Runcible Blog

It went pretty much like this:

Saul Leiter: Paris 1959

Nate and Sarah just visited France and brought me back a book, Saul Leiter from the Louvre. Although I hadn't heard of Leiter before, I was immediately impressed with his subtle, dream-like street photos. I'm especially drawn to his color work. He apparently used expired film, which, combined with the immaturity of color film technology during the 40's and 50's, would've produced the kind of washed out, low-contrast images shown in the book. Seeing such color detail and attention to fine color gradations has opened my eyes toward a different way of shooting.

For a while, I have felt more attracted to high-contrast, rich images, and when "developing" my photos, I would consider how much contrast I could add before losing too much information. I enjoy throwing away much of the data that the camera dutifully recorded while retaining enough detail to convey the image I intended. That philosophy has lead me to come up with portraits like this one:

Or (less successfully) cityscapes like this:

After looking at Leiter's work, I'm going to try to think about color more intentionally and attempt a nuanced look. There can be just as much beauty in subtlety and flatness as there is in saturation and deep blacks. Here's a recent portrait:

And an old landscape near work. The coming autumn and winter light lends itself to this kind of lovely sky:

As much as I might try, however, it will be difficult to rival Leiter's wonderfully soft colors combined with abundantly detailed composition.

Last year, James Nachtwey, after winning the TED prize, made a cryptic wish:

I’m working on a story that the world needs to know about. I wish for you to help me break it in a way that provides spectacular proof of the power of news photography in the digital age.

Now, he and his TED collaborators are set to reveal his photo story on October 3rd. I am sure Nachtwey's story will be as spectacular as he hopes. He's a role model for the kind of documentarian I wish I could be, and I'm excited to see what he has uncovered.

Spread the word, and check out Time magazine on Friday, as well.

In my nightmare last night, I was sitting in my apartment when I looked out the window and saw someone outside staring at me.  I felt uncomfortable but shrugged it off and left for work or something.  When I returned home, the staring guy and his girlfriend were in my apartment.  It seems my landlord had decided to rent out half of my place to another tenant (of course, my place isn't big enough for such a crazy idea).  The rest of the dream was about struggling to live with these unwanted, creepy people in a place that I used to think of as my own.  Unable to kick out the invaders, I felt powerless and frustrated at the situation.

It's no wonder I do not have roommates now.  In fact, the dream proves that I'm afraid of the possibility of having to live with strangers someday.  More broadly, my persistent fear lately is not being able to maintain enough financial independence to continue living on my own.  Considering the economic bust we're in and the dreams for my (certainly less lucrative) future, it's not an irrational fear, either.

Tomorrow morning I'll head out on my first solo road trip in five years. I'm heading to Minneapolis, eager to document the clash of ideologies outside the rich white dude convention. I learned a bit about underhanded police tactics four years ago and hope to avoid whatever tricks the St.Paul PD have ready to unleash.

Good night, and huzzah.