What's Going On

Biggest thing: Epic Ctein & Friends "Off-to-Ireland" Dye Transfer Archive Sale COMING RIGHT UP. It's looking unlikely that Ctein's archive will accompany him on his great emigration, for a number of reasons. It's going to require a Stateside caretaker willing to ship out the occasional sale. Meanwhile, back at the TOP ranch, Ctein will be offering a selection of his finest historical dye prints to you here. It will begin next Friday, May 30th, at 10 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time. What he will ask you to do is list a first, second, and third choice, and the prints will go to the earliest claimant on an FCFS (first come first served) basis. This is coming up in a week, so be on the alert. This might be among the last opportunities in world history—I'm actually being perfectly serious when I say that—to acquire a real, large-sized dye transfer print for anything close to a reasonable price.

Photographic (picturetaking) thing: I'm on the trail of a particular picture and I haven't gotten it yet, which has me feeling frazzled and a little anxious. (Sleep-dep heightens all negative emotions and makes everything more stressful than it really need be.) Things can change unpredictably and quickly. "Get it in the can" is the relevant motto: get it in the can as quickly as you can. Then work on it some more, yes, but (when it comes to photographing) shoot first and ask questions later. I am still smarting from missing that picture I told you about a while back, of the beautiful two-story bonfire heap that I drove past again and again meaning to stop, until I drove past it and it was a smoking remnant, gone forever. The world goes by. Ever-changing. "Shoot it now," says Jay Maisel. Those words live in my head. The picture I want right now is simple, but the light has to be right. Relevant associated advice: Never Unprepared! Never be unprepared. I stopped to take the picture yesterday, and the camera blinked "FLAT BATTERY" at me. Fortunately the other battery was in the side pocket of the bag where it belongs, right? It was not—it was back at home in the charger, where it has slumbered for something like four weeks. Bad Mike. Now there's more rain on the way (we need more rain about like Warren Buffet needs more money), and I have this low-level background anxiety that's thrumming with "you mighta missed your chance, buster."

Under the circumstances I'm rather ashamed to admit that the Johnston Clan motto (the clan is Scottish, hailing from the Annandale region, and has an eventful history) is "Nunquam Non Paratus," which means "never unprepared."

Doggie thing: Butters is getting worse, I'm sorry to say. The big decision is coming up. This will be a difficult loss for me. The house is going to seem awfully empty for a long time. He's got a vivid and distinct personality, and I've been inordinately fond of him since the moment I first laid eyes on him at the shelter.

Photograph (looking at pictures) thing: Speaking of dogs, I've been working on the Dogs Baker's Dozen. You'd think a whole two days would be more than enough for this, but here's the thing about that: pictures have to marinate. You can't rush the soak. The way I feel about pictures develops slowly and emerges slowly. When Sports Illustrated was a hot way to get the sporting news, it was published on Tuesday, if memory serves, which was as soon after Sunday—sports day—as they could manage, and I recall reading that SI picture editors reviewed the rough take of football games  at the rate of three frames a second. The trick to careful, artistically-/aesthetically-oriented editing—the most important thing about it—is that soak, if you ask me. It doesn't come by thinking, but somewhere along the spectrum closer to the opposite: you have to put your thinker in neutral and do it by looking. The best way to edit is to take all the pictures from a shoot you think are good, and make them available somehow to look at—I used to put workprints up on the wall, but however you accomplish it is up to you. Your brain is a Harry Potteresque Sorting Hat. If you keep looking, eventually the better and the not-so-good will separate, like a solution in suspension will separate if you leave it alone. It seems a bit like magic. I've got the Dogs whittled down to about 40, and I keep clicking through them, trying not to think too much. It's starting to work.

Mike

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Comments

[Jim Kofron]

Mike, sorry to hear about Butters. I just put my 20 year old cat down last week--with all the animals I've had over the years, you would think you'd get more confident and make these decisions easier--but no, it never gets easier. In this case, I think it was time and the right decision. Best wishes for both of you.

[Stan B.]

Sorry about the pooch- why don't we at least try to treat humans as humanely when nearing our end?

[Bob Rosinsky]

Not wagging is the saddest sign of all.

[Allan Graham]

Don’t beat yourself up over the clan motto, Mike. Ours is ‘Ne Oublie’. Mediaeval French: ‘Forget Not’. If only.

[jt]

So sorry about Butters. I'm only on my second dog as I reach retirement, and had the good fortune of having my first one be quite healthy almost right up to the end, and to have my youngest home from college to be with him at the very end. It was really her dog. It still wasn't easy, but it sure was easier than it might have been.

[Kye Wood]

You have a best friend who needs your help. He struggles and only you can save him.

It's Future Mike. If you consistently put your efforts into helping your future self, you'll very soon be living a life with more purpose AND a better daily experience. Because you will have engaged in the endless cycle of helping your future self.

Imagine never having to worry about missing or forgetting or being unprepared. Seriously.

[bob palmieri]

Better a week too early than a day too late, as a veterinary assistant once told me.

I know this concept isn't easy to internalize. Last time I took our last cat to the vet I had absolutely no intention of terminating her life, but a few things that went down onsite helped.

Haven't had another pet since.

[Mike Ferron]

“Shoot it now”. Good advice. Many things that I found photo worthy no longer exist. Vintage, Rt. 66 type scenes are among my favorite targets. (Even if they are no where near Rt. 66.) They don’t last.

[Gene Forsythe]

re Butters........I offer a couple of thoughts.
After 45 years of adult life with a continuous stream of German Shepherds - Each loss is harder than the one before, and each time the house is more quiet and seemingly abandoned than the time before. The sunrises and sunsets don't seem as bright for a long time, but eventually you start seeing the happy memories in them. Second, little remembered from the now distant past is the story of actor Jimmy Stewart being told in a phone call from his vet that his dog was passing and would be gone shortly. Stewart left the movie set and flew across the USA to get home and be there for his friend. He later told the story in 1981 on the Johnny Carson show - I offer this link to the short dedication that Stewart read live on TV.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLnfdPkKZes

[Ron Poore]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwGnCIdHQH0
Here is perhaps the correct link to the tribute to the dog Beau

[jp41]

"Fortunately the other battery was in the side pocket of the bag where it belongs, right?"

This begs the question: "Would it be a best practice to own three or four batteries for this camera?"

Then if one or two batteries are back home charging there would still be a spare in the bag.