From Degas to Michelangelo – the Grace of an Unexpected Moment

I was walking my dog downtown. A young couple had come out of the City Hall as wife and husband. I was watching the hopefulness of youth when the bride sat at the public bench to take her formal sandals off and put on demi bottes. I immediately clicked with no time to focus.

With some cropping, I was delighted at the gracefulness of the moment. And her friend’s hand just added a composition I did not have time to make.

It is a soft and most sensual photo. All the best to the young couple!

November 17, 2018

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2018

Inter-tribal Native American Pow Wow

Native American cultural gatherings, called Pow Wow, are educational to all those who attend. There is history, a spiritual context, dances, singing and art displays. I am a novice in the ceremonial traditions of such inter-tribal gatherings, but over the past 5 years have attended a few Pow Wows and actively pursued a self-education of their historical context.

This morning I went to the annual Pow Wow in Prescott. After buying a Navajo cartouche pendent from a jeweler who works with copper, silver and turquoise stone, I attended the Grand Entry of the day. This is a large scale gathering where many dance, sing and promise their involvement in supporting tribal communities.

As a street photographer, any gathering with so many people is heaven to me! But I am always respectful of the norms or rules in photographing people and respecting their privacy. My goal is never to “photograph people” but to capture a human behavior or attitude that is generic and relevant across cultures.

And I will not show faces in this essay. BUT, there was one split second when a young girl walked into my camera’s field of view and I could not resist taking a non-identifying profile shot. And then she walked away.

Here is that photo:

What makes this shot intriguing is what was written on that blanket:

So, she was displaying the name and history of a soldier. She wanted all at the Pow Wow to learn about CPL Eddie C. Begaye. Therefore I feel that my posting a profile of her and the name of the soldier is doing what she wanted to do, but hopefully to a much larger audience among the readers of my blogs.

During the Grand Entry, I focused on the traditional attires, the chanting rhythm, and the sacred paraphernalia used during the dance to the beat of the drum.

I like the sacred representation of feathers, the rattle of metal beads, and the elegance of turquoise stones:

Also the dance movement captured on a two-dimensional plane:

 And perhaps the rapprochement between the Southwest, the west and native cultures:

… As I often try, I stayed away from taking photos of portrayers of Native American warriors on horses, tribal leaders in feather or buffalo skin head covers, and children wearing deerskin moccasins.

My goal is to tell a story. A story people own but sometimes do not know they are telling it.

September 23, 2018

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2018

Annual Highland Games in Prescott, AZ

The Highland Games are an annual tradition in Prescott, Arizona. Scottish pipe playing, whiskey tasting, clan colours and accoutrements, and of course games of “throwing things.”

I like being there as the eclectic and eccentric nature of the crowd allows for photographic experimentation.

As I was walking around, a photographer carrying a tripod and two cameras with lenses more expensive than my car looked at my 1970s mechanical camera hanging from my neck and said:

                          “Will you be able to catch any action with that lightbox?”

And as she smiled at her comment, I decided to capture what my trusty Nikon F and Illford 100 ASA film could freeze in time, rather than capturing the events per se.

So, I decided to focus on body postures among the throwers.

But first, I was attracted by the intricate tattoos among many of the athletes and wanted to report on one aspect of the body posture featuring the tattoos.  That is why I started this post with my favorite contextual photograph.

Ok, so my goal was to capture the different stages of upright weight throwers. The idea behind this competition is to stay under a giant H- frame and try to get the weight over the middle bar of the H. This bar is elevated during the competition till no one can get the weight over it.

It is like an Olympic high jump where the “jumper” is the weight thrown by the athlete.

For most athletes, the first posture seems to be

Which is followed by a movement to build momentum

Then the final swing 

And the vertical release of the weight

I also took a couple of photos of swirling horizontal throw movements of the hammer throw equivalent. The subjects were the exquisitely tattooed man and woman which I thing gives the highland games a historic and anachronistic context.

First the preparation

Then the rotation

… So, did I capture the games? No, but I tried to capture a dimension that indirectly addresses human body posture, movement and perhaps the spirit of these historic games.

 P.S/ … During the scanning of the printed photos I played with some of the scanning settings which gave the film shot a totally digital flavor. But also many of the shots now had their background blurred and the focused person in the forefront more actively.

