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.
When I was a teenage boy in the mid-Seventies, living in rural Nova Scotia, I spent hours studying the album covers created by Hipgnosis, the London-based design group. This was before I grew interested in photography, but, as LPs like Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” or “Ummagumma” played on the turntable, I scrutinized the covers, trying to penetrate the mysteries of the evocative, layered visual compositions. My “Wish You Were Here” is an ongoing photographic project that’s been in the works for several years. I aim to capture images that have a sense of the surreal yet are readily seen in everyday life. Additionally, I try to capture the sense of whimsy and humour that I liked about those album covers. The images come about through observation, rather than with Photoshop or other manipulations. For me, that’s an important aspect of the project–there’s no manipulation of the image. Reflections, juxtaposition, and scale all come into play.
More photos in the series can be seen in the book Wish You Were Here – available through Blurb Books.
I’ve been a fan of Lee Friedlander since I discovered his photographs in 1978, in a book titled Concerning Photography. His photos are bursting with creativity, intelligence and deadpan humour–they seem to be the visual equivalent of jazz music. He has been one of my main sources of photographic inspiration over the years.
Lee Friedlander, famous for his pioneering photos of the urban social landscape, has a talent for filling his photos with visual content without making them seem overly crowded. Eric Kim writes on his blog, “Friedlander was very conscious of how he framed his scenes, and wanted to add more complexity to his shots through adding content of interest.”
He accomplished this by using a wide-angle lens—usually a 35mm. That way objects in the foreground can remain in focus along with background elements. Though complexity is not always the answer, it certainly adds interest.
Friedlander also welcomed foreground obstructions such as poles and trees as a way of creating visual interest. He explains, “Somebody else could walk two feet away to get those poles and tress and other stuff out of the way, I almost walk two feet to get into it, because it is a part of the game that I play. It isn’t even conscious; I probably just drift into it… its like a found pleasure. You’ve found something that you like and you play with it for the rest of your life.”
I have included some photos on this post that are my attempt to speak the “language of Lee.” They remind me why I love taking photos. In his words, “You don’t have to go looking for pictures. The material is generous. You go out and the pictures are staring at you.”
