24
Sep
2012
Commentary
12
Sep
2012
THROUGH THE LENS OF THE VIEW CAMERA
“THROUGH THE LENS OF THE VIEW CAMERA” is an essay originally published in the 2010-2011 “LANGDON REVIEW OF THE ARTS IN TEXAS” published by Tarleton State University’s Dora Lee Langdon Cultural and Educational Center in Granbury, Texas. This was in conjunction with an exhibition of our photography by the same title in 2010.
A PDF version of the essay is available for download in the ARTICLES area of our web site. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on the link there, or go directly to the PDF HERE.
JB
11
Jul
2012
A GREAT STORY
24
Mar
2012
BEER & RODINOL
When I first began working with B&W in my own darkroom I only had a 35mm camera. So I shot many rolls of 36 exposure Tri-X. At one time my favorite developer was Rodinol. Not very expensive, easy to use, keeps forever and I liked the negatives. What else could you ask for?
Even way back then I kept a notebook with all of my darkroom procedures laid out in a step-by-step fashion. This way I knew I would always do things exactly the same. I used the same graduates, arranged in the same order every time. Developing film is a one shot deal. Make a mistake and that is all she wrote. At this point in my progression with film and darkroom, I had become confident in my ability to develop film. The process had become the first step on the way to making prints.
My procedure for film was simple. I would line up my chemical containers in the correct order. Fill them with the proper liquids and adjust the temperature. Then I would head to my closet darkroom to load the film into the developing tank. I used a 16oz tank that held two reels and I usually did two rolls at a time. I loved the Rodinol because it came in a stock syrup and was mixed something like 1:200, if memory serves me correctly. I would measure the stock using two small syringes since it only took a few milliliters to make up the developer. I would lay the syringes, once loaded, next to the container marked developer which contained distilled water. I always have used presoak, so once the film was in the presoak, I would empty the syringes into the developer container and stir up the developer. Not much to it, simple and easy. Usually took me about forty five minutes from start to hanging up film to dry.
Now this one particular Saturday myself and a few friends went out and I shot two rolls of film that day. Later that evening we returned to my place for a few beers and by about 8:00 everyone headed home. I had this bright idea that if I processed the film from the day it would be dry and I could print it Sunday. Nothing to it, just get out the notebook, measure and slosh. . . processed film!
There was nothing very special about this film run, except the slight fog in my head from the beers and maybe a little to much sun. Everything went as usual. Once the film was washed I unrolled the first strip to find it completely clear end to end. The second roll was the same. What the @#$%^*? My first thought was the camera quit working. As I sat there perplexed I looked at my processing line and what do you think I saw? There next to the empty container for the developer lay my two syringes with the stock Rodinol still in them. I had failed to mix the developer. I learned right there that plain distilled water will not develop film. I also immediately enacted a strict rule in the darkroom; NEVER MIX RODINOL AND BEER!
JB
Even way back then I kept a notebook with all of my darkroom procedures laid out in a step-by-step fashion. This way I knew I would always do things exactly the same. I used the same graduates, arranged in the same order every time. Developing film is a one shot deal. Make a mistake and that is all she wrote. At this point in my progression with film and darkroom, I had become confident in my ability to develop film. The process had become the first step on the way to making prints.
29
Feb
2012
CROPPING
Those that dictate hard and fast, unwavering, rules for the creation of art usually are the vane, egotistical, self-centered types that are full of their own over-inflated view of their importance and try to tell you that cropping is an unforgivable sin. I say. . . Not True!
No one has the authority, nor the right, to tell you what, nor how, to create your art. Cropping is a personal decision, and can only be justified by you as an individual. If cropping helps any particular photograph, then it is no sin to proceed to crop away.
Cropping is best done in the camera at the time you make the negative, but it is not always possible. There will always be those instances that appropriate framing is just not possible in the field. Never pass up an opportunity just because the perfect image does not exactly fit the film. Keep cropping as an option. Do not dismiss anything that will help. 
During the printing process look carefully at your first work print and determine if the image is strong from corner to corner. Use cropping L’s to mask questionable edges of the image and determine if lopping off some of the image will strengthen it. If you are enlarging you can reset the easel and the print size. If you are contact printing, a rotary trimmer is your best friend. The choice is totally yours. Do not be a slave to others opinions. There are no rules. The decision is so eloquently expressed by Bob Segar: “What to leave in, what to leave out. . .”
