Lou Jones

Hotel Motel Holiday Inn

2012-02-08T11:08:00.000-08:00

Caveat emptor to all those who have to rent a room. For some they are housing, for others an opportunity for rebirth. From the minute you check in you can be anyone you want. You start with a clean slate. Anonymous. Invisible. Or you can adopt that bon vivant personality you have always felt to be your real self.

Unfortunately there are no guarantees. You can as easily end up in a penthouse suite with plush carpeting underneath your bare feet as a smarmy, fetid closet. Price & location are marginal barometers for quality. We have all fallen victim to hyperbole in travel brochures where the PR writer describes hotels as quaint (which really means small) or the marketing critic says the location is urban (which means slums).

Movies, novels mythologize them as palatial, marble-inlaid expanses with all actors in evening wear or as film noire caricatures with neon signs blinking HOT..L outside the open, fire-escaped window. Motels are sites for all sorts of intrigue, ghosts, murder, high jinks.

Constantly you hear the mantra “I want to get back to my own bed” & to familiar surroundings. I have never been deluded by this conceit. To be in a hotel room is almost certainty you are in a different state or country. Exotic. Romantic. Hotel rooms are portals to unimagined worlds & unexplored environments. Once through the looking glass over the vanity table in your room, anything is possible.

Hotel rooms modulate your travel. No matter the purpose for your visit, opening floor to ceiling balcony doors overlooking blue vistas of calm seas speckled with fishermen laboring in the silent distance or sleeping next door to boisterous drunken adolescents who feel entitled to make noise all night before your important business meeting taints your entire opinion.

Whether you live for days/weeks/months on the road or are coerced to take a week’s vacation once every few years, adventures ensue:

London
Having to recoup a ticket before it expired I booked a flight to London. Online I found a cheap room near the “Tube” & extremely convenient access to the city. About the third day I felt an itch & after returning home I found myself in an emergency room receiving a dire diagnosis from the attending medical student until the “real” doctor entered & informed me I had bed bugs. Took me months to get rid of the scars.

Creature comforts are highly personal affairs. I have seen travel companions carry their own pillows to enhance their stays. To each his own. For an extended annual report assignment I had a client insist on changing her room every time she was next to the elevator or ice machine. I had no objection to her peccadilloes but she had a way of making her problems mine. I can sleep on a rock.

Palermo
After checking in without fanfare I was awakened too early by a Boeing 727 taking off right outside my window (at least it seemed that way). It was so loud not even pulling a pillow over my head could drown out the din. Everything felt like those pay-per-use, vibrating Magic Fingers under the mattress but, in this case, everything in the room moved. I was shooting around the island of Sicily & spent almost no time there but I am sure this airport hotel had many disgruntled customers.

Since I spend so much time in bargain basement surroundings, I have to make Spartan facilities work for me. Motels become my home-away-from-home as well as office & headquarters. Communicating with the world has become an art form. Mastering the telephones is torturous. I have fought phones for decades. Every country has a highly classified system that would thwart the Mission Impossible team. In addition every hotel chain plots to make it even more complicated.

I carry a laptop everywhere. Getting online has presented problems behind the Iron Curtain, from remote island villages & out of Cuba. It has cost a fortune to use unreliable dial-up telephone lines. Today the scam is whether to charge for WIFI. The final bill is inversely proportional to the likelihood you pay for access. Economy hotels seem to give it away whereas the higher priced ones feel they can charge a king’s ransom. Go figure.

Kyoto
On my annual assignment to Japan I once checked into a room so small that it was fabricated out of one molded piece of plastic. It was easier to go outside to turn around. The bed, shower & sink combination was a masterpiece of design & you could occupy all three at the same time. There were no corners, everything was rounded. Turns out proper protocol in Japan is to stay at a very tony address. (Not my only gaff.) If you want to do business there you have to pay to play. Fortunately there was a television.

On the road your relationship with hotel/motel TV is very different than your own appliance. And you cannot recreate that relationship back home. In the last decade I have viewed more movies on airplanes & hotel rooms than in theaters.

I grew up watching TV. I have seen a few minutes of every television show produced in the USA since its invention. Therefore I love Japanese TV, although I have never for a minute had any idea what is going on. I have watched indecipherable quiz shows, Samurai soap operas & hardcore porn contests. I became so addicted that I have had a friend videotape programs so I can watch them over & over back in the USA. I watched a documentary on TV in Kyoto because it was in English (subtitled in Japanese). Eventually it became the template for my death row project years later.

Some consider it a bad habit but I turn on the television as soon as I check into my room in a new country. I may not understand the language but I familiarize myself with the rhythms & rhymes & get a better feeling for moods & energy outside.

Las Vegas
In different cultures we have to be more open minded. Staying at hotels in the middle of the action & under the guise of making a living I have heard knocks on my door at all hours of the night. In their defense, the “working girls” were not aggressive if you tell them you have no need for their services. “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”

However hotel rooms are made for sex. I cannot count the number of times I have returned to my room & been “serenaded” by a couple “getting it on” against the wall next to my headboard. The squeaking bed springs, squealing utterances & guttural expletives have kept me awake for hours. It seemed bad form to call down to the front desk & interrupt their reverie.

On the other hand housekeeping & chambermaids have a game they play. After they knock they use their pass keys to barge in. Several times I have been interrupted in flagrante by their disapproving eyes, startled harrumphs & muffled giggling. At the very least they have taught me to always engage that silly chain lock when I am inside.

Tokyo
Speaking of motion, I was awakened to blinding morning sunlight with my whole bed dancing. I was stunned but soon realized I was experiencing a major earthquake. Quickly reminiscences from grade school flooded back to mind instructing me to hide in the bathtub or exit to the street. I was buck naked & the Japanese are quite formal even in dire emergencies.

Most people I have observed, as soon as they book a trip, are only concerned with two things: hotels & restaurants. All the travel magazines, websites & blogs advertize & enumerate lists of “Best Ten Hotels…”, People’s Choice Restaurants…”, “Top International Resorts…”. Then they toss in places to shop to round out coverage. Motels, bed & breakfast inns & cruise ship berths are safe havens. Eating is necessary. And shopping is a familiar experience amidst the chaos & discomfort of a new place. Restful & relaxing, they have minimum impact on new experiences. The real world is outside, not inside.

Managua
For years during the civil wars in Central America I traveled down on Congressional CoDels. The first time I found myself in the Hotel Inter-Continental in Nicaragua I was stunned by the number of suspicious people lurking in the lobby. It turned out most of them were newspaper reporters, soldiers of fortune, government officials & spies. The place was infamous. And the scene at the bar resembled the one in the Star Wars movie. The news media had turned several of the upstairs bathrooms into darkrooms & suites into wire services. Despite risking my life, they paid me the royal sum of $15 for a fully developed black/white print when I got an exclusive.

The phones in our rooms were likely bugged. And I was asked a few times “Who are you working for?” & “Who are you traveling with?” I must admit I was intrigued by the attention as nefarious as its intentions might have been but I am sure it had more to do with the company I was keeping than me. I hid my cameras under the bed on the few instances where I did not take them with me. I was not so naïve as to think it would thwart any real “thief” but might slow down the “garden variety” types.

SIGNS FOUND IN HOTELS:
Bangkok
It is forbidden to enter a woman, even a foreigner, if dressed as a man.
Norway
Ladies are requested not to have children in the bar.
Yugoslavia
The flattening of underwear with pleasure is the job of the chambermaid.
Moscow
You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian & Soviet
composers, artists & writers are buried daily except Thursday.
Zurich
Because of impropriety of entertaining guests of the opposite sex in the
bedroom, it is suggest that the lobby be used for this purpose.

Sri Aman
Not every accommodation falls to easy categorization. On one of my trips to Malaysia & after a very long dugout canoe ride along a jungle encroached river, the Iban tribe allowed us to live in their village. These indigenous people had been headhunters for most of their history. Baskets of shrunken skulls hung from the rafters of their famous longhouses as remnants of that era. When I returned a few seasons later, they were all gone in an attempt to placate the delicate sensibilities of Australian ecotourists.

There was little or no electricity & the tattooed locals performed traditional dances by candlelight. I ferreted my way along the path to the communal latrine guided only by my ubiquitous miniature flashlight. We slept in an ancient dormitory room under mosquito netting. To this day I am still not sure what I was lying on.

I am still recovering from an exchange I had somewhere in Borneo. I had sweaty palms & it seemed to last forever but ended with this: “Rune sirbees. Essquish mee peas. Ess korea, jew wan do scramah heys, klizbie beggon, tossy ingish moppin wib bodder una sigh an copy? Rye?” (TRANSLATION: Room service. Excuse me please. It’s correct, you want two scrambled eggs, crispy bacon, toasted English muffin with butter on the side & coffee? Right?) The conversation could have resulted in an international incident for all I know. And what I really wanted was pancakes.

You may not think you spend much time in your hotel room but it is a lot more than you think. I adapt to the décor & get used to the strangeness. I have slept on tatami mats, in love hotels, youth hostels, college gymnasiums & beneath the waterline on ocean crossing, tramp steamer ships. I always get an education & receive more than I take. But after they pick up their tip on the night table, I often wonder what the chambermaids think of a room left plastered with color-coded Post-It notes in calendar grid patterns all around the walls with dates for events in the area.

The strangest place? Once I was booked into room number Pi (3.14159265...). Since it had an infinite number of digits on the door, of course, I was way down at the end of the hall. (That joke may not be very funny to you but it kills at MIT.)

We’ll leave the light on for you.

Music’s Homage to Photography

2011-12-02T12:14:00.000-08:00

For most of its infancy & adolescence photography has been considered a "minor" art, an afterthought when measured against more traditional ones. But as civilization embraces its influence & contributions, we have seen how it has permeated into every crevice of societies.

Music, contemporary music, & photography have a natural affinity together. They are inseparable. Jazz, blues, rock/roll, hip hop legends have been deified by photographers chronicling its every movement, era, hero & anti-heroine.

Many troubadours & songwriters have repaid the favor by including the recently recognized art form in the lyrics & as topics of tunes. A whole genre has grown up around photo iconography without a note being played. But also the pictures are the subjects of the myth too.

Metropolis: 10 Traveled Cities

2011-11-09T14:53:00.000-08:00

All the time I am asked the question “What do you like to shoot?” It is a lot harder to answer than you might think. Ultimately, I have to admit I just like to expose film. Whereas some people specialize in landscapes, architecture, animals, flowers or still life, mostly I photograph people. And the best place to find large concentrations is cities—big cities—metropolis.

Speculation has it that the first city appeared around 3200BC. The largest settlement
in southern Mesopotamia (ancient Iraq), if not the world, was Uruk.

By definition metropolis is big. It dwarfs the individual. In cities there is an inherent tension between citizen & his community. People are fugitives of the economy, captives of their environments, props in a larger picture. None are immune to the physical & cultural influences of the city. So do we consume the city or does it consume us?

Metropolis is both horizontal & vertical. Today’s metropolises do not just have lateral directions; their addresses are also up & down. Sprawling for acres, compressing all forms of enclosures tightly together & at the same time rising straight up, stacking other enclosures up to be engulfed by clouds. Who exists at street level is far different from what is subterranean or floating high above in the skyscrapers. You are subjected to less & less light the lower you go. The higher you go the more promise you encounter. Interiors have their own artificial sources.

Metropolis (1927) directed by Fritz Lang

Metropolis is concentration of production (industrialization & finance) & consumption (markets & population). Work is one inescapable imperative: you either have it or you don’t. In big cities you profit if you have it, but mysteriously you can subsist without it. Labor & commodity coagulate. And possession has a lot to do with how high or low you exist in the highrise/underground hierarchy. Besides commerce & population, metropolises all have highways & jazz. But it all merges on the street.

I grew up in the inner city. I like the throngs of humanity. Rubbing shoulders with anonymous characters. I travel, seeking more & I delight in taking pictures of them. Now I recognize skylines in movies, advertisements & magazines on sight.

However, photography cannot “know” a city, only those parts where we stand. Smells, sounds and pulses may resonate in our thoughts or dreams but are made whole with our pictures, sometimes years later. By choice, invitation or commission I am asked to make visual art in new places. With only limited research I must form a quick impression. Because it remains only my personal view of the city, it is merely a trace of the effect the city had on me. No matter how ugly or beautiful I find the place, it has at least two faces: daytime & night. All cities change when the sun goes down.

Horrific lower depths of London, Paris & New York that inspired the great social movements of the 19th & 20th centuries, & the crusading zeal of novelists Charles Dickens & Victor Hugo & photographer Jacob Riis against the festering tenements, sweatshops, & child labor that blighted these cities, now are among the First World’s proudest metropolises.

