Marek Mezyk Photograph's

Home Brewing

2010-12-22T23:32:00.000-05:00

The entry I am working on will be on Religion and its tolerances and will appear here with in the next day or two. But tonight a more lighthearted announcement of my new label of my beer. Over the last few months I have fell in love with the idea of brewing my own beer. I recently found a place where I can get some assistance and brew on premisses. And hence I made a clone from a massive book of recipes of a beer I first tasted in San Francisco. The image attached is the label I designed tonight. The beer will probably be around 7% alcohol but given its a limited edition of the first Mezyk beer, who is really concerned about that. Cheers!!

Back and continuing steady from now on...

2010-12-13T21:12:00.001-05:00

If I can link the previous entries with this one I will. For now I want to mineralize the procrastination and move forward with the blog.

Now being December, this year has really been somewhat monumental in the course of my creative work. It actually marries the personal and creative self into continual search of purpose for the both. And the transformation has been completely unexpected. For most of the year I have been collecting a lot of puzzles that were to complex to fit together into something instantly meaningful. None of that will go away. At 32 I have accepted that and begun to find comfort in it. Questions of why and their purpose are nothing more then a satisfaction that the creative part of the work will never stay stagnant. So life goes on.

There is a special alignment that occurred this year between the personal and creative self that is gaining momentum. But this finest fragment can only be attributed to something I have previously given too little thought and I honestly admit seriously overlooked. You see, the work I happen to most enjoy creating comes out of the personal self consciousness and most guarded against social influences which I find myself at war with. The breakdown on universal truth and values has turned into consumerism which lacks any sense of individual value. Further more the only wisdom that is valued is one that can create profit. And hence what wisdom that might be popular today is what is being adopted in the consumption which is falsely believed as a path toward success. Imitation without imagination. Imitation of what was once in fashion and attempting to exploit it for profit while people are still familiar with it. Its sad really. But we're not allowed to think that while the advertisements and political correctness has its time in the everyday rhythm. To think you are individual seems remarkably wrong.

But I am not alone. I leaned that through fantastic luck and fate of this year. Some things are unexplainable. And the biggest lesson I learned this year is that you don't need to compromise to fit in. Simply believe and carry on. The risk at hand is that you will be labeled. But why accept judgment of others if you are worth more. The discovery of that value is the essence of life. Accept now that 99% of people in your life will never understand you. But know that that 1% is worth more then any superficial success attained.

(Note about the photograph: It a reflection on window of the train car. Straight shot - only contrast and black levels adjusted and maybe a slight white balance shift but not much.)

2010-07-05T13:57:00.003-05:00

A year since last post. Everything changed there there is little point of writing it all up here. I had my love/hate approach to shooting. Could not stop shooting while not being happy what I have been getting. Well, there is less thinking of the reasons behind now and more of trusting my intuition. Not everything works but I am happy with the realization.

Photograph: Kluczborksa Street, Wroclaw, Poland, June 2010.

2009-06-21T22:40:00.001-05:00

Typical day. I have decided to carry my camera around more often. More random posts. Its been too long.

Tonight, just an observation at Costco. Its a funny observation. Its a mad house inside. All bulk items and some are pure luxury. There is never a shortage of customers who pay at least $50 a year to buy all this stuff. Its like this every time I go there. And its not like this is the only Costco warehouse around. There is probably 3 or 4 within a 20 mile radius. Who says economy is changing shopping habits?

2009-03-22T14:56:00.005-05:00

New Jersey has a massive industrial landscape. Most vivid examples are around the city of Newark. The northeast corridor train tracks run all along the state but just south of Newark Penn station the city of Elizabeth, Linden and Rahway are clustered around a major Seaport and oil refineries. The resulting landscape is a mixture of still used and long abandoned buildings and structures. This is an everyday set of views from a NJ transit train window.

2009-03-15T14:51:00.008-05:00

My other work has kept me from writing here. Wedding Photography is a decent discipline to have paid Photojournalism assignments. Since I do it part time there is still learning of the industry and the time lines of getting more work.

In the recent issue of PDN magazine there are 30 coming about Photographers. There are I think 2 who are self thought. I like work of a Japanese photographer who happens o be the first one featured. Interestingly he got started when a friend who was working in Kosovo on a UN mission asked him to visit. The rest is history.

I can't afford at the moment to go to War zones or flying to third world countries on 3 month self assigned photo journalistic projects. But that does not mean I won't do it in the future. Photojournalism is one from of photography that time and time again inspires me.

I'll be going to Mexico in 2 weeks where I'm hoping to do some street photography.

Today few images from yesterday. A laid back day of the the ordinary. The church is from 18th century and judging by the front it has changed owners a few times. Sadly little attention is given to the headstones. I spotted a one from 1832 but I think some of the other ones are even older.

2009-01-01T23:31:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year Everyone! I've been busy all day working on images from last weekend. Over 2000 images to go through and pick the best from. The weekend coming up will be busy as well. There is a lot in the queue at the moment which is good. Sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed though.

Tonight is a portrait of a celebrity Hair Stylist from Boston. This shoot was from the first weekend of December. Tonight is the first chance I got to at least play with one image. The shoot itself was a bit of crazy. I had literally 10 minutes to set up 2 lights. One was a Octa 'deep throat' box from Elinchrome and the side light was from a Profoto head (giving the higlight). I'm just happy I was able to get it right so quickly. It was just one of those shoots where your subject is eager to leave before you even set up your lights.

2008-12-30T00:13:00.003-05:00

I think they were strangers, those two sitting. The other man was lost in his music. It was the day after christmas and I was returning home on a Friday night because I didn't have a day off.

2008-12-25T21:33:00.004-05:00

Its Christmas Day 2008 and over 2 months since I did my last entry.

I've been thinking how difficult digital images are to process. The initial file is a starting point but the final image is left as complete interpretation of the photographer attitude at the moment. Sitting at the table yesterday I took a photograph of my mom which came out in a very good warm light. Upon working on it on the computer screen I begun adjusting it to suit various tones and making the skin tone more real. The original image had a heavy yellow cast. All this has made me realize how difficult starting from a point where everything can be reinterpreted truly is. I am including the finished photograph, one caught at a moment probarly not flattering her. This of course is one image interpretation.

2008-10-13T20:39:00.009-05:00

I'm starting off with re-posting an image from last night. Atop the Train Monitor is a sticker I found to be... well quite an effort to place.

And so that was yesterday. The second image is of commercialism. I hate trends.

2008-10-12T21:44:00.003-05:00

From Cat Stevens:
"Miles from nowhere
Not a soul in sight
Oh yeah, but its alright

I have my freedom
I can make my own rules
Oh yeah, the ones that I choose

Lord my body has been a good friend
But I wont need it when I reach the end"

So today I walked through World Trade Center. And I wondered about what I saw. Empty Space. People walking along the site. And then a sticker at Newark Penn Station atop of the Train monitors... saying 9/11 was an inside job. I don't know but too fast has the issue disappeared bringing pain to workers at the site down to making the bad guys somewhere out there.

2008-10-06T20:00:00.005-05:00

Colder weather and I like it. I read more when its colder. I cannot concentrate when humidity outside condenses to drops flowing down my back. I also feel lazy in the heat. I think most people do. I kept my room at somewhere around 65F to keep it bearable through most of the summer.

Well, wine is my beverage with cooler air till summer. Reading Mr. Parker's Wine Advocate and Bordeaux book. I like writers who stick to principles. Mr. Parker makes money on his work not his perks. I highly recommend his Wine Advocate guide, to whom I am a subscriber.

Tonight a photograph from last saturday. There was a park in the middle of NJ with Sheep barn. There is something so truthful about the look of this sheep. Animals speak volumes without words.

2008-10-05T18:37:00.003-05:00

Fall is here. I feel very nostalgic lately.

I am thinking of how is starting a life (post college) like in Eastern Europe (more specifically in Poland). I am thinking how much life might be more in my liking in Europe vs. what I have come to accept as normal in America.

Autumn with the cooler air makes me go back into researching (and drinking) wine and reading more.

Tonight a simple photograph of where I close my final thoughts for the day.

2008-09-15T22:34:00.002-05:00

This is from Urban drive through. I don't like graffiti. I tried liking it thinking its some sort of art but I find it very intrusive. Art in public place without permission is visual pollution. I want to rest my eyes in peace and if I look over I want to have a choice to look at symmetry of concrete. Simple texture of concrete is sometimes pleasing. I would not cram a photograph because its a bare white wall. Not in public at least.

2008-09-01T23:23:00.004-05:00

So its September. Time is flying. I wish I could keep track of it. But I do want to say that life has been what I could have not have predicted better. I have been busy nonstop for the last few weeks.
Today I sat down and went through a few June images. Three months ago seem like yesterday and yet summer is over. But no nostalgia here. This has been among most productive summers I have ever had. Diving head first into commercial photography is something I only imagined and never thought I will. Its a start.

Tonight images are from a Chalkfest that occurred in Jersey City, New Jersey back in June. Its where intercity kids have a chance to bring awareness to their chances at better life. I like the cause so I photographed it.

2008-07-15T19:36:00.005-05:00

Portraits. Taking them of someone you know is like asking yourself who you are. If you know who you are you can then interpret your relationship with someone. If you're lucky, which a lot of photography is about, is getting the image of that someone according to your relationship. That is the beauty and simplicity of a good portrait. To understand yourself is to take a relationship and visualize it. No one says it will be good first time around. It depends on the honesty one has with themselves. I love seeing how I feel. I learn from looking at myself.

Two portraits tonight are I think real. They are of feelings and interpretations of where they are today. Intellectuals. Lost in thought. No one who thinks about life is truly smiling. None of those pictures would be real. These two portraits represent among the most intelligent people I know who know life because they are not afraid to live it in a true to themselves way.

2008-07-13T20:33:00.010-05:00

Apple iPhone has now bunch of applications and some of them for even posting blog entries remotly. But I probably pass on that.

