James Hamilton- Uncropped

Gonna keep an eye out for this one- one of my favorite photographers of all time! Absolute master portraitist- bar none! Back in the day I would run to grab a copy of the Village Voice each and every week just to find the portrait by James Hamilton. He would use every millimeter of the 35mm frame to maximum effect. Every shot was a revelation, every shot its own master class in photography- never understood why he wasn't one of the first names mentioned when anyone discussed photographic portraiture. He also managed to squeeze more quality out of a 35mm frame than seemed humanly possible, his photographs seemed to be taken with a 4X5! Everyone has a lot to learn from this guy...

Paul & Pearl

Photo: © Stan Banos

I see shit like this all the time. Yeah, I know- how can you be so cold, cruel, clinical? This scenario was less than a block away from work this Monday morning. And no, I don't always take a picture of these hapless individuals (perhaps I should to make it more 'democratic'). Fact is, I stopped for two reasons: a) it had a possible photo opportunity (there, I said it) and b) I feared she might be in the process of an OD, or... actually dead. After years of seeing people in like positions (practically daily), you get a sense as to which are just working it off, and those which just might be in trouble. This was such a singularly odd positioning however (ram rod straight, elbows bent as if in preparation of some perversely aberrant push up), I decided better safe than sorry. I approached, took the photo, called out (received no response), called out louder and gave her a nudge... Finally, movement as she repositioned herself; she's alive, don't have to call 911. I'm back on my way to work, where people with disabilities await.

FWIW, I've written extensively on the ethics of taking photographs of this type. Honestly, you can make a worthy argument either way. In short, the way I think- take it when in doubt, and then decide if it should see the light of day. Photographers are often told the adage that our work should encompass our everyday lives, I already ignore don't photograph 99% of the pain I see in these streets every day, wouldn't I be in complete denial if I didn't reveal at least a small percentage photographically?  

Editing the photo I get to thinking how this was someone's child, who laughed and had dreams while she too sat amongst her peers in grade school. Somehow, it went tragically, woefully wrong. And the streets throb with their presence...

Open Your Mind- Michio Kaku

 Are we alone? "Of course, what took you so long," Michio Kaku.

Been a while since last posted. So here's something to think about, starting at... 15:35. Michio (who now believes the burden of proof has shifted to proving UFO's are man made) asks us- "What if they are hundreds, thousands, millions of years more advanced than us?" That's always been the thing that ticks me off- STOP thinking like a primitive simian hominid!!! They sure as hell don't! Forget the landing on the White House lawn BS. And forever refrain from the condescending (I'll cover my ass every which way as politely as possible) non answer- well, they probably do exist but they're so far away, yada, yada, yada... 

The way they think, live and travel is not beyond our imaginings- but it is well beyond our present technology and understanding. "Open your mind-" one hundred fifty years ago, trans oceanic travel measured in hours was a laughable pipedream, think of what thousands of years could achieve (precluding self destruction)... then think another million to our current 6!

PS- 38:00 also quite interesting...

Now, That's An Audience!

I was twelve and still remember just how rhythmic and radical this sounded next to anything that ever came before it! The same that that rad audience was thinking at song's end...

Serendipity

Recently, I talked about the difficulty I experienced sequencing and editing the photos for my most recent long term project. The day after I received a copy of the finished product, I came upon a post on Conscientious, and lo and behold- advice on how to edit and sequence a photobook so that it has a certain, unique narrative flow. And although we expressed it somewhat differently, and I'm not sure if I can claim success in Mr. Colberg's eyes- it was exactly what I was trying to convey, and exactly how I went about doing it to the best of my admittedly limited ability!

