Exclusive! First photos taken with Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

Today Panasonic officially introduced its first meaningful entry into what I hereby dub the "Leica M wannabees" category, joining the Ricoh GR Digital and Sigma SD-1. Their common theme? They all have optical viewfinders that attach via the flash shoe, and all feel like cameras that were designed by designers who allowed familiarity to photography to win over out-of-control engineering.

But do any of these cameras do digitally what I can do with my trusty Leica M3? Well...not really. But they're fun to play with and certainly cost a lot less than an M8.

So, on to the LX3. Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to take the camera for an informal spin on a boat ride around Manhattan, courtesy of the kind folks at Panasonic. You can read the news item, with all the specs and stuff, here. And now--a Blog and White World exclusive...here's what happens when a bunch of sun-baked photography writers, editors, PR people and Japanese bigwigs on the top deck of a cruise boat are photographed by a street photographer who's been shooting since 1976...

©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick

A very short review

While the camera says it has a manual focus setting, you have to go into menus to find it and use on-screen controls, which means you have to take your eye away from what's going on in front of you. I focused on 3 meters and let hyperfocal distance do the rest. Shutter lag is pronounced in AF, much less so in manual focus. However, there was a brief pause, and I missed some moments. Image quality was excellent, even at ISO 400 when most compacts start showing unacceptable noise. That's due to the larger-than-usaual 10MP sensor, which allows for the individual pixels to be made larger and capture more light.

So while it's no Leica, for around a 10th of the price of an M8 the Panasonic LX3 has a lot to offer and will likely give its two other closest competitors a good run for their money.

Exclusive! First photos taken with Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3

Random NYC street shot #19

© 2008 by Mason Resnick

Here's the final shot from my street test of the Ricoh Caplio GX100. The shutter, I must admit, reacted very fast, enabling me to get moments like this. One of the interesting features I tried out was the VF1 electronic vewifinder. It's interesting because it swivels from eye level to 90 degrees. I shot this with it set at about 45 degrees (hence the slightly lower POV) and it took quite a bit of getting used to. However, if you set the monitor live image view to just show the image without any information, you can see things pretty clearly.

Overall, I'd say this camera is a nice little camera, but because it requires relative manual settings (via button presses) rather than absolute settings (such as the focusing tab on a Leica M lens) and it has a high signal-noise ratio at higher ISOs, it falls short of the ideal digital street camera that I'm constantly looking for.

Random NYC street shot #19

Random NYC street shot #18

©2008 by Mason Resnick

Ricoh GX100 street test photo #3. After shooting a few dozen shots in auto-everything mode, I started using the camera's manual controls. Manual focus allowed me to shoot faster than AF, although the MF controls were not exact. Using the up/down buttons on the circular array of control buttons on the back of the camera allows you to focus in approximate increments. One press brings you from infinity down to 3 meters, then to 1 meter, then focuses in smaller increments down to 1cm. The longer you press, the more the focus changes, but it's not an exact science, and this was frustrating when shooting on the streets.

I ended up locking focus midway between 3 meters and 1 meter and let my rough estimate of the hyperfocal distance do the heavy lifting.

Random NYC street shot #18

Random NYC street shot #17

©2008 by Mason Resnick

Second of my Rcoh GX100 street test: I used Photoshop's adjust lighting > shadow contrast tool to lighten the shadow areas here, but despite the tricky lighting I think the Ricoh GX100's meter did a reasonable job. This is the last of my attempts to use the AF, which simply didn't react fast enough. The shutter does not lock up while focusing, which means shorter lag time but also means autofocusing is risky as it may not be done by the time your press the button all the way. Manual focus is better but takes some getting used to.

I also noticed that it takes a fairly light touch to trigger the shutter release--but there were times when I though I'd captured the shot but the shutter release never triggered. By the end of the day I was back to pressing the shutter release firmly.

I shot this at ISO 100, and while highlights look fine you can see a bit of grain in the shadow areas at full size.

Random NYC street shot #17

"10 Things I Hate About Film"

Is this guy serious?
Well...no, he isn't.

