I was sitting on our dock – reading, drinking and generally watching he world go by when I noticed these interesting cloud formations.
Clouds
A pair of swallowtails
I came across this pair of butterflies on a nearby beach – Moon Beach. At first I thought that they were Monarch butterflies and described them as such in a post on Facebook. I was politely informed that they are not in fact monarchs. So I replied: “I’ve been told in a comment that these are NOT monarch butterflies. Shows how much I know about butterflies. Anyone know what kind of butterfly they are”. Back came the response that they are Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterflies. You live and learn!
Great quote from W. Eugene Smith
A farmer unloads his donkey in front of his home. His wife throws out the dirty dishwater. Extremadura. SPAIN. 1951. Copyright: Magnum Photos via Eric Kim: 7 Lessons W. Eugene Smith Has Taught Us About Street Photography
With all the fuss of late about digital manipulation of Steve McCurry’s pictures (for an insightful article on this topic see: Steve McCurry and photojournalism’s burden of truth on Disphotic) it was refreshing to come across this quote from W. Eugene Smith. Philippe Halsmann interviews Smith and at one point asks if a famous picture by Smith of a Spanish woman throwing water into the street (see above) was staged. Smith replied: “I would not have hesitated to ask her to throw the water. (I don’t object to staging if and only if I feel that it is an intensification of something that is absolutely authentic to the place). “Halsmann replies: “Cartier-Bresson never asks for this…. Why do you break this basic rule of candid photography?”. Smith’s response is brilliant:
I didn’t write the rules — why should I follow them? Since I put a great deal of time and research to know what I am about? I ask and arrange if I feel it is legitimate. The honesty lies in my — the photographer’s — ability to understand.
The rest of the interview is well worth reading.
Seen by the side of the road
I was walking the dog when I came across this snake by the side of the road (actually the dog noticed it first. I would probably have walked right by it). It didn’t look in great shape, inert even and I assumed that it was dead. So I thought that this would be a great opportunity to get really close without any concerns about it slithering away. I got right down to the snake’s level and had the camera literally a couple of inches away from it when it lifted it’s head, stuck out it’s tongue and hissed at me. I guess it wasn’t dead after all. Needless to say I beat a hasty retreat. I’m pretty sure that it’s not venomous, but just the same I could do without being ‘nipped’ on the nose by an irate reptile.
Still life with lilacs
One of the books I got for my birthday was “Sudek” by Sonja Bullaty. I’ve become something of a fan of Josef Sudek of late – ever since I saw some pictures he’d taken of St. Vitus’ Cathedral in Prague. Some of his pictures remind me a little of another one of my idols: Eugene Atget. There’s a certain ‘stillness’ about both of them and Sudek, in particular had a wonderful feeling for light.
I was over at a friend’s having a drink when I noticed the light coming through the window and falling on this glass vase with lilacs in it. It reminded me a little (a very little) of some of Sudek’s still lifes – simple pictures taken in his house and and in his studio. Because of the delicate color of the lilacs I was tempted to leave the picture in color, but as a kind of hommage to Sudek I decided to go for a black and white treatment instead.