'Moliere' and the Question 'What Becomes of Actors After Films Are Released?'

This is a movie poster in the Paris Metro, advertising the

film 'Moliere' and an uncanny look-alike sleeping beneath the poster -

two views of a look-alike bearded man, which is what my perculiar

vision sees. Your ratings and critiques are invited and most

welcome. If you rate harshly or very critically, please submit a

helpful and constructive comment; please share your superior

photographic knowledge to help improve my photography. Thanks!

Enjoy! John

'Moliere' was the assumed name or 'nom de plume' of a playwright and actor from the French theatre, who was very widely acclaimed and world reknowned. In France, where this photo was taken, the name is commonly known, but not so much so now in much of the rest of the world.

 

John (Crosley)

 

Image Copyright 2007, John Crosley, All Rights Reserved.

really a great image - I like the contrast between the two and how the long hair looks on one vs the other etc. Great eye to have caught this. Well done.

You can't believe how 'sharp' my eye was that night.

 

Look at my postings from Paris Metro at night and most of those captures came in a two-hour period. I was 'sharp' beyond any Wusthof or Trident knife, that particular night (and the next day).

 

Sometimes life is like that; sudden great acuteness followed by dullness for long periods.

 

Might explain my personality; or my personality may explain that (who knows?)

 

John (Crosley)

A genial juxtaposition that truly captivates.

Welcome.

 

Thank you very much for your observation/compliment.

 

John (Crosley)

Great image. Congratulations.

Thank you so much.

 

John (Crosley)

... when did you take this? Will be in Paris next week for three days prior to returning to the States (15,000 shots later). Like this one very much for its simplicity and directness.

I have reservations to Paris for the 18th and a no-change reservation, but am running out of money, so my inclination has been to try to get another (free) flight out of Paris using my 'miles', or try to scream lack of funds to the coalition which issued my ticket, but it's spread over several carriers, so it isn't just one carrier that would make an exception. I was to stay in Paris to the 25th, Thursday. I am not poor, but my money is in the USA, and I've about spent myself out of business here in Ukraine.

 

This photo was taken in one night (the same night as the rest of my Paris shots -- all in about 1-1/2 hours, in about January/February during an airline misroute that left me there several days (without a passport too, which we have discussed).

 

So, I took advantage.

 

This is just an 'old one' that I wasn't sure was worthy of being posted. I guess I got that idea handed back to me on the high ratings platter, which surprises me very much.

 

I thought some of my prior Paris Metro work (this is from the Metro that night) was the most inspired night/day I ever had in photography, and this is part of that.

 

It was just a one and one-half hour trip from Gare du Nord to Montparnasse then a switch to another line to La Motte Picquet and off (and the Metro closed then.) (that time I spent getting on and off night trains at almost every station, taking appropriate photographs, then getting on the next or succeeding train.)

 

My photo of the two bums, end to end under a Metro sign (Saint-Germain-des-Pres), was taken that night as well as my photo (color) of the poster of a 'falling woman' about to land on a bunch of out-for-dinner young people gathered beneath, and numerous other photos that trip.

 

The next day, I took the photo of the woman adjusting her contacts underneath the poster photo of a woman adjusting something near her eyes, with a remote shutter release in her other hand, as she was in process of taking a self-portrait (ad for a photo exhibition of auto-photos).

 

I think a pickpocket got my passport that night -- as it disappeared and no trace of it since. It was replaced with much to-do then the short-term passport was replaced again with a long-term one ending my passport nightmare now I hopoe permanently.

 

So, I am not sure if I'll be 'staying' in Paris or if I can get a flight out right away, since I presently can't afford to stay in Paris this trip (would come back for Photo Expo 2007 in November, almost certainly).

 

Needless to say, j'adore Paris, and any chance to stay there is high on my list. It is THE most photo-friendly city for a street photographer I've ever photographed in, and the Parisians seem to love me.

 

Operation Vigi-Pirate which restricts photos on transport seems to be ignored where I'm concerned, since I'm older and obviously not a terrorist (except at Gare de L'Est.

 

This long trip, I've just had much higher than expected expenses, which may make a change to the first flight out of Paris (if I can get one) necessary.

 

Michel Karman of A&I is working on my terrabyte of digital files, culling them and acting essentially as 'curator', and we are in regular contact; thank you and Mark Jaress so much.