Those who believe that there are no alternatives to the present proliferation of
metropolitan tissue perhaps overlook too easily the historic outcome of such a
concentration of urban power: they forget that this has repeatedly marked the
last stage in the classic cycle of civilization, before its complete disruption &
downfall.
-Lewis Mumford, The City in History

No one agrees on which cities are actually the largest. Where the edges & borders begin & end is a matter of conjecture. But most of the top 20 remain on everyone’s list.

In 1800, it is estimated that less than 3% of the world’s population called cities their home. A UN report recently revealed that for the first time in history more people live in cities than in rural areas.

Our relations with cities are like our relations with people. We love them, hate
them, or are indifferent towards them.
-Victor Burgin, Some Cities

Tokyo to some is the world's most populous city, some claim home to 36.7 million people. But today more than one-fifth of its population is over age 65, leading to increased strain on all sorts of systems: pensions, health-care and other facilities. After centuries of isolation, progress in Japan is a national mandate. Much of the population can adapt public policy quickly enough to change national direction seemingly at will. At the same time traditions, protocols & mores are diametrically different from Western, so much so that often Japanese correct is Western wrong, Eastern left is Western right.

Returning annually for years, I knew parts of Tokyo better than New York City. I could navigate its subway system faster than a taxi. Every tradition, comment and gesture had deep seeded meaning which thwarted my assimilation, but slowly understanding the culture probably taught me more about protocol than any class or system in my native land. I fell in love with Japan for its strangeness & for how much it nurtured my international education.

London, a commercial center since the Roman Empire, is now in the midst of another building project: preparing for the 2012 Summer Olympics and an estimated half-million visitors. London is one of the most sophisticated cities in the Western Hemisphere, but it harbors such an idiosyncratic subculture as to be humorous.

The recent riots have been such an anomaly for this decidedly first world model. Obviously there are deep seeded animosities amongst the “haves & have nots”.

My first visit to London was all fish & chips & Beefeaters palace guard. I was hitchhiking around Europe. Subsequent visits have revealed more of its quirkiness, but I have never been able to delve below the surface. I admire its diverse contributions to the world. The city works & thrives.

Moving amongst local citizens is easy but alien.

Paris is one of the world’s biggest tourist destinations. Celebrated for its art and architecture, its size, traffic & pollution problems threaten its image & lucrative tourism industry. The city fathers have consistently opted to position it as one of the leaders in art, design & innovation. They strive to make the city livable. The middle class considers itself politically involved even though the quality of life keeps them isolated from its underlying realities.

In my early visits to Paris I could only move amongst its demimonde. Race, economy & access were not nearly the obstacles as in other societies. At first I deluded myself into believing I could overcome the language barrier. That illusion was soon dispelled. But language has never prevented me from enjoying so much of what the city has to offer both in culture & people.

See my book Paris on BLURB and video on Vimeo

Mumbai (Bombay) is the most populous city in India & therefore one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of approximately 19 million. It is also the richest city in India & has the highest GDP in south, west or central Asia. It is the commercial & entertainment capital of India by hosting the stock exchange & the movie industry. At the same time the small wealthy & middle classes are dragging the other billion people into the twenty first century.

Mumbai has emerged as an economic leader after centuries of being subjugated by British rule & bone crushing population growth. Manpower & innovation have redirected the subcontinent. It is a country to be watched in the future with one of the most colorful histories & recent progressive policies.

This is a city divided vertically, horizontally, economically, historically, racially & spiritually. What you see in the highrises is very different from what you experience at ground level. “Underground” is even more alien. However, there are photographs on every level. Someone told me you could drop your camera & as it tumbled down the motordrive would randomly make art.

Everywhere is overwhelming. Millions of poor, middleclass & wealthy are right in your face & under your feet at every hour, day & night. Their resolve about their status or plight in life is conditioned by culture & religion & history. Therefore what we would perceive as burden is just accepted.

Saint Petersburg is the most European city in Russia. Built on the backs of serfs & slaves it has been a leader in & repository of cultural advances.

After a childhood distrusting the Russian society, Saint Petersburg was a tremendous surprise. The city embraced me (or rather just ignored me) in a way that allowed me to look, see, & perform my job in its most efficient way. I discovered that I could read Cyrillic, roam the streets & associate with the natives as easily as anywhere I have ever been.

The face of the city opened like a flower to the sun. It made good pictures just by force of existence. The center of the town is quite maintained. As you get closer to the edges it loses it polish very quickly, but that stands to reason for a metropolis trying to reinvent itself after centuries of subjugation by a myriad of governments.

See my book Saint Petersburg on BLURB & video on Vimeo

New York City is one of the most powerful metropolises on earth. A leader in both culture & commerce, the city has successfully figured out how to allow its millions of citizens to live on top of one another. Years of steady growth have made it a vibrant city. Its history is short when compared with others on the list, but that may be a blessing.

At the vanguard on many fronts, New York City takes that role seriously. Good & bad people from all over the world flock to take advantage of its potential. The best & worst end up here & give the town its flavor. The “city that never sleeps” consistently proves “if you can make it here you can make it anywhere” if you have an “empire state of mind”.

Over the years I have returned often to photograph different segments: Wall Street, Soho, Harlem, Jazz, sports, entertainment, politics, popular culture, etc. I have shot numerous jobs in the middle of Time Square and under the Brooklyn Bridge. While its problems seem so insurmountable it consistently rises from the ashes like the Phoenix.

Shanghai is a huge city that is changing so fast it may have lost its soul. China’s big cities steeped in thousands of years of tradition are busy destroying much of it in the name of progress. Shanghai is the economic powerhouse speeding to its future. One of the most distinctive skylines in the world, it has had more dramatic change in the last twenty years than in the previous 200. The youth & middle classes seem surprised when questioned about such rapid dismissal of ancient traditions & old elegance.

Wilting, humid heat made photography laborious. However the citizens were inviting, compliant & went out of their way to make it easy. I grew up being taught that the Chinese government has created a repressed society. You have to dig very deeply in this modern era to experience examples. It is there beneath the surface, but the image of today’s China is very different from a decade ago.

It is hard to contain that many people & social, interpersonal & political evolution is exciting to see.

Cairo is the capital of Egypt & the second largest city in the Muslim & Arab world & Africa. It suffers from high levels of pollution & traffic. Older than Cairo, the Nile is one of the most important rivers in the world. Its exploitation is the history of civilization. Nearby are the pyramids of Giza seen in every geography textbook & the ultimate adventurous tourist destination.

I had spent most of my life dreaming of visiting Egypt. Pharaohs, mummies and ankhs danced in my head for decades. When I finally got there, I plunged into the inner city with its souks, bazaars & markets with a vengeance. The sights, sounds, smells & noises were overwhelming. Throngs of merchants & shoppers pushed & pulled at every stall & storefront.

The City of the Dead was every bit as impressive as my anticipation.

Istanbul is the only metropolis in the world situated on two continents, Europe & Asia. Historically known as Byzantium & Constantinople, it is the largest city in Turkey. It has served as the capital of the Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, the Latin Empire & the Ottoman Empire.

Its moderate approach to government & social dynamics has made it a leader in international politics. It is officially a secular state. It also has served as a go-between in Western/Middle East negotiations. And although daily life is mired in ancient traditions, its population largely reflects its contemporary outlook.

I especially remember the amplified songs that were calls to prayer from the mosques & their ubiquitous minarets. In the middle of the night they set off sequentially & each Imam’s voice competed for my attention, barely audible in the distance. Istanbul has too many layers to be revealed in a short time, maybe even in a lifetime.

Los Angeles is the City of Lights—the land of fantasy. It is a city based on excess, built on the backs of an emerging subculture that does not even speak the same language. Money seems to thrive in constant sunshine.

A sprawling horizontal metropolis, Los Angeles represents the fast growing metropolis of the future. Promising quick fortunes, people immigrate from all over the world dreaming of fame, good weather, fast cars & luxury.

Many large cities have their unique characters but LA exhibits one of the most unusual. Its success also produces extreme diversity, crippling traffic, pollution, overcrowding, disparity & estrangement. Its different neighborhoods are almost impenetrable by outsiders. Separated by race, wealth, ethnicity, profession & politics, real LA remains opaque to tourists & long time residents.

LA grows from American seeds & on uniquely American soil. An original. The people who move here do so because it is what they hope & imagine it to be. I have photographed LA for the last quarter century & still have no idea where I am or what I am seeing.

Guest Post:: Getting Started Giving Back

2011-10-07T19:48:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons many photographers pick up a camera is to expose social injustices and confront inequalities. Like Lewis Hine and Sebastião Salgado, we have a desire to raise awareness through imagery. It is a way to use our talents to give back.

To get involved, find a community organization like a youth center, food bank, church, temple, homeless shelter, arts foundation, environmental group. Research the organization, exploring questions like:

Why do organizations like it exist?
Does the organization address a local, national, or an international issue?
What are the organization’s positive effects?
Is there data to support it?
Who helps pay for their existence?
Private donors, Local, state or Federal funding?

Volunteer your time and familiarize yourself with their goals, motivations, members and recipients. You can attend functions, drives and fundraising events to rub shoulders with the right people. The more you understand the organization, the better you will be at documenting it.

After you have developed a relationship with the organization, offer your services. Before you photograph, look at previous documentary photographers for inspiration. Pay attention to things like composition and lighting, and how they turn uninteresting photographs into masterpieces by changing the angle, adding color or a hand. For modern photographs check out these three websites dedicated to social documentary -
Media Storm,
SocialDocumentary,
Blue Earth Alliance.

My opportunities come through my hometown church where I know many of the church elders, leaders and volunteers. For the past five years, the church has been involved with World Vision. By raising and donating funds to specific World Vision projects, my church has helped build homes in East Africa and the Dominican Republic, and a library, community center, and a six-mile irrigation system in the Dominican Republic. When the church was invited to travel to these locations to see the progress, I volunteered to photograph and capture audio and video. After a few trips, I have a large archive and a wealth of documentation. My church uses my images to raise more money and awareness for these projects and causes.

Members from the church organized an independent dental mission to the border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. They saw my ability to document the World Vision projects, so invited me to accompany the group. For three days I documented an oral surgeon and her assistants, three nurses, and a physician treat almost 300 people who desperately needed dental attention.

I combined my photographs and interviews to create a documentary (See Below) which has been shown not only to the church, but to large audiences at sponsoring universities, companies and organizations to raise awareness and funds for the next trip. With more money and support, more people can be treated.

Most of us have a long way to go before we achieve what photojournalists like Kristen Ashburn have achieved. Do not let that deter you. Every contribution, no matter how big or small, counts.

Dental Mission 2011: Dominican Republic & Haiti from Leah Cornwell Raymond on Vimeo.

Leah Cornwell Raymond has been Lou Jones Studio's studio manager for four years. She is also an aspiring photographer and dedicated social documentarian, photographing the different facets of Boston and the surrounding areas, and traveling abroad with humanitarian missions. Moving forward she hopes to focus her attentions on philanthropic endeavors, assisting non-profit and NGO’s share their mission with the greater population. Website

All Photos Copyright Leah Cornwell Raymond

Highlight Thursdays: Best from the Web

2011-10-06T21:11:00.000-07:00

This week we have some great Behind the scenes videos, A creative spin on Pin-Up photography, and a stunning visual dance.

1) Light Painting a B-25 Bomber
Eric Curry composites partially lit photos to create these ultra realistic images.

Source (DIY)

2) Male Pin-Up Models
A new project by photographer Rion Sabean "Men-Ups" puts men in traditionally female poses raising the question of whether the poses were always unnatural looking or just with men.

3) Is Photojournalism Truthful?
Presentation of Photojournalism Behind the Scenes, an auto-critical photo essay showing the paradoxes of conflict-image production and considering the role of the photographer in the events.

Photojournalism Behind the Scenes [ITA-ENG subs] from Ruben Salvadori on Vimeo.
Source (ISO1200)

4) Behind the Scenes of a Free Climbing Video Shoot.
A BTS look at what goes into shooting Free climber Alex Honnold For a 60mins Piece.

Full 60Minutes Video
Source (PetaPixel)

5) Pendulum Waves

Fifteen uncoupled simple pendulums of monotonically increasing lengths dance together to produce visual traveling waves, standing waves, beating, and (seemingly) random motion.

Highlight Thursdays: Best from the Web

2011-09-29T19:44:00.000-07:00

This week we have a few inspiring videos including Irwin Wongs humorous music video about Copyright infringement and Possible proof that Nickolas Cage is Immortal.

1) Pay Me feat. Irwin Wong
Not only is this a funny take on a real issue in the industry right now but its a viral marketing master piece. Picked up by several Photo blogs all leading back to Mr. Wongs own website.

2) Did you know the BOOK?
Bio Optical Organized Knowledge device is the latest Analog craze.

