Unusual weather conditions often create interesting photos. Today I had to make an 80 km drive to Halifax, and took the opportunity to get some storm photos. I didn’t spend much time out in the elements–most of the photos were taken in the car–but got a chance to walk on the streets in the snow and freezing rain. It’s a challenge keeping the camera protected then quickly pulling it out and getting the shot.
I’ll keep taking storm photos in the blowing rain and snow. It keeps me in touch with the seasons and the passage of time.
I have only been to New York City three times in my life, but each visit there holds vivid memories. It’s an interesting experience to walk around Manhattan with a camera–so much human activity and so many interesting buildings and sights. But I must admit that I never felt very comfortable there. From my Canadian perspective, large American cities seem dangerous and in 1983, New York City was a bit run down and dodgy in certain areas.
These photos were taken on a Ryerson school trip in early November, 1983. I used a Rollei 35S with Tri-X film and shot about six rolls of film over two days. I was looking for interesting scenes and bits of human interaction. Decades later when I scanned the negatives, I found information about the photos that I didn’t know at the time. For instance, the busker playing saxophone was an 18 year old Vincent Herring–a noted jazz saxophonist. Also the invasion of Grenada had just taken place–something I wasn’t really aware of at the time.
Looking at these photos makes me want to go back again, to capture new images and form new memories.
Photographers can be creatures of habit–returning to the same locations again and again, seeking out the same golden light, and even habitually using the same gear. But sometimes it’s good to change it up.
Yesterday my trusty kit zoom broke down. It’s practically the only lens I’ve used for the past several years. Its range is roughly 28mm – 85mm–convenient and versatile. I was forced to bring out my 50 mm lens that I use as a back up. It took me back to my early days doing street photography in Toronto using a Rollei 35S. That camera has a fixed 40mm lens.
The 50mm lens was the lens that came with SLR film cameras. Boomers will remember this well. Many people who didn’t get into photography seriously never used another lens. It is said to cover the visual range that the eye normally sees. Apparently it was the lens that Cartier-Bresson used for his pioneering street photographs.
Rather than being limiting, I found the 50mm lens to be unexpectedly liberating. It made me view scenes in a different way, and take photos in a different way. A welcome change for an old-timer like me.
