Monday Musings: Into the Heart of an Orchid?

Orchids are such beautiful flowers (even if they’re really tulips). Get up close and you’re likely to lose yourself inside.

I have no idea what color this flower was. I took this photo with B&W film (Kodak Plus X) way back in 1970 and rediscovered it last week. I’ve been going through all my old B&W negatives, scanning and cataloging all the good ones. I love B&W photography. Without distracting color, the tonality and forms take you to the real heart and soul of this solitary blossom.

I enjoy color photography too — especially macro photography of flowers. My old color slides are faded after all these years, but my B&W negatives are in fine shape and will be into the future.

My old Minolta film scanner gives me great results now that I have my work flow down pat. Shall I write an article (or two) describing how to get good results scanning B&W negatives? Sure, why not. I’ll get on it soon. Meanwhile…

When you use B&W film, then scan and edit the digital output you get the best of both worlds. Once upon a time, I had a complete wet darkroom with enlarger, tray, nasty chemicals, etc. I don’t miss that part one bit. I’d consider giving up B&W film if someone would produce a monochrome digital camera at an affordable price, but I’m not holding my breath.

I have a nice supply of Ilford film in the fridge and the hardware and software I need to make good B&W images from my photos. And my B&W negatives will outlive me. All digital B&W? Maybe someday.

Be sure to stop by Lisa’s Chaos and visit all the other links to some very creative macro monday photography. Thanks Lisa.

PS Thanks for pointing out that this flower is probably a tulip. Big duh for John.

Reflections: Saigon Street Life (1966)

More reflections and Saigon street life this week. I took the easy way out because I was having a hard time deciding. So, instead of choosing one image, I’ll share both scenes.

This shot was taken a few feet away from the corner where I photographed the two kids on the corner (last week’s reflections). Lots going on in this shot. There’s the subtle reflection back to the corner, the three boys are talking, but what are the woman, the little girl and the guy with the racquet looking at? I don’t remember, but I do like the animation of the players going about their business.

This shot is packed with emotion and layers. Look at the young woman sitting on the sidewalk on the far left. She’s alone with her thoughts amid a busy scene. I cropped the image to give more focus on the young woman. There’s a crowd of people lined up to get into the restaurant, the other women are talking to each other, but she’s alone.

It’s tough to get the right colors with some of my old slides so I created a B&W version and included both because, once again, I couldn’t decide which was the better image.

So, what are these women doing sitting on the sidewalk anyway. They’re getting by as best they can by selling black market stuff. This kind of scene repeated itself over and over all through the streets of downtown Saigon. The image of the pretty young woman on the left says it all.

I went back to the original slide and cropped the young woman on the left.  She deserves her own stage. Here are two versions.

 

Be sure to visit James’ Weekend Reflections. You will be amazed at the variety and creativity.

The Photograph: What Do You See…And Feel?

It happens all at once with a photograph. Either an image grabs you or it doesn’t, but it grabs you by the feelings first. Maybe later you wonder about location, circumstance, etc. That’s logic. A good photograph is an emotional gestalt that we internalize immediately. We can’t help it because it’s the way we’re wired inside. I’m glad.

This little girl isn’t afraid. She’s curious but she’s secure with the light grip on her mother’s fingers. Her mother knows her daughter is there and safe. This is a scene played out all over the world in all cultures. Kids (and their mothers) are special.

Look closer and you’ll see the front of a pedicab in the background. You’ll also see a woman in the background wearing a conical straw hat. I took this photo in downtown Saigon sometime in December, 1966.

War sucks. It puts all of our children at risk.

I have more photographs of the kids of Saigon, photographs of kids in the park in my old Philadelphia neighborhood, and photos of my granddaughters. I’ll share more of these photographs in the days to come. I’ve been going through my old slides and negatives and I’ve got some good ones from the past and plenty of fresh film for the future.

Monday Musings: Farewell to Autumn

The leaves are almost gone now. Our pear tree bit the dust (literally) a few weeks ago, but I found these photos I took on one of my neighborhood walks a few years ago. Let’s have one last look at the wonder before we bid farewell to autumn.

Yellow is my favorite fall color. There’s nothing quite like fall yellows on a bright sunshiny autumn day. The riot of color turns the landscape into a magical place for a few short weeks.