Okay, so I bought one but how do I patch it to the current version?

3) US Gov Sues The Art Institutes

Earlier this month, the US Department of Justice sued Pittsburgh-based Education Management Corporation, which is 41 percent owned by investment bank Goldman Sachs. The government has charged the company with fraudulently collecting $11 billion dollars in state and federal student financial aid between July of 2003 to June of 2011. EDMC allegedly collected $2.2 billion of that money in 2010 alone. That amounted to almost 90 percent of the company's 2010 revenues.

4) How Much Should You Charge?
Adorama TV presenting Mark Wallace explain the basics of setting your rates and Licensing fees.

5) Proof Nickolas Cage is Immortal?
I have a feeling he is.

The story here is that an Ebay seller apparently found this old carte-de-visite showing a Nicholas Cage lookalike—and reached what is surely the only reasonable explanation, which is that the photo proves Nicholas Cage is a vampire.

6) Salt

In his search for “somewhere I could point my camera into pure space,” award-winning photographer Murray Fredericks began making annual solo camping trips to remote Lake Eyre and its salt flats in South Australia.

SALT Doco Trailer from SALTdoco on Vimeo.

7) Photo Matters
This website explores the creative variables of photography, one at a time, to see how each works.

Long Exposure: Magic Blue and You

2011-09-17T21:46:00.000-07:00

With long exposure you can cure a lot of ills
Remove choppy water, eliminate people in a scene

At the extremes, beyond the pale, on the periphery, above the rim are where you find the best stuff.

Heaven/Hell

Hot/Cold

Mountain tops/ocean floors

War/Peace

Filene’s Basement

Middle of the road? Anybody can snap a picture at 1/250@f/8. That is a camera’s sweet spot. But what you capture way out on the ends, at ten seconds or at ten thousandth piques the senses.

Extremes

Right down the middle is average, safe—mediocre. At the edges shapes change, colors change, perceptions change, things shrink & grow. Once during a blackout engulfing most of Boston I made exposures of the city that lasted minutes—half an hour. Reciprocity went through the roof. On the resultant film, the black sky turned green, puffy clouds morphed into flimsy mist & there was a discernible flare.

Extremes, though contrary, have like effects. Extreme heat kills, &
so extreme cold; extreme love breeds satiety, & so extreme hatred;
& too violent rigor tempts chastity, as does too much license.
—George Chapman

On an assignment for the now defunct Polaroid, I had the honor of working with “Doc” Edgerton before he died. We shot a rifle bullet through an ordinary playing card. His mechanics froze the projectile & shock wave in mid flight. For both experiences—one too slow for the human eye & the other too fast—the resulting images stick in my mind for all the information they revealed.

“magic blue”

When I first started to bracket for elusive nighttime shots, the timed exposures turned the pictures cyan. I had no idea what to expect until I developed the film. Cameras, film & light meters were not designed to handle beyond certain limits. I crossed my fingers. “The proof is in the proofs.” I had no inkling but that is how I eventually discovered “magic blue”—a mistake that I capitalized on by pushing the technology to the extreme.

On Kodachrome film, the combination of reciprocity failure & the preponderance of ultraviolet light waves in the atmosphere at dusk gave the images a “day-for-night” appearance. Under the right conditions city lights become bright & dramatic, the shadows hide the ugly details & the sky acquires a saturated blue. At normal latitudes the window for this special light is only about twenty to thirty-five minutes. So you have to be in place & prepared to take maximum advantage but it is well worth the effort.

In taking pictures the more we know about light the less we need of it.

I have a friend in Ohio who claims that he can make precise light meter measurements of a sunset to ensure optimum colors but I am skeptical. In the old days I used to bracket like crazy. Today we have the luxury of the LCD.

Long exposures require a Zen-like attitude. Our greatest personal asset is patience. To master “magic blue” you wait forever for a very short span of time. Not knowing the territory, you maybe get to many locations early & wait. Many anxious hours have been spent anticipating the right conditions, the right light & hoping everything would work. Now we can also rely on HDR.

Intangibles

To discover the essence of long exposure on your own means to stack up years of experimentation, thousands of hours collectively waiting for the right moments & hundreds of failures. Millions of frequent flyer miles, early dawns, late nights. My journey has been exquisite but daunting. I am not sure I would do it again.

Many spend time accurately documenting earth, air, fire & water. But to utilize long exposure is to go beyond, to dig down deeper into a mechanical bag of tricks available to the photographer who makes an attempt to reproduce the intangibles between subject & him/herself…to capture the invisible. When we extend the time frame, we introduce another dimension.
artifacts

In a photograph long exposure is often invisible to the naked eye & almost impossible to detect. But time leaves artifacts. Normal shutter speeds record the expected—reality, as it were. Lengthening time “paints” another “wash” over the façade of the photograph & marries art & science. For example if we capture cascading waterfalls with an extended exposure, we are recording something that our naked eye never actually sees. Therefore it begs the question, “Is it real or is it art?”

The “accumulation” of light subtly “bedazzles” a picture, somewhat like a young girl’s hobby craft. Light leaves hints: streaks from automobile tail lights, trails from body movement, paths of stars, ghosts of another period. And the original photograph is no longer placid.

    A snapshot steals life that it cannot return. A long exposure creates
    a form that never existed.
                        -Dieter Appelt

Blur

Ultimately we are still photographers. Our cameras freeze moments before turning them into history. But the world is in constant motion. Everything moves. To represent this is sometimes our mission. One technique is to utilized blur. It gives a still photograph a somewhat cinematic effect. It isolates things that you want to illustrate. Makes them stand out, not only visually but psychologically. Blur cannot be controlled but with practice we can learn to anticipate its cause.

Every photography textbook describes how to use longer exposures to add some blur to an otherwise dull picture or how to pan with a moving subject to obliterate the background. They also teach you the complicated metering you have to master. But today’s digital cameras are capable of making perfectly exposed pictures by just switching the camera to automatic. A camera does not care if you are too stupid to hold it steady. Consequently you can concentrate on composition & “following through” with the sweeping movement. It is a matter of shutter speed & choreography. Also learn to use your ears. You can hear how long the shutter remains open & discern how much blur is appropriate in that time limit. You can make small adjustments to the exposure but the electronics will make a proper exposure even as you move in & out of light & shade. However you might want to turn off that image stabilization apparatus.

Sports are especially enhanced by blur. Athletics are so balletic & graceful that they absorb it willingly. Even things that do not normally remind us of motion can also be subjects. Freeze a landscape with a tripod but long exposures let the wind rustle the foliage & alter how we experience forests. Fuzzy leaves.

Mechanics

To manage long exposures you often need a whole bunch of extra equipment. In this case the photographer’s best friend is his/her tripod. It keeps everything steady & loyal for as long as you require & does not ask for compensation. The tripod’s companion is a good cable release. Sometimes you can get away with a little body tremor with short lenses but, as soon as you stick that long lens on, you excite all sorts of random vibrations.

I also carry a mono-pod everywhere. It does not replace a tripod but eliminates one degree-of-freedom & helps me gain as much as two extra stops slower shutter speed.
In the absence of a tripod I use a wall or a tree. But the best makeshift camera support is my camera bag. I can throw it down anywhere & its soft, malleable exterior acts as a beanbag & cushions my camera excellently. The added benefit is I always have it with me.

Ours is a solar profession. We resemble sun worshipers. But it is hard to get longer shutter speeds when shooting in broad daylight. Even with the lowest ISO settings, the longest speed possible may not be adequate to slow you down. That is when I pile on the Polarizing filters. In a perfect world it would be optimum to have different neutral density filters but they are heavy, bulky, expensive & have a single purpose. Polarizers are designed for another problem but act as an excellent substitute.

World’s Longest Exposure

When you get the hang of it you may want to experiment with “double bracketing”: 1) vary the f/stop around the speed of the action 2) vary the exposure with the shutter. The mood & rhythm change with each new variation. Subsequently you are exploring a new kind of art: photography that integrates both movement & elapsing time for special effect.

I often mix strobe with available light. The flash etches a sharp image &, at the same time, continuous light produces some form of smear that is unpredictable. In this form light is a variable that is hard to corral &, as stated before, impossible to control.

To integrate strobe with continuous light is a juggling act. The results are unique but the calculations can be complicated. Speedlights make this much simpler. By using one of the automatic settings (aperture priority, shutter priority or programmed mode), the camera can maintain perfect exposure every time. It takes a bit of practice to understand why this is happening but, again, composition is all you should be concentrating on.

Magic

To elongate time is the “photographer’s exclusive moment”. Not instantaneous but not quite eternal. With slow exposures we are armed with a tool for abstraction. We can experiment with motion. It is a characteristic unique to photography.

As we become more knowledgeable we expect photography to do more than what is inherent. Not just to document but to explore new vistas while preserving old memories. We expect it to perform herculean feats. Fortunately it has always risen to the task. It exceeds all my expectations. I no longer visit a place to see what other people seek. I come to see ONLY what others don’t. I come for things that may not exist. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it remains elusive. I am not afraid of that. “They also serve who only stand & wait.”

Collecting Photographers: Yousuf Karsh

2011-08-31T11:25:00.000-07:00

After so many years it is hard to remember the names of all your clients but certain ones stand out, not because of who they are but for some other interesting circumstance. It is hard to know sometimes how you get a job. Who hired you? Where did they get your name? But the phone rang one day & we negotiated to photograph at the Kidney Foundation’s annual banquet. It was kismet.

On assignment I set up in an anteroom to take portraits of dozens of board members, donors, honorees & their wives/husbands. The pictures were for the annual report & as gifts for everyone who paid big money to attend the fundraiser. My assistant & I set up seamless paper & large studio lighting & were ready for any contingency. My client escorted individuals & couples in one by one. I chitchatted with my subjects briefly & posed each group uniquely.

Dressed in tuxedos & gowns people just poured in &, as the sessions backed up, after a while it became monotonous. Then to accommodate everyone, my client started to form larger groups which led to a bit of confusion. Now these were some of the most important people in philanthropy: doctors, lawyers, captains of industry, socialites, a veritable Who’s Who of the American social scene. As I was introduced most of the titles were lost on me. I treated everyone equally.

But then I noticed, off to the side, one little man. He was most unassuming but he looked vaguely familiar. I discretely inquired as to who he was. The dowager who answered whispered he was Yousuf Karsh.

The story of how this diminutive photographer ripped the cigar out of the mouth of England’s Winston Churchill, in order to get the stern portrait of the famous Prime Minister, has become legend in our profession. From his studio in Ottawa, Canada, he hosted some of the most famous people in the world & joined that list himself.

Most of the evening, I had been totally oblivious to everyone’s stature. But face to face with one of my heroes my palms began to sweat. Karsh’s keen eye noticed that I was now nonplussed. He assured me that I was still capable of taking the picture. Afterwards we talked a short while but I had to get back to work. Although we never spent any more time together, because of that day, Mister Karsh was a mentor. He was to a generation of portrait photographers. Photography can work that way.

Push Pins: Remnants of a Photographers Journey

2011-08-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

Reminiscent of the gothic novel Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, downstairs in my photography studio, instead of a painting I harbor a world map. Like the book’s protagonist I treat it with great reverence. Over time & with every new escapade it changes, ie I scar it with another pushpin. There are dozens. Almost every inch of landmass is covered. Only the oceans are vacant. My memories substitutes pushpins for the adventure.

However, long after the trips, when I casually glance at the map, each placement seems so insignificant. Although they are labor intensive, each single thumb tack gets lost amidst the sea of others. So small an item belies the fact that each pushpin represents a complex chapter in my life. Underneath most pins exists a new language or dialect. Each one casts shadows on all manner of human experience.

It seems so insufficient to reduce years of research & turmoil treading so much real estate while crossing foreign frontiers. The pins diagonally intersect perpendicular latitudes & longitudes. Each spot has put huge dents in my psyche & physique & pocketbook & I am quite sure my presence has put huge divots in the landscape itself.

In the beginning when I started traveling there was no scheme or blueprint. What eventually happened was random. The first few journeys were educational but after time patterns emerged. And a pattern is the skeleton of a story. Stories of startling scope. Each round headed pin stands for multiple truths but hides them beneath their points. They are colorcoded: each green one represents one of the thirteen Summer & Winter Olympic Games I have covered, white ones signify a forgotten corporate assignment & the red ones are favorites. They form a Picasso-like mosaic view of our globe.

All but two US states are pricked. Every major city in North America has a stainless steel needle through its center as well as nearly every secondary town. Each continent (except Antarctica) has been marked. It has taken over thirty years of planes, trains & automobile transportation. I have worn out cows of shoe leather. So much time has passed that some of the countries I have traversed have changed their names. For some reason pushing the pin in is the longest journey.