The 600 mile service was due on the Vespa so I took it to the dealer and got it all done yesterday. While waiting I got a chance to test ride a few bikes. One of them was the MP3 scooter made by Piaggio. Then there was the walk over (netx door) the Ducati dealer to ride the Hypemotard with the upgrated exhaust. Wow! That was FUN!! That bike is whole bunch of 'I want it' while so many unpractical thoughts come to mind. Its just fun and Smooth!!

But aside from a fun Saturday, tonight a quick collection of somewhat of a typical commute. I avoided the Rush Hour by stopping for a drink at the Hyatt before heading back home. This was midweek.

The trip is via the PATH train that runs between World Trade Center and Newark, NJ. Exchange place is Jersey City, NJ. It is the last stop before the end of the line in NYC. The way back to Newark is across a Shipping yard, under the NJ Turnpike, through a service station for NJ Transit (at least some of the trains), few abandoned warehouses and finally arriving at Newark Penn Station.

It is a strange place in the middle of a strange city. Newark still has a rough reputation for crime. Few new buildings and restaurants have opened around the area. The Newark Penn Station is somewhat a gloomy place. It feels Train Station but I don't believe that its enough. The Station represents the mood of the city very well. The homeless roam the and smells dirty and its something that although does not need hallways and waiting rooms, live out of the bathroom and bring in a grunge feel to it all. Sadly, the trip from NYC to Newark via Path sets the mood quite accurately.

2008-07-08T22:40:00.004-05:00

I'm set on a journey for true middle America. Some few weeks back I was visiting Dartmouth Campus in New Hampshire. I came across a book titled 'Blue Highways'. I was intrigued but did not buy it right there. I did save the title though. As it turns out I received the book as a gift from my friend Don. I was incredibly and pleasantly surprised Don read the book.
I have started the book and love it. Last weekend I was at Barns and Noble over a map at table in Clark, NJ looking at the map and settling for Memphis to be my starting point. These, I hope, to be weekend trips of a long term project.

Tonight, a photograph right out side of Columbia University's campus yesterday evening.

2008-07-06T15:03:00.003-05:00

I have/ I am debating over starting a new blog. This one is about the true issues that concern me. It no longer so much about only photography. Its now about photography serving a purpose of telling a story. Let me think about it.

An image from a super humid NJ night.. as I was leaving the book store.

2008-06-03T22:02:00.002-05:00

Jumping ahead with the order of photographs I am including one today that represents the place I'd like to walk though on daily basis. I love Palm trees but more so its the peacefulness of this street that I remember. This is a street in Beverly Hills in Los Angeles. Clean and beautiful.

2008-06-02T21:38:00.002-05:00

It's June already. Last night (or earlier today rather) I have arrived at Newark International Airport looking for my bags. I flew back from San Diego. The trip started in San Francisco, then to Los Angeles, and ended in San Diego. It was my second time in California. I do belive it is an amazing place to visit.

Tonight I will be short with the post. I will fill in with photographs and words over the next few days the details of my trip.

To start the photograph tonight is the iconic symbol of San Francisco. I head the bells of the trolly while lying in my bed in the morning. I think San Francisco is among the most beautiful cities in our world.

2008-05-12T17:27:00.003-05:00

I always had this thing about photographing NYC street needing a yellow cab. If you wait long enough you'll have one.
I don't consider NYC to be most scenic nor comfortable city. Its a concrete metropolis with some nice streets but a compromise when you compare it to Paris, Amsterdam, or even Berlin. There is very little that draws you to old tested tradition lasting far back. I am not saying NYC lacks history but the history it does posses is mainly of a staging port to which millions of emigrants laded first. Hard labor, scams, and exploitation made this city into a financial capital of the world. The sheer power of capitalism has made an undisputed champion of commerce and labor market.
Aside from the big and cold image of the powerful NYC there are more subtle elements. People actually live here. They come and make their dreams here. And underneath all the grim and grind of the NYC fast lives there are moments like the photograph today. This was shot on Saturday in my continuation of building a portfolio for the Wedding website.

2008-05-05T21:13:00.005-05:00

A whole month later and 6 weeks with Canon 5D. I am getting used to digital workflow. I am now running all image editing off the MAC. Everything is a big change. Learning digital is learning gadgets. Photography theory remains the same. There is a lot to get used to and understand as far as using tools. I am having fun with both. Light tests with Pocket Wizards and Profoto Beauty Dish adds to eliminating any free time during the weekend. Now I am searching for models to further get some practice. So far a shoot is on for this Saturday afternoon in front of Flat Iron Building around 5:30pm. Will post results here.

Tonight are three photographs from my daily commute via Train to my day job.

I have been posting here infrequently but all has its reasons. I look forward to share more here on the blog.

2008-04-01T20:04:00.002-05:00

It took a wine glass and some Bob Dylan to get into this trance. Going to California again in some 7 weeks. My last (first) visit to the state of California has left me loving it. I'm curious what will happen this time. Its cool not to know yourself.

Wine. San Francisco. Driving along Highway 1. Los Angeles. Photo Shoots. Seeing Don. San Diego. Priceless.

I wish I could bring along the Vespa and have Don ride it. I'm not sure he ever rode a scooter. There is something about the Vespa that makes you appreciate that it won't go 80mph+. I push the limits of any motorcycle to get myself scared but on vespa I am stuck enjoying the ride. I actually really like it.

Need to shop for some portable strobes for location shooting. The image tonight is from a photograph taken after work last Friday. I was waiting by the bar before scouting to see a location in Central Park for a engagement portrait I shot on Saturday.

2008-03-24T22:55:00.007-05:00

Easter is as important as Christmas in the catholic calendar. I appreciate it more somehow because it does not get distorted by the mad shopping rush and the sales. It’s amazing that it can still shut down the New York Stock Exchange and all trading in the USA. But it is not the day off from work, as much as the importance of the day. My biggest problem with the Catholic Church is the corruption and the preaching of how to go about it. So I don’t go to church that often. I live my best way based on some moral principles. I like Buddhism for the Zen chapter where you sit back and think about nothing. There is a strong element of concentrating how to be in charge of your emotions.

I am including 4 images from Saturday. One is from a passenger window of passing though a ghetto. In a run down part of town stands a shiny black Cadillac. Perhaps this could be a good metaphor for the current state of American car industry. I hope they break out of it. There was some amazing engineering that now needs a new age efficiency.

The other 3 images are from the church mass itself. I heard the rumor that only Polish and Italians bless their food on the day before Easter Sunday. Oddly enough because of the internal politics of this church the all Polish tradition was done in English. There is a deeper story here but since I do not have hard facts I will pass on it.

2008-03-21T10:18:00.007-05:00

It is now March 21st, 2008 and this is the first post for 2008. A lot of changes have been happening and a lot of great things coming to life.

To begin, I am now beginning to shoot Digital. Somehow I was torn on the idea of cheating myself by making this change and a lot of ethical questioning went into the decision. Somewhere near the end I asked my friend Don if that is indeed the case and his response was "Cheating against who?". And so I purchased a Canon 5D and have begun working with the camera and digital process. I still shoot film for my personal work and will as long as will be manufactured.

In addition, one thing I absolutely love is Magnum and photojournalism. Far from being in the front line of news I am venturing into Wedding photography with a business partner. Since we both have day jobs with somewhat of a career track our focus is networking and opting to photograph high end weddings. The income generated from these weddings will be there to fund traveling and business expenses. The idea is to do something I absolutely enjoy. And if I do not have to photograph weddings every weekend but selected few in a year I will be able to work on my photojournalistic reportage though a somewhat orchestrated event.

Late last year I also made a decision to get back on two wheels after 4 year absence. With 2007s left over at the local dealer I got a great price on a brand new Vespa GTS. I love the little Vespa. At about 70-75mpg this is the ultimate warm/hot weather transportation around the NYC Metro area. It will go as far as 76mph but its hard to tell via the speedometer because they tend to be always inaccurate at such high speeds for scooters.

So posts now will be on everything from scootering/photographing to photographing and lighting. My life is photography. It always reinvents myself and gets me to be more involved into observing. It is what I love about it. I was considering altering the title of this blog which I might still do but for now I need to think of what the name could be. Discipline is the biggest lesson I have learned in the last few months. I intend to use it to help me vent here on the blog over ideas that have been in my head.

In this post, the pictures are of no significant photographic value other then display the cool Italian design of simple transport.

2007-12-05T23:30:00.000-05:00

OK, it looks like last time I posted was at the end of October. I have color film I still need to develop but all my trips to the NYC have been anywhere but 20th St. area. Since the films vary there will be a sense of surprise on what is on them. I like that feeling but more so with time as evidence where I been and what I chose to focus on in a given moment in time.
The PC got fixed after I got fed up with the web browser and uninstalled whole bunch of crap. The Mac has truly showed me a new way. The mere consistency and the ease of workflow make the PC a true separation from leisure and work. I even think that sometime in the further future I'd get one of those cool 24' Macs that the whole thing is built into the monitor. So cool!

In the midis of winter I'm looking to get back on two wheels again. This time I am thinking locally with a little kick to go further. I paid a visit to the local dealer which 2 years ago upgraded its facility and took on Ducati and Vespa for products carried. Oh how cool! The prettiest (in Men terms) bikes and the cool (pretty in Women terms) Scooters. All stereotyping of definitions of aside, the Vespa GTS in Black has stuck with me so strong that given the financial promotion going on it has became a research vehicle. The styling is amazing and the general opinion is nothing but thumbs up.

So what does any of this have to do with photography? I guess the explanation that this blog has not died not became abandoned by me. Simply a transition for me into some significant changes. Once the Vespa issue is set I'd like to get more landscapes here but it would have to be somewhere in March since its the earliest here when the weather gets more stable.

I've been reading a lot. I have few books on a stack to be read. Combined with my weekly Economist magazine (which I came to appreciate tremendously) I have more writing to do here on the subject of photography.

And I will start posting more about wine here because after drinking it for over 4 years seriously I want to pass some of that experience to anyone it might help.

No photograph tonight as I needed to write. Next post I'll include one.

