You know a bit about me, if you've been reading this blog for a while. From time to time I also get to meet you. I got to meet TOP reader Pierre Charbonneau on the 3rd. You might have seen his name in the Comments. He came by on the first leg of a planned four-week journey taking pictures and visiting friends around the United States. We had lunch at the Chat-a-Whyle restuarant in Bath, which seemed apropos.
Pierre has had a successful career as a commercial location photographer. He started out in magazine and fashion photography, but eventually decided that his clients in that world tended to be fickle and influenced by who's in style at any given moment—he found that corporate clients are more loyal and less influenced by who happens to be "hot." He's almost exactly my age (65), and has been in business in Montreal, Canada, for 42 years. He said a typical assignment for him is doing all the publicity and instructional photographs for new commercial and private jet planes; he recently completed an extensive job doing all the photography for a new Gulfstream.
He's been reading me since very early on—since way back in Camera & Darkroom (originally Darkroom Photography) days. That's been a while. I took Jack's M10, hoping to show him a cool camera he hadn't seen before.
Pierre
No such luck. He had his own M10. He works with two lenses, a 50mm and a 35mm, one on the camera and one in a pouch on his belt.
This is his answer to the question "what's your favorite M lens."
We met for lunch in Bath after he toured the Corning Museum of Glass. He speaks excellent English with a strong French accent. He's charismatic and knowledgeable and told me he's a photo hobbyist in addition to being a longtime pro. I really enjoyed lunch and I wish you well on the rest of your photographing trek, Pierre! Please stop by on your way back if you can.
Mike
This is Actually a Different Book o' the Week
It's Not About the F-Stop by Jay Maisel. Jay was suggested by Moose and this book was suggested by Albert Smith. I got to meet Jay Maisel once. Everybody should meet him in his books, if they haven't already. Might help; cannot hurt. Jay's is some of the most positive, hopeful, and generous picture-taking advice you'll find.
This book link is a portal to Amazon.
Original contents copyright 2020 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:
Give him a can of Dust-Off (https://www.filmtools.com/31-fal-dpsxl.html) when he gets back.
Posted by: Bryan Geyer | Monday, 16 May 2022 at 12:56 AM
Pierre is a good photographer! I recall touring his images at least once before. (I just wish his slide show was slower or controllable.)
Posted by: Kenneth Tanaka | Monday, 16 May 2022 at 08:51 AM
I remember back in the early '00s, I was active on a Leica site with a solid core of posters that would engage in active discussions and debates on all things Leica. I mentally assigned a face to each name, or in some cases screen names, just based on their tone and vocabulary in the threads.
Then someone suggested that we all post a portrait so we would know who we were talking to. Boy, was I ever wrong in my idea of what these people looked like!
Glad you got to physically interact with a reader of your site. Kind of makes it real, right?
Posted by: Albert Smith | Monday, 16 May 2022 at 09:39 AM
A four-week road trip? Oh. My. God. Stop me now.
Posted by: Greg heins | Monday, 16 May 2022 at 04:09 PM
When people post links in brackets the closing bracket usually get incorporated in the link resulting in a 404, as in Brian Geyer’s comment here. Not sure if it’s the fault of Blogger or your implementation.
Posted by: Richard Parkin | Tuesday, 17 May 2022 at 04:59 AM
Thank you for the introduction to Pierre, and for mentioning the Chat-a-Whyle. I frequently drive through Bath on my trips to the Cameron area and have noted that restaurant, so I’ll stop in next trip.
I suspect that Pierre’s accent is at least as much Québécois as it is French. 🤣
Posted by: Earl Dunbar | Tuesday, 17 May 2022 at 01:15 PM
I realize they don't move much, except in high winds, but the traffic lights and signs above Mr. Charbonneau's head suggest a mobile. That's a very cool street portrait.
Posted by: Jon Erickson | Tuesday, 17 May 2022 at 02:19 PM
"It's Not About the F-Stop by Jay Maisel"
Indeed! It sits on the shelf next to Light Gesture Color
They are two of the important books, to me, that I turn to regularly, for entertainment and knowledge.
I suggested Light Gesture Color for it's lean in emphasis toward the ways of a simple lover of photography.
It's Not About the F-Stop leans a bit more commercial. I love it for his love of long telephotos. Nice to find a famous fellow traveler.
His straightforward advice about all aspects of photography are fresh air to me.
Even when I disagree with his opinions, I find that the process clarifies my own ideas.
Posted by: Moose | Wednesday, 18 May 2022 at 03:09 PM