In 1900 Edwin Moore made the first pushpins—a pin with a handle. He was working at a photo lab & was missing a simple way to hang up film to dry. His first sale was one gross (a dozen dozen) for $2.00. His first “big deal” was a sale for $1000 to EASTMAN KODAK. Today his legacy encompasses all shapes & sizes.

Everywhere there are bulletin boards—somewhere. At the community center, college dorms, laundromats, grocery stores. Photocopied sheets, 3”x5” index cards, photos, business cards, tacks, tape, pushpins—the modern equivalent of the town crier. Typing-paper flags with local phone numbers dangling vertically, some missing like bad dental work. People love to post things. In their small way they are advertising: used cars for sale, tracking down lost pets, club meetings, items stolen, items needed, services bought & sought.

People who use pushpins do so for various reasons: for geography, for business, for education, as hardware, for art. But some entrust pushpins with the simple task of affixing one object against another. With such a simple tool, we overlook reliance on gravity & friction. Besides that the usual cliché is for mapping, cartography & indexing. Also geology & crime investigation use pushpins for their third & fourth dimensions. Depth, patterns & randomness can be surmised by color & aggregate clustering. Virtual pushpins have been dragged into the twenty-first century by complex software that digitally enhances visualization.

Upstairs in the studio behind all the blinking computer screens, the aggregate of pushpins is a metaphor for a million slides & negatives (& now gigabytes more pixels). File drawers of photographs “contain” over a million frequent flyer miles. At a glance they remind you of the storm of adventures. At one point in history, tacks jutting from corkboard were state-of-the-art—but it is now old technology. Three dimensional geography. However the visual effect continues to be the way we think.

Push Pin Studios is the graphic design & illustration studio formed
in New York City by legendary designers Milton Glaser & Seymour
Chwast.

A client once saw the file cabinets full of photographs & grieved that I had not kept a diary over the years, implying that words were more important. For weeks I was depressed by my oversight. But I soon remembered what I had was more precious—photographs of every place I had ever been—visible proof. (A few years later I realized I had also religiously maintained notebooks dating back to 1974.)

I tell clients & students that when you start your career as a photographer all you need is a camera & a little courage. Everything else is an accessory. But within a few years, if you are lucky, you realize the fallacy. Not only are you responsible for documenting the world unseen by most but you are responsible for preserving your workproduct. Where do you store all your output? When we moved recently we made an inventory of almost 500 exhibition prints. The frames alone are worth a fortune.

Eric Daigh, the Picasso of pushpins, employs thousands of pins to make
large scale portraits

When we look back the most important byproduct is the memories. Pushpins do not discriminate between good & bad experiences, friends or enemies. But after a while they form clusters making apparent trends not in evidence at the beginning. Then they grow vague & cloudy over the ages. The memories more like fantasies, the stories more apocryphal, the impression more universal.

Video: Speedlights Manual vs Automatic

2011-07-15T12:03:00.000-07:00

Here at the studio we have started venturing into Video. Armed with new HD DSLR's we have decided to create short tutorials for you our audience. First is a series based on Speedlight use that is a sort of companion set to the book Speedlights & speedlites. We will also be shooting Behind the Scenes videos from time to time so check the video section on the right sidebar for new uploads or subscribe to our Vimeo and Youtube channels.

Each new video we produce we learn how to improve the process and bring you better content. We hope you will join us and please comment on what you have found helpful, where we can improve and what you would like to see us cover in the future.

So here is the newest Video Manual vs Automatic

One in a series of helpful online tutorials about the use of speedlights. In this video Lou Jones deals with the controversy between manual and automatic usage.

Speedlights: Manual vs Automatic from Lou Jones on Vimeo.

Lou Jones Studio's First Twitter Contest: Get on Bored!

2011-07-07T14:53:00.000-07:00

Contest Has Finished

We have reached a milestone in our Twitter followers so to celebrate and thank all of you we decided to give away a bunch of Swag. Using the new technologies to reach out to an entirely new audience & pay homage to old supporters we have collaborated with Lowepro to institute a Twitter Contest. With very little effort on your part Lou Jones Studio will make your equipment arsenal and/or library larger.

What You Win

Grand Prize

Lowepro
Pro Roller Attaché x50

The Pro Roller™ Attaché x50 is a compact and modular solution for hassle-free international travel and work. Its inventive, two-bags-in-one design offers true versatility for the pro photographer. Use as a rolling attaché with your complete camera kit and laptop. More details Here

&

Final Exposure

Portraits from Death Row

Giving himself the provocative task of capturing the candid expressions of death row inmates, Jones has used the power of his camera to present these inmates as real people and not just the dark side of humanity. His book, Final Exposure: Portraits from Death Row chronicles his six-year odyssey documenting these men and women incarcerated in the U.S. More info Here

First Prize

Speedlights & Speedlites

Creative Flash Photography at Lightspeed

This book seeks to inform all photographers about the smallest but most important advancement in photo lighting to date: Speedlights. Spearheaded by the digital revolution, lighting has acquired an entirely different set of rules which will be discussed in detail. More info Here

Second Prize

Final Exposure

Portraits from Death Row

Two Honorable Mentions
Will receive a copy of Lou's new Chap Book entitled "Paris"

Contest Has Finished

How To Enter

Its as simple as 1 2 3...

1. Follow @LouJones2008 on twitter.
2. Retweet:

Just entered to win a Lowepro Pro Roller Attaché, Speedlight&Speedlites book Follow @loujones2008 and Retweet http://bit.ly/nR3fGd #loujones

(click to Retweet this)

3: Or create a Custom Tweet telling us what you'll do with the Prizes when you Win. Just Include these Three things so we can track your entry.

1. @LouJones2008
2. #loujones
3. http://bit.ly/nR3fGd

Picking The Winners
We will be using Twitrand to choose the 5 winners randomly for the Twitter contest.We will be tracking the username “@LouJones2008” and Hashtag “#loujones”. The Twitter contest will start Thursday July 7th and run till the end of Monday July 18th. We will choose the 5 winners on Tuesday the 19th and announce them through Twitter.

The Small Print

Contest Description and Period:
The Fotojonesblog Twitter Contest (the “Contest”) begins July 7th 2011 at 4:00PM Eastern Standard Time (EST) and ends July 18th, 2011 at 11:59PM EST (the "Contest Period"). The Contest is one in which a participant Follows @LouJones2008 and Retweets the required details within the above mentioned Contest Period. All winners will be picked at random by a Lou Jones Studio employee using TwitRand.
Who is Eligible:
The contest is only open to persons, 18 years or older at the time of entry who do not reside in an area where such contests are prohibited by law and who have a Twitter account. Employees and agents of Lou Jones Studio and family members of such employees are not eligible to enter.
How To Enter:
1. Follow @LouJones2008 on twitter.
2. Retweet:

Just entered to win a Lowepro Pro Roller Attaché, Speedlight&Speedlites book Follow @loujones2008 and Retweet http://bit.ly/muNgHr #loujones

3: Or create a Custom Tweet telling us what you'll do with the Prizes when you Win. Just Include these Three things so we can track your entry.
1. @LouJones2008
2. #loujones
3. http://bit.ly/nR3fGd
All prize information, including prize value, is listed with the Contest announcement found here. All taxes, duties, fees and any other costs related to the prize not specifically stated within these Official Rules are the sole responsibility of the winner.

Contest Has Finished

Switching from Feedburner to AWeber for my email newsletter

2011-06-30T16:25:00.000-07:00

This is just a brief post to let my readers know that I’m switching from Feedburner Email’s service to AWeber to handle sending out my posts and other content via email. Why am I switching? Because AWeber offers countless features that we plan to use to better inform you our readers of the exciting new things we've been working on . This change will only affect email subscribers. My RSS Feed will still be handled by Feedburner.
With Feedburner’s email service for example, I have no control over the emails that are sent out. With AWeber I’ll be able to create a newsletter service that not only sends out the posts I publish on this blog, but it will also allow me to send out custom written emails. Emails with exclusive offers, dates for upcoming Workshops and info on new books we are working on.
If you currently subscribe to my email newsletter via Feedburner you’re subscription will automatically be imported to AWeber and you will receive an email asking you to confirm the subscription. Unless you click on the activation link in that email, you will not be added to the new newsletter service. This is because the new newsletter has a double opt-in confirmation feature enabled. Starting tomorrow Feedburner’s email service will be disabled, as AWeber steps in to take over.
I invite you to join my newsletter by providing your first name and email address in the email sign-up on the right hand side bar.
Thank you to all those who have or will sign up.

31 Street Photography Tips and Tricks: Part 2

2011-06-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

To read Part one of this series go Here...

"I only know how to approach a place by walking. For what does a street photographer do but walk & watch & wait & talk, & then watch & wait some more, trying to remain confident that the unexpected, the unknown, or the secret heart of the known awaits just around the corner."
--Alex Webb

16. Wear dark or bland clothes

Avoid looking like what popular culture thinks a “photographer” should look like with those weird khaki hats & fishing vests & parachute pants. Also do not be seduced by tourist garb. No bright colors. No logos. Buy nondescript clothing with camouflage, not fashion, in mind: earth tones or grays. Pay attention to what the locals consider appropriate.

It is often debated but you can never really look like a native. Adapting local costumes
does not work. But what really goes unnoticed changes with the environment.
Whatever you decide clothing that announces your origins should be left at home.

17. Smile
If you encounter reticence or hostility—smile. It works.

18. Show back of camera
Because of new technology, in tense situations you can share what you are doing with recalcitrant subjects by showing them the LCD. Often you allay their fears & make them a coconspirator. Choose your moments though, it does not always work.

In the overcrowded markets in Mumbai most people had no problem with me
photographing. But once in a while someone would give me the famous Indian
“head waggle”. Since we were in such close quarters begrudgingly I showed a
couple of people their image on the LCD. I was on display. Everyone saw me
doing it & it was easier as I moved around to shoot others.

19. Never make eye contact
You can stand right next to a subject & photograph them if you never make eye contact. Look past them, the other way, at the back of your camera, as if they are not even there.

20. Be brave
Never let them see you sweat. Fear is the biggest obstacle to getting good people photographs. Imposing on people you do not know, exposing yourself to rejection & ridicule is daunting. Give yourself permission to take pictures in all situations. You should never be obnoxious but you have to push past your trepidations. With time you will realize this is your responsibility.

21. Use your ears
You can become so involved in what you are doing that you lose track of other things around you but your ears are capable of hearing things that you do not see. Listen. Also when your attention is so intensely elsewhere you are vulnerable. You can hear negative forces around you. It is your security system.

22. Grow eyes in the back of your head
For your own safety you need to quickly develop “street smarts” so that you don’t get into trouble. Know your surroundings. In some cultures it is easy to take pictures. In others it is forbidden. Trust your instincts if the situation seems dangerous. If you must, travel with a companion who watches your back.

23. Know your limitations
It is only natural to get excited in a strange new place. Adrenalin kicks in. Therefore you can easily overdo it. Get in shape. Watch your step. Pace yourself.

Depending on the location I will design an exercise routine in preparation for it. The
bigger the rigors expected, the longer I train. Hot, cold, stamina, food are all elements
to be considered. You last longer.

24. Look the other way
When you are concentrating so hard on something you get tunnel vision. When the crowd’s attention is focused in one direction, don’t forget to turn 180⁰ around. Look behind you. The best pictures are often behind you & everyone else.

25. Embrace accident
There is no rhyme or reason to what will make a good street picture. Unlike all other art forms photographers make magic out of chaos. If you start with no preconceptions, your mind will be free to embrace new ideas. Reality can compete with your imagination if you open up to it.

26. Live in the moment
Embrace the situation. Understand the privilege of being in a rich or poor neighborhood. Absorb the feelings & smells & rhythms of the environment. Channel wherever you are, whatever you are seeing.

27. There is a photograph in every situation
Around each corner you will find the mysterious, abstract or photogenic. There are photographs everywhere. Whether local or foreign, it is your job to separate the wheat from the chaff & find them. The better photographers will move, adjust, add & subtract with their lens to perfect the composition but it is there. Concentrate.

28. Change the rules
Be proactive & develop your own aesthetic. Juxtaposition, accident, background can be rearranged in ways no one has seen before. Composition & content have classic traditions in art but photography is the best platform for change. Toss the rule book out. Who says street photography has to be black/white? It doesn’t even have to be on the street. Invent. Reinvent.

29. You cannot be all things to all people
Every country, neighborhood has a different personality. The protocol in every culture is different & you must strive to learn to accommodate each one in its own way. But you need to develop your own way, your own style that is compatible with alien agendas.

30. Language is no obstacle
When not sharing a language you have to find more effective ways to communicate. Learn to anticipate what is expected of you in social situations even if you do not understand so you are making enlightened responses. Besides photographers rarely have to talk anyway.