2007-10-28T20:33:00.000-05:00

The great news is that the old Arca Swiss 4x5 has found a new life in my hands. The bad news is that the experiments from last night, some 10+ minute exposures on HP5 filled by Full Moon came out nothing more then mediocre. BUT! if I was to go tonight and do it I would improve on the things I did not like from last night. Locations would be better screened along with bringing few things which would make my life easier in the dark of the night. but that's all night photography.

I am now going to use this for some portraits. Natural light with the 90mm lens. Hopefully some environmental ones. Others will be some reflections on American towns. I can only shoot on the weekend now due to days getting shorter. Soon I'll be leaving for work in the morning and walking out of y building in the dark of night. So the weekends are what's left. Plus, some work with the Pentax 6x7 to do as well.

Tonight a photograph from last night. Stand developed overnight in Rodinal at 1:200. Same town and both after 10pm. Next time I'll choose the location more carefully to be more in the dark. The street light and local traffic over expososed some elements of both photographs

2007-10-22T22:43:00.000-05:00

If it was not for NYC I don't know what I would do around here. NJ is not a place of any recognition in my book. Its a vast land of everything necessary and just enough to pass. There are rich towns and poor towns, but the mentality is just the same. Baseball and BBQs. And I could not be more far that any of that crap.
Tonight ta photograph from a walk in NYC Meat Packing district. A wedding shoot taking place while a dog (the ring bearer) waited for his turn to pose. And shortly after the first photograph he did. I'm planning to photograph this same region with the 4x5 camera in the next few weeks.

2007-10-21T18:14:00.001-05:00

A great news for Poland today. Despite a 6 hour lag I have been following the elections to the minute. I could not be more happy. Donald Tusk has won. He is among my favorite politicians. Not only Polish but my personal tracking of world politics. In this group is Tony Blair and the american Colin Powell. Powel had disappeared from American political scene because what he believed in was pure and human good but the candidacy which originally supported him failed to support his vision.
i have watched Donald Tusk in the two televised elections in the last week. I read about his campaign for some time now. His voice is mine. I am Proud that the Polish government now has a prime minister I am absolutely sure of and incredibly proud of. Donald Tusk is my answer to transforming Poland where I can return and make better.

2007-10-13T13:34:00.000-05:00

Even after so many rolls developed in Rodinal I came across technical setbacks recently. A few rolls pushed 2 stops of Tri-x gave me very weak negatives. So I have been stubborn to find some alternatives. I found one recently while surfing the net which is called Stand developing method. Basically the developer is diluted to 1:100 or 1:200 and once the roll is in the can all agitation takes place in the first 30 seconds to 1 minute. The tank then sits for an hour (or two hours based on the dilution). What this supposedly does is develops a fuller negative. Because the amount of developer is so small it does not over develops the negative but simply dies while developing the film. I read somewhere where a guy left a roll in the can overnight and still got some useful negatives.

I do not know how this will work for me. As I am writing this I have a roll I did this morning. A typical suburban life and scenes. In one of the shots I found a very plain house with two cars as the standard for what suburbia is supposed to look like. Then there was a garage sale, then some apartment buildings on the edge of woods (over development of suburbia) and a photograph of a real-estate sight now overgrown in tall grass. All this on a roll of 12 is souping right now in Rodinal at 1:200 dilution for 2 hours. Some 50 minutes still left.

For now a photograph from the old rollei of a different sight but still of New Jersey. A plant (incinerator I think) that I see from a train everyday on my way to the finical area of Jersey City.

2007-10-05T22:41:00.000-05:00

I took out the old Rolli I have, a camera made in the early 1950s, and ran a roll of tri-x in it. I am making progress in figuring out why my previous pushed processed rolls were disappointments. But I need to do some more rolls to know for sure.

Tonight, a quick hand held shot of 1/25th motion blurred photograph from the Rolli on the commute home. Tri-x pushed in Rodinal to 1600 at 71F 22min.

2007-09-30T23:10:00.001-05:00

I have started to be more conscious of photographing my commute. The idea here is that being in the same trend of everyday I am trying to see a pattern of consistency with the photographs I take along the way. My answer lately to the question of type of work that I photograph is social documentary. I am a big fan of Magnum organization. I'd like to find more of the elements found in those photographers work in my work.
With plenty of gear in my possession the only thing left to do is to photograph. Despite a recent setback of pushing Tri-x to ISO 6400 and getting less then acceptable results, has not deterred me from experimenting some more. Since most of my work is done in the evening (after dayjob hours) and weekends I am trying to find a discipline of processing pushed rolls that I can somewhat relay on. One of the specific locations I am concentrating on is NYC. Everyone has done it and thats the best part about it. I want to be there photographing to see how I see it. I am interested what my interpretation, opportunity, and the decisive moment will be. Outside of that I do not know what to think of these surroundings. I am much often unsettled around here. I am thinking more often of leaving and that would mean Europe.
Photograph from a commute as mentioned before. This is the tonal quality I am after.

2007-09-25T23:11:00.000-05:00

September 25th is the 18 year anniversary of my arrival in USA. Some thinking about the subject tonight. I am including the photograph I mentioned in my post from few weeks ago. I am late with it.

This was taken last monday on the day of the anniversary of the Katyn Forrest massacre in 1940. So in this post a combination of reflections on history in a private and world content way.
Katyn of course of an event very much unknown to the west of the brutal and systematic killing of intelligence by the Soviets in the territories they were setting on to later control.

2007-09-23T14:30:00.000-05:00

I finished Kapuscinski's book Friday. I have another one by him titled "Shadow of the Sun" which I will start after re-reading some of Susan Sontag's literary criticisms and few other scattered pieces on Photography. I find that when I don't shoot as much as I would like the readings helps motivate me in the few moments I have.
I received my contact sheets back from Mary Ellen Mark also on Friday along with a positive and encouraging letter. I really enjoy critiques of other photographers who's work I really admire. And to receive words of encouragement such as that i have an excellent eye was a great compliment. What is great about her letter is that the critique is very much constructive. Her arguments for the reasons follow a very organized tone in which there is not much room to say something just to satisfy and sound nice.
I have 3 rolls of film waiting to be developed. One is an experimental Tri-X pushed to ISO 6400 and the other two are both at ISO 400. One roll I shot on my commute on monday while the second I don't exactly remember. It can't be more then 2 weeks old because I would not have it rolling around my bag for longer then that.

Another post with a photograph today when the 2 rolls at ISO 400 dry. The roll pushed to the max is drying... the ISO 6400 experiment is dead. Did not work for street shooting. Back to slow shutter speeds and narrow depth of field at ISO 1600. In other words, stricter discipline.

2007-09-12T20:02:00.001-05:00

Still working on processing (digitally) the 35mm scans I did two weeks ago. I hadn't really had time to work on them. So tonight just a photograph from the ongoing lot. A tacky memorabilia salesmen.

2007-09-11T22:17:00.001-05:00

Road trip to Canada was simply great. But no photographs from it. With only 3 days there there was too little time. I drove some 700+ Kilometers in the Canadian countryside though. Very Peaceful and picturesque. But because the distances between the towns were packed against the busy schedule I didn't even get a chance to take out the camera from the bag.

After scanning the 35mm negatives in the last weeks and making contact prints this past sunday I am left in limbo whether I should shoot color for now. Maybe its the 35mm negatives that I am not used to looking at. But I also will be trying some Tri-x at ISO 6400 in the next few weeks where the grain is intriguing me more then colors.

Printing color is what turned me a way a little. There is so much interpretation of color balance that is that factor alone that can alter the mood. Black and white is more to the point I think. The colors don't distract and the tones only emphasize. So that is the dilemma for now.

Tonight a color photograph from the 35mm negatives. A County Fair from back stage view.

2007-08-28T22:21:00.000-05:00

For the last few days I have been reading Ryszard Kapuscinski's 'Travels with Herodotus' which have kept me from the computer. I scanned some 160+ frames of 35mm film in between that time. I started to edit them this evening but the process will take some time.
The book is a great journey though history and first person encounters with different cultures before the full blow globalization changed all that. There is a sense of understanding the changes about places like India and China and how some elements are deep rooted in the diversity of culture.
On my last trip to Poland I picked up a book which includes various brief interviews of some of Poland's best known photographers. The first one is Mr. Kapuscinski and my main motivation of buying the book. To be honest I have yet to go though the book at length and oddly I stated the book in english before reading his interview in Polish. But I wanted to read his true work. Photography was of second importance in his travels. And with that I read so far I see how talented he really was in his writing.
All this of course is related to photography. In few days I will drive out to Canada. I really like Canada for some reason. Actually its more specific then that. People and the climate have a very familiar European feel and the weather reminds me of Poland. A quick fix via a 5 hour drive. I'll be driving out to Quebec City which is about 3 hours drive further then my last two trips. Of course this will include a camera and film. I am thinking of finishing some of the 35mm film stock I have left from workshop. So more color soon.
For now I am including a photograph I like the best from the roll I did with the Leica which a fellow photographer lent me to use at the workshop. I have a portrait of him in action which I will post soon along with other color frames from the 160+ frames.
I like this photograph for the mere simplicity of the young girl's expression among the complex lighting though the pattern of leaves reflecting above. There is a natural balance in the photograph due to the human expression of the little girl.

2007-08-15T19:12:00.000-05:00

I have returned from my summer recess. Not that I went anywhere but my last 3 weeks included multiple trips to NYC buying ink for the Epson printer (I am seriously thinking about selling this printer due to maintenance costs), printing a quick portfolio of B&W prints for the Mary Ellen Mark workshop, and running the film into NYC back again.
The workshop was good. Its a mix of networking and discipline in the presence of a world renowned photographer. I was the technically savvy guy and Mary told me she uses a Mamiya 7 as well. She suggested I add a flash for my general street work. I did. I got a Metz. I am still deciding whether to keep it or now. There is an advantage to using a flash as a fill in. Mainly its set minus 2 stops to the regular scene. My tests seemed to support the fact it helps. But more testing is needed.
The great thing about the workshop were some of the people I met. Neither have websites here I could share but the work presented was tremendous. Once they do put it up somewhere on the web I'll post the links right away.
I ended up shooting 5 rolls of 35mm film at a Fair we all went to. The film is still in NY at a lob recommended from Mary Ellen. But I did not get them to scan the film since it was $15 per roll in addition to the processing. I sort of regret it but need to take the film to a darkroom to print contact sheets and send them for review. The scanner I have here won't be the most time efficient nor detailed tool to scan the 35mm (for 120 it does a decent job) so I'll just need to devote some extra time to it.
A great photographer whom I befriended lent me his Leica M6 with the 21mm lens. Amazing tool even in the digital age. That was just one roll of TriX. The rest of all work was done in color with the Contax G2. Here is one photograph done with Leica.

