Charlie Mike
Charlie Mike
First and foremost I'd like to thank all of you for support and interest in this strange Iraqi journey. The images are nothing more than what I see, what I experience day in and day out. While they are only 1% of what unfolds before me, they are a piece of history in which ALL of us bear responsibility for...I just happen to be here doing my part. I'm glad I could share.
So...the M8 huh? I really haven't followed the whole evolving dilemma with this camera but I know that Leicas are the most simple, robust tools that I have used. Sure, I could run rampant trying everything that comes out but you sometimes need to commit. So I did. No M is perfect but just as we all do with our close friends, I have learned them well. Leicas have this mystical reputation to them and for good reasons. I've got two of them to prove it. What does this have to do with the M8? Time will tell.
Digital has given me a totally different approach at seeing things, as I find I can gauge my evolution better. Will I scrap my flim approach? Of course not. And to say the truth...I believe that the D-LUX 3 is probably the most useful tool for my current situation. Is it the only? No. It's complexity has put a wrench in the seamless capture in front of me. Enter the M8.
For some of you who were wondering about film, scanning and so forth? Kodachrome has been the ONLY flim that can accurately resemble what it was like to be there when I captured an image. Am I still shooting Kodachrome over here? Not really. I feel that it made sense to try something else, as I feel as this is a different war I am fighting this timea around. The pictures you see are a bit magenta and somewhat dark. This was due to a combination of things. The film was old, but not by much and I'm sure the heat didn't help things much either. My scanner didn't do the slides justice the way they look to the eye. But regardless, they still feel what it was like here. When all is said and done, if my buddies that were here can say they "feel" like Iraq...that is good enough for me. And who knows, I may dump color completely and run with black and white?
Hopefully this new tool will show up within the next few days so I can quickly throw it to the wolves. I'll try my best to post as often as this war allows. Only 12 months to go! If any of you have any specific questions or what have you, feel free to contact me either through here or Flickr. Thanks again for everything. It would make sense to tell everyone to go out and shoot now...but I won't. Let's start with a beer; all good things are to follow.
Killing the day to live another,
..jAy..