Sunday, September 30, 2012

FlatHouse

Full of two-dimensional flora.

FlatHouse

And her half-sister excreta.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Morning Gloria

Not that one. The other.

Morning Gloria

The one with vegetable intelligence.

Friday, September 28, 2012

Season Ender

Teaches a lesson.

Season Ender

When all else fails, die.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

PhotoGraphy And Me

At The Online Photographer: Sony Electronics Posts First RX1 Samples

It set me off. Here goes...

<rant>

I'd like to say I don't give a spork.

But if you want it, take it. Go ahead. It's free. I'm no longer using it.

After 25 years of aching I bought a Pentax 67. I loved it.

The best part about owning the Pentax was selling it, two viewfinders, three lenses, and extension tubes while they still had value. Just before exactly everything in the world went digital.

Without planning, I've joined the 21st century. I like it just fine.

Someone smarter than I put the words together: Today photography is not about producing a product. It is about communicating. Sending messages. Pointing at reality. "Hey! Look what I saw. Look where I went. Look what I made."

I am happy.

So is Paul.

Paul is nearly 80. Paul is a retired Forest Service Ranger. His territory covered a large part of the Pasayten Wilderness in northern Washington State. Paul has been using a view camera since before I quit pooping my pants.

Paul has a Canon "something-X-something". He loves it.

He really likes the warning about not letting the front element of the lens touch the subject. He giggles like a girl about that.

I like giggling. I like girls. I like Paul. Paul is a mensch. Paul knows his schtick, photography-wise.

I like my camera.

My camera now (my main camera, my lover, my guru) is a Sony DCS-HX5V. See Luminous Landscape from May, 2010: "Putting the Fun back into Futography".

I have high dynamic range and sweep panoramas, whatever they are. I have 25mm to 250mm. I carry this sucker always. It captures images. I have no idea what the MTF is, or if there is one.

I have been posting a nearly-daily image from this camera for around two years now.

As I told Paul I don't give realism a chance to draw breath. I don't care if a 185-pound pimply mama with fat rolls is transformed by some Faux-Tow-Shoppe expert into a 6-ounce pink glittering pixie that makes men want to stab themselves in the eyes from despair and longing.

I don't care.

I don't care about reality. Photography has never been about reality, any more than Xerography has been about death, or trucking has been about love.

I get images. I play with them. I make something. I post it. I don't know what it means.

I don't care.

As far as I know, no one sees anything. No one but me, but I'm having fun here. Fun here, guys. I'm having fun.

Tell me about your $18,000.00 Elmotwit lens with hypersonic speed-flaps and built-in 24-hour clock screaming the hour every hour on the hour. Tell me about F, stop or non-stop. Tell me about burst modes up in the mega-bitzels. Tell me about snakeskin handles. Sing the praises of precision, six-speed knobs with overdrive. Croon about computer-aligned menus with tiny bubbles. Describe steaming hot bokrah.

I care.

Not.

At all.

The image, for me, for now, is a street corner. An intersection.

I arrive, late, early, or never. But from there I start.

And then I go somewhere. Wherever. I don't know. I go.

Days. One at a time. They arrive and they give me images of something, or of nothing. I don't know.

I'm playing.

I get crap on my shoes. I see eternity. I never know. I am not a photographer. I am a random organism looking around.

Every now and then something accidentally surfaces and turns its eyes on me.

And there it is.

Until tomorrow, when something else happens, or doesn't.

If you have $2800, take it out to the street and put it in a pile.

Light it. Watch it burn. Smell it.

Photograph it through a pinhole. Roast a hot dog.

You'll learn something. I bet.

You will.

</rant>

Reference:

Putting the Fun back into Futography

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Duet

One hails the sky.

Duet

The other eyes me with disinterest.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

No Fly Crane Fly

"Buzz off," I say. "It's a good day to die."

No Fly Crane Fly

"No you. You first," says the fly.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Cedar Secrets

Standing, thinking, calm in the morning.

Cedar Secrets

Waiting as always. As I walk by.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

ChesterCat

Is carefully folded and placed on a limb.

ChesterCat

Where he remains while I'm looking at him.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Dawn Cat

Waits patiently.

Dawn Cat

For me to turn my back.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Passage

A notice from the past has finally arrived.

Passage

Scratching along the pavement. Illiterate, illegible, intimidating.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Smile

Especially if you have nothing better to do.

Smile

Meanwhile, death awaits.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Fourpack

Singing in harmony.

Fourpack

Quietly to themselves.

Sunny-Shade

Cool in the quiet near dark.

Sunny-Shade

On the edge of a sunny morning.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Solid State Sleep

Came to a small life.

Solid State Sleep

Without ceremony.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Greenfruit

Waits patiently.

Greenfruit

For its time to ripen and its moment to die.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Scattershot

Keep a low profile and dig into the color.

Scattershot

It's richer among the minerals.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Deep Background

We have it on good authority that.

Deep Background

Things do happen when you are not there.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Dark Light

Sneaks in around the edges.

Dark Light

And brings along something special.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Shrubbery Tussling

Is not my specialty. If it were, I'd wear a lot of gloves.

Shrubbery Tussling

And pick on only docile flowers.

Monday, September 10, 2012

A Happy Radial Day

Starts in the center.

A Happy Radial Day

And spreads outward.

Sunday, September 09, 2012

Median Glow

Off to the edge.

Median Glow

Humming quietly.

Saturday, September 08, 2012

Open Secret

It's waiting for you.

Open Secret

To simply walk by.

Friday, September 07, 2012

Stalker

Something bush wise this way comes.

Stalker

Gently, carefully, alertly moving.

Thursday, September 06, 2012

Blinky

Whatever it was, Blinky done it.

Blinky

Using his beaker.

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Secret Bolds

Dark and deep it lurks.

Secret Bolds

Full of unrestrained vegetable intelligence.

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Bold Secrets

In the near dark, hidden deep under the sky.

Bold Secrets

They wait to surprise you. If you but dare look.

Monday, September 03, 2012

Deep Cover

You find it if you look.

Deep Cover

But you have to look.