Down main street - small town ontario

[Robert Watcher]

Camera in hand/pocket while walking downtown.
Olympus E-PL5 w/14-42 kit lens

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[Doug Kerr]

Hi, Rob,

Just lovely!

Best regards,

Doug

 

[Asher Kelman]

Camera in hand/pocket while walking downtown.
Olympus E-PL5 w/14-42 kit lens

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Bob,

Looks like your "training" in Nicaragua with doorways has given you a mindset to look at this street in a way that is able to approach and touch on the individual natures of the people who occupy these homes - a remarkable feat! Keep at it and you will disclose even more.

Except on the steps of places like the tenements in New York on a sweltering hot summer's day, folk in our cities are generally protected from scrutiny!

You have only scraped the edges of what might be possible on this street, but, for example, the puppies at the screen door is a wonderful revelation!

Asher

 

[Don Ferguson Jr.]

That last one brings a smile to my face and think the puppies are complimented by the nice blue tones of the house.
Don

 

[Robert Watcher]

Thank you Doug, Asher and Don


Funny thing that is unnerving at home in Canada, is the response of people at their homes. Not at all like shooting in Central America. The only house I didn't feel awkward at was the one with the tractors for sale in front.

As an example, I noticed first two dogs standing up against the screen door of the blue house. Took my shot from the sidewalk across the street from the house. Then a third dog showed up. Far more interesting to me so I paused to wait for a moment where they would all be standing maybe. Until that moment (which never came), I snapped a few shots and then the dogs scattered and a man comes out of the dark shadows to the door and stares at me. I smiled, lowered my camera, and moved on.

Similarly, a man was working on his porch of the gingerbread house. As I was approaching it to get to a straight on angle for better composition, the woman walked out from the house. I didn't know whether I should shoot or not, but lowered my camera into position against my chest - aimed and snapped the photo quickly. I was much closer with this one - standing on the sidewalk, same side as the house. When I tipped my head up from looking at the screen, the woman had the meanest scowl on her face. I smiled, nodded my head and moved on.

I realize that I only have such courage in Central America where I seem to blend into the woodwork better. Small town is tougher for me. My wife and I are heading to a larger city to stay with our daughter for a few days, next week. It will be nice having time to explore some avenues of photography there. If I am not shooting every day, I get rusty and shy. LOL


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[Asher Kelman]

Don't be intimidated, Bob, short of a sawn of shotgun or a genuine Kalashnikof! This is not Kabul or Damascus!

The fact of the mean expression is already revealing!

Missing that would obliterate meaning.

You camera is the "tin opener" to discover what this small town street has in its unlabeled cans - beans, salmon or dog food, LOL!

Keep challenging them to open up!

Asher

 

[Robert Watcher]

Bob,

Looks like your "training" in Nicaragua with doorways has given you a mindset ....

. . . . the puppies at the screen door is a wonderful revelation!

Asher

It's interesting that you surmised this Asher. In reality, I am not that much of a dog lover, so the fact that dogs were in the doorway didn't appeal to me as much as my relating the scenario to some images that I had taken in Nicaragua - where I messed with the people in doorways theme. I'd include inanimate objects that I came across, such as the almost lifelike child mannequins that I passed by every day and waved and said hi to:

And in a way that was what I saw with the tractors. So all three photos have kind of a similar theme and feel to me. Of course they aren't the same as Nica walls and doors. I am shooting more loosely and including more of the house and yard, being there isn't much texture and character to grab attention. I wouldn't want themto look the same anyway. I'm good with what I got though for the effort of a half hour walk downtown to spend time with my wife and grab a coffee.

 

[Robert Watcher]

I guess if CONTACT SHEETS are fine for Magnum photographers (the book LOL) - - - I'll include mine from last night with the 68 shots that I took on an uneventful night in a small town.

Files EPL58164, EPL58165 and then EPL58171 to the end, are record pics of my two sons houses on the Main Street, as well as Anne's brother's house where we are staying on the edge of town. So they were quick snaps for our keeping.

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In case you are wondering where the shot of the house with the dogs is that shows both sides of the roofline? - - - Only after I got home and decided to include more than just the windows and door, did I realize that there wasn't a picture with the roof extending on both sides. But I had one of each, so exported them out of Lightroom into Photoshop with "Merge to Panorama in Photoshop". Then saved back into Lightroom for processing. I actually combine files a fair bit to get pieces that are missing. It works well.




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[Asher Kelman]

That's a great way to share the shooting experience! I like this as an intro!

Asher

 

[Robert Watcher]

That's a great way to share the shooting experience! I like this as an intro!

Asher

Contact Sheets were an essential staple of my photographic life in the film days. And although digital has lessened the need for them - I still really find them valuable and in fact have decided that I am going to make a separate Blurb Magazine of Contact Sheets for each season that I have been in Central America.

Each season includes thousands of images, but I personally struggle trying to find older images even with the most organized methods implemented in Lightroom.

After watching the Youtube video about the book Magnum Contact Sheets, it gave me this idea. It is so much easier to thumb through a printed catalogue of all images than try and find them file by file or hope that I have tagged all images properly.

A nice feature of Lightroom I am just now making use of, is the automatic assembly of Contact Sheets using the Print Module in Lightroom. Outputting to a PDF works well, too, but it still takes much more work to scroll through, than a printed book I believe.

Something I even tried a few times back when I had my Main Street Photo Studio, was printing contact sheets from jobs up as 16"20" prints to show and give to clients. Some I had hanging in my showroom, and people loved looking at them. I got the idea from Gary Bernstein - who at the time was a well know fashion photographer and had several photo books. It was an excellent idea for keeping ahead of the competition with their little 4x5 paper proofs. On the contact sheet, each image was around wallet sized.



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[Wolfgang Plattner]

Hi Robert

I like the way, you show me glimpses of a country and its people, that are so far away from here ...