Monochrom 246 and Leica SL in New Mexico

Not to far from the El Vado which I think i read is under renovation?

Next time I'm out that way which I hope is sometime this year I will stop and check out your work.
 
I always appreciate the melding of Grateful Dead songs and excellent photography. Thanks Vince. And I can confirm that NM skies really do look like that. People say the quality of light is different in NM and its actually quite true.

A Leica Store exhibit is pretty impressive. I didn't know Leica DC exhibited photos, but last time I was there I didn't look for such things; I had lenses on the brain. I doubt I'll be back to either DC or NM until next year at soonest, but maybe you'll still have something hanging around? I really like what we've seen so far in this thread -- a lot!

By any chance are you in the RFF Postcard Project (#7)? I'd be pretty thrilled to see one of these NM images in the mailbox!
 
Vince Lupo said:
....Now of course I'm going under the premise that when I'm in focus in the viewfinder of the 246, the lens is actually in focus with respect to the sensor.
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This is a big "if" with the M 246, which is already factory calibrates a little back of the normal focus point and shifts focus with deep contrast filters. I like the Sonnetar as the fast lens for this camera because you can adjust it pretty much at will.

Dante
 
Yes if I was smart I'd send both the camera and the lens to NJ for calibration. Maybe sometime this year.

BTW sent the SL back today :(
 
airfrogusmc said:
Not to far from the El Vado which I think i read is under renovation?

Next time I'm out that way which I hope is sometime this year I will stop and check out your work.
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It's on South Plaza, about 100 ft south of the main plaza itself, on the west side of the street.
 
Strongly concur with all the praise your work has received here.
You have a powerful awareness of light - how fitting for the NM location!

I am interested in your approach to the people in your pictures. Can you share a bit of your methods? Curious as to how much time you spend chatting them up, how open or not you find people to the request and anything else you think might be of interest to us. Do you generally have an easy rapport with people or force yourself to dial it up in order to get the results you hope for?
Perhaps you already have shared this and I missed it, if so, I will go back for a look.

It is refreshing to see these "engaged and engaging" portraits compared to the usual candid "street photography" pics, so frequently of people's backs!
I confess that shyness sometimes reduces my people photography to just such a result.

Love the pics from the Taos high road, especially Truchas....that is one spooky place at twilight.
btw, I believe that the "Gallegos Cash Store" is in Villanueva.

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and work, Vince!
 
Canyongazer said:
Strongly concur with all the praise your work has received here.
You have a powerful awareness of light - how fitting for the NM location!

I am interested in your approach to the people in your pictures. Can you share a bit of your methods? Curious as to how much time you spend chatting them up, how open or not you find people to the request and anything else you think might be of interest to us. Do you generally have an easy rapport with people or force yourself to dial it up in order to get the results you hope for?
Perhaps you already have shared this and I missed it, if so, I will go back for a look.

It is refreshing to see these "engaged and engaging" portraits compared to the usual candid "street photography" pics, so frequently of people's backs!
I confess that shyness sometimes reduces my people photography to just such a result.

Love the pics from the Taos high road, especially Truchas....that is one spooky place at twilight.
btw, I believe that the "Gallegos Cash Store" is in Villanueva.

Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts and work, Vince!
Click to expand...

Many thanks for your thoughts -- I think much of my 'approach' to photographing people comes from my being an extrovert. I think if I were more shy and introverted, I would not have nearly as much success in establishing a comfortable rapport with people. For example, the first two people shots in this thread (Richard and Pastor Joe) were taken at Teresa's House of Tamales in Cleveland, NM. Just by the mere fact that I was 'the stranger' generated interest (you know - the door swings open and everyone in the place turns their heads to look you up and down), and of course I had my camera around my neck, which caused even more interest. And the type of seating that Teresa had in her little cafe (a few larger tables that necessitated your sitting with others) allowed for conversation. Just so happened that I sat next to Pastor Joe, who knew everyone coming into the cafe, and was interested in who I was and what I was doing. I ended up spending 2.5 hours in that place -- I didn't really take many photos, but it was a great experience nonetheless.

