Street Photography with Robert M. Johnson

Worcester, Massachusetts in a small city about an hour west of Boston. It's a Rust Belt town, dominated by brick buildings from a previous industrial age. To give my western readers a reference point, Worcester is not unlike Tucson - an interesting and diverse community that isn't afraid to show it's age a little.

Robert M. Johnson is a street photographer who has captured images of life in Worcester and around the country for decades. My wife and I first became aware of his work years ago from an article in a local Worcester magazine. We lived in Worcester at the time, and so we shared our discovery with our friend Damien Gaudet. Damien is himself a talented photographer, so when Robert agreed to answer some questions for the blog, I asked Damien for some help. Damien composed a wonderful set of questions, so I decided to use them exactly as he wrote them.



Before I get to Damien's questions and Robert's replies, I'd like to take a quick moment to say a few words about Robert's work. Across the spectrum of photographic genres, few take a little equipment and as much skill as street photography. It's the art of capturing a moment as it exists, and Robert does this wonderfully. His subjects are intriguing and interesting people, usually in action, always a part of the environment they're interacting with. He ranges from street scenes to shots of television screens that capture iconic moments in history. Robert entitles nearly all his photographs "Street - Documentary," though, as a former Worcesterite and admirer of his work, I believe he could confidently entitle them "Life - Documentary." See more of Robert's photographs on his Flickr page or at his website, Fullframeimages.com.

Here are Damien's questions and Robert's responses. I'd like to thank both of them for their time and generosity, particularly Robert for sharing his art, his experience, and for inspiring us to capture life and share it with others.

Damien - Street photography is candid by nature, but do you set out wandering the city with any specific goals or is your process more organic, with you simply living your day to day life and capturing interesting moments as they happen around you?  What interests you enough to take the picture when you're out on the street?  Is it a face of a passerby, the context of the moment, or something else?

Robert - Street photography has known themes that are often repeated. By viewing hundreds or perhaps thousands of images you can almost pre-program your mind to react to a situation on a subconscious level. The trick is to be so prepared to shoot that it is almost an afterthought. The mental preparation I did back in my prime shooting days out numbered my time on the streets by far. I believe that the reflexes involved in Street photography are very close to that of an athlete. Pure hand, body and eye coordination. Those reflexes do fade over time and a different type of timing takes it's place. 

D - Do you have a preferred lens/camera setup that you use primarily?  Are you trying to keep a low profile with your equipment, or does an interaction with the subject who knows they're being photographed bring something to the image?

R - I have always been a one camera and lens guy. After much experimenting I found that keeping it simple was the best way to go. An SLR with a 50mm lens loaded with TRI-X and I was ready to hit the streets. I am not a shy person and relished the interaction involved in photographing strangers. Candid photography now is almost too easy. The interaction with your subjects can play a useful role in forming a powerful image.

D - Can you describe how your choice of equipment has evolved (or hasn't) over the years?  For example, have you embraced digital over film, or do you use both?  It seems like digital technology would make street photography much more immediate to share, but is that even one of your goals?

R - I think I'm up to my fifth digital camera now. I like the Panasonic LX3. Using it in the wide angle mode at 24mm is a challenge that I enjoy. I have taken to shooting from moving vehicles and that really adds to the random look of my work these days. It can produce some interesting images. It is real easy to shoot tons of crap; the secret is editing your work as it has always been.

D -You also photograph in color.  As someone who has described themselves as a black and white documentary photographer, what made you incorporate the use of color? 

I think I have always had a good eye for color. I added that specific reference to B&W when I put my first photography site up some ten years ago and it stuck. Google Black & White Street Photography and you should find me. 

D -Street photography has come under scrutiny in some parts of the world, especially the U.K., where photographers on the street have had equipment taken by the authorities and even been arrested.  Have you ever encountered a negative experience such as this, and has the response towards you while you're shooting changed since the 70's?  Also, what words of advice would you impart on aspiring street photographers today?  Especially within the context of heightened security and paranoia in our urban areas.

R - I sometimes take the new restrictions as a challenge and shoot from the hip at local stores. Last week I stopped to take pics outside of a power plant and expected visitors. It didn't happen but I thought about it on my way home. Street photographers are doing society a favor documenting everyday life, don't ever forget that!