31. If it’s not working, move on
Time is precious. Don’t waste it. If you are waiting too long & nothing is happening, go to the next location. Don’t try to force a bad situation.

WHEN NOT TO TAKE A PHOTOGRAPH
There are times when taking a photograph is tenuous or uncalled for. In certain mosques, civic buildings & museums, etiquette is understood. In other situations it may not be obvious.

With my assistant driving us back to the studio after an assignment I yelled for him to
pull over. There was an amazing scene outside an elementary school with brand new
white snow against black wrought iron fence & kids running around in the playground behind. I jumped out of the car, loaded a roll of film & started shooting. Within minutes the only other car on the road pulled over & a small, older woman got out & told me to stop. I continued. She came closer & told me I could not shoot the school. I reminded her we were not in communist Russia & I could shoot anything I liked. She informed me she was a nun at the school & she would call the police. I reached in my pocket, pulled out a business card & said “be my guest.” She grabbed my camera. A week later I got a phone call from Mother Superior. I told her my camera got a photograph of her teacher assaulting me.

1. where it is strictly forbidden &/or there are signs posted
2. it is not worth the hassle
3. when you are likely to aggravate a volatile situation
4. when you are outnumbered

31 Street Photography Tips and Tricks: Part 1

2011-05-11T07:31:00.000-07:00

When my father was alive he used to tell me the hardest feat in sports was to hit a 95mph fastball. I am not sure I agree but it certainly takes an immense amount of coordination. The equivalent feat in art might be street photography; more difficult than painting, writing, dancing, even music. Anyone can hit a single once in a while but it requires combining a lot of skills & techniques to “hit” for average as well as home-runs.

Photographing strangers is a challenging undertaking. Being confronted with the moral dilemma of “stealing” a picture of someone without their permission or to engage them, alter the reality &, therefore, lose all veracity, is comparable to juggling several balls in the air. At the same time trying to fashion a reasonable but provocative image, is almost existential.

"Street photography is an age-old tradition, and also a solitary undertaking. It has been elevated by such luminaries as Robert Frank, Gary Winogrand and Lee Friedlander.
Street photography is an active, confrontational art form where the objective is to see and react to life around you. It is ground zero. No rules".

Street photos are small, quixotic segments of a larger urban landscape. They are bits of a city—metaphors. You are developing small narratives with little beginning or end. Equipment is usually minimal. Rather it is the heart & mind behind the camera that makes compelling street photographs. Traditionally we have seen examples by Robert Frank, Eugene Atget, and Andre Kertesz but a new wave is represented by Alex Webb, Martin Parr & Constantine Manos who have changed it forever.

The most adept have so many things to consider every time they point their cameras at something. As said before it is like juggling. Besides shutter speed & aperture, you are balancing light, composition, momentum, emotion, etc. And as you get better you add more balls.

In many places there is a de facto “war on street photography”. There is a lot more pressure on us. It is a wonderful tradition but suspicious minds attach some kind of perversion to it. So as practitioners we have to be more capable to deal with all these factors.

31 Tips And Technique for Street Photography

1. Observe
This may seem like an obvious thing but good street photographers are students of human behavior & body language. They window the exceptional from the ordinary & document it. They see through the fog of ordinary life. Pay attention & see differently.

2. Work Fast
With people around, you have about three seconds before you are detected & everything you see changes. That is an eternity. Learn to act quickly & decisively.

When you move through a crowd at a marketplace or a church or political rally, the “shockwave” of people’s awareness of your presence precedes you. Your greatest ally is the confusion that you can hide behind. Your biggest enemy is everyone warning everyone that you are approaching. They think it is funny. You have to be quicker than they are.

3. Be Prepared
Like the Boy Scout motto—be ready. If you get distracted you miss opportunities. Life can be fleeting. Photographs—more so.

4. Know Your Equipment
The corollary to working fast & being prepared is to have such a good working knowledge of the dials & controls so you are not fumbling around wasting time. The motion of bringing a camera to your eye, aiming, focusing & composing should be second nature. It is Zen-like.

5. Use Automatic
Since things change so quickly you are allowed to use automatic exposure to speed up your process. Especially in changing light, use programmed mode or another automatic mode so you don’t have to waste time with a light meter. Simplify.

Despite the fact that you are taught that “real photographers” make manual changes to exposure, there is nothing macho or sacrosanct about it. Utilizing all the conveniences afforded you by expensive cameras makes your job easier & faster.

6. Take It Now
So often we pass up photographs because we think we will return later to take the shot. Seize the opportunity. The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle dictates that something will change as soon as you observe it. People will move, light will fade, a truck will drive between you & subject. They may knock down the building if you wait too long.

7. Learn To Anticipate
This is similar to backgrounds but more complex. The meaning may depend on divergent elements being in close proximity. Combining anomalies in the same frame can be humorous, ironic or just odd. If you think something picture-worthy is about to unfold, try to get in front of the action both in time & physically. I have often wondered, when you see photographs in National Geographic of climbers cresting a mountain, why is it always from the vantage point of the photographer shooting down as the others are still coming to the top? Try to determine how & where an event will evolve & be ahead of it when it does.

8. Move Slowly
This may seem the opposite of work fast but you can be efficient in your movements so as not to make people nervous. No herky jerky motions. That draws attention & is scary in unfamiliar circumstances. Be unobtrusive. Keep your elbows in. You can almost become invisible if you work at it hard enough. If you are doing it right subjects will look right through you.

On one of my CODELs to Nicaragua I documented a high level meeting with US Congressmen & Daniel Ortega, then president of the country. I skulked around for hours. I was inches from everyone in the room. That night one of the politicians asked me if I had been there.

9. Go To The Light
In real life lighting is bad. At least not ideal. In contrasty situations, expose for the bright light. If possible shoot from the shady side of the street into the sunny side. You are hidden, less obvious & your pictures have more drama. So even if there is only a small piece of light, find it.

10. Get Close
Don’t expect effective street shooting if you rely solely on a telephoto lens for sneaking pictures. Have your wide angle at the ready & interact. Robert Capa, the famous war photographer, said “If your pictures are not good enough, you’re not close enough.”

11. Find Gatherings
Seek out crowds. You have greater chance of finding interactions where there are more people: fairs, rallies, celebrations, parades. People are less self conscious & personal space goes out the window.

12. Be Conscious Of Backgrounds
You can elevate a good photograph to great if you maneuver yourself into position that includes a better background. The background can be as important as the primary focus. It adds context. It adds scale. In street photography bad backgrounds are just average portraits.
Roxbury mural with woman & man walking by)

13. Lines Don’t Have To Be Straight
In street photography content supercedes everything else. No need to have things straight in the frame. In fact Dutch angle can add psychological tension. But more importantly you have a chance to improve composition. By tilting the camera you emphasize important things &/or exclude distracting objects. “Getting it wrong” may lead to additional revelations.

14. Revisit Good Locations Or Events
Return to interesting places during better weather or more opportune times. Although spontaneity is a major factor, you may be able to combine background, juxtaposition, etc. in more familiar surroundings.

15. Find A Good Location And Wait
When you discover a special place, wait for something to happen or someone to come along & enhance the composition. Be patient.

Stay Tuned for Part 2 with even more Tips on Street Photography.

*Updated* Check out Part 2 of the series Here...

Stock Photography And The New Getty Images Contract

2011-05-04T11:21:00.000-07:00

Back in the 1980s I traveled down to New York City & met with THE IMAGE BANK. Although stock photography had been around a long time, this new iteration revolutionized photography forever. From what had previously been outtakes, the new idea was to combine the best photographers, the best photography & the best marketing. It treated good photography with respect & I wanted some of that. A new era was born.

I traveled the world shooting assignments & “in my spare time” I submitted pictures to Image Bank. Eventually the checks became substantial. Our relationship matured. I visited the offices of Image Bank’s subcontractors all over the world. They helped me find assistants in Brazil, Japan, Austria, Korea. In other cities, they advised me about local customs & protocol. For awhile TIB positive blood flowed through my veins. And together we split the proceeds 50/50.

The model was so successful that Image Bank was sold—twice. And then things changed. The bean counters got involved & realized they did not need photographers anymore. Photography was so abundant it became a commodity. Shrewd business managers analyzed how important photography was to communications, design & new technologies & they marginalized the creators, artist & content providers because acquiring imagery had become so much easier.

Image Bank became Getty Images. With competition from so many other companies who emerged to better fulfill the voracious appetite for photography, prices started to plummet. Then new paradigms arose to replace the original methods. Royalty free, microstock, Flickr, free crept into the lexicon & heralded a sea change in the industry.

These “new ways” to “sell” stock gave all skill levels of photographers the opportunity to enter the marketplace, which was democratic, but it destabilized that very same marketplace. Clients & end users took advantage of our lack of cohesion & unity. Divide & conquer.

The contracts from traditional stock agencies have eroded for years. What began as an even split, ie photographers handle the creative half & agencies manage the business half, now has the lion’s share going to the stock agencies & its subsidiaries. The photographer is almost irrelevant. Years ago I refused to sign that first wave of nonequal share contracts & all but my best selling images were sent back to me.

Recently the AMERICAN SOCIETY of MEDIA PHOTOGRAPHERS (Article Link) & the ADVERTISING PHOTOGRAPHERS of AMERICAN (Article Link) have both negotiated with GETTY IMAGES about these inequities to no avail. Twitter, FACEBOOK are abuzz with responses to Getty’s new efforts to control market share while sacrificing any input from the talent.

Online the controversy rages on. Likely that is as far as the argument will get. Photographers will capitulate once again. We have in two generations killed the “goose that laid the golden eggs.”

Local News Shows Boston Street Photographers as Perverts

2011-04-20T16:46:00.000-07:00

They tell me timing is everything. I was writing a blog about street photography when WBZ-TV(CBS Affiliate) did a piece on the eleven o'clock news about photographers in downtown Boston. I could not believe my eyes & ears. They did an entire piece on male photographers taking pictures in Downtown Crossing. They surreptitiously videotaped several men on an afternoon. They questioned a couple of them too. The station made no overt accusations. No one was breaking the law but they brought into question how creepy this practice seemed.

I was aghast. To me it was salacious "journalism", at best, & downright unconscionable, at worst. After 9/11 New York City tried to make it difficult for photographers to work in Manhattan. The mayor has had to retract many of those "rules" but police still harass photographers constantly, hiding behind those nonexistent laws. In London they passed legislation to prevent photography but have had to change their tune to some degree. Believe it or not it was tourists who they listened to. Even though these two democracies had to amend their policies, photographers have lost something in each case.

It is difficult enough to practice time-honored street photography in today's world. Invasion of privacy, perversion, child endangerment & just plain old paranoia make it hard in an urban environment. I've been shooting in Downtown Crossing for three decades & unleashing what I learn all over the world. Amazing photographers have preceded me for years. It is how history gets a glimpse of itself. So it is important that we stifle this negative connotation about photography.

Sick people can turn this into a bad thing from either side of the argument. But we do not need the news media--our comrades-in-arms--who sticks cameras & microphones into the faces of traumatized accident victims or films suicide jumpers to make up stories to sensationalize just for the evening news. Besides preaching the wrong sermon, they will turn around against an "angry populace" one day & we won't be there to help.

Here is the piece shown below (Click here for a link to the video)

One of the Photographers responded with a story and examples of his photography entitled " WBZ Crosses The Line"

The spot was heavily biased, and can serve as an excellent example of how news is created, how fact is distorted, and how WBZ got the story they set out to find. All by design. If this is what happens with a minor story about street photographers, imagine what happens with major news stories.

[...] Before I continue, consider this: a real predator would not have engaged the media to begin with. If we were truly part of a group that “aggressively hunts down women and children” we wouldn’t go to the same place almost daily. This is How-often-do-you-beat-your-wife? Journalism.

15 Movies Every Photographer Should See

2011-04-06T17:22:00.000-07:00

The early predecessor to modern films were similar to what we call stop motion today, stills fixed to a round drum and hand cranked to create an animated picture. It makes sense then that hundreds of films have been made paying homage to photographers and photography. This is by no means a comprehensive list and it is mostly based on opinion, so I'm sure people will have films they feel should be listed. So by all means add any films you think should be added in the comments.

