What would be a cute and silly title for this: SEE FORUM FOR MORE
I was going to call it either Asleep at the Switch or Gatekeeper
10/26/2005
Untitled, New York 2003
What would be a cute and silly title for this: SEE FORUM FOR MORE
I was going to call it either Asleep at the Switch or Gatekeeper
Forum Additions
I enabled e-mail notification, either for specific posts, or for particular categories to the forum.
You can find the instructions in the FAQ section of the forum.
You can find the instructions in the FAQ section of the forum.
10/25/2005
Kertesz Exhibit
Went with two photographers to the Andre Kertesz exhibit at the International Center for Photography (ICP) and there they were - prints I had seen in my Kertesz book, only many of them were contact printed from what looked like a film that was only slightly larger than 35mm.
And how they were mounted, with at least 8-ply overmats, on what appeared to be 11 x 14 mat. In other words, you approached the postage-sized image, bent at the waist - and looked.
I mean - I like small images, say 5 x 7 inches, even some nice contact from a 4 x 5 inch negative, but this was teeny-tiny.
On top of that - I seem to have some juvenile streak in me that finds all these people gaping at images in this (to me sterile) environment - silly. Large museum and gallery space always does that to me.
How I would like to see people walking by with their pets; maybe cotton candy given out to the kids. I confess that this is my own fatal flaw and it takes a lot in a photograph to grab my attention. I did have that experience once at a Brett Weston exhibit - a sense of awe. But it is rare for me.
Possibly it's some sort of "class" thing since I get the giggles quite often if I go to the opera, or eat in a fancy restaurant. I always wish the Marx Brothers would come traipsing through knocking over plates nouveau cuisine on them. They should have made a movie called, A Night at the Museum, although they came close in an early movie where a famous painting is stolen in a mansion.
This inability to be appreciative at the gallery is part of the same impulse that draws me to photograph in such places.
I do not have the same problem with viewing paintings in such a space; though it does crop up once in a while and I can't help myself:
Afterwards we sat at a coffee shop and chatted, mostly about things photographic - and that was more fun. A woman across the way fascinated me and I probably took about ten shots of her sitting alone at a small table - but very animated expressive face.
There must be something mildly absurb about a photographer who doesn't really enjoy looking at photographs. My own house is pretty bare as far as photographs on the wall go. The part that I like is "the capture." That is what interests me and what is the most fun. And - I've said this ad nauseum in the blog but I believe that is a hunting instinct that has no other outlet. Even the word that is used in digital: capture suggests a hunting experience.
So now here you are where the other side of the hunt has been completed. The big institution has collected these trophies and hung them like lifeless heads on a bare white wall in the modern version of gilded frames which is to say non-obtrusive. I'd like to see some of these images in big ornate, carved wooden frames (see painting above).
And how they were mounted, with at least 8-ply overmats, on what appeared to be 11 x 14 mat. In other words, you approached the postage-sized image, bent at the waist - and looked.
I mean - I like small images, say 5 x 7 inches, even some nice contact from a 4 x 5 inch negative, but this was teeny-tiny.
On top of that - I seem to have some juvenile streak in me that finds all these people gaping at images in this (to me sterile) environment - silly. Large museum and gallery space always does that to me.
How I would like to see people walking by with their pets; maybe cotton candy given out to the kids. I confess that this is my own fatal flaw and it takes a lot in a photograph to grab my attention. I did have that experience once at a Brett Weston exhibit - a sense of awe. But it is rare for me.
Possibly it's some sort of "class" thing since I get the giggles quite often if I go to the opera, or eat in a fancy restaurant. I always wish the Marx Brothers would come traipsing through knocking over plates nouveau cuisine on them. They should have made a movie called, A Night at the Museum, although they came close in an early movie where a famous painting is stolen in a mansion.
This inability to be appreciative at the gallery is part of the same impulse that draws me to photograph in such places.
I do not have the same problem with viewing paintings in such a space; though it does crop up once in a while and I can't help myself:
Afterwards we sat at a coffee shop and chatted, mostly about things photographic - and that was more fun. A woman across the way fascinated me and I probably took about ten shots of her sitting alone at a small table - but very animated expressive face.
There must be something mildly absurb about a photographer who doesn't really enjoy looking at photographs. My own house is pretty bare as far as photographs on the wall go. The part that I like is "the capture." That is what interests me and what is the most fun. And - I've said this ad nauseum in the blog but I believe that is a hunting instinct that has no other outlet. Even the word that is used in digital: capture suggests a hunting experience.
