It’s time for another deep post, one that again touches on a personal note with a touch of the professional. I was saddened by the news of the passing of Paul Hawthorne, a photographer I briefly knew when he spent some time working at The Times Herald in Norristown, Pennsylvania.
We shared photo lab space on occasion in the Times Herald darkroom. I was a dedicated professional (though less than the hard-core journalist Paul was) and geared more to the artsy side of photography. Paul was an accomplished military photographer committed to photojournalism. But we got along well for the short time we knew each other as we shared the same enthusiasm for the profession. I heard of his passing just yesterday.
There is not much else to say other than the importance of sending thoughts and prayers to his family. Something to take note of and action on is The Photographer Project, a site dedicated to raising funds for the Hawthorne family. If you are a NYC photographer please get involved. Donations can be also be made to the Paul Hawthorne Medical Fund at Citizen’s Bank in Pennsylvania or The Amyloidosis Research Foundation.
I really like that word and though there won’t be any services held, I thought it would be a nice symbol to mourn the passing of a publication I have been involved with since 1991. I have never been a hardcore, fire-chasing, politician-hunting photojournalist, but I do like to tell stories and during my time at the now deceased Wayne Suburban I was able to do so. Wayne has become my adopted home since the early 90’s and I imagine I’ll still keep many of my connections both socially and professionally. But with change comes opportunity and as always, I’m ready.
The State of Journalism will be in flux for some time but I’m excited to be given even more time to freelance and to explore New Media as a way of telling stories. It’s too bad that a publication that survived since the 1800’s has now disappeared. And it’s also very sad for the community of Wayne since they will be affected the most. A newspaper’s integration into a community is often taken for granted and the effects of such an absence will linger.
So this post is a bit more personal for me than usual, but I wanted to thank all of the folks I have worked with both at The Suburban and in the community for being good people. While this is a definitive end for a chapter in my life and career, chances are I’ll still be in Wayne in some form, most likely at The Gryphon!
I was really impressed and excited to watch a very cool teaser from the Iceland documentary John Gelety and Ben Kanes are producing about my photography. It includes a few video clips I shot and some raw footage the guys shot on our trip to visit the Icelandic ambassador, Albert Jónsson, in Washington. Not much else to say with this post other than I’m looking forward to what’s ahead!
I read about the chance to see the Moon and Venus in the autumn sky on space.com a few days earlier. At dusk on Halloween night I was blessed with the confluence of the planet and the moon against a sky painted in pastels. It was a perfect way to end a week that began with horrible weather. Early in the week heavy rains came and delayed what eventually turned out to be Philadelphia’s winning game of the 2008 World Series. Our “town” was kept on edge for a few days while it hoped its baseball team brought home the championship.
I’m not sure what omens come with such a sighting, such a crazy week in sports and a huge presidential election just a few days away. I don’t believe in celestial omens, but if there somehow is any truth in them, whatever is coming can’t be bad since it was a peaceful end to the day…that’s what I’m choosing to believe.
I’m not at Vampire aficionado, but I will watch the occasional blood-sucking flick. When I first heard about it I knew couldn’t pass on the opportunity to watch Nosferatu accompanied by organist, Desiree Hines. The good people at Traverse Arts had a couple of showings at the The First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia. The church has great acoustics and is just creepy enough for a perfect alternative to the many costumes parties taking place throughout the city this week.
So I photographed throughout the evening and recorded audio of the organist as she played for over an hour and during the entire film. The film itself may be a bit hokey, but for a 1922 effort I totally approve! The plan is to assemble a slideshow with audio for the web and hopefully to help promote future Traverse Arts endeavors…stay tuned!
I am fairly capable when it comes to hacking out new ideas in new software. I’m not the expert graphic designer nor the crack video editor but I like to think I can “hold my own.” But I often forget about what it takes to create something so simple that it’s humbling.
I just wanted a splash of branding that would identify that I created the stories people are going to see. So I jumped into learning titles with Sony’s Vegas software (which I find the best and most cost effective video editing for those of us who choose to remain married to the “dark side” of Windows operating systems).
Hours later, I find a have a passable intro - a fading in and fading out blurb of text announcing that I am the Creator. It’s during times like these I greatly admire the tech heads who spend hours refining and reworking their creativity in what seems so simple, though it’s not. This is why I stick to crafting the stories and will soon be on the hunt for one of these experts…
I have learned that opportunity can present itself in strange ways. And that is so very true with journalism and photography. Well, at least it is from my experiences.