So, I left these settings on during the scan function.

September 19, 2018

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2018

Leica IIIF: A Camera That Would Make Watchmakers Blush

Like any street photographer, the fundamental influence of Henri Cartier-Bresson has remained over the many decades when I carried a mechanical camera around the world.

While every camera I have used and use is “my favorite” at that moment, every time I load my 1953 Leica IIIF and use it I am amazed how easily it becomes part of my hands, my eyes, and in some way my identity.

Of course that was also the camera Cartier-Bresson made famous.

So, I took my Leica to town for a few shots.

But first, here is the camera:

What is historically attractive to my Leica is that it is one of only 2,000 cameras that were assembled in Canada (the serial number attests to that). In that sense, it is a collector’s dream.

I like experimenting with 1940’s Russian/Ukrainian Leica-clone lenses. This one has a distinct character in the contrast it gives to B&W photos. Note that I always build lens shades by salvaging parts of old and broken lenses…

Ok, so there were artists on the town square and a lot of people walking around. Wanted to maximize the capacity of the lens, so chose a few frames specifically for that purpose.

This photo was taken with a lens opening of 5.6 and a speed of 1/75^th second using ASA 100 Croatian Efke 35mm film. My goal was to capture as much detail as indirect light could allow the 60 year old lens to capture. Of course I loved the face of the donkey materializing in front of my eyes!

I also wanted to show how, with a slight and purposeful off-focus setup, this lens can give a floating feeling in full sun/direct light. I took this one with the lens closed to 11 and a speed of 1/100 second.

… It is amazing that after more than 30 years of using this camera I still think of it a watchmaker’s marvel. I have NEVER had this camera services during these decades and as hundreds of miles of film have gone through it.

It still sounds like the first day I used it.

July 25, 2018

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2018

The 4th of July Celebration in Prescott, an Arizona Cowboy Town

Downtown Prescott feels like a metropolitan area on the 4^th of July and Christmas. The rest of the year, there is plenty of parking for cars, the same people walking their dogs, and a slow pace I have learned to love and cherish.

So, on this 4^th of July, I wanted to stay away from taking “parade pictures.” At some point all parade pictures are the same – people waving flags, smiling for hours, children eating candy wrapped in patriotic colours, and veterans of past wars wearing hats identifying the war and the battle they were in and survived.

Instead, I looked for the frontier spirit and the cowboy identity.

To do so, I cleaned a 1960 Nikkor-Q 20cm telephoto lens I had not used for many years. It used to be my favorite travel lens on a 1969 Nikon F since the 20 cm lens is very light given its aluminum construct and simple 4 lens group construct. Amazingly this lens takes contrasty and good definition photos.

… Prescott, given its high altitude of 5,500 feet and lack of any major industry, has one of the best air qualities in the country. So, when I saw this woman, dressed as the Statue of Liberty, I wanted to change her political message into a literal one. I waited a second to have the cigar store as the backdrop to frame this shot:

As expected, there was a group of men, in mountain man attires and riding their horses and mules. In this instance I wanted to contrast the modern city to the mountain man, and used the street lights as the backdrop. The lens was opened to f5.6, at ASA 100 and 1/125 second shutter speed:

And to finish, man and his horse surrounded with cheering crowds:

Sure, there were old cars, politicians asking for votes, and a parade of 1940s farm tractors running like Swiss watches. I just wanted horses and mules to keep an image that one day will be overtaken and overcome.

Till then, this horse will have his parade and his smile!

PS/ I posted the digitized photos in original size to show the prowess of the 1960 Nikkor-Q. To see the entire photo click on it or slide the bar .

June 30, 2018

©Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2018

How Paracelsius Lead Me to Imaginary Women...

I had stated in this blog’s opening page that in a previous life I was a healthcare professional and an academic.  After 38 years of travelling the world to address epidemics or improving the quality of hospital care I found my happy space in the outdoors, the arts and all the books I had not had time to read.

But old loves do not go away that easily…. I still read healthcare literature and even publish one article a year. After all, it was my identity for most of my adult life.

