starshooter

<p>focus</p>

<p>One of the all time great cameras.</p>

<p>I am gobsmacked.</p>

<p>I guess the question is simply -- was there a magical moment and you missed, or was there just not a magical moment that showed itself?<br> When working with kids you can stand on your head if that gets a laugh and loosens them up but that would hardly be the thing to do here. Short of setting up an elaborate photo (sunlight beaming through the window and "anointing" the young one) you probably have to go with what you got.</p>

<p>It will fly in this day and age when high button shoes and running boards on cars come back into vogue.<br> Pardon me while I finish building my latest Steampunk Camera....</p>

<p>I went to a Halloween party as an olde tyme photojournalist with a pin-stripe suit and a press card in my hat and a Rolleiflex and an ancient electronic flash. I had a 50-year-old camera and ten-year-old Tri-X b&w film. The film had fog issues but the pro lab I sent it to did a fabulous job and the party photos were great.<br> Right now I have a roll of Ektachrome 35mm film I shot 20 years ago and am trying to decide where to send it to get it developed.</p>

<p>Nice photos. I really like the young couple dancing. An old time photojournalist like me was always told you can't go wrong with photos of pretty ladies, kids and animals. And you didn't -- you hit the nail right on the head.</p>

<p>As a photojournalist I carried a press card for many years. I have even had Secret Service, Olympics and United Nations press cards. Press cards used to be magic especially in New York City and Los Angeles because the police were known to be serious about checking press card holders out.<br> But today's world is a different one. A lot of jurisdictions don't give out press cards, they are afraid of a lawsuit for preventing legitimate press photographers from doing their job.<br> As for non-press photographers, the world seems to be full of busybodies these days. I wonder what having a "large camera" has to do with anything.<br> I read about one guy who wore a loud neon safety-type sleeveless jacket when he did street photography -- no one could say he was sneaking around. Maybe you should think about a jacket that says "Bird Photographer" in big letters on the back. You should not have to do this but times are a'changing and not for the better. Good luck.</p>

<p>Well, Matt, unfortunatlely for you the truth is in disrepute these days. In other words I agree with you but we're voices howling in the wilderness.</p>

<p>Artsy-Fartsy.</p>

<p>Cranky? Some people go ballistic. But that happens a lot when somebody dismisses this camera or that technique or the other lens. People tend to have strong opinions about their gear, technique and favorite photographers. It helps, when you express an opinion or broach an idea, to not put down those who are doing things a different way. But I am always amazed at how much photo knowledge is stored up in the brains in the guys and gals who are behind the posts here.</p>

<p>Malarky is where it is at.</p>

<p>I think Mr. Brown is saying exactly what I said but in a different way.</p>

<p>In the early 1970s I spent a lot of time in Manhattan, New York getting on and off subways and buses with lots of camera equipment. This included carrying a 500mm lens, not in a case, when I was going from East 42nd Street to Yankee Stadium and back. I never once had any hassle with any person. So much for the perils of the big, bad city. You never know. Great story and I like the photo a lot.</p>

<p>Law enforcement personnel are not allowed to commit crimes against citizens "under the color of law." In other words they cannot mumble something about the photographer breaking the law when (s)he was not breaking any laws and then arrest the photog, steal his/her camera, and so on. Theft is theft.<br> However, keep in mind one thing. I once asked an attorney, "can they do that to me?" and he said "yes, they can do it. The question is, can they get by with it?"<br> The cops are organized. Most photographers have no Big Daddy group to go to to obtain justice.<br> I know a lot of darn good law enforcement officers. But like any other profession, there are those who are venal, paranoid and just plain onrey.</p>