March of the Wooden Nutcrackers
Onward they March! Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and Happy New Year,
to all and to all a good night.
Portrait of Grandma
As opposed to those pro photographers who wanted to be one from birth, I fell into the profession later in life. My hope was to work in the film industry but that’s ain’t easy. This also explains why I can talk more about John Ford, Buster Keaton and Martin Scorsese than about famous pro photographers. Most of America knows who Ansel Adams is, including myself (of course), but my photo contemporaries can rattle off names that I never could, but I am not a complete rube. We are a world awash in images but when one catches my eye, and most don’t, then I do some research to find out who created that picture. A few years ago on the cover of Time (if it wasn’t Time, then it was Newsweek) was a portrait of Jeff Bridges. He was up for an Academy award for “Crazy Heart”. I stopped whatever I was doing and starred at the image. It was beautiful. I thought, “Who took this picture?” Probably someone the whole world knows about except me, but now it’s my turn. Marco Grob. Jeff Bridges’ portrait is on the website. The portrait above is of my mother. Photographed with a Wisner 4×5 film camera. (Doesn’t compare to Mr. Grob, but I’m trying.)
A Photo Finish
A moment in time.
Beatles – EMI Studio – London
Beatles fans write on the wall just outside EMI Studio.
Visiting Bath
On my recent trip England, I returned to the City of Bath. My last visit was in 1984. It is a beautiful city with ancient Roman baths. The building pictured above is of The Crescent, a guest house and a stunning piece of architecture. Bath Spa, it’s formal name, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Portrait of an Anarchist
On one of the pro photo forums, there’s a discussion about portrait photography. Folks are talking about the merits of hiring a real photographer for a portrait vs. what Walmart or Sears would provide. My suggestion – if you have an anarchist on your hands, don’t bother with Walmart. (The photo was taken with polaroid film using a 4×5 Wisner camera.)
Memorial Day 2011
On Memorial Day, I pause to honor those who selflessly gave all to our nation. Thank you.
My Hometown
A street scene from Paterson, NJ around 1970. Woolworth’s was a favorite spot of mine. My best friend and I would walk through the toy department, have a cherry sundae at the counter and rummage through the vinyl records. I was a fan of Chuck Berry, found one of his records in the bin, and asked my friend, a musician, “Who’s the black guy?” Well, he didn’t stop laughing. Some fan I was. I didn’t even know what Chuck Berry looked like.
A small town in England
My last trip to England was in the 1993. One of the places I visited outside of London was Stratford-Upon-Avon, known as the birthplace of Shakespeare. Well, I hated the place and not because it was Shakespeare’s hometown. I hated it because it felt like I was visiting an American tourist attraction. Now, I am an American to my core, but when I visit a foreign country I’m making the trip to visit with them, not see more of my country. The next day I went to Victoria Train Station, back in London, and told my story to a ticket salesman. He completely understood and suggested I visit Arundel, about an hour away, south of London. I paid for our train tickets, it was my wife and I, and we headed on our journey. We rode in a train car similar to what we saw in the Beatles movie “A Hard Day’s Night” which was fun. And the countryside was beautiful.
The hour passed quickly and Arundel came into view. The small town has a castle and it appeared on the horizon. It felt like a fairy tale. An Errol Flynn movie. It was England, not America. The castle. The small streets and shoppes. The 400 year old inn where my wife and I had lunch and spoke with the owner. It was a wonderful place to visit.