To quote...
"Film is a four-letter-word. It’s a hideous part of our photographic past, and we’ll be better off once it’s been eliminated from society. I’m ashamed to admit that I tried film once, but I quickly learned just how disgusting it really is and I’ve been clean ever since that occasion. Just take my word for it — FILM IS BAD (mmmkay). Here are ten things I hate about film..."

Read the rest of this brilliant blog post by Brian Auer!

"10 Things I Hate About Film"

Random NYC street shot #16

I've been shooting lately with the Ricoh GX100 digital compact camera. (It has just been replaced by the GX200, which is only available in the US via Adorama.)

Over the next few days I'll be posting shots made with this model, and my thoughts.
© 2008 by Mason Resnick

I shot this at ISO 100--which is ideal for best overall image quality and fewest digital noise artifiacts but not ideal for street photography. The woman on the far left is slightly blurred in the original file. Hyperfocal distance saved this from being a blurry mess, since focus was on the person in the center of the frame, and not on the people right in front of me.

OTOH, the camera reacted fast, with nearly no lag time. Images were captured in 4:3 aspect ratio which I cropped down to 2:3. I had the 2:3 aspect ratio mask on when shooting so I was thinking in the narrower format.

Random NYC street shot #16

Atlantic City Boardwalk Photos

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I've been busy.

Here are some new shots...

©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick
©2008 by Mason Resnick

More to come!

Atlantic City Boardwalk Photos

Random NYC street shot #15

©2008 by Mason Resnick

Random NYC street shot #15

Random NYC street shot #14

© 2008 by Mason Resnick

Random NYC street shot #14

Street photography in UK unofficially restricted by cops

In a disturbing decision in the UK, local police can now stop street photographers from taking pictures for, basically, any reason.

While there is no legal justification for such action according to British law, the police may choose to stop someone from taking pictures as an "operational decision." A spokesman for the British Home Office told Freelance: UK that "it is for the chief constable to to ensure that officers and police community support officers are acting appropriately with regards to photography in public places,” and goes on to say that “decisions may be made locally to restrict photography, for example to protect children."

So, the bad news for my friends in the UK who have produced some of the most entertaining, thought-provoking and moving street photos in the world is that they may continue to do so at the risk of having their equipment confiscated and being arrested, and their right to free expression has been unofficially revoked.

The only good news is that more than a third of all Members of Parliament now back a petition on the right to take pictures in public places unchallenged by officials. The motion has recieved cross-party support. Let's hope that support continues to grow.

So good luck guys and, to quote a line from one of my all-time favorite police drama TV shows, Hill Street Blues, hey...be careful out there.

Street photography in UK unofficially restricted by cops

Why I Use A Mac...by Bill Gates

In 2003, Bill Gates, who just retired from Microsoft, sent a scathing internal e-mail ranting about the user-unfriendliness of loading Moviemaker software (made by Microsoft) onto his Windows-based (made by Microsoft) PC. A Seattle-based radio pseronality named Dave Ross performed a dramatic reading of this e-mail in honor of Bill's retirement.

Imagine, Ross ponders, what American productivity would be like if Bill Gates had insisted on user friendliness in his own company's ubiquitus operating system. "We'd be going home at 2 PM instead of 6:30," he quips.

Sorry Dave, but the easier-to-use OS has been there all along. Maybe you've heard of it, it's called Apple Macintosh. I use it for everything, from writing Word docs to creating web sites in Dreamweaver to intensive image editing in Adobe Photoshop. I don't hear any emails from Steve Job complaining about his OS...

Hear the dramatic reading here:

http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/microsoft/archives/142032.asp

Why I Use A Mac...by Bill Gates

Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson

Photo courtesy Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri Cartier-Bresson's 100th birthday is coming up in 6 weeks, but I just discovered an early birthday present: Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson, a web site that supports HCB's legacy. This includes announcing winners of the annual HCB award, exhibits of fellow-traveller photographers and artists, symposiums at the Paris-based organization, as well as newsletters and the ability to purchase HCB prints.

Anyone interested in black-and-white photography should visit this site and learn more about one of the giants of 20th century photography.

Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson

Random NYC street shot #13

© 2008 by Mason Resnick

Random NYC street shot #13

Random NYC street shot #12

© 2008 by Mason Resnick

Random NYC street shot #12

Random NYC street shot #11

© 2008 by Mason Resnick

I'm numbering 'em now...

Random NYC street shot #11

Random NYC street shot

©2008 by Mason Resnick

Random NYC street shot

Justice by non-sequitor

Last year, Miami-based photographer Carlos Miller was arrested while photographing police, charged with disobeying a police order, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest. A jury found Miller not guilty of the first two charges, but did convict him of "resisting arrest without violence," which sounds to me like a slap on the wrist. The prosecutor asked for 3 months probation.

Apparently the judge read the jury's verdict differently, and threw the book at Miller, sentencing him to a year of probation, 100 hours of community service, an anger management class (which the judge should probably be taking) and $540.50 in court costs. Then the judge went on to reveal his true bias, apparently telling Miller he should visit Arlington National Cemetary, where the "real hearoes" who fought for our freedom are buried. Now that's what I call justice by non-sequitor!

I really hope Carlos Miller will appeal the sentencing decision and get it overturned by a non-biased judge. If this judement is allowed to stand, it sets a legal precedent that could potentially be used against photojournalists and street photographers nationwide.

As one of the commenters in Carlos's blog--an ex cop--writes:
"I hope you prevail. I, for one, am tired of hearing the endless lament of “how difficult their job is.” As an ex-cop, I know all too well how many of them relish their “difficult” job. Thank God camera phones and amateur video are more pervasive nowadays. These are the best tools a free society has to insure our public servants endeavor to “protect and serve” rather than kicking the sh*! out of anyone they please."

Justice by non-sequitor

Random NYC street shot

©2008 by Mason Resnick

Random NYC street shot

Random NYC street shot

©2008 by Mason Resnick

Random NYC street shot

Random NYC street shot

©2008 by Mason Resnick
So...does this shot make me a paparrazo, based on the definition in the post below?

Random NYC street shot

Justice is served

A street photographer is someone who photographs people in public places, looking for human interest, irony and humor becauase an inner muse compels them to. A paparazzo is someone who photographs celebrities and other public personalities in ways that will embarrass them and tries to sell those pictures for a lot of money.

I love street photography and support street photographers worldwide. Can't say the same for paparazzi. Now it turns out a paparazzo who got his foot run over by Britney Spears and sued her for damages has lost his case. The D.A. wrote "the only way the victim's foot could have been [run over] was by the victim placing it in that location." Of course he was standing there to get a salable shot.

Read the details.

Justice is served

Random NYC street shot

©2008 by Mason Resnick

Random NYC street shot

Random NYC street shot

©2008 by Mason Resnick

Random NYC street shot

Random NYC street shot

© 2008 by Mason Resnick

Random NYC street shot

War against photographers: Win one, lose one

Two news items came over the transom (ok, RSS feed) today:

The win: Photopermit.org reports that photographers have the right to photograph police activity, as long as they don't interfere with it. Thanks for the clarification--and let's hope the police read it.

The loss: New York Police Dept. harassed photographer Simon Lund at Coney Island, who was intimidated by an uninformed cop to the point where he felt sufficiently threatened to hand over his film. Read the story in the Village Voice.

War against photographers: Win one, lose one

Random NYC street shot

© 2008 by Mason Resnick

Random NYC street shot

Random NYC street shot

© 2008 by Mason Resnick

Random NYC street shot

Another street shot from the archives

©1978, 2008 by Mason Resnick

Another street shot from the archives

From my street photo archives

© 1981, 2008 by Mason Resnick

From my street photo archives

40 Years Ago today...

I'm posting this at 6:00 am--approximately the time I woke my parents 40 years ago to tell them I'd just heard on the radio that RFK had been assasinated. My mom yelled at me, saying how dare I make up such a terrible story. Then I told her, "Mom, I'm sorry. Turn on your radio." I was 11 years old at the time the second Kennedy brother was killed and Bill Eppridge took this tragic, historic photo.

See my previous post about my interview with Bill Eppridge and his new book.

40 Years Ago today...

War on Photographers: Should we take the offensive?

