Sepia Scenes: Binky Madness & The Chase

I raided my archives for this image. Not only did I find an image that I sepia toned years ago, I found motion and the sheer joy of childhood.

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The parade was led by my grandnephew Tyler with Megan and Sara, two of my granddaughters, close on his heels. Was Tyler chasing his binky? Or did we catch him in the act of dropping the binky? You can see from the expressions of all three that they’re having a blast. Yay!

Let’s simply enjoy the moment and join the fun. I can’t remember the circumstances and they don’t matter anyway. Only the image matters.

A big thanks to MaryT for hosting Sepia Scenes. Stop by and visit — there’s more.

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Motion Thursday: Need a Transfer?

I got behind the controls of my way-back machine and dug this week’s image out of my archives. It’s from the same Phila. subway series that I tapped into a few weeks ago.

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The bell bottoms tell you that I shot this photo back in 1971 (or 1970 — I can’t remember the exact year). I like the contrasts in this photo — the contrast between the dark shadows and the absolute white of the harsh, overhead lamps. It looks like a subway. I also like the contrast between the guy in the sneakers, standing still, rooting in his pockets for change and the people moving through the line at the cashier’s booth.

I had fun that day, wandering the subway platforms and shooting B&W film. My love affair with B&W goes back a long time and continues to this day. As a matter of fact, I shot a roll of B&W film this morning and will develop it myself tomorrow.

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Motion Thursday: On the Run

Sharps can fall flat. This time I’m only using the white keys on the piano, not pushing the slide on my harmonica and glad I captured this moment with just enough motion blur — sharp would have been a yawner — too flat.

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It’s been so long ago (almost 40 years) that I can’t remember the circumstances behind this shot. I recognize the location and imagine that I was standing or walking along Baltimore Ave. in my old Phila. neighborhood when this happy young man came running by. I can picture myself whipping my Spotmatic up for a quick shot.

That winning smile is the clincher.

This negative was a bear because it’s dirty and scratched. Shame on me! The exposure needed some help so I did a bit of dodging and burning in the digital darkroom. That is, after I ran the image through another program to clean it up enough to be usable. The contrasts were extreme but I think I’ve tamed them enough to share this moment.

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Motion Thursday: Boarding the Trolley

These images of people boarding a subway-surface trolley car have been languishing in my archives for nearly 40 years. One day, back in 1970, I grabbed my Pentax Spotmatic, a couple rolls of B&W film and headed into downtown Phila. for a day of shooting.

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This photo was taken in the subway-surface station at 13th street under city hall, last stop on my photo shoot before I boarded my own trolley for the trip home.

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Interesting how the movement of people transforms them into phantoms when you’re forced to use a slow shutter speed.

Now that I’ve discovered Motion Thursday (actually Margaret suggested I stop by), I’ll have a good look through my archives for more motion shots. I’ll probably take some new ones as well because I like to have fun while being creative.

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