Interesting Website!

 

Yeah, I know it's "not Christian" to mock, belittle, or speak ill of the dead- but... I don't think the vast majority of these rather outspoken individuals had any problem mouthing off to anyone who disagreed with them on this topic, or any other for that matter. And then, one should really consider all the other victims they actively influenced to suffer similar fates! Some remained true blue throughout their ordeal (you can call it brave if ya want- I'll call it something else), although I'm sure even they must have had some small, however minuscule, inkling of doubt towards the bitter end...

Lora Webb Nichols

Photographers are constantly trying to see things in new ways, and you, me and most anyone would have indubitably gotten considerably closer and snapped away at these guys in landscape mode for a decent group shot. But not Lora Webb Nichols, uh-uh- she saw it different, she played it different. And dang if it don't get your attention- brilliantly surreal!

And if ya think this plays off the previous post of lines, poles and composition.... you'd be right!

Photo: © Lora Webb Nichols

 

The Woodlands

 

Photo: © Stan Banos

Now, I've ambled past this stretch of piers quite a few times before, but never, never, never had I ever seen (errrr... noticed) that particular patch of old growth telephone poles! Telephone poles? What kind of dinosaur... who ever utters such a discontinued term of yore? Sounds downright nineteenth century, let alone twentieth. But these particular individuals are certainly the tallest darn specimens I ever did see!

Second thought was, this is a job for a view camera- yup, gotta straighten out all them verticals and what not! That thought in mind, I whipped out the ol' GR and set to explorin'. And if ya can't align things all prim and proper like, well... then throw the whole house asunder and see what ya get- and in this case, I think things settled out rather nicely! 

Yeah, I'm sure there are those that'll still whine and kvetch about the tilted horizon line (never mind the verticals), and to be sure, that little trick doesn't always save the day. But that composition is one beautifully dense amalgam of lines, shadows and geometric shapes up the gazoo! I just discombobulated 'em and made sense of the whole mess- minus the in house tilts and shifts. Thank you very much.

 PS- And speaking of telephone poles...

For Your Viewing Pleasure Only...

 

Home Fires, Vol 2: The Present

 

Photo: © Bruce Haley

I reviewed Home Fires, Volume 1: The Past by Bruce Haley a year ago; recently he sent me Volume 2: The Present, and in full disclosure, Mr. Haley was kind enough to gift me both books which in and of themselves make for quite a collection. Vol. 2 is both a more massive undertaking, and the more accessible of the two as it takes a more photojournalistic approach. This second effort contains: people, interiors and of course, landscapes- something for everyone in his now signature, near monochromatic color scheme. While I loved the first volume as a whole for its desolation and outright bleakness, the latest volume has many individual shots of note to both ponder and appreciate. 

There is one shot taken from behind of cowboys herding cattle, as timeless a shot as possibly imagined; other than being an in camera color image, the only other clue that exposes its modern day origins is the slightest contrail just barely visible, and so seemingly, impossibly high and beyond reach in the vast Western sky. As Mr. Haley imparts, "they (the photographs) are simply a reflection of what I find interesting," and very much part of an America that most no longer think of as The Present.

It's All In The Details

Most photographers like to think of themselves as pretty good observers, or at least... strive to be. I like to think I'm fairly decent, but I manifest my major failings on an all too regular basis. I miss not only in terms of composition (which is exasperating enough), but also in terms of content (nuance is not my cup of tea)- the latter something that can often separate a master "street" photographer from your weekend warrior. Yeah, it's all in the details, as they say...

Photo: © Stan Banos*

Occasionally, I've taken rather close up photographs of graffiti, etc on various sized poles (for lack of better description) with wide angle lenses. A millimeter to the left or right can completely unbalance the background and entire composition, and that is more understatement than exaggeration. I also think that so many people crop after the fact because while they pay excruciating detail to what's going on in the center of the frame, they tend to downplay, if not totally ignore what's going on throughout its edges, almost as if they're an afterthought- they're not!

The video below is not on photography, but it does concentrate on... the details! And it's fascinating to observe how detail can be taken to such a minute extreme.  I love vintage watches, at least a very certain variety- but mostly I just look (as I look at Leica M's and Q's), I don't have hundreds to throw on photography, let alone watches (or Leicas). But a certain aesthetic of vintage watches sends me into another time period, another realm of experience, another level of appreciation. 

The video concentrates on the details and intricacies of spotting vintage fakes. One can fairly easily spot the more obvious, but again- it's all in the details.** 

*Sure not to everyone's taste, but I like it. How close? On the edge of switching to Macro Mode close. Took me about 6 takes before lucking out to an angle that works, and I say luck, because w/o that boat on the left arriving when it did, where it did for balance- still no shot.

