Travelog: Finds of Art in People and People in Art.

[fahim mohammed]

Lest I forget, there is that mother of all passions..

Film vs digital.

Film ? what film?

I am getting tired to enumerate all the films. Print, slide, color, bw etc.

What speed of film, what make, c41, shall I develop it at home, in a lab?

Do you make wet prints? or dry prints? Like in a dream. Wet or dry? What am I, a sex machine.

Should I get a scanner? Which kind? CT scanner, if you must. Maybe one needs it.

I am going on holiday to xxxx. Which film? I shall go thru airports? Is it OK. No walk, drive, sail.

Most of all, go take some pictures.

 

[fahim mohammed]

Of course, there is the printing. ( after you have your raw or jpg or film ).

What paper? Papyrus, it has lasted thousands of years. I get a newspaper.

What printer? Heidelberg.

And the many other things. After all have been sorted. Purchased.

The final question. What shall I shoot?

Myself. This is not photography. It is misery. Sign of severe personality and mental defects.
I must see a doctor.

But what doctor? Radiologist, gynae, derma, surgeon..and the circle begins again. Freud.

Sigmund, I don't have a studio. I don't have a flash. Can you throw some light on my ailment.

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

Dear Fahim,

I suspect that you may have forgotten more things along the way than many others have ever learned in their lives. So it does not matter if you can't remember a few "rules" of photography, who cares? Besides, I am sure that you have internalized all that knowledge and ignore it deliberately.

So while you go looking for Sigmund, I might have a chat with your wise friend Jacques. Let's meet later to compare our findings ;-)

Cheers,

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

Hi Fahim,

Intriguing, as usual. I especially like the look on the face of the girl. Not entirely suspicious but keeping an eye on him anyway.

Charlotte, I have been doing some search of my archives..nothing as yet to follow through with your excellent suggestion.

But I have found a few with human interaction..

Putting ginger to balance the weights!

I have seen those scales used everywhere in Turkey when I was a kid. What I suspect is happening is that he has to weigh ginger and the required weight is not discretely available using the standard iron weights (additively). So he puts a heavy one on the right and a lighter one on the left. Adds ginger to the left. When it balances, the ginger weight is equal to the difference between the two standard weight units. But you knew all this already, didn't you?

Cheers,

 

[fahim mohammed]

Cem, I shall join you and go and see Jacques. let the grapes ferment inside me.

Thanks.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Rule of one thirds

Golden Triangles

Fib series

Color Wheel

Contrast

Complementary colors

Light

Golden Hours

Sh*t, all I want to do is take a photograph of what resonates with me.

I really can't imagine improving the image. Here's the deal, Fahim, you have already made the myriads of decisions that you appear to make a joke of. There's no choice for you. All those elements you protest are already incorporated into your being. You see the woman with her load and the empathy lifts your camera to your eye, that's it. Everything else gets ranked further down as your will to memorialize the sight just gets the job done.

Asher

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

Cem, I shall join you and go and see Jacques. let the grapes ferment inside me.

Thanks.

Great idea! That'll be the day when I have the honor of meeting you at last.

Cheers,

 

[fahim mohammed]

Great idea! That'll be the day when I have the honor of meeting you at last.

Cheers,

Cem, the honor shall be mine.

Besides it is some time I visited Amsterdam. Actually since I went into retirement.
Unfortunately for Ayesha there are no mountains to scale in your country!!.
But, I heard they have tightened on them ' coffee shops '.

Take care my friend.

p.s we could always do the Rijsk ( spelling ! ) for the umpteenth time!!

 

[fahim mohammed]

I really can't imagine improving the image. Here's the deal, Fahim, you have already made the myriads of decisions that you appear to make a joke of. There's no choice for you. All those elements you protest are already incorporated into your being. You see the woman with her load and the empathy lifts your camera to your eye, that's it. Everything else gets ranked further down as your will to memorialize the sight just gets the job done.

Asher

Asher, you give me credit where it is not due. Honestly. My friends and I would get a series of books called ' Bluff your way through xxxx '.

I did forget about camera bags though! Bags, purses..I shall ask Ayesha.

Regards.

p.s I checked my ' Bluff ' series..it is golden circles!!

 

[Michael Nagel]

Fahim,

I find myself learning new things every day - photographic rules, technical tidbits and so on.
Still - applying these rules alone never resulted in a photo which stayed with me - the soul was missing.

Each of your photos tells a story - this is extraordinary by itself.