Luck is really important and it is possible to create your own. When it comes, being prepared to capture the moment is when the professional aspects of photography are realized. But a good portion of luck is outside of the realm of being able to manipulate your chances of coming away with a successful image.
I was recently photographing a high school soccer game at Episcopal Academy. It was on their brand new campus, which is nicely done, though it seems has a parking shortage when it comes to game time. I did the “wrong thing” by parking along the roadway (along with lots of parents who were there to see their kids play). But I knew I would be only there just a short time.
I barely grabbed a few shots of the game when campus security showed up and gave all of us parking lawbreakers a warning. The township police may stop by and could give us $400 tickets. We were all thankful for the notice.
I was at a loss of where I could park and knew I could miss the game if there was not a spot to be found. But I ended up parking about five playing fields away on another part of campus in the last open spot. By the time I returned, a good 15 minutes went by and I missed most of the first half. But that’s when luck visited me. As I approached the field from behind the goal, a play unfolded and I was in the perfect position to get the photo. I wouldn’t have been in that sport at exactly the right time if all of the other circumstances weren’t precisely aligned.
August is over and I’m glad. I like summer, but its end is good thing since the goals I set came together perfectly. It’s usually a “down” time with very little work but this year was an exception. Work was plenty and the summer was filled with personal projects such a Burning Flowers, important business planning and the filming of the Iceland documentary.
Next up will be the bulk of the documentary, the interviews with me. It’s always unsettling, not that I mind being on camera (I actually like it), but I feel the need to be clear and concise. In other words, I need to convey the thoughts I have toward the Iceland project in minimal words and in the way a good writer’s words are finally edited. Yet this will be one take filming since it’s a documentary and something not to be practiced or staged. So it’s an issue of me becoming a naturally-at-ease-interviewee and yet another goal to set.
I am tired of technology. I sometimes want to go back to shooting film and ditch the computer and memory cards. The rebuild of a new Photoshop computer (should be simple as I have done it a dozen times or so) went poorly. I started to think I had a dumb computer. Really, I was thinking it was stupid. So stupid that it seemed to forget I even installed Windows XP.
For how much I would like to I can’t blame Microsoft and switching to a Mac isn’t the answer. That was the response from many who are not tech oriented and who dislike what they call the Evil Empire. I have seen many bizarre problems with Macs and would have no chance to troubleshoot one if I had a problem.
What does all of this have to do with driving in Iceland?
Well, I wouldn’t be able to put together a video clip full of rough edits in less than an hour and then send it off into cyberspace for everyone to view if I didn’t have this technology. I guess I’ll learn to live with it.
I made a deal with a former teacher of mine at Antonelli, Mark Thellmann, who teaches at The Art Institute in Philadelphia. He agreed to be interviewed for the Iceland documentary. In return I would talk to his class about the Iceland project, the documentary and ideas behind all of it. So I put together a few minutes of video for a trial run at AIPH so I can test out their multimedia system.
I always thought one of the best ways to see a country (walking is really the only way) is by car. So here is a glimpse into Iceland with its rain, snow, sunny meadows, rainbows, wandering farm animals, scary mountain roads, geothermal plants and sheep.
If I were twisted I would have enjoyed last night’s burning. But I almost didn’t bother shooting since I was tired, and very frustrated. During the last two days I was a slave to mind-dulling troubleshooting that computer junkies love. Well, I don’t enjoy that. I had the task of rebuilding my main Photoshop computer. It revolted after three years of service. It’s now completely dead.
I had to figure out cryptic BIOS settings (still hate that part), route a mass of intertwined cables to 8 hard drives and turn a screwdriver lots of times to transplant what still worked from the old into the new. I stuffed all of these parts into a sleek black case with cool angles (its designer must be fan of stealth aircraft). I pushed the “On” button, fought with glitches and eventually had a new computer running.
It’s during these times I miss shooting film (but only then).
So I didn’t feel better after burning more flowers, it would be disturbing if I did. At times I even feel wasteful. People love flowers and good thoughts are behind them in almost every situation. That guilt quickly fades when I get back to my computer and view the results.
Last night I worked past dusk. The darkness, flames and petals created intimacy I usually find when sitting by a campfire. The increased saturation and contrast all played their part in creating this new palette I discovered. My images taken in brighter conditions at the beginning of the project just didn’t have that feel.
Now, I’m about to wrap it up. Unless new ideas on how to burn flowers come to me, I’m done. I have plenty of images to submit for this year’s ASMP project and plenty to shop around for a new exhibit. The only thing left to try, and I’ll have to plan carefully, is burning an entire bouquet.