D - Have you ever been interested in any other avenues of photography, such as traditional portraiture, fine art or commercial work?  If not, what do you get from your documentary images that those other categories wouldn't fulfill?  

R - My first intentions with photography was to take pretty images and get rich. After being exposed to the work of the masters those thoughts soon faded. Instead I chose to get good at a type of photography that for the most part has no monetary value! The best thing that ever happened to me through my photography is my 30 year marriage and three wonderful sons.

D - You have a substantial list of links on your website to other's work and organizations that support the arts.  Are there any photographers or artists that you look to for inspiration on a regular basis? 

R- I am always amazed with the quality of work that I encounter on Flickr. I have had some contacts with most of the sites and photographers that I have on my link page and can say that I respect all of them. (Here's a link to Robert's Flickr contacts page.)

Privatization Threatens an Arizona National Forest

Tonto National Forest stretches from southeast of Phoenix to far in to the Northeast near Payson. Adventure Journal posted an article today about the privatization taking place in Tonto National Forest's Payson District. Basically, the NPS is selling out to private companies who will manage tourism. The problem is that, unlike the NPS, those private companies can charge what they want. They can charge whatever admission fees they want, set permit prices, even charge for parking! Handing over our federally funded land to private contractors who can make profits on land our tax money pays for is nothing but government sanctioned highway robbery on public land.

The article on A.J. explains the situation very well. Read it here - Privatization Threatens an Arizona National Park. It's written by Kitty Benzar of High Country News and the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition.

Here's few thoughts that Benzar doesn't mention. My first reaction to hearing the threat of private fees was "Screw 'em! I'll sneak in or go somewhere else!" I'm not going to get shaken down for some bullshit fees by corporate thugs on my way into a NATIONAL forest and I'm sure I'm not alone. Unlike the Western Slope No-Fee Coalition, I don't completely object to small, moderate fees that help pay for the upkeep of the land and I think most people will pay them just to stay on the right side of the law. It's fair that if you use the parks, you help fund them a little more than folks who don't use them. But I'm not bowing to private companies if I want to use land my tax money pays for and shame on anyone who tries to use the law to force our money into private hands in order to access PUBLIC land.

Fee avoidance will likely hurt the visitation numbers in TNF's Payson district and will send people like me to Apache-Sitgreaves NF, Coronado NF, or others, putting more stress on the land in those forests. I don't encourage using the land illegally, as that opens the door for litter, fire danger, and other abuses, but if you can find a way around corporate fees, I simply ask you show the forest all the respect you would have had you paid. Whatever you do, don't pay private fees to use national land. Our best chance of squashing this stupid idea is to make it unprofitable to the contracted companies.

Benzar provides the following contact information in her article: Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell at RecreationFees@fs.fed.us. Please take a moment to write to Mr. Tidwell and tell him that under no circumstances will you accept private park fees in NATIONAL Forests.

21st Anniversary - Hubble Telescope

Sure, today is Easter, but it's also the 21st anniversary of the launch of the Hubble Telescope. Launched on April 24, 1990 on the shuttle Discovery's STS-31 mission, the Hubble telescope lets us gaze into space without that pesky atmosphere getting in the way. Over the last two decades Hubble has been instrumental in expanding our understanding of the size and scope of the universe, as well as dazzling us with sights like the one pictured above.

This photo depicts Arp 273, a pair of interacting galaxies. The top galaxy is UGC 1810 and the bottom is UGC 1813. The photograph was taken to commemorate Hubble's 21st Anniversary.

Read more here about the Hubble Telescope anniversary and view more pictures here.

And...if you've never seen Hubble's Ultra Deep Field photo, it's time you checked this out...

Happy Earth Day!

First off, I should apologize for being a negligent blogger lately. The ol' PhD is catching up with me and I've got tons of work to do. I have all sorts of good blogging ideas and no time to write them.

But today is Earth Day and even a lazy nature blogger cannot let a day specifically designed to remind us of the ecological and environmental needs of our planet pass without hopping online and writing a few lines in support of preserving our natural world.

