10.26.2011

Lonely hunter. Better hunt.

 I did a trip to Paris solely to take photographs for myself back in 1992.   That sounds selfish but I didn't have any children to take care of and my wife was enmeshed in a busy career as an art director for a prosperous advertising agency.  I was approached by Agfa that year to be a tester for their line of APX films and I requested a case of their 100 speed film and another of their 400 speed film.  They asked me where I wanted to photograph and I said, "Paris."  A month later, in late October, I was there with a camera bag full of new Canon EOS lenses and a couple of camera bodies.  Oh, and a big shopping bag full of black and white film.

I have a Friend who is French and lives in Paris.  We've hosted his family and his kids here in Austin a number of times.  When I travel to Paris I stay in a small "maid's apartment" above his home in one of the central arrondissmonts.  The apartment is near the top of the building and is very spare.  Just a shower, a sink and a bed.  But what more do you need?  My friend is like a lifeguard at a pool.  When I visit he tells me what has changed and what's remained the same.  Areas to avoid and areas to visit.  While he is always busy with work and a family we make time for one really nice dinner when I visit.

On this trip I spent every day doing much the same thing:  I would get up early and have coffee and a small breakfast at the cafe around the corner.  I stood at the counter.  My order was always the same:  cafe au lait and a croissant.  Then I would put a 50mm lens on one EOS-1 (the original Canon pro AF body) and an 85mm 1.2 on the other and I'd head out into the streets just to hunt for fun images.  I'd stop for lunch at the Fauchon cafe or duck into McDonald's on the Champs Elysee when I'd get nostalgic for American haute cuisine.  In the evenings I'd connect with American friends who were temporarily living in Paris and we'd go out to neighborhood restaurants.  It was always an adventure.

On that trip I shot thru 100 rolls of ISO 100 and 100 rolls of ISO 400 APX.  When I got back to Austin I sent all of the film to BWC photo lab in Dallas and they developed it and made contact sheets, courtesy of Agfa.  I still look through the notebooks I put together, pull negatives and make scans of new favorites.

But until I did this trip on my own I had always traveled with, first my parents, then my college girl friend and finally, with my wife.  And in all those scenarios photography takes a back seat to the social appeasement of travelling with people and spending time with them.  You might want to wander aimlessly but the other person or people you are travelling with might have an agenda.  A list of museums to visit and stores to shop in.  They want to ride on the Bateaux Mouche and climb the Eiffel Tower.  Try as they might they don't really understand your desire to walk around, stop, turnaround, click the shutter, walk ten feet and then do it all over again.  Friction arises.

I must say that Belinda is the best traveling companion any photographer could ever want.  She can be totally autonomous.  I'll wake up and ask her what she wants to do when we visit a foreign city and she already has two itineraries devised.  One if I am tagging along and one if I'm not.  If it's the latter option we make plans to meet up for supper.  

But in 1992 it was up to me, continuously.  These were the days before the internet so there was no need to "check in."  No compulsive e-mail checking.  No silly/obnoxious tweets.  And no cellphone either.  I could go days without speaking to anyone I knew and that was cool because it concentrated my attention onto taking photographs or getting myself into position to take photographs.  I came to know the feel of the EOS-1 in a way that I can barely fathom now.  It was an amazing camera. (But this is certainly not a camera review!!!)

Here's what I learned:  If you want to do photography at a level that really satisfies your soul and your ego you'll need to do it alone.  Forget having the spouse or girlfriend or best friend or camera buddy tagging along.  Forget the whole sorry concept of the "photo walk" which does nothing but engender homogenization and "group think."  Leave all electronics in your hotel room.  Cut off all communications, during the day, from or to the "real world" and immerse yourself in the hunt for images.  Learn what makes your brain salivate and why.  Learn to operate that camera by braille. And make your decisions based on what your inner curator wants you to say.

Everything else is just play time bullshit. 


None of your non-photographer friends will understand, and that's okay.  Your real photographer friends will either be jealous or nodding their heads in appreciative approval because they've been there. When you see the world unfold in front of you, unencumbered by the social construct of the group, you become freed to see differently and make different decisions about what you'll photograph and why.  In the end you'll come home with intensely personal photographs.  Quirky photographs.  Powerful photographs.


Many of you will throw your hands up and complain that you have kids and obligations and can't possibly get away by yourself.  Others will whine that "their spouse would never let me go to Paris without them."  But you only get one life.  If you have a spouse like that you might think about a quick divorce.  If you have kids you might think about the example you are showing them.  That life is the adventure and you either sit at home and watch or you get up and participate.

When my son was six months old I had the opportunity to go to Rome to shoot in the streets for ten days with free film provided by Kodak.  I was out the door as soon as I could find my passport.  My wife is a strong person who doesn't need my constant presence for validation.  She was thrilled for my opportunity and again I came home with images I love.  Make the time.  Go out to shoot.

I know people who will only travel on tours or cruises.  They are missing out on so much.  It's like being guided through paradise with a blindfold on.  


