on suomenlinna island, helsinki, finland

I rarely write about how I took a photo i.e. camera used, f-stop, shutter speed. I do however have very strict rules about framing, backgrounds, lighting etc when it comes to some of my work. There is a very illuminating and inspirational dvd set entitled Contacts where famous photographers discuss their photos and methods with great detail. Some people can talk at lengths about process and make it seem very interesting. I however cannot but I'm learning. I will say that the shot above was the last of a few quick shots taken without thinking of framing, exposure, sun, etc. I focused and pressed the button. Not a happy accident at all (I did intend to take a photo of her with that smile) but rather a pleasant surprise to know that I didn't have to sacrifice a thing by not paying attention to the camera. Maybe that's where the good stuff comes from. When you've removed yourself from the details and just let things happen.

after Bailey via Antonioni and Vitti

I've been on a Michelangelo Antonioni film kick lately. L'avventura, Red Desert, The Passenger featuring the late Maria Schneider, and Blow Up to mention a few. His films have a very dreamlike quality coupled with seemingly disconnected events. The beautiful Italian actress Monica Vitti graces several of these films and is the embodiment of that dream state. Moving on to Blow Up, the story of a young mod photographer in 60's Swingin' London who believes he has captured a murder in a series of photographs. Antonioni based the character on fashion photographer David Bailey whose shot of Mick Jagger above has always been one of my favorite which leads us to the whole point of this story... my homage to Bailey with the top photo of the lovely correspondent. More embodiment of dreamy.

prospect park

august sander - photographs of an epoch

August Sander was a German photographer known for his portraits in addition to landscapes and architecture. The book above is from the exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1980. Thumbing through this monograph I am drawn to the simplicity of his portraits and titles of his subject's professions. Sander abandoned the confines of his studio and set out on bicycle to find his subjects along the roads he traveled. I identify with that approach because all of my automobile photos require going outdoors and a great deal of walking, searching and combing the same areas over and over again.

the photographs of jacques henri lartigue

Jacques Henri Lartigue was a French photographer and accomplished painter. He began at an early age photographing his friends and family. My favorite shot is from an automobile race (one of Lartigue's favorite subjects) where Lartigue pans the camera quickly as car goes by distorting the car and the spectators. This catalog contains Lartigue's images from the Museum of Modern Art galleries during the summer of 1963. He was 67 years old at the time.

the camera

At The Strand bookstore in Manhattan in a small section upstairs devoted to auction/museum catalogs and photography periodicals, there is always something interesting to be found. A recent purchase entitled The Camera, (part of a larger collection put out by Time Life Books circa 1970) covers the fundamentals of the camera and lenses then ventures into “the scientific underpinnings of photography”. The previous owner taped in a few overlays of onionskin paper and traced elements of the photo with a marker to study the composition. Perspective? Rule of Thirds? I suppose this is the equivalent of notes in the margin or underlined passages in a textbook or novel. More importantly it contains wonderful black and white photos by Alfred Stieglitz, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Bruce Davidson, Lee Friedlander and many others. I’ll be sharing a few other purchases soon…