In which we meet our intrepid protagonist in the middle….

….of his quest for Life, The Universe, and Everything*

6-minute read

Wait, what?

This is your first blog post and you're starting in the middle of the story?

I know, right?

But wait – it gets worse. In future blog posts, I'm going to skip from the middle almost to the present. And then – just to rub salt in the wound – I'm going to muddle my way all over the timeline in a completely arbitrary fashion, pleasing only myself and not caring a duff for whatever confusion and chaos I leave in my wake.

Now that you’ve had a brief glimpse into my capricious nature, join me – if you dare – in the nether regions of my dark and twisted psyche where the similes flow like fine wine and the metaphors are Glocks poking you in the ribcage.

Health Warning: as I often tend to take things to their logical extreme, the resultant alternating states of quasi-enlightenment and bewilderment may cause disorientation and vertigo. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery for at least an hour after reading my posts.

I have been clocked going from zero to absurd in 1.8 seconds, the fastest time for any production model on the market. I also have the attention span of a housefly, which can be a dangerous combination. I also have the attention span of a housefly….oooh, is that sugar?!?

With that kind of performance, there is bound to be some whiplash and finger-pointing. So strap in, pump up the volume, and keep your head and hands inside the vehicle at all times. Sick bags are in the glovebox if you need ‘em.

So what’s it all about? What’s with the website and blog?

In short, what’s the dealio, yo?

Although I will use social media to help promote this site over time, I’m not really a “social” guy in that sense. Besides being a stunted introvert, I’m also a control-freak – and social media sites just don’t give me enough control over the content to satisfy my control-lust (how many times can you say “control” in a controlled sentence)? So, the next logical step was to build a site of my own, where I get to make up the rules as I go along.

After 2+ years of research and procrastina….umm….planning – that’s right, research and planning – I have decided to bite off way more than I can chew, and just launch the website already. Enough with all the articles, books, YouTube tutorials, classes, workshops, notes-to-self, shower-musings (what – don’t you do your best thinking in the shower?) etc, ad-nauseum. I’m going to dive in to the deep end, and hope those water wings (and the extra weight shed from nail biting) will at least keep my nose high enough in the air to breath.

I’ve been an avid photographer for most of my life, although with waxing and waning activity levels. I set up my first darkroom in 8th grade (in 1976 – yes, I’m that old) in the basement of our house in Closter, New Jersey. I bulk-rolled hundreds of feet of Tri-X and Plus-X into my workhorse, the beautiful and minimalist Nikkormat FT-2. I developed mostly black & white negatives and prints, but eventually tried my hand at E-6 (color slide) processing - a much more involved and rigorous affair. Maintaining a darkroom can be a challenge, so I pretty much stopped doing my own processing after high school. Some day - in the not-too-distant future, I hope - I intend to get back into the darkroom, whether that’s my own or a “communal” one.

Fast-forward to the middle of the story….

It was the advent of the Digital Age – and meeting several fellow-photographers who encouraged and enabled my addictive predilection – that kicked my obsession into overdrive. I have shot more photos in the last five years than I have in my entire life combined, and as that momentum increased, I realized one major thing had changed: I now actually wanted to share my work with others.

Of course, quantity is no substitute for quality, so I had to step up my game if I wanted to put myself “out there”. Since digital photos are “free” (after the investment in camera gear, computer, and post-processing software), going digital certainly allowed for more freedom to experiment - and make the requisite mistakes - to improve my craft. Of course, this is an ongoing process, and I continue to make mistakes, and learn from them, to this day.

I also began to realize that, although photography is still very much a “solo sport” for me, it cannot be done properly in a vacuum. I started to join various Meetup groups and camera clubs that helped me not only to find interesting venues to shoot, but also to meet other photographers, and begin to stick my toe into the feedback whirlpool. I mean, “book learning” and self-critiquing can only take you so far – at some point you actually need to interact with other humans to learn and grow. That may seem obvious to most, but it took me 50 years to understand that. You know, brain of a housefly, and all that….

So, what can you expect to see on this site?

People often ask me: “What kind of a photographer are you? What do you shoot”?

The lame answer of “I’m a generalist” is just a euphemistic way of saying that, at this point, I don’t really have a “focus” (yes, you may dutifully roll your eyes at that tired, old pun), and that, yes, I’m a schizophrenic, ADD wreck, whose photographic compass needle swings wildly in the slightest electromagnetic breeze.

Out of the generalist cloud, however, certain themes have emerged over time.

I like – in no particular order:

Abandoned places – my “rust and relaxation”
Nature (landscape and animal photos)
Places of local historical interest
Night and low light photography (including astrophotography and light painting)
Street/urban photography
Timelapses – I have shot quite a few of these over the years, which I will be posting to my YouTube channel
ICM – Intentional Camera Movement

I will do my best to maintain a regular bi-weekly schedule of site updates – and hopefully more, if time permits – but I’ll have to play that by ear because, as you all know, “life happens”.

* Incidentally for those not in the know, and in the interest of full disclosure so no one accuses me of plagiarism, the phrase “life, the universe, and everything” is from one of the greatest sci-fi franchises of all time, Douglas Adams’ “Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy”.

I’ll leave you with some sneak peaks of the photo essays and blog posts I’m working on and what will appear on the site in the coming months (not in any chronological order).