 

Last real missive about the photos, he was very encouraging, and it was clear he was doing the job.

 

I'm in Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine right now, and will leave from Kyiv through Vienna on Austrian -- with a scheduled stop in Paris the 18th for a week till the 25th, but I my unusual and unexpectd mean I am going to have to try to circumvent the Paris stop, unless I inherit some money (my money in the US cannot be gotten to by anybody except myself, or I'd just send for some).

 

My ticket, if issued for one airline's travel would be freely interchangeable, but it's an interline ticket and being 'free' it's not changeable for any amount of money, I am told.

 

My 'home' airline probably would try to change the restriction, since I have high (gold) status, but other airlines may say, 'go to heck', and there I am, somewhere in travel 'heck' -- without funds in Paris.

 

Oh, the vagaries of being a world traveler.

 

If there is a chance, I'd love to meet you in person and especially in the 'City of Lights'; you appear to be in the process of changing my life, and I'd like to thank you personally.

 

Best wishes,

 

John (Crosley)

 

Oh, second addendum: I'm also very interested in learning more about HDR from a photo master, as well as the science of how to 'blow up' photos with minimal image loss. That is beginning to concern me since Michel says 'aim for the Getty, and other such institutions'.

 

(As you advised me: Treat it as though I've already arrived and am just making my work available for the first time (paraphrase).

 

Michel independently had the same idea; he said 'you can right now be represented by some small gallery in Santa Monica or elsewhere, but why not aim at the highest, and he made promises of highest level introductions, one of which he has carried out, in part already, and I thoroughly expect he will keep his (reiterated) promise to make a thorough introduction to that famous gallery owner.

 

How thoroughly lucky I feel to have the embrace of such wonderful people in my life recently.

 

JC

This photo, which I felt was overshadowed by numerous others (many posted) I took in one extremely productive night on the Paris Metro, sat on a hard drive, worked on, but pretty much forgotten, as I felt it might not be the 'best' of my captures, or perhaps I had taken too many Paris Metro poster photos.

 

Perhaps sitting on it was the best thing, as my portfolio no longer is dominated by such shots.

 

In any case, it's been a ratings success and view successs, for a 'street' photo -- thank you viewers.

 

John (Crosley)

... we just got back from France, left on the 19th (Friday), but it would have been great to see you in Paris! Actually had a dream that we met photographing somewhere in Kansas. You had a beautiful Eastern European woman with you, and a brace of cameras around your neck! Glad to hear things are going well with Michael, am sure that this will all work out well. As far as the HDR/high resolution blow ups are concerned, will be glad to talk, correspond, whatever you need. It will be a break from the nearly 17,000 shots we got in France shooting Romanesque churches in the last seven weeks. Even without bracketing, we're talking about 3,000 shots. I've posted a couple of dozen as a sampler, but haven't really even gotten into processing them. Thanks to Lightroom, we've been able to control the volume and keep everything under control, backed up, and organized. BTW, we were on the metro, saw this poster and smiled remembering this shot. Talk to you soon. D

We passed 'in the might' almost literally.

 

I didn't know this poster still was being exhibited.

 

I took the Metro Saturday (during the nationwide strike when it was thoroughly overcrowded, and a little even Friday, the day you left, and it was full of posters, but most I found uninspiring. The next day, there were a bunch of new posters and my Saturday shooting went better (they change the posters quite frequently . . . and more than seasonally).

 

So, because the metro (when the trains ran at all), was too crowded for good photos on Friday, I went out and shot 'street' and got some pretty wonderful stuff; I'm not just confined to Metro shooting in Paris.

 

I'll be posting some of that from what literally was a 2-3 day stay in Paris (and incredibly expensive, as hotels were sold out and overcharging like the taxis because of (1) the World Cup of Rugby finals, (2) a glut of tourists and (3) some people had to stay in Paris because most transport nationwide was shut down.

 

(A shutdown means a few things were running, and, here's the kicker, no fee.

 

Just walk into a Metro station and if you bought a ticket, you made a 'contribution' to the city Metro, because the gates were left so if you just pushed them they opened and if you asked, you usually were told 'not to pay'.

 

Same for the trains from Charles de Gaulle airport -- entirely free, though very infrequent and greatly overcrowded and the RER (interurban trains) only ran on that segment, but the French know not to 'piss off' their tourists too much -- tourists trade feeds a lot of French people, strike or not.