With the photos of the postmasters, this is something I started last year. I figured in these tiny towns, the one place where you'd likely find at least one person was the post office. This time around I was a bit more proactive in seeking them out, and I managed to photograph 4 of 5 postmasters I met (1 did turn me down for a photo). Here again, it came from just being my friendly gregarious self -- I'm not great at getting spontaneous 'street' photos, so I've found my method to work better for me.

For the photos I did in the west side of Santa Rosa (for the Guadalupe County Communicator newspaper), I spent two solid days walking up and down that little section of Rt. 66. That was great because I came armed with the names of the business owners, plus they all knew the publisher of the newspaper. By the end of the two days, I felt like they were all friends. Can't wait to go back.

Back in 1990, I had the good fortune to interview Alfred Eisenstaedt, the great Life Magazine photographer. At one point during the interview, he asked me "How would you photograph Sophia Loren?" I was a naive 24 year-old student, and I hmmed and hawwed and didn't really know. He replied, "You get her to like you! You talk with her, ask her questions, maybe make a little joke etc, and soon you'll be taking Sophia's photo without any troubles." I never forgot that advice from him, but it's not something that I feel like I'm having to force out of me -- it just seems like that's just the way I currently am, or at least hope it is! I don't think I was like that at 24.

The other thing that has been a huge help and icebreaker is the fact that I carry a little printer with me (a Canon Selphy CP910). It's one thing to ask to take someone's photo and say 'give me your email address and I'll email you a copy when I get home', and another to say 'I can make you a print right now', and a pretty nice one at that. Initially I bought the Fuji Instax SP-1 printer for this purpose (it produces tiny business card-sized prints), but I was so embarrassed by the minuscule size of the prints and the quality of the prints, that after a month of use I sent it back to B&H for a full refund, and bought the CP910 with the battery adapter kit as its replacement. True, it is a bit more of a lump to carry around than the SP-1, but the size and quality of the prints more than make up for it (plus you can plug your SD card directly into the printer, as well as your laptop). It all fits into my Tenba bag alongside my additional lenses and extra camera body, so it's always with me when I'm wandering out there. It's a dye-sub printer, and it puts the image down on the paper in layers (first the magenta layer, then the yellow layer, then the cyan and finally the black), so even the process of printing the 4"x6" image attracts a crowd. You instantly become everyone's friend when they see the results, and when you just give them the print ('you mean you don't want any money for them???'), the people are extremely appreciative. Nice to be able to give something back instead of always just 'taking' someone's photo. Hate to say it, but that is one big advantage of shooting digital -- don't think you're going to be able to do that shooting with an M6 and Tri-X.

So really, that's about it. Being honest and humble, friendly and open, spending more time in fewer places (if that makes sense), as well as being able to give someone a print on the spot.

And yes, the Gallegos Cash Store is in Villanueva.
 
Hey Vince great story about Eisenstadt (one of my favs) and Sophia Loren and that was GREAT advice to. Your portraits are so real and honest. I'm sure that Eisenstadt would approve and would be glad that you followed his advice. I know I am glad that you followed his advice and have created these wonderful pieces as well as the other southwestern work you have done. Davidson would always give his subjects prints and he claims it was a huge icebreaker but this immediate print thing has to be a huge icebreaker. Great idea. Keep up the good work and I think keeping the M 246 was a good idea because it is really a great tool in your hands. Not saying the SL wasn't but I think with your commitment to B&W it in my opinion is a no brainer. Keep up the good work.
 
Thanks for sharing all that, Vince. Always refreshing to learn about the mindset others bring to subject matter. We don't hear much about such topics on gear forums.

I'm the opposite - very introverted. I think in all my decades of photography I've asked one stranger if I could take his picture. Not about to change, either. I'm more comfortable and thoroughly enjoy watching the world swirl around me and snapping when I see something engaging, not wanting to disrupt the flow. I'd likely rather follow Sophia around for the day, as invisibly as possible, and photograph her as she goes about her life.

