Oil the Tin Man

Albert Smith wrote: "Re 'It was forecast to rain all day, and I was unhappy...I'm very glad I went out': I keep reading that dog owners are often more healthy because they have an obligation that precludes a sedentary life...you got to get out there with your pet.

I feel the same way about my camera. Many is the time that I got my butt off the couch to go for a photo walk. In hot humid Florida, it's hard to justify sweating through your shirt 10 minutes after you leave the air conditioning, but when I return with a nice shot that I'd have never got if I just sat at home thinking about photography, I too am glad that I went out."

Great point. I'll only take it one little step further: when you go out to photograph, especially if you're in a car, take the first pictures as soon as possible. In my mind I call it "oiling the Tin Man." I always feel a sort of reluctance or hesitation, almost a kind of timidity or self-effacement, before I've started. Left to my natural impulses I'll pass one potential shot after another thinking, no, that's not quite worth trying—I need to find something better to break the ice. Well, wrong-O, Tin Man. You're frozen. Get moving. Shake the rust off. Take some pictures even if they're no good—once I'm into the mindset of shooting I stop thinking about it and just get into the flow. And where that's concerned, the sooner the better.

I remember a story Bill Jay told—the great Czech/French photographer Josef Koudelka was visiting Bill at his cabin, and, first thing in the morning, Koudelka would head outside with his camera and start shooting. Bill was perplexed, because the rural subject matter had nothing to do with Josef's known work. When asked about it, Koudelka said he had to shoot three rolls of film a day just to keep his eye in practice.

I believe Henri Cartier-Bresson once said he shot two rolls of film (72 clicks, for you film virgins) before breakfast every morning for the same reason. Even if there was no promising subject matter at hand.

When I interviewed him in New York City, Ralph Gibson said that every time he heads out with his camera he knows he'll find something. (His camera, by the way, was a Ralph Gibson special edition Leica. That's how you know you've made it, when Leica makes a special edition of your preferred camera and gives you one. Ralph had it on a woven red leather lanyard, and left the studio armed with only a 90mm lens.)

To Albert's point about dogs, I keep the dog food out in the barn. It gets us out of the house and into the weather and the blue light first thing every morning. The sooner you get outside, the better the day goes.

Thanks, Albert.

Mike

Book o' the Week

Fred Lyon, San Francisco Noir. "The version [of San Francisco] that Fred Lyon celebrates in his new book is a classic San Francisco full of smoky jazz clubs, neon lights in the fog and sharply dressed men and women stepping on and off of trolley cars. Made mostly during the 1950s and '60s, Lyon's images are big on atmosphere and style, and hit many parts of the city that visitors love." (PDN)

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Ernest Zarate: "Absolutely, 100%, totally agree with getting that first shot out of the way. I never had a term for it. I just knew that the first shot was the hardest for the reason you stated: in my mind, it needed to be 'special.' But then I found out my mind would play all kinds of games with me—if I let it. So, now I’ll grab a shot (or more with digital), thumb my nose at my mind, and get on with my shoot. (I have other ways of keeping my mind at bay and out of the way through my activities—it can be a trickster and an obstacle otherwise.)

"As for getting outside, I have my two sons, 13 and 15. I get them up, fix them breakfast, make their lunches (I spoil them, I know), pile them in the auto voiture and take them to school. Then, being up and about (and retired!), I have a good chunk of the day to myself. (My wife, bless her soul, has a ways to go before retirement.) Bliss."

Stan B.: "On his very first assignment in a war zone, pj Stanley Greene kept passing on scene after scene as not potentially good enough—until his driver/fixer said, 'You’re a photographer, get out there and start taking pictures!'"

Adam Isler: "Here are some additional examples along the same lines. Thomas Mann is supposed to have written for three hours every morning. And I believe it was he (or was it Mark Twain, or is it apocryphal?) would simply copy from a book when they couldn't think of anything original—as long as they wrote for so many hours a day.

"My own practice here in NYC, where I don't own a car and drive anywhere, is to carry my camera in hand and turned on almost anytime I go out. I find that having the camera in my hand makes me look for photographs and the result has been that I'm much more sensitized to the graphic potential of my surroundings than I was before I started doing this."

Comments

[Ken James]

You're on a roll . . .

[Torsten Walter]

Two films before breakfast. And HCB knew what he was doing. Of course we only see his best takes, but to have best takes you need a thousandfold more takes.

[Christer Almqvist]

My sincere thanks to Jason who lent you the Sigma. So much new stuff to read about as a result; hardware, software, imaging . . finances.

[Kristine Hinrichs]

I completely agree! I have not missed a day out with my camera in more than eleven years (a Project 365 on steroids). My first shots are generally throw-aways, but not always. When some photographers hear that I shoot and post to social media every day, I often get this “Well, I wouldn’t do that as I only want to take quality shots.” Having a plan, I’d guess. It’s not surprising that some of my best shots are unplanned and they found me - I’d never get them if I’d needed a plan and certainly not if I was sitting at home waiting to be inspired.

[Ian Douglas]

Your black and white quest is wonderful for your followers. We are getting to see more of, and more frequently, your own photography. Long may it continue and thank you.

[H. Bernstein]

Amen Mike, amen.

[Craig H.]

In the foreword to Leonard Freed's retrospective book, Stefanie Rosenkranz wrote that he used to say that when he picked up the camera, it was always the same story of St. George and the Dragon; you have to go out and kill the dragon.

That phrase has always rumbled around in my mind whenever I'm waffling about going outside in bad weather or I'm shy about taking a street photography shot--you just have to commit to killing that dragon, whatever it takes.

[Steven Palmer]

Ralph Gibson stated he doesn't even pick up his Leica unless he knows what he is looking for that day. Having a point of departure, he calls it. (something he learned from Dororthea Lange) In this way, I'd say Gibson's approach is different from Koudelka and Cartier-Bresson.

[Peter Croft]

Great post Mike. I used to have two dogs and for sure and certain, I had to walk them every day. One died in 2006 and the other in 2013, so the walking has slowly reduced to almost nothing. I tell myself to get another dog, but then I remember the drawbacks - chewing, hairs, digging in the back yard, poos, vet bills, food bills and being tied to home. OTOH, the love I got from my dogs, unforgettable.

Re photographing, one thing I learnt many years ago - get the cliche shots out of the way early. With film, it cost money each shot, so I was always trying to economise, but with digital, no problem. Take far more shots than you think you need. One of them might surprise you.

[Robert]

Interesting anecdote about Bresson and Gibson. It got me to thinking why might one prefer a Leica if one also prefers shooting with a 90mm lens. Did he ever say?

[I believe he's on record talking about why, probably in many places, but you'd have to search for it yourself. --Mike]

[c.d.embrey]

I detest gear shopping. The last camera I bought was a Canon 40D (mid 1990s). Therefore I shoot film. Why would I waste a shot to "oil the tinma."

[Kirk]

A quick correction for a poster above: The Canon 40D was released in March of 2006.

[Larry]

You've packed a lot of inspiration, motivation and wisdom into today's dispatch, Mike. "Just Do It." Nike.