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This sweet sad story would make for an excellent short film.

These are all the lenses that I have.
More specifically these are the only focal lengths that I own. I do have two Nikon F2s- one with a beat up forty year old Nikon 50mm and a the other with a 28mm Nikkor. The a 35mm on my Big Mini probably ought to count as well. But that’s it. And that’s enough.

I’ve been going through each of my 2500+ negative files over the past few evening. It looks like about 85% of every frame was shot with a 28mm lens. Second place would be with a 40mm I sold a few months ago. A close third would be the 35mm focal length and finally it looks like less than 20 rolls were shot with a 50mm. This is what works for me. I suppose I have 28mm eyeballs with black and white, and 35mm ones for color. I bought the 50 thinking it would be good for portraits- but if you know what you’re doing a 28 is even better.

Looks like I’ll quote / mention Araki once again this week:

From an essay titled Taking Photographs with the mind’s lens

For me the most interesting of websites would be a simple tumblr style setup with quotes by the late great John Szarkowski.

I’ve re-read this interview who knows how many times and his precise wisdom regarding photographic theory gets me pumped every time.

Fantastic excerpts include:

It is, of course, true that an enormously larger number of photographs have been made by dumb amateurs, commercial drudges, half-sober news photographers, celebrity merchants, real-estate salesmen, etc., than by photographers with clear and clean artistic intentions–which suggests that the former groups have likely made a great many pictures that might appeal to those of us interested in what photographs can look like, and in how they may contain and convey meaning.

and later:

I suppose that the people who accuse me of formalism are about half right. I am interested in photography as a picture-making system, and that is a formal issue, but in the photography that I most admire the structure has become so deeply imbedded in the picture that it is not possible to consider the two things separately.

I can’t imagine why people spend money on drugs when Szarkowski can get you so high with his words.

I think the the previous excerpt coincides well with a Robert Adams quote which Szarkowski presented in his written introduction to William Eggleston’s Guide:

What he means is that a photographer wants form, an unarguably right relationship of shapes, a visual stability in which all components are equally important. The photographer hopes, in brief, to discover a tension so exact that it is peace. (From “Denver: A Photographic Survey of the Metropolitan Area,”)

Through words it’s hard for me to explain exactly just what it is I’m after in making photographs, but the quote above is about perfect. The shortened version below is even better:

The photographer hopes, in brief, to discover a tension so exact that it is peace.

Photographica is a thick, expensive, and beautifully crafted photo magazine which comes out a few times a year in Japan. The Spring 2008 issue focused on Travel Photography with several Japanese photographers having their work from around the world featured on this magazine’s hefty paper stock.

The work in this issue is fresh and immediate. There is not a single photo which could possibly make it past the editors of Lonely Planet. This is an extreme compliment. These travel pictures are about the Photographer’s personal experiences- not about traveling to create a comprehensive story of a people, or focusing on the exotic details of a foreign culture. There are no great landmarks nor decisive cultural moments- no pyramids or predictable shots of rows of traditional footwear in markets filling up the frame. No shots from behind of small children in traditional dress holding hands with a grandparent walking down the street- you get the idea.

The text throughout the magazine often is about the personal meaning of the concept of “travel”. Personal, not Universal- this is a key point to understanding a lot of Japanese photography. Or at least what’s cool at the moment.

What I like is that for most of the photos, it’s hard to imagine that the photographer knew in advance just what they would see and photograph that day. We all have ideas of the general photos we might be able to take while abroad- and it looks to me like the photographers here were able to be in the field but still stay open to what was around them. This is in direct opposition to what one sees after googling “Travel Photography Tips”.

Another feature in this issue is “Camera of Travel”- several full color pages of recommended cameras for photography abroad.

With the exception of a few of the digital cameras in the last two pages, each camera has a fixed focal length lens. This is fantastic. And an “only in Japan” kind of deal. Can you believe that this is a camera/photography magazine NOT suggesting the latest and greatest current DSLR monsters with zoom lenses covering the 12mm to 800mm ranges? Well, to be honest, there are dozens of those kinds of mags out each month. And many of those guys with backpacks full of lenses out walking around anywhere you go. So it’s extra nice when the editors of Photographica give props to the Leica M5 and Nikon 28Ti as viable equipment for one’s travels. Not only are each of these featured cameras beautiful examples of 20th century industrial design, shooting with a fixed focal length lens is going to help your photography no matter where you go. I don’t agree with this fellow’s feelings on female mental capacity in the first few paragraphs, but he gets the idea of simplicity across by the end of the article.

The less you spend thinking about what lens you might need for the shot that’s in your head the more time you can actually be photographing. A fixed focal length is not only going to give your work an admirable consistency, but it’s also going to surprise you. It’s not simply a tool to bring mental images to light- Instead, let your camera teach you how to make a picture.