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Photography Is Not Paintball

If Photo was Paintball, I bet I would have won this round.

Is it enough to spontaneously hit the shutter as the mind decides that a subject has photogenic qualities? Following that enter the machine gun approach to photographing - shoot the subject and get a few more shots in there that might be better. Or as camera tech gets faster, spray the image area with multiple shutter activations and pick later. That is, quicken the mechanics of picture taking and thus improve the chances of getting a picture.

But as we all know - more pictures does not mean better pictures.

Fallen Crown

Monday afternoon. 9/19/11
If a crown falls in a forest of students, will there be a camera to capture it?

The Navy

Friday, 9/23/11
One of my college roommates, Jack Molchan served in the Navy during the Viet Nam years.
My cousin Richard Loon also served in the Navy and I believe he was an officer who came out of ROTC.
My uncle Gee Hoe Sue served during WWII. He looked like a hero in his uniform, just as it should be.

Guerilla Photography

Monday afternoon. 9/19/11
The strategy of "Shoot first, ask questions later" did not work well for me in this situation.
Here's what happened:
I see a girl with a sign, one of the words being photography. Next I see a girl in red standing next to someone in a monkey suit. I usually don't add things up when I'm shooting fast (the time between these two pictures is 2 seconds). I didn't realize that these people were connected - I should have done the math.
Being a practitioner of the "Go with the flow" theory of image making these several seconds of recording simply morphed into another display of student life at the University.

Point.

Thursday afternoon. 9/22/11

Fifteen - 15

Class of 2015. 09-19-2011

Straw Man

Saturday morning. 9/17/11

Van Buren Badlands

Wednesday morning. 9/14/11

Argyle and Broadway

Tuesday morning. 9/13/11

Fanny May

Monday, 9/12/11
So the lot is the future site of a Target.

Wood's White Knight

Monday 9/5/11
To me, it' s important who leads me to a photograph. Many people fail as a photo guide, confusing popular "photogenic" sites with photographic content. My mother's fifth uncle was a great photo guide in Guangzhou, introducing me to street scenes that became my own. Silence is also important to allow me to share the moment and space. Some guides just won't shut up.

My daughter took me to this shot.

Japanese Garden

Chicago Daily News 1875 - 1978

Chicago Daily News. Thursday afternoon, 9/8/11.
My grandfather would have me pick up the Sun-Times and Daily News for him when I was in grade school. He would read the business section and I would read Royko's column. I never realized until recently that I have to respect him, an immigrant from China, for learning how to read.

Three Victoria Lily Pads

Labor Day morning. 9/5/11

Mitchell S.D.

Another one on Utah 24

Capitol Reef Along Utah 24

Utah 12 Hogs Back

The Hogs Back on Utah 12. 7/29/11
Highway 12 in Utah is one of the great scenic roads in America. Though only two lane, it's not heavily traveled except for a section near Bryce Canyon National Park and Red Canyon. Much of the road is challenging simply because you have to keep your eyes on the road and not on the scenery.