Finally!

A few posts back, I pondered on how I would photograph a wedding.

First of all, I don't really do that.  Wedding photography, like architectural photography or fine portraiture or any other specialty, is just that: special.  The people who work in that area have developed skills and techniques and reflexes to produce the best possible results.  Now, most reasonably experienced photographers can do any of those things competently, but one should go to the guy who does something all the time -- and is the thing he chose to do -- to get it done right.

All the same, I have done a couple of weddings.  Once, many years ago, it was for an extremely budget-strapped colleague at UPI.  More recently, it was truly the only wedding present I could afford for a friend.

In the end, because she knew who I was and what my work was, I'm pretty proud of the product, as I shot it the way I wanted with the gear I wanted to use ...

Another thing that worked for this was that the subjects were friends, meaning they were used to me shooting all the time, including the dinner on the first night as everyone arrived.

And then there was the rehearsal, in the field at a nature center where the bride worked at the time.

A quiet moment for the bride before practicing the march in.

Flower girls and ring bearer.

 

And finally that night, the rehearsal dinner at a favorite club of the couple.

NEXT: The Wedding Day, preparation and ceremony.

Loosen Up

So we shot a story last Sunday on a local pro wrestling camp.  It's run by Jimmy "Boogie Woogie Man" Valiant, a veteran of 50 years of pro wrestling who now lives and runs his training camp in Shawsville, Virginia.  He's a delightful man, generous with his time and a pleasure to talk to, vigorous at age 71, despite the abuse of decades in the ring.  He told us he still runs 2 miles a day ...

The Boogie Woogie Man, left, with Tara Wheeler, co-anchor of the Fox 21/27 Morning News.

We spent the day there, our anchors learning how to wrestle with the other students at Boogie's ring.  After shooting for the story, I took the opportunity to get some still photos of the regular students at their practice.

 Training is also offered for "managers," characters who also take part in the wrestling drama, often as villains who try to stop the ref from noticing violations like choking.

Sadly, still shot with the Nikon D200 (the Leica was with me, but loaded with Fuji Sensia 100 film for the autumn leaves -- not really suitable for the darkened ring area) on a 17-55 f/2.8 Nikon zoom lens.  I set the camera at 400 iso, and processed the pics in Photoshop to remove the color, dodge and burn a bit and increase the contrast some. 

What a Question ...

Something either so big and all-encompassing, or so basic and ridiculous, as to leave me without response ...

From Tamarkin Camera's Facebook page ...

Finally, something new ...

Still not shot with the Leica, though I did have it along (unfortunately loaded with TMax 3200 ... not very useful on a sunny day).  However, I wanted to share some shots from a VMI reunion, made during the "Old Yell" in the barracks, when current cadets cheer along with alumni.

The newest students -- not yet cadets but "Rats" -- are lined up at attention throughout the event, and cheer along while "braced up."  They hold the M-14 rifles (yes, fully functional) they just carried in the parade while passing in review for the alumni and guests.  To show approval (when, say, an alumnus climbs to the top of the guardhouse in the barracks central courtyard without assistance of the ladder provided), they pound the rifle butts on the floor.

I think perhaps the sign speaks for itself...

The officer left in charge of the Rats.  In the lower floors, you can see upperclassmen still in their parade dress.  They are not required to brace up, but casually and lustily cheer along.

The general view of the barracks courtyard, guardpost in center.  The cheer is led from its roof, reached by the ladder to the right ... or, if you want to prove your vigor still, by scaling the wall.  The alumni are clustered in class groups (three classes attend each reunion weekend) and the band stands drawn up at far right.

All shot on a Nikon D200, with an old, manual Nikkor 28mm f/2.8 lens.

Another Blog ...

Something worth looking at, though National Geographic seems to always produce stuff worth looking at, a new blog called Proof.  It opens with a brilliant video of Geographic photographers talking about photography, that ends with a brilliant line:

"If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff."

Scenes from a Wedding

I worked recently as the second cameraman for a wedding video.  (Yes, I will do most anything for money.)   However, I couldn't resist shooting some stills of passing scenes.

I often say that I'm not a wedding photographer.  I've only shot two over the years, one as a favor for a friend.  I found the disc of pictures for her the other day, while looking for something else, and while I thought some of the images were a bit overprocessed, I was pretty happy with the product.  Perhaps I should post a few as an example, as I shot it with Leicas and black-and-white film in a photojournalistic style.

This time, again, I used the camera I had rather than the one I would choose.  Though I carried my Leica M3 with me to the job, keeping it slung around the neck while working a video camera can be tricky at best, so I left it with the other equipment where we staged and used the iPhone.  Then I processed the pictures via PS Express on the phone, generally removing the color, working a little with brightness and contrast, and adding a border.

There is usually some serious dead times around weddings (although if you're the bride or groom, you'll probably not notice), so I had the chance to snap these without hindering my real duties.

However, that means there aren't really any pictures of central events.  Also, it occurred to me that -- especially for the purposes of this blog -- the subjects might not enjoy finding themselves suddenly cast out on the internet, so I've chosen the images of the quiet moments away from the people.

Flatline ...

The patient's condition hasn't changed: He's still dead.

Well, he's still making pictures, at least, but like Vivian Maier I seem to be actively seeking obscurity.

In the meantime, here's a bone ... although one, once again, from the digital Nikon...

Perhaps the title should be: "After The Food Segment?"

This Is Not a Leica.

It is said that "The best camera is the one you have with you."  A quick (and relatively lazy) internet search doesn't provide an easy answer as to who actually said it, although I did find one who credited Chase Jarvis.  At any rate, in this post I want to address the thought, because besides my Leica, I do carry a lot of other cameras.

However, here's the thing: I always have my Leica with me, ever since I missed that picture one Christmas of the decorations being set up in Lexington's little version of Central Park, Hopkins Green.  Even today when I ran an errand, interrupting my writing here, I came across an image of people on a local sidewalk casually playing old time fiddle music.  Only in Lexington.  I had the chance to shoot just one frame with my M3, but that was more than if I hadn't brought it.  And I would have been really frustrated about that.

Sadly, nowadays my finances intrude on this photography.  Film lies undeveloped ... for two years.  I just can't afford to get it processed.  So I often double shoot with the camera I have with me: my iPhone. 

These are all pictures I made while my daughters rehearsed for their dance recital this past weekend.  As any dance parent knows, weeks and months of careful practice go into these events, and those weeks and months require patient attendance.  Needless to say, when I saw an image in those empty moments, I wanted to capture it.  The phone was the easiest way.

I used the standard photo function that comes with the Apple iPhone, then ran it through the free version of PS Express, changing it to Black and White, perhaps tweaking the brightness and contrast, and adding the border.  That's it.

By the time we moved into the theatre, I started shooting color.  I'm not sure why.  However, this only changed my process in that, rather than using the Black and White conversion function in PS, I shifted in the other direction, juicing up the saturation.

The exercise is interesting, in its way, much like my exercise of using only one Leica with whatever lens I've chosen to put on it for the day (or, for that matter, usually for an entire roll of film).  I'm pleased that, when I've posted these on Facebook, they've gotten positive responses, including "Likes" from my photographer friends and even on (for the picture immediately above) from the Tamarkin Camera Facebook page.

In my fantasies, they are impressed enough by my work here to lend me one of the new digital M (240)s.  The stuff I could do with that video function!

 

Perhaps I should keep my dreams realistic: like getting enough money to get that film processed ...