“One by one”

The story behind this image is more anecdotal than anything but at the same time a testament to how sheep-like we humans can be at times–or at least how sheep like I can be at times.  

I had just walked out of the LA/LA exhibit at LACMA in a pretty good mood.  The exhibit was superb and I was fairly certain some lovely images (by yours truly) would be waiting for me once I processed my rolls.  I don’t really know what I was thinking about as I moseyed around, in fact I would say that I let my mind wander as I sashayed.  Maybe I was considering the pictures, perhaps the art, or possibly whatever, but at some point after exiting the exhibit I totally spaced-out  and queued up for something.    

Now, when I realize that I’m in a queue, I also realize that I don’t actually remember why I’m queueing.  I also realize that I have no idea where the queue leads or how long I’ve been standing in it.  I figure it can’t have been long.  I briefly look around and neither my wife nor my children are waiting in this queue.  They are all standing across the hall looking at me waiting in a queue looking at them.  I wave and they wave back, a bit confused but I’m guessing that I look like I know what I’m doing.  

But what the fuck am I doing?  Now it’s getting more than a bit ridiculous.  I look around at my comrades in the queue.  They seem to be in control of their mental faculties, fully comprehend what they’re doing and are generally looking forward to some amazing thing as every few moments they shuffle slightly forward in anticipation.  I can feel excitement from them and I hope they can’t sense my bewilderment.  I strain to look over the top of everyone and as far as I can tell we are queueing up in front of a large white wall with some writing on it, which is sadly very little to go on. 

As silly as it sounds I’m kind of stressed out.  I’m not going to ask anyone why I’m queuing because the time for that question passed five minutes ago.  Nor do I want to cut the queue to find out what I’m queuing for just to jump back in line because that’s equally stupid.  I could bail but what if it’s something I want to see, like a small door to a hidden world where everything is small and colorful and made out of papier mâché.   

In the end I opt to bail.  Chances are it wasn’t a small door leading to a colorful hidden world where everything is made of papier mâché so what’s the point, but my curiosity gets the best of me anyway and I go towards the front of the line to see what I have missed.  The wall says something about a “Tale of two Persian rugs,” followed by a fair bit of writing on the wall and a small picture.  

People were pointing and waiting and excited for this?  Jesus.  I was more excited about all of their silhouettes, one by one, against the white wall so I made this image.

Shot on my Leica M7, amber filter on a 35mm Summicron.  Film was Kodak Tri-X 400 pushed +1 at the Icon.

“Crash”

I made this image one Sunday at the Beverly Hills Farmer’s Market.  We had stopped at the library to get a couple books for Ester and then walked over, thinking to score some seasonal produce–in particular peaches and nectarines which are just crazy good this time of year.  The best part about famers markets is that almost all of the merchants have samples available at the front of their booths, so you can try everyone’s offerings and then pick and choose amongst your favorites.  

My sampling wasn’t confined to just produce of course. 

I was booth hopping between the mediterranean spreads booth and this indonesian bread tent place when I heard a tiny voice yell “crash!”  I whipped around and the humus on the quarter-of-a-piece-of-pita-bread I was sampling went flying.  Perhaps it landed on an unfortunate passerby or perhaps it just landed on the ground, I didn’t think to check at the time.  The camera comes up to my face and click…

But there was no click.  Instead of that click, here’s a bit of historical context on the author.  I fidget with the Leica when I’m not shooting.  I swing it around on the strap or rock and roll the frame selector again and again.  My favorite bit of fidgeting is to turn it on and off, on and off repeatedly.  Over and over and over again.  I’ll be speaking with someone with the camera in my right hand, pointer finger turning it on and off and on and off and on and on and on.  It’s a nervous tick perhaps.  Almost definitely it a nervous tick.  I’m a very good driver.  That on-off switch’s very existence is almost reason enough for me buy an MP.  Almost.  

So I turn on the M7 and I’m reminded of the singular biggest design flaw of the model.  The giant total cluster-fuck of piss-poor engineering that will definitely force me to buy an MP.  When you turn on an M7 there’s a moment when it’s film barcode reader, the heavy-weight champion of all shitty barcode readers, tries and fails to ascertain what film you have loaded so it can automagically set the iso.  I’ve turned off the auto-reading by manually setting the iso on the back but it still takes a second to start and that second, when you’ve already lost several precious moments because you are a fidgety idiot, usually means you won’t make your image.  

A beat later and now the camera is on.  The kid yells “crash” again and collides with his sister’s cart and I finally hear click.  I finally hear that singularly satisfying mechanical click and I know that I have the shot.  I look down in admiration/irritation with my frenemy, the M7 and see a large glob of humous oozing down the lens hood.  

Sigh.  

“Crash” shot on a crusty Leica M7 (with a crap-ass barcode reader) using a 35mm Summicron, amber filter on Kodak Tri-X 400 pushed to 800 at the Icon.  

“Lost in translation”

Back to my other muses, this one from LACMA.  I always troll around the modern works while people watching mainly because the reaction to modern pieces is tends to be more vibrant and colorful.  There’s always some mini-scene unfolding:  people try to convince their friends that it’s good or that it’s bad.  People sway their heads from side to side, tick tock, as they try to figure it out, or they just stand their, weight all on one hip, supported by a bent arm, head cocked to one left, staring in confused wonder at whichever piece has caught their eye.  People gesture and point like this little girl and I’m there waiting which is nowhere as creepy as it sounds when I say it like that.  

Incidentally, when Magritte was once asked about this painting he replied of course it’s not a pipe, just try to fill it with tobacco.  Clever response.

There’s also a graphic framework that I’m drawn to.  You can find a beautiful element of compositional simplicity in minimal modern works.  Engulf that simplicity in all white, punctuate it with an interesting subject caught in the middle of an interesting moment and there’s something magical that happens.  It’s as if this perfect trifecta has swung into eclipse, the lights dim and I have exactly one second to make the picture before the light comes back and that moment is gone.  

In that second you have do so much, you have to encapsulate so many different aspects of your vision.  You have to conceive and execute your story and will it into existence.  You have to light it, shape it and bend it to your needs.  You have to cast your characters, to judge their performance, to wait till they have it just right.  You have to breathe in and you have to breathe out.  You have to make your treacherous image.

The treachery of images isn’t that the pipe isn’t a pipe.  The treachery is that images, like all forms of communication, are a one sided story who’s full meaning is only known to the speaker.  When we try to impart an experience through art or speech or text, we compress the human experience into a few carefully chosen words, or brush strokes or letters.  We launch an arrow out into the abyss and hope that someone will catch it, decompress it and relate to all or even some of it and if only for a fleeting moment.  The treachery of images is that that person on the other side of the abyss–that little girl in the gallery looking at Magritte or even you, dear reader looking at my images–you all only get to experience the end result and so damn much is lost in translation.    

Shot on a Leica M7 with a 35mm Summicron on Kodak Tri-X 400 film pushed to 800 by the lovely people at the Icon.  Incidentally, I’m back to shooting with an amber filter if anyone is curious why the beige tones have gone so white.