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© Copyright 2007, John Crosley, All Rights Reserved

Who Is That Masked Man? -- (El Bandito?)


johncrosley

Nikon D2Xs, Nikkor 17~55 mm F 2.8, Not manipulated - slight right crop. Color photo converted to B&W through Photoshop CS2 Channel Mixer by checking (ticking) the 'monochrome' box and adjusting color sliders 'to taste'.

Copyright

© Copyright 2007, John Crosley, All Rights Reserved

From the category:

Street

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This capture, from early this morning, is full frame and

unmanipulated (conversion from color doesn't count as 'manipulation').

Your ratings and critiques are invited and most welcome. If you rate

harshly or very critically, please leave a helpful and constructive

comment; please share your superior photographic knowledge to help

improve my photography. Thanks! Enjoy! John

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I will explain this photo and how it happened to come about in a week or so. Your guesses and surmises are welcome if you wish to post them.

 

John (Crosley)

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very good take! I guess the smell from dirty laundry makes the manager put some antismell cloth on his nose, maybe wet or sth :-) He could be smiling underneath or he may be not. This b/w I like very much :-) It has a story to say even If I dont know who the person is or what he is doing there. The black repeating "circles" add a lot to the overall composition...really nice I cant yet grab such takes. I have to get in a PR situation something Winogrand didnt do. I remember in a video someone asked him "Hey did you take my photo?" and he answered "No I took MY photo". Maybe I'll try that in the future. For now I admire the tries of others including this one :-)
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Winogrand went down city streets taking photo after photos, often a roll of 36 a block, and very often shaking hands. If accosted, he likely had a quick comment, like you say, but he is known for his gregariousness.

 

For safety, it's necessary to have a quick, disarming remark for every situation (I like that remark and perhaps I'll use it).

 

I moved around this man to complete the repeating dark round shapes of the dryers and framed this just so he's be seen as a break in the pattern with his dark, round head.

 

That's part of doing what I do.

 

I have other, good captures, but I chose this one for that.

 

And the smells around the dryers are quite clean. The mask was for something else; maybe sometime I'll tell the story -- maybe not, but no bad smells. (Think 'safety' ;~) )

 

I was doing my laundry when I took this; just another example of why one takes a camera (or cameras) all the time, ALLL the time.

 

My best to you, your worthy critiques are always very welcome.

 

John (Crosley)

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An Internet article from an authoritative site confirms that Winogrand, who went for his last years ('50s) to California and at the end just kept going to the same places and taking the same photographs, and seemed to be in some sort of 'rut'.

 

He had told others that he would retire to review his photos which he purposefully didn't review until years later, and even left 400,000 photos unreviewed at his death, including contact sheets, undeveloped film, and uncontacted but deveoped film. Those who saw the photos, however, said they were uninspired and repetitious. He possibly had lost some touch with reality, it is suggested.

 

He spoke to others of getting a view camera and retiring to the mountains, to take an occasional photo/a landscape as he reviewed his life's work -- his negatives and contact sheets.

 

However,he died at 56, apparently of cancer.

 

Sad end.

 

It seems his cup was literally empty.

 

(Cartier-Bresson never had an empty cup; retiring from photography in late '60s--early '70s, then drawing and painting away until nearly his death at '94 two years ago.)

 

His cup had runneth over far longer than anyone ever hoped.

 

John (Crosley)

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This man works the midnight shift at a 24-hour laundry in Watsonville, California.

 

Beneath each of the huge, multi-load dryers behind him, there is a lint filter.

 

The lint filter is a large tray, designed to capture stray lint -- and they do a good job.

 

Coal miners used to suffer from 'black lung disease' and cotton workers suffered from 'brown lung' disease.

 

This man, apparently not being given any protection from his employer (or perhaps being a 'contractor') had no special breathing protection apparatus, but apparently was aware the 'lint' (composed primarily of cotton and other, similar fabrics) posed some sort of threat to breathing.

 

So, he wore a bandana to work, which he usually wore around his neck.

 

When it came time each night to clean the lint trays, he simply put the bandanna over his face and mouth -- to capture as effectively as he could, the stray lint which otherwise he might breathe.

 

Posted because above I promised an explanation.

 

John (Crosley)

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