I'm having an affair with Sony and it might be serious.

My first camera was a Ricoh KR-5 I bought used in 1982.  I met the FE-2 in 1985 and it was love at first sight.  Then there was my favorite old standby, the N80.  I was strictly a Nikon user. When the digital age came around I fancied the D300 but the trusty innovative D700 with the 25600 max ISO caught my eye. 

I shot street photography with the D700. I didn’t really care that the camera was large and bulky and not stealthy like. I mean, yeah people usually saw me coming and the shutter release makes a loud mechanical “clunk clunk” sound every time I press it. But the images were good even in low light and I had a zen type relationship with the D700. That camera and I were one.

Shot with a Nikon

Fast forward to the present.  I thought it was time for a little new technology so I rented a Sony a6000 along with 18-55mm OSS kit lens. I liked the layout of the camera buttons and functions but the images couldn’t compare to the D700 (with Sigma Nikon mount 50mm lens, also very loud to AF). I didn’t understand all the fuss. 

Then I talked to a Sony rep at my local camera store and was introduced to an A7II with a G-Master 85mm lens. WOW! The images looked like they were in 3D. I photographed the rep and hit the display button by mistake. I thought I was looking at the rep live through the viewfinder but I was actually looking at the photo I’d just taken! I was blown away. 

My infatuation with the A7II continued when I rented one for a weekend before purchasing.  I then spoiled her by acquiring a shiny Sony 50mm 1.8 from eBay. (I love new toys but $1700 for the G-master? I’m not quite ready for that level of commitment). 

Taken with A7II

I know the Sony is six years younger than my D700 and a direct comparison wouldn't be fair. However, the A7II has twice the resolution, and free firmware updates with gifts like phase detection auto focus; very sexy in a mirrorless. This all goes a long way toward my affection for my new camera.  So there is satisfaction, for now, until my cadish ardor yearns for the depths of even higher ISO and faster auto focus and 10K focus points... Hmm isn’t love grand?

Clarissa Bonet at The Filter Festival

I went to see Clarissa Bonet's work during the Chicago Filter Festival. Her images are quite elegant. City Space exhibits the perfect marriage between street photography and controlled studio lighting. Bonet brings control to the chaos that is Street Photography. Ahh! but once you harness the control, it isn't really street photography at all. But that is ok. City Space is a stylized portrayal of urban life that works brilliantly. Each photo represents an almost exaggerated theatrical rendition of the metropolitan spirit.

Image by Clarissa Bonet

Bonet's urban images exude a soothing smoothness that cannot be ignored.

The Father Project

Stooping Dad

Though sometimes sadly absent, Fathers are an important part of the family. This project celebrates the compassion and often understated love of fathers.

In an average American household Fathers are still scarcer than Moms. However, the role of father has blossomed. They continue to pay the bills, but today’s dad is more demonstrative with his feelings, and gives out much welcomed TLC. Over time co-parenting is becoming an essential parenting tool, providing a welcome respite for moms. Father can even be the primary caregiver. In the twenty first century much is expected and much is given.

Joel Peter-Witkin at the Chicago Filter Festival

I went to hear Joel Peter-Witkin at Columbia College in downtown Chicago. His photos are controversial to say the least. He was a keynote speaker at the Filter Photo Festival here in Chicago. I would describe some of his photos as shocking and embracing the macabre. His photographs are meant to  expose misogyny and homophobia, and render the marginalized.  But sometimes the line between advocacy and exploitation seems a bit blurred.

However, Peter-Witkin's most honest photographs are of dead body parts, which confront a raw and real struggle with mortality. There was one photo that stood out from the rest. Man Without A Head is a photograph of exactly that.  An anonymous headless body is postured sitting on an inconspicuous object. He is nude down to his dark socks. I don't know if Peter-Witkin put the socks on the body or not. I wished I has asked during the question and answer period. but I didn't. So for now it must remain a mystery.

Man Without A Head shows us a carcase, an empty shell. The headless body is incompatible with life or spirit. It sits there, a lost possession, like a house or a car.  We, in the 21st century have been desensitized about death through horror movies, video games, news feeds, and current events . So it's easy to feel detached from Man Without A Head, that is until you see the socks,  Putting on socks and other clothing is a simple tasks most of us take for granite. It's a common human experience.

Did the man in the photograph put on those socks the last time, knowing it was the last time? Probably not. I have put on socks while thinking of ten things I need to do after I'm dressed and out the door. The familiarity of the socks adds a little compassion to the shocking gruesomeness. The connection is powerful. Man, shows us the frailty and transience of the human condition