Today’s Post by Joe Farace
How I wish I could forget those happy yesteryears, That have left a rosary of tears—song lyrics
The above lyrics are from the song Memories of You that was written by Andy Razaf and Eubie Blake, James Hubert “Eubie” Blake (1887–—see yesterday’s post—was an American pianist, lyricist, and composer of ragtime, jazz, and popular music and who, like me, was born in Baltimore, Maryland.
Speaking about memories, I (suspect that I) may have Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory or HSAM. This is not to be confused with photographic or eidetic memory or professionals who use sophisticated mnemonic recall strategies. According to University of California-Irvine neurobiologist James McGaugh, HSAM describes individuals who are able to remember an abnormally large number of their life experiences in vivid detail. I like to joke about it as Monk once said, “it’s a blessing and it’s a curse.” But it’s different than being a…
A know-it-all is a person who appears to offers expert opinion, without possessing it.—Wikipedia
I have a confession to make: I don’t know everything about photography, digital, film, or otherwise. Yet over the past 40 years I’ve met several people in the camera, retail and especially publishing industries who act and talk like they know everything about the subject even if they don’t. And sometimes this incredible amount of knowledge is seemingly bestowed on them overnight. One day, they’re an average person, the next they’re a genius.
There are always exceptions: Two people who I think knew and know more about photography than any living soul I ever met was the late Chuck Westfall and Canon’s Rudy Winston. The depth of these two men’s knowledge was and is spectacular in its breadth and depth and I am indebted to each of them for all the wisdom and wit that they shared with me over the years. But, I’ll say it again. They are the exceptions.
How I Made this Photo: I made the featured photograph while Mary and I were on our honeymoon in Kauai, Hawaii using a Nikon FE2 film-based SLR, the lens and exposure were unrecorded, although it might have been the Vivitar 24-48mm f/3.8 Series One lens that I loved at the time. Film was Kodak Ektachrome 100. Scans were from Kodak’s defunct Photo CD process and were opened using Lemke Software’s Graphic Converter that produced relatively high quality files from a Photo CD disc but the software is not without its quirks.
“Would you like a jelly baby?”—Dr Who.
And yes I would…
I Need a Catch Phrase. It seems like all the most popular photographers have their own, unique catch phrases. My friend Rick Sammon always says, “The Camera Looks Both Ways.” Something I’ve written about before, but it’s his catch phrase not mine. When Rick, Darrell Gulin and I were teaching a photo workshop in Montana, I noticed Darrell also had some catch phrases that had to do with focusing on your subject’s eyes—even if that subject was an animal. Me? Don’t have any catch phrases but maybe I should. Based on the writing you see on this blog, does anything pop out to you that could be a good catch phrase. Click Contact and let me know.
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