Blowup (1966) A mod London photographer believes that he has photographed a murder.
The Public Eye (1992) Story of a 1940s photographer who specializes in crime and in not getting involved... until this time. (Based on Weegee)
The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) A young Australian reporter tries to navigate the political turmoil of Indonesia during the rule of President Sukarno with the help of a diminutive photographer.
Somebody Has To Shoot The Picture (1990) Raymond Eames, a small-time drug dealer, has been sentenced to death for the shooting death of a policeman. After seven years of appeals are exhausted, the date of his execution arrives. His last request is that his execution be photographed. Eames selects Paul Marish, a jaded Pulitzer Prize winning photographer, who is convinced by his agent to visit the small town in Georgia. Sensing a big story, Marish's agent sends in a reporter from Time magazine, and together they begin to investigate the events surrounding the murder, in a small town where emotions are high and opinions are fixed.
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006) Turning her back on her wealthy, established family, Diane Arbus falls in love with Lionel Sweeney, an enigmatic mentor who introduces Arbus to the marginalized people who help her become one of the most revered photographers of the twentieth century.
Rear Window (1954) A wheelchair bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
Funny Face (1957) Fashion photographer Dick Avery, in search for an intellectual backdrop for an air-headed model, expropriates a Greenwich Village bookstore. When the photo session is over the store is left in a shambles, much to salesgirl Jo Stockton's dismay. Avery stays behind to help her clean up. Later, he examines the photos taken there and sees Jo in the background of one shot. He is intrigued by her unique appearance, as is Maggie Prescott, the editor of a leading fashion magazine. They offer Jo a modeling contract, which she reluctantly accepts only because it includes a trip to Paris. Eventually, her snobbish attitude toward the job softens, and Jo begins to enjoy the work and the company of her handsome
Proof (1991) A blind photographer takes pictures as “proof” that the world he photographs is as it’s described to him by other people. Stars a young Russell Crowe.
High Art (1998) Heroin addicted once famous art photographer Lucy (Ally Sheedy in her best role) strikes up a friendship with a magazine editor who tries to convince her to get back into the art scene. Patricia Clarkson is brilliant in the role of her former girlfriend who also struggles with addiction.
Gentlemen’s Relish (2001) Billy Connolly stars in a rambunctious period comedy detailing the celluloid exploits of a 20th Century London photographer who specializes in deliciously scandalous snapshots. Kingdom Swan (Connolly) is an artist whose career seems to be on the downturn until he receives a camera as a gift. Subsequently establishing himself as a photographer who specializes in capturing the unclad human form in lavish classical settings, Swan quickly becomes the scornful figure of notoriety to a the painfully prudish upper crust.
Double Exposure: The Story of Margaret Bourke-White (1989) Farrah Fawcett stars as the famed photojournalist, whose work for Life magazine from 1936 onward gained her worldwide celebrity. Focuses on Burke-White's stormy relationship with her husband, novelist Erskine Caldwell.
The Killing Fields (1984) A photographer is trapped in Cambodia during tyrant Pol Pot's bloody "Year Zero" cleansing campaign, which claimed the lives of two million "undesirable" civilians.
Salvador (1986) A journalist, down on his luck in the US, drives to El Salvador to chronicle the events of the 1980 military dictatorship, including the assassination of Archbishop Oscar Romero. He forms an uneasy alliance with both guerillas in the countryside who want him to get pictures out to the US press, and the right-wing military, who want him to bring them photographs of the rebels. Meanwhile he has to find a way of protecting his Salvadorean girlfriend and getting her out of the country.
The Photographer (1974) A murder story with a comedic twist. A famous photographer uses his models for more than taking pictures. He needs them as victims to satisfy his blood-lust. Each murder becomes more bizarre than the next.
Shutter (2004) A photographer and his new wife discover disturbing, ghostly images in photographs they develop after a tragic accident. Fearing the manifestations may be connected, they investigate and learn that some mysteries are better left unsolved.

BONUS

Also watch for the new movie "The Bang Bang Club" A drama based on the true-life experiences of four combat photographers capturing the final days of apartheid in South Africa.

8 Causes Of Bad Photography

2011-03-14T16:24:00.000-07:00

A pet peeve amongst veteran photographers, albeit condescending, is how many neophytes approach the craft expecting someone to paint an “X” on the ground where they are supposed to stand, instruct them what f/stop & shutter speed to use & exactly when to push the button. That is not photography. It is painting-by-numbers. Photography is a moving target. And it requires repetition similar to practicing piano scales. Therefore pundits talk ad infinitum about the lonely learning curve necessary for taking “better pictures”: composition, rules, technique, tricks, etc. But lost in the discussion remains all sorts of significant factors that conspire against you & keep you from making Good pictures. Nobody talks about that.

These “maladies” plague everyone: amateurs & pros. And they never abate. For our whole lives we have to fight them.

   8. Excuses

We all consider ourselves geniuses & rationalize why our horizon lines are crooked or our pictures are out of focus. Taking pictures seems so easy. “All you have to do is press the shutter.”
Blaming the fact that you do not have the latest camera or piece of equipment for your failure to make a good picture is the biggest fallacy in photography. Short of the fact that you don’t own a camera, equipment has almost nothing to do with good pictures. NO new gadget or device will make you a better photographer. Technology has simply made it easier to make bad photographs. Nothing short of knowledge, practice, persistence & maybe a little talent will overcome your shortcomings. No amount of money will buy you credibility. Would an expensive set of pots make you a better cook? True mastery demands a lifetime.

   7. Panic

“I followed all the directions. I did all these things right: lighting, composition, location, etc but it doesn’t look right? There are too many things to think about, too many things in the way: people, trees, lack of patience, objections, opinion, etc. “The colors are all wrong. The angle is boring.”

In the pressure of the moment we can be overwhelmed by all the decisions we have to make to get the picture that is on our mind or in our eyes. It may not be possible to corral all of them. Practice your technique so that you develop a Zen-like speed & efficiency for capturing the intangible. Simplify. Slowing your respiration down will allow you to clear your head. Breathe deeply. Reduce your expectations & concentrate on one or two things at a time. Be prepared when opportunity knocks.

    6. Procrastination

(is not the problem, it’s the solution?)
We can concoct excuses to delay anything ie waiting for the perfect…conditions, feelings, muse… Don’t procrastinate. Don’t put it off. So much of photography is fleeting. Any vista or situation can change momentarily. The aesthetic balance of any scene can be altered or destroyed by a simple change in weather, light or movement. I have pulled across four lanes of high speed traffic so I don’t have to waste time walking back from the exit. Shoot it now.

   5. Laziness

Not in the mood?

Webster’s Dictionary defines laziness as the disinclination to activity or exertion despite having the ability to do so. It is the serious photographer’s responsibility to develop techniques to work through the human penchant for indolence. Photography can become an obsession but that is not the answer. Obsession will not sustain us for very long. When confronted with a positive photographic opportunity or event, it is important not to let torpor or apathy win.

     4. Distraction

Distractions can be physical or mental. But they all avert your gaze or redirect your attention. Traveling companions, ill health, bureaucracy, barriers, etc. are all potential culprits.
Keep your “eyes on the prize”. Be ever vigilant. Concentrate. To control your conscious mind to quickly compose pictures you have to train your unconscious mind to stay attentive.

   3. Fatigue

Being tired clouds the mind. Fatigue has a deleterious effect on creativity. Your brain does not work & your body can not carry out its orders. If you are tired you tend to pass up good photo ops. You stop looking. Pace yourself. Stay in shape. Exerting yourself by running too fast up the hill or staying out too late will have negative results on the final product.

     2. Inertia/Momentum

Inertia is Newton’s Second Law of Mechanics.
We have to push ourselves harder in the direction of taking good images & not let other external forces avert our gaze. There are so many factors that pull you away from your appointed task: choice of lens, weather, etiquette, etc. We have to push ourselves to take pictures. There are other stimuli that can equally engage us so we have to build our “photo muscles” to continually be adventurous. The more you take good pictures, the more you want to take good pictures.

     1. Fear

Fear can have a crippling effect. It is perhaps the single biggest factor that gets in our way. It is psychological & erects an internal barrier. There is a big difference between the timid tourist & the hardbit, obnoxious newspaper photographer. Not wanting to impose oneself onto a stranger’s environment is a natural reaction. Subliminally I do not want to look “silly” putting myself out there to be gazed upon & judged by others. Or simply “I’m afraid”. Self doubt can only be overcome with experience. Remember—interaction is often a major aspect of photographing people. Learn to enlist people’s trust. Then learn to like it. The rapport you develop most often bears fruit. It is the reason we travel.

If we apply ourselves we can all become better photographers. We may not all be artists but we all have art in us. Paying attention to the aesthetic principles, understanding our equipment, putting ourselves into more dramatic situations give us more opportunities. But the attitudes & behaviors are another matter altogether. The things above are subversive characteristics, some even character flaws that plague us all our lives. They are factors that even the best of us must continuously improve.

Salt and pepper

2011-01-25T22:13:00.000-08:00

Certain things are always found in pairs: shoes, peanut butter & jelly, Fred Astaire/Ginger Rodgers, hydrogen atoms, yin & yang. Salt & pepper. Ubiquitous. Inexpensive. They compliment each other well. But it was not always thus. Until recently they were rare & valuable commodities. Though they have varied origins their modern day relationship is in tandem.

Since before history, salt & pepper have been objects of desire. The matchup began in the days when salting was the only way to preserve meat & fish. Pepper was added to make the salty food more palatable. Besides being condiments, they were used as currency, even salaries. Over time trade routes were established, cities were founded & continents were discovered to satisfy the taste.

Salt’n Pepper PUSH IT video

In the modern world, control over gold, silver, precious metals & oil has been a source of conflict & driver of economic globalization. However, other products have also inspired change, war, conquest & ultimately the emergence of a closely integrated world trading system. Spices. They were the first globally traded commodities.

SALT

NaCl=sodium chloride
Movie with Angelina Jolie playing Evelyn Salt
SALT photography documentary

At one time almost everything on earth was covered by salt. Every cell in our body needs salt. Our blood is salty. The need & yearning for salt predates language. The earliest people stalked animals to find salt outcroppings.

Salt’s ability to effect food was a foundation of civilization. From the beginning, it was highly valued as a preservative, as it was found that foods covered with salt or suspended in brine did not decay. The ingredient we so casually reach for is the result of millennia of human endeavor, laden with history, symbolism & ritual.

Sea salt versus rock salt

The history of commerce is the history of spices. Ancient records show taxes on salt can be traced as far back as 20th century BC in China. Salt is used as a metaphor in the Bible. In Matthew 5:13, Jesus said “you are salt of the earth.”

In photography, salt prints were the earliest positive prints & were
invented by William Henry Fox Talbot in 1840. A print produced by
coating fine quality writing paper with light-sensitive chemicals &
sodium chloride. This was the earliest form of a photographic positive
paper.

Salt created & destroyed global empires. The salt mines of Poland led to a vast kingdom in the 1500s. Heavy duties & taxes along salt roads created such cities as Munich. The gabelle—a hated French tax was enacted in 1286 & continued until 1790.

Venice was the next great salt empire. Salt from her lagoons provided the wherewithal for that city to build ships & provide arms for the crusades. The trading concession they established in the Near East made it the most important port for spices to enter Europe.
Wich & wych are names associated with brine springs or wells in England, ie Middlewich, Nantwich, Northwich & Droitwich.

    According to different cultures, basically a king asks his three daughters
    how much they love him. Dissatisfied with his youngest’s answer, “I love
    you more than salt”, he banishes her from the kingdom. Now the reasons
    change with the telling but the king grows ill. On his death bed his
    daughter returns & discovers salt has been eliminated from his diet. Upon
    reintroduction the king regains his health, realizes his mistake &
    understands the depth of her love & commitment. Everyone lives happily
    ever after.

Salt in olden times was as important to civilization as oil is today. Such large quantities were needed to sustain human populations, especially in cold climates. It had medicinal value & was a major ingredient in curing leather.

    Salt Institute, in Kennebunk, Maine, teaches students to become
    writers & photographers & be ethical storytellers. They have
    documentary programs to educate & promote the media landscape.

In ancient Rome, it gained popularity as a condiment. Italians served salted dishes at the same time as sugared dishes. Salted foods stimulated the appetite. We love it for the particular magic that occurs when it is added to foods causing their flavors to blossom.

PEPPER
Black pepper, botanically known as Piper nigrum, from the family Piperaceae, has been the most widely traded spice in the world & has been for more than 3000 years. Today it represents more than 25% of the world trade in spices & yet is produced in only a handful of countries within 15 degrees of the equator. Probably originated in prehistoric India, the country remains its largest producer, consumer & exporter. By the 16th century pepper was being grown in other places such as Sumatra, Madagascar & Malaysia.

poivre
pimiento
free on every lunch counter in convenient economic paper packets
just enough
next to my plate on the tablecloth
fast food restaurant
thai
texmex
tiny specks sang of fire on the tip of my tongue
tears in my eyes

Black pepper & other spices “wrote” history. But going back to biblical times, the story of the spice trade is essentially the story of the pepper trade. It has been said that no other spice has had a greater effect on world history than pepper. So lucrative was the spice trade that after his conquest of Egypt, Alexander the Great founded Alexandria as a port to extend it into the Mediterranean Sea. It was the spice trade that brought Europeans to India. It caused sailors to explore a more efficient sea route to India, which led to the discovery & colonization of those countries as well as the Americas. By the fifth century the Arabic peoples had cornered the entire spice market with the Mediterranean, since it was by now a maritime undertaking & no longer conducted overland on the famous Spice Road. Christopher Columbus & Vasco da Gama set sail in opposite directions to chart a faster way in order to break the Arab traders’ monopoly. Soon Lisbon became the European trading center for spices, nearly ruining Alexandria, Genoa & Venice.

