Black & White Vol. 115
I've been reading a lot about street photography and certain photographers over the last several weeks, from the revised edition of Bystander: A History Of Street Photography and Elliot Erwitt: Home Around The World, to ordering Joel Meyerowitz' new hardcover titled Where I Find Myself.
Along with the desire to shoot portraits on film in less than a few frames, I find myself agreeing with the sentiments of Colin Westerbeck that street photography is one of the genres at the core of the art itself. In some ways, it's taught me to appreciate a photograph for what it is, and not what it could be if I retouched it, beyond the basics of applying my desired contrast and tidying up scanning artefacts. I have come to love the art of making a photograph in real life and letting it be what it is when I clicked the shutter.
Of late I've found myself photographing commutes more than I would prefer. This ties into my other routines such as morning coffees. People on the street are likely to be doing nothing more than walking, waiting and checking their phone, which doesn't make for impactful or very interesting street photographs. In the end, it's all part of practice and the building of a large body of work.
In other news, I bought a Yashica Mat 124G 6x6 twin lens reflex camera with an 80mm F3.5 fixed prime lens. It's my second attempt at owning one of these in lieu of having sold that beautiful Rolleiflex years ago (it was a short sighted and dumb idea). I had to send back the first Yashica I bought off eBay due to a gunky lens. I'm hopeful this one is okay, otherwise I may be able to get it properly CLA'd. To shoot those beautiful, soft 6x6 portraits on film again will be so nice.