Ok, all this prologue to explain why I was reading a very intriguing article about medicocriminal entomology. I was reviewing the contribution of Paracelsius to the harmonization of keen observation to existing knowledge and ended up with an essay on toxicology where it was discussed how in the 6^th century, Paracelsius used the word “Silphid” or “sylph” to describe mortal spirits that lack souls. Interestingly Sylph is also related to “Sylva”, the Latin word meaning “slender, graceful girl” and the Greek word “nymph” meaning “light, airy movements.”

Hmm.

All this gets more interesting when in forensic investigations for determining time of death, a family of bugs, of the Coleoptera order are used as their stage of development in the animal or human flesh will determine when death had occurred.

Well, the special family in the order Coleoptera that has this forensic importance is called Silphidae!!

So, mortal spirits lacking soul, graceful girl, airy movements, and bugs that feed on decaying flesh!

Actually, all this led me to think about the world Sylphide I first encountered in French literature. After a few moments of forcing my brain to recall, I was quite sure it was in one of Balzac’s works that I learned about that word. And, given the magic of the Internet search, I was able to find the exact passage. It is:

[Il] fut admis auprès de la femme (...) qu'il avait vue la veille, (...) fraîche et pure jeune fille vêtue de gaze (...). Il arrivait impétueusement pour lui déclarer son amour, (...) il trouva sa vaporeuse sylphide (...) languissamment couchée sur le divan (Balzac, Langeais, 1834, p. 250).

In this instance, Balzac use the word Sylphide to describe an idealized woman, more fantasy than real. This passage is from La Duchesse de Langeais, a 1834 novel where Balzac describes how General Armand de Montriveau, a war hero, is enamored with Duchess Antoinette de Langeais, a coquettish, married noblewoman who invites him to a ball, teases him but ultimately refuses his sexual advances and then disappears in thin air.

Airy movements the Duchess Antoinette had?

…. After reading the multiple sources of history and literature triggered by my initial intent to summarize the contribution of Paracelsius to toxicology, I wondered if, through my camera lens, I can build a sylphide. What if I could take pictures of different women and then try to build an imaginary sylph through a puzzle?

There was only one way to find out.

I walked around the streets and without compromising the identity of the women, took a few photos.

Should she favor a lace dress and sandals? In this instance it will be a Greek siren visiting our small cowboy town from the Sirenum scopuli islands...

Or perhaps she will proudly show her tattoo and shoulders. Her hair would be perfectly black and simple. She reminded me more of a mermaid with her strong shoulders. Interestingly, the first stories appeared in ancient Assyria, in which the goddess Atargatis transformed herself into a mermaid out of shame for accidentally killing her human lover.

Hmm, that is quite a story, especially since I could not tell if her lower body had fish scales and a large tail!

Talking about lower body, would she wear a comfortable pair of sweatpants with elephant prints on them? I laughed thinking how strange it will look to have the mermaid upper body on these hips and legs...

All this leads me to a most comfortable imaginary woman. A family woman, keeping vigil while her mate sleeps. A woman with no extravagance, no elephant prints, tattoos, or white lace dress.

I suppose a street photographer always tries to find an angle to tell the story of people that the common mortal does not see or does not think about seeing. A few years ago I did a similar experiment taking photos of people from a dog’s perspective (https://liveingray.blogspot.com/2014/09/street-photography-from-dogs-perspective.html). This project continues to intrigue blog visitors from around the world.

So, sylph, sylphide, Silphidae, siren (Σειρήν Seirēn) or mermaid, one way or another they were dangerous creatures. Yet our male fantasy of dreaming about the ideal woman, if not in real life but in our secret moments, remains powerful across time, cultures and continents.

June 25, 2018

©Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2018

Distance and Detail: How Ray Lewis and Michael Phelps Look From a Boat

Large format photography is either an unshakable passion, or a dream one has to fulfill, at least once.

It was the latter reason when a friend, who also uses classic film cameras, brought his Graflex 4x5 Crown Graphic camera to take photos of the Baltimore Harbor from a boat.

I never owned or used large format cameras. As a street photographer, these cameras are like carrying a Sherman tank upon my shoulder and pointing its canon to people! But on this trip, I wanted to see what a 135mm f4.7 Xenar lens can do.