Bruce Schneider, posted an article on his blog yesterday that is getting a lot of attention. Not only does he defend every photographer's right to photograph almost everywhere, but he makes a compelling case for politely but firmly defending ourselves when a real cop or rent-a-cop tells us to stop shooting.

Bruce says:

"Since 9/11, there has been an increasing war on photography. Photographers have been harrassed, questioned, detained, arrested or worse, and declared to be unwelcome. We've been repeatedly told to watch out for photographers, especially suspicious ones. Clearly any terrorist is going to first photograph his target, so vigilance is required.

"Except that it's nonsense. The 9/11 terrorists didn't photograph anything. Nor did the London transport bombers, the Madrid subway bombers, or the liquid bombers arrested in 2006. Timothy McVeigh didn't photograph the Oklahoma City Federal Building. The Unabomber didn't photograph anything; neither did shoe-bomber Richard Reid. Photographs aren't being found amongst the papers of Palestinian suicide bombers. The IRA wasn't known for its photography. Even those manufactured terrorist plots that the US government likes to talk about -- the Ft. Dix terrorists, the JFK airport bombers, the Miami 7, the Lackawanna 6 -- no photography."

Read the rest of this well-argued opinion piece.

War on Photographers: Should we take the offensive?

War on photographers, continued: Oh, the irony

Washington TV reporter Tom Fitzgerald, curious about why so many photographers are being harassed at DC's Union Station by security guards, is in the middle of an interview with Amtrak's chief spokesperson in which said spokesperson declares there is no anti-photography rule at Union Station, when a security guard comes up and tells Fitzgerald to turn the camera off! When Fitzgerald refuses and then askes the guard if he could explain the policy, the guard clams up. Busted!

Watch the video,courtesy Fox5, Washington DC.

War on photographers, continued: Oh, the irony

Natalie Merchant / Carnival (video)

Check out the camera Natalie Merchant is using in this music video for one of her greatest songs!

Natalie Merchant / Carnival (video)

More random street photography

© 2008 by Mason Resnick

More random street photography

What's coming from Leica? Straight from the horse's mouth!

Large-aperture M lenses, "something significant for the M System," perhaps a DSLR, and an expanded line of compacts...that's all part of ambitious set of goals outlined by Leica CEO Andreas Kaufmann in an exclusive interview published last month on PopPhoto.com. Doesn't look like there will be a full-frame M any time soon...but there are lots of hints about what might be coming later this year at Photokina.

Read the interview.

What's coming from Leica? Straight from the horse's mouth!

Bill Eppridge publishes book about The Shot

Somewhere in my stack of old Modern Photography magazines is the interview I did with Bill Eppridge, part of the "Back to the Darkroom" special that we published (and I edited) in 1988. It was an ambitious feature: I got Life Magazine's famous darkroom technicians to reprint some of the toughest negatives they'd ever come across while I took notes--and then I interviewed each of the photographers about how they shot the pictures. The photos were Alfred Eisenstaedt's nighttime portrait of a Paris hooker under a street lamp, Carl Mydans' photo of brightly-lit (and overexposed) shot of Chinese men sitting at a cafe, and Bill Eppridge's photo of the assasination of Bobby Kennedy.


When I sat with Eppridge in his Time Life office that day, I saw a man who was clearly haunted by the assasination of a young man who he clearly admired, at the time 20 years before. He spoke of how there were no secret service agents, a single body guard, and how the plan was to leave the victory speach and head in one direction, but JFK abruptly changed his mind and took a different route to the service elevator, leaving the small protective wedge of photographers behind him and walking right towards his fate.

Now, 40 years after the Kennedy assasination, Bill Eppridge has published A Time It Was: Bobby Kennedy in the Sixties, which includes the complete account of that night in June when a crazed Palestinian gunned JFK down and ended hope for so many Americans. The book has many photos that have never been seen before, as well as more extensive personal accounts of the photographer's interaction with the young presidential candidate. And for those of you who wonder "what if...", Eppridge talks about how Kennedy told him he would pull the US out of Vietnam his first day in office. How many died under Nixon's watch?