In 1930, Edward Weston began taking closeups of vegetables & fruits.
He made a variety of photographs of cabbages, kale, onions, bananas.
In August over a four day period, he shot at least thirty different negatives.
Of these, “Pepper No. 30” is among the all-time masterpieces of
photography.

Great tales were concocted about the challenging collection of spices. Europeans were led to believe it was a matter of life & death. Pepper supposedly grew on trees “guarded” by serpents & had to be burned down to drive the snakes underground. This of course manipulated their perceived value. During the Middle Ages, when trade was monopolized by the Portuguese (& then the Dutch) pepper was worth more than gold by weight. It was used for dowries, taxes & rent. Their high price, limited supply & mysterious origin fueled a growing effort to discover their source of cultivation. At one point in history, pepper locations were so closely guarded that disclosure was punishable by death.

Barry Pepper, amusingly, is playing Lucky Ned Pepper in the Coen
brothers’ remake of the 1969 version of True Grit.

Those principalities that had access to the spice as a source of revenue also challenged rival nations by supporting entire armies & navies for longer periods & greater distances. With the spice they could supply them with preserved meat & other foodstuffs. Once the secrets of East Indian trade winds were discovered, the map of Europe was reshuffled. That changed the world economy & spurred the Age of Exploration.

    The cover of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was designed by
    Peter Blake & put together by him & Jann Haworth. They painstakingly
    culled through hundreds of photographs for months before the photo
    session. The photographer was Michael Cooper at Chelsea Manor
    Photographic Studios on 30 March 1967.

Many spices began as medicines. In the Middle Ages, they doubled as medical ingredients & condiments. Pepper “apothecaries” appear in many medieval prescriptions. They were treatment for a variety of ailments, such as, headaches & asthma.

The “soul of cuisine” it is almost ubiquitous in modern cooking but Romans were the first major users of pepper as early as the first century AD. By the fourth century over 85% of their recipes used it as an ingredient. Seventh century classic French cuisine, which developed at the court of Louis XIV, considered pepper as superior to the various other spices imported from the Middle East. This heightened its importance & gave it the status it enjoys today.

Grown in the form of peppercorns—black, white, red, cubeb, Sichuan, long pepper, four grades of tellicherry—are bright and round, not the dusty, desiccated fruits you usually see. Although pepper is no longer the prized item it was in the Middle Ages, “fine pepper” is as varied & complex as “fine wine”.

Opposites are not really opposites to resist.
They are two sides of the one coin to assist.
Truth can only be found within non truth, a twist.
If the world were perfect, it wouldn't exist.
If the world wasn't perfect, it shouldn't persist.
Salt and pepper are not really opposites, or entwined.
Both add flavour to your world, and to mine.
As do all the opposites in your life to shine and remind.
That the pureness of love comes only from itself.
Salt and pepper only add the spice of life back to love.
--Steve Marshall

Lou Jones Interveiwed

2011-01-13T11:15:00.000-08:00

One year ago we traveled to New York City to be interviewed by James Sullivan of 1PROPHOTO. James teaches a compact and complete course called Photo Assistant Boot Camp for photo assistants & digital assistants and runs the website 1PROPHOTO.com featuring online tutorials, industry links, and photographic resources.

We were videotaped at SANDBOX STUDIOS on a pleasant day in Manhattan. James asks questions about my entire career, from my transition from science to photography and the struggles that I faced, to finding my professional voice and making an impact on the industry.

Its a Four part video Posted up at 1PROPHOTO.com here is the 1st part...

Lou Jones interview part 1 from 1ProPhotoCom on Vimeo.

To see the other Three parts of the interview please go HERE...

NEW Book: Saint Petersburg Russia

2010-12-01T11:54:00.000-08:00

Book: Saint Petersburg Russia from Lou Jones on Vimeo.

Now available through Blurb.com

For More Info and to order Click Here.

47 Most Fascinating Apps

2010-10-24T21:35:00.000-07:00

About a year ago I passed one of my favorite haunts in the middle of the night & a homeless guy was standing under neon lights begging for spare change. He had his hand out for alms but at the same time he was talking on a cell phone. What's wrong with this picture? It is a crazy world we live in. A schizophrenic one. People starving & our biggest concern is what "app" to add to our "smartphone". (I think app stands for application or apparition or appropriate or something like that.)

$.99. Two bucks. Three dollars. FREE. There are millions to be made buying/selling additional purposes for a telephone. They are practically traded on the New York Stock Exchange. Apps are what makes iPHONEs, DROIDs, BLACKBERRYs, PALMs brilliant. CAVEAT EMPTOR. There are lots of gimmicks.

Before there were apps, "fanatics" could track the latest sports scores & team updates. Husbands & boyfriends could follow their favorite teams surreptitiously under the dinner table or in the shadows at the ballet. Almost from the beginning it was possible to phone in for play-by-play. Today every bit of insider information is available & you can participate in recruiting, trades, betting, MADDEN NFL & fantasy football. They practically make you a member of the franchise.

If your time is valuable, Type A personalities can buy clothes, shoes, groceries, cars & repairs with the flick of a dedicated button on an LCD. People who embrace the technology but are not comfortable with old school methods can 1) find restaurants in a new city 2) tell friends where you are having dinner 3) invite them to join you 4) critique the meal, service & price without putting your phone down. Type B's can use similar services to relax at a secluded corner cafe or neighborhood bar.

I never leave home on assignment without my GPS anymore. I used to rent one at every new location but after buying my own I even downloaded another continent so I could drive around a foreign country. Talking from the middle of my windshield, this cousin of HAL once demanded I take a right in the middle of a bridge. Now there are apps that tell you where you are, where you are going, where you have been & imaginary places. I have a friend who created an app to guide urban sightseeing tours. It features audio histories & photographs & advertisements. The GPS adds virtual maps & GOOGLE EARTH lets you see the license plate on the car parked in front of your house. Apparently one paranoid guy sued for invasion of privacy.

There are travel services to help plan a trip, make plane reservations, update arrival/departure status, book hotels & attach additional perks. The travel magazines are crammed with new trip planners in every issue. EXPEDIA, ORBITZ & many others have flooded the market to make your vacation informed & effortless. Phones are capable of taking the pictures, archiving the text, recording sound & doing the research. You can study history, read travelogues, translate language & perfect pronunciation. After you return--actually while you are still there--you can call upon an app to "scrapbook" your adventures & make your friends jealous.

Apps will seek out new recipes, do your taxes, convert your money, calculate the amount for tipping, rally your supposed FACEBOOK friends, find you a boyfriend/girlfriend, even boost your ego. MATCH.com & eHARMONY should jump on this.

Teenage cell phone users are heavy television viewers, Internet browsers & video game players. (Kids don't talk anymore, they text.) Gaming has long been a mainstay of new technology: computers & iPADs glow with colors, resonate with sound effects & spew hardware to enhance the experience. Showcasing improved graphics, games have been made smaller for phones. DOODLE JUMP & MYST have spawned many clones & imitators & have been surpassed by each new generation. We have come a long way from PONG(click to play) & online solitaire. What began as resistance against parental authority & reality, is now college course curriculum.

Apps teach you how to read, write better essays, improve your grades, take tests, get into Harvard & review for the bar exam. You are holding your entire education in the palm of your hand. Literally. School may soon be an anachronism. But what would be printed on your diploma.

Every cellphone is bundled with a camera now. Take a picture of an object, download it to the appropriate source & like a bird dog, it will hunt down a retailer where you can buy it. The picture resolution rivals DSLRs. After you take a picture, you can apply postproduction apps that mask your artistic shortcomings. Convert it to black/white, turn it into a vintage print, make it look like POLAROID &, God forbid, make it resemble a painting.

There are apps for Trekkies, trekkers, techies & truckers. Others for geeks, goons & terrorists. There are medical, health & nutrition apps. You can lose weight, gain muscle, buy a cookbook & calculate caloric intake. Be doctors, lawyers. Can Indian chiefs be far behind? Outsource & multitask. "Resistance is futile."

Every major magazine has followed suit & publishes an app. You can have your newspaper delivered to your house or, instead, peruse your laptop over morning coffee. Some media feels compelled to give the information away for free but some others come only with subscription. The WALL STREET JOURNAL comes to mind.

In any metropolitan area you can search for a movie & buy tickets with FANDANGO & any number of other apps or download them to a KINDLE & watch films in an even "darker" room. Get the schedule of your favorite television shows & watch an entire season on the smallest "fourth screen".

Who was your birth mother? Want to find out if you were really adopted? Advertisements for ANCESTRY.com are everywhere. It browses census records for family trees. Other formats reunite you to your classmates & friends through social security numbers, jail records & virtual private investigators.

Apps will play music, compose music, identify music. Ring, chime & PING. PANDORA can edit a playlist from your preferences, SLACKER too. Oldies, Jazz, metal, folk, saxophone, clavier, contrapuntal, semidemiquaver & mix to taste.

Filling a need, someone has written software to put babies to sleep & to wake adults up in the morning. Scientists have performed studies to determine when during REM sleep it is optimum to be awakened--the exact time you will be freshest & alert. There is an app for that.

Rumor has it there is one that allows you to register & run a political campaign but I still have to verify that. However it is a fact that your phone can tell you which way the "wind is blowing" or where the sun will shine & at the very least, which direction the compass is pointing.

And do not forget sex. APPLE claims not to have pornography available. But that does not stop enterprising entrepeneurs. You can jiggle boobs & butts on your phone, utilize the highspeed vibration setting or accurately evaluate your sexual prowess by measuring the amount of activity & noise by laying your handheld on the pillow next to you in bed. Sexting has given another meaning to social networking. With such capabilities why do we ever leave home?

Last week I bought an app that even allowed me to make phone calls. Cost me a fortune.

PDN Photo Plus Expo: Speedlites + Speedlights

2010-10-12T14:23:00.000-07:00

PDN Photo Plus Expo 2010
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
New York City
October 28-30, 2010

Friday, Oct 29, 2010 - 3:45 PM to 5:45 PM

Speedlites + Speedlights

Lou Jones' PDN Workshop Intro from Lou Jones on Vimeo.

So much has changed in photography recently. The new capabilities of digital lighting have stirred interest in Speedlights. In this seminar, Lou Jones will focus on topics featured in his book Speedlights & Speedlites: Creative Flash Photography at Lightspeed, a how to book exploring the versatile features and enormous potential of these little marvels. Topics include diffusing, bouncing, separating and flash modes. Attendees will learn how to use single and multiple speedlights for event, commercial, corporate and sports photography. Responding to feedback from last year's seminar, Jones has tweaked his Speedlight demonstration to address a full range from basic needs to the technical requirements of more advanced photographers. All attendees will learn ways to use these versatile, portable marvels to better react to their environment and champion difficult lighting conditions. More importantly they will see how to capitalize on the sophisticated technology of these compact tools in order to create a unique lighting style, be it cutting edge or classic.

Register/More Information

SEVEN WONDERS of my WORLD

2010-09-27T22:30:00.000-07:00

In my photographic life, I never set out searching for “wonders”. I was just bitten by the travel bug. This list is just a result of attrition.

A few years ago Morgan Freeman & Jack Nicholson made a movie. Although with top tier stars & a huge budget it was not their best effort but it introduced a phrase into the American lexicon “The Bucket List”; Places you want to go or things you want to do before you “kick the bucket”. I think most people dream about it in one way or another. For most of my travel life it has been foremost in my mind even though I have never given the slightest acknowledgment of death.

The ancients made up a list centuries ago: Seven Wonders of the World. We memorized it in high school. The man-made monuments are legends that have lost much of their significance but the concept still lingers: Great Pyramid of Giza, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes, Lighthouse of Alexandria.

The idea seems a little artificial to me but it begs the question “what are the most amazing things I personally have seen before I die." Hopefully it has evolved over time & I continually add new phenomena as I get older.

1) Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

A short time ago the Petronas Towers were the tallest buildings in the world. Flying in to Malaysia I watched the movie Entrapment on the airplane. I thought it was one of the most amazing promotional gambits I had ever seen. Although Academy Award winner Sean Connery & Catherine Zeta Jones acted in the film, the Towers were the star. The buildings loom over the teeming city. I walked concentric circles round & round until I found the foreground I need to make my image & returned early the next morning to make the shot. I returned a few years later to repeat it.