If cropping does not improve the photograph, maybe it is a good idea to find another image that will be more expressive. If you do hit a brick wall with a photograph, save your work and put it aside for later. There are few negatives of questionable substance that are worth killing yourself in order to print. You are usually better off to concentrate on those that are not a struggle to print.
It is easier on you and more productive, and less frustrating, to make negatives that are well seen and easy to print. A mastery of craft will make everything work more smoothly, but never let anyone tell you that you should not, can not, crop your photograph. Just don’t go there! Cropping can be your best friend.
JB
19
Jan
2012
THE DAY KODAK DIED. . .
Is it over for Kodak? Who knows for sure?
31
Mar
2011
ONLY A LIGHT-TIGHT BOX
“He tried to impress upon me that, though a camera is nothing but a tool, it can be (therefore it must be) used for a higher purpose than the meaningless transference of already visible information onto a sheet of paper. Because camera could describe a worker’s vision of his world, like a cello or a paintbrush, or granite block, camera held the capacity for art.”.
-Fred Picker- Discussing his experience with the Ansel Adams Workshops.
Zone VI Newsletter, Number 39, June, 1984, p. 5
A camera is just a tool. . . a thing. It is only a light-tight box that holds the lens and film. It is no different than a carpenter’s saw, a painter’s brush, a pianist’s piano, or a sculptor’s mallet and chisel. Any of these tools in the hands of the inexperienced will create little more than noise or a mess. Likewise, in the hands of a beginner, the camera is no more than a thing. In the hands of an experienced photographer is becomes a tool for creating art.
If you want to become a photographic artist the first goal is to become an accomplished master of the equipment. But, how do you get there from here? It starts with ambition and drive. Like any skill, you will only learn, and become a master, if you are dedicated. The mechanics of photography are not difficult to learn. It does take time and determination to get there, but it is not an unachievable task. You just have to have the desire and drive to work through the process of learning how best to use the tools.
Think of when you were a kid and you thought that taking piano lessons was a great thing to do, since some of your friends were already enrolled. Then after a while you get the usual threats from your parents to get in there and practice! You get the customary, we bought you that expensive piano and are paying for lessons, so get to work. Truth is, you really didn’t want to learn the piano in the first place. It was just something you thought would be neat. If you really wanted to learn, your parents would have to be lecturing you about spending too much time with the piano and limiting your keyboard time.
It is that drive. . . that obsession with learning that makes for the great artist. You have to eat, sleep and breathe photography to be really successful. Just a casual interest will lead to little more than a few casual photographs. Or, maybe you are just obsessed with the hardware. Maybe you would be better off collecting and trading equipment. There is always that possibility that the light-tight box is your obsession and not the photograph. Only you can make that determination.
That Light-Tight Box is just the camera. . . a tool to be used in the creation of your art. I hope that you learn to use your tools to your best advantage! Invest your time wisely. Learn the tools of your chosen craft well. Do not stumble around in the dark, it belongs inside the camera.
JB
21
Feb
2011
MY POINT EXACTLY
In my last post here titled “ORIGINALLY POSTED ON OUR OLD BLOG; Saturday, January 17, 2009; WHERE HAVE ALL THE PHOTOGRAPHY CLUBS GONE?” I tried to make the point that the failure to promote and teach ultimately leads to the loss of knowledge and processes that need to be preserved. In that post I was particularly hard on the photography clubs and their failure to promote and maintain the many facets of the art of photography. Photography clubs have become, for the most part, computer clubs. They ignore the other facets of the craft and even tout the lie that digital is all there is in the entire universe. This to me short changes everyone and leads to a loss of other beautiful and useful photographic processes. It also leads to pure ignorance among those that are interested in entering into the art form.
Below is a review sent to me from a photographer friend of a Nikon F6 camera that someone purchased through Amazon. At first this was funny to me, then I thought it was a joke, and finally the hard and sad truth began to sink in. This represents the sad state of affairs today. Read this review;
“This review is from: Nikon F 6 – SLR camera – 35mm – body only (Electronics)
Camera will not work with CompactFlash or other digital media. You must buy a cartridge of tape, which allows for just 24 shots. No LCD screen with image playback. Very disappointed and returned.”