When I think of Earth Day, I'm reminded of anthropomorphic ambassadors from my childhood. Woodsy Owl, Smokey the Bear, and Ranger Rick. Each spouted an easy-to-remember aphorism. "Give a hoot! Don't pollute. Plant a tree today" or "Only you can prevent forest fires." Yet, as one half of our government fights to destroy and exploit our natural environment and the other puts up a flaccid, lackluster defense (or outright caves), I can't help but think that all the logic, all the public relations campaigns mounted by environmental groups, all the cartoon animals giving sound advice, and all the anger of people like me and probably you can't compare for one second to nature's own ambassadors, the spectacular and sublime features of our planet.

So, for Earth Day, this humble blogger isn't asking you to vote, petition, go vegan, recycle, ride a bike, or change your lightbulbs. If you do those things, wonderful...I do too. But I would like to ask you to go outside. Take your kids for a walk in the woods. Visit a national park. Go to the beach. Hike up a mountain. Or just feed some birds in your yard. If you don't know what we're losing to greed and idiocy (idiocy means you, climate change deniers), then you had better find out before it's gone.

Oh, and when you get back inside, read Edward Abbey's account of Glen Canyon or John Muir's of Hetch Hetchy before they were dammed. You can't go to those places anymore. Both men are great writers, but neither provides a satisfying substitute for the reality of standing in a place, smelling the air, hearing the wind and the birds. I think you will agree that one visit would be worth all the descriptions, films, and photographs of each of these places that have been taken from us by our parents' and grandparents' generations. We can to better than that. Let's start now.

Boards of Canada - Roygbiv

I found this video for the Boards of Canada song Roygbiv. It kicks ass. You should watch it.

More Bad News For Wolves

From the New York Times: "Wolf Delisting Survives Budget Fight, as Settlement Crumbles."

I've written here before that delisting wolves from protective status by legislative and not scientific means is as mean-spirited as it is stupid. If hunters want to hunt something cunning and cruel, give Democratic Sen. Jon Tester a five minute head start before you release the hounds. If there is justice in the universe, that guy will meet his ends in the jaws of the a hungry wolf pack. Instead, he's leading a nastier pack of confidence men in using their leverage as legislators to go around science and curb the great gains gray wolves have made in the last couple decades.

As an Arizonan, there is little I can do. The right thing to do is "contact your elected officials and tell them you oppose delisting wolves!" Who will listen in Arizona? John Kyl? John McCain? Any of the other clowns in the fundamentalist cabal that comprises Arizona's elected officials? I think not.

Well, truth be told, I have, many times, written to politicians about conservation issues only to get some boilerplate nonsense a couple days later.

That doesn't mean that all effort are futile, though! If you live in a sane state with some semi-reliable elected officials (yes, political action dialogue has been reduced to pleas for sanity directed at semi-reliable people), please write to them and stand on the side of science and wolves. Even one quick line is a constituent on the record stating an opinion. Something like this,

Dear Senator X,

This message is to inform you that I do not support delisting the gray wolf. Science, not special interests, should govern how we manage our American wildlife and wild places.

Sincerely,
You

Find your senator here or representative here.

P.S. - Even if you don't love wolves or you think there are more pressing matters at hand than environmental issues, keep in mind that delisting endangered species by legislative means is one more instance of a concerted attack on science by American politicians. It's one scuffle in a battle to prevent meaningful action against climate change, keep us dependent on oil, get evolution out of the classroom, and myriad other instances where science comes into conflict with what's politically expedient or ideologically supposed. Deniers of science belong in history books, not legislative positions. They, not wolves, should be the endangered species worrying about going extinct. Fighting for wolves is fighting for science and fighting for science is fighting for our collective future.

P.S.S. - If that wolf pictured above doesn't look like a wolf you're used to seeing, that's because it's a Mexican wolf, a subspecies of the gray wolf. They're very, very endangered. Delisting would likely spell extinction for this unique southwestern subspecies. Learn more at mexicanwolves.org.

This video from newsy.com gives a good synopsis of the issue.

The Broome Review - Issue 4/ The Feathertale Review Issue 6

I've got a story in the current issue of The Broome Review. The story is called "Chips." It's about an old lady and her dog...sort of. You can get your copy via The Parlor City Press.

I've also had a funny little story called "Easter Vigil" published in The Feathertale Review a while back. That one is about a kid who doesn't want to go to church on Easter. It came out in September, but I figured I'd post about it here closer to Easter. Feathertale is Canadian, so they Canadianized all my spelling - i.e. color = colour.