Bill Eppridge publishes book about The Shot

Another NYC street shot

© 2008 by Mason Resnick

Another NYC street shot

Random NYC street shot

© 2008 by Mason Resnick

My next street photography course starts next week! You can still register...

Random NYC street shot

Street Photos: Memorial Day parade

Photos © 2008 by Mason Resnick

Also a shout-out to Leora Wenger for busting me for shooting these with a digital camera! (Scroll halfway down the page). And thanks to Leora for posting a link to my street fair pix.

Street Photos: Memorial Day parade

Street photo contest call for entries!

If you're a street shooter in New York, check this out: WNYC, New York's public TV station, is holding the Street Shots Challenge. You can enter as many as 20 shots, as long as they were taken withing the 5 boroughs. It's being hosted on flickr.

Enter here

Street photo contest call for entries!

New Jersey street fair: Part 3

New Jersey street fair: Part 3

New Jersey street fair: Part 2

New Jersey street fair: Part 2

Street photos: New Jersey street fair (Part 1)

Street photos: New Jersey street fair (Part 1)

50th Anniversary for "The Americans"

Robert Frank's seminal book, "The Americans," is one of a handful of must-have books for any serious photography collection. Influential to generations of street and documentary photographers, the book captured the essence of the 50s in a way that somehow visually evoked beat poetry and jazz. Yesterday, May 15th, was the 50th anniversary of its publication.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary, Steidl has reprinted The Americans in what apparently is the finest quality reproduction to date. If you care about black-and-white photography and don't already have this important book, I highly recommend it.

50th Anniversary for "The Americans"

Film camera death watch II: Who cares?

Wired's Gadget Lab blog notes, under the headline "Film Cameras Officially Dead In Japan" that indeed, only 529 film cameras were sold in Japan in February, but get this: according to Wired, the number of new digital still cameras sold in January was 5,417,463 vs. 1,580 film still cameras the same month.

Then again, as B&W World friend David Schonauer, editor of American Photo, asks in his State of the Art blog, are you sad about this?

I think David asks the wrong question. The right question is: What will pot users store their stash in now?

Film camera death watch II: Who cares?

Michael Adams (Ansel's son) speaks!

A California-based photographer who blogs under the pseudonym Thomas Hawk spent two days in Yosemite with none other than Michael Adams, Ansel Adams's son, and interviewed Michael for a video which we can't wait to see. In the meantime, Hawk has put together a list of 10 things he learned about Ansel from his son.

Most interestingly, number 1 on the list is that Ansel would have loved and embraced digital photography. This jibes with everything I'd heard. In discussing Ansel over the years with people who knew him, such as Julia Scully, former editor of Modern Photography, and the late Herbert Keppler, Adams was indeed interested in digital in its early days and saw its potential.

To quote from Thomas Hawk's blog post: "When I asked Michael how his dad might view digital photography, Photoshop, etc. today, he told me that he thought his dad would love it and very much be involved with it."

I know Ansel's interest (or lack thereof) in digital has been debated endlessly by people who studied the Zone system but never met Adams. I'd say this conclusively answers that debate!

Read the entire post


View some rough videos of Michael Adams by Hawk's trekking partner and videographer Robert Scoble

Michael Adams (Ansel's son) speaks!

Film camera death watch: CIPA drops film camera stats

The Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) has stopped reporting on film camera production figures, according to an article by Chris Cheesman of Amateur Photographer.

According to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry--now the only source for such information--only 529 35mm cameras were made in Japan in February. That's sad.

And I'll bet most of those cameras were specialty cameras made by Cosina under the Voigtlander Bessa brand (see a fine specimen, below).


Is this the last of the Dodos?

Film camera death watch: CIPA drops film camera stats

30 years later, street photographer meets subject

Like many other street photographers, I've always wondered what would happen if someone I'd photographed recognized himself (or herself) in one of my photos. Would they get mad? Would they sue?

Jill Freedman, an amazing street and documentary photographer, found out when a postal worker named Mario Pesa recognized himself in one of Jill's photos. The photo, of a couple standing in front of a store's metal grating and the guy wearing a T-shirt with the image of a gun pointing at the girl's head, is one of Jill Freedman's best. According to an account in yesterday's New York Times, Mr. Pesa, who was wearing the T-shirt, simply wanted to meet the photographer. "I wanted to thank her for immortalizing me," he said.