So now here you are where the other side of the hunt has been completed. The big institution has collected these trophies and hung them like lifeless heads on a bare white wall in the modern version of gilded frames which is to say non-obtrusive. I'd like to see some of these images in big ornate, carved wooden frames (see painting above).
Live Well
Ouch. I don't like this. I'm starting to get mail from Senior Villages.
The brochures are filled with happy-looking old people. Is that me in one of the pictures?
Some of the copy scares me:
"Each spacious, private apartment is designed for the safety, ease and enjoyment of our residents. We feature senior-friendly bathrooms..."
"Our affiliation with H*** Hospital can make the transition from independent living to our continuum of care should your needs increase..."
And then I turn to another piece of junk mail - and lo and behold - it's from a cemetery.
Man - I think I'm a goner.
I have not minded getting old - but I certainly don't want to be surrounded by other old folks. I think I need a mix of kids and very ancient people around me. Certainly not my contemporaries.
Anyway - I need to check on when the crazy New York Halloween parade is. That was one of the reasons I was experimenting with pushing Tri-x.
The brochures are filled with happy-looking old people. Is that me in one of the pictures?
Some of the copy scares me:
"Each spacious, private apartment is designed for the safety, ease and enjoyment of our residents. We feature senior-friendly bathrooms..."
"Our affiliation with H*** Hospital can make the transition from independent living to our continuum of care should your needs increase..."
And then I turn to another piece of junk mail - and lo and behold - it's from a cemetery.
Man - I think I'm a goner.
I have not minded getting old - but I certainly don't want to be surrounded by other old folks. I think I need a mix of kids and very ancient people around me. Certainly not my contemporaries.
Anyway - I need to check on when the crazy New York Halloween parade is. That was one of the reasons I was experimenting with pushing Tri-x.
10/24/2005
Forum Credit
I would just like to give credit to Bruce Corkhill in England who wrote the Web Wiz Forum software that I'm using. I was able to load it on the Windows Server (yes Windows) and have the barebones running in about an hour. I already had a SQL database on the server that I use for my lame - but functional - cart.
To run it on one server without ads (the one ad that appears on the home page is mine) - can cost as little as $50 or if you want a whole bunch of other functionality: $190. I went for the whole package, but haven't added any of them yet.
I think it is in good enough shape that I can leave it alone for a while and see what happens. I just got the CDs of the Best of the Allman Brothers Band and have loaded it up on the Nano. I haven't heard Whippin' Post in a long time.
Well - there I go again - digressing. Start with a programmer in England and move to the Allman Brothers.
That should make for fascinating reading. Allman Brothers were really big in my dorm room at college. My roommate - Ricky - would get good and stoned and turn on Whippin' Post real loud, play slide air guitar and grimace like mad. I get an alumni news thing once a year and the last time I looked he was a lawyer practicing in Utah.
To run it on one server without ads (the one ad that appears on the home page is mine) - can cost as little as $50 or if you want a whole bunch of other functionality: $190. I went for the whole package, but haven't added any of them yet.
I think it is in good enough shape that I can leave it alone for a while and see what happens. I just got the CDs of the Best of the Allman Brothers Band and have loaded it up on the Nano. I haven't heard Whippin' Post in a long time.
Well - there I go again - digressing. Start with a programmer in England and move to the Allman Brothers.
That should make for fascinating reading. Allman Brothers were really big in my dorm room at college. My roommate - Ricky - would get good and stoned and turn on Whippin' Post real loud, play slide air guitar and grimace like mad. I get an alumni news thing once a year and the last time I looked he was a lawyer practicing in Utah.
More About the Forum
My biggest issue with photography forums - or what I'm concerned with - is that they tend to deteriorate into flame wars, back and forth crap about who's equipment is better, rumors, trolls, and just generally weird stuff (unless they're moderated).
Problem with moderating is that it is time consuming.
I'm thinking of some sort of approval threshold for being able to post. There would be a section where you'd fill out a post that has a link to your b&w images. I don't think they have to be particularly good - but they have to show some degree of sophistication in order to post.
Personally, I don't care about cursing - I curse all the time - but I don't want members calling each other names either - unless it's done with some wit. In other words, if you want to call yourself an idiot - I'm fine with that. If you want to grumble - fine.
But before you call another member a &^!* - you would need to take a deep breath, imagine that you are sitting in a bar with the other member who is bigger and stronger than you - and that you've both only had one or two beers. Now you need to look the other guy in the face and before your invective - ask yourself: Do you feel lucky? Well do you ya, punk.
