Via Flickr:

Event: Patrons Of The Hearts 2011

There is a lot of talk about having some sort of “vision” in photography. For example, David duChemin of Pixelated writes, “Vision matters because it determines our path and the choice of tools we use to get there.” — Vision Driven Workflow.

I have to confess, I am a bit suspicious of what that all means.

When I photograph people, I tend to gravitate towards a documentary or photojournalist style; usually with available light or with one light, a prime lens and emphasis on mobility. I almost never ask my subjects to face the camera. But, people’s instincts are to pose. You come up with a camera and they stop whatever they are doing, turn to face you with their collective, practiced smiles.

This is particularly horrible in high-end events. We’ve been training generations of people to wear masks; the more conscious we are about our public image, the more instinctive our put-on-the-mask reactions appear to be.

I suppose this is a question of “vision.” If there is one thing at the heart of my photography it is about trying to capture something “real” about life; some sliver or Truth in enshrined in a moment in time. But beyond that initial premise, much of what happens is purely instinctive, unconscious.

It’s hard to disagree with duChemin’s basic premise, but I wonder whether beyond the rudimentary first-order decisions one makes on the outset, whether we can we really be that deterministic about how and what we photograph.

For me, photography is, at the core, a manifestation of one’s life experiences, intellectually and spiritually. We shoot what we are. Which is to say, we shoot first, and rationalize its meaning from what has already been captured, not the other way around.

I do think we can get ‘technically’ better, but not spiritually so. We can’t change how we see the world, at least not through our lens. Is it hopeless then? How does one become a better photographer?

I suppose, for me, it comes down to leading a fuller life.

Lt. Tyrion Draegor stands watch in his Harbinger assault class mech outside the firebase walls; his trusty Firoxi giant firehound stays by its side and keeps a watchful nose out for creepers and the Others. It has been three Standard days since the last onslaught. Draegor’s Dragoons are low on autocannon ammo, water and, most importantly, Irish Whiskey. But today is just another day in the life of a merc; and for now, Green Betsy’s autocannon is still bristling with a full chain of 20mm smart-incendiary rounds, and for a few more hours before the relief dropship hits this godforsaken dustbowl of a planet, it is the same old story of a man and his dog, longing for home.

I haven’t build anything with Legos since Junior High. When I watch Beckett play with his trains and Duplos, I am reminded of the hours I’d spend making things, designing, redesigning, imagining new worlds and creating them; driven by nothing else but an internal desire to realize some internal joy. Intrinsic motivation, if there is a such a thing, feels like the very thing I have been trying to get back to in my adulthood.

nikonrumors.com posted specs on the rumored Nikon V1 and J1, compact mirrorless camera system recently.

The following thoughts are an expansion of a comment I posted to that blog earlier today.

I am kind of excited that this is pissing off as many Nikon fanboys as it is, as evidenced by the comments section on nikonrumors. It seems to me that it this is a pretty good indication Nikon is doing something right–that Nikon is leading with Design and not with technical specs first.

I don’t know how good this little camera is going to be, we will all have to wait and see. But what it does tell me is that Nikon is designing for a potentially new market and anticipating one that doesn’t really exist as the moment.

This is a good thing for Nikon, and a pretty radical thing for a traditional Japanese camera company.

If the lenses retract and are fully portable, it would be a very credible replacement for all point and shoots. Point and shoots are dead anyway, thanks to the iPhone. The only reason anyone will carry a better device than a smart phone with a built-in camera in the near future is if they want to get more serious with their creative energies. Right now, even the smallest big-sensor mirrorless cameras like the Olympus E-PL3(micro four-thirds) and Sony NEX-5 (APS-C) are still physically limited by lenses that aren’t really portable. The pancake lenses on the µ4/3 systems come close, but if you want fast zooms, forget it.

Additionally, if this is what I think it is, a pocket-sized Red SCARLET or close to one as the new rumored EXPEED 3 image processing engine suggests, this is going to be potentially revolutionary for the serious video and digital “film” market, which is a segment that is underserved and badly understood.

Think of the Apple iPod entering the crowded USB music player market; could be a similar thing happening here.

This isn’t as sexy as the Fujifilm X100/X10. But, I think the form factor is important,; the clean lines are important. They could be part of a larger design strategy. If this is all retro, it’d be more difficult for third-party players to build add-ons, viewers, finders, mounts, grips and other accessories to complement this camera.

The 1″ (give or take) sensor size means this can probably take a C-mount, cine-type lenses  with really nice follow-focus pulls. That’s cool. Already, it looks like it will take accept existing Nikon F-mount lenses with an adapter. Your silky smooth 28mm f/2 AI-S just became a sweet normal-ish video lens. Come to think of it, we’ll probably see adapters for all kinds of lenses in the future. Again, cool.

The key will be storage and how fast this thing can write to card. But with XC cards coming, this may make total sense, (http://www.sdxcs.com/).

Wedding photographers ditching Nikon to get 5DMkIIs may finally have something to grin about. Wedding photographers buying 5DMkIIs and IIIs in the future for its video may have a better option now. Imagine a really portable, creative instrument optimized for movies that can complement cameras and lenses optimized for stills.

As I said, let’s see how this thing does when it gets released. But, from this vantage point, I don’t look at this and say Nikon flopped. I look at this and say they are really thinking about what people want and need.

[62] Can’t Tape It Anymore, originally uploaded by ernestkoe.

It’s fun now because it is not a job.

Dames Point, originally uploaded by ernestkoe.

As a Nikon owner and Leica wishful-owner, I read Ken Rockwell’s blog to stay up on the world of cameras through Ken’s eyes. Mostly, it is just entertaining; his humor is an odd blend of self-conscious awkwardness and sometimes sardonic charm.

