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...

 

A Most Efficient Blob!

As I've mentioned before, I really like a 'good' camera bag (every bit as subjective as a 'good' camera)- whether it's the latest thing, or something you've cleverly cobbled together from vintage army surplus and modern inserts.

The Wotancraft Pilot 7L is one of the most efficient and practical bags ever! It really is ingeniously designed- and has absolute zero in the looks department. That's not to say it's ugly, Peak Design with its angular moderne aesthetic is ugly. The Pilot is just a neutral, nearly amorphous blob of pragmatic practicality. Easy to access, enlarge, divide and configure. It offers enough room, protection and durability (Cordura) to serve and last for many a photographer's evolving needs. 

Am I putting my money where my mouth is? Nope, already got a bag that is almost as efficient and at a much lower price point (it even looks slightly better), not to mention- my very favorite camera bag.

Happy Thanksgiving Holidays....

Photo: © Stan Banos

  

Hoping everyone has a great one with those that matter most...

What The!?!!

Thank you for your recent submission concerning...

Unfortunately, due to the high volume of submissions...

This is not to suggest that your work...

We look forward to seeing more... 

 

You know, the usual rejection rap- which is completely what I expected... I entered P-A-N-D-E-M-A-N-I-A! in this photobook competition expecting the proverbial snowball's chance in hell. Now, I had no idea what kind of submissions would be made here- particularly concerning the quality of... presentation. I've seen the quality of design, materials and craftsmanship that go into some of these indie publications: Corinthian leather covers (I prefer velour), hand bound papyrus pages sewn together with frozen Mastodon sinew and a needle made of Narwhal tusk, fold out pages, inserts, secret compartments- versus a generic Blurb production with barely satisfactory reproductions. Yeah, good luck with dat!

And yet, and yet... Somehow it snuck through the cracks! Musta been the added uhhh... narration (ie- captions)- yeah, that's the ticket! Like I've said, Blurb is the dummy for the book that ya really wanna make; and somehow, that aspiration must have got through, since my usual book announcements are uniformly greeted with a resounding crescendo of... crickets!

Well, it's the Big Time from now on- nothing but Pink Champale and the very best of men's wear from Members Only!

P-A-N-D-E-M-A-N-I-A! will now be exhibited with several other photobooks in not one, but two galleries- at the Davis/Orton Gallery from 11/20-12/19 and The Griffin Museum of Photography from 1/06-2/27...

Photo: ©  Stan Banos

ADDENDUM: In the About the Book section at the Davis/Orton Gallery site, it should read: "Although San Francisco evaded a high number of deaths, it manifested most of the other problems prevalent elsewhere– skyrocketing unemployment and an already endemic homeless population that swelled unto streets and sidewalks well beyond downtown."

Armalite Rifles- "I Disapprove Of Them"

 Particularly when carried by teenagers and applauded by adults- for NO GOOD REASON!

This is open license to carry and kill in so called "self defense;" more, much more to come...

Anyone remember when people were applauded for... saving lives? Heady times, indeed.

Masters Of The Street

Street photography is all the rage these days, has been for quite some years now, which is pretty damn amazing in and of itself! It's exploded in the digital era, and has never been abandoned by its analog champions. And despite the changes and improvements in technology, despite the plethora of current practitioners (some of whom are quite good indeed)- there doesn't seem to be any patently new ways of seeing or approaching the genre, no new masters so to speak. Its major grammar was written decades ago, and sure, several players have tweaked, modified and refined the vocabulary to incredible degrees- as does follow any other art form. Guess you could say there's no new way of making bread either... and to this day, most of it just passes too, while a scant few loaves are just so-damn-good!

It's not for naught that The Masters are forever remembered and acclaimed for first establishing the very grammar that so many acolytes would hone and practice for decades to come: Frank, for his sense of spontaneity, immediacy and snapshot aesthetic- all roads here lead to him; Friedlander, for creating meaningful compositions from balancing seemingly chaotic and competing elements within the viewfinder (and to a lesser extent, Klein who also did the latter, if only with people); Winogrand, who danced so deftly, stealing the indecisive moments that so fleetingly revealed so much of everyday, human interaction; and Meyerowitz, who dared the element and reality of... color!

I suppose one could also throw down Cohen, for excluding as much as he included, adding that sense of mystery; Erwitt for his continued attention to humor, and Gilden for making it all so up close, in your face and personal. 

I haven't added links- most of you are familiar with the names... and those who ain't- I'll allow you the pleasure and delight of searching and discovering them for yourselves!

2 Books On Xmas Wishlist...

 

 

One is The People's Pictures by Lee Friedlander, the other is American Geography by Matt Black- both look very, very appealing; Friedlander's- the usual well corralled compositions of semi random chaos; Black's- both informative and visually complelling. Though take note- I don't know if once ordered, either or both will have to sit on a boat at sea for a couple of months, only to once again sit in its shipping container in your local port once off loaded... Easter, maybe?

Celebration Of Ignorance

I have my problems with ol' Carl when it comes to aliens (rumor is that that the government had him tow their line for not exposing his overstatement of ed cred), but that ain't in any way decrying his true accomplishments. Anyway, The good stuff starts at 2:34- from 25 years ago...