Black and White Photography Blog, Vol. I

He’s getting closer…  I’m going to throw out something that he can write on, and then wait for him to do the tag.   That’s the shot I really want.

The motion blur is my fault… I had been shooting something where I wanted a lot of DOF - and didn’t switch back to my usual street mode where I’m usually at 1/500th or 1/1000th. In the old days, they’d shoot with 50 ASA film and you’d see quite a lot of motion blur which was perfectly fine (in those days).

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On a different note, I’ve been doing so many large prints lately, that I just looked at a 16 x 24 that’s drying and it seems small to me. I was able to do one print that I shot at 1600 ASA with the 40D that was 36 inches long. And you know what - perfectly fine. Yes, there’s “noise / grain” but it wasn’t distracting at all. I printed it at 180 dpi after doing some extrapolation with PowerZoom II. I do wonder what MP the 45D will have? 12mp? 14mp? more…?

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Business has been very good lately; with a lot more overseas orders.  (Guess that’s ’cause of the drop in the dollar?)  The price point of prints on the web is a very tricky thing.  Right now it’s about right in terms of getting orders, but it keeps me very busy with printing and packaging.  Raise the prices, and sales drop off too much, maybe in half.  If you’re running or thinking of selling photos on the web, the single biggest factor in sales is the cost.  (Assuming that anyone wants and can find your photos in the first place).  It’s especially tricky because you’re not selling toasters.  How is anyone supposed to know what the worth of your art is unless you tell them with the price.  So if you go too low - gulp - the buyer figures it’s junk.  If you go too high - well they’re not looking at the actual work so how do they know if it’s worth it.

In short, my advice (not that you asked) is to be able to easily change prices in a batch and see what happens.

The other thing (and it took me a long time to figure this out) is to spend the money so that you have an impressive catalog / portfolio.  For me, this has paid for itself very quickly with an increase in orders from art buyers.  The only bit there that’s tricky is that although the art buyer wants to show the potential client the catalog, they don’t want to tell the client where the prints came from - because then their potential client might just buy the print directly.  So I wouldn’t do something like print the web address at the bottom of every page (like I did in one early catalog until the buyer told me that wasn’t a good idea.)

Many of the local stores let their cats roam around at night and in the morning. This is a strange restaurant that is about to close. I had been hoping to see the cat one more time.  And yes, the 40D is workin’ again.  Phew.

Cat in Window #1

Second Avenue Street Fair (today). I too was caught in the downpour. Yes, the 40D got soaked. And when I picked it up a few minutes ago it was dead as a doornail. I tried switching the battery and CF card and it remains quiet. I have to admit, that I was doing high angle stuff with the cable release which means that little plastic thing was open - maybe that was the problem. Anyway, I’ll let it air out and maybe it’ll come out of its coma, otherwise I’ll need to send it in to be fixed and remember that it is not weatherproof.

* * * STILL DEAD * * *

Camera was bought on 2/3/08

They do say in their promotional literature that the camera is “weather-resistant,” but the warranty reads a bit differently. We’ll see what happens when I send it to be repaired (it is still under warranty).

From the Canon 40D warranty: “… Without limiting the foregoing, water damage, sand/corrosion damage, battery leakage, dropping the camera, scratches, abrasions or damage to the body, lenses or LCD display or damage to the any of the Accessories mentioned in the first paragraph above will be presumed to have resulted from misuse, abuse or failure to operate the EOS Digital Camera as set forth in the operating instructions…”

The only mention of water damage is this line in the manual:

“The camera is not waterproof and cannot be used underwater.”

So, since I didn’t use it underwater, is the warranty still good? Probably not.

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Frankly, since I was shooting some of this with the 12 - 15 foot tripod gizmo I put together - and there was some lightning - it was lucky I wasn’t fried.

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THE STORY HAS A HAPPY ENDING.

I opened all the ports on the camera, pulled the CF card and battery out, left the doors opened, and put it under a 60 watt bulb to dry it out. After four hours, much to my surprise and delight, I flicked the on switch and it came alive. The lesson, I think is to be a bit more careful in the rain, especially if I’m going to use the cable release. I think that the “weatherproofing is okay if all the flaps are closed, but with the cable release and the opened flap - water may have dripped into the camera. In a word: phew. I was already thinking about what camera I’d get as a backup…. and had decided I’d just buy a second 40D, I like it that much; or when the next version (I guess the 45D arrives, get that). But for now, I’m okay.

It’s true - if I’m going to shoot this sort of thing I should’ve used a waterproof housing; unless there’s a Canon out there that really is waterproof.

These crane accidents are getting closer to my house.  This morning there were helicopters overhead and I ignored them until I got a call from Matt saying I’d better at least take a walk up there…  Of course I can’t get close to the destruction, but the surrounding activity is always more interesting anyway…  (Bubble gum)

Released in 2003. My first film review.

Matt loaned me a DVD of The Impassioned Eye, a documentary about HCB two years ago or so. I watched the first ten minutes and found it so boring that I put it away. (I admit to reading just about everything I could find about HCB when I was starting out.)

A few days ago, I was switching channels when I saw it was on again without commercials, so I thought I’d give it another try.

The film was made about a year before the master left us. I forced myself to watch the entire film, hoping for some revelation. My conclusion was the same this time around: how they managed to make such a boring film about a guy who lead such an exciting life is beyond me.

