Away from Home... Perhaps Without a Home

"Everything I've photographed exists regardless of me, my role is only to be receptive. The most important thing is the luck, behind every good image there is the good luck too”

~ Pentti Sammallahti

The town of Siem Reap, Cambodia… most known for Angkor Wat . I was there for a conference but had time to visit the temple. On my last day I went to a part that most people don’t go to… buildings still not renewed, the road usually not taken. I was the only person there until I saw these boys, brother I assume. They followed me for awhile as I was taking pictures. In hand speak I asked if I could point my camera to them. They looked at me without moving.

Two boys at Angkor Wat

The Right Place at the Right Time

" I feel like I received the photograph, I didn't take it. If you're in the right place at the right time, then all you have to do is push a button. Being a photographer doesn't come into it. Everything I've photographed exists regardless of me, my role is only to be receptive."

~ Pentti Sammallahti

It must have been 1987, perhaps the following year. Paris in summer. Walking along the Seine behind Notre Dame. I saw the girl first, a book or notebook in her hand, but seemly not reading it. And last the pigeon. That was it… in the right place at the right time. And a lovely river.

On the Seine

On Being an Amateur

Once the amateur’s naive approach and humble willingness to learn fades away, the creative spirit of good photography dies with it. Every professional should remain always in his or her heart an amateur”
~ Alfred Eisenstaedt

This is one of my earliest photographs. I was living in Madrid, back in the 1980s, and I had just bought a Canon AE-1. I was on a back road, on my way to a friend’s house some 30 kilometers outside of town. Suddenly I saw the goal and pulled over. I looked around… there was nothing as far as I could see - no school, no houses, not even another goal. But there were mountains and clouds and no one around - an amateur’s delight and still one of my favorites.

Emptiness

Portraits of the Street

“Too many photographers pay more attention to technique and forget style which is more important. I have never run a “studio”. And when I make a portrait, I do not “pose” my subject. I observe and I press the shutter when the character surges forth.”
~ Henri Cartier-Bresson

I like to walk and observe people - in parks making music, using public transportation above or below ground, on canals or rivers, walking or working on urban streets, etc. Street portraits of common people are not in vogue these day, but they can tell us so much. Don’t sneak up on people or hide behind a wall. Let them see you and and say “OK” in their language or yours… with I smile or a wink of the eye; or say “no” with a shake of the head or wave of the hand. And remember, don’t try to pose them!

Conductor on a river boat in Bangkok

A Moment of Silence

“Too many photographers pay more attention to technique and forget style which is more important. I have never run a “studio”. And when I make a portrait, I do not “pose” my subject. I observe and I press the shutter when the character surges forth.”
~ Henri Cartier-Bresson

He stands unmoving at the back of a Bangkok Chao Phraya Express Boat. Perhaps he doesn’t know his destination as he looks back from where he boarded. Maybe I don’t know mine either… I’m here to watch the river flow and forget about time. A portrait of a monk and a river, of silence… the past forgotten and the future behind us.

Geometry

“A fine image is geometry, modulated by the heart.”

~ Willy Ronis

There is something about shapes inside a shape, call it what you may. It’s a bit difficult to explain, but I like to look for shapes that leads one’s eye to another part of the frame… or (especially) a “frame” that seems to vacillate, that seems to be foreground for a second or two, then shifts to background. I don’t really understand but I do see it… but not often enough.

Surprises

“I try not to make conscious decisions about what I am looking for. I don’t make elaborate preparation before I go to a location. Essentially I walk, explore, discover and photograph.“
~ Michael Kenna

When I still had a day job, when work was finished I would often quickly change, grab my camera and start walking. Now I don’t have to wait; I can get out when I please. Recently I do have a general idea in mind… I want to be surprised. And that means coming across things that don’t seem to belong together, that speak of transience, ooze mystery, make one laugh… like a single cloud in a blue sky hovering above a tree or a seagull perched atop a street lamp next to a ferris wheel. Such moments are gifts. But a walk without discoveries is a still a good walk!

Inside Out: Portraits

“We all require and want respect, man or woman, black or white. It’s our basic human right.” ~ Aretha Franklin 1942-2018

“You don’t have to go looking for pictures. The material is generous. You go out and the pictures are staring at you.” ~ Lee Friedlander

Portraits come in all sizes and colors. They may be posed or they may be unposed for the few seconds one needs to push the button. Some are preceded by a look that says “may I”; others may be taken at a weekly drum circle where participants and onlookers recognize the wandering photographers. And all should be taken with respect.

Ready, Set, Click

"You can find pictures anywhere. It’s simply a matter of noticing things and organizing them. You just have to care about what’s around you and have a concern with humanity and the human comedy.” ~ Elliott Erwitt

It happened so fast. I had just got off the Sky Train that runs above the streets of Bangkok. I turned around the corner of the walkway and there she was, just off work and desiring some comfort. The camera was already in my hand. I was lucky. She smiled.

The Theme We Carry

"The unconscious obsession that we photographers have is that wherever we go we want to find the theme that we carry inside ourselves.” ~ Graciela Iturbide

I’ve noticed the theme often, but almost always a considerable time after the photograph has been taken and processed. My series Below/Above/Beyond is the best example of this. The images span 12 years and 6 countries… and until a year ago I didn’t know they belonged together. And every once in a while I still discover another old photo that once seemed to be an outlier but really belongs to said series.