2007-07-13T22:13:00.001-05:00

Black and White is intriguing me a lot lately. There is a sense of interpretation of reality with the tones I have been getting. Here is an example of a walk though the Northeastern USA woods.

2007-07-11T22:29:00.000-05:00

Long overdue post. I have been keeping busy in the preparation for the Mary Ellen Mar workshop in 3 weeks. I now have to find some time to sit and go though a box with negatives. I am trying to keep my work most recent in the portfolio I am printing. This process is very useful. Its also showing me some consistency of my older work. Its all about elements but I can see progression. It is a very rewarding feeling... at least sometimes.

Photograph tonight is from Friday. I was walking though a forest and found this tree. I liked the hole in the trunk because no other tree had it.

2007-06-27T20:57:00.000-05:00

Too few posts lately but partly because I have been realizing that most of my thoughts in the last few days are criticism of general lives around me. I even started to stereotype. After-all there is some truth to stereotypes. And if you use your imagination then you can really adopt a stereotype. I find them useful so find the right atmosphere sometimes. But then again I jump from one stereotype to another and each world in between. Sometimes the camera comes along and I have proof of it. Most days its all in the words and jokes and another day worked.

Few days ago in my previous post I was hopeful and open minded. But coming back to earth I realize few elements were really understood by the other party. I say this because some things are worth believing in and require more then a quick observation. Hardest part is believing in making a change in yourself. It happens but it takes too damn long since I am a quite determined person once I know I will try out for something.

The other day I got comment on a first impression of me from a model I work with. I found it strange but I did not explain to her why I might of came off that way. The comment however made me think about first impressions I could make and I am realizing that I care much less then when I was younger. It simply is not that important to me in the end. At first of course I get caught up in the dance and trip miserably while I probably embarrass myself. But so what... isn't that part of the fun to finding yourself again. The great thing is that I am self reliant in that finding process . I no longer seek others to give me a pat on the back that it be all good. It won't and I might as well face it myself. Its like playing chess without knowing your opponent's skill level... or something like that. You never will fully know everything about yourself until you believe in things that come in your life. If necessary you burn out to get them. The worst scenario is that you'll just have to try again.

2007-06-19T19:50:00.001-05:00

I am lost in incomplete thoughts this evening. I see images and remember words that come together. I want to go back and make things more perfect, the light more even and more dramatic, but is it not that the imperfection itself what makes me go forward? Oh, I just hope whatever I am attempting did not get completely
wrong by my impatience. Judgment of others means little to me on any other day but then, there are those days like today when 20 minutes make me hope I had things more together. So time will tell.

2007-06-19T18:36:00.001-05:00

I am finding out at 29 how many little worlds I actually live in on daily basis. I know they're getting smaller as I get older. At least its less exhausting to jump form one another since there are less of them. I' tired. Life gets more stable as I get older.

I met someone the other day who understood some observations I have made. But I do not know how to tell them I understand theirs. I do. And I know how to change that reality. I do not know how to tell them that either. But conversation with this person give me understanding of my own. I am waiting to read some of the writing.

I like artists. I have learned what that that definition means. I like the fact I can recognize the characteristics of one.

The photograph is from California. The simplistic composition in an complex environment where I find myself lately.

2007-06-17T08:40:00.001-05:00

Photography, at least mine, is directly connected to life unless it is purely commercial. But even then the argument can be that photographer's creativity comes from personal motivation. My photography is about observation with the goal of sincerity toward either the subject or the thought behind the photograph.

A couple of evenings ago I was luckily reminded of the link between life and the art. Nowadays I go though dry spells a lot less then I did in the past but the truth is they will always occur. Change is good and at least for me the change from the ordinary while revisiting the familiar has given me the chance to build on what I learn. I wonder though what would happen, and more specifically, what will happen once I leave the sort of calm of my rhythm where I was able to build on all these experiences up to now. Time will tell.

The link I mentioned above became evident from a series of conversations that given me the optimism to keep taking chances. I guess the older you become the wiser decisions one hopes to make. But how does the emotional link change in its reaction? So art work created or any other life experience is spurred by instinct with fate as its creator and faith that its possible.

2007-06-11T22:48:00.001-05:00

Late night again but I managed to keep my word to myself and did whole bunch of things I wanted to this evening. On top of it all I all I managed to scan the roll of 10 (full roll) from my Sunday morning shoot at 7am. I am very pleased with the results. One roll by choice.

This is Georgie. I like the structure in this photograph.

2007-06-07T19:42:00.001-05:00

Out of 3500 entries I have made it to the semifinals that includes 100 best photographs in the dayjob Photogrphy Contest. I am proud of that this evening.

2007-05-29T21:06:00.001-05:00

I had some re-connecting time with models from last few months who legitimately became disappointed in me in disappearing. Truth is I was more lost in what I do then I could admit to myself. Disappearing is easy because it is very immature. Truth is I feel terrible when I don't return a call. I never used to... but as I get older I do. Plus, I got some truly sincere complements from a model I worked with once that she like the work for herself. Now I am going to give fashion a try.

This is Mary, a retro girl, who I hope to find to give her at least a CD from a shoot back in November.

2007-05-28T22:09:00.001-05:00

This marks my 100 post. I've meant to write it few days earlier but being that my birthday is also today I'd figured I'd combine the occasion. I took the laptop out with me and rode out to the local park. I sat on the grass and scanned for any wireless connection... the last place I figured would have it.. but it does. Technology is so convenient sometimes. Of course the connection is not fast but its great to be able to open a laptop and hit anything I need to look up or read up on. Not sure about the security though. But I am not logging in anywhere and I'll post this entry from home anyway.

Yesterday I photographed a Christening for a family friend. Everyone seemed to really like the pictures. But all was shot with Nikon D70 which I keep for such events. Maybe I ought to photograph a little more with it. I haven't bought any new lenses for it. In fact the ones I have are somewhere from the 80s.

(location changed - now in my room and much later in the room)

I don't know what happened to today but its now time to get ready for tomorrow. Hopefully an interesting week. The photograph tonight is from a walk back home few weeks ago. A fence across the road I walk home spells out the close community. The mothers talk as the children played in the back, on the other side of the fence.

2007-05-23T20:03:00.001-05:00

I went to a wake this evening. An manager I had from a summer internship when I was working at Panasonic. I kneeled by the casket and prayed and when I looked up I saw Wayne tight there with all the treasures a man can be most proud of, his family. I remember Wayne very well. On Monday morning I received an email he passed away that evening. If I knew earlier I would of went to the hospital. But I did not know he was even ill. He was 58. Cancer. But every single memory I have of him is the one I wish people could have of me when I go on. I knew him. And although this man was not in my life but a few moments and a span of months I remember him vividly. There are some people so significant in one's life even for a moment.
My father was with me at the wake. He said something that was the absolute truth about Wayne. Wayne was his best friend. My father is an engineer and not the most sociable fellow but I believed him without hesitation. He was his best friend. So that is two people who are grateful to come in contact with someone so special to them both. Ah, tonight I am lost for words. Please forgive the lack of a photograph.

2007-05-20T23:18:00.001-05:00

The weekend went by with little time to post new work. But at least my days during the week are easier to plan for that.

Tonight a quick entry from the trip back in November. This is Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. On a little tour of the house I just found this arrangement as to show the elements of Amish life. I remember waiting for a car passing by to give the photograph the distinction of life outside the window and the way of life the Amish have kept for generations.

2007-05-15T19:53:00.001-05:00

I posted lyrics to songs here before and this time I'd rather write about it. I had a series of odd dreams last two nights and despite bringing up my past I found them comforting. Leonard Cohen's 'Teachers' sum them up the best.

in the process of scanning new work. I finally mailed a CD to a model from a shoot in January. It felt good to deliver. I think she'll like them despite being a quick shoot without much aim.

2007-05-08T22:37:00.001-05:00

Ended up in NYC this evening after work. The weather warm and the sun shining longer the streets looked just cool. I like NYC like this. I see the little scooters buzzing and I want to get a bike again. I even test drove the new Ducati 695 which will be my next bike. The model I was on had the upgraded exhaust and man was it nice and loud. Ah! So, in NYC for a lecture. Sadly it was a book signing for a photographer who by exposing his weakness of not really knowing his subject disappointed me. The photography was very competent but his motivation behind it only showed that he just kept at it, that is at producing work. Sad because I really like some of the photographs. He went to Czech republic and photographed in that area. I am working on a similar project in Poland. My motivation is strictly nostalgic and sentimental to everything I love and dislike there. But all those elements in my photographs from there are representing my moods, function, and existence elsewhere. I am Polish and although I live outside of it my home is always in Warsaw. Can;t really explain this one . I saw a great documentary the other day where one of the main subject expressed this very idea. He said it and I am just repeating it here. In the world of Globalization I do not believe there is much of Immigration left at least from developed countries.

I picked up new work from few months ago. I will scan tomorrow and Thursday so new(er) work coming within 2 days.