The reds, the oranges too. The variety of colors means you never see the same scene twice. When you pay attention, you can almost see the colors changing before your eyes. Each day brings a new palette until…

You wake one morning and most of the leaves are on the ground waiting for the rakes and the blowers. It’s illegal now, but I remember the delicious smell of burning leaves when I was growing up. Everyone did it and … was there really any harm?

Now, the leaves on the ground are a slippery, wet nuisance. Back then, they were huge piles waiting for jumping and screaming kids. Ever burn holes in fallen leaves with a magnifying lens? That was great fun too.

One last look at the colors of autumn because you know what comes next…brrrr!

Be sure to stop by Lisa’s Chaos for her Monday Macros. You’ll find links to some terrific photographs and their creators.

Reflections: Street Photography on a Saigon Corner (1966)

When I could, I wandered the streets of Saigon in the afternoon. You never know what you’ll find with street photography. I was fortunate to discover these kids. Kids are the best because they aren’t usually shy (well, the little boy was a bit shy that day).

I wonder if I was thinking about reflections when I caught this scene? No matter, when I was going through my slides this week, I discovered this gem that I hadn’t looked at in many years. Sometimes, when I look through my slide collection, I wonder how many of the people I photographed, especially the kids, made it through the war.

We’ll never know, but we can reflect and remember.

Be sure to visit James’ Weekend Reflections. He’s got something special going that you won’t want to miss.

Photography: Preserving Your Memories

Photographs bring back memories. It’s fun to hop on the “way-back” machine, but more importantly, photographs let us share those memories with our children and their children.

Say hello to Tracy. I took this photo of her in 1971 about six months before we were married.

This one is me, all bushed out with lots of hair. I think Tracy shot this one. She’s a pretty good photographer. Both photos are from the same 35mm film strip, so I’m reasonably sure they were shot on the same day.

I’ve been organizing all my old negative and slides. These negatives are more than 38 years old, yet they are in perfect condition and they will be in perfect condition 38 years from now.

Black and White negatives, when processed and stored properly, will outlast their creators. All I needed to do today was scan the negatives and run them through my photo editor for a bit of cleanup, curve tweaking and sharpening. Any time I want, I can put my negatives on my light table and look at them with my magnifying loupe, choose which ones I’ll scan, then convert the image into a digital format.

No matter what happens to the digital file, I will always have the negatives. I’m not knocking digital at all, but all things digital share a dirty little secret. They can’t be viewed directly the way you can view a negative, slide or print.

Digital files must be stored and interpreted. Technology changes rapidly. How do you ensure the longevity of your precious memories with digital media? Probably the only good way is to copy the files to each new computer, changing the formats as technology changes. Who knows how media will be stored in 5, 10, 25 years?

Can you imagine your children or grandchildren rummaging through a box of CDs 38 years from now? What are these things? One thing is certain that if the media are still readable after all those years, it’s unlikely your descendants will have the means to read them.

Don’t risk your memories. Sure, I know that most people don’t use film any more and film will probably go away eventually. Why not take the time to create a digital photo album and print it out? At least make good prints of the most important photos and store them safely where they won’t deteriorate.

You can still create family albums that don’t depend on changing technology. When your kids and their kids dust them off in 25 years they’ll be able to enjoy those memories because you made sure they have the keys to your “way-back” machine. I’m glad I still have mine. When I re-discovered the old photos of Tracy the other day, I fell in love all over again.

Monday Musings: Fall Fire and Our Burning Bush

The “Burning Bush” or Euonymus alatus puts on a fantastic show in the fall. It certainly lives up to it’s name and, given the right conditions, looks like it’s on fire.

My wife chose the perfect location for ours where it “anchors” the southeast corner of our home. It’s perfect because the burning bush needs plenty of sun to grow properly and develop deep red colors in the fall. This shot was taken in the late afternoon sun on October 25, the last Sunday in October.

Be forewarned that the ‘compacta’ version isn’t compact at all. Instead of 15 feet high it grows to a mere 10 feet. I don’t know which one we have, but it’s big and that’s what we wanted.

I “snuck” around to the other side for a closer look. I love the curl of the leaves, how the shadows dance (it was windy) and the way the back light filters through.

I loaded my Nikon with Fuji Astia color slide film the other day and I’ve been photographing the fall foliage. It will be weeks before I finish the roll and have it back from the lab. Meanwhile, I used my little digicam for these shots. Doncha’ just love the fall colors?