Making Book

Usually when I've made my photobooks and zines, they are 3-4 day affairs (of 3-4 hrs work ea) made during a sustained burst of energy. And they usually accomplish their goal of illustrating their singular, selected topic. This endeavor was different, it encompassed a larger time frame, encompassing a larger range of issues that affected and changed the state of a city from pre thru post Covid. I've done stuff on San Francisco (and Covid) before, and you've probably seen most of these pictures before (although it does contain around a dozen new mages). But this particular project encompasses more diverse, disparate influences, incl: crime, homelessness, addiction, Covid, technology, employment, etc. It's a disturbing if uneven glimpse at a steady deluge of conflicting plagues that beset this once thriving city.

Include too many photos of one particular topic or issue and you can go top heavy on tangents that make it hard to reintegrate, not enough and they can seem like distractions or a greatest hits compilation. Maintaining a sense of balance was a constant consideration; I could have shown more 'depressing' images for sure, but one grows weary of that quickly. So exactly how many photos depicting various aspects, negative and otherwise, does one intersperse to sustain a diversity of interest without betraying the topic at hand, one basically illustrating the downfall of a community at large? 

Editing this book was ironically similar to writing a short story, although the analogy is far from perfect. I wanted some sense of narrative, the photographs being the sentences, and how you display them, the punctuation. You can bend and formulate words, sentences, paragraphs to your liking to better fit your storyline as far as pace, sequencing and emotional narrative. It's harder with a series of set images meant to exist as independent structures- your options are more limited, basically: where and when do you present them (in the storyline and on the page), how large do you present them and how do you present them, solely or in groups? Those are your major story telling options in a book of photographs- besides the actual content within the photos themselves. And no, I'm not getting into captions, since there are none.

Fortunately, by using Blurb's magazine format, one has more options as to how to present one's photos. Two horizontal photos on one page, a slightly larger solo, a full page vertical, and yes- a double truck horizontal spread. And this was my first venture using all the above for maximum impact.

Broken City! is my swan song to a second home that has been hopelessly left reeling by leaders, laws and attitudes comfortable enough to evade their own neglect. The pictures only hint at the world of hurt that plagues it, the colors way too pretty and cheerful- again, who would look otherwise? I myself now opt to take the bus to work rather than dodge the landmines of drug addled zombies, feces and detritus that blocks the way and wears-at-you-daily.* Seventies "Drop Dead, New York" was never in question of coming back, it was literally too big to fail, but a city of less than a million, with a downtown hollowed out to the core is a much more vulnerable, dubious animal.

*That's the very street (see 0:36) I used to walk everyday to work, and now bus, and that ain't no prize either 'cause Crazy also boards the bus (also the street where the photo on p.7 was taken). About 2 of ten passengers actually pay their bus fare; one time while waiting on a red light, an impatient passenger knocked out a window and casually jumped out- when ya gotta go, ya gotta go!

Obscene, Yet...

Hilarious all the same. When your insecurity demands you separate yourself from your fellow man by seeing just how high you can stick your nose up your ass!

And uhh, speaking of Penthouses...

Portrait by...

I was immediately intrigued by the portraits that graced this very interesting interview. They seemed uncharacteristically... harsh, and intriguing- more in your face straightforward than your usual portrait of a well respected art icon in their latter years. By the second to last shot, yeah, I was sure- before having the last shot pretty much scream it out loud...

Photo:  ©...

A Future Darkly

Photo: © Stan Banos

One can make the argument that Dems and Repubs are two sides of the same coin- I've often made it myself. But truth is, had Gore won, there would have been no Iraq War- that was a complete, pure and unmitigated W/Cheney concoction of lies, lies and more lies that cost hundreds of thousands of innocent lives (not to mention a few of our own)... a trillion dollar plus debacle that is curiously never mentioned when it comes to the financial collapse of the aughts. 

I voted my heart in exactly one presidential election- yeah, I voted Nader in 2000; ya see where this is going. CA went for Gore so I can be 'absolved,' but then there was... Florida, where Gore lost to W by 537 votes, a state that cast almost 100,000 votes for Nader. And this year a Kennedy is running, no one I can get excited about, but together with unenthusiastic Joe's refusal to do the right thing and officially put the brakes on Israel's best imitation of genocide- he's voluntarily giving away the very votes in Michigan that got him in!