2007-05-06T16:12:00.000-05:00

Sitting in a bar this afternoon. I had the laptop in the car and decided to sit back and do some PS work for an entry. I ended up doing a portrait session with a friend yesterday for the book/project I mentioned earlier so today I went to drop of my sheet film and two older rolls in NYC. I do not know any professional labs in NJ that are on the way I usually go. But the best thing about living in this are is the access to these sort of resources. Duggal is a huge commercial lab doing some of the major commercial printing in NYC. I used them few years ago back when they were on 20th street. Now they're on 23rd and the facility is 4 times as large (or more). The best labs are the hidden ones. There are small custom shops that will print for big guys giving them the small shop feel. I wish I can get to that level some day. I'd like to have a printer who knows my work and gets the best out my negatives. But then again, I like to do this myself.

I am curious to the portraits I dropped off on the 4x5 sheets today. I was shooting on an angle and had to do tilts on the back and front parts of the camera. It was bright out and I hope I paid enough attention to distortion. If I messed it up I'll end up with a small head and a big torso. That's not good. But at least they'll look big and not fat.

Photograph tonight is from mid week. I shot a roll after work on my commute home. I'm trying to get some recent work for a portfolio I need to put together that I will present in August.

2007-05-01T21:04:00.000-05:00

I found this old church driving around few weeks ago. The time of the day gave to the most harsh of lighting conditions. It was somewhere around noon. It wasn't even sunny. A bleak spring day which slept still and the warmth of the day just reminded me of so many boring locations I have seen recently. Ah, but here is the church. It looked like a place to be used in some thriller.

2007-04-30T22:12:00.000-05:00

I am still in the process of moving some more files over to the laptop so although I am doing much more postings on the forums and finally participate in some great discussions I have been putting off the blog until some more images are in my portable archives. That soon will change. The weather is great outside and I'm already planning some shoots.

I am surprised with the planning I now undertake in projects. My recent one is a book of portraits based on personal relations of some sort or some significance on my life. Today for example I asked a fellow collage whom I have been discussing Buddhism in recent weeks if I could take a portrait for my book. He agreed and I was very happy to find out that the location will be a rooftop garden in the Greenwich Village in new york. Slowly the list is growing into a significant project. I am for once reaching out of the box to fill my book and challenge myself. So more of some exiting things to come. The photo-shoot mentioned above will be sometime in June as my May is already looking full with some ideas I have.

Tonight I am including a photograph from February. I call it the 'point of reference' as this was my view out the window of the apartment in Krakow. I bet this little van hasn't moved in years but it looks neat in the space and it offered a familiar point of reference retuning to the apartment after sightseeing the city.

2007-04-27T22:10:00.000-05:00

I've been honored few months back to join a group of photographers on the web where some real thoughts and real people talk about their creative lives. I am only now discovering the true value of this invitation. I owe a big thanks to my friend.

I've been strangely procrastinating the review and contributions to web forums after burning out on one some few months back. Multiple factors contributed to that. For one I was really turned off by people with little experience proclaiming the 'industry' standards. More so I disliked the fact that the artistic approach was attributed to nudes only. The only thing that kept me going back (and still does) was in part to some folks who bring in a higher standard even when contributing to a spiraled downward gutter talk.
But to be fair I need to confess that I was confused on my choice of tools at the time. I have since found what I needed to realize the next steps which actually hold the value of using those tools. Photography to me is a way to live my life around.

Tonight an eagle flying high over the canyon of power lines.

2007-04-22T17:20:00.000-05:00

So with conversations I've been having lately I come to some satisfying feeling of not going at issues I'v been having alone. I'm also looking back and realize that the past is teaching me to let go because the same stuff goes around the track just dressed up differently.
The weather finally broke and now its actually warm. The one project I am going to do this spring and summer is a series of portraits with the 4x5 camera. I've already asked 3 people and they all willing to do it. There is no other reason for these portraits but my own. All of sitters in these portraits will be people I am willing to spend time with, whether at work or outside of work, to get to know them a little better. But this does not mean they always stay in my life. I suppose through this project they will. I will have these negatives with me for years to come. My life moves very quickly and it still amazes me that despite seeking some unique elite of people that I actually can relax around, I often find myself with books and the internet satisfying a solitude which fills with thoughts.
The winter delayed a lot of that. I simply hibernate creatively in the winter time. Shooting a roll occasionally satisfies my photography longing but the work until now had little effort,
I'm learning a lot in the last few weeks that is helping me with easing to accept things for how they are and how to best understand them in order to be productive. I mean this beyond photography and the art process. I suppose accepting oneself is a life time process. But I feel very angry and little with myself for producing below mediocre work in the last few months. The anger comes from the guilty feeling of approaching the work with procrastination.

2007-04-11T18:24:00.000-05:00

Still cold outside. These days are flying by too quickly. I thought today how photography is my life. I tried to walk away from it at one point to get things organized but I was lost. I remember a scene from college when in one the classes I took on photography for the use of the darkroom the instructor was offering words of encouragement as if for his students not to give up photography. He commented through some people at the table and then he turned to me and said: 'You, you'll always will be photographing'. Its true. And I do it on film because it makes it scarce. You'd figure that process would make you choose frames much more carefully. But that's only half true. I do not want to see the image right after I take it. I want to live the moment though and work the camera. I do find it necessary to be re-assured every time the shutter is triggered. I like the developing process. And if I mess up a roll, oh I'll be out there again shooting more. Its just how I am.

This is a photograph from Krakow. This is about 30% of the original frame. The cross is a monument for 20,000 Polish Officers murdered by the Red Army in 1940. Katyn is a forest in the east of Poland. The event was Stalin's propaganda blaming it on the Nazi SS. The questioning of the Polish exiled government in London played right into cutting off diplomatic ties. The Polish Officers were the doctors, professors, layers, professionals that formed among the best of Polish intelligentsia. The purge was the house cleaning to set up four years later the communist rule.

There is a beautiful monument on the same subject that I am planning in photographing with the 4x5 but there is park renovation in progress and I'm hoping that will clear up in a month or two.

2007-04-09T21:33:00.000-05:00

I’m feeling very tense lately. It’s probably the fact that I am awaiting warmer whether do get out and run a little. Other then that I fought of some sort of flu this winter for the 3rd time. I hope it’s the last of it.

Another one from the series of finding new interpretations of the negatives I am revisiting. In this photograph there was a wall on the right part with a modern day garbage can so that was taken out for a more atmospheric feel that his Wawel courtyard truly had especially on a flurry midweek cold February day.

2007-04-08T19:38:00.000-05:00

And here is another one from the crops. Almost all previous posts, until otherwise motioned, were full frames. And the 4x5 work is the mostly the entire negative (minus scratches in the corners I am trying to eliminate by cleaning the film holders). After my conversation with Don today I realize croping is a normal practice. It makes me feel to know this is ‘ok’ to do. And since Josef Koudelka does it the ‘ok’ gives new life to some of my previous photographs posted here.

The photograph is of Krakow's old town streets. Krakow was untouched by the Germans in WWII and has a lot of beautiful atmospheric streets. This is one of them. I cropped some excessive details leaving the human elements in the frame. I think at most I cropped 15% of the entire frame. I just think this shows best that the city although old is thriving in all its corners.

2007-04-08T13:12:00.000-05:00

And so the second photograph finally from my cropping attempt the other night. This is not a habit but a mere attempt in taking out the edges of the photograph which might have been beyond me at the moment I took the photograph. Since I don't often pose nor go into a excessive setup process (at least while traveling) I can only have so much control of the final frame.

In the spirit of Easter, all the wonderful wishes to everyone.

Down the path (rom the previous post) was this enterence. These churches are very old and I really like this gateway. Krakow, Poland, February 2007.

2007-04-06T22:52:00.000-05:00

Good Friday. Took a camera with Tri-x to a Polish town where my parents do their holiday food shopping but I ended up not photographing. The store was packed but I know it’s not a place to photograph. So I helped out my parents and walked over to a near by liquor store to buy them a case in half liter 20 bottles of OKOCIM, a fine Polish beer and this is their strong version with 7% alcohol in it. But no booze today nor meat for that matter. Tomorrow off to church to bless the little basket of food (which hopefully I'll get to shoot with 4x5 before the noon mass).

And finally, a photograph. I had some fun cropping and working on composition in the post production phase. So tonight and tomorrow in the spirit of Easter I am including 2 photographs taken in Krakow (Cracow) in the beginning of February.

The photograph tonight is very sharp. In fact it seems a lot of my Mamyia 7 negatives have a life inside each frame when I play around with the cropping. In this frame a little form the right side was cropped. But I like the figure in the left corner looking down into the camera.

2007-04-06T12:11:00.001-05:00

There is something very special in loosing oneself in his or her work. There is something much more comforting when that work is of artistic pursuit. But the definition of art has to be defined here as for individual pursuit of one’s ideas or expression in a way that satisfies its creator. Anything else will most likely have some commercial connotation and very quickly will become a craft. Craft can be artful but I have an opinion that craft can be imitated, duplicated, and pinned against heavy completion of the process was too easily found. But art is individual. Picasso was not concerned to be clear in his paintings. I understand more of his work by understanding him. But some of his work I’ll never get nor will try to understand. I’ll adopt as my own.
Photography works the same way. The beginning of the century worried many painters the development of photography meant to their profession. But those were the skill and craft changes. The vision remains individual. Art when personal, in pursuit of ones intrest, is most rewarding. The audience can be found later.

I attended a lecture yesterday with Josef Koudelka at the Aperture Gallery in NYC. I was among the lucky ones who got a seat. There were quite a few seats reserved for the Photography and Publishing bigger names. But when a woman who co-lectured along with Mr. Koudelka commented on his photography the clear distinction of audience vs. the photographer was evident. Mr. Koudelka answered in a straightforward way which I undertood despite his average English and distinct accent. He spoke from the simplicity of vision.

2007-04-04T20:03:00.000-05:00

This blog is becoming to mean more to me now that I have begun to think about my photography on a purely personal level. It took me a long time to break the bond of commercial excuse to my photography. I do not seek to purse photography for anything other then my interests in it. However that might sound I am not saying I won't offer my skills in assisting others. But not on a commercial scale.
I have not shot much in the last two months. Winters have that effect. Its cold and grey outside and dull. Today was good day for photography with a evenly overcast sky giving a crisp outline to everything. But I didn't bring a camera with me. I'll start that again soon though.

