the truth

"the camera never lies. the film sometimes does." - rodney smith, from the end.

depending on how you define truth, the camera (or film) rarely tells the truth. photographs are stylized moments in time, made visual. the camera by it's design actually modifies the truth of what it sees depending on various factors - shutter speed, aperture, focal length of the lens, film characteristics, grain, and camera movements (with view cameras), etc.

i've often heard people say that they want to capture exactly what is in front of them - the truth of what's there. but in my opinion it's the way that cameras distort the truth that makes photography so exciting.

despite what i've just said, i've discovered (for myself) an exciting way to show "truth" in photography - by photographing people when they don't expect to be photographed.

what do people (almost inevitably) do when someone's about to take a picture of them?

"smile!"

that's all good and fine but sometimes it's hard to really catch someone's personality if they're always putting their smile mask on when being photographed. sure it takes some guts to snap a picture of someone (even family) when they're not expecting it - but to capture them in that natural setting can be truly rewarding.

- unrehearsed subjects caught in a moment where the truth is subjective.

snapshot sunday!

i hope that even with all of my film-promoting, analog-loving, big camera-praising posts you don't think i'm an anti-digital photo-luddite. i would, in fact, love to get my hands on a nice dslr some day. the problem is that whenever i have some surplus cash in the photo budget it usually goes into buying film, chemicals, or - if i'm feeling ambitious - a new lens for my large format camera. seeing as how my current circumstances leave me without a digital slr, i rely on our digital point and shoot to get shots when i happen to have left my 30+ pounds of photo gear at home. here are a few shots that i've been able to snag with our dear little cyber-shot.

a king crab at the oregon coast aquarium in newport, oregon. dim light, show shutter, thanks for holding still mr. crab!


sam the giant!


sam and the seal.


navy pier, chicago.


flatiron building, nyc.


getting chased through the fall leaves in our yard.


chicago and the chicago river.

inspired

i find myself fascinated and inspired by scenes of ordinary life.

unlike pictures of notable monuments or famous locations, pictures of ordinary scenes usually don't grab your attention immediately - it usually takes some time to let the details soak in. i guess it's the idea of seeing through the mundane and plain and finding the extraordinary in it that really intrigues me.

here are a few of the pictures that i've stumbled upon lately that have inspired me.

stephen shore:

beverly boulevard and la brea avenue, los angeles, california, june 21, 1975

joel meyerowitz:


dairyland, provincetown

george tice:


strand theatre, keyport, n.j. 1973

next photo assignment: find and photograph an ordinary location and make it interesting. i'll report back in a while once i'm finished.