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Experience grinds the Lens though which we perceive reality

johnny f — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 09:09:32 +0000

That sounds great doesn’t it ?

But also so very true. Sit three photographers in front of the same subject and you’ll get three different images. You see it a lot in artists group portrait sessions. Half a dozen artists sitting around one naked model,one will produce a perfect rendering of the person in front of them and another will come up with a pacaso style image with three noses and a dog thrown in for good measure.I suppose it’s that old adage that if were all the same the world would be a boring place, but we could never be all the same could we ?

Experience grinds the Lens though which we perceive reality

I’m actually quoting Dave Stewart of eurythmics fame, who I believe in turn was quoting someone else. Dave is an incredibly creative person, his “lens” it appears to me, is not ground purely by what’s happened to him by chance, rather he goes out of his way to find people and experiences that colour his world and in turn enhance his creativity. Great things happen when your open to new people and experiences. The more inspiration we take onboard the greater the pool we have to draw from when needed.
If your wondering what your seeing in the image above, it’s an inverted shot of the underneath of an elevated section of the Paris metro.

Experience grinds the lens ?

I’d say so.

more images from this series can be found at John Fisher – Photography is the new Rock and Roll.

Bohemians, vagabonds, romantics and artisans . . . Part three, add misfits and rebels to that list . . .

johnny f — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 10:53:34 +0000

“Here’s to the crazy ones.

The misfits. The rebels.

The troublemakers. The round

pegs in the square holes – the

ones who see things differently.

They’re not fond of rules and

they have no respect for

the status quo. You can praise

them, disagree with them,

quote them, disbelieve them,

glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing that you

can’t do is ignore them.

Because they change things.”

- Jack Kerouac

quoted in an Apple Computer Ad, 1997

Last year I attended a seminar given by a marketing expert who was one half of a photographic training partnership. The other half being the photographer. I bring this up because one of her insights pertaining to her partner, was that creative people are very prone to mood swings, one minute your down in the dumps with no way out and everybody hates you and your work, there’s no justice in the world and SOMEONE ATE THE LAST JAFFA CAKE !!

Or is that just me ?

The next your firing on all six and you have more ideas than you can shake a stick at. At once I recogised myself in that statement. Though a relatively confident person, one you might not think wouldn’t be fazed by much ( Which is true ) self doubt certainly finds it’s way between the cracks here and there, though thankfully only in my more quiet moments. This statement though in some part explains the reason why creative people go off the rails, artists become recluse, rock stars die in drug induced comas, sure easy access to the drugs takes a part, but the ones that end up ruined because if it are in my option those prone to the ups and downs.

Last week Val and I visited the little black gallery on London, the home of the photographic work of the late Bob Carlos Clarke. Although not much of Clarkes work is on show at the moment ; the gallery is currently home to a visiting exhibition by Mike Figgis, there are still a number of prints available to view and copys of his fabulously named book, “Shooting Sex: The Definitive Guide to Undressing Beautiful Strangers”, to keep your interest.

Clarke was himself a tortured soul, a great talent, inner demons, under appreciated at the time and tragically came to a premature end. Is that balancing act the between confidence and self doubt the spark that gives great artists the edge do you think ? Is it that pull and push, or does that just get in the way. Would there art be greater without the torment ?

I guest we can only speculate.

What does all this have to do with the original quote ?

Well just that it’s the ones who don’t fit that make the biggest waves, the ones that weren’t popular at school or who didn’t fit the regular conception of cool. Talent walks a thin line, on one side lies success on the other failure. The trick is to feed the creative fire and keep moving forward, to have an idea and to see it though. Belief in yourself is often the hardness part, then maintaining that belief even harder.

So back to my favourite saying dear reader…” take the world by the throat”, your future is in your hands alone.

for more info on The Little Black Gallery click here

for more info on Bob Carlos Clarke click here

Bohemians part One

Bohemians part Two

Well it’s been a while . . .

johnny f — Sat, 21 May 2011 16:01:26 +0000

Well it’s been a while since I posted on here, just now and then I find it’s good just to stand back a little, just to get a better view of what’s coming over the brow of the next hill, I generally I find its the dawn of a bright new day.

