Which Would You Choose!?!?

This is one of Life's toughies- no hints, no clues... ya just gotta man up, steel your resolve and hope for the best!

Photo: © S. Banos

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The Pride And Cost Of Techdom

Photo: © S. Banos

“The wealthy working people have earned their right to live in the city. They went out, got an education, work hard, and earned it. I shouldn’t have to worry about being accosted. I shouldn't have to see the pain, struggle and despair of homeless people to and from my way to work every day."
 -Justin Keller
     

There is some kernel of truth in what Mr. Keller says- the homeless population in San Francisco has reached insanely ridiculous levels... and it has remained so for at least the fifteen years I've lived here. It was made more than blatantly obvious this past Christmas season (ya know, that time when Christians the world over celebrate the birth of their homeless god) when many a native was outta town and its major streets were left with what appeared to be an SRO crowd of homeless street inhabitants milling about en masse in post apocalyptic, zombie, sci-fi fashion. I-kid-you-not.

Of course, there's a myriad of explanations as to why this continues to be such a plague in this tale of two cities. But computer avatar Keller chooses to simply place all the blame on the homeless themselves. Case closed, problem solved- jail 'em, ship 'em out, and crucify the whole bloody lot if all else fails...

Actually, some of San Francisco's homeless denizens are in fact shipped in from other cities (eg- Las Vegas). But even those numbers are but a fraction of the total that compromise the walking wounded and their cardboard/tent encampments that can be seen throughout certain portions of the city. Many of these people clearly exhibit mental health problems and/or long term drug dependency issues. And this country's major answer to both those problems are twofold: a) have them wander the streets until they're finally... b) incarcerated.

Those with mental disorders  have been increasingly incarcerated during the past three decades, probably as a result of the deinstitutionalization of the state mental health system. Correctional institutions have become the de facto hospitals, and there are more seriously and persistently mentally ill in prisons than in all the state hospitals in the United States.

Photo: © S. Banos

Long term, drug rehab/mental health programs are every bit as critical to solving the homeless situation, as the lack of living wage jobs and affordable housing. Of that there is little doubt or argument. These common sense solutions for this ongoing plague are both proven and effective, should anyone, anywhere care to seriously employ them to the degree needed.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee insists the multi-million dollar tax incentives these software giants and start ups have received are offset by the extra income trickling down to this fair city, while: Google, FB and Genentech buses crowd public bus stops to ferry their private passengers to and fro in luxury; the giant block long Twitter citadel on Market St. remains a totally self contained and self serving bastion of exclusion from the neighborhood beneath its unbreachable walls; and the community give backs for those massive tax incentives remain the cosmetic, unkept promises they were always meant to be. Meanwhile, longstanding residents and neighborhood businesses continue to be booted out to make room for their high end "needs."

San Francisco rent has skyrocketed to obscene levels. Median rent in San Francisco is over $3,000 a month, with some neighborhoods in the $4,000-$5,000 range. Average rent is in the same range. 

So what is the viable alternative to self serving twits like Justin Keller- socially involved and emphatic human beings like... Justin Keller. 

Photo: © S. Banos

It's A GReat World

The Ricoh GR is incredibly, almost unbelievably compact- well built, like some kind of rare, precious object, and the quality one can squeeze from this diminutive operator is near legendary. It certainly doesn't supply the classic camera, tactile satisfaction, but being the rather unique creature it truly is, it nicely creates its own individual user aura. And because of that nearly non existent environmental signature- you want to (and can) take it everywhere!.

Photo: © S. Banos

Frankly, I detested the very thought of having to compose on a tiny 3 inch screen; it's hard enough trying to make sense of 'em in the best of light with glasses on- what chance does one possibly have in real world circumstances!?!? Easy it ain't; that still doesn't mean it can't be done... and the photo up top proves it.

I was left eyed all my life- until ten years ago when I developed floaters in that eye. It made focusing difficult- easier to change what side you bat from, what hand you throw and write with! Nevertheless, I was forced to adapt, and adapt I did. It certainly wasn't overnight, but with time and practice- I've been a right eyed shooter for several years now with no ill consequence.

