Today’s Post by Joe Farace
“Black and white are the colors of photography. To me they symbolize the alternatives of hope and despair to which mankind is forever subjected.”– Robert Frank
At Camera and Coffee events or whenever I am teaching workshops, I’m sometimes asked, “What’s Your Favorite Photograph?” The glib answer to that question is “the one I’m going to make tomorrow” but that is seldom the truth. What some people really want to know is what was the most challenging for me to shoot. That’s an easy one and if you’re interested in, you can see that photo and read about how I made it on my car photography blog.
My Favorite Things…
For me my favorite photograph is the image that you see at right. It was made during the mid-1970’s during a time when I began to get serious about photography both as a profession and an avocation. My affection for this photograph might just be nostalgia for a time that I think about as the most creative period of my life, yet personally it was the most tumultuous and challenging for lots of reasons. But maybe that’s what makes this particular photograph stick with me after all these years. Or maybe not.
This image was made when I was doing volunteer work for the Baltimore Streetcar Museum, attending the Maryland Institute College of Art at night, shooting weddings on the weekend and working full-time for a Great Metropolitan Phone Company. Yes, it was a creative time for me but did nothing good for my private life.
One of the reasons I like this photograph is the way the conductor is looking off the side. And that there’s just part of a hand showing from outside and it’s blurred from that person’s movement. To me, the entire photograph has a feel that echoes a 1960 Twilight Zone episode called “A Stop at Willoughby.” I leave it to psychologists to figure out why that particular Twilight Zone episode appeals to me.
How I made this shot: The camera I used to make the photograph was a medium format Mamiya C-33 twin lens reflex camera with 80mm f/2.8 Mamiya-Sekor lens both of which I bought used from a friend. I paid Bob $100 for two C-33 bodies and that one lens set. The image was shot using Tri-X film that I processed in the bathroom of my 1865 home and later printed in its kitchen. (There was a small window in the kitchen so I could only print at night.) Exposure was unrecorded and I only made that one frame, which I guess is part of the whole medium format experience that I hope to get back to real soon now.
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