Rural China
Although I love all my categories, “my favorite quotes” is way up in my list of favorites. For those of you that for some reason have not read any, these quotes are from all areas of the arts and literature and not just photography.
There are some that I’ve known since my early days of being a professional photographer (fifty years and still counting) and there are those I’ve read since I started teaching (while shooting professionally) in 1983. I often recite these quotes in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around our planet, as well as in my online class with the BPSOP.
When I find a quote that makes me say “OK, that’s cool” to myself, I’ll instantly think of how it fits into my thought process when I’ve been out shooting, and how it can become a teaching aid to my approach to turning my fellow photographers on to the way I see and/or shoot.
One of my all time favorite movies was Scarface, and one of my all time favorite lines in that (or any) movie was spoken by actor Al Pacino. “Say hello to my little friend”. was said as the bad guys were coming in. Ok, I’m sure you’re wondering how in the hell does this relate to photography.
While on a sunset romantic cruise in Venice.
As I tell my students, always have a camera on your person. Well, one man (among others) once said to me that it was impossible to always have his big DSLR with him and that smaller point and shoot’s just can’t take good pictures”…WHAT I said!!!
In the modern age, there are cameras that have ten or more megapixels, and have lenses that are very fast and very sharp…that will fit in your pants (or shorts in my case) pocket. They can do as much as a large DSLR. Remember that it’s not the camera, it’s the ten inches behind it that’s important.
Waiting for lunch
I keep a Lumix DMC-Lx5 in my pocket all the time. It’s the identical camera to the Leica D-Lux 5 (same lens, same sensor, same look) but is half the price. You’re paying twice as much for that little ‘L’ in a red circle, but I know people out there with giant egos that would rather pay more so people will be impressed. Btw, I’ve recently replaced it (with an electronic viewfinder) with the LX7.
Walking around Lisbon
After doing a lot of reading, it was the camera for me. The new one is a ten megapixel camera and has a new F/1.4 lens…”WOW”, and you can get a viewfinder for it that shows you exactly what you’re getting.
I can assure you that carrying around this “little friend” will add to the possibilities of never missing a good photo again. Ernst Haas, one of my all time favorite photographers whose work hangs in my house said , “The camera doesn’t make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you’re seeing…but, you have to see.”
FYI, here’s the scene where Al Pacino said this now famous line: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVQ8byG2mY8
Visit my new website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime, and bring along your little friend.
JoeB