At any rate - I'll spend a day working on it today and see how it goes.
I'm completely open to other ideas about how to manage the content of the forum.
THE BETA FORUM
Problem with moderating is that it is time consuming.
I'm thinking of some sort of approval threshold for being able to post. There would be a section where you'd fill out a post that has a link to your b&w images. I don't think they have to be particularly good - but they have to show some degree of sophistication in order to post.
Personally, I don't care about cursing - I curse all the time - but I don't want members calling each other names either - unless it's done with some wit. In other words, if you want to call yourself an idiot - I'm fine with that. If you want to grumble - fine.
But before you call another member a &^!* - you would need to take a deep breath, imagine that you are sitting in a bar with the other member who is bigger and stronger than you - and that you've both only had one or two beers. Now you need to look the other guy in the face and before your invective - ask yourself: Do you feel lucky? Well do you ya, punk.
At any rate - I'll spend a day working on it today and see how it goes.
I'm completely open to other ideas about how to manage the content of the forum.
THE BETA FORUM
10/23/2005
Motorcycle and Tri-x
Results of Tri-x @ 1600 (above) / Microphen / 16 minutes / stock / 68F are fascinating. The film seems great for night city shots and low-light situations. More contrasty (not all like this shot), but grain much less pronounced (much less!) than with TMZ and any formula I've used with it.
During the day, the tri-x @1600 / Microphen combination is just okay - or to put it another way too contrasty.
But - I really wanted the speed for low-light situations - so thank you Markus - DigitalTruth.com and anyone else who wants thanks.
I've got my two film speeds from the same film - though with two different developers.
Oh - the shot above - without the headlights of a passing car - would have been pure black. So I stood in the rain waiting for the right beams of light - and pre-focused - and pre-metered - and took this one shot with the 50mm at f2.0.
10/22/2005
New York Park Gallery
I starting to expand the site again by adding galleries grouped by subject.
First one I came up with is: New York Parks (brilliant eh?) I did include shots from some of the graveyards since those were the parks I played in as a kid. Actually, when I was a kid - any place that had a tree was considered a park.
First one I came up with is: New York Parks (brilliant eh?) I did include shots from some of the graveyards since those were the parks I played in as a kid. Actually, when I was a kid - any place that had a tree was considered a park.
10/21/2005
Ads
Sorry about the flashing banner on the home page and some of the other adverts that I'm experimenting with - but you know - I'm convinced that 90% of the people who stumble into this place really want a big poster. Let's see how it goes.
And here I was - just the other day complaining about all the ads on the tube. I'll try not to clutter the place up much more.
And here I was - just the other day complaining about all the ads on the tube. I'll try not to clutter the place up much more.
Portrait in Corridor
Portrait in Corridor
TMZ @ 1600 in Microphen - not the magic solution for me. In other words - grain size appearance is only every so slightly reduced compared to other developers I've used with TMZ Shots certainly weren't ruined but the developer / film combination is really your palette and what you want on that palette is very subjective. I like it better than the fast delta film - but it's just so-so in this solution.
I'll have time over the weekend to try the Tri-X @ 1600 in Microphen.
TMZ and Hospital
What happened was that on Thursday I was on my way out to spend some time (thought it would be a few hours) with my father at University Hospital (he's fine). But it turned into a monumental wait. Anyway - before I left at 8 a.m. I had a bit of Tri-X in the M3 which I had started at @400 and I knew that wasn't going to do it for shooting in the hospital and I wanted the quietness of the M3 so I pulled the Tri-X out and switched to the TMZ.
All day, and it was all day - I thought I was shooting Tri-X a@ 1600 but was surprised this morning to find it was TMZ @ 1600. I just developed it in Microphen: 10.5 minutes / stock / 68F / 3 inversions per minute. It's washing. Can't wait to see it. It was one of the combinations I wanted to try anyway.
Well, I have a roll in the other camera with Tri-X @ 1600 which I'm halfway through. There's at least one shot on that roll that I think is good, maybe. So I hope I didn't blow it.
All day, and it was all day - I thought I was shooting Tri-X a@ 1600 but was surprised this morning to find it was TMZ @ 1600. I just developed it in Microphen: 10.5 minutes / stock / 68F / 3 inversions per minute. It's washing. Can't wait to see it. It was one of the combinations I wanted to try anyway.
Well, I have a roll in the other camera with Tri-X @ 1600 which I'm halfway through. There's at least one shot on that roll that I think is good, maybe. So I hope I didn't blow it.
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