Tonight a photograph that with somewhat survived the underdevelopment from last night. To be honest I'd love to get great usable negatives on each roll but how easy things would be then. But as an encouragement to all, with time and understanding my gear and myself the camera more often the extension of my eye and though instinct connected to a ongoing reflection. In the photograph are my parents leaving the church on Palm Sunday.

2007-04-03T22:20:00.000-05:00

Sharing from peronal expereince, the time listed at Digitaltruth.com for Tri-X in rodinal 1:50 at 18.5 minutes is not recommened. The roll I shot 2 days ago is drying with 3 possibly usable frames. But I'll scan them tommrow. In the past I would probably be pissed about the result but somehow I am fine with it these days. The fact of shooting film gives such result a true appriciation for a developed roll.
I have been reminded by Pope John Paul II greatness in the last 24 hours. Its now been 2 years and the time of his death I was in Poland feeling the loss. The whole country came together. It was(is) an amazing place in the world to be and feel powerful events.

2007-04-02T22:48:00.000-05:00

I have typed an entry only to loose it few moments ago. Sadly or maybe better for that reason since my writing is not my strong point. But to satisfy my frustration into a compromise that I did try I am posting this. Despite the lingering cold that keeps on coming back and my runny nose I am about to sleep and relax to the thought that this week is short.
I have a roll of Tri-X I shot yesterday at a church while the ongoing mass stretched in celebrating the Palm Sunday. Listening to the crowd singing I thought very much how wonderful the voices echoed though the church.
No photograph tonight because as I mentioned the roll is yet to be developed. But I’m curious how the roll will come out. So until tomorrow then.

2007-03-23T22:57:00.000-05:00

Getting out to see different photographers at book signing is really an experience I was missing. These meetings have been really clearing up my mind. I’ve been very frustrated lately or in the past rather. I can’t say that it all went away because none of it really does, but to some extent it takes on a much suitable form of discipline and attention to the small details that make a shoot a successful one.
I’ve been idling last few weeks with the exception of the 2 photographs two weeks ago. So now that the weather is getting warmer I am coming out of my hibernation. Color print 4x5 film and some darkroom time. Perhaps a workshop at Center of Photography at Woodstock(CPW).
This is a photograph of NYC waking up on a foggy autumn day. The view on such mornings is spectacular. Slightly adjusted in PS to get the color of the day from a vague memory.

2007-03-21T20:24:00.000-05:00

I have heard the best definition or defense rather for film photography versus digital last night. I didn’t have the best of days yesterday. I woke up late and running around the house I got dress as if in a routine of everyday except that yesterday as I slipped on two shoes they were different. Similar color but way different style of shoes is what I realized on the train. So at this point embarrassed as I was I did not feel like attend the lecture at the Aperture gallery in NYC that evening. And at the same time I thought why not? Who cares… and if it applies which I think it does, I thought how bohemian. And from there as silly as I felt I figured I wanted to go to this lecture for a reason.
The photographer was Bert Teunissen. His work is all 4x5 and with available light only. His exhibition is titled ‘Domestic Landscapes’ and I think its superb. The important element of attending such lectures is the little stories behind the pictures. Mr. Teunissen connects them very well to his as true photographers do.
But to the original premise of the definition, Mr. Teunissen statement was that film photography consists of the process that is fragile to its surroundings. The digital camera is a computer which at best gives an average of data it captures on a chip. Any Photoshop adjustments are playing with just data. I agree. And to know Mr. Teunissen travels Europe via car and his 4x5 gear gives me a great boost to know all such efforts can produce superb work in a class of its own.
My next thing is to get quick enough with my 4x5 and better at approaching strangers for a portrait as I seem to find such work most satisfying.
Photograph tonight is not of a person but marks left by one. I like the reflection in the right corner from the frame in the windshield of the old architecture while down below are some old cars and a modern mark of spray-paint can. This was taken in Krakow in a very old Jewish section which is full of beautiful old buildings and a very active nightlife full of best pubs I have ever found in one city. Krakow’s nightlife is absolutely phenomenal.

2007-03-18T20:24:00.000-05:00

I’ve been lost in thoughts for the last two weeks on various subjects. But I think it might be the weather for one thing being 70F one day and 28F 2 days later for highs of the day.

Street photography has always been a favorite of mine. Ever since I was a child I traveled a lot which built my imagination and understanding of places as needing to understand for the atmosphere of it. Whenever I look at street photography of a place in time I try to remember how they fit into the topics of history or someone’s biography I might have stumbled upon. The photograph, in most cases black and white, closes the gap of imagined and real to some degree. Of course I am talking about many photographs of many photographers who contributed in the documentation of that atmosphere.

My photographs tend to be a reflection of where I was. A document to myself of a place. It is not necessarily an interpretation or an explanation of the location I have traveled to but a given instant from where I was. Since I shoot film the frames are scarce. Whether it was the best picture of the moment is not true either. I don’t believe there is such photograph in street photography. There are photographs that include a decisive moments but sometimes the everyday scene can put a memory or a thought in perspective and at the same time serve as a universal moment that’s not uncommon to our everyday life when we look around.

This is Krakow. The little car has some pull I assume. The billboard that’s attached to the car is advertising real estate.

2007-03-12T22:38:00.000-05:00

‘..I used to care but things have changed..’ so goes my journey to find what is it all about from all different ways it can mean something. Whatever it is and how it means that life follows it. The suburbs, the work ethic, the loosing of oneself in the mundane and refusal to see that there is more color to a shade of grey. Sports is that grey in the suburbs. The glorification of the athletes over a thinkers or a writer who puts it on some sort of rails toward a better understanding of ‘it’…. Oh well, ‘I used to care but things have changed…’ As Mr. Dylan sums my pursuit so well…

Tonight a photograph made yesterday afternoon. A re-visit a baseball field I shot over the summer. This time between the fences you can better see the overturned soccer goal post and the houses behind it.

2007-03-11T22:07:00.000-05:00

After attending a lecture mid week I realize how conservative my photography and my thinking of photography has been. I can’t seem to get into abstract use of the medium just to break away from the norm. There is some from of order that a photograph requires in order for the viewer to take notice of it. I’m referring to multi exposed and visually complex images that go beyond showing much of what we could see in the real world.

Tonight I am including photograph I shot earlier today on a 4x5 sheet using all the tilts and swings of the camera that I could. I find this to be the true advantage and pallet of Large format photography. The image is of a piece of metal fence left behind on the sand around a Baseball diamond. Around the fence are fresh deer tracks. This is my abstract photograph in the afterthoughts of breaking some boundaries.

2007-03-05T22:39:00.000-05:00

Suburbs are a compromise of big cities. I live some 45 minutes by train from Midtown Manhattan. There’s no convenience here of walking out of the house and within a block finding a grocery store. There is no pub that could be reached on foot. So life without a car is limited. I’d love to get a Vespa scooter. It’ll probably look strange riding around town among the Harley and sport bike crowds but so what! Going to a coffee shop or even picking up few grocers is all reachable little faster then walking in the suburbs. The winters here limit this somewhat. Motorcycles are of course the next level up. I will get back to them in the future.

So the photographs tonight are from NYC walks within last week. The 36 exposure rolls are hard to get used to after Mamyia 7’s 10 frames per 120 roll. For any future 35mm work I’ll be switching to 24 exposure rolls.

To be honest I believe the Mamyia 7 is a wonderful street camera but not concealable. For fast paced action a camera that is slower and all manual might seem as the last tool but I honestly think the very fact of knowing your equipment and having the limits of getting ready to shoot prepares you better how best to blend these elements in composition. I find to have more productive 10 roll exposures then analyzing 35mm film for 2 or 3 good ones. Well, I don’t know how good these choices are but I am including them after looking though at the negatives without a contact sheet. Larger format allows you to see the negative details. I’ll try to stick with the 35mm for a little longer. Some 4x5 soon to change the pace but the 35mm will be around.

2007-03-04T23:09:00.000-05:00

I'm behind few things but did not want to let tonight go without a post. I started a roll of 35mm last week and finished it yesterday. All of was pretty much shot in NYC.
I forgot how much work there is with 35mm. The small reels to load the film, the lengths of the film, and the tiny spaces between the frames for cutting are a big change coming from 120 and 4x5 film. But the challenge is cool although I don’t know how long it will last.

The photograph is from walking though Times Square while standing by the crosswalk. A NYC cab pulled right next to me with newlywed couple sitting in it. Amidst all the chaos (there was some anti-war demonstration a block away) here was a couple who's limo probably never showed. But what was striking is how calm it looked inside the car. This is where 35mm shines. It’s quick. No polarizer filter to get thought the glare but the flowers inside came out somewhat in focus.

2007-02-26T23:56:00.000-05:00

Something on the last roll from Krakow that mystifies me. I took two frames of an old church court yard but they came out blurry. Two frames completely out of focus. I took 5 rolls and many more with the Mamiya 7. I never had is so out of focus before. To some odd degree they almost seem interesting in the softness of the outlines. But I still need to give them a second though before I would post them here. I am a bit surprised how it could have happened.

Well, tomorrow’s evening is a visit to a lecture at the Aperture gallery in NYC form a photographer whose subject have been Muslim women shot on location in the Middle East. The Aperture lectures are phenomenal and I so glad to live in this area if just for these. So tomorrow I might get home late and not have a moment to post but Wednesday I’ll most likely will reflect about it here.

The photograph tonight is from the trip 3 weeks ago with Ilona. This was out view from the window looking toward the Market of our apartment. We had a wonderful time in Krakow. On this very corner is a lounge we were looking for that was highly recommended to us. It might not been the most comfortable or best place we visited but the evening we went there we sat along candles on the table with very good atmospheric music. I remember looking at Ilona’s face to the candle light and it’s in my mind I have a photograph of that moment. We’ll have to shoot something like that so I can have it on paper to look at instead of just remembering. And of course moments like that are very much ones I love in her company.

