Michelangelo said he didn’t create his sculptures. He just removed the marble that wasn’t the statue.
I’ve been thinking about that lately. About what it means to have a collaborator whose job isn’t to add things but to help you find what’s already there. I’ve been doing that kind of work recently — the excavation kind — and it has changed how I write and honestly how much I enjoy the making of it.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Start with Jay.
Here’s another great video that I really enjoyed watching. It’s photographer Todd Hido talking about his life in photography, how he’s moved through various generations as he’s continued to explore making photos. William Verbeeck made the video and did a great job with it – just letting Hido talk about his life and work.
He has one stern recommendation for young photographers in particular: print your work! He talks about how images don’t really live until they exist on paper and you can hold them in your hands.
I first came across Hido’s work when I discovered his photographs of homes at night. These photographs reminded me very much of my high school years in Daly City – foggy nights, streetlights, homes with a light in one window, etc. Hido’s nighttime images evoke those moods. He collected much of that work in his book: House Hunting.
His work is currently on display in the gallery at the Leica Store San Francisco: A Series of Small Decisions – Todd Hido | April 15 – June 8, 2023. The store is located at 463 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA 94108.
Last Tuesday morning I enjoyed walking with my friends Doug Kaye and Steve Disenhof south of Market Street in San Francisco. After strolling along The Embarcadero from the Ferry Building, we headed over a couple of blocks to Spear Street and did what we usually do – walked towards the good light!
There are a couple of nice courtyards along Spear Street adjacent to office buildings – including one at 201 Spear Street. This statue of a photographer by sculpture Seward Johnson (named “Smile”) is one of my favorites. I made this image using my iPhone 11 Pro Max in Portrait mode and proceeded it into black and white.
Admiration. That’s what I have for street photographer, blogger, and vlogger Eric Kim. I started following Eric’s blog several years ago as he began actively writing about the joys he found in street photography. His blogging efforts led him to pursue teaching street photography classes in various cities around the world and, more recently with his partner Cindy, an active publishing (both open source and for sale) and photo gear related business (see his product page).
Eric’s blogging has evolved beyond the mechanics of street photography into his philosophy of life – his joys, his worries, and his endless pursuit of creativity. I enjoy reading him for his quick comments and insights – almost always stimulating my thoughts off in an unexpected direction. Reading his work and watching his talks open my mind in new ways.
Recently, Eric gave a talk at Google which is available for watching on YouTube. One of the best parts of his talk – much of which is focused on his approaches to creativity – starts at about 19:30 into the video. He shares one of the photos of an older woman with a big smile that he captured years ago on the streets of New York City. His description of that image, how he shot and and his interaction with the audience about the photo is just great. (He sells a signed limited edition of this print on his website.) He’s written about this on his blog as well.
As for me, Eric’s had an impact recently – he’s helped jumpstart me back into more actively writing for my blog. Watching his work, I’ve come to realize that sharing is both worthwhile and also easy to do with today’s blogging tools. I’m able to quickly have an idea and – on any of my computers or mobile devices – being drafting a blog post on that idea.
This post is a great example. While waiting for my coffee to brew this morning, I was thinking about Eric and that segment where he shares the store of the smiling older woman. That got me thinking about how I admire what he does – and what he’s been doing for years now. And so here we are. Thanks Eric!
One of my favorite YouTube channels is Sean Tucker’s. While it’s nominally about photography, Sean’s videos are as much about his philosophy of life and living. As he says: “I’m more interested in the ‘why’ of photography than in the ‘how’.” I’ve listed Sean as one of the photographers who inspires me on my Inspiration page.
During a recent workshop, the instructor played one of Sean’s videos – which is very much about the “how”. It’s one of his best tutorial videos – all about the exposure triangle and how to shoot in manual mode.
Highly recommended!
A more recent one that I also really enjoyed is this one: Taking Portraits of Strangers (feat. Gabrielle Motola). After an introduction by Sean, Gabrielle talks about her approach to shooting portraits of strangers – by approaching them, talking to them, and capturing their images. She shares some great insights into that style of street portrait photography!
Be sure to subscribe to Sean’s channel so that you get notified when he’s posted a new video. I find they’re always very worthwhile!
My photo buddy Doug Kaye caught me in the moment while we were both shooting in the bright Friday morning light in the plaza at 101 California in downtown San Francisco.
This plaza is a place we return to frequently – it’s just a delight – and the light is constantly shifting and moving across a tapestry of interesting people either traversing or taking a break and pausing for a few minutes. It’s one of those “life is good” kind of places.
Obviously, as Doug’s image shows, I was having a great time! One of these days I might get around to washing my jacket – it’s been all over the world with me and I’ve resisted “cleaning things up”!
//embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js
Photographer David Burnett spoke with Angie Coiro today at Kepler’s Book in Menlo Park – part of her In Deep Radio series. A selection of Burnett’s photographs are currently on display at Cafe Borrone. He also spoke this afternoon at Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center.
Coiro is a great interviewer – and David is a great story teller. The combination was just delightful! While just an hour, this interview could have gone on for two or three more – listening to Angie’s questions and Burnett’s stories.
A couple of the highlights for me included Coiro’s introduction of Burnett where she used the phrase “collectible whispers” to describe his photography. Burnett suggested he might just use that wonderful phrase for a book title!
Another was his description of his JFK photograph – shot as a young man in Salt Lake City. When he first looked at the film he shot that day he thought it wasn’t worthy – but 35 years later he went back and found the negative and found it told another story – an example of how photographs often aren’t technically perfect but are still powerful images.
Hearing Burnett describe photographing Olympic runner Mary Decker’s fall in the 1984 Olympics made me appreciate what he later called “the speed of life.” Sometimes it just comes together – and you’re in the right place at the right time – and it’s a gift.
There was a lot more – this is a very special interview worth listening to!
I met David last summer while attending a Peter Turnley workshop in New York City. I captured Peter and David heading out – with Dave shooting all of us from above! When I met him today and showed him this image – he said “Oh, you’re in my photo!”
There’s a wonderful exhibition of the work of Cuban photographer Raúl Cañibano underway at Foothill College in Los Altos.
Today I wrote about my experience shooting with Raúl in Havana two years ago on InMenlo.com. A wonderful memory!
Here’s a fun shot from a recent visit to Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco with my photo buddy Doug Kaye.
We were walking along outside where for as many years as I can remember they sell these shrimp cocktails, fresh crab, sourdough bread bowls with soup inside, and more! It’s quite a marketplace in action and fun to just stand and watch.
One of the stands had this really big lobster – and I caught this image of Doug shooting the crab while I focused on the lobster’s eye.
Shot with a Fujifilm X-E2
Today was my friend Chris Gulker’s 63rd birthday.
I had the great good fortune of meeting Chris a few years before he died in late October 2010. We had a wonderful routine of twice weekly Tuesday/Thursday 1.5 mile walks around his neighborhood. I’d bring along Lily, our Cavalier King Charles spaniel, and the three of us would make the route together. Lily exploring all of the smells and sounds, Chris and I talking about the tech and photography news of the week. It was just wonderful.
Today is Chris’ 63rd birthday. This image is from October 11, 2010 as he was showing me some of his beautiful black and white prints from his years as a photographer in Los Angeles. Such a gentle man and a great teacher.
You must be logged in to post a comment.