**Another watch aficionado was able to spot a high end fake by noticing the lack of separation in the upper half of the fives in the "55" of the minute dial.

The Countdown Begins...

 The annual one- for the first keeper of the year!

Photo: © Stan Banos 12/31/2021

The Year In Non-Review...

Well, I was gonna expound on my personal (photographic) accomplishments this year of: 2 books, 2 zines, and having one of the above accepted for show- but in all honesty, that all pales to not having stepped in a fresh pile of human excrement in San Francisco! Don't know how I managed to pull that off yet again, but yeah, my proudest accomplishment two years running- although I know the clock is ticking...

There are so many problems in this world at the moment (local and global) that one doesn't know where to start; I try to draw attention to them here on an individual basis throughout the year, but, well, yeah...

And as I've often said before, enjoy this 'respite' while it lasts- before climate change hits the entire planet like the runaway global freight train that we are unabatedly making it. Meanwhile, can't end the old year and start the new on such a dour note, so I'll sign off on this one with well wishes towards all and... someone who does know better- much better. And he's got it down pat, to-the-very-syllable. Why we are, where we are- and there's plenty of blame to go round on all sides: politically, economically, socially.

Every American should hear this, better yet, actually listen...

2 Movies I Hate W/O Seeing!

The latest Matrix iteration. God it looks awful! The first edition was an all time Sci-fi masterpiece, the second... meh, the third- pretty damn good. Maybe I'll catch it online and prove myself wrong- be nice, but in this case- doubt it.

The second is the over hyped, over exposed to the Ever Lovin' Absolute Max... Licorice Pizza. Maybe it's great, maybe I'd love it- BUT... I'm so damn sick of hearing all the advertisements 24/7 about: just how good it is, how much the critics love it, how much everyone loves it, that it already has me vomiting on cue- BASTA!

Rockwell Automation Overload!!!

Well it's too late to order one of these smooth operators to coordinate all your basic household needs in time for this Christmas. But while you contemplate ordering one of these little multi-syllabic humdingers for next holiday season- you can certainly make the best use of your remaining time by ordering a can of WD-40 to gently quiet its myriad of hatches...

Gets hardcore at 0:50 (with the opening of the first latch).

Good Run...

 While it lasted!

Planned Obsolescence...

 

 

Just last morning I was listening to a program on NPR discussing planned obsolescence. For instance, Maytag dishwashers are made to last 2 years without servicing (before the spinning mechanism gives out). The same afternoon, I see this video on TIMEX, an (economy) brand name since years gone by. I love vintage analog watches (of a certain styling), they're kinda like film noir- a very retro, minimalist, yet singularly stylized aesthetic. TIMEX were also (rightly or wrongly) known for their reliability- "It takes a beating and keeps on ticking!" 

It also offers insight into another question I've always asked- "Doesn't it cost more or less the same to design something cool looking, as opposed to something... fugly (from a strict design, not material sense)? TIMEX watches were fairly stylish- even if a tad conservative. Look at that recessed crown of yore in today's modern, vintage rerun, the California Marlin- Absolutely- Gorgeous! The Dauphine watch hands, the entire dial with its unique mix of Roman and Arabic numerals and markers; clean and elegant, classic, yet modern- and that green band just sends the entire ensemble to another level... And I'm most definitely a fan of domed acrylic crystals.

But I ain't buying for $200, especially after reading the reviews of their frequent breakdowns (it contains a tiny crap movement in a plastic shrouded casing)- though I'd take my chances for $150 (it looks that good). Fortunately, I lucked out with a '61 Bulova of very similar styling* for $200 in great condition on eBay- and it's an automatic!

*It also has a similar sized 34mm case, as did many a vintage man's watch (and most WWll Dirty Dozen watches)- unlike the MEGA-HUGE Atom Smashers that encase many a modern wrist.

How Bent On Suicide Is Humanity?

As we find ourselves plummeting down the road to environmental, climate induced disaster, we not only continue to excuse what initially caused the problem(s), we insanely devise yet even more ways to exacerbate our demise... like novel, so called 'eco-friendly' approaches that require the cutting down and burning of trees that not only destroy the environment twice over by first eliminating a primary carbon reducer and transforming it into harmful carbon emission, but by also making the local populace sick in the process...

Big Ed!

