Look Left: Monday Photo Stroll
I. Look Left
"Look Left," the sign states, painted on the asphalt roadway. It's Monday and Hunter and I are trekking through the Nob Hill district of Albuquerque, on a photo stroll. He came equipped with a German-made Kodak Retina IIA, circa the 1950s, and I came equipped with a Lumix G5, circa 2012. His camera is loaded with color film, mine a memory card and battery.
Look Left. It could be a political statement, especially given the proximity to the U.S. Presidential election, and our proximity to the progressive heart of Albuquerque, Nob Hill.
"Look Left" is a warning, to the careless at heart, who might dare to step off the curbside into oncoming traffic, that stops for no man, regardless of political persuasion. Life is full of these little warnings, if we would but listen, take notice, heed the warning signs.
II. Shooting the Shooter - Hunter
The terminology of photography seems to have taken on the language of warfare: hunting, capturing, shooting. It implies an aggression out of character from its nature, that being painting with light. Perhaps we can regain that lost sense of purpose by shooting the shooter, hunting the Hunter.
III. Casting a Shadow
Sometimes you can't help it, your presence is irrefutable, in life as well as in taking photos, your presence casts a shadow that becomes part of the tapestry of the landscape being documented, not separated from it, the observer becoming part of that being observed.
IV. Gifts Given
Photographic images are gifts, freely given to us or freely found, on borrowed time, especially those in the natural and built landscape, illuminated by photons a mere eight minutes old. Does anyone own the sunlight, I wonder? These are some of that which I was given:
posted by Joe V at 12:56 AM
3 Comments:
I really enjoyed the use of shadow to place the photographer within the scene. And I'm impressed with the B&W quality of that Lumix. The silvery bright whites and gradations of grey to deep black remind me of older, silver-content film.
How did Hunter's shots come out? I've had seriously good results with the German lens on my Retina IIa. (I refer to the camera, not my photography skills.) And the shutter speeds are still pretty close to the settings. Hmmmm! Now to get it out again for a rangefinder session.
Jeff The Bear
Jeff: Hunter's pictures came out okay, the ones shot out of door were exposed and focused well, the ones shot indoors were handheld at too slow of a shutter speed to prevent camera shake, but then he was using ISO100 film. He missed focus on some of these indoor shots, due I suspect to the newness of using the rangefinder and that it's patch is a bit dim.
One of my favorite aspects of following your blog is your street photography of Albuquerque. The city really comes to life in your posts, reminding me of many occasions spent there.
The last time I was in Albuquerque was during your big snowstorm of Dec. 30, 2005. The city was transformed into a surreal wonderland of abundant snow (at least 18 inches as I recall). Do you have pictures of that event, and if so, would you consider posting them sometime?
Post a Comment
<< Home