Likewise, I was always a manual exposure, full control kinda guy; with the GR, I set the shutter speed and let the autofocus and other bells and whistles that I configured do what they do, while I concentrate fully on somehow trying to position that 3 inch rectangle. Problem solved? Yes and no. Not perfect by any means, but that selfie photo was done on the quick, in very BRIGHT light and is every bit as well composed as if I had done it on my F3. Beginner's luck? Believe it!!! I was damn lucky to get that shot on the second day with the camera, shooting in a completely foreign manner- and I'm sure there'll be many a cussing shit fit yet to come on many another occasion... Right now though, it seems almost magical that despite the odds- sharp, colorful, well exposed images manage to regularly pop up.

The GR opens some doors, while making you you jiggle the lock on others- you accommodate to it, learn its strengths and let it "free" you, or spend your time wallowing in its shortcomings. Why am I so much more forgiving of the GR than the full featured XT-1? Because: A) This was never meant to be a "do everything" camera, and B) It's near supernatural portability is, in fact, it's greatest technological feature and asset. Also, unlike the XT-1, where I was shooting similarly to my analog SLR (except with a crappy EVF that made shooting outside less satisfactory in every way), the GR forces one to use the LCD screen (a la Avedon shooting with his 8X10), or shoot from the hip- you can't condemn it for what it wasn't made to do; either way, people are less threatened by it since it shoots and looks as much phone as camera. Some photographers can't handle the 28mm coverage (too wide), I've been married to a 20, so it's a change for me as well, if from the other direction. But shooting in color with a 28mm isn't that bad for me, being that color adds so much more information- and that combo kinda worked out well for that Eggleston fellow as I recall...

Photo: © S. Banos

Must say, the add-on (3rd party) OVF makes it! Accurate? Hell, that cheap ass piece o'plastic'll give ya a goddamn headache if ya even think of looking through it!

This time round, I'm not particularly looking to make B&W files from digital, and although I've read the GR renders B&W well- when I specifically want B&W, I'll make certain to pack the Tri-X. One thing's for damn sure though, it takes well under a half an hour to process most color files! Having devoted myself to B&W most my life, I'm not at all well versed with color temperature, hues, etc, and am very happy to even go full, all out, auto color correction in Elements (again, see above). That's the other real world of difference, equal if not more so than the actual shooting experience- minutes for color in post vs days for (getting the tonal values just so in) B&W. That is truly miraculous!

So It's Been Said...

Photo: © S. Banos

Where To Invade Next

I was tepid at best about seeing Michael Moore's latest, Where To Invade Next. The previews looked, well... not only lackluster, but silly, seen it before and- no longer funny. But being that we hadn't seen a flick in quite a few, off we went- and I celebrated by taking... my first senior discount ($1.50- Woo Hoo!).

Surprisingly, the movie itself did not disappoint. Unfortunately, at this point, Moore's movies only preach to the choir- it's pissed off Trump Republicans that need to watch and learn. Watch and learn how the US has chucked, forsaken and forgotten what once made this country great- and what we could now undertake to heal, repair and restore. As usual, Conservatives go on and on about how the US is overtaxed, and yet they never mention the crippling amounts we have to pay for: health care, higher education and a whole host of other social/civic services that we either pay top dollar for- or (increasingly likely) learn to do without. Our health, economy and hopes breaking down before our eyes just as the very environment and infrastructure we so desperately depend upon. And as Moore points out, insult to injury- many of the very ideas that could alleviate so much suffering and right so many of our current economic and social ills that other countries so effectively employ... originated right here in the good ol' US of A!

Sadly we have allowed ourselves to become so tone deaf and dumbed down, so marginalized in our own frustration, that we can only now seek to blame others as we mindlessly chant on in ever increasing fervor- USA, USA, USA...

Curing My Digital Impotence- Take II

Thought I was done with the very thought of digital for quite some time when I bought, and then rather quickly sold, my XT-1 last year. An ill fated love affair, I was done, cured, free of digital's ominous curse, and back in the analog arms of my one true love. And then something happened this winter that turned my head in an unforeseen direction...

The picture that started it all (over again)... Photo: Lisa Wood (aka- The Wife)

On my way to get a beer in the kitchen I noticed a small cute footprint on our living room table top. It was a very light and powdered print (probably made by the cat's litter residue), not easily seen. When I pointed it out to my wife she immediately reached for her iphone as I told her to wait until I turned the light on. As I took the two steps to do just that, she had already taken the picture, applied the proper "filter," and was posting it on Instagram.