April Fools

For April Fools I pulled the most taboo prank of them all and told my wife I was pregnant. Just kidding. That joke was bad, I know, but I have noticed some good April Fools Day jokes around the Internet and I thought I'd take a quick second and share a few.

1. The editors of Scientific American Magazine agree to include Creationism and Intelligent Design in their articles. The post is called "Okay, We Give Up" and it's actually from April 1, 2005. Funny nonetheless.

2. Google introduces G-Mail Motion, a way to control G-Mail without using outdated technology, such as the mouse and keyboard.

3. In another Google prank, try search for "helvetica" in Google.

4.The American Spectator announces that PBS hired Anne Coulter to host a show. Lots of other fake PBS material too.

5. Hulu is in 1996.

Homesick Yankee Ramblings Part 6 - Wright's Farm

 
Wright's Farm is a family-style chicken restaurant in Harrisville, RI. It's owned an operated by the Galleshaw Family. It's located near the border of central Massachusetts. Going to Wright's Farm is a local Blackstone Valley tradition. Here's how it works:

1. You drive to Wright's Farm. This involves some stress, because unless you're with 10 people, you can't make a reservation. You discuss how long the wait will be on your ride.
2. Arrive at Wright's Farm. Despair upon viewing that the front parking lot and most of the back lot are full.
3. Go inside anyways and wait in a long line to get a number. It takes two teenage girls to give you this number, one to talk to you and one to scrawl feverishly in a planner. They hand you a wooden coin with a number on it and tell you how long the wait will be. Despair again.
4. Find out your wait is 2+ hours. Now it's time to drink at the bar and buy Rhode Island lottery scratch tickets. Many people also go outside to smoke butts, though this is not recommended as A. smoking is gross and B. you might miss hearing your name called. Miracles happen a Wright's Farm, so you might get called early.
4. Size up the other people waiting for tables. Listen to other people have their numbers called over a loudspeaker. Get hungrier. (I should note here that pre-starving yourself to consume as much food as possible is part of the Wright's Farm ritual, but it makes waiting worse).
5. Lose on all the scratch tickets. Lose at Keno. Get hungrier. You will feel your soul begin to slip from your body as hunger becomes unbearable.
6. They call your number. Rush to the counter. Follow a teenager into a banquet hall and be seated. Wait for your waitress. This waitress will be a gruff, middle-aged Swamp Yankee who will ultimately be dissatisfied with her tip. However, she is still awesome and you wouldn't want a nice waitress.
7. You do not have options at Wright's Farm. They bring the following items, family-style, to your table - oddly gray, but tasty, chicken, mushy shells and sauce, hard rolls with frozen butter, the hard bits of iceberg lettuce covered in the tastiest salad dressing, over-fried french fries. If you order a Coke, your glass will be small and you will need many. That's because the rest of the food costs a flat rate per person, but drinks all cost something. Stick with water.
8. Eat until you get sick. Then eat part of your ice cream dessert.

As you can see, eating at Wright's Farm is a ritual. As vegans in the Southwest, Wright's Farm seems very far away indeed, but my in-laws are thoughtful enough to keep we prodigal Yankees stocked with southern New England essentials. For our anniversary, they sent a six pack of individually wrapped Narragansett beers. I saved the box. Then, the other day, we got some Red Rose tea, Autocrat coffee milk syrup, and Wright's Farm Salad dressing!

Red Rose tea is the brand that comes with the Noah's Ark figurines. It's just regular black tea, but it's better than Lipton. Their website says it's available out west, but I haven't seen it and believe me, I looked.

Even some New Englanders look at me a bit sideways when I talk about Autocrat coffee milk, but I love the stuff. Other kids called me Autocrat in middle school because it was all I drank.

In honor of these New England items in our kitchen, we prepared faux-Wright's Farm for dinner last night. Everything came out very similarly to Wright's Farm - soggy salad, over-fried fries - absolutely delicious. Except the tofu, which was still delicious, but quite inauthentic.

Black Mesa to Dutchman Trail

Last week my wife and I went for a quick backpacking trip. She hadn't seen Weaver's Needle up close, so we did the Black Mesa/Dutchman Trail loop in the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix. We didn't take many pictures, but here are a couple of night photos. The lens glare is all natural aftermarket funkiness. I need a new lens!