar 4GB compactflash card survived not one, but two trips through the washing machine.

It has been said that, "It all comes out in the wash." But, in this case...it didn't. After running this card through the wash not once but twice, none of the images on my compact flash card were gone. It's not like it's a big mystery as to what's inside this little piece of plastic. Or, is it? I decided to call Lexar and see if they could de-mystify it for me.

I spoke with "Zach" at Lexar Support explaining how I'd washed my card...twice.
Zach: "You're probably lucky you didn't lose any images or corrupted the card.
Me: "I just read a whole slew of testimonials on Lexar's homepage of people who've swam with their cards, rescued a dog in a river, retrieved their camera from a fire...It's not like there is any moving parts inside the card. Right?"
Zach: "You're correct. It's a solid card, no moving parts. Inside of the card are connections printed on a circuit board and a little tiny memory chip."
Me: "So I could wash the card again?"
Zach: ...long pause
Me: "Hello?"
Zach: "Ah, well...I would say that. The cards were not designed for extreme conditions."
Me:...thinking...so I could wash them on a delicate cycle with my Victoria Secret collection?
Zach: "Hello?"
Me: "Well, exactly HOW could I ruin a card?"
Zach: "We don't recommend that."
Me: "But suppose I did ruin my card? How does that usually happen?"
Zach: "Well...typically...people ruin their cards when they take them out of their camera before the camera has finished writing the image to the card. Or when people pull their card out of a card reader without properly ejecting it."
Me: "So I shouldn't wash my card again?"
Zach: "....is there anything else I can help you with?"

Photo Hat Trick

Surrounded by their belongings, Anthony Ronzo, 56, comforts his wife Deana  Johnson-Ronzo, 42, Wednesday August 24, 2011, after being removed from the home they were living in San Bernardino. The owner of the property claims he had never rented the home to it's current occupants.

Job seekers enter the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 8737 in San Bernadino, Wednesday August 24, 2011. The post was sponsoring a breakfast and job fair for veterans and the community.

Gary Mathews, 40, pauses Thursday August 24, 2011 after looking over his home that was destroyed by a fire that swept through Mathews Ranch in the Devore, Calif., area near Interstate 15.

Fewer photographers. More assignments.

I'd been in a photo slump lately, though that changed recently. Not really due to any initiative on my part.

It's fewer photographers and more assignments.

I can always shoot assignments, but I'd rather stay away from the "good" assignments. Nothing breeds contempt amongst the staff quicker than the photo editor taking "good" assignments. So as it is, I end up shooting a good deal of breaking news because I either have...yes, fewer photographers and more assignments. Or, the staff is just too darn busy or out of position to shoot news. Last week was much the case when I ended up with three front-page photos.

It's always good to get out of the office, even when the temperature is over 100 degrees. Besides, I think I was gaining weight hiding in the office.

A Photo by Any Other Name

Being a full time photo editor, I don't get out much. Though lately, as newspapers continue to reduce their staffing, it seems as though, well, as though I'm getting out of the office again. And it usually comes in the form of a late photo assignment or chasing down a piece of "wild art" to fill a page.

Call it what you like...wild art, standalone, enterprise, or free standing, but most newspaper photographers commonly refer to it wild art. For the "uninitiated," wild art is  a "found" photo of a situation, event or moment (not a news photo) driven by it's visual appeal. And most photographers will agree, it's a love-hate relationship. 

We hate it because it usually follows into one of the conditions listed below:

• The request comes 15 minutes before your shift ends, and the amount of time required to find wild art is exponentially multiplied by how much time you do not have to find a photo.
• It's 110 degrees outside, and the only people suffering through the heat wave are photographers looking for people suffering through the heat wave.
• It's 0 degrees outside, and the only people suffering through the cold snap are photographers looking for people suffering through the cold snap.
• It's pouring rain and the only people in the rain are photographers and old men building arks.
• You're two hours into your search, your gas gauge has been on empty for the past 20 minutes and pay day is three days away.
• That simple request to "just make a snap of something to fill page 3," has now turned into the lead photo on page 1.

We love it because it usually follows into one of the conditions listed below:

• You get to meet really cool people who you never would have met while shooting pet-of-the-week.
• You're out of the office when the desk asks if anyone is available to shoot a ground breaking.
• You now have time to pick up a birthday present for kid's birthday party being held that evening.
•  You're out of the office when the desk asks if anyone is available to shoot a ribbon cutting.
• That breaking news coming across the police scanner and the amount of time required to get there is exponentially decreased by the amount time it would have taken you to get there from the office.
• You're out of the office when the desk asks if anyone is available to shoot pet-of-the-week.

And finally, which I was reminded of today, I'm actually getting paid to shoot photos. It doesn't get much better than that.

A Walk in the Woods, or at least along the Tarn

Okay, so the title is a shameless rip-off of Bill Byrson's book by the same name. I couldn't help but think of Byrson's whimsical and sometimes painfully honest writings of his trek along the Appalachian Trail as I shot these photos. I spent the weekend in our local mountains, the San Bernardino National Forest, with a group of friends and family. And I have to say here, that as we set out on a hike, I elected to leave my cameras behind. My son, who I like to imagine a budding young photographer, scurried back to camp to grab his cameras. When he returned he was carrying mine. Thank you Son!

I've suggested, sometimes here on this blog, that you should always, always, always carry your camera. As it is, if you leave your gear behind, you'll wish you hadn't. As would have been the case on this day.

Once you become a photographer, professional, semi-professional or hobbyist, you'll spend most of your time looking at the world through a set of imaginary lenses. And then applying that vision to your photography.

So, always, always, always...

Just Shoot the Photo!

Just a little exercise in shooting from home.

I believe we (photographers) get a little self involved as where we shoot photos. In an attempt to challenge myself, yet again, I made these photos in my backyard. None of the photos were shoot further than 50 feet from each other and no more than an hour apart.

For me it's often about shooting with what ever camera you have within your reach. And on this day it was about finding a photo that was right in front of me.