Here I was, the alleged photographer of the household, and she had taken pretty much the exact picture I had imagined- while all I could do was think how long it would take me to: get the tripod, set up lights, look for close up filters... All to get as good a shot as the one above- now that set me to thinking...

What I really need is not the digital do everything (and more) equivalent of my current analog kit- I need a digital tool that will supply certain options... A camera that will allow me to: extend the winter light, get me the occasional square format photo, the occasional color photo, the occasional shot from the hip, etc. A tool (don't say iphone- just don't) that will help me do what I can't already do- at least not very easily. And on budget (of course), say... under $500!

Now I had several (used) options to consider: a Sony Nex 6, a Lumix GX1, a Nikon Coolpix A, a Ricoh GR (amongst others); all having their pluses and minuses. The Sony is fairly attractive, but the GX1 is a lovely little thing, and at $150 for a VG Cond body, ever the more attractive! You can get get inexpensive quality 28 and 40(e) lenses for it, and even an optional EVF- this started to look the winner. A refurbished Coolpix A (a formerly $1,000 camera) could be gotten for a cool $300, and then there was the GR, despite the cult raves- it doesn't even look the camera, not really. Time to think some more...

The Sony compact kit lens sucks incredibly bad at the wide end where I'd use it most, and their 28mm(e) pancake is no winner either. The price of the Coolpix A was tempting indeed- but no 4:3, 1:1 aspect ratio options! Did Nikon do that strictly out of spite? The GX1 seemed the hands down winner: good looking, interchangeable lenses, versatile- even an optional EVF! And that's when I really got to thinking...

This wasn't about a versatile digital replacement, already been down that road. And already learned that focusing and composing on an EVF is not my cup o' tea; could using an LCD be any worse? Maybe, probably- but this after all is going to be my emergency supplement camera, not my main squeeze. And that's when the Ricoh GR, the camera I had dismissed as some kind of cult freak toy really started to come unto its own as the most viable option. Here was a functional, bring anywhere tool that could fit my emergency needs as well as my pocket (literally and figuratively) quite nicely. When I saw a very minty version for $450, I bit.

Its actual usage remains to be seen, and I'm anxious to find out- but it's supernatural portability seems to guarantee it's longevity (even if the wife says I'll sell it within a month)...

Under Construction

Photo: © S. Banos

I've been restoring my least damaged files at record pace in my spare time (and will continue long as I can). Along with some recent work and a few previously completed, I've completed over 60 hi res files; anxious to self publish and show something for the effort, I was wondering how the hell I would eventually edit an appropriate number into book form since there is no particular theme or set subject matter. The photography world in particular is prone to conniptions when things are not edited into a neatly packaged and uniform viewing platform, and understandably so- to a degree. I've never understood the photographic art world's  complete aversion to viewing images that are not specifically related, particularly since we do it every day without chronic after effect.

So I did a preliminary walk through, and it just so happened that approx 30 contained people, and an equal number didn't. Talk about self presenting solutions... how about a two volume set (never thought I'd utter those three words!), each approx 40 images- one featuring various humans; the other featuring only their signature, tell tale signs of chaos and achievement. Certainly not a tight enough edit for most photography connoisseurs; then again, I'm not operating under any delusions of curators beating a path to my door. This "legacy project" is one of several more to come in securing what I've continued to accrue- and what is left me.

And everyone will most assuredly be welcome to view the results, I'm guessing sometime late next fall- barring any major lifestyle complications...

"Most Of The Global Economy Will Be Dedicated To Keeping The Water Away"

Most of the time when you tell people that climate change will raise the temperature worldwide a few degrees- they either glaze over or... laugh in your face. This brings it on home in no uncertain terms- unchecked global warming (which is what we continue to have despite and because of all the political hot air rhetoric) will be a world wide catastrophe in a hundred years (and even worse a hundred later), with many a major and world renown city abandoned and underwater...

I won't be here- will your children?

"Do You Think We're Crazy"

Asked the commercial airline pilots...

Publication Opportunity...

Andy Adams will be reviewing images for Der Greif Magazine- deadline 1/28, submitting is free! Details, here...

