A Photojournalists View: What I want for Christmas

Many of you will ask why would this guy want THIS for Christmas. It's simple, I once had a skill that not everyone could do.

I want to go back to the good old days when photos ran big and it took skill to make a photo that told a story.

I want to go back to the good old days when you focused the camera yourself.

I want to go back to the good old days when the photo you made magically appeared in the developer under your fingers. It took skill to make a great print.

I want to go back to the good old days when it took skill for YOU to figure out the exposure not the camera.

I want to go back to the good old days when mom and dad were NOT allowed on the sideline taking snaps of their kids. If the camera did not do it for them they would not be there.

I want to go back to the good old days when the newspaper kept up with photo gear changes and always kept the staff well equipped.

I want to go back to the good old days when GOOD photography was appreciated. Not like today when any old crap will run.

I want to go back to the good old days when a full photo staff was cranking out tons of beautiful art to illustrate the stories writers were working on.

I want to go back to the good old days when Craig's List was not around and every newspaper had a great classified ad section.

I want to go back to the good old days when everyone paid to read the paper.

Imagine if you will, shooting a hockey game back in the 80's. No nets around the rink (hey if you got hit, you were there at your own risk). The light was like a cave, ASA 1600 was barely enough, 3200 was a better push. If you don't know what I'm talking about you own a dummy camera and can stop reading now. Follow focusing on the hockey game with a 200 2.8 was a challenge and you were blessed to come out after two rolls of film with five good shots.

Not so today when the rink is enclosed with netting and you have to shoot through milky glass and are bumping into mom and dad taking snaps of their kids. Hey, what should I set this camera on? I say, auto everything dummy and see what you get. Then they say oh I just give the photos away to the kids. Good thing, because no one will buy them. This just kills me because they are taking bread out of my kids mouths. It used to be that people would call the paper and order prints which eventually made it into my paycheck. I ask the mom or dad. What do you do for a living? They say, oh I own a store downtown. So I usually say so that's how you can afford that great gear. How about I open up a store right next to yours and give away what you sell for free! The dumbstruck looks I get would make you laugh.

Some food for thought during this Christmas season.

Oh ya, I almost forgot.

Have a wonderful MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone.

Fine Art Model Building

The other day I had a great opportunity to photograph Erik Ronnberg a master model builder in Rockport, MA. He had just finished working on a model of an Essex built scallop dragger. The vessel was originally built for the Gloucester, MA fishing fleet but scalloping never really took off in Gloucester. The detail on this model is unsurpassed. Ronnberg's father was a seaman of some note and while Erik was growing up in Rockport he was a rigger for the ships around Cape Ann. Ronnberg has all his fathers notes regarding these vessels and he used them in the building of the model. This shot shows his dad climbing the rigging to install some new line. I used my Canon 7D with the 28-80 f2.8 on macro to make the shot.

New Show at Cape Ann Coffees

My new show will be going up Nov. 2 with some new work, some old work and my best sellers. So come on by and take a look. The prices range from $75. for 14x20 to $95. for 16x24. All of the new prints are pigment prints on canvas and are coated against water and dirt.

I'm Down in Florida and Visited the Dali Museum

We had a nice trip over to St. Pete to visit the Dali Museum this morning. There are some weird images floating around in this place. The best stuff were Halisman's images of Dali. The Dali and Cat's was awesome although the print quality was not up to the standards of many folks. It was fun anyway just to look at the work of a truly twisted person.

These were all taken with the Canon G11. I hope to have them fixed up and ready to print when I get back.

Winter Show a Raving Success

My winter show at Cape Ann Coffee's was a great success! I sold seven pieces which is a new record. The top seller was a wave shot made over on the back shore with the 7d and the 300 f2.I will post it here soon. I have been experimenting with a new canvas by Breathing Color called Crystalline. It is OBA free and does not require any protective spray. It is archival for 55 years and the d-max is outstanding. I plan on making some more prints with it when I get some more ink. I also bought a trial of a thicker, heavier stretcher bar, really outstanding. That's it for now.

Cape Ann Coffees Winter Show is up

I finished hanging the new winter show at Cape Ann Coffees yesterday. There are nine images up and two more have been printed and will be hung tomorrow or Sat. afternoon. Two of the images are a stunning 16" x 24" and six are a wonderful size of 14" x 20". The interest has been high according to the owner and everyone that has seen it has been impressed.

Storm Clouds

These images of the approaching storm over Ipswich Bay and headed for Sandy Bay in Rockport were taken from Granite Pier in Rockport. I converted them to B&W because they look some much better than the mono tone blue and brown of the color images. They were taken with my Canon G11 which has a relatively small sensor with 12 megapixels. These blow up to about 13x19 before the grain starts to appear. The ISO was at 80 which I thought would eliminate the grain but not so.

Cape Ann Coffees Show is Up

I have finished hanging my show at Cape Ann Coffees on Bass Ave. in Gloucester. The show includes 12 photographs printed on canvas and gallery wrapped. Here are some preview photos of the canvas images hanging in the coffee shop. There will be an opening on May 2 from 2 PM - 3:30 PM to visit with the artist, ya that's me.

Dreaming of Summer Racing on Sandy Bay

This is a video of the Founder's Series racing on Sandy Bay in June of last year. This horrid rain is making me think of sailing in the sun.

Exciting News

Cape Ann Coffee's in Gloucester will be showing eight or nine pieces of my work from the book Cape Ann in the Off Season. The dates are not firm yet but it will be from the middle of April through May. Follow here for more news in the following weeks for dates and times. There will be an opening probably the first week in May on a Sunday afternoon so come back and check for more details.