Photography

Actually I have never been to Pisa, it's all a story... based on a recent exchange with 'cazalea' about visiting famous tourist spots and the overwhelming urge NOT to take a photograph.

Credit: Martin Parr


In a Thursday Quote thread in "TimeOut" I posted a comment "In Memory of Agnès Varda (30 May 1928 – 29 March 2019)" where she said "I'm not interested in seeing a film just made by a woman - not unless she is looking for new images."  I have read other similar quotes, most notably by Werner Herzog to the effect that most of the images around us, suffused with commercialism, are worn out and pernicious in their banality... a bit of overstatement that ; )

The search for an original image... Do you have a favorite photo 'not taken'?

Casey

Yes. In L.A. that means proactively NOT taking photos at any of the overwhelmingly over-hyped locations, most notably any related to the business of Hollywood, including actors/actresses themselves xD. I have by now seen a considerable number of them, some on numerous occasions and am proud to say that I don't have a single 'selfie' with a public personality. There was only one encounter when I briefly spoke to an actor whose image I'd enthusiastically like being taken with, but even then only with additional context attached to it. Maybe it happens, maybe it doesn't, I am happy either way . Great subject, when are your additional musings on Herzog coming online!? Cheers, Filip

and ran into buku "stars", also around awards time...  I must say I was awed by Bob Hope, but like you no photos... this was way (way-way) before smart phones.

I finished "... A Guide for the Perplexed" with copious notes and about 40% into "Conquest of the Useless"... the guy has a vivid imagination and I am convinced that only about 50% of what he writes is true ; )

For sure some of the 'themes' have been reflected in my recent postings... sometimes it takes me awhile ; )

Casey

I wrote down notes from that Mindscape interview I shared and have yet to take a few hours to return to them and examine on a more subjective level some of the implications and possible actions toward some degree of success with artificial moral agents . I can easily imagine Bob Hope being similarly frequented by public personalities as Santa Monica airport. Funnily enough, the St. John's health center is very much traversed by those types for everything between emergency and cosmetic medicine. I just found out at least one of the plastic surgeons live feeds his surgeries on his Instagram profile!?! A new thing, even for my heavily jaded self x). Looking forward to more Herzog-isms. Cheers, Filip

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#1 tourist trap in the world. :O Filip

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Needless to say I didn't go up the tower... I have been up Tokyo Tower and it's worthy... particularly at dusk. I must say that I have always been fascinated by the Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile and on my last visit to Paris (~2009) I made the climb and was happy to have made the effort.

Here is a photo of the Arc de Triomphe that I took in 1969 (Kodachrome ISO 64 if memory serves me).

Casey

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New Year's Eve 2010






I have not climbed it though, I have no interest in doing that.

The last time I was in Paris there was a huge TV screen on the tower showing some sports event... I felt it showed no sense of taste at all ; ) Casey

In my BI years (BI - Before Internet) I took photographs to document where I had been and on rare occasions open photo albums for the memories of times and places. With digital photography there was not so much to lug around and storage became easier. If I ever need to see a photo of a place, the photography online is far better than any I could achieve. These days, I rarely bother to photograph places unless it's to document how places have changed over the years. I have some photographs of London where the landmarks are blackened by pollution and it amazes me what we were willing to accept in larger cities as the norm. Today I spend more time looking in the rear view mirror and sharing photos with family and friends of how we looked 40 and 50 years ago. Apologies for the quality, it was a Kodak Instamatic.



Westminster Abbey 1976

Beyond belief. Cheers, Filip

Love that color and look...

So true about new "norms"... 70 is the new 50 and Green is the new Black ; )  I might have a photo of Big Ben in the archives from the late 1960s when my younger brother and I went to London and Paris...  we visited Carnaby Street and I bought my first pair of flairs...  this week Mick had heart surgery...

I enjoy archive diving as much as the next and don't photography every day like I use to... but I still enjoy that process and looking for new angles in composition...

Casey

Outside the Duomo




On the banks of the Arno

I enjoy photos that touch on the off-beat with a human nature slant... you can read volumes into that second photo, or just sit back and enjoy the scene... it has that kind of energy. Casey

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Things like food displays, menu boards, scenes around tourist attractions. People going about their business. Families playing in a park. Cars parked along the street. Store signs. Internet cafes.

As the years pass, many years, you may appreciate the most banal of photos, when they are a way to rekindle precious memories and a now bygone way of living.

The silly tourist attraction photos have been done to death, but there are worthwhile alternatives, wherever you go.

When I was just starting out I looked for the "big news item", but over time I realized that I missed the "everyday photos"... the workplace, the home, school... that whole segment of photos that I had considered too mundane at the time.  Not a regret, but somehow a gap.

I like shooting with a macro lens... not necessarily tiny objects, but isolated snippets of life.

Thanks for the comment.

Casey