The Analog Seasonal Blues!!!

“One of the things we’re sad about today is that Photographers don’t walk around with a camera all the time and photograph without a project.”          -Richard Benson

Ain't that the truth...

Which brings me to the point, that every year at this time... I flat out freakin' panic! Like many a serious amateur, I'm fairly religious (yes, I'm usually packin', except at night, when I'm happy to say- fuck it!). Consummate weekend warrior, I also try to finagle whatever lunch and break period one can during the live long, work a day week. But November thru February are the pits. Go home from work in the dark, wake up "late" on weekends at 9, have a lazy breakfast on the computer, household chores for a few minutes, and its 2 'oclock- 2 hrs before it's dark, and considerably less should you happen to engage in an errand or two....

This is when I grow desperately jealous of my digital brethren, all they need do is raise their ISO setting- easy peasy! So my analog only will frays and goes fickle, my eyes start to stray and wander as to what it would be like to own a brand spanking new X70, or (considerably more feasible) how about a used GR?!? Just point them things anywhere, anytime- don't even have to look! Every winter solstice I persevere through this, and even after purchasing a top of the line XT1 last summer (and selling it within a month), I still wonder if I could better endure these dark seasonal passages if only I had a little digital something, something- anything to raise my hopes and ISO...

Honestly, not much going in the winter months unless you're into winter sports or snowy scenics. People don dark formless clothing, moving about from one indoor place to another; the photo ops they help create in the casual summer months are noticeably absent- how many all time, memorable photographs can you remember with knee high, pee stained snow banks in the background?

So why sweat it at all? Soon the light returns...

This baby still looks like what a digital 21st century camera (from the future) should look like!

Complete Commercial Sellout!

Photo: © S. Banos

Yes, that be me. Available at your local stationery!

Making America Great Again!

Cowardice
Are you serious?
Apologies for freedom, I can’t handle this.
When freedom rings, answer the call!
On your feet, stand up tall!
Freedom's on our shoulders, USA!
Enemies of freedom face the music, c'mon boys, take them down
President Donald Trump knows how to make America great
Deal from strength or get crushed every time

C'mon!!! Any song that begins with the word cowardice has to, has to be great! And let's not forget The Donald's impeccable war credentials- he got a medal for neatness in military school while racking up his five deferments.

It's Personal...

I'm in absolute love with this camera. Previously, I kinda liked this camera. I like the camera above much more for it's dials and retro styling- it looks like a classic, cool, hands on camera (essentially, they're pretty much the same). The thing is, with either one, I imagine myself surreptitiously walking about effortlessly taking the most incredible street photographs with every step I take! There'd be nothing to stop me, I wouldn't know what to do with all the great photographs I'd take- if only I had one of those damn cameras!

There's only one small problem... the one called reality. Years ago when I lived in NYC, I tried to be that incredible, quintessential street photographer- and pretty much, flat out failed. That's not to say that I didn't succeed in getting the occasional  worthy shot, it's just that I eventually realized that it just wasn't really my thing and had little to do with the camera. And although I continue to photograph on the street to this very day, I don't (as would many a self professed hard core street aficionado) consider myself a true "street" photographer. I think I'm what is now referred to as a "flaneur,'" which sounds very much like some kind of lackadaisical French pervert in a flannel shirt.

But this new digital wonder changes everything! It doesn't matter that I actually held the GR in my hands last year and realized that with my close up vision now comprised by age, that tiny screen was rendered pretty much useless w/o also donning my reading glasses (in addition to being useless in the sun). With this gorgeously compact and totally inspirational X70, it just wouldn't matter that I would either have to compose completely on the fly, through a guesstimate OVF add on, or take five times longer figuring out a way to flip the screen in some magical direction for a shot which had long ago passed... I would just be that much better is all.

Truthfully, either one of those cameras would probably get me the occasional, serendipitous photo here or there from the hip. Would either be worth the money I don't have- most likely not. But a guy can always dream...

PS- What I really would have bought is an X100 with a 28mm(e) and a 21mm(e) converter. That's-no-lie.