Read the entire story.

30 years later, street photographer meets subject

NYC to Wedding Shooters: Pay Up or Get Out

Is New York City about to put wedding photographers out of business? It seems that way: The City Council wants wedding photographers to submit a $5,000 bond, get a license, and fill out burdonsome paperwork, according to a law that the Council will discuss today at 10:00 AM. If you refuse to get a license, you will be fined $1,000-$5,000 every time you break the law, i.e, photograph a wedding.

Way to send wedding photographers packing for the suburbs, New York!

Read the whole pathetic proposal.

NYC to Wedding Shooters: Pay Up or Get Out

Israel at 60!

Here's a picture in celebration of Israel's 60th birthday, shot in 1977 at the Maccabiah ("Jewish Olympics") opening ceremonies at Ramat Gan stadium.

Visit IL77 for more photos I took of Israel.

Yom Holedet Sameach, Yisrael (Happy Birthday, Israel!)

Israel at 60!

Attack of the Terror Tripods!

Scott Kelby, editor/publisher of Photoshop User and Layers magazine, was waylaid by a hotel security guard in New York city because he and his friends were carrying tripods back to their hotel rooms after doing a shoot at Grand Central Station (where they had a permit to shoot using tripods).

I must tip my hat to the hotel guard for his vigilant alertness and swift action. Imagine the unspeakable horror that could have happened had these tripods actually been used for something like, oh, taking pictures. Wait a sec--they were coming back from a shoot. Never mind...

Read this head-shaker.

Attack of the Terror Tripods!

More communities should do this!

Ventura, California, is running free darkroom demonstrations geared towards kids. "Kids in the Darkroom - Photography the Old-Fashioned Way." They're going to take a photo with a large-format camera, develop the film, and make a big print. The hope is that kids will see the magic of a print appearing in the Dektol and be changed for life.

Sounds like a good idea. Any photographers want to open their darkrooms to groups of kids and give a demonstration? You never know what you might start!

Here's the article in the Ventura County Star.

More communities should do this!

Just like old times

Remember when you could rent a darkroom for a small hourly fee? Most of those facilities are gone, but don't tell Chris Fuller of Bellingham, Washington. Fuller just opened The Darkroom, a gallery space and darkroom rental facility, and plans to show the work of local photographers in the front while offering hourly black-and-white photoprocessing space for up to three people at once in the back. Fuller also plans to teach people how to use the darkroom.

Is this the start of a revival trend? Here's hoping!

Read the whole story in the Bellingham Herald.

Just like old times

A Street Photographer newbie's interesting thoughts

Mitch Alland, a recent convert to street photography, has written a thoughtful article on the subject on his blog, The Online Photographer. Good stuff, debatable thoughts such as his feeling that you need a project in order to be a better street photographer. Not how I learned it. My motivation is to see what things look like photographed, in black and white, and how the framed two-dimensional image freezes and transforms a moment.

Of course, it has to be interesting, and there has to be a tension between the form and content of the image. Visit his site to see some really good work.

In any case, this is a good read, as are the reader comments at the end.

A Street Photographer newbie's interesting thoughts

Has war on street photographers jumped the pond?

Here's an alarmist lead to a Memphis, TN newspaper story:

"A man walking through Tom Lee Park pauses to snap a photo of the iconic Hernando DeSoto Bridge. Another man shoots pictures of numerous downtown buildings.

"Many would assume the men are tourists taking in the city's sights, but law enforcement officials say they could be terrorists staking out possible targets."

The story, Tourist or Terrorist? appeared recently in the Memphis Flyer, and goes on to describe how Operation Sudden Impact, an alliance of 54 law enforcement agencies, is targeting photographers as potential Al Queda operatives.

"One of the things discussed in the al-Qaeda manual is conducting surveillance of your target," one official is quoted as saying.

While there have been no reports from Memphis of photographers being hassled or detained by police, after reading this article it only seems like a matter of time.