Blood and Guts
For many years, part of my work included being a medical photographer. That meant shooting in the O.R., E.R. or patient rooms. Blood and guts. And I am a guy who’s very squeamish. I hate the sight of blood. Many years ago I was riding a bike with a friend. He fell down and broke his foot. There was no blood, nothing penetrated the skin, but I couldn’t even look at that. (Coincidentally it was across the street from a hospital which made it very convenient for my friend.) Fast forward many years, and I find myself as a staff photographer in a hospital where my responsibilities included patients in the operating room. I still remember my first “call down” to the O.R. I stood in the corner, camera in hand, starring at the wall. I was very nervous, thinking, “how do I get outta here!” Then those fateful words were spoken, “Rich, take a photo of this please.” I turned, walked slowly to the patient, took a deep breath and did my job. (I don’t remember what the actual surgery was.) As the years passed, I saw many surgeries, patients in rooms, accidents in the E.R. – open heart, other surgeries in the chest, legs, hands, brain, people who were injured from explosions, etc. I adapted to my situation and learned the difference between “controlled blood” and “uncontrolled” (my personal definitions). “Uncontrolled” would be a war zone or some type of violence or accident. I was never in a war but I had photographed two patients who were the victims of an explosion. One was deliberate – a bomb – and the other was an oxygen tank that exploded. I had “weak knees” with those patients. Another serious accident involved the male genitals. Being a guy and how I might respond to this situation, I had a smart solution – I put the camera to my eye BEFORE I looked at the injury. This took me out of the situation and I got the job done.
With “controlled blood”, I am referring to procedures in the operating room where the bodies are covered up except for the surgical area. This made the situation abstract for me, making it easier to see the blood.
Sometimes the unexpected happens. While I’ve never had open heart surgery, seeing it has actually improved my diet. I DON”T EVER want to have that done to me. Take my word for it.
Well, I rarely photograph in the O.R. anymore, the last time I did, the surgeon in charge, a friend of mine, commented, “Rich, you look like you’re having a good time.” I actually was.
I Wasn’t Invited To The Royal Wedding!
So I arrive at Heathrow airport early this morning and head to Buckingham Palace for the Royal Wedding. My first question is, “Can I be early?” I don’t see anyone! I assumed that someone had to be interested in this event but I wasn’t complaining. I was at the front of the line and had the best seat in the house.
So I’m waiting and waiting and waiting and finally a friendly elderly British gentleman asks me what I’m waiting for. (It must’ve been real obvious.) I answered, ‘The Royal Wedding, of course!” He says, “My fine fellow, that was yesterday! Didn’t you know?” I’m stunned at this point and pull out my invitation to see how I could get it so wrong. But no, there it was in black and white – the date said April 30th. My British friend looked at it and commented, “That certainly looks real. I guess Prince William didn’t want you to come.” and then he walked away.
I stood there flabbergasted. I was deliberately given the wrong date by the Royals. Now I’m mad.
iPhone Conundrum
I’m sure everyone has heard about the Apple iPhone secret info grab. What I’m sure many TV viewers didn’t notice were the conflicting stories reported about it on the news. One 24 hour news organization would say that the data was being collected and sent back to Apple. Another news company said that the info simply remained with your phone. There was nothing to worry about. So, which is it? If it’s the former, no one should really be surprised. All of our movements are constantly being watched. How do you think Amazon can make recommendations to you? Now if it’s the later – that the info just sits on your phone – that makes no sense especially if the user doesn’t know it’s there.
One point to remember when it comes to your computer hard drives, cell phones or other gadgets — to erase the private info stored on it when you discard the item. Most folks don’t and that’s not good.
*iPhone not pictured above.
In Remembrance of the Civil War
The Battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the Civil War, the Union victory that ended General Robert E. Lee’s second and most ambitious invasion of the North in 1863. Often referred to as the “High Water Mark of the Rebellion”, it was the war’s bloodiest battle with 51,000 casualties and the setting for President Abraham Lincoln’s “Gettysburg Address”. (info from the National Park Service website)
Father & Son
In a time long forgotten, that’s a polaroid photo of me on the left. (Yes, it’s a polaroid.) I’m wearing my Civil War jacket, pants, hat and holding a toy rifle. For reasons unknown, my Mom never discarded the jacket part of the outfit. And for more reasons unknown, neither did I. So when my son was born I thought, “Someday when he’s around 8 or 9 years old (my approximate age in the photo), I’m going to have him wear my Civil War jacket and take a picture.” Father & son. Side by side.
Life
I posted a new photo gallery titled “Life” on my Rich Green Photography people and lifestyle website (as opposed to my RJGreenphotography site which focuses on my corporate work.
Rich Green Photography 