The Revenant

Vivid dreamscapes, nature in its raw, natural elements... cold, wet, breathtaking in its beauty and uncompromising in its ferocity. Since the world of movies first burst forth with those audience galvanizing scenes of a moving train and a pointed gun, cinema has never ceased trying to put you in the very scene it has sought to create. The Revenant does just that- the water, wind and snow beneath your feet, against your skin and throughout your senses. 

Wide angle lenses can often look gimmicky on the big screen, here in the great wide open Alejandro G. Iñárritu has used them flawlessly, a major reason why we are seamlessly enmeshed into the environment of his making. We see arrows initiate flight, frenetically approach and whiz harmlessly by our heads, or stop full upon their deadly mark. We hear, feel and for all purposes smell the very breath of those that approach us, friend and foe alike. 3D can't touch this, virtual reality can't come close.

This is experiential movie making at its most vivid and dramatic, where even the dream sequences that occasionally manifest are just further extensions of the present reality. And DiCaprio lives up to the spectacle. There's no way a human body could actually survive the abuse his endures, but you're willing to forgive and forget... because the movie is that damn good. 

Easily one of my All Time Top Twenty, possibly even in the Exalted Top Ten... Must see on the BIG screen!

Great Advice; Greater Action

Good advice any day, any year- too bad we're still in such dire need of it.



(available on Netflix streaming)

Gideon's Army is what can happen when people get that chance of a lifetime and fight to try and salvage others in similar circumstances. Call them heroes, call them saints- they're people who actually care and won't turn their backs, or shrug their shoulders, or just keep going on with their own world of problems... like most of us.

New Year, Same Story...

Where common sense continues to be an outlier,  and hope (small h), remains the dream...

2016 and Beyond...

Photo: © S. Banos

No idea what 2016 will bring, no clue. Well, for the most part... what I do know sucks and sucks bad, like global climate change. As I write this the North pole is actually above freezing- in the middle of winter!!! And the fact that we still don't have any effective response or solution (besides partying in Paris) is certainly far from promising. In fifty years when a whole lot more Earth is underwater, and even more people need room to live- it's gonna make the Syrian refugee crisis look like a New Year's Rockin' Eve. Of course, I will have put down my film camera for quite some time by then...

The wife and I voluntarily celebrated a giftless Christmas this year, highly recommended for couples who already have everything and live in a rent stabilized 1BR in one of the most expensive cities in the country/world. We can attest to no lingering after effects. Actually, there is one thing I'm looking forward to this year, and that's self publishing what will more or less amount to a Greatest Hits Compilation (Part1)- this after all being The Golden Age of Photo Books. Or... not.

Of course, if you want to truly get noticed amidst today's plethora of (self) publishing wonders, one has to present not only a competent series of photographs, but a comprehensive "art" piece complete with all the doilies, nick knacks and other visual/sensory ephemera that make for the complete artistic experience. Actually, ain't got nothin' agin 'im, just that finances dictate this'll probably be your standard Blurb production- although will definitely have another look/see at what's out there. Regardless, I'm very much looking forward to putting it together. I already have a total of some fifty plus hi res scans (restorations and otherwise), and looking forward to making another 25 or so before getting a group of 40-50 in a final edit, hopefully some time next fall...

Been very much looking for a photo book to get for some time, so glad to report that I finally found and am ordering Gus Powell's The Lonely Ones. I particularly like the small size and that the photos embiggen when you fold out the pages- a thoughtful extra step that not only supplies additional acreage for one's viewing pleasure, but also purposely forces one to slow down and... actually look at the photograph itself (the latter becoming a lost art in itself)! Meanwhile....

Happy New Year!

PS- And one more thing... to the 50+ organizations sending me emails asking, demanding and pleading for $$$- wish it so folks, but you're asking the wrong guy, (ie- barking up the wrong tree). Capisce? I give a few bucks to MSF and Amnesty Int- case closed. Rule #1- Don't expect money from people who make considerably less than you...

Remembering The Fall Of Rome (And It's Batshit Crazy Leaders)

As a kid I always wondered how mighty, kick ass Rome pretty much allowed itself to fall apart and rot from within as the barbarians trolled the gates. Of course, once you start reading just how insane its Caesars really were, you soon start asking yourself- just how was it that Rome managed to survive as long as it did?

