Thanks Dad!

Old story;  My late Dad, Joseph Small Jr., was a photographer in Westbrook back in the late 1930s. He shot commercially in that area and then when he went to Europe during WW-2 he continued to document his surroundings which included the liberation of the concentration camps including Buchenwald going into the camps along with General Omar Bradley which gave him the opportunity to shoot some gruesome, but memorable shots. A few years later I came along. Then about ten years after that he saw in me a talent. Something that has followed me throughout my life. Photography. Using my Mom’s Kodak Instamatic I was cranking out some sweet images, at least I thought so. Trying to be like Dad. Well, one summer he had me take all my hard earned lawn mowing money from the past 3 years or so out of the bank and off we went to Bangor to Dakin’s Sporting goods. Of course he did not tell me why other than I needed something to keep me busy during the summer vacation and something to keep me out of my Mom’s hair! Well I walked out with a Yashica-D twin lens reflex camera and three rolls of Verichrome B&W film and no idea what I was holding. Off I went, with about two hours of tutoring by dad, scuttling about downtown Ellsworth I shot up a roll of film. He gave me strict instructions to keep track of each frame and what f-stop and shutter-speed combination I had used. When I came back he just shook his head after looking at my notes saying that developing it would be a waste, but it was how I was going to learn. They came back great! Dad said it was beginners luck…but never let up on the lessons and I am grateful. Thanks Dad!

Life, its not ALL black and white!

Android...The Camera That Is

Waiting

Early Morn Light...The Best

Combine

I am a fan of analog (film) photography. I am a fan of digital photography. Both have their perks and drawbacks. But when you combine the both its just plain good stuff! Tri-X 120 film shot with a Yashica  D TLR, film processed and scanned then tweaked for goodness.

Its Vision, Not Gear...But Gear Is Nice...Dont Get Me Wrong

Like most I like gear. I like technology. I like a good beefy camera in my paws. I like the reflections of the front of a quality lens element. But an image starts in your personal on board computer...that filler that fills in the space betwixt your ears as a friend from across the pond, Anthony Cronin says. Work with what you got, and that will work!

This was taken with an iPhone and an app called TinType and post processed in Cymera all in about three minutes! Remember; KISS....keep it simple stupid!

It's Addictive

A simple image taken by a 16 year old. Having just learned the basics of photography from my Dad including processing and printing of B&W negatives. A roll of Verichrome 120, a Yashica D TLR and two hyper kittens led to this image being shown to the Editor of the Tuesday Weekly, Wayne Mayo. I ended up having a full page spread of cat photos, and future employment with the paper after high school. All a start in a life long education into photography

and its impact on me for 50 + years.

Keeping it Clean

Lets Get Serious For A Minute



I've been here before. As Yogi said; "Its Deja-Vu, all over again."

Another and hopefully with the blessings of the BlogSpot Gods, the last photography blog I come up with. Time will tell. Through this blog I hope to share images and my thoughts about the process of creating these images and how photography has been a huge part of the past 50+ years of my life. Stories may be told that you have heard me tell before...sorry. Possibly there are others that might be interested or it may be a truly a avenue for me to just get it out there in the open. Again, time will tell. So if you are interested stay tuned, comment, send me emails at res@gwi.net, msg me on FB send me a smoke signal. As long as you are having fun in this art form this makes me happy as well. Peace.