As I strolled up to the Plaza Casino in Downtown Vegas to get my morning coffee a homeless guy asked me the time. I left my usual “time is just a construct” obscure ramblings to one side and simply told him nine-thirty. He asked if I was English. I am. To which he replied “I’m so sorry Uncle Albert we haven’t done a bloody thing all day” and I thought; don’t start obscure rambling with me mate I’m practically an Olympian if talking crap was a sport. “The Beatles right?” he said. “Exactly right”, I replied, “have a great day my friend”. I resisted the urge to tell him that it was in fact a lyric by Paul & Linda McCartney from an album after the Beatles had broken up - RAM. Tenuous link; Another Albert, Mr. Einstein, came up with this:
“The definition of madness is to keep doing the same thing and expecting different outcomes.” And that pretty much sums up the futility I often feel when it comes to both Vegas and Photography. I’m tempted to say romantic relationships too, though I’m aware that people can sometimes make them work. In any case it’s just a quote (not a theory) attributed to a great mind, an intellectual colossus. First thought by a much lesser and minuscule mind was that it encapsulated photography, but maybe it doesn’t at all.
Vegas we know all too well, I’ve written about it many times, therefore nothing much more to say. As a veteran of thirty years the only advice to offer is it’s all about minimising your losses. Because, if I was a betting man and I am, a microscopic amount of the 40 million people who visit annually leave winning or miraculously breaking even. In any case I go twice a year and really don’t want to talk about it. What we know for sure is that you need to be doing something else instead of gambling and no matter how “fascinating” hydroelectric power might be there’s only so many times you can see the Hoover Dam. Or, if like me, you have a camera and an interest in street/documentary photography a couple of hours can be easily passed each morning. You’ll stem the money haemorrhaging to a certain extent, just a small 25 year mortgage is required to buy a coffee from Starbucks.
I walk down from the Plaza, along Fremont Street down to the El Cortez where it essentially ends as much interest for a tourist. I’ll walk a block or two to the left or right on some days. I like the morning light and if nothing else light is what photography is about. A strange light, painfully the ‘cold light of day’ for many, it still manages to warm those that are up and about in the morning. Most of Fremont Street is under a canopy nowadays, so that creates a few issues managing exposure. But then we have light reflected from those big shiny cathedrals to chance. As I stand outside the Plaza you would be forgiven for believing I was using a flash, once under the canopy there are small glimpses of ricocheted sunshine to deal with.
Two photos there that say not very much. They’re just about the light, ones we can take over and over again à la Einstein. Meaningless and yet I still take them hoping for a different result. It’s not good street photography. Having just written that I’m not even sure what constitutes street photography. Like a few other photographers I’m just doing my own thing. In the end it’s all just photography.
Should we just call ourselves documentary or candid photographers perhaps? That’s what any of it will be remembered for, a time and a place, candid scenes. At some stage our photographs might become historically interesting. I’m unsure of ‘street portraits’ even though they’re often labelled/tagged as street photography they’re not candid. They have a place even so, of that I’m absolutely positive. Now and again there are some proponents that are exceptional, they’re rare because they ‘get it’ and know how it should be done. They include the environment and context in their portraits. Yes Gwen if you’re reading, I include you in those very rare few. If you don’t know Gwen’s fabulous work, there are some portraits, but mostly it’s brilliant street photography, then take a look: Gwen Julia.
I met another couple of Street Photographers whilst in Vegas and as is always the case they were sincerely nice guys. Of course as we know I have some kind of weird syndrome (see Monochrome Masters Assemble ) we’re yet to discover and there was a lot of talking from me, too much I suspect. I think street photography unites, actually the love of photography unites us all. We all have our reasons for doing it, mostly it’s a way of expressing ourselves. It’s so difficult to put into words, hence this blog often makes no sense whatsoever, let’s just say it’s a feeling. Take that photograph above, I can’t explain it, it just captured what I was feeling, the mood of the moment. I’m not particularly bothered whether it’s any good or not. I like it. Photography takes us out of ourselves, we’re essentially meditating as we walk with our cameras and released from whatever prison our mind has created for us. I think my new friend Dio Mcleod gets all that and he possesses a great style to his photography. Eric definitely does. Eric is a recovering alcoholic, he quit booze eighteen months ago and found photography. I’m happy to say photography found them both and you can find them by clicking on their names.
I can’t quite remember who asked me, could have been Dio or Eric because when you’re constantly talking nonsense it’s not easy to recall. Seriously, I can and do listen sometimes. The question was how do you keep it fresh, not get bored, photographing the same place. This is where I decided to dismiss my earlier conclusion concerning Einsteins quote. Might be true of many things, but with photography and specifically street photography nothing could be further than truth or fact. Admittedly I do get the feeling that it’s futile and yet; I’ve had street photography sessions in Bath more times than I can count, Downtown Vegas similarly though not quite on the same level. What does unite them is that every session is different. I return to my pronouncement from a few years ago: Everything else is just background, it’s the people that are important. Life and Photography. People change or are interchangeable, their unpredictability is predictable and at the same time a revelation. It always fresh and never boring. You could stand in one place, a pedestrian crossing/crosswalk for example. I often do for half an hour, but I could equally stand in that one place everyday, all day. There’s always something to see or play with.
A couple of Chiefs, an Apache and a sort of Cowboy one moment, Spiderman (Peter Parking would be a title if I gave any) the next and on and on…And when you’ve become tired of crossing the road back and forth, the security people are watching and wondering what the hell is wrong with this guy, you can return to your post. Never desert your post. Just slow it all down. Simply observe what’s going on around you.
Whether or not that proves Einsteins point is debatable. If nothing else you can listen to the music that’s constantly playing in Fremont Street. I often sing as I walk along or stop at a post. The usual stuff you’d expect, country and so forth, but occasionally they surprise me. This year Fleetwood Mac’s “Never Going Back Again” took me unawares as I sipped my coffee and they followed that up with The Who’s “Baba O’Riley” which was really unexpected. Anyhow, I can understand why people go through stages of boredom and loss of interest in Street. It can be brutal. My own work seems to be resigned to travel this year. It’s been a quite a while since I went into Bath, sometimes all we need is a break, I’ll be back. A few more from this trip before I wind it up. You’ll notice me in there. Not sure if it’s the tint of the mirrored glass, I have a bit of a suntan or it’s just high blood pressure:
That wraps it up for this year. Who knows what 2025 will bring. I ponder moving house, sometimes country. I wonder if, despite my protestations, I’ll ever find someone to complete my unfinished life. Without confirming Einsteins quote that is. All any of us can do is live in the moment and thankfully that’s what the process of photography is. The street in particular, it’s people and light ethereal and constantly in flux. When you think about it impossible to get bored, it is always fresh.
So, tonight I meet my friend Kev for dinner where we’ll have a Vegas debrief whilst simultaneously concluding with empirical proof (our financial accounts) that Albert was absolutely bang on regards our Nevada trips. A few days and it’ll be Christmas. I’ll leave you with a few shots of the two people (my youngest children) I’m spending the day with that I took a few weeks ago. Merry Christmas everyone and thank you for your continued support and admirable patience reading my blog.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. All images can be opened by clicking on the thumbnails and are made using a Leica M with Summicron 28mm Lens fitted.
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