Michael

 

[Cem_Usakligil]

Fahim,

Forget about the Rijksmuseum, Rembrandt can wait. We would just walk around, talk to people and with each other. I would take you to places off the beaten path. Looking forward to that day.

PS: There was a popular song called the Dutch Mountains. Now I can't get the tune out of my head, lol.

Cem, the honor shall be mine.

Besides it is some time I visited Amsterdam. Actually since I went into retirement.
Unfortunately for Ayesha there are no mountains to scale in your country!!.
But, I heard they have tightened on them ' coffee shops '.

Take care my friend.

p.s we could always do the Rijsk ( spelling ! ) for the umpteenth time!!

Cheers,

 

[Jerome Marot]

I like the picture of your friend Jacques. Very much.

 

[fahim mohammed]

Fahim,

I find myself learning new things every day - photographic rules, technical tidbits and so on.
Still - applying these rules alone never resulted in a photo which stayed with me - the soul was missing.

Each of your photos tells a story - this is extraordinary by itself.

Michael

Michael, You humble me.

Thank you.

 

[fahim mohammed]

Fahim,

Forget about the Rijksmuseum, Rembrandt can wait. We would just walk around, talk to people and with each other. I would take you to places off the beaten path. Looking forward to that day.

PS: There was a popular song called the Dutch Mountains. Now I can't get the tune out of my head, lol.



Cheers,

Cem, that would be the best visit for me then!!

 

[fahim mohammed]

I like the picture of your friend Jacques. Very much.

Jerome, Jacques would like that very much.

Thank you.

 

[Sandrine Bascouert]

Dutch Mountains

TheNits
the Nits?
Good, very good....

 

[Maris Rusis]

Rule of one thirds

Golden Triangles

Fib series

Color Wheel

Contrast

Complementary colors

Light

Golden Hours

Sh*t, all I want to do is take a photograph of what resonates with me.

You scarcely need to know anything technical if you want recognizable pictures of subject matter that "resonates" with you. After all you were there at the time and the picture can prompt the richness of recall and the pleasures of reminiscence. But if you want the picture to "resonate" with other people then you must be master of every aspect of pictorial control. Remember, your viewers only have the picture to work with and no supporting memories to fill in the details they cannot see.

The technical difficulties of photography or digital picture-making are over-rated. Sure, there are scores of factors to consider and multiple choices within each variable but by the time you have developed a personal style most of the indecision is gone before you pick up a camera. Each new subject offers its own challenges but after the first few thousand pictures solving problems becomes quick, easy, and instinctive.

The fact that there are multiple possibilities in making a picture is a resource not a stumbling block. A Steinway piano has 88 keys but I can't recall an accomplished concert pianist being advantaged by fewer.

 

[Rachel Foster]

Lovely collection, Fahim.

 

[fahim mohammed]

Maris, good morning.

Thank you for taking the time to look in and giving your input.

What you say is very logical, considered and based on your undoubted expertise
with the camera. And maybe with a piano!!

I do wonder, though, why basic human emotions need such complicated rules to
portray.

For example, a child crying is the same everywhere.
Prayers..same. Death..same. Birth too. Happiness, Laughter..etc.
Won't it resonate with others if a child is seen dead with his/her limbs torn
off and dead. Or does one need the ' rules ' of photography to have humans ' feel '
this emotion?

This is what bothers me?

Thanks once again for your valuable insights.

p.s I always suspected piano players had more fingers than me!!

 

[fahim mohammed]

Rachel, thank you.

 

[fahim mohammed]

Cem, thanks as usual for your comments.

Interesting observations and measuring techniques you have imparted
Cem.

Now, where are my dates!!

Regards.

 

[fahim mohammed]

So they sold me filters..hard, soft, polarizing, uv, ir ND, graduated ones in various numbers, and variable.

Is that it? I asked.

But you wont get sharp pictures. They said.

Why is that? Because you are missing the most important thing.

They sold me all this.. One should show the scale of things, I am told. So here it is.

What's this? I asked. Head. One needs a head. to go on the base!!

But it is a very big head, I protested.

Indeed sir, they said. You are now blessed with a big..very big head.

The cushion..that I bought myself. massage cushion. For me. having a big head does get tiring.


p.s they wanted to sell me cleaning things. Wipes. Dry, wet. Like you know for what..
I walked out of the shop. I have a washing machine at home.

 

[fahim mohammed]

C'mon Ayesha we are getting late.

But you did not take your camera.

Too heavy.

Whatever will you do darling? she asked.

Iphone, I said. But you can't take pics with that!!

We shall try.

Here are some snapshots and mementos with an Iphone from last week.