All these different approaches make photography richer and offer potential for everyone. I suppose the takeaway here is to know oneself and one's values, and then align our creative endeavors with that knowledge.

John
 
johnwolf said:
I'm the opposite - very introverted. I think in all my decades of photography I've asked one stranger if I could take his picture. Not about to change, either. I'm more comfortable and thoroughly enjoy watching the world swirl around me and snapping when I see something engaging, not wanting to disrupt the flow. I'd likely rather follow Sophia around for the day, as invisibly as possible, and photograph her as she goes about her life.

John
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Many thanks for your thoughts John -- my only concern about following Sophia around all day, is that I wouldn't want to be like a Ron Galella as he followed Jackie Onassis around (and would get punched in the face for his troubles). I'd like to photograph someone 'invisibly' too, but I think they'd probably want to get to know me first (as I would like to get to know them), and then once they felt comfortable with me and were reasonably assured that my intentions were honourable, they'd basically 'forget' me and then I'd start taking the photos as they went about their daily business (this is more or less how I did the story for the newspaper). Like an informed consent of sorts. Not to say that I still don't look for those spontaneous moments with random people out in the world, but I think my work has evolved into more of this 'informed consent' type of shooting. At least for the New Mexico work.

I heard a story many years ago (don't know if it's true or not) about W. Eugene Smith and his 'Country Doctor' series for Life Magazine. The story goes that for the first three days he took pictures of people but didn't have any film in his camera. Once he felt that his subjects got comfortable with him and 'forgot' about him, only then did he load film into his camera and start really taking pictures.
 
Vince, enjoyed this presentation immensely. One of yours you did of Paris some time ago was equally superb.
I think the SL makes quite a case for itself, wish I could outlay that kind of money but not likely.
Anyway i can enjoy your work with it and love the results that way. Thanks so much.
 
John, Air and Vince, what you say sounds right---be yourself, do what comes naturally.

One thing I could/should do is slow down. Your 2.5 hours in Theresa's would have satisfied my Photographer Self but my Driver Self would be going nuts....seems I'm always rushing to get from Point A to Point B.

Your little printer sounds great. Back in my 4x5 film days I used to hand out Polaroids when it seemed warranted, with much the same result as yours. Thanks for the tip---I must look into that Canon Selphy.

Here's another approach---Ken Heyman was known for filling the frame with the composition AND for using a 28mm lens. IOW, he got close but his pics were most often candid.
Asked how he managed that he said it was because he was boring. Dressed boring, moved boring, acted boring. After a bit, people ignored him or forgot he was there.
http://kenheyman.photoshelter.com/gallery/Best-of-Ken/G0000CjSvtGEpNR0/

Here at RFF our own Bob Michaels has made many remarkable photographs, both candid and otherwise, of the citizens of Florida and Cuba. I believe 28 is his most used lens.
Bob, like yourself, Vince, engages the subjects....no gun and run.

FWIW, I have heard the same story about Gene Smith.

Thanks again for sharing your thinking.

Joseph
 
Joseph -- If you haven't had a look at that Jay Maisel video I posted in this thread, I'd highly recommend you do. I watch it from time to time when I need a pep talk!

Interesting about Ken Heyman dressing boring -- when I'm in New Mexico I have my turquoise/silver rings on, beartooth bracelet, my two-tone boots, funky jeans, Baja sweater, big turquoise/silver belt buckle. People from New Mexico have often assumed that I live there!


Tortilla Vinny by Vince Lupo, on Flickr
 
Joseph, thanks for sharing Ken's work. I'm not familiar with him, but a quick look at his site makes me want to go through it after work. Does this mean I should become more boring than I already am? My poor family and friends. :)

John
 
I do not know it this thread is more interesting because of the beautiful pictures or because of the many interesting thoughts !

Much to learn from both, thanks

robert
 
Vince, I need to get downtown and see your show in Abq. And maybe drop by Gloria's. Great work.

~Joe
 
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