Of course, our modern, interconnected world experiences everything at a considerably accelerated rate. And I have been amazed at what this country has been able to endure just in my lifetime, including a President who (while definitely not insane), at least kinda knew he was dumber than a rock in some round about, dry drunk kinda way- and didn't give a damn how many people lost their lives in his little macho military fantasies. Now we got someone running who not only doesn't have the slightest clue, but who actually thinks himself more intelligent than all human life combined. And even scarier, if such a scenario is even plausible (and it is)- there are people who actually think believe he is, while others simply revel in the fact that he'll forever be the ever lovin' dick that he truly is... (just like them- except w/o his $).

Civilizations in the final stages of decay are dominated by elites out of touch with reality.

          -Christopher Hedges
 

Good Riddance 2015...

Photo: © S. Banos

Probably worst year of my life. The year I discovered, much to my dismay, that my photographic 'legacy' had been substantially compromised. Fortunately, many if not most of those images can be digitally restored, thanks to the 'magic' that is Photoshop (and the long man hours required of each that very much ain't). Have already successfully completed some twenty-five 65MB restorations- otherwise, I may very well have taken that proverbial long walk off a short pier. Just another 300+ to go...

And if I didn't have the handful of images as proof, I'd probably overlook the fact that I actually purchased a Fujifilm XT-1, my very first foray into the digital imaging world; one undeniably gorgeous, little camera, and most capable performer (as was the amazing 14mm Fujinon). I anticipated we would bond immediately. Alas! The finder is amazing in low light, great in open shade, but in direct sunlight/contrasty lighting- adequate, at best (and it's supposedly the preeminent EVF out there)! Still, if I shot color like most everyone, I would have kept it all the same for its stunning results. But being the B&W kinda guy that I've become, still didn't like the results it delivered in... direct sunlight; and it's the latter that most profoundly reveals just how different an animal B&W digital truly is. It can recover incredible shadow detail, but there's something in the highlight gradations that just... fall... short. Don't bother me with the physics, and the curves, and the charts- already have something (called film) that delivers the look and feel I want. And I already got more than enough work to do (see: Para.1), than struggle to make due with something that only approximates what I call home. Maybe I'll give the digital realm another go round 2020 (or not)... till then, my F3, FM3A and Tri-X will suffice.

What can't be undone or ameliorated however, is my father's diagnosed dementia. That assault and robbery is not only non negotiable, but ongoing. Another sad and sorry aphorism: a train wreck in slow motion. And neither faith nor technology will halt that inevitable descent. As recently as the previous year when he could still reason and function logically at 90, he said without fear or anxiety that he had led a full life and was ready to go- lingering is what he dreaded most.

What possible life lesson is to be learned when one can no longer remember, let alone understand? What life debt are you possibly balancing when you can no longer even conceive the equation?

Because We're Stupid

Not stupid because we didn't understand exactly how the banks were conducting business, it was made purposely too complex for us to understand. No one can be faulted for that. Stupid because once they were finally exposed, finally exposed bare and naked and clean for all to see just how longingly and lovingly they were fucking us up the ass each and every day, we chose to... 

1.) Allow them to be rescued with our money,

2.) Demand no accountability whatsoever,

3.) Blame exactly who they told us to blame ("poor people, teachers and immigrants"), and-

4.) Smile as we continue to let them fuck us each and every day, to this very day!

The beauty and genius that was Jon Stewart and The Daily Show was that they broke down complex (and often boring) social, political and economic issues into logical, easy to understand bits and pieces that were... goddamn funny to boot. The Big Short does much the same, and does so brilliantly, covering the financial meltdown that happened under our watch (Anthony Bourdain explains CDOs, Salena Gomez breaks down synthetic CDOs)- and that continues unpunished and unrepentant, however disguised, as you read this.

But, hey, it's Christmas- grab the eggnog and a warm blanket; you can kick the dog when you're hungover after New Year's. 

PS- Oh... And when someone with a big, self satisfied smirk demands you explain just how the government could ever possibly keep a secret as overwhelmingly HUGE as UFO's under lock and key for soooo damn long- kindly just remind them that... it's all so easy, when we're the ones who do it for them; aliens are small potatoes indeed, compared to knowingly letting them rob us blind each and every day of our hard earned $$$...

Just try not to roll your eyes when you tell them.