All this in a time when we have an outright wannabe Fascist, psycho manchild on the verge of all out dementia gearing up to put an end to our already paper thin semblance of a democracy. And even if good ol' tottering Joe manages to pull one out of a hat, no one is even talking about what to do when The Don calls in his chips and unleashes his minions for his last hurrah...

Recycling Is A... LIE!

I'm gonna assume most some people know the aforementioned is true (I was blissfully oblivious for longer than I care to admit), but it still angers the Bejeesuz out of me... to say the least. Everyday we have countless citizens putting in the extra effort to do what is right, honestly thinking the extra effort is worth the beneficial result and making all our lives (including that of their children) that much better... and it's just another Matrix-sized LIE (at least in the good ol' USA)! Unfortunately, we're all just politely jerking each other off thinking we're actually doing a good deed for our fellow human. And all that's happening is that Big Oil and Company(s) have found yet another way to get rich at our expense, while making us smile- and fucking us in the ass while doing it! Efficiency at its finest.

And truth be told, I still do it! There is now so much plastic encapsulating everything we buy (particularly food) that I don't have room for it all in my garbage container. The plastic bins, containers and packaging that currently envelops our food products alone is simply overwhelming...

Exactly.

PLAIN & SIMPLE...

Yup.

This (difficult as it is) I understand fully.

This I can't even begin to fathom...

Lemons Into...

Yeah, I have seen this 'technique' used before, I just don't recall when the context so overwhelmed. It's unfortunate that its very usage lies in the most profound of tragedies- suffering due to sheer human greed and malice. Fortunately, we have someone with the skills to remind reveal to us the evil being perpetrated half a world away, by presenting it in a way that entices us to look and consider it anew, instead of turning away in apathy and disinterest. And that, of course, is what (great) art can do...

An Even Dozen, Maybe?

I submitted ten photographs this year to the NY Times Portfolio Review, just like I did the previous ten years. And just like those previous ten years, I thought I was submitting an invulnerable group of ten infallible images, each and every one a knockout, sure shot to success. It was only afterwards that I would admit that, well yeah, maybe there were one (or two) that I kinda threw in on a wing and a prayer. So this year I began editing early, carefully, extra carefully- one tight edit right on topic. Surely, they would now set this right, knowing how much this meant to me, realizing how wrong they had been before- no hard feelings, all would be forgiven. Finally, I'd get thrown a slice for 40+ years of image making! This was gonna be it, give it my Best shot, no second guessing, no regrets- full throttle I will not be denied! 

And uhhh... yeah, of course I was- again. 

I was right about one thing though- no regrets this time. This time I did give it my best, and why they couldn't find just one little slot in their list of one hundred fucking sixty- well, that's the one thing I would really like to know. Other than that, I took it pretty well; actually, better than I thought, and just went on with my day. Shit, people are being slaughtered and starved in at least two major conflicts half a world away- what the hell do I have to complain about! Seriously.

Anyway, here are the ten indomitable failures:

All Photos: © Stan Banos            1) Any Adult

2)  Trans Rights

3)  Abort Court

4) Protection

5)  Cap'n America

6)  Help

7)  MLK

8) Neither

9)  7X

10)  Declaration

So... that's it, right, Stan? No sense entering again next year, right? I mean what's the point? Ya gave it your best and...

True, true... but right now, I'm kinda thinking... just hit 'em with my Folsom Leather Street Fair dick pics from here on in, after all, they are my signature best- and who can resist that face:

BEACH BOY! 

Fascist-Socialist-Commie Pig!