My favorite story from the Paris trip in 1992 was when my friend's wife took me to lunch.  She met me somewhere near their home with her Vespa, handed me a helmet and stuck me on the back and then zoomed through the streets like something out of a movie chase scene.  I was riding "bitch" on the back and terrified.  We parked on a sidewalk and went through an ancient pedestrian corridor to a restaurant that I'd never be able to find again.  The table tops were covered with white butcher paper and the waiters would come by and ask what we wanted and then mark it in pencil on the paper.  If we ordered wine that would go on the paper.  The meal was incredible but even more incredible was the people watching in the ancient dining room.  Professional waiters addressing the kitchen.  Lovers leaning over the table to share a kiss.  Business men in dark suits sharing bottles of wine over boisterous lunches.  And me, clicking away with the 85mm.

My lunch companion asked me what I'd like to see that afternoon.  I said, "Paris."  And she kissed me on the cheek and left in a puff of smoke.  I headed out to see more.  Always just a little bit more.  


What do I do with all these images?  I look at them.  I remember my feelings of "thought" freedom from traveling unecumbered.  And I incorporate the feelings of freedom, from time to time,  in whatever work I am doing at the moment.


It's important to travel outside your usual visual space. Outside your cultural comfort zone.  Outside your social network/safety net.  It's important to learn to be comfortable by yourself.  Many psychological studies point to the power that groups have to subtly and even unconsciously push you into conforming.  Into synchronizing into the pattern of the group.  If you want to express an individual vision you have to become individual.  There's no other way to do it.

And if you want to take images just like everyone else, and tag along with everyone else, you might as well just stay at home and download some stock photography from the web.



Reject the idea of the "Photo Walk" unless it's a solo walk with your camera. 


Leave the social anchors and straight jackets at home.  There will always be another time for an inclusive family vacation.


Experience the joy of unique discovery.  More powerful in many ways than the shared experience.


And do it NOW before your life has passed you by and you regret the choices you never made.

Cameras may change but the hunt goes on, unabated.  Don't wait for all the stars to line up.
Don't wait for the lottery.  We feel richer from our experiences than from any item we buy.
It's just our human nature.






A quick nod to Ben who turned 16 on Sunday...

 Ben at Emma Long Park.  Contax G2 with 21mm Biogon Lens.  Kodak T-max 400 CN  (C-41 process, black and white film).


Ben at Asti.  Leica M6 .8TTL,  50mm Summilux.  Tri-X film.

Ben.  A few weeks ago.  Dining room table.  Hasselblad 501 CM.  80mm Planar.  Tri-X.


I guess everyone likes their kids.  I really like the one I got.  He's smart and kind.  And he's very patient when I ask him to help me with photographic stuff.  I find it funny just how many photographs of Ben are done in black and white or with the intention of black and white.  I also find it amusing that he's been photographed with such a wide range of cameras.

He just turned sixteen years old and he's still socially adroit and happy.  I know, I know, it's only a matter of time before the rebellion kicks in.

Ben likes "hand me down" cameras, but only if they do video.  Extra points if they have microphone inputs.  He's got a collection of Canons super zooms that he and his friends use for video projects.  He owns his own Gitzo Tripod, complete with side arm and fluid head, because he used mine way too often.

Will he become a photographer?  Naw.  He's way too smart for that....

Some fake words that we should all avoid.



"Really?  You think that sounds cool?.....right."  Lou.  Hasselblad camera.  150mm lens.  Agfa black and white film.




Here are words (and concepts) that drive me nuts when I read them. Language has meaning. These words subvert meaning and are too cute by far.....let's shy away from ever using them unless some Englishman is holding a gun to your head.....

Uni. Meant to be an abbreviation for university. But really just the Latin root for singular or one. After investing several hundred thousand dollars in an education would you really want to say "when I was at Uni..." ????

Brolly. One of those whimsically stupid abbreviations that make my skin crawl like fingernails on the proverbial chalk board. It really means: "umbrella." Brolly Box is the worst iteration. Boycott anyone who refers to their product this way. What next? The "Bumpershooter!" ????

Doco. Just read this bastardization on Phillip Bloom's website. It's meant to be a shortening of the word, "documentary." Given enough time the English will attempt to abbreviate anything they can. That doesn't make it right.  "He shot a doco!"  No.

Tog. Meant to be an abbreviation of the time honored word, "Photographer." The problem is that "tog" has a previous meaning. It refers to apparel or articles of clothing. Both confusing and diminutive. Let's all promise never to use it in reference to picture taking again.  Makes us sound like toys.

Strobist. Nice business name but a poor description of people who have cameras and also have the ability to light things with small lights. One man may call himself a "Strobist" if he invented the term. When others appropriate the word it garners the same slimy veneer that "Members Only" jackets had in the 1970's.......a big flashing, neon sign that screams:
"Wannabe."

PhotoWalk. It's a walk. You just happen to be bringing your camera along to exercise it. PhotoWalk sounds so......clubby. It's okay to ask a friend, "Do you want to grab our cameras and walk around downtown?" Photowalk sounds so single minded and pretentious.

MeetUp. HookUp. BangUp. It's a meeting. It's sex. It's a wreck. Just use the right word. Meet Up implies that people will get together for a meeting. There's a real word for that: meeting.

Blog. (noun) It's really an article. You've written an article.  Why does it need a new word just because it lives on the internet?

Add words to this list as you desire. But those are the ones that make my jaw ache.  To each their own?  I think not.



Article edited for good taste at 12:37 Texas Time.