There’s a quote from the last Rocky movie that I love ( the quote that is ) Rocky is giving his son a dressing down and I quote ,

“It ain’t about how hard you hit… It’s about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward.”

The photo about is of a friend of mine” Antonio ” who recently moved to Australia with his his wife and kids in search of a new life, Tony is always the guy who is moving forward, always looking for the next thing. It doesn’t always workout the way he plans but he gets back up and has another go.

This I think is what makes life interesting, we can make a large mark on the world or a small one but why settle for anything less than the best you can be?

The sun is shining the sky is blue, and all of life stands before us, let smile together an grab it by the throat.

And oh yes Gaz, the above as lit with one mono block into a reflective umbrella slightly above and at 45 degrees to the subject, that how you get the catch light in the unlite eye. Enjoy.

Bohemians, vagabonds, romantics and artisans . . .

johnny f — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:18:09 +0000

the new bohemians are coming

As continually developing human beings we are all exposed to
situations and circumstances that are unique to ourselves, we are then
all unque because of those experiences.
As photographers the ssme is also true as we meet and interact with
different people and there work our perspective changes. Lately Black
and White images have gained my attention, the depth and richness that
exists in great b/w images is encouraging me to find more richness
and depth of colour in the my day to day portraiture be it in b/w or
colour.
Rich textures, use of light to inhance and enrichen areas of shade,
locations that suggest a more lavish lifestyle. down and out maybe,
but stylish whilst doing it.

Ansel Adams once said, “I would rather have a fuzzy photograph of a

sharp idea than a sharp photograph of a fuzzy idea”.

That’s a rather profound statement but knowing what your aiming for in

photography and life is half the battle, if you have a clear

direction, the future then is always going to be bright.

So here I am again, dear reader bohemian, vagabond,

artisan, desperate romantic, sitting in a station, head full of ideas

just waiting for the canvas on which to paint them. ( yes this

metaphor may be getting a little tied now, but until I come up with another

one I’m afraid your stuck with it )

Sometimes it ain’t about photography . . .

johnny f — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:25:21 +0000

Sometimes in life we all need to take control, whether it be in business, sport, music or just life in general, ” grab the world by the throat “ as I like to say.

The qoute below is something I read this week and thought I’d share it with you dear reader, I’ve included a link below the qoute for site it came from, hope you like it . . .

How I Stopped “Waiting for Jack”

The first time I met Jack, I ripped a hundred-dollar bill out of his hand.

On a cold winter day in Denver, I waited in line to see one of my heroes, Jack Canfield, the coauthor of the best-selling Chicken Soup for the Soul series and the author of The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be. Where I wanted to be was a version of what Jack had become — an author, a speaker, an inspiration to thousands of people. He was the whole package — successful, kind — a visionary for what is possible in the world. I thought, “If I can get to know him, I will become that.”

When I saw the opportunity, I grabbed it. Literally. During his presentation, Jack reached for his wallet, pulled out a hundred-dollar bill, and said, “Who wants this?” Hands shot up in the audience; people leaned forward to see whom Jack would choose. But I leapt up, ran up the stairs to the stage, and grabbed the bill from his hand. As I was launching myself in the air, thoughts raced through my mind — was I about to be humiliated in front of 800 people? Would they call security and haul me from the stage? But my desire for bold action was louder than any voice of doubt

As I plucked the bill from his hand, he turned to me and said, “Yes, that’s it! We can’t wait around for the opportunities to come to us. We must take action to create what we want!”

After his talk, I waited in line to formally meet Jack and boldly asked for his personal e-mail address. Over the next several months, I sent him lengthy e-mails sharing my vision and dreams. He kindly e-mailed back one-liners of encouragement such as, “Keep thinking and playing bigger; it’s much more fun that way. Love, Jack.” Then my life got busy with other things. I lost sight of my inspiration and I stopped e-mailing Jack.

A year later, my dreams had grown stale. I had this idea if I got back in touch with Jack, he might just provide the perfect, inspiring nudge I needed. I was looking for something that would spur me into action, like a giant arrow that would show me the way.

I emailed him, and then emailed him again — but got no response. As I sat down at my computer to check my email for the fifth time in 15 minutes, I suddenly woke up.

What was I doing?