"You have people in rural areas saying socialism is destroying their economies. But if you look at why the mom-and-pop shop closed and got replaced by a Dollar General? That's late stage capitalism. That ain't socialism. Right? If you look at why hospital and treatment facilities are closing, it's because rural hospitals don't turn a profit. That's capitalism, pure and simple. The same people who are complaining that socialism and communism are taking over America are watching their communities being decimated by late stage capitalism. And they're pointing fingers at cultural elites in faraway cities." 

'Cause it's just so much easier to blame what ya wanna (and who cares what all 'em big words mean anyway) ...

The Leg Bone's Connected To...

I have the noticeably bad habit of: taking a photo, getting excited, going back home, editing it, and then that night, if I have something to actually say that goes with it, posting it the very next day. The next day, I wake up and... Whoops! I didn't see a certain part of the photo the night before that really needs some attention, so I get about to fixing it, there done! And then the following day... aww shit- how did I miss that other part? And so it goes, as you perfect one problem spot, it demands you make better another...

And so here we are a full week later until I've finally got this down right! It's a backlit shot which always presents additional problems. That next day, I still had to deal with remaining tonal discrepancies in the mid and foreground- finally, good and done after three days. Then I noticed the sky area was good and fucked up, another coupla days trying to even that out- before realizing (and finally admitting) that it was too far gone to salvage... I would have to start all over! SHIT!!! So I did, and finally got it right after a coupla days incorporating what I now knew I had to do. Then I noticed the composition seemed a tad unbalanced- what the... that didn't seem a problem before!? I eventually came to realize I had to make the left hand side a bit darker, and that finally did the trick- one full week after the fact. It's still not the greatest shot, but at least it's properly edited. The End!*

*I f'n hope so.

ADDENDUM: Needed just a tad more work today (3/04).

Stand Off

Photo: © Stan Banos

Fortunately, we've had our fair share of weather this winter- fortunate in light of the years of drought we've had. Doesn't make for a host of picture taking opportunities though, bad enough here on good days with hardly a soul ambling about the streets of San Francisco anymore. One weekend I was fortunate to view two really good flicks in a proper movie theater, but this past Presidents' Day weekend, there was nothing on the menu via entertainment and it rained every day. So I forced myself to do what I had been putting off for some time and started consolidating my digital files for posterity, which included burning them on gold DVD-R discs. Actually, I had done this as recently as 2 yrs ago, but I had gradually reedited so many of my files, I really needed to update since I've continued to improve my editing skills (now in color) with my state of the art Elements 9 Photoshop. Yeah, yeah- I know, I know... I really need to dispense with that toy editing software, man up, put on my big boy pants and buy Lightroom, Capture One or whatever- I get it!. And that's exactly what I plan to do in a year and two thirds when I retire... maybe (I just dread the fact that it'll then take me at least a year and a half to familiarize myself with the subtleties of the program, and a whole 'nother year and a half to 'master' it- and then go back and reedit that last three years work to finally begin to get it right... Lawdy, lawdy!

Anyway, one of the nice things that occurred was finding the discarded image above taken that very first Summer of Covid back in 2020 in NYC. I had dismissed it then as not very much. And while it may still remain and forever be just that, it now seems to so perfectly encapsulate and remind one of that peak period of time when the whole world seemed so very stand-offishly beyond the perimeter.

Only In America!

"We are an institute in a powerful death penalty."         Photo: © Stan Banos

Haven't written much on Herr Trump of late, sometimes I just get tired of repeatedly and voluntarily ramming my head into a Trumpian wall. For years he mixed his plethora of outright lies with a convenient dollop of half truths. Now he just makes it up whole cloth 24/7, no holds barred! And why not? His cult eagerly swallows and follows whatever falls out his donut shaped pie hole unto his accordion playing hands. 

Everyone knows Biden is hovering on senility, but Trump supporters are NEVER exposed to Trump's equally egregious and numerous verbal gaffes, not to mention his habitual slurring. And that said, one particularly tumultuous Biden gaffe in Sept/Oct, one more precipitous tumble down Air Force One's stairs, and kiss the Dems goodbye this Nov! Unlike the Trump maniacs, no one is exactly enthused to- Vote Biden! The Dems are once again setting themselves up, just like they did with the aging Ginsberg; there's still time to get someone out there in front of the public that's near half a century younger, but they never learn...