Beyond the technical reviews it is hard to take Ken too seriously. His blog is really one big chuckle. The man who rants against photographers’ preoccupation with “gear” is himself hopelessly seduced by the five-figure Leica M9 kit. Good for him, I say.

My issue with Ken, however, is not this predilection for hyperbolic sarcasm that he confuses for humor. My (little) beef is that he is sometimes careless with history and language.

In particular, he is fond of the word “Oriental,” http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/oriental.htm.

Now, this isn’t generally considered offensive by everyone in this world and I wouldn’t take umbrage with his usage except that he uses it in exactly the way that suggests a fundamental and deep ignorance of what he is saying. He writes:

“The Orient includes countries and regions like Japan, China, Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan.”

Um, actually, The Orient, as it has traditionally been used, is a conflation of everything non-European. It isn’t just countries or regions “like” Japan, China, and Korea as if it would be justified if we could surgically limit the definition to those places to begin with. And what do you mean regions LIKE these? Is Thailand LIKE Japan or China? Is Malaysia like Korea?

“Since much Oriental photo gear now comes from several Oriental countries, it’s far more precise to say Oriental rather than trying to delineate Japanese or Chinese.”

So, there is nothing precise at all about this; but this is a straw man argument anyway. It may be far more convenient for Ken but it is definitely much less precise. We don’t need to invent words to say things like “The Nikon D40 is made in Thailand.”

It is one thing if you use “Oriental” in the same way we use the term “Western”, sloppy as it may be. We can just chalk that up to ignorance which is forgivable. But it is another thing to claim real understanding and be wrong about it. Categorically redefining the Oriental to mean “East Asian” (a very nice unloaded term) is a neat trick to get around the criticisms, but why not just use “East Asian.”

To be clear, my issue with him about the word “Oriental” lies LESS with the use of the term itself than with the explanation he provides which strikes me as utterly illogical.

My Desk, originally uploaded by ernestkoe.

The Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 VC is an interesting lens. At today’s street price of $650 it is almost the cheapest standard fast zoom with vibration control (vibration reduction in Nikon speak) built in. I debated long and hard about getting this versus the traditional Nikon 17-55mm f/2.8G which costs about twice as much without VR but the overwhelmingly positive reviews of the Tamron settled that question..for the moment at least.

I’ll be testing and thinking more deeply about this lens in the coming days. My initial impression is that this lens has exceeded by expectations, but, then again, my original expectations were probably prejudiced by the Tamron brand name. So far, it’s been a fun lens. Stay tuned for more.

Independence, originally uploaded by ernestkoe.

I am very much still in the throes of gritty photography experimentation. What I have learned thus far is this:

1. I am not a big fan of too much post-processing. Nothing against Photoshop, it is a marvelous tool, even deadly in the right hands and I feel it has a rightful place in the world of photography. I prefer getting it ‘right’ the first time, mostly because I am not particularly patient.

2. Street; I am drawn to the mundane. Maybe, a little part of me is searching for the divine in the familiar. I think what moves me most is not Places but Feelings. I like landscape and nature photography just fine, but I’d take portraits any day.

3. I am a geek. I love gizmoes, but I wish my camera were simpler. I use a Nikon D90. It is an amazing piece of technology, but I wish I could shoot a Holga to a digital back.

4. Upon reflection, my earlier point about Photoshop is only partially accurate. Yes, I am lazy, but not too lazy to squeeze the image in my head on to the screen with post-processing. There image straight out of the camera is not any more ‘real’ than the image out of Photoshop…

5. that too depends on the intent of the photo, I suppose.

High Noon, originally uploaded by ernestkoe.

Big Toe, meet Photoshop, Photoshop, Big Toe. I’ve never found a reason to take Photoshop seriously until now. Go figure.

There was something quixotic about the scene. I loved the purposefulness of the three people in the frame and the near ridiculousness of the entire image. Three tourist like me lugging their luggage unflappably through the heart of San Francisco as if this was utterly normal, like they were meant to do this and to do so with confidence and cool.

Perhaps, we are all strangers in our own strange land.

Monterey Mirage, originally uploaded by ernestkoe.

Too much flickr? Lately, I have been exploring what the flickerati do. The curious thing is that many don’t post many photos at all. Perhaps they are posting like crazy but limiting how many are publicly shown. The fascinating thing is that their Explored to photo ratio seems quite high, generally speaking.

I feel like I am getting to a point where my torrential stream of flickr photo uploads is calling for some restraint.

Post fewer, more meaningful ones?

For the first time in over twenty years, I have a hobby, photography. “Hobby” is a terrifying and alien word; terrifying because it is as much a statement about my relationship with “work” as it is one about “life.”

Words can be oppressive but I suppose language is inherently political.

My hobby is already teaching me a few things about myself. For one, I miss the joy of being immersed in one’s craft. Work used to be that way. Though, these days, I don’t wake up looking eagerly to write code or create user-interfaces. I lament the loss of that feeling particularly since the whole point of not having a regular job in the first place is to avoid the trappings of modern job-life. Work was play, and the existence of a hobby appears to have changed that equation. It bothers me deeply.

But I awoke this morning to a small insight. Beckett is three months and a week. He caught his first cold a few days ago, and has been a pitiful, heart-wrenching mess. This morning, at five thirty a.m., he was crying to be changed. I tried to focus.

C is starting her second day back at work after a three month long maternity leave. And as I laid in bed to coax resolve into consciousness, it occurred to me that I was tired. I felt this deep weariness borne from the wash cycle of life that was the last three months, a tiredness borne from the strange alchemy of happiness mixed with worry. In the confluence of all these changes, my rational center is struggling to hold, and my creative self is working overtime to compensate…