I was waiting! And this time I was waiting for Jack. I realized waiting was a behavior that began when I was a little girl. I waited to be older — surely freedom would begin when I had my first boyfriend, first kiss, got my drivers license, graduated from high school and went to college. Then I waited to know what to do with my life. I had always waited, thinking the great prize of life was just around the corner. And I had started to believe Jack was the answer; that knowing him would provide something I thought I was missing internally.

I remembered the crowd, most likely desiring that hundred-dollar bill, while they sat glued to their chairs. What were they waiting for? An Oliver Wendell Holmes quote ran through my mind, “Many people die with their music still inside them.” Instantly, I knew I needed to do something about all this waiting. The inspiration came like lightening: I was going to write a book! A book about waiting and call it “Waiting for Jack!” Instantly, ideas and chapter titles came to me.

It all sounded good but then reality hit, I was writing a book. . . . Some nights I cried and wanted to give up; others I celebrated my courage. I wrote, re-wrote, ripped it all up, burned what was left and started over. I hired editors, changed directions then changed back. I danced in the moonlight and curled up in a ball on the floor. I told everyone I was writing, and then wished I hadn’t. I grew, contracted, then grew again, stretching further than I ever thought possible.

Fortunately, I have surrounded myself with a life of personal development and I have access to all the tools anyone could ever want. I know I can “feel the fear and do it anyway”. I know how to take action. I know how to move forward even when every molecule in my body tells me to stop.

We all have a “Jack” for whom we wait — whether it’s a person, a place or a thing. We falsely believe the gifts of life are just around the corner; that anywhere is better than here; that one day we will arrive and everything will be okay. So we don’t try, we give up, we sell out, we forget who we are. We are afraid to succeed, afraid to fail and afraid to say we are afraid. But as Wayne Gretzky said: “You’ll always miss 100% of the shots you don’t take!” So I stopped waiting and I wrote.

Three years later, Waiting for Jack is a best-seller on Amazon! I have grown in ways I never expected. I know that I am capable of so much more than I ever knew before.

Now I ask you, what are you waiting for?

http://www.wow4u.com

Blue skys, nothing but blue skys

johnny f — Thu, 20 May 2010 19:53:28 +0000

With the prospect of a heatwave hitting our nation this weekend it’s
quite easy to feel positive about life, the world and everyone in it.
That positive feeling is the driving force that gets things done, DIY
around the house, wash the car, wash the dog, what ever it is that
needs doing.
Converting that positive energy into a useful business tool is the
order of the day and this week I’m tying up all those lose ends that
have been hanging around for the last few months. Whilst in the process of
rebranding I have built up a Stock of images and material to revamp
the website a little and to create promotional material to push my new
branding forward, a process that has taken longer than I had
originally anticipated, but hopefully the end result will be worth it.
So, enjoy the weather, enjoy life, take your future in your own hands
and seize the day and oh yes,

The New Bohemians are coming . . .

Stolen …

johnny f — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:22:12 +0000

Andy Warhol eat your heart out, this isn't one of Joe Photos ...

I have to admit to stealing this from elsewhere, but I think the message is worth sharing.

I stole this by the way from cup of joe photo.com Joe no longer blogs which is a real shame he’s a real nice guy and an excellent photographer, if you get chance check out his burning man photos they are surreal .

but til then …

This story illustrates an important life lesson for me to remember. I hope you like it too.

During my second month of nursing school, our professor gave us a pop quiz. I was a conscientious student and had breezed through the questions, until I read the last one: “What is the first name of the woman who cleans the school?” Surely, this was some kind of joke.I had seen the cleaning woman several times. She was tall, dark-haired and in her 50s, but how would I know her name? I handed in my paper, leaving the last question blank.

Just before class ended, one student asked if the last question would count toward our quiz grade. “Absolutely,” said the professor. “In your careers, you will meet many people. All are significant. They deserve your attention and care, even if all you do is smile and say ‘hello’.” “I’ve never forgotten that lesson. I also learned her name was Dorothy.

Joe’s burning man shots – check these out

Sometimes, just sometimes …

johnny f — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 09:39:17 +0000

Sometimes, just sometimes I read something I feel the need to share. This is one of those times …

The Park Bench

By Author Unknown

The park bench was deserted as I sat down to read

Beneath the long, straggly branches of an old willow tree.