Meanwhile, while everyone complains about our soaring national debt no one seems to remember cheering its leading cause, just like no one seems to remember the on again off again deficit blame game Repubs pull every Presidential election cycle...

ADDENDUM: Then there's this... no Michigan, no Dem win!

B&W & Color

Mention the masters of color photography, and you always get the usual names: Eggleston, Parr, Shore, Graham, Meyerowitz along with a handful of others. The name Mitch Epstein doesn't usually show up on the A team, and I'm not sure why that is. Perhaps because unlike Eggleston, he undertook a greater variety of subject matter, but then, so did Meyerowitz. And Epstein's quality rivals his productivity as well. So yeah, I dunno...

Paulie B. Hits The Streets

If you haven't seen Paulie B's videos on You Tube, you really should take a gander. And this is from someone who long ago gave up on viewing just about anything bearing what in my mind has become that near kiss of death terminology... "street photography." Countless videos from everyone and their mama telling you and yours about: the right camera, the right lens, the right presets and why you need to do it this way, that way, their way... occasionally accompanied with their own 'original' photos buttressing their sage and proven advice. Like, share and subscribe. 

Paulie B. is refreshingly free of that, someone with a genuine love and respect for the medium that wants to share that enthusiasm with anyone who wants to share the ride. And he does that not by pontificating but by asking, interviewing and seeking whatever bits of wisdom and knowledge he can from the street photographers he accompanies and videos as they do their thing live, traversing various NYC neighborhoods. The photographers are a diverse bunch, of all different skill levels, from novices to recognized image makers. Most of them are young, just starting to figure things out and every bit as enthusiastic as he, and it's interesting to see how they contrast and complement their more seasoned counterparts. For those interested in practicing and learning more about the craft, these videos are head and shoulders above someone lecturing on their computer. Shop talk is discussed, but the focus is on the philosophy, attitude and inspiration that gets one walking the street, camera in hand and taking successful images. Life may have other plans for some of these photographers, others may just become future image masters of their realm.

You'll no doubt like the work and style of some photographers more than others, enjoy some of the topics, approaches and discussions over others. Point is, he brings his infectious enthusiasm and youthful curiosity to all his working, on site interviews; the love of craft, the sincerity in learning, the respect to all involved is real and palpable...

Passing Time- Sage Sohier

Photo: © Sage Sohier

One of the things I enjoy most is 'discovering' a photographer I knew nothing about, a photographer whose work is exemplary, the kind that makes you say "Wow, just... Wow!" It's an unlikely occurrence for sure, exactly why it's such a rare and treasured occasion- like when I first saw Sage Sohier's work.*

I've seen the subject matter portrayed in Passing Time before, very well executed before, photographers such as: Shelby Lee Adams, Mark Steinmetz, Milton Rogovin, Larry Fink, Thomas Roma and several others come to mind. And yet, anyone who's actually tried to photograph these (very) common day, yet surprisingly intimate moments, and make them look as graphically and visually interesting, knows just how hard (and perplexing) that can be. There's even a shade of Martin Parr's Last Resort in Passing Time, that story within a story within each section of the frame, the complexity of which not even he could maintain after that particular body of work. And that's just part of what makes these particular images so intriguing, the other being the myriad of social interactions that help connect, contrast and energize those pictured throughout the composition. If I could take a picture as good as the boom box suitor and the contemplative apple of his eye, I could hang up my camera with the realization that I had indeed put it to some good use. 

*Actually, I had seen her work some time before, and just happened to (most ashamedly) forget her name; fortunately, I was recently reintroduced to her upon first seeing Passing Time on  Lenscratch.