 

This shot was almost never posted, as being too much alike others I've posted, but I finally went ahead and said 'what the hey . . . ' and it got good marks.

 

Surprise surprise.

 

I'd love to go photographing with you anywhere, almost anytime.

 

and about a lovely Eastern European woman being on my arms, that's not just in your dreams . . . ;~) (or mine -- I mean it's in my dreams and in reality . . . )

 

That's real life.

 

(Sometime I'll e-mail you a photo of the light of my heart, who'll never come to the US).

 

I went through LA yesterday but with hundreds of thousands of fire evacuees, the hotels were overcharging and not available, so I went to Northern California, but hope to see Michel ASAP. (You should have seen the view of he San Diego fire I saw from the airacraft approaching LAX. I can only tell you it looks like the aftermath of what I imagine a firestore caused by a nuclear bomb would look like, with blazes literally hundreds (maybe even 500) feet into the air, and a vast well of them, (all unobscured by smoke because of a breeze toward the ocean (it's a Santa Ana wind after all which gusts from the high deserts to the ocean . . . and kindling dry chapparal . . . which makes the setting for just such firestorms possible. It might be dead calm in one place and 70 mph gusts higher up. I experiencd that driving home, and soon after I passed, the Magic Mountain amusement park was threatened by fire, and maybe I-5 was closed, my only way out of the basin (I swear I had nothing to do with starting that fire . . . although loathsome firebugs undoubtedly set some of them . . . . probably looking just like the movies portray obsessed firebugs.

 

Michel and I are corresponding regularly, and I think we've got the basis of a good friendship, for which I am most thankful

 

As well as for your giving me a kick in the right direction (a friendly kick was what I needed).

 

Thank you so much.

 

(Now I'll amble over to your portfolio and take in the wonders of Romanesque churches/cathedrals).

 

John (Crosley)

... to actually meet in Paris. Thursday we walked from our hotel near Parc Monceau to the Gare d'Orsay, then over to Saint Chapelle, so we were on our feet most of the day, not a camera on our persons. We decided the last day, no more shots. PJ and I had a great day, though, imagine if we had met! Some day, perhaps when you come out this direction. You fly into Boston, I'll find a way to get up to see you. Glad things are going well, of course I knew that you had a "light" from the Ukraine, but it also showed up in my dream. Talk to you soon, my friend.

What a dreamer -- you foresee so many things.

 

And Friday, I spent on my feet the day following you, coming in from near the airport (no hotels available -- Paris hotels totally 'complet') by RER (free) because of the strike, and stopping at Gare du Nord, yet I managed to walk to Cambronne, if you can imagine that, and make my way back by Metro on their oddly-spaced and few trains, jammed to the gills with people.

 

No photography generally that day on the Metro, except one wonderful one, and trying to keep from getting pickpocketed in the Metro hoards, but people generally were pretty good natured, even though they were jammed together on those odd trains that did come by.

 

A 'greve' (general strike) in France, somehow suits the national nature. Work, but enjoy life and if someone threatens your job, let them know how essential your job is to their enjoyment of their own life.

 

I think Sarkosi has bitten off a lot; such things as general strikes (or transit or truck strikes) have brought other governments to their knees, and in the midst of all of this, did you notice Sarkosi's wife' filed for divorce?

 

Insult to a bad day on Saturday (or Friday -- probably she filed on Friday since the courts then were open.)

 

and of course, she had to have thought it through, since the strike date was known in advance and she could have delayed her filing.

 

Bienvenue President Sarkosi, your country is on its knees (and your wife just left you for good)!

 

From a recent tourist.

 

Every experience in France is a new experience for me; each street walked down looks different from the last.

 

And I think you and I will go photographing together and surely we will meet.

 

We just missed by one day (I arrived late Thursday, after sundown) and left Sunday, thanks to a very shaped up United Airlines which changed my ticket and shoved me on a plane to fill the last seat on a sold out flight for which no reservation would have been sold and no ticket honored -- and mine was a 'free' ticket at that.

 

They really moved their 'fail for me' to borrow an old Delta Airlines advertising phrase, and for that the are owed public thanks.

 

My best to you Dennis.

 

Contact me any time.

 

I may write you soon with a telephone number, as soon as it's working again.

 

I'm also feeling more 'approachable' these days, in no small part thanks to you and your efforts.