On both trips I lived with ex headhunters on the island of Borneo. Sleeping in their longhouses (an architectural "wonder"very in their own right) was the antithesis to the high tech world of Kuala Lumpur.

2) Opera House, Sydney, Australia

This piece of architecture has been on & off many organization’s lists. The original architect was thrown off the project when the city administrators became angry with what they thought was too unorthodox. Many years later, after the rest of the world recognized Jorn Utzon’s genius & it quickly became one of Australia’s most visited landmarks, the town fathers invited him back to fulfill his original dream. We photographed the abstract “ship sails” structure during the XXVII Olympic Games. They give tours up on the bridge but I was told you could not take a camera & that concept is the closest thing to hell I could imagine.

3) Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

On a little jive assignment to Paris, my mentor pleaded with me to photograph the Eiffel Tower. In my hubris I told him “I don’t DO Eiffel Tower.” For almost twenty years every request I got from clients for pictures of Paris included the most recognizable landmark in the world. I intended to return each year to correct my oversight. Eventually I got a free ticket from a failed assignment, booked the trip, dropped off my bags at my hotel, called an ex assistant to meet me at the base, took the photograph I had been contemplating for 20 years & returned to Boston the next day. I had been dreaming of this very image for all those years.

4) Space Shuttle, Cape Canaveral, Florida

I grew up a product of the Cold War. A byproduct was the “space race”. I studied physics in school & as a hobby learned everything about NASA, astronauts & the science of outer space. One of the few summer jobs I ever held was as a rocket scientist. To this day I am a fan of Star Wars, Star Trek & all manner of science fiction. Therefore it became a quest to photograph a space launch. The USA had put men on the moon.

Nothing history had done to that point was more glamorous.

The original launch time was scrubbed at the last minute. I anxiously called back to my studio to see if appointments could be moved around. I had two extremely long lenses to document the brief event.

Life Magazine made an industry of showing an unprecedented, behind-the-scenes view of these amazing scientific/engineering efforts. It sucked me in like a moth to flame.

This was the first appearance of the shuttle. I had to submit to Secret Service clearance. But this only exacerbated the mystique. We were three miles from the launch pad. The battery of lenses lined up in a row that stretched a half mile along the river. Every photographer of note was there. It was a Who’s Who of photojournalists. I met a number of my heroes.

5) Great Pyramids of Giza, Cairo, Egypt

The pyramids were as old to Cleopatra as Cleopatra is to us. They are also the only edifice that remains from the original Seven Wonders of the World. I encountered them while teaching a workshop in Egypt. I woke up the first morning & they were outside the window of my hotel. The overpopulated northern African city has grown up & out to meet its history. Their stature is a symbol of human perseverance. These days the surrounding area is devoted to short camel rides for silly tourists. It is a spectacle.

6) Tall Ships

One of my early assignments was to cover the Bicentennial in Boston. Much of the American Revolution began in the area & its 200th birthday was a huge celebration. It proved to be more than eighteen months of work.

The whole thing culminated in the Fourth of July events, Queen Elizabeth’s visit & Parade of Sails in Boston harbor. Confronted with how to distinguish my coverage from every tourist with a camera, every newspaper photographer & television station, I wrote a letter to each embassy that had a participating large tall ship. Only one said “yes”. But I only needed one.

I climbed aboard the Christian Radich (Denmark) completely overwhelmed & not knowing what to expect. After setting sail I realized that for the next three days I was captive with the next generation of the Danish Navy. But early next morning I went out on deck. Dozens of blond juvenile cadets crammed the deck. The language barrier increased the distance between us. But when they started to unfurl the multiple sails overhead everything changed. I was watching the world as my ancestors saw it 2-300 years ago. No other moment in my life has had such a profound effect & thrust me so far back into time past.

Since then I have convinced several other countries to allow me to accompany their tall ship at sea but the first time was the most meaningful.

7) Olympics

Every four years an international city builds another city within a city. Millions of people descend upon the sports town & all eyes turn towards the athletes. Despite your opinion about athletics & its politics, this is the biggest nonpartisan event in the world. Grace & human endeavor & competition are celebrated. Cultures collide amicably. Heroes emerge. I have covered at least thirteen. I train just like the participants for at least six months to endure the rigors of heat &/or cold.

I “compete” against the best sports photographers in the world. And for two weeks every Olympiad I document the elegance & rhythm & art of sports.

Worst Airplane Flights

2010-09-10T14:45:00.000-07:00

I fly…
Not professionally…but for most of my assignments. And because I so often don’t have feet on the ground I get into a lot of trouble. Not intentionally. Just as an “innocent bystander”.

In my experience the second worst airline route in the world, taking into account all the wilderness, disaster areas, third world flights & fly-by-night airlines, is the crosscountry, non-stop flight from east to west coast—bar none.

Now do not get me wrong. I am in awe of the miracle of flight. It is a magic trick to find yourself halfway around the world in less than a day. But even frequent flyers have to admit air travel has been steadily eroding since the 1970s. What was once the height of sophistication & luxury is now traveling steerage—at least in economy.

On my most recent trip to San Francisco, I bought a ticket, weeks in advance, only to be waitlisted to the last place on the plane—window—seats that do not recline—next to a six year old. Everyone who flies a lot has sat in that exact seat.

After a real crusher of a landing in Phoenix, the attendant came on with, "Ladies and Gentlemen,
please remain in your seats until Capt. Crash and the Crew have brought the aircraft to a screeching
halt against the gate. And, once the tire smoke has cleared and the warning bells are silenced, we'll
open the door and you can pick your way through the wreckage to the terminal."

There is a famous story about the actress/comedienne Whoopi Goldberg having a fan die next to her on a transcontinental trip. She had to remain in her seat for the rest of the way…beside the body. Federal regulations. First class ain’t what it used to be either.

On my last night flight to Frankfort, Germany an announcement came over the PA system for medical help in the back of the plane. A bevy of flight attendants went running past me but I never saw a doctor. I could not help sympathizing with the corpse. Could have been me.

But in deference to that, the absolute worst flight is the redeye back across the USA. On my latest adventure, Am*r*c*n Airlines canceled my return flight one day & in rebooking the next day they again gave me the last seat assignment. The elderly little Indian man, dressed in white, diaphanous, cotton robes, in front of me grabbed my seat so they had to put me in the MIDDLE seat in the last row. I spent five hours seething.

One Xmas I arrived early at the terminal in order to secure an aisle seat. I was apologetically warned by the gate attendant that she could “do better than that”. 17D. After several minutes of typing into a computer I found myself wedged between a skinny handicapped woman who had some form of medical condition & could not bend her leg. It stuck into the aisle so she blocked entry/exit from the row of seats. I climbed over her. And on my other side, a woman was so rotund she pulled her own seat belt extension from her purse. She not only overlapped my armrest, she spilled into the aisle too. Soon after takeoff I realized I was sitting behind five Asian infants sleeping in the row in front of us. They were being shipped to America for adoption & they took turns screaming all the way. I stuck the cheap headphones on & listened to loud airline Musak for the entire trip wondering “what level of hell had I flown into?” Melissa Etheridge’s songs cut out because only one channel worked intermittently. To this day I have always wondered what the gate attendant was “upgrading” me from.

International flight is nearly as bad. On my first excursion to Greece my assistant/guide abandoned me unannounced. In desperation & without the use of language I tackled the task of going from Athens to Crete. I stood on line to buy a ticket for hours. I sat in the waiting room with families & farmers & orthodox priests longer. I could swear there was livestock hidden in the shadows. I asked several times when my plane was leaving only to be ordered to wait until I was called. On my last attempt the stewardess grabbed my arm, led me to the picture window & pointed to a plane just lifting off. Evidently I was supposed to be onboard. Jones is hard to pronounce in Greek.

I have sat next to Jesus freaks who beseeched me to pray with them once the Boeing 727 got off the ground, children who kicked me from behind for hours & a college basketball team where the frightened point guard vigorously clutched my seat every time the plane jiggled. I have engaged in the territorial power struggle for the armrest more times than I can count. With mixed feelings I shared a row with a guy who talked on his cell phone for most of the trip. He was told to hang up several times but I guess he had pressing business matters. (An ethical question: are you supposed to “rat out” people like that?) Now I know proper modern transportation etiquette is to never engage in conversation unless you are queried first. Otherwise you are supposed to exchange bodily fluids cheek-to-jowl without a word of acknowledgement. Who goes first?

Seats are so close together these days that to eat a meal on an ocean crossing flight you have to contortion yourself like those waif-thin Chinese acrobats. You are forced to backhand slice & flip the tiny morsel of processed cheese or mystery foodstuff into your mouth with the seatback of the passenger sitting in front of you directly under your chin. On that same matter, in Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, just as time is distorted by gravity, food is distorted by air travel. In the new time/space continuum juggling the hot Styrofoam cup of coffee over the lap of the person next to you can be the cause of tremendous gravity embarrassment if you are not steady of hand.

During an annual report assignment, my assistant & I were again in the last seats in the plane when right after “wheels up”, there was a violent slam underneath. Everybody looked around at each other. The stewardess, who was sitting in the jump seat behind us, busied herself pulling the food service cart out—oblivious. The plane pulled straight up in the air, turned hard right, made a loop & an abrupt landing. We were ushered off so quickly I was sure I had left something. It turned out we had hit another plane that had pulled into our taxiing path. Clipped its tail. We were evacuated like lemmings. Every passenger was rushed underneath the airport & up into another plane before we had time to object. I think the stewardess was still back stocking the cart as we took off the second time.

Before deregulation I booked a ticket for a wedding in a remote area. A short journey but the only way to get there was with a stopover in my hometown of Washington DC. With so much layover time my father picked me up & I had breakfast with my parents. Lovely. Upon arrival back at the airport I was informed that there had been a schedule change & the flight had already departed. Since they had failed to inform me the airline called a pilot & a stewardess & I was the only passenger on a two hundred person capacity aircraft to Hershey, Pennsylvania. That would never happen today.

Less than an hour outside of Tokyo the 747 dropped hundreds of feet. Then it started to buck up & down so violently that luggage was falling out of the overhead storage compartments. I came to the realization that there was nowhere I had to go that badly. I would rather turn around & go back if this was going to continue. The “fasten seatbelt” signed flashed on, the plane tossed from side to side & we rodeoed forward like that for hours.

The second biggest lie you hear on an airplane is there is going to be a “bit of turbulence”. If you do, you can be assured that your backteeth are about to rattle. Inventing “Technical Problems” as an excuse when a flight is only half full & bumping passengers to a later flight is an airline favorite too. However the biggest lie is “we are sorry for the inconvenience”. I am awaiting some passenger to go “postal” someday & start emptying a 9mm into the cockpit after hearing that phrase one too many times. Besides they aren’t really sorry at all. If you complain but hear the words “are WE going to have a problem?”—back off. Post 9/11 the balance of power has shifted & YOU are about to be escorted to jail.

A long time ago my assistant & I drove way up to complete an inplant assignment in Northern Maine. It was the biggest project I had done to date. But a Nor’ Easter swept over us & grounded all commercial transportation. I had another job back home so I got the bright idea to hire a private plane to take us back to civilization. After calling around I found a pilot who agreed to fly. We took off in a horrific rainstorm & the higher we climbed the worse it got. It was so torrential that we could see nothing out any window. We were totally dependant upon flight instruments. In our cocoon the weather bounced the plane like a cork. I have never been so frightened in my life. I kissed the ground when we arrived home safely. Even the pilot was ashen. Never again.

But my ultimate ‘flightmare” was flying back from London. Three-quarters of the way to landing in Washington DC we were told due to headwinds we did not have enough fuel & were diverting to New York. Somehow we had enough fuel to circle forever in the fog. And when we touched down I looked out at a vast wasteland. Again they had lied to us.

“This ain’t Manhattan,” I told my seatmates. Then we were forced to stay in our seats in the middle of the runway for an eternity. I had to pee. With my profound grasp of the obvious I knew something was wrong. Eventually we were evacuated into a dinky little terminal in the hinterlands of Bangor, Maine. It took hours for them to wake agents out of bed to process our luggage through customs. News crews with huge video cameras descended upon the British tourists who all thought this was a wonderful, quaint American ritual. I buttonholed a stewardess who conspiratorially told me Cat Stevens had been arrested from the flight. Years before the English singer/songwriter had changed his name to Yusuf Islam, converted to Moslem & was considered a “suspicious character”. Maybe they thought he was going to serenade us to death. The following night the whole fiasco was additional fodder for Jay Leno & David Letterman’s monologues. However I was not amused.

“The seatbelt sign has been turned off. You are free to walk about the cabin.”