Disillusioned by life with good reason to frown,

For the world was intent on dragging me down.

And if that weren’t enough to ruin my day,

A young boy out of breath approached me, all tired from play.

He stood right before me with his head tilted down

And said with great excitement, “Look what I found!”

In his hand was a flower, and what a pitiful sight,

With its petals all worn – not enough rain, or too little light.

Wanting him to take his dead flower and go off to play,

I faked a smile and then shifted away.

But instead of retreating he sat next to my side

And placed the flower to his nose and declared with overacted surprise,

“It sure smells pretty and it’s beautiful too.

That’s why I picked it; here, it’s for you.”

The weed before me was dying or dead.

Not vibrant of colors: orange, yellow or red.

But I knew I must take it, or he might never leave.

So I reached for the flower, and replied, “Just what I need.”

But instead of him placing the flower in my hand,

He held it mid-air without reason or plan.

It was then that I noticed for the first time

That weed-toting boy could not see he was blind.

I heard my voice quiver; tears shone in the sun

As I thanked him for picking the very best one.

“You’re welcome,” he smiled, and then ran off to play,

Unaware of the impact he’d had on my day.

I sat there and wondered how he managed to see

A self-pitying woman beneath an old willow tree.

How did he know of my self-indulged plight?

Perhaps from his heart, he’d been blessed with true sight.

Through the eyes of a blind child, at last I could see

The problem was not with the world; the problem was me.

And for all of those times I myself had been blind,

I vowed to see the beauty in life, and appreciate every second that’s mine.

And then I held that wilted flower up to my nose

And breathed in the fragrance of a beautiful rose

And smiled as I watched that young boy, another weed in hand,

About to change the life of an unsuspecting old man.

Old romantic at heart.

johnny f — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 17:36:00 +0000

My about me page on my website is entitled ” Bohemian at heart ” which ain’t a bad description, but another word that springs to mind lately is romantic, I quite like the sound of that ” old romantic at heart “, this came to mind this week after a chance hearing of R Kelly’ s classic “Bump and Grind”. Yes I can hear the note of disdain from here dear reader, there’s nothing romantic about bumping and grinding I hear you cry, but the suggested intimacy in this song does lead my mind to more romantics notions .

Australian based wedding photographer Yervant points to old European films as sources of inspiration, romance being a key player in many European classics .On our quiet Sundays Val and I occasionally take a stroll through Birmingham and check out the galleries, it maybe art imitating life, but the work of artists like, Rob Hefferan and Fabian Perez I find inspiring, even though these images may not all be obviously romantic in there subject mater. For example Fabian Perez paints the prostitutes from his fathers brothel (and yes we do appear to be back where we started ) not a typically romantic idea, but from his, at the time young view point ” beautiful women who could seduce a man “simply by lighting a cigarette” must have seem very romantic indeed.

Romance then it seems is in the eye of the beholder/receiver, but as a photographer what can be more romantic than kissing a form with light and capturing the image in camera .

( Is that too cheesy? I can never tell ).

Good artist copy, great artists steal.

johnny f — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 19:02:00 +0000

Our house is full of books and magazines on photography. I take three mags a month and one bimonthly and I am currently working my way though two books on marketing and personal improvement .
Good artist copy, great artists steal.
With the mags I find myself reading everything, even the stuff I think I already know, quite often the way one photographer will approach a subject may spark an idea for something completely different, evoking a whole new approach to something I’m already working on .
Good artist copy, great artists steal.
In art as well as photography you can often see connections. The art of one, inspiring the other.
The work of bob Carlos Clarke for instance has surely inspired many over the years from other photographers to fantasy artists alike. Although his style may not be to every ones taste, his approach and lighting , his ability to see to shot still draws you in and offers plenty of food for the imagination.
Good artist copy, great artists steal.
And so yes since time in memorial artist, musicians, sculptors, politicians have taken inspiration from others, stealing one thing or another and making it their own. The key is to steal a small facet of something that lights your fire. Taking an idea and expanding it until it’s your own.
I suppose you should just replace the word “steal” with the words “are inspired”
Inspiration is all around us, the more you look for it, the more you find it.
Be inspired this week.
Yes your right dear reader, once I start you can’t shut me up ! So with that…