I SMASHED MY NEW CAMERA TODAY!

On Sunday I bought a fuji xt1 and the 35mm 1.4 lens. It’s a beautiful camera and the lens is so wonderful.

Today, on only my second outing with it, I was about to check the times on the bus stop for a FIVE minute ride to the train station (I was too tired to walk!). I heard someone to the side of me yelling at me, I turned and at the same time must have twisted my feet around because I caught my right foot on the curb and fell on the road. 

I had the camera on a wrist strap and it smashed against the ground and as if in slow motion I saw the lens bounce off. I even saw one of the really TINY screws roll away. They say these types of things can make you think it’s all happening in slow motion and you can see even minute details.

Anyway, the lens was torn from its mount (which stayed on the camera and saved the sensor I think) and the connecting electronic tape thingy broke. The body seems okay though the power switch smashed and there are some marks, But who knows what’s happened inside?

For me this is a huge problem. I really risked a lot to get the camera (I don't have work and no income at all at the moment except for the odd photo sale). No idea how much repairs will be but it will be a lot I am sure.

I am devastated by this and can’t help it. The person who yelled is mentally ill, so I don't blame him. As I looked at my watch before checking the bus times he yelled “What are you looking at your watch for?”. I know it sounds weird, but that’s what happened. What he'd said only registered after I was on the ground and crying. I couldn't believe it. He carried on yelling and threatening me as I lay there and even after we all got on the bus.

I know there are worse things, and I’m not complaining, I’m really not, but I am so upset and can't help it. 

But I will follow Fuji’s advice and send it for a quote. Meanwhile I will be without a camera. Again, I am not complaining. I have a LOT of editing to do and a few things to write. It’s just that I was so excited to finally have a camera that was giving me exactly what I wanted from my street photos.

Enough of this. It’s a big deal for me, but in the big scheme of things it’s nothing. And I am sorry for going on about it.

Peace and love to all

PICK OF THE WEEK: Some scenes just make you sad

Self Portrait for Two (Melbourne Australia June 2014)

On the face of it you might not think there is much in this image to make me or you or anyone sad. Especially, you might tell me, given the number of images we are seeing everyday of people who are homeless, people who are experiencing trauma or who are in some other way vulnerable or disadvantaged. And of course, on the face of it, you would be totally correct: images of those kinds of things are distressing and make me, and you, and most likely a lot of people, very sad. Hopefully they also serve as a call to action for some of us. Hopefully photography in that context can contribute to change.

Sadly, however, far too many of the photographs I see of homeless and other disadvantaged and vulnerable people have an aura of exploitation about them. Oftentimes for so-called street photographers, these groups provide little more than "easy targets" for a "gritty and real street shot". In reality they provide nothing more than a kind of trophy for the photographer. But that is another story for another day.

Back to this photograph, made on one of the busiest corners in the CBD of Melbourne. These two people are (obviously) making a self portrait of themselves. They are standing diagonally across the road from the beautiful and historic Flinders Street railway station. A must see for tourists to the city. 

So, what is so sad here? Surely this is simply two tourists making a souvenir photo of themselves? And they are smiling aren't they? All good questions. Again, on the face of it, nothing is untoward here. And really even not on the face of it, I can't say there is anything untoward here. 

It's just that I watched them for a while as they were setting up the camera and tripod, and then the guy arranged his partner n just the right place, set the timer and joined her on the other side of the camera, and the photo was made. As they went about this process it was as if they were in a little world of their own. The crowds flowed around them, nobody (except me) even glancing in their direction. And, more poignantly, they didn't look at anyone else either in the whole time I was watching them and then making this photograph. I was about two meters away from them for five minutes and they didn't once look my way. I am quite sure they didn't even see me.  It was if they truly were alone on this busy intersection.

There just seemed to be something sad about the whole scenario. To me anyway. A sense of loneliness took hold of me as I watched them. And, really, that's all I can say. I don't have an explanation for why I felt the way I did. I mean, I often pick up emotions, become affected by what I see and feel on the street. And it's not always possible to pinpoint what causes a feeling or a sense.

Anyway, a good street photograph is one that causes an emotional reaction in the viewer. And it could be added that an even better street photograph is one that causes an emotional reaction in the photographer. One thing I can say is this: if sometimes I do have an emotional reaction to a scene I witness, then it suggests that at least some viewers will also have an emotional response of some kind. And, to me, that is a very good outcome indeed.

Peace