2007-02-25T01:46:00.001-05:00

Tonight I watched a documentary film released last year on Leonard Cohen titled “I’m Your Man”. I know pretty much most of Mr. Cohen’s work. The film itself is a documentary tribute of some folk and other artists singing his songs while in-between Mr. Cohen himself comments on himself mostly. U2’s Bono has probably the best observations on Mr. Cohen as an artist and that is exactly what the documentary is about. Leonard Cohen embraces the fact he is a writer and that so many years yield success only with getting up and wiring everyday. It’s the Patience that has enabled him to reflect in peace on his work. There is a bonus feature that includes an interview but I have not watched it yet. The sinning only shines when at the end of the documentary Mr. Cohen performs ‘Tower of Song’ with U2. The other musicians are mediocre at best. Leonard Cohen is a signature to the songs I came to know and draw pictures from so interpretations do not particularly interest me that much. If I can walkway with one or two ideas that spark my deeper thinking from such films then I call them very helpful. This is one of them but unless you know his work I would suggest listening to his original songs since the musicians here do not justice his lyrics deserve.

2007-02-23T23:21:00.000-05:00

Ok, I lied. It would not be fair to get into a Magnum recognition and not post a photograph.

The photograph tonight is of Ilona. This was taken right before our flight back east at San Diego airport. Some 2 hours ago Don asked ‘So where do you want to go’ and I replied ‘The Desert’. Don was all set. Then I realized we sort of had to go back to the hotel and pack. Incredible trip. Don made us both feel like he was family. We were talking about that around the time I took this photo. We both knew we'll miss him.

2007-02-23T22:36:00.001-05:00

If there is one photography organization I absolutely love then Magnum is what does it for me. I absolutely love reportage photography.

The strong statements tonight are inspired out of few details coming together. They serve a reminder why and how I found the most comfortable photographs from my early interest in it.

The older I get the more mature I suppose. I don’t think that is always true because I like to look at the world as some peaceful harmony of shapes, shades, and colors. The older I get the more truth I find out. I enjoy reading history books. I like to get the deeply researched works what can tell me how it was unbiased.

Reportage photography does that in a frame. A caption gives you the circumstance. Magnum photographers define life in a photograph.

In other news I have taken my Contax G2 out of retirement. If I’m somewhat successful I will sometimes post just a photograph if I deem it speaking it …. some words.

No photograph tonight. I’m got the last toll from Poland going up tomorrow.

Hey, is 35mm slide still beating a digiSLR?

2007-02-21T22:48:00.000-05:00

So one roll is now left to develop and I can’t remember what’s on it. The roll I developed tonight was a bit disappointing not in content but in myself. In the midst of the conversation I set the camera wrong. I just didn’t pay attention because I was also I guest. I like my hermit ways of photographing. I stand there and observe so that with success I can not be too noticeable, or at least the camera. The roll form tonight has 4 more portraits of my uncle. But the photograph tonight a photograph that originally was to capture a trolley I used to take to my grandparents house as a child but we were driving and with the medium format camera everything is manual. I took the photograph but got the man and boy instead and the still man on the shoulder of the boy. There is something here but I am not sure what yet.

2007-02-20T23:19:00.000-05:00

Nostalgic photographs tonight from where I grew up and have most found memories of childhood. This is where my childhood friends and I have played. Around these buildings was my world when I was a kid. I remember when near by the grass was tall over us and we would make tunnels. I remember when the summers came and the grass was cut into long lines from which all the children collected it and made heaps and houses from. I remember the first snow of the year and everyone running around occasionally collaborating to make a snowman. I remember all of this. I was there for mere 5 minutes some two weeks ago. I left when I was 11 years old but childhood memories are like fairy tales in my memory now. The photographs to me are full of those sentiments. These photographs are colored in my head.

2007-02-19T21:31:00.000-05:00

Family. Part of my trips to Poland are all about seeing and spending time with Family. I have gotten used to living pretty much away from big gatherings. I have lived around my parents for most of my life. But on this trip I almost made a mistake and a chance of seeing my Uncle. His life has been though a dramatic change in the last year that I saw him. In the last day in Warsaw I saw him. I’m glad for the moments like this. It meant a lot to him as well.

The photographs are document in nature. These were two on a roll I just shot in my neighborhood where I grew up. I have an entire roll of him pretty much in this setting and that chair as our talk went on. I love photography for this very reason.

2007-02-16T23:40:00.000-05:00

This is an attempt of a tight crop for the photograph below. This might not be a very photograph from start but at least up close the pigeon lady's outfit appears as if a scarecrow while blurred by motion dark figure is approaching. I was just curious what it would look like closer and sharing my comparison here with you.

2007-02-16T23:34:00.000-05:00

In 12 plus years of photography I am now learning how much life a photograph has though proper presentation. By some very sad fact I had given this part very little attention now realizing that lack of confidence was because I did not fully remember work I’ve done. The blog is helping a lot by giving me a chance to select and post photographs. But then further down I am also revisiting them though viewing them scanned, then adjusted, and sometimes even cropped somewhat to produce the final image. It’s the process that I am learning about or maybe just really now paying attention to it. Some parts are mundane and repetitive but do yield progress. Some of the elements of the process become a second nature.
Tonight two photographs of quick city photograph of Krakow. The people were chosen for a purpose but not anticipated the perfect moment. The dirty old street has a human and modern element as does the photograph with the pigeon lady. Both photographs ironically have a car in them on these very old streets.

2007-02-15T22:30:00.000-05:00

I’ve developed 2 rolls from 5 so far and at random they both happened to be from Krakow. We (Ilona and I) have walked most of the city during the few days there sightseeing for the most part. The weather was sunny the day we got there and sunny again when we were leaving but for the most part it was a cloudy even lit days which occasionally carried a flurry with it. Krakow is famous though European history and by most part undamaged by WWII unlike Warsaw which was rebuilt as far as the old part of town.
I shot at random and almost as if a tourist except the fact I wasn’t too concerned about the historical significance as I was about atmosphere. Shooting while on vacation is still something new to me and combined with how I perceive photography and memories translates into somewhat still to be defined selection.
So tonight I am including two photographs. Both are from Wawel castle where kings and queens were coroneted and biggest events concerning the kingdom took. The first photograph is the outlook though an archer’s hole onto Krakow. The second photograph is a gate which on looks an open yard.

2007-02-14T21:55:00.000-05:00

I am back from my short but wonderful vacation. I did not had much access to the internet so hence no Posts but even before I left I had very little time to prepare images for the blog.
I returned on sunday night only to go to work the next day and erupt with a significant cold/flu which resulted in a doctor visit on tuesday and another day of today. Tommorow I am back at work. I have mamnaged to develop two rolls but still scanning and the first pictures from the trip will have to go up tommrow. Short today but tommrow the blog picks up again.

2007-01-30T22:57:00.000-05:00

I am realizing that I am in my photographs and somehow having a strong feeling that this is only the beginning. The varied subject matter becomes more organized with time and I am beginning to do things with the camera more naturally [as opposed being all technical]. I am beginning to pursue what I have been bothering all those around me which is the aim of my work. The more I give up pursuing an answer the more it becomes clear that photography is a personal tool I can record and observe where I happen to find myself.

Tonight photograph is of NJ. I took this and few others few weeks ago from the window of a train ride home. Despite the motion blur I think this best defines [until I shoot some more] the Elizabeth area (15 mile radius around Newark Airport) which is cluttered with homes among industrial parks.

2007-01-30T00:08:00.000-05:00

No matter where you came from you can blend into the everyday life here without much interference. You can exist from anywhere on the Web and make your voice heard to those who listen and if you look thoroughly you’ll find your clique. And from there you can go into the mainstream [media] if you choose to. But Artist is a broad term. I read an editorial in the Saturday’s Wall Street Journal of Mr. Kasparov’s (The famous Chess Champion) taking on Vladimir Putin from his NYC residence. Van Morrison speaks truth of the commercial weight that art is effected by in USA but still seeks out his influence in USA. If it’s not on the East Coast then it’s on the West Coast. The politics come and go and lives get better and worse. But at the end of the day you can probably find it easiest in the States.

The photograph today is from 3 weeks ago walking by WTC site that not is under construction of the new Freedom tower. I am including the second photograph because it moved me. The coins and a rose left behind remind all that pass by here though the PATH station that some 5 years ago this was a site of total devastation. I am more amazed that 6 years ago I walked out of the WTC twin towers where the PATH station stood. Religious fanaticism is another topic but by no way should it ever be a reason to destroy a human life.

2007-01-26T22:47:00.000-05:00

Listening to Bob Dylan tonight along Pie De Palo (2005 Viognier). My attachment to Mr. Dylan’s is in the respect for the use of the language in his lyrics. It very well might be the fact I am bilingual that my respect for his wittiness makes me re-listen his songs in admiration. In any case I do love a good use of language I can find the break from the mundane.

Tonight photograph is about power. In Mr. Dyaln’s lyrics it is the message. In the photographs included it was the feeling I want before setting out to shoot. And the model here is among the brightest I have to shoot. She is a quick learner. She actually pursues to lean about the medium. I find that fascinating.

One photograph at a time. More comming... well, tommrow.

2007-01-25T20:31:00.000-05:00

I have been neglecting the blog too frequently lately but day job has been the biggest factor in that. Bad planning is to blame I suppose but that of management. The company grows but concerned more on profits they neglect the basic principle that what enabled that growth was the stability from the operations side. Well, it does not matter much now because by March the work load should ease somewhat.

In a week I am flying out to Poland. I’d like to focus this time around on documenting what I know I can approach with connection. My trips to Poland are very personal in the fact that if my life would have been different I would live there in a very different climate. I go back to my neighborhood on each trip there to walk the same paths I did as a boy in grammar school. Not so much is different now except maybe only the fact that I can walk the distance relatively quicker now since I have longer legs. But I remember the details. I remember the summers where wild rose bush grew near the bus depot and a piece of the sidewalk where some asphalt would give under the feet to a soft step. I remember taking those busses or walking few kilometers with my mom and sister to my Uncle’s house stopping at different stores along the way. I remember this time because I have a very vivid memory for strange moments. In some strange way I look to live them again with some success. The difference today is that I continue to learn and understand how the past can be the future with the right set of eyes and thoughts. Being a boy I had nothing by dreams with little care or understanding. Now I have a set of decisions that can alter my life completely and need to make sure ones I make will somewhat give me some stability. All has changed but that’s because life is about seeing and learning.