Seen a bunch of flicks in the past coupla months (some even in an actual movie theater); have meant to "review" each and every one, just haven't got 'round to it. I'm happy to say I'm finally over my Bond fixation, finally gotten over my original childhood movie action hero at my ripe old age- how embarrassing is that!? Saw a rather amusing little fantasy called Lamb (mistakenly advertised as a horror flick) which had one of the coolest closing shots ever; a morality tale called Azor on how a meticulously scrupulous banker at first haltingly, and then enthusiastically, abandons his lifelong, professional tenets for the fruits of success; and most recently- Eadweard! Who knows how accurately it depicts his personal life (as opposed to his professional exploits)- but it does note that he was the last person to kill his wife's lover in cold blood, and get off scot free in a court of US law simply because he was... "justified." It also ingeniously displays a rather magical scene in which Muybridge presents the walking image of an elephant on his Zoopraxiscope. You actually experience the absolute wonder humans must have experienced upon first seeing the complexity of such lifelike movement reproduced in such astonishing detail- in the convenience of one's own home. He was most definitely a man obsessed with the wonder and intricacies of motion and movement, and how to dissect and display all of it in part and in whole.

American Geography- Matt Black

 

 

American Geography is one handsome, well thought out, well put together book. The images are striking, the reproductions superb and the content, American poverty as it exists today, as topical as it gets. The inside covers graphically list a long and seemingly endless list of the towns and places visited. The photographs are a combination of somber, digital, square format photos that focus on the landscape of the dispossessed and those attempting its navigation, interspersed with the occasional X-Pan panoramic scenic. Extra visuals include two page typologies of: crushed cigarette boxes, plastic spoons and forks, wire hangers and "Anything Helps" signs. And to guide ya through the sights, you get a constant thread of anecdotes, that read like verbal snapshots, more observational than definitive. Taken together, the book holds up and then some, considerably more intact than the territory it reveals.

The White Sky

 

Photo: Mimi Plumb

Had a great experience the other day, not only went to an actual in person photo exhibit like in ye olden days- but saw a great exhibit at that! It was Mimi Plumb's The White Sky at The Robert Koch Gallery in San Francisco, and it's the kind of exhibit that makes you fall in love with B&W (film) photography all over again- if not for the very first time in this digital era. And I say the latter since digital B&W is more often than not- one fugly fellow, at least as utilized by most practitioners today; suffice to say, it's complicated. Analog film is where B&W imagery truly shines- and these prints bare testament to that fact... gorgeous, full bodied, dynamic.* A celebration of what B&W film does best by a student of none other than B&W master Henry Wessel. And that technical prowess is only magnified by the aesthetics of Mimi Plumb's contemplative eye.

*And interesting to note- the prints are actually... inkjets!

Say What?

What every kid and would be grown up is chiming for- that's what! And just in time to make the perfect stocking stuffer... That's right, SAY WHAT? the penultimate Photozine of the year this decade! Fresh off the press and into the warm constabularies of your heart's delight- yeah, I made that part up. 

Get 'em while they're hot! Stan's long awaited, much anticipated and inexorably acclaimed, graffiti zine; complete with 55 life altering literary passages that will forever redefine your current journey- at your local Blurb emporium today...

Remember NO Matter What Happens... That You Actually Suck :)

PS:  If anything, I've always dissuaded anyone from actually buying any of my publications, and this ain't no different- but... FWIW, this is the first time that I can honestly say that the cost of this particular Blurb product is actually worth the going price! I mean, I wouldn't pay $50 for a small hard cover with mediocre reproductions, but... $8.40 for a zine w/55 images- this ain't a bad deal at all! Yeah, just sayin'...

Holiday Cheer!

"He slipped and fell," on a World War II anti-tank shell, that uhhh... went straight up his rectum. Damn, this is the kind of thing that makes me wanna take out my Texas Instruments calculator from the seventies and just try and work out the math on just what-were-the-odds...

BOO!

No, not Halloween Boo- Dirt Boo! Miracle Dirt Boo!!! Good for all that ails ya- including Covid 19-20-21!!! And it's 100% Organic- except for the landfill infused lead and arsenic. From the country that gave you Pet Rocks- well err.. actually from its friendly northern neighbor... Canada, where scams are friendly and civil. 

Goes well with your Borax Bath- drives the vaccine nanos right outta your hair! And once you're well again, you can get right back to the important things in life, like--- Stopping The Steal!

Irish Dancers

The foot movement on both of these = Poetry x Lightning. It's my understanding that the female dancer is not doing traditional Irish dance for the simple fact that... she's moving her arms! Clearly verboten back in the day when arm movement would sway innocent, Catholic lads into demonic, primal urges on the Emerald Isle. I suppose the foot movement evolved to such a wonderfully (and insanely) manic level to compensate for the lack of said upper body movement- view true, traditional Irish dance and the female dancer's arms are rod straight, leaden, vestigial appendages. 

PS- I was in awe of Riverdance at first... until it got so over the top Disney/Hollywood.

 

"I Was Shocked"

Captain Robert Salas was a missile launch officer (ya know- your usual UFO WHACKO) who lost control of ten of his land based nuclear ICBM's after a UFO hovering over the missile silo shut them down. Interesting stuff...