There is an increasing interest in taking pictures with all
types of digital gizmos. The days of film photography seem to be increasingly
cherished in portraiture where the tonal range of digital photography still
lacks that je ne sais quoi.
Indeed, our reality is now intricately related with taking pictures
of everything, all day long. Of places, signs, computer screens, food plates,
dogs, cats, and of course when all creativity takes respite, of ourselves!
Taking selfies may not be a new behavior, but it is now part of how we
communicate by posting our own pictures on social media sites. I found this delightful
archival photo (no copywrite specified) of a historical selfie:
So, is it ok to tell a story without excessive concern about
the technical correctness of composing, focusing and light characteristics? Of
course the last two technical characteristics of a photograph are today mostly
left to the microchips in our disposable cameras. But for people like me who
still use film, repair their own 50 or 70 year old mechanical cameras, do not
own a digital picture-taker, and spend time in a darkroom they cherish, the
focusing is the most critical activity. Indeed, a story in street behavior of
people is elusive – in a split second all changes (light, composition, and the
behavior itself) so if one takes a couple of seconds to focus, then there may
be no story left to tell.
Except in the photographer’s memory of the moment he/she did
not capture.
So, here are a couple of illustrations through photos I have
taken.
A.
Focusing. I took this photo on Bilbao, Spain
with a 1969 Nikon F sporting a same age 20 cm Nikkor-Q telephoto. The street
telephones were on each side of a magazine cover advertisement, and I saw a
woman put a few coins in the phone while the man was already chatting. I wanted
to capture the moment of both phone users being on the sides of that poster and
did not trust that taking my time to focus perfectly would have allowed for the
action in this otherwise static composition.
B.
Framing. This is a moment from Times Square, New
York. It was a rainy day and I wanted to contrast the folks holding umbrellas
with the “Steam Heat” mural advertisement of Ann Reinking and Bebe Neuwirth in
Fosse. A couple walked into the frame composition without holding umbrellas but
to capture their passage I had to sacrifice the better composition of the mural
advertisements.
C.
Light. I took this photo in Ferrara, Italy. I
had my 50mm Nikkor lens wide open to 1.4 as it was almost evening with
practically no light. This man walked passed me and I noticed his face being
painted like a clown’s. The moment I put the Nikon F to my face he looked into
the mirror of a parked motorcycle to touch up his facial painting. The shallow
depth of field testifies to the aperture and the blurred profile of a woman in
the background provides a sense of movement.
So, do these photos tell a story? They are not
photojournalistic as there is no unfolding story behind that one frame. They
surely are not technically perfect, in part due to the tool I used – 1960s
mechanical film camera and manual focus lenses.
With all the criticism one can justify having of such
photos, still when I see the white photographic paper metamorphose into a photo
in the tray under a red light, I feel good that I did not worry about the
technical correctness and just took the photo!
April 10, 2019
© Vahé A. Kazandjian, 2019
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