Snowed In
Snowed in this morning. That driveway was clear as of last night.
Bringing Back the Bohm
Proud to present my debut as a documentary film maker with Bringing Back the Bohm, the story of a dedicated group of community leaders coming together to restore a closed and dilapidated theater in Albion, Michigan.
Last fall, through my job at Albion College, I had a chance to photograph students learning about the theater’s restoration process. Elizabeth Schulteiss, the executive director of the Albion Community Foundation and lead cheerleader of the Bohm project, and I talked about how several documentary offers had fallen through.
Having done video work for the college, I volunteered to complete a short documentary for the theater in time for their grand opening on December 27, 2014 – the 85th anniversary of the theater’s opening in 1929.
The project was well outside my comfort zone. A five minute video I can do, but a half hour video?
Luckily I had lots of help from the Friends of the Bohm committee, my co-worker (and producer!) Erica, and the resources at the college.
The documentary debuted at the grand opening, after a rushed few weeks to get all the interviews and editing done.
I’ll say this: it’s a heckuva thing to see something you made on a real big screen. The film has its quirks, and I see lots of stuff I’d like to make better. But the point is, it’s done and out in the world for lots of people to see.
Learn more about this great historical community theater, and catch a movie there. You can order a copy of the documentary on DVD by contacting the theater, too.
Book Review: ‘A Lesser Photographer’
Think about all you’ve learned about photography. Think about the photo blogs, the podcasts, the seminars, the preset packs.
It’s not really “photography.” It’s the business of photography. That’s mostly what we hear about on the web. The gear, the reviews, the tips and tricks. It’s photography as commercialism.
CJ Chilvers woke up from all that one day, hiking in woods in Illinois (I’ve been there – it’s lovely). He woke up from the “gear talk” that pervades most of what is photography culture, sold all his DSLR equipment, and started over.
Then he started the A Lesser Photographer blog, and shared a different philosophy: What if we cared more about the photos and ideas than the camera and lenses? What if we quit obsessing about technique and kept things simple?
Now Chilvers took the best of the A Lesser Photographer blog and put it into book form – short “chapters” with simple ideas and great accompanying art. The chapters are little nuggets to think about. There’s one on The Best Photos of the Year (hint: they’re yours, and they’re wonderfully imperfect), and one on not shooting the clichéd and obvious. Live your life instead of shooting all the time. And (my favorite) embracing the “amateur” in amateur photographer.
That last one really resonated with me. Yes, I do make a little side money from photography. And yes, it’s a part of my jobby-job. But mostly, it’s a hobby. I’m not looking to make a lot (or even a fraction) of my income from photography – either paid gigs or selling prints. So what do I need a portfolio for? My work will (most likely) never hang in a museum. And I have plenty of outlets for my work (Flickr, Instagram, this blog).
Chilvers’ message is today’s photography counterculture. Photography as a hobby is all about gear and technique – about special effects (HDR, light painting, etc.) rather than emotion. Chilvers says, “Enough.”
The perfect camera for you? “Check to make sure you don’t already have a camera.”
It’s an easy trap to fall into, all that gear lust. Starting out, I remember caring about fast primes and ISO sensitivity and all that. I wanted to try cameras and buy the latest and greatest. That urge still grabs me every time I visit canonpricewatch.com.
Technique wasn’t so interesting to me, luckily. I mostly cared about taking good, interesting photos and capturing my friends and relatives. But the gear, man.
Maybe it’s a guy thing, to care about the specs. The latest and greatest. I do care about the tools in the same way I care about my car. There needs to be a certain amount of comfort and flexibility that allows me to get the job done (photos, driving, whatever). And the sports model is always something to drool over.
But Chilvers’ advice is to spend money on the images instead of the gear. Buy a plane ticket and shoot the hell out of your destination. With your old, clunky, dented camera. That still takes good-enough images.
Not all of us can be pro photographers who get to fly to India and test out the latest Fuji. But we can fly to India. I bet our old cameras still work there.
A Lesser Photographer is a good, pointed, fast read, and it does make you question how you approach this hobby. If you’re a pro, says Chilvers, you already know this stuff.
It’s the rest of us “advanced amateurs” that need reminding.
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Pick up A Lesser Photographer: Escaping the Gear Trap to Focus on What Matters at Craft & Vision for $5 (cheap), and follow the blog.
Documentary Debut
Presenting: Bringing Back the Bohm
My debut as a documentary filmmaker is now live.
Proud of how it turned out.
West Michigan, Represent
I lived in Onondaga Twp (on Ferris rd just west of Aurelius rd – I love that spot) from ’98 – ’04 and spent summers growing up in west MI. Though born, raised, currently live in, and love Pittsburgh PA, your work always takes me HOME. Beautiful! With today’s post, I could no longer contain it. Thank you!
Thanks so much! West Michigan is a special place.
Music As Commodity
Soon there will be no such thing as your music library. There will be no such thing as your music. We had it all wrong! Information doesn’t want to be free, it wants to be a commodity.
On Death and iPods: A Requiem | WIRED
I’m not shy about it: I still buy my music. Gladly.
Part of it is philosophical: I like the artist to directly benefit, however small their slice of the pie is. It’s like a vote for them.
Also, I’m old school in that I like to collect and organize my music library. My music belongs to me. I paid good money for it. And if I stop paying for it, my music will still be there – either on CDs or in iTunes. It doesn’t vanish to The Cloud™.
I know, I know, I’m old school. And it’s hard to fight trends like this one. We don’t watch TV via antenna signal anymore, no one signs up for Netflix’s DVD subscription service (except guess who!?), etc. The world of music is changing.
But for artists, they still have the same bills and responsibilities. They need to make money, and selling t-shirts doesn’t work for everyone.
I’m not sure what the answer is, exactly, but if you care about the artists that make the music you like, buy their stuff. Vote for their music with money.
Question Authority
If we can’t think for ourselves, if we’re unwilling to question authority, then we’re just putty in the hands of those in power. But if the citizens are educated and form their own opinions, then those in power will work for us.
Carl Sagan, The Demon Haunted World
Drip By Drip
Drip by drip, my experiment with making infused olive oils starts today.
And no, not those oils. These are homemade cooking oils infused with yummy things like jalapeños and garlic. Filtered through, yes, a coffee filter. It will be great in popcorn.
Sterilize the container, chop up whatever you’re using as the infuser, simmer in olive oil for 15-20 minutes, and then filter out all the non-oil stuff. Then throw it in the fridge and use it up in a week. Easy peasy.
And judging from a few sneak taste tests, delicious.