HERE is the link to the original review on the Amazon web site. Sorry, the original review has been removed. . .
Read some of the comments to this supposed “Review.” At this writing there are eleven pages of comments. Guess I will go find a roll of that tape. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry???
JB
20
Feb
2011
WHERE HAVE ALL THE PHOTOGRAPHY CLUBS GONE?
NOTE: This post originally appeared on our first BLOG that is no longer active. I am resurrecting it here because it is something I feel needs to be repeated. Just another one of my little rants about the state of affairs pertaining to my favorite subject. . . Photography. To be even more specific. . . Film Photography. Take my comments with a grain of salt. . . or. . . maybe more like rubbing salt in your eyes????
—————————————————–
WHERE HAVE ALL THE PHOTOGRAPHY CLUBS GONE?
JB Harlin With 11×14 Camera
To answer that question, they have turned into Computer Clubs! Why? I really do not know why, but I have an idea.
People in general are consumer driven by what the large manufacturers say and do. Certain large, should I say behemoth, manufacturers have taken the initiative to try and influence the photographic market place. Corporate bean counters are forever trying to enhance the bottom line. These so called Harvard MBA’s have little to no experience in reality, they just look to their book learning and spread sheets for bigger, better, faster. They are paid to find pie-in-the-sky schemes that look good for the bottom line. They know little about the product nor its users. And, they really don’t care about anything beyond the quarterly report to the board and share holders. This mindset has filtered into the film photography industry. They don’t care about their product nor their customers beyond what they can get from either or both. Hence the battle cry “Film Is Dead” has gone out through the photography world because someone thinks that is where they can make the most money. And, people, sadly most people, follow like sheep. Repeating the call and believing it is true.
How many times have I been asked, “where do you get film for that camera?” This gets really old in a hurry, but the reality is, people are just misinformed. Way too much TV, radio, magazine ads, billboards, newspapers, Internet, etc, for anyone’s good. We, as a society, are pounded day and night with endless advertising. And, sadly, we believe it! “We couldn’t say it on TV if is wasn’t true” is something I hear on some infomercial. Remember, advertisers will tell you anything to get your money!
OK, so what does this have to do with the Camera/Computer Club? It seems that they have become one of the sources for the misconception of the Film Is Dead hoax. Go to most any club, bring up film, and you will be instantly told there is no such thing. It is not that they are trying to intentionally mislead, they are just misinformed. They have bought into the hoax, because it is what they have heard somewhere. And what ticks me off is the fact that they continue to spread false information.
My wife and myself in the past were involved with camera clubs. Why? Because it was a place to meet like-minded individuals and share our interests. Several years ago we found that more and more we had little in common with the other members. They were speaking in tongues, discussing materials and equipment we knew nothing about and had no interest in learning. You can say we lost that ‘like mindedness.’ We cease to be interested and are no longer members.
So, why should this bother me? Because misinformation is detrimental to creativity and the art of photography. I really don’t care if you shoot digital. It is simple; Digital Is Its Own Art Form! Acrylic paint did not replace oil for the painter. In this modern age, people still use candles, hand write letters, ride horses, and who knows what else that has evolved into some more up-to-the-minute technology. Why this all-out move to kill film photography and to try and convince anyone interested that digital is the only choice?
What bothers me is the fact that clubs preach from the rafters the falsehood that film is gone. What if someone wanting to express their artistic vision joins a camera club to learn the craft? They are told film is no longer manufactured, not available, don’t bother. Then they spend their time and money working with digital only to learn later that film is still alive and possibly more important, the direction more suitable to their vision. Film is another medium for their expression. They have now wasted valuable time and resources exploring a medium that is not suitable to their creativity.
A good club, at least for me, would foster all forms of photography, from digital, to the most extreme alternative processes. That way those interested in the medium could see what is really available and make the choice as to which process is right for them. The world is not a one-size-fits-all society. Creative people have something to say. They may write, sculpt, paint or photograph. What is important to the beginner is that they see what their options are, so they can make an intelligent choice. No one should be funneled down the wrong path just because the local Computer Club feeds them a line of BS based on a hoax. If you are just starting out in photography, be very careful if you choose to start with a Camera Club! It could just cost you the most valuable commodity you have. . . TIME!!!
