Get real

I was watching my 6 year old play on the computer, while his friends stood next to him looking on.

Why don’t you guys play a real game like Life, or Connect Four,” I said.

“Dad,” said Oliver, “they have Connect Four online.

“Sure,” I said, “but sometimes it is good to touch real plastic.”

Real plastic. I started thinking about the absurdity of that, and how “real plastic” seems like some fancy substance in this digital, virtual world we seem to be living in more and more. Just this morning, I “borrowed” money from a loan account online, and transferred it to my checking account, where it instantly appeared. Wow, I thought, I can create $4,000, and move it through the air from one account to another…but of course I realized that I actually didn’t move anything physical at all, just a credit in one account, and a debit in another. Probably there is no actual money in any of my accounts really- just a big plus in one, and a bigger minus in another on a hard drive somewhere in the world.

So what does this have to do with photography? That there is something missing in this digital photography world, where images only exist as ones or zeros on a hard drive, or plastic disk, and can only be seen with the aid of a electronic liquid crystal display, or printed on an ink jet printer.

Yes, you could argue, previously photography consisted of invisible grains of silver nitrates on a clear plastic substrate, that first needed to be transformed by chemical reactions before anything was visible, but at least when it was developed, you could take the image out of its sleeve, hold it up and see, maybe in a negative form, but a pretty recognizable representation of the image without any mechanical or electronic device.

It was somehow more real than a digital image- more tangible, and also at the same time, more fragile and more unique as this was the actual film that went through your camera at the moment the image was recorded, the film that traveled 10,000 miles with you, the film that was exposed to the light of another hemisphere, perhaps at great personal risk, or expense.

Not a copy of a copy of a transfer from a flash card copy of data copied from a digital sensor manipulated by a bunch of transistors on a circuit board in a camera/computer. This (the film image) was it- take good care of it or there is nothing left.

And I do miss the smell of freshly processed Kodachrome slide film that you used to get when you first opened the little yellow boxes….

SLPS XII aka pool party

Last night was Slideluck Potshow XII- if you don't know what that is, you are missing a great event.

What was really fun about this one was it was outside, in McCarren Park pool, an abandoned 6 acre, 72 year old swimming pool in Brooklyn. You can read even more about it here.


It's hard to tell if it was really crowded, as when you are standing in a swimming pool- sans water- the size of a city block- well, my block at least- it is hard to feel crowded. The threatening weather held out, even with a few not too distant rumbles of thunder, and just literally 45 seconds of water drops at one point near the beginning of the show.

Due to time constraints, the intermission was virtually non-existent, so it was about two hours straight of images- phew!

As usual, there was a great assortment of things to eat from freshly grilled items, to yours truely's roast vegetable pesto pasta salad to a Polish cheesecake.

And, Calumet was there giving an equipment demo that mainly consisted of shooting attendees in a wading pool full of water, the most appropriate (or inappropriate, depending of your viewpoint) of which was a tall tattooed mermaid wearing practicality nothing. And no, I don't have any pictures of her.

I do, however have a few more of the pool- look a real pool in the pool:














And this "pool" of sorts....


















The night is still young.....

Day 59...and counting

Possibilities...

Disappointment....











An unhappy milestone was reached today as for the 59th straight day, I have failed to land a reservation at Ko.

And yes, eagle eyes, these screen grabs are from earlier in the month. Screen grabs ©2008 momofuku

Third Wednesday

I just saw some really great photos at the monthly NY PhotoGroup Salon, from photographers Brian Finke, Eric O'Connell, Eva Mueller, Hugh Kretschmer, Elinor Carucci and the prolific Jay Maisel.

If you don't already know about this group, they meet at 6:30 PM on the third Wednesday of every month (except August) at Soho Photo Gallery, 15 White Street and admission is only $10 to cover the venue.

That's less than the price of a movie, and it's always great just to hang out and see what your contemporaries are doing, especially when it is mostly personal work. Presenters change each month, so there is a wide variety of work shown.

If you want to get a monthly email reminder which also lists the upcoming presenters, just drop a note to Bill Westheimer.

The first issue of WIP is launched

The first issue of the electronic magazine for creative photography, WIP, which stands for Work In Progress, has been published by Greek photographer/designer Simos Saltiel.

A pair of personal images of mine are featured on page 39, among
many images from a large group of contemporary Greek photographers.

It is very interesting to see the aesthetics & viewpoints of photographers from different countries, although I would be hard pressed to say there is any one dominant style or trend. As soon as I figure out a way to do it, I will enclose a link so you can download it and take a look.

What I did this summer, Part I

I finally got the website updated- both the Current Work and Personal Projects sections, as well as the main portfolio, and even managed to send out an email blast before the long Fourth of July weekend. Phew! I hope someone is around to even look. I really earned my grilled corn on the cob this Fourth.