Writing this makes me wonder… perhaps today’s insistence on churning out a baker’s dozen of portfolios as prompt after prompt arrives by email is superfluous. Perhaps we would be better off exploring the “theme we carry inside ourselves” and all the side roads we discover on the way.

The Door on Ninth Street

One Afternoon at 3:20

Why do I like it?

I took this photograph in northern New Mexico in 2015. A friend was driving me around and stopped to show me a small chapel; I was more taken with the churchyard. I’ve always liked the image but don’t ask me why… I don’t know. Was it the 2 graves stones? Why only two? Was it the buildings beyond the fence? Or the fence itself? The absence of people? The sky?

I keep coming back to this photo and I don’t know why. I don’t expect anyone to like it; why would they? But I feel something captivating here... perhaps it’s just the string of questions.

Patti Smith

I love Patti Smith’s music and books. I wrote this short poem to her, and though I do not know her, I believe she has a sense of humor.

i shoulda been

     in new york

          in the 70s

               but didn’t go

                    so didn’t know          

                         you younger

                              woulda remembered

                                   doesn’t matter

                                        I was so shy

                                             and now old

                                                   tho less so

                                                       I prefer

                                                             the company

of books

———————————————————————————————————————

I took this photo of Patti and Lenny Kaye at a concert in Madrid in 2012, the only time of heard the Patti Smith Group live. The date had been set well in advance but when a general strike of workers and labor unions was set for the same day, the band made the organizers know that they too would respect the strike. The concert was moved to the following day in a smaller venue. Absolutely marvelous.

Penance

I’ve always loved books that begin with a discovered letter, diary, ships log, etc. One night not long ago this short intro to an imaginary book jumped into my mind. I titled it “Penance.”

————————————————————————————————————-

Winnipeg, 15 March 2198

Dear Friends,

Recently I came upon what appears to be a short book, dated 2027 and probably self-published. It was found by a collaborator of mine, whose name I prefer not to disclose at this time, under the floor of a cellar in an long-unoccupied tenement in Kansas City. The book was in poor shape; most of the cover was illegible, ripe with mold. Much of the text was difficult to read due to water damage. The author’s name does not appear. That said, I think what remains may be pertinent to our research. Below you’ll find the Preface, which I have edited as best I could since many words were blurred and some antiquated.

I look forward to any comments you may have. For my part I will continue to make the remaining text as legible as possible.

With my best regards,

CBG

PS: Please do not pass this on to others until we discuss the content among ourselves

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This is a chronicle of guilt and penance; please do not be surprised or ashamed. The plague is now in its seventh year. Billions of people have died or been incapacitated. And billions more no longer know what “to live” means.

At the epidemic’s onset I was but a humble retiree. I had managed to save enough (I thought) to lead a decent, modest life in the time remaining to me. But like so many others I had erred. All of a sudden the world was turned upside down.

It became clear to me that the gods were displeased, and had taken the side of the richest among us. Why I do not know; perhaps they always had. Or maybe they saw that this planet could not survive and those most likely to endure and worship them were the wealthy. For all I know, they had always favored the rich and feared the transgressions of the poor. I do not pretend to read the minds of the divine.

I do, however, know that I played a role in what is happening to us today. For many years I ignored the gods, what I knew about them, their desires and their mandates. I refused to climb the ladder of wealth, power and ambition. Or one of family, social norms and acquiescence.  In other words, I did not pay homage and chose to live outside to commandments of gods and conquerors.

Thus I became lost. Yes, I worked and contributed in small ways. I neither killed nor abused others. I sometimes turned the other cheek. Occasionally I was kind, I believe. But it is equally true that I lived a wayward life of temporary pleasures, searching for non-existent happiness, casual sex, self-indulgent pastimes. I tried to be good – the sex was always mutual and the searching never turned toward the dark arts.

In other words, I am like most others, like the hordes that have died. I am neither rich nor dirt poor, but I see now that my life has been inconsequential. I may have tried to be honest and dependable, but the gods demanded more. Why else would they do this to us?

Thus I reproach myself and repent for those who dare not, for whom penance is no more than proof of failure, a defeat they will deny to death do they part. I know not if my story will make a difference; I suspect that penance itself may no longer exist. I fear this small effort is futile but know not what else to do except to take a deep breath and continue…

Poetry and photos

I consider short poems, especially haiku, to be photographs crafted with words. And I often see photographs as haiku composed with images. The two can stand together without either explaining the other. They are not related, they simply share a similar magic.

strong sun leaning west

branches blur the way ahead

lizards scurry home

Walking in Bangkok

“Of course I am curious and when I arrive in a place I like to see and understand what happens around me. However, I need to travel slowly and I avoid plane trips. A photographer must not run but walk, tirelessly. Then he can seize what is on offer on the pavement, at the street corner, in life."
~ Henri Cartier-Bresson

I took this photo while walking from one end to the other of Lumpini Park in central Bangkok. Over the years I keep coming back to it. At first I loved it, then less so. Then I set it aside for a while and later I started to see it differently. And finally I saw how to process it to better evoke the dreamlike quality that made me take the photo in the first place.

Together

I am proud to announce that this photograph has been has been chosen to figure in “Emergence” , an exhibit at the Untitled Gallery in Tucson. The show includes all fine arts and will open on April 3, 2021. Click on the link above for more information and an online view of the exhibit as of the opening.