US street photographers, beware...and keep a copy of The Photographer's Right with you just in case you need to prove that what you are doing is protected by the first amendment of the U.S. constitution.

If there's anthing reassuring about this news item, its the reader comments, such as "I'm an amateur photographer and plan my vacations around interesting areas to photograph. Thanks for helping me cross Memphis off my list." and "Whoever is suggesting this "plan" is the terrorist" and "None of this has anything to do with preventing terrorism...What this has to do with is getting citizens used to obeying arbitrary commands."

Enough paranoia!

Has war on street photographers jumped the pond?

Ansel's assistant speaks

Andrea G. Stillman was Ansel Adams's assistant in the 1970s. The New York Times has just posted a multimedia presentation where Ms. Stillman talks about working with Ansel, and discusses the stories behind some of his best-known photographs. She also explains why Ansel insisted in shooting in B&W when Kodak asked him to take some photgraphs on Kodachrome.

A must-see and hear!

Ansel Adams's Yosemite

Ansel's assistant speaks

"Is this a play?"

This just happened:

My 11 year old daughter's friend was standing in the hallway in my house, looking at some of my street photos. She pointed at the photo above and said, "is this a play?"

"Yes it is," I responded. "Only the people in the pictures are real people, and they don't realize they're acting."

"Is this a play?"

New look for Blog and White World

I decided it's time for a new look for Blog and White World, so here it is. Blogging tools make it incredibly easy to do this. Just press a few buttons, and voila! A whole new look.

What do you think? Like it? Hate it? Leave a comment!

New look for Blog and White World

UK Declares War on Street Photographers

With this poster, the Untied Kingdom Metropolitan Police has started a "public awareness" campaign asking people to be vigilant about people taking pictures. It seems the latest form of terrorism is when a photographer armed with a big Nikon DSLR has the audacity to take pictures in public places.

Since we all know photographers are at the root of Islamoterrorism, the police have taken this "awareness" campaign even further, surrounding photographers, hassling them and, according to some reports, even causing physical harm. According to Carolyn E. Wright, Esq., proprietor of the excellent Photo Attorney web site, the UK's Terrorism Act 2000, section 44, lets police "randomly stop someone without reasonable suspicion, providing the area has been designated a likely target for attack." Apparently, UK police officers have been randomly stopping street photographers for doing what they've been doing for decades in England.

OK, understand that we do what's necessary to safeguard the public, but is hassling street photographers and starting a campaign that will serve to increase public paranoia going to make the public safer, or simply limit freedom of expression and hand a little victory to Al Qaeda? After all, one of any terrorist organization's goals is to disrupt people's lives and alter their behavior out of fear, and the UK is playing right into this.

I will make this as clear as possible:

STREET PHOTOGRAPHERS SHOULD NOT BE TREATED LIKE TERRORISTS!

Whether we are taking pictures on the streets of London or New York, we are not terrorists.
We are exploring our world, looking for humor and images that grab our interest. We are not terrorists.
We do this because our creative urge compels us to. We are not terrorists.
We follow in the footsteps of Garry Winogrand, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Robert Frank. We are not terrorists.
We are on your side. We are not terrorists.

Anyone want to make a poster out of that?

Should we photographers be alarmed, even if we're not street photographers, and even if we're not in the UK? No, but we should understand our rights, which are basically the same in the US, UK, Australia and other countries. Carolyn Wright lists several PDF files that outline your rights. Print out the relevant one and keep it in your back pocket to show the authorities (politely) if the need arises:
The Photographer's Right (US)
Street Photographer's Rights (Australia)
UK Photographers Rights

Finally, if you're in the UK, there's hope, in the form of the following Early Day Motion (EDM) currently tabled in the House of Commons:

"That this House is concerned to encourage the spread and enjoyment of photography as the most genuine and accessible people's art; deplores the apparent increase in the number of reported incidents in which the police, police community support officers (PCSOs) or wardens attempt to stop street photography and order the deletion of photographs or the confiscation of cards, cameras or film on various specious ground such as claims that some public buildings are strategic or sensitive, that children and adults can only be photographed with their written permission, that photographs of police and PCSOs are illegal, or that photographs may be used by terrorists; points out that photography in public places and streets is not only enjoyable but perfectly legal; regrets all such efforts to stop, discourage or inhibit amateur photographers taking pictures in public places, many of which are in any case festooned with closed circuit television cameras; and urges the Home Office and the Association of Chief Police Officers to agree on a photography code for the information of officers on the ground, setting out the public's right to photograph public places thus allowing photographers to enjoy their hobby without officious interference or unjustified suspicion."