And, to those that are in charge of the local camera clubs, pull your head out of the sand and look around. There is an entire world of photographic imaging, from digital to exotic alternative processes where you create your own emulsions. You just have to look for it somewhere beyond the narrow minded Hoax of Film Is Dead. Please, don’t tell the next new person that comes to a meeting that digital is the only game in town!!!
Posted by JB and Susan Harlin at 1:53 PM Saturday, January 17, 2009
05
Feb
2011
THE VIEW OUT MY WINDOW SYNDROME
I have struggled for years to understand the concept of what is visually stimulating. Just exactly what does it take to strike a nerve that leads to the successful completion of an expressive photograph? Specifically, why is it that I cannot easily find something in my immediate environment that I find worthy of photographing? There was a time when I really thought there was something wrong with my perception of my surroundings. Edward Weston said something to the effect that, you should be able to look down at your feet and find something interesting to photograph. Doesn’t always work for me.
The trouble is, I have a difficult time finding anything within my local surroundings that excites me very much. Some of this has to do with the fact that I live on a flat coastal plane at 600 feet above sea level and what I like the most is mountains and snow. I just can’t seem to find barb wire fences to the horizon, hay rolls, or wind mills that interesting.
I used to think this was only a personal mental issue that I alone suffered from, and that I was in some way creatively impaired. I thought that all I needed to do was find some magic somewhere that would allow me to visually connect to what I see every day. There were those times that I was able to find visual stimulation. Such as dense fog, or really interesting clouds, or maybe a rare snow storm. But most of the time I found that I was forcing myself to just get out and that what I created was not something I really cared for. So, why bother?
As I began to associate with other photographers, many living in other areas of the country, what I found was surprising. I met and talked with people that live in some of what I feel are the most visually stimulating places on the earth. To my dismay some of them have no interest whatsoever in even visiting, let alone photographing what I would give near anything to have unlimited access to. I have talked to people that have grown up within a few hours drive of these places and have never visited, let alone ever had even considered to take a look, let alone make a serious photograph of what lay literally in their back yard.
I began to realize that I was not alone when it came to finding inspiration and visual excitement within my immediate environment. I began to think more in terms that this is a normal ‘thing’. . . a ‘syndrome’. . . a ‘phobia’. . . or whatever, that many other suffer from, or in some way deal with, also.
I am a big fan of the late Bill Jay. His writing on photography is classic. I found this excerpt from one of his most popular pieces and it seemed to connect to my thoughts about this perplexing condition;
“. . . in order to photograph with any degree of continuous passion, you must have a fascination for the subject, otherwise you cannot sustain an interest in the act of creation for a long enough period of time in which to make any insightful or original statement about it.” 1
Thank you Bill Jay!
I have now accepted my condition and even dredged up a name for this phenomenon. I call it, “The View Out My Window Syndrome.” There seems to be something about what you have seen every day of your life and how visually exciting that view becomes over your lifetime. At least for some of us, this is some sort of syndrome. The question is, what can you do about it?
I have come to believe that there is little you can do about The View Out My Window Syndrome. . . so you just live with it. Maybe it is more important to accept it and not obsess over something you have little control over. Make it your goal to find and photograph whatever excites you and do not bother with what lay outside your window, especially if it does not excite you!
I started working on this post some time back and have now returned to complete my thoughts. We have had an unusual winter storm here in Texas. We are on the fourth day of cold, ice, and snow. Today we just had another 2-3 inches of new snow. This is the kind of weather we love when we are out in our favorite areas. . . in the mountains or the visually stunning S/W. Yet with all of this nice cold and snow I have little to no interest in dragging a camera out. The back yard is as boring as the back of my hand. I cannot think of any place near by that I would risk driving to that would be visually exciting, even with a gorgeous coating of snow. Maybe if I did get out I could find something, but I really have no inclination to risk being ran over by some idiot driving on ice. When in the mountains or the desert S/W I don’t mind driving 40-50 miles on solid ice to shoot some film. Here, I don’t even want to walk to the mail box. Why? Good question, but this is an example of a bad case of “The View Out My Window Syndrome.”
JB
1 “The Thing Itself; The fundamental principle of photography” First published in Newsletter, Daytona Beach Community College, 1988
http://www.billjayonphotography.com
http://www.billjayonphotography.com