Reflections: In a Saigon Bar (1966)

Sometimes I reflect back on 1966. Not often, but this was a peaceful scene taken in a dim Saigon bar, out of the heat. I found my old Ektachrome slides and worked… and worked to get the colors back. The slides are faded and have a very blue color cast.

43 years is a long time so I don’t remember any details at all, not even the camera I had at the time. I always had a camera with me. I know it wasn’t the Nikon F I could have bought but didn’t because I didn’t know any better back then. The camera doesn’t matter really. The best camera is the one you have when a shot presents itself.

I like this one and thought it perfect for weekend reflections. Be sure to visit James’ site.

When Writing Is Like Good Sex…

When your inner critic nags you to get busy writing too early it ruins the experience. It’s premature — like thinking of sexual foreplay as procrastination.

Jumping in the sack with your text editor too soon ignores your need for rumination and inspiration. Just as the anticipation of foreplay enriches sex, ruminating, playing and teasing ideas can take your writing to exhilarating heights instead of “is that all there is?”

Shoe was always one of my favorite comic strips. In one episode, Skyler sees his uncle, Professor Cosmos Fishawk sitting and gazing out the window. Skyler says: “You’re staring out the window again. A writer should be pounding the keyboard…” The Professor replies: “Wrong. Typists pound keyboards… Writers stare out windows.”

Cosmos was ruminating. You’re allowed. When you give your inspirations and ideas permission to spill out without concern for logic and order your writing will be so much richer. Ruminating isn’t procrastination, it’s necessary.

I was thinking about balance and whole brain writing this morning so I dug out my copy of “Writing on Both Sides of the Brain” by Henriette Anne Klauser. This book was written in 1987, but the message is fresh and the book still in print. I recommend it highly. In Ms. Klauser’s words: “To be whole-brained, you need only quiet down the noisy static side of you and listen to your own imagination.”

Our right-brain, our dragon, always sends us messages but the constant know-it-all interference from our left-brain inner critic drowns out our best ideas all too often. We need the co-operation of both sides of our brains. We all have the inherent skills to be whole-brained creative. Unfortunately, we’ve never been taught how because our western culture emphasizes logical left-brain thinking at the expense of our creative selves.

Giving yourself permission to ruminate is the first step in restoring our true heritage. When I was sitting here this morning, I fired up BrainStorm and just started taking notes and recording fragments as they occurred to me. And yes, I was looking out the window much of the time. The idea of sexual foreplay and rumination kind of popped into my head.

Be sure to have pen and paper or a program like BrainStorm running in the background while you ponder and your thoughts wander. Capture your fleeting thoughts when you can. Worry about how and if you’ll use them later. Have fun — you’re allowed.

Monday Musings: E — The Most Common Letter in English

“The letter E is over 56 times more common than Q in forming individual English words.” (AskOxford.com) In fact, the letter E occurs more frequently in English words than any other letter in the alphabet. I discovered this years ago when the E key on my TRS-80 model 100 up and died on me.

I wanted to play a bit, try something a bit different for macro Monday, so I shot this photo of the E key on my NEO laptop. Of course, there’s always a story if you look hard enough.

WiseGEEK agrees with AskOxford that E is the most common letter but they disagree about which letter begins the most words. wiseGEEK says that T begins the most words while AskOxford claims S as the most common beginning letter.

So who’s correct? Dave Taylor, took a look at letter frequency in his Linux Journal article published in April 2009. Dave took three books from Project Gutenberg: Dracula by Bram Stoker, History of the United States by Charles A. Beard and Mary Ritter Beard, and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and analyzed them for text content. No surprises here. E came in first with T in second followed by A, O and N. Dave didn’t check for frequency at the beginning of words so who knows if it’s T or S? Does it matter?

When Samuel Morse invented the Morse code back in the 19th century, he wanted to be sure he gave the most frequently used letters the simplest codes. Morse counted the number of letters in printer’s type sets. He came up with E followed by T then A, I, N, O, & S in third place. (AskOxford)

Is any of this trivia important? Probably not, but it’s fun and if you wear out certain letters on your keboard, you’ll know why.

Be sure to stop by Lisa’s Chaos for Macro Monday. It’s lot’s of fun.