No photograph tonight. I do not have anything that would fit here and satisfy my thoughts tonight. I will only try to take as much photographs as possible while on the trip and that of course will depend on the situations I will be in.

Tomorrow with a post less reflective I will post something recent.

2007-01-23T21:41:00.000-05:00

Hoga! Cheap plastic medium format camera which is known to leak light and focus where it wants to. Completely unobtrusive and unpredictable camera. It looks like a plastic toy. But for one reason or another it serves as a true tool for creativity No seriousness not heavy tweaking with the camera before a picture is taken. It has two or 3 settings and that is pretty much it.
I got mine sometime late last year. I have only shot one roll though to see where my light leaks will come in. Every Holga is unique. But the leaks can me minimized with a little patience so somewhat consistent results are possible. The 3 images included tonight are random from one roll of walking down a random street in Manhattan. After I will duck tape my Holga from the stranded light I hope to post more with greater consistency for final photographs.

2007-01-21T01:58:00.000-05:00

Poland. I’m going on a well deserved vacation in 2 weeks. In fact this time in less then two weeks I’ll be in Warsaw unpacking or getting up on a Sunday morning. There is something about going back that makes it better each time. And more then previous times this time is much more special. The photography part will enable me to cover Warsaw and southern Poland. I am very much debating the color choice but if I will concentrate on street photography then it will all be back and white.
Traveling with film is a chore. But hopefully Frankfurt won’t be much of a problem.
Photograph tonight is from a November walk on Princeton University’s campus.

2007-01-17T23:10:00.000-05:00

Andrea has seen hers (and she likes em!!!) and Katie just got her a voice mail this evening that the photographs are up for review. Katie has gone though each one in the past and give me feedback back on each photograph but this time I hope she chooses her favorites. When I was developing the film I was a bit concerned with the fact of shooting two rolls in the same light and space. But despite the same setting I got enough variety on the two rolls that I am now satisfied with. There are certain technical details I need to work on but hopefully that will get resolved soon.
Tonight simply about posting more photos. Day job affecting my quiet (reflection time) but even that I am trying to work out toward time for photography.

2007-01-15T23:59:00.000-05:00

I have neglected the Blog which was on my mind over the last few days. But the reason for it was that I was busy shooing. I did two shoots this weekend. One is Night photography, and the other a soft lit sitting with a model I have the pleasure of working with over a year. So tonight to start things off I am including the first of the two. First photograph is from Saturday evening and the second is from Sunday mid day. More coming soon.

2007-01-09T22:00:00.000-05:00

Space and Architecture. I don't find Manhattan as a pleasing city. NYC is a rough industrial buildup that signifies fast paced lifestyle. People here talk faster, they curse quicker and by far make the most money here whether commercial photography or other industries. That is why so many lie here. The flip side is the high cost of living. There is some truth to the idea that if you make it here you'll make it anywhere. But the cost of this making 'it' has a price of quick and frequent adjusting to what comes in next which is never far off. I live roughly 35 miles from NYC and its somewhat of a safe city as any suburbs offer.

I do not consider NYC a cultural center of any sort. It is by far among the most prestigious centers for art collections and performances but take away the commercial drive of the city and you have a lot of dirty and abandoned concrete street blocks. Perhaps a dark way of looking at it but money seems to be the life here. I only wished it would not be this strong of a force around here. Life here is primarily about work.

The first photograph I am including is a quick snapshot of NYC skyline from the street level. Its chaotic and scattered. There is very little below that is different. NYC as for a walking city is huge. The difference down below varies by the immigrant neighborhoods or commercial interest defined by square blocks in most part. If for example you go to Chinatown you’ll see street signs in Chinese and all one could want from China. If you go the photo district you’ll find all the photo labs within close proximity of few blocks (although that has changed much with the property values[rent] and digital services. And this continues onto the surrounding area but perhaps less organized the neat city blocks of one way streets.

The second photograph is just a mere play of the word ‘Space’ in the advertisement below and how the figures in the photograph happen to be spaced apart.
Film is Kodak Tri-x at 400 in Rodinal 1:100. The second photograph is about a half of the original frame (if not a little less) because the 80mm lens included to much of the bright building above the street. This is a large cropping but the 6x7 negative makes its size shine in photographs like these.

2007-01-08T23:45:00.000-05:00

Tonight I started scanning a roll I took earlier today. I spent the morning in NYC on a rainy Monday. I will most likely post few images from this roll simply for the context of some thoughts and less for the technical content of the negatives. This photograph tonight was handheld and bit blurry at 1/15th of a second balancing the camera and an umbrella in the other hand. But the Cross is built from beans of the World Trade Center. Its just a block away from the site itself. I'm going to re-shoot this in weeks ahead.

2007-01-07T00:39:00.000-05:00

...And a sort of addition to the last post inspired by Don's post on Susan Sontag's On Photography. In the reference of the second chapter of the book and the tradition of Walker Evens the photograph here is from my ongoing project of American Suburbs. This photograph in particular is simply a commentary on sports and suburbia. The power lines serve as deeper divide of architecture and a neglected baseball field.

2007-01-04T22:00:00.000-05:00

Books! I got an email the yesterday from someone dear to me and in a quick look at Borges's work she was able to depict exactly what I love about his wiring. I was very impressed how from a quick look at it she was able to see all that. Perhaps a description on him on a book jacket gave some of those clues but nonetheless how she wrote it described what draws me to the work.

Books other then some specific cameras and their accessories are among the things I collect. Photo books are part of it but history and selected fictions are part of it. Also classics that I find in hardcover and reasonably prices get added. I always have an attachment to books. In college I could never write in a book and found myself writing things down then underline words or paragraphs. Maybe I should have but there is something special about printed text that I want to read at a later time and not bring in the one way interpretation back to my more experienced outlook.

Tonight's photograph is another personal photograph but this time of my father. He was lost in thought on his commute to work one morning back in October. I like this photograph for reasons I don't wish to go much further here. It is a personal photograph.

2007-01-03T22:14:00.000-05:00

Tonight's photograph is not an exciting one nor captivating but personal. I do not know why I like this row of lights but each night when I walk this way from my train home I see it from the distance and it has a certain affect on me. The immediate area to the left and right of this street is of little interest to me nor anyone but those who live there for that matter, but this straight of way from emerges out of nowhere.

Photography is personal. I learned from my assisting and working in NYC studios that I do not want to follow the trend setters. I do not want to imitate. I photograph for a meaning that sometimes even I won’t understand right away until later on I look back on it. Some of that process and the photographs get discarded and others treasured. Art follows this pattern.

I love the way Jackson Pollack was lost in his work. It was his world. But I have met artists (this title does not fit them in my opinion) who with enough connections and persistence think of their next piece in term of profit. I have not been able to respect that sort of art. Artist is a title that is earned. Sometimes this title is earned after one's death. It should not matter in any way how or for what purpose you'll create your next piece other then your own. Anything else is commerce.

See, I believe that true artists have all to share with their audience and fellow artists. The commercial photographers have nothing more then sheltering their secrets of trade.

I recently listened to an interview that mentioned the period from Edward Weston to the Ansel Adams where photographers had a great satisfaction of sharing their techniques. Ansel Adams even wrote 3 books on technique alone. They were working with equipment which has changed very little in the last 150 years. It was about sharing experiences. I believe in this sharing because it keeps me true to why I photograph.

(Technical Note: I had some trouble adjusting the exact color rendition from the beautiful Provia 400 pushed 2 stops - But I hope the color balance won't distract the simplicity of a night lit street)

2007-01-01T18:00:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! I rang in 2007 twice with the good ol' phone and a 6 hour time difference. I am still amazed how technology can so convenient these days. So I just hope it gets continues to get better in that direction.

I shot my Nikon D70 a little over Christmas and New Years but only for personal snapshots of family. I don’t shoot it the same way as film. I don't get that into it as with film. The process with this camera is not the same. I know it’s probably just me. But the fact I have limited amount of film, the quality of film itself, the fact I have to invest time in to scanning and dusting of the image on the screen, well some might call it annoyance but I think that adds a satisfaction of a truly great photograph. I am not trying to say that digital is bad or anything in that sense. Its just it’s not for me, yet. The older I get the more I go back into tools that put you there in the process. And the more I understand the demand of the tools to create a photograph my vision gets clearer.

When I look at 2006 I can appreciate my re-entry in shooting, finding my friends and having my balance in life back. Man, I learned a lot. And instead of having a grumpy attitude toward taking on change I realize its there to change you. There is no right or wrong but the reality of the engine of getting older. I for one am conquering my impatience into reflections and taking the best from it all. Friends guide me when I get weak. I truly am lucky to have the ones I do. Today I read some short stories of Jorge Luis Borges , looked at Helmut Newton's work and now just relaxing. I’m looking forward to create photographs this year.

A second photograph from Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

2006-12-28T22:28:00.000-05:00

Work has kept me form posting lately. Last night I picked up chemistry which I will mix since the beginning of the year gives a nice indicator for dating chemicals. I got a bag of fixer and Kodak's Rapid Selenium toner. The Selenium toner is something I haven't used much in the past. It’s primarily used for either toning prints (or film) which results benefiting highlights and permanence. So for the next few days I'll be searching all sorts of forums to find out good starting pints for dilution ratios and purposes. Supposedly Ansel Adam's The Negative book goes in some details on the subject so I will be looking at that tonight. Great book but Mr. Adams was not the most straightforward writer (nor easy to read).

Tonight a photograph of reflection on viewing art. The photograph is from MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) on no particular floor. Great collection of some wonderful work. I have another photograph which I will use another time now my website from the recent update.