Write or email your MP asking them to support this EDM.

UK Declares War on Street Photographers

New street cam?

I'm always looking for a good street camera for my students and others who can't afford a Leica M-series camera (especially the $6K Leica M8 digital rangefinder.

Here's what I look for:

1. Size: It should be small, fit in the hand easily, not a huge monster that will intimidate people.
2. Weight: Light is good.
3. Quality: I don't want excessive noise. That rules out just about every compact camera out there--although I've had good reports about the Canon G9.
4. Manual control: That, too, rules out most compact cameras.
5. Speed: Although I focus manually using a tab (and teach how to add a tab to any lens in my street photography course), AF speed is important.
6. Sound: Shutter release should be quieter than your typical clanky SLR. Mirror slap must be well damped.
7. Durability. My Leica M3 film camera has been by my side for 30 years, and has only been in the repair shop three times although I've run thousands of rolls of film through it. That's durable.

Many cameras fulfil 4 or 5 of these qualifications, but not all of them.

Currently I'm intrigued by the Olympus E-420 with the 28mm f/2.8 Pancake Zuiko lens. It clearly meets my size, weight, and manual control requirements. In a conversation with a fellow camera reviewer who has had his hands on this camera, I feel this camera is small enough and light enough for street use. It has a large enough sensor so at 10MP image quality is probably OK. Sound and speed will require a field test, which I'm hoping to do soon. I'm reasonably sure, however, that it will fail in the durability department.

For $700, getting 6 out of 7 would be very nice.

I'll keep you posted.

New street cam?

Better black and white with the ColorMunki

Northlight Images notes that while ColorMunki, X-Rite's color management tool, is primarily designed for (duh) color workflow, it's also well-suited for black-and-white digital printing. Their article shows you how to build a B&W ICC profile, measure prints, and use QuadToneRIP, a $50 shareware program, to create Quad Tone prints.

Worthwhile reading if you're into serious digital darkroom printing.

Better black and white with the ColorMunki

100th post!!!

Just want to get this post out of the way...it's my 100th, and I'm celebrating it by letting you know that USA Today got it right about street photography.

In her technology column, Kim Kommando (gotta love that name!) asks and answers frequently-asked questions about when it is and isn't legal to take pictures in public places. While she uses different terms, street photography is fine; photographing (insert name of celebrity here) with a telephoto lens as she's getting dressed in her bedroom is not.

Thanks, Kim!

On to #101 and beyond...

100th post!!!

Street Photography Class--register now for spring course

My class, Street Photography: Finding Order in Chaos, is getting a great response from the students taking it. If you've been waiting for warmer weather before taking the class, now's the time to register for the next session. The class starts on April 25, which means you'll be able to shoot in the nice warm May climate, a great time for street shooting.

Visit my web site, The World At Street Level, which showcases my students' work (and yours too, if you take the class and do all the assignments).

Visit the Perfect Picture School of Photography for complete course details and to register.

Photo credit: Daniel Epstein, former student.

Street Photography Class--register now for spring course

Will Ilford save Polaroid B&W film?

OK foks, this is a rumor, from a source which has gotten two major news stories wrong so far this year, so take this with a grain of salt...

The British photo weekly Amateur Photographer today claims Polaroid is in talks with Ilford over the possibility that Ilford would produce Polaroid B&W instant film in an Ilford factory. The article stresses the talks are very preliminary, and my reading of that is there's a pretty good chance that this will not happen.

But for the legions of photographers who were left high and dry when Polaroid abruptly discontinued all film production, this offers a slight glimmer of hope, and a reason not to dump their SX-70s just yet.

Will Ilford save Polaroid B&W film?