 

(on and my 'light' chose me -- you can find her photo somewhere in my portfolio, but I won't say where -- she's a model and a lovely person in every way. It's also fairly recent, but has been growing over time and perhaps there's no future to it, but it's very nice.)

 

I am glad you have used your time wisely -- to do exactly what engages you.

 

I'd be bored to death cataloging churches with HDR photos, even if they were wonderful photos, but you march to your drummer, and I know that anything you produce will have the mark of excellence.

 

That, I think, is our common element.

 

Agree?

 

John (Crosley)

... missed by a day! Oh well, another time. For a clarification, I don't just shoot HDR, in fact very few are HDR (two of the posted shots, I believe, from this selection of 25). I only use HDR when there is no other choice, since it is extremely difficult to do well if you like a naturalistic look, which I prefer. As to why I shoot these shots, that will come out later, but these Romanesque churches are my passion. Take care. Let me know when we can talk.

I probably can intuit from the search the reasons therefore, but I may be too presumptive, so I'll wait for you to tell me. I had made a few assumptions, but those again are for me to keep personally, then compare against your explanation, if you care to reveal it. I don't intrude into people's personal lives unless invited; I did that for a living when I was an attorney, so I have plenty of experience against which to measure many things, and I suppose it has helped me also to spot in advance the movements and emotions of individuals I see on the streets, as that is highly developed in me now, although after several hundred thousand photos, that should be highly developed.

 

I just paid my mobile phone bill reinstatement, but I never got it to work right before I left, but it's charging now and in a day or two I'll send you the number.

 

If you don't get it, e-mail me and I'll be reminded to send it post haste.

 

I am not sure how long I'll be in the states, but I feel particularly lacking in the jet lag department even after leaving Ukraine last Thursday and traveling through Paris and even going twice 48 hours without sleep.

 

God, you'd think I was 21 the way I do it; although sometimes when I do I look like hell.

 

But I make good photos sometimes, and that's very valuable in my book; it's my quest.

 

Life can be pretty simple at times, can't it, when one has a quest like that.

 

I'm a pretty single-minded guy about such things, though I hope not too simple-minded (I am afraid of people whose minds are too simple or worse, those who claim simple minds . . . like, remember, Sam Erwin, who said 'Well, I'm just an ol' country lawyuh . . . . ' and brought down a president and presidency.

 

Well, I've not practiced law for just a few months shy of 20 years, but I still can keep up with almsot any present-day attorney in the analysis department, especially in areas where I'm strong -- e.g. insurance litigation, litigation, contracts and contract interpretation, torts, etc.

 

Or at least I delude myself into thinking so.

 

I'm thinking of all those Southern California insurance claims and how the insurance companies are ultimately going to 'shuck and jive' about how 'this isn't covered', 'that isn't covered' and how their claims adjusters will keep asking, as they hand out small checks 'is that fair? and 'are you satisfied?' even when they know they owe thousands or even hundreds of thousands or more, and how some companies will stall claims payments to force their insureds to accept anything rather than run out of food and shelter.

 

It happened after the Northridge Earthquake, and it's as sure as winter follows summer.

 

That's why the world is full of lawyers, and not enough good ones. We even have a very well liked and very humorous lawyer on the world's best talk/news radio station here (KGO a.m. in San Francisco which got major market radio station of the year award last year) who dispenses great advice on everthing but insurance coverage, where he's sadly deficient, since he's never apparently read standard policies from cover to cover and said 'what if . . . ' to every possible circumstance or read all the cases about such things (which at one time I had.)

 

So, I think within a year there'll be a lot of sadder but wiser homeowners in Southern California, especially those who listened to the commercials that said (****** (company) is there).

 

But that's just my personal opinion, and one garnered through the experience of acquaintances in the insurance claims industry -- particularly claims attorneys. That particular company is a big disappointment, since they used to be considered pretty fair. But one local company that was the epitome of niggardly claims handling since has turned the corner into being considered one of the fairer companies. Who knew? I used to steer everyone away from the second company, often to the first, but no longer.

 

And that's no longer my job; my job is to make worthy photos, often in a fraction of a second, which requires lightning quick reflexes.

 

If you don't get an e-mail with a number, please write me after 24 hours.

 

I hope I'll have talked to Michel by then.

 

John (Crosley)