Some people like to make photographs more than they like to see them?
How do you feel when you “take” a photograph?
Its a moment, you have a machine in your hand, for maybe 1/125 sec, you set camera, compose and click—Is a rush? Some photographers like the click so much they have another machine attached to the camera which automatically clicks it for them.
How do you feel when you look at a photograph? Is seeing one you made different than seeing one someone else made?
With film the time between click and see was longer, not just longer, qualitatively longer. Most people exposed the fil. took it to a retail place which developed it and made prints. Some might send it out in pre paid packages, some took it to the drug store which sent it out. It could take weeks.
Professionals used a professional laboratory or might have their own lab, many were at least capable of processing B&W film. It was faster and more expensive and better quality, but then the equipment of the professional was also higher quality.
Polaroid instant camera was interesting, click, the image comes out. wait 60 seconds seconds, remove the cover, apply gooey stuff from a stick on the image immediately to preserve it, —a process which had to be done with enough skill so that the sticky stuff was applied very smooth, otherwise there would be smears on the image resulting in different thicknesses of the sticky stuff which after it dried, the light reflecting off the print would distort the image to the eye of the viewer.
But Digital camera on a phone!! just point, click, see, and send. Did you make the photo for yourself or to send to someone else. Are you showing your spouse a photo of your child jumping or showing someone what a great time you are having, wish you were here!! HAHA.
Later you find that you did not even want the photograph, to just delete into the nowhere world, neither a “0” nor a “1.” HAHA again.
Except for the two children in the background all of the people in this image have probably passed on. Some were loved and cherished I am sure.
I was late getting back, Wasn’t really late, just getting dark in late May, Tokyo time, outside Nishi Shinjuku station, not many places to eat, I saw mabo tofu in a window so I went in.
It was a long, and narrow, Chinese feeling restaurant, On each side was a vertical row of tables going to the back, the ones on the right were smaller tables appropriate for two or 3-4 in rush hour while the ones on the left were tables. same width as the other row, but with a long side parallel to the wall for increased seating for larger groups. An aisle for walking ran in between them.
Two larger groups of salary men were sitting at separate tables, eating, drinking and smoking. Unusual for my experience in a restaurant, I just felt this one was owned by this couple , it felt as if this was not just their living but their life, together. In the back of the kitchen in front of a stove was a son cooking. It was dark and I just set the camera on the table without even thinking,
The mabo tofu was good, a little mixture of chinese and japanese style. Another restaurant? . . . I would have left because of the cigarette smoke, but there just something interesting here. One more thing, it was a mabo tofu “set.”
A photograph is an extension of the eye. You can bring an experience to someone else’s eye of a place they have never been, or you can visually experience a place you have never been. Elevate my mined.
A photograph takes the eye back in time, it never takes a picture of the future and even at 1/500sec or 1/1000sec, by the time the image realized it is the past.
Time weights for us all, and measures none, that’s what I like about Vermont, in the early morning..
I may look like I am trying to fool myself into thinking . . .
I try to have some serious answers
MuShin, written right to left, looks like an ol’ toothless barbarian from the West stalking his mind or just swept up in the wake of the light.
Feelin’ good was easy, lord, when I did not no what I was missing.
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