iwmac

Well.....where to start....I guess first is thanks to the "Elves" for picking this as POW. I just found out about it a couple of days ago as I have been away since the 1st of January... we left London, ON in a snowstorm to drive to Tampa, Florida, and then went on to New Orleans for a couple of days.....(and there is a lot more to do in New Orleans than checking email)....got back late Friday night, so now I have some time to reply.

 

And then thanks to all of you for the very kind and positive comments about this photo, and my work in general. Regarding Billy Syk's comment about the quality of the print (scan) and the lines, they were caused by an inexpensive scanner, and not really noticeable on my monitor of the time. There is only one print and no negative from which to make a new print. I have to get this print and a couple of others back from a Toronto gallery to get good scans done so I can get high quality inkjet prints made.

 

Again thanks for the comments and interest.

Fool that I am, I do prefer the uncropped version, (but darkened, maybe) mainly because of the space and the background which adds a rather startling effect to the image.

 

And, BTW, I was a TV studio cameraman for several years, and I had to learn how to compose within a specific frame, nothing else was possible. It carried over to using 35mm cameras, as it was during that time that I began to photograph.

As usual, the original 'vision' or 'version' or 'concept' is so much better than the posted final over worked, worked over final post. However the right hand side could be brought down at least step or two, or a border added to contain the image. The smoke is well contained within the original frame.

 

I've never really understood why photographers don't trust their original vision. It is right there in the viewfinder for them to see.

 

And, yes, it is a pretty good photo, but I have seen some other self-portraits that leave this in the dust, and they don't use a smokescreen for obscuration.

 

You might want to check with Al Kaplan on self-portrait techniques, he has got it down pat.

The Dingle?

***

The photos are just out there waiting to be taken. As many as I have, I have missed just as many...too busy...going to go back the next week, that sort of thing, and the situation has vanished, or as in this case...the print finally sold.

I don't bother to push Tri-x, just use stabilizing fluid....;-}..usually ale...but sometimes G&T....or an elderly malt. Helps to slow things down...well except for the automobile in the middle ground. I have used Diafine and Acufine in the past, and they do give a speed boost, but tone suffers to some extent. And notalgic film Nikons are fine....I have some, and they work very well under reasonably similar conditions. There are quite a few in my P.N. photos. Shot a lot of Pentax stuff also....good lenses...but Nikon has better viewfinders.

 

Get a tank....find some dark...take a few minutes and do your own negs...dead simple...and a lot less time than going to a store, getting waited on, going home and then going back and waiting again and going home, etc. etc....better results too.

Lee,

 

The film was the nostalgic Tri-X done in D-76, and the lens was a CV 50mm/f1.5 Nokton, on an off-brand camera..a Leica M4P...(this being the word from on HIGH by phil greenspin, who has taken COMMAND of P.N., again.)

Amanda,

 

I'll have to dig out a real map to pinpoint the area, but it was the Rifle Range, which I believe is near McLaren Blvd. Meeting a friend from Saint John for lunch tomorrow....will ask him to clarify. (checked Google Earth, and whilst they have coverage of SJ, can't find McLaren Blvd!)

A good straight documentary photo when viewed first, but looking at the larger view shows another whole aspect. The wind farm in the background makes the photo much more than good. It adds a complete new dimension to the photo, and gives it a great counterpoint with the foreground.

Photo was taken autumn 2004.

This would have been done in late 1967, or early 1968.

brought...(not brougth)...(bloody keyboard gets confused.)

Hmmm....I didn't realize that Canon made square format cameras.

 

Too bad about the problem with the light fall off with the digital sensor...I've heard about that.

 

The dark top right corner pushes you into the center of the capture, and out the right bottom corner. Pity. Try flipping left to right...the dynamic totally changes. You now are brougth (somewhat more) back into the frame.

This is an early bad scan from a bad print. I should replace it, as I have better prints and better scans now.

 

What you are seeing is a highlight from the newspaper on his eye.

 

http://gallery.photo.net/photo/862758-lg.jpg Geez Tony... Does that mean the road trip we had planned is off? I thought we were going for a beer afterwards.

Relocated to the correct side of Lake Huron. The photo uploaded just before this must have had a Michigan location. Thanks for pointing out my geographical displacement.

The need for the extensive explanation of the mysterious Mercedes makes this a failure as a photo. It communicates nothing. It is a 'nice' composition, but it has no real meaning. Simply put, there is no context.

 

You claim to be a journalist. Journalism is about context, content, detail, not mystery.

 

Your 'Early Black and White' photo, "I'm so happy...." is great, and has context, as so many of the others from that era also have, but a lot of the later work is, well, I don't know how to describe it. Just let me say that you can do better.

Arthur,

 

It was scanned from a print. Thanks for the comment.

Alma?

The photo was taken in 1969, in a bar car between Windsor and London, Ontario

To label this as kitsch would be an insult to bad taste.

Paul,

 

There is no special technique, other than being low key, just part of the woodwork, and hanging around until people get bored with me. As for equipment, no flash, never owned one, and cameras are 35mm SLRs and rangefinders, and generally slight wide angle to slight telephoto, without motor drives.

I didn't know anyone. I wasn't noticed taking the picture.

Hi choeN,

 

My work has been published and is in various collections, and has been exhibited, but not specifically in 'documentary magazines', by which I assume you mean journals dedicated to photography, as opposed to illustration with a magazine article.