Serendipity Circus

On a spur of the moment trip to Costa Rica I stumbled on the Central American clown troupe performing in San Jose in front of the Teatro Nacional. Of course planning and a fixer are a professional’s best friend, but never underestimate the joy of the unexpected.
~John

A Poem as Pretty as a Tree

Kearsney Abbey in Dover

Here is  a little creative poetry editing,  when A E Housman wrote this he was about 20, since I’m a bit older…

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now

Is hung with bloom along the bough,

And stands about the woodland ride

Wearing white for Eastertide.

Now, of my fourscore years and ten,

Sixty will not come again,

And take from ninety springs three score,

It only leaves me thirty more.

And since to look at things in bloom

Thirty springs are little room,

About the woodland I will go

To see the cherry hung with snow.

~Paul

Photographing Strangers – Meeting Strange Photographers

Had a lot of fun recently with a group of aspiring photo enthusiasts as we photo-walked the grounds of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial – aka Gateway Arch. An eclectic group of snappers, we took to the streets, engaging visitors and capturing a sense of the city.  Part of our assignment was to approach and photograph a stranger — my métier. These tourists from Colorado were as friendly as only Westerners can be. I also chatted up a NYC couple who were equally jovial. But more interesting for me was meeting strange new photographers.

Journalism school pressed Paul and me into the maw of about 20 of the most aggressive and motivated would-be photojournalists (I guess I am not exaggerating) in the world. We would constantly critique each other’s work — and what the professors said about our pictures/stories — ouch — I still have scars.  Later when I taught photojournalism, I was brutally honest with my students, occasionally at the cost of tears and always with a reward of better future pictures. I like to think I have mellowed over the years and more importantly, I have slowly come to realize that photojournalism-style photography is not all there is. Shocking. The photo-walk provided me an opportunity to share my expertise and learn from others. Advantage for me, interacting with new photogs requires the same skills as street photography, an honest approach and openness to rejection (ha ha). Just like the wonder of connecting with folks you have never seen before and making their picture, chatting with photographers who have a different visual Weltanschauung can be daunting. If you are going to walk the photo walk, prepare to talk the photo talk.  For snap samples search Instagram using #isrphotoswalk
~John

Style Gone to the Dogs

Not sure the feline pattern is exactly right for the canines or for the Fräulein…
~Paul