Ray Lewis, Ravens Football player and esteemed Baltimore citizen. His portrait is on a huge container side. Only from the 500 yards or so distance in the water can one appreciate the beauty of this work. I decided to find an angle that includes the metal structures around it.

Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all times. He is known as “The Baltimore Bullet” and this larger than life image of him swimming makes the harbor waters seem plain and calm.

Well, there is no comparison in the quality of the output between a 35mm and a large format film. But if one considers the tiny size of a Leica IIIF to that of the Graflex, the flexibility in capturing the moment becomes of importance.

What I am not sure is the real benefit of using medium format film and camera compared to a large format. With a good lens and diligent darkroom work, medium format can yield amazing quality as well.

But… the shock factor of getting out of a boat with a Graflex 4x5 on your shoulder is unsurpassed!

June 24, 2018

©Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2018

Fishmongers, London, UK

A friend from London, UK sent me the announcement for a fish dinner upcoming July reminding me that a decade ago we had gone to a National Federation of Fishmongers.

“Time to do it again?” he asked.

If I recall correctly, that competition was at Billingsgate Market in London, and the first such competition I witnessed.  Large and very fresh salmon were filleted with the artfulness of a sculptor’s hands and the dexterity of a surgeon. All bones were extracted and every step of the process was closely observed and evaluated by professional monger-judges and after a number of rounds, a championed declared.

Of course we had the freshest salmon I have had after the competition was over.

… Well, that may have been a decade ago, but I am quite organized in keeping my printed photos in accessible places, and my negatives well annotated.  I recall having my Nikon F with me on that trip so looked in printed photos in the shoebox that says “Nikon F”!

Et voilà, I had kept a less than perfect photo in that box.

But it will do to prove to my friend that I had not forgotten about that day.

June 10, 2018

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2018

Parmigianino and Anthropomorphism

Just before sunrise I heard the deer outside our house. I walked out with my camera set at 1/15 second and the 180 mm Nikkor -P Auto lens open to f2.8.

The first deer I saw looked at me with her neck extended. As I clicked and scared her away, I could only think about Parmigianino's "Madonna with the Long Neck" (Madonna dal collo lungo) I saw at the Uffizi.

Five hundred years have passe between Parmigianino's painting and my photo.  And yet, before my morning coffee, when I saw that deer in the viewfinder, all I could think about was this glorious painting.

May 19, 2018
© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2018

Passers-by: How to Capture Their Surprise with a 70 Years Old Ukrainian Camera

I use my cameras not only for taking photos, but to match and fit the mood I am in. It may sound strange, but the temperature, the intensity of the light and the number of people in the streets make me decide which camera to take.

Of course, it is important to get the planned shots. But sometimes, the “partnership” between the camera and me almost enjoys the surprises I get out of old mechanical cameras with questionable shutter speed and uncoated lenses from the 40s and 50s. I think there is a certain pleasure in using tools that are older that the user!

So, at an art fair, I decided to take my 1950s Ukrainian FED-2 rangefinder camera to the art fair. A couple of decades ago I bought three identical FED -2 cameras and neither was functional. As I have done with many other mechanical cameras, I “borrowed” springs, screws and a shutter cloth from each camera to build one that is fully functional. I suppose it is the equivalent to organ transplant.

The FED-2 cameras are a Former Soviet Union (FSU) design. They are not copies of German cameras of the era such as Leica and Contax. In fact they are a metamorphosis of these cameras when the best aspects of these are taken and incorporated into a new design. In short, the cameras are simple but very functional.

The lenses on these cameras, however, all Leica 39mm screw mount clones, are notoriously unreliable. But they too are a simple construct, and after ruining a few, I have learned how to disassemble, clean and adjust these lenses. However they come with no shade given the awkward aperture ring on the front of the lens, and since they are uncoated lenses (there was no coating in the 1950s) these are practically impossible to use in full sun – the glare from the reflection ruins practically every shot.

So, I learned to build lens shades for lenses that are not made to take shades. And the results are quite lovely. The serial number indicates that this lens was made in 1950 or perhaps earlier.

Here is a shot with the lens set to f8, the speed to 1/125 second using Ilford 100 ASA B&W film. I did some dodging while printing to let the violin player, the woman next to him and his sleeping dog get prominence.