The film consists mainly of HCB, sitting behind a desk with a bunch of prints and books in front of him. He rummages around in them and finds something that interests him and holds it up in front of his face for the camera. They cut to a full screen shot of the print and if you’re lucky HCB says something in French and the narrator translates into English.

Everything about the film is static: the camera, the narrator, the subjects. I went back and read the NY Times review which said it was a master class. If I had paid for this master class I would demand my money back.

In other words, if I haven’t said it clearly enough, this is a yawn, and a shame, and a wasted opportunity because rather than asking interesting questions, they let the old guy stare off into space half the time. Almost nothing about technique. The only point that comes across over and over is Geometry. Waiting for everything to be in the right place and letting the eye and brain react.

As if it wasn’t boring enough - the soundtrack is filled with slow classical piano, and they decided to include Arthur Miller since HCB did shooting on the set of the Misfits.

All that being said, I would recommend the film because there isn’t much else with HCB as the subject, but the filmmakers should return their union cards (if they have any).

I made a few minor changes to the site (lowered some prices); sent out a ton of catalogs to art buyers; and suddenly I am deluged with orders. Frankly, I’m planning on spending the next week printing to catch up. Odd, because usually this is the absolutely dead season for me. The one trend I see is that there are a lot of requests now for the larger prints (thank you 7800). My only issue with those is enough drying space.

Anyway, it’s not boring because I’m doing sepia, color and the usual b&w printing. So there’s a bit of new territory. And I get to see tons of things blown up to 23 x 36 now. Frankly, that is big. It takes up 3/4’s of my counter space where I lay the thing out to flatten and dry.

The Central Park book on the other hand, which I consider a great value (what do I know) has sold exactly two copies so far. Ironically - I’ve sold off a few images to “real” books about New York’s Parks.

Well, if I can’t sell that one at cost, the next one should be for die-hard fans only since it will be just people, and just the people I want. Working title… MORTAL NEW YORK (that one might stick). It’ll look good in Gothic font. I’m sort of figuring that since the books aren’t going to sell, at least not through the site, I might as well do the one I really want.

“Those who are about to die salute you!”

From the top of Cedar Hill in Central Park looking East.

I had been thinking about all this montage stuff - and had all these ideas I wanted to try - so early this morning I went out with the tripod (for a change). The thing about living in New York is that as soon as I walked into the park you just see amazing things that you couldn’t dream up ahead of time.

So this isn’t exactly a montage - more similar to what in the old days would have been a multiple exposure - but I have to admit that I’d be lost in some other place. The guy finished up his yoga workout and then did a prayer facing east, west, north, south.  Wish I knew who the guy was - I would send him a print.  But he kept going into some other routine after this and I didn’t want to bother him.

I think I’m going to replace one image in the book that I wasn’t happy with - with this shot(s).

If you want a hint - let me know.

Even I was shocked by how good the quality and presentation were. Damn it was simply gorgeous. Heavy paper and size made all the difference. It really is like thumbing through fine-art prints. The images were printed better than I’ve ever seen them. One image (two couples) I’m going to either remove or tweak - it’s not quite up to the rest. And the two pages of thumb nails - I’m going to pick two large images to go in there. But in short, I’ve finally got a book without compromises.

View Central Park Book

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One more note about MyPublisher: the discount that’s applied is based on the cost of a single book, not the total order. So if you’re book is $50 you get the 20% discount, no matter how many books you order.

If the book is $100 + you get the 40% discount. That’s interesting.

Now - just for the hell of it - I ordered two books at the classic size (8.5 x 11) and the cost (before taxes and shipping) is $31 for 43 pages. So that’s way within everyone’s means. And I could sell it with a bit of profit in it for me. Not nearly as impressive as the larger book (deluxe) with the heavier paper, but you gets what you pay for.

My next step in this process: I’m going to redo the Mementos of New York book that I did last year with SharedInk - with MyPublisher in the Deluxe size. I’ve already got all the files ready and it shouldn’t take me very long. In other words - you can see the direction I’m headed in.

I was down on 34th to buy ink for the 7800 (ugh - $750 worth of ink) and here was this shot. When you’re shooting sometimes you tap the nail in quickly - one shot - and then figure you’ll get a chance for another few taps but the bucket was moving, and although I tried moving to line it up again with the Empire State it never happened. So this is the first tap of the nail - so to speak.

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I receive a lot of e-mails with similar sentiments - but there was something about this one that I thought was worth posting:

Mr Beckerman,
I would like to congratulate you for your talent. You know how to see things and people should pay more attention to what is around us just like you do. I know I have no experience and I am only 18 years old but I’m impressed by your work. I don’t know if you read your emails but thank you for bringing more beauty in this world.
Aida

It’s online now. Hasn’t been shipped yet - but here it is. (Click to view).

Going through old negatives I came across this shot - reflection in a sheet of metal - of four world trade center buildings. I only spent one day photographing down there; and never liked the look of the buildings much so I remember trying to find some new angle - and this was it. The day before I shot this I had found a piece of metal on the street, and did a bunch of reflections under a noon sun.

At the WTC I remember seeing the cross shape if I was just at the right angle when I took the shot but I didn’t really see any significance to it - just a design.  The negative had watermarks and scratches and I didn’t feel like cleaning it up back then (darkroom days). Today it took about 15 minutes to get it into decent shape in Photoshop.