But we didn't go the art gallery Fahim. I am not into art.

 

[Michael Nagel]

I especially like the first and the last one of your last post.

The idea counts, the tool just helps to transform the idea into a photo.

I do not have an iPhone, but a compact camera I carry with me all the time.
If you don't mind, I contribute some results here, otherwise in a separate thread.

Best regards,
Michael

 

[fahim mohammed]

I especially like the first and the last one of your last post.

The idea counts, the tool just helps to transform the idea into a photo.

I do not have an iPhone, but a compact camera I carry with me all the time.
If you don't mind, I contribute some results here, otherwise in a separate thread.

Best regards,
Michael

Thank you Michael.

And post away my good friend. You are always welcome.

Regards.

 

[Michael Nagel]

So here are few glimpses captured last year.

The first two are from the Octoberfest. I do not like to go into the tents as there are so many things to see outside.

Last year was the celebration of 200 years of Octoberfest, there was a special illumination.

Bavaria b/w​

This is not how I saw it, but how I experienced it.

Octoberfest again, walking back home from the evening I was there with colleagues (many companies in Munich reserve places at the Octoberfest, you might call it a team-building event ;-) )
The weather was not good, still the light and the reflections were enlighting...

Heisse Mandeln​

In Munich there is a small garden called Kabinettsgarten.
This is what you see when you go in there an look up.

Rechtwinklig​

A friend said, that you take the best pictures with the camera you carry around.
I could not agree more.

Best regards,
Michael

 

[Maris Rusis]

But it is a very big head, I protested.

Indeed sir, they said. You are now blessed with a big..very big head.

The cushion..that I bought myself. massage cushion. For me. having a big head does get tiring.


p.s they wanted to sell me cleaning things. Wipes. Dry, wet. Like you know for what..
I walked out of the shop. I have a washing machine at home.

There is a strong argument for never putting a Leica on a tripod let alone one equipped with a huge ball-head.

A Leica is the pinnacle of 35mm film based cameras but even so the miniature format condemnes the results to the lowest technical quality in regular photographic production.

So why 35mm, why Leica? Reasons:

Small hand-holdable lightweight cameras.
Quick to use for unpredictable photo opportunities.
Fast lenses for low light work.
Fast shutter speeds for moving subjects.
Many shots, usually 36, between re-loadings.
Low film costs per exposure.

Putting a Leica on a tripod nullifies its superior features. If a camera is to be encumbered by the nuisance of a tripod it may as well be a big one. The rewards had better be good. They are. Everything larger than 35mm offers dramatically less grain, more sharpness, greater detail, and stunningly superior tonal quality. But not Leica style pictures.

 

[fahim mohammed]

So here are few glimpses captured last year.

The first two are from the Octoberfest. I do not like to go into the tents as there are so many things to see outside.

This is not how I saw it, but how I experienced it.

The weather was not good, still the light and the reflections were enlighting...

In Munich there is a small garden called Kabinettsgarten.
This is what you see when you go in there an look up.

A friend said, that you take the best pictures with the camera you carry around.
I could not agree more.

Best regards,
Michael

Michael, team building at the Octoberfest!! I never got past a couple building at that time!!

I particularly like the clean geometrical lines of the Kabinettsgarten. Lovely.
When it rained, I knew where I was in Munich in October. Not chasing reflections..

Regards.

 

[fahim mohammed]

There is a strong argument for never putting a Leica on a tripod let alone one equipped with a huge ball-head.

A Leica is the pinnacle of 35mm film based cameras but even so the miniature format condemnes the results to the lowest technical quality in regular photographic production.

So why 35mm, why Leica? Reasons:

Small hand-holdable lightweight cameras.
Quick to use for unpredictable photo opportunities.
Fast lenses for low light work.
Fast shutter speeds for moving subjects.
Many shots, usually 36, between re-loadings.
Low film costs per exposure.

Putting a Leica on a tripod nullifies its superior features. If a camera is to be encumbered by the nuisance of a tripod it may as well be a big one. The rewards had better be good. They are. Everything larger than 35mm offers dramatically less grain, more sharpness, greater detail, and stunningly superior tonal quality. But not Leica style pictures.
__________________

Marius, some fact..some opinion. Like mine. Both equally to be respected and some having equal validity..

Also a few equally open to discussion. Like everything else about opinions.

But not now, not here.

Kindest regards.

 

[fahim mohammed]

When stones talk to me..

or when I talk to stones. We stay talking for a long long time.

Just me and the stones. A world of our own.