And now a split second trigger depressing to get this composition. I wanted the passing-by man (or was it a woman?) exhibit the movement while the woman under the wall was immobile. I used slower speed (not sure what it was as I changed it without looking…) and the two subjects were captured exactly where I wanted them in the frame.

So, I was as pleased with the shots as I was with the camera and hooded lens. Somehow I think old lenses have a nostalgic outlook upon what we see. Or maybe it is my 1940s enlarger that prints these photos with memories of darkroom hours past!

May 15, 2018

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2018

Free Spirits and Synchronization

It is now spring again and around the house wildlife is active all night. My dog is old and he does not hear most of the noise deer, peccary, nocturnal birds and coyotes make. But he often hears sounds that do not exist, and barks at them at various times of the night…

So, I was up before sunrise because these non-existent noises woke up my old friend.  And I made coffee, and we went out as we have done for the past 14 years.

I heard noise in the brush. Came back, took my camera and was hoping to see coyotes. With the first rays of sunshine it was clear that mama deer was visiting us again. This time with two very young fawn.  This female has been around our house over the past two years. I recognize her from the scars on her back and abdomen on the right side. Maybe mountain lion attack? Anyhow, I have photographed her before and it was good to see her back.

I whistled hoping that all three of them would look at me in synchrony. Unfortunately the young ones just did what they please and my dog, somehow, heard my whistling and barked. The deer took off and I had only one photo from the encounter.

… Then I went to a nearby lake for kayaking with the hope of taking pictures of eagles nesting in the granite dells. But I did not see any. Instead, I realized that it was my day to pursue the theme of synchronization.

Indeed, there were three ducks feeding in the shallows.  My Nikkor-P 180mm telephoto allowed me to take close up photos of their synchronized plunging.

Well, just like the deer a few hours earlier, it was not always well synchronized. Two of them seem perfectly in synch, but the third was definitely a free spirit!

Here is proof one

And proof two of my above analysis.

Sure, there were people kayaking and cormorant flying

And the rock statue of the woman was always there

But I think that the fun I had today with my search for synchronicity was worth getting up before sunrise and getting the kayak into the water.

May 6, 2018

© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2018

Conosco i Signi de l’Antica Fiamma.

Agnosco veteris vestigial flammae. Probably the only line I remember from Virgil’s works. It translates into “I recognize the traces of an ancient fire” as Dido feels passion again when she meets the Trojan hero Aeneas in Virgil’s Aeneid.
I have always liked this line, and also like its Italian version as Dante used it in the Divine Comedy. It reads “Conosco i signi de l’antica fiamma.”

… My photography is a visual validation of what I have learned from other forms of art and artistic expression. Poetry is what I have always cherished as the purest form of universal expression. But when my eye sees a scene, I convince the eye of my camera lens to understand it and place it within a certain context of artistic expression.

To recognize the vestiges of ancient flames, or at least one ancient flame, takes two. At least.
So, here are a few examples of how I cherish capturing the universal expression of remembering through the eyes of living creatures that surround me.

Deer: This mama deer was near my house a few days ago. I grabbed my camera and got as close as I could with my 1970s Nikkor –P Auto 180mm lens. She did not move and kept looking at me with almost a comfort look.

Then her baby came to join. Now I understood why she was not running away. And they both looked at me for a short moment.

Peccary (Javelina): This herd was also near my house. I took a few photos by getting very close to them but on my guard because the males do attack and they have long fangs! I like this photo of the two javelin heads mixing into a unit, again with a comfortable look.

Hummingbirds: It is practically impossible to freeze a hummingbird in flight using a mechanical camera like a Nikon F2. I just do not have fast enough speed and lends to do so. But the movement can give shadows and make us think. These two were on the bird feeder and I tried to capture their flight. The hummingbird at the lower plane seems to have an interesting look…

My dog with his friend: I took this one in a small New England town where he used to visit this lady and get a tasty treat. Again, I wanted to capture that comfort in expression I like to freeze in time.

So, how does one recognize the traces and signes of ancient flames? Although Virgil’s Dido needed a new passion to remember and recognize what she had found in her husband Sychaeus, I think that old flames give us a comfort rather than new burning passions.
And that comfort is in realizing that we had the privilege of living through old flames.

April 17, 2018
© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2018