The Good Stuff.

▼

9.28.2011

If your pictures aren't fun enough then you lack a sense of humor.

I see stuff all the time that tickles me.  Makes me laugh.  Makes me happy to be alive.  And I try to photograph it.  This image is one of those vignettes.  And believe me, there was no way for me to sneak a subtle, voyeuristic street shot.  Nope, I was using a normal lens on a big medium format film camera and I walked up until I was about ten feet away from these gentlemen, I smiled, raised the camera and clicked the shutter.  They let it all roll past.  I was a tourist.  A mild annoyance.  Here and then gone.  And that's fine with me but I'll always remember the moment of joy when I first saw them posing at one of the many side streets leading into the Piazza Navonna.  It was visual love at first sight.  Was I embarrassed?  Nope.  I was too busy trying to fight my natural, cultural resistance to directly interacting with strangers in public.  Was I afraid?  In one of the last bastions of civilization?  Hardly.

Medium format camera.  Normal lens.  Black and white film.
at

5 comments:

  1. Dave JenkinsSeptember 30, 2011 at 8:26 AM

    Wow! I can't believe no one has responded to this post. Must be a bunch of super-serious, humorless dudes around here.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kirk, Photographer/WriterSeptember 30, 2011 at 1:53 PM

    Dave, I agree. Does this post have some sort of protective bubble around it or what?

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousOctober 1, 2011 at 6:15 PM

    they're all saving their comments for your next gear review!

    -K

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousOctober 1, 2011 at 6:18 PM

    This post is ineffective. I didn't learn anything about lighting depth of field.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Stefan WimmerOctober 4, 2011 at 8:35 AM

    May day still has to come when I dare to simply make a photo of a completely stranger ... I even hesitate with friends ;-)

    But it helps immensely to read this kind of posts to see what feelings and thoughts of yours are involved in those (for me very) uncomfortable situations.

    Thanks for that!
    Stefan

    ReplyDelete

We Moderate Comments, Yours might not appear right after you hit return. Be patient; I'm usually pretty quick on getting comments up there. Try not to hit return again and again.... If you disagree with something I've written please do so civilly. Be nice or see your comments fly into the void. Anonymous posters are not given special privileges or dispensation. If technology alone requires you to be anonymous your comments will likely pass through moderation if you "sign" them. A new note: Don't tell me how to write or how to blog! I can't make you comment but I don't want to wade through spam!