Group of Italian Visitors to the Vatican. Circa 1995

 

original print scanned for the blog with an iPhone.

I made a trip to Rome to photograph with the Mamiya 6 camera in 1995. It was a delightful camera. The rangefinder made focusing quick and easy. The big, 6x6cm film format made for luscious prints. The 50mm, 75mm and 150mm lenses were nothing short of fantastic.

I wasn't a small camera. It wasn't unobtrusive or discreet. But really, all that blather about having to have the tiniest, fastest, quietest cameras in order to operate in the street is really just a reflection of the self intimidating self-talk of timid photographers. Working with honest intention is the best form of invisibility.

I spent a bit over a week walking through the streets of Rome that year taking photographs of whatever caught my eye. I never got push back from anyone; anywhere in the city. I don't hide my cameras. I don't put my cameras under a jacket or coat only to be whipped out for a tiny moment to steal a scene. I work in the open for everyone to see. A genuine smile is the best lubrication for making photographs with strangers more comfortable --- for everyone. It's also better than resorting to long lenses. 

When I walked around with my medium format rangefinder camera I kept it focused to about ten feet. I learned to read the light and to keep the shutter speed and aperture settings close to what I thought the prevailing light might call for. The settings got tweaked when I pulled the camera up to my eye but... the settings were already in the ballpark.  

I hardly ever settled for one quick frame but would shoot at least two, and usually four or five, frames of a scene, trying with each new frame to fine tune my composition further. To narrow down to what caught my eye in the first place. 

I felt the same pattern emerge when I went to Montreal last year with a Leica M. It's fun to look for images. Even more fun to continue shooting until you've distilled the moment down to its essentials. Walk for ten or twelve hours a day when you are out on an adventure/vacation. You'll beat the odds for getting photographs by playing the numbers, constantly practicing, and getting yourself to the places where the situations for photos are most interesting...

OT

I often talk about exercise here. Most of the people I know who are around my age and who are active photographers are also in great shape. And few of them can "blame" being in shape on genetics. Good physical fitness, heart health, lung capacity, walking endurance and so much more is accomplished by spending the time and having the discipline to exercise every day. Not just an amble around the block if the weather is nice but long runs or long swims, or anything that gets the heart rate up and sustained for an hour or so every damn day. A good standby? Toss a camera bag over a shoulder or a backpack over both shoulders, toss a battery and a memory card into a favorite camera and head out the door for a two hour photographic fun walk. 

So many Americans are sedentary throughout their work lives and then, when the results of not having the discipline to exercise come home to roost they just pass it off as a normal part of "getting older." And they throw up their hands in surrender to America's enormously profitable medical industry, leaving "the system" to tidy up the mess. If I had one tip for younger photographers; hell any younger people, it would be to get up off your butt for at least an hour a day and put in the time doing something fun, enjoyable and physically demanding. Go play soccer. Ride a bike; fast. You'll thank me decades later when you are prescription free, not getting bigger and bigger, and not having to give up the very things that bring joy. Like walking for hours through fascinating streets with your camera as your companion, discovering and rediscovering the big, beautiful world. 

My other tips: wear good shoes. eat well. smile more. worry less. You live well by living well.