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I live in a immigrant neighborhood, the majority of my neighbors are Dominican. They speak primarily Spanish and have little love for the white folks gentrifying their neighborhood and driving the rents up. (This is a real problem in NYC, and it is driving the real estate market. It only takes a few years for the landlords to start actively pricing the working poor ethnic families out of an area and charging more to young, predominantly white professionals who displace the older residents.) I understand their displeasure with some big white guy taking photographs and have learned to work carefully when I do shoot in my neighborhood. My guy (another white guy) had absolutely no reason to think that I was photographing him. I had a short telephoto on the camera, I had not even raised the camera to my eye and this guy just jumped to the conclusion that I was there to photograph him. He wasn’t reacting to my behavior, he was reacting to the camera itself.

I seriously wonder if this is not some sort of latent reaction to attitudes about the press/media, the obnoxious behavior of the paparazzi and television crews. The reaction seems to occur entirely toward “professional” cameras. If I stood on the street with a point and shoot, I don’t think I would see the same reaction. Same thing with the security types orionid mentioned, they only seem to react to the SLR cameras. When I walk around with one of my TLR’s I get universally positive reactions, people ask what kind of camera it is, tell me how cool it looks and lack the defensive stance I see when my Canon hangs around my neck.

I don’t have an answer to this, I just know I don’t like it.

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(I would hope, but I’ve allowed Twister and hope the overweight guy doesn’t crush the little girl when going for and failing on right-hand, green).

We never mention that in my family, too many memories…

What about video games? Not screen shots of the games but people playing video games. Guitar Hero et al springs to mind as a gold mine of photographic funny.

Not me, don’t even own a console. Inquiring minds…

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OK, I have to ask. As I mentioned elsewhere I live in a City where cars are, well, more of an inconvenience than a necessity. Might I assume that one could include a bus or other passenger vehicle in the theme? Or how about a train, in which one rides in a “car”.

The simplest solution would be to simply take a taxi, but I just can’t bring myself to be the guy in the back of a cab shooting pics out the window. Maybe if I dressed like a tourist… 🙄

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There’s actually a lot of theme ideas I’ve thought about suggesting but decided not to because it wouldn’t be fair and encourage the casual poster to participate. This contest is one of the things I do and work on every week, photography being one of my prime hobbies. If we had a theme say, “Japan: pictures of Japan. Must be taken in Japan,” well then I would be screwed and upset that week.

IMHO taking a narrow approach regarding the theme doesn’t always breed more creativity. Challenge is good but what fun would a week be where only 100 photos get entered? For example, if you don’t get snow where you are, my personal take is, crush up some ice cubes and make a lego snowball fight or something. As a voter I’m more interested in seeing a solution to the problem than no entry from your talented lens.

/just my 2cs

I want to second that, an idea that is clearly not what the theme intended but still “fits” the theme will win my vote any day of the week! For example, I have NOTHING for next week. I live in NYC, I don’t even have a driver’s license much less a car! I could get in a taxi…but shooting from the back seat of a taxi while he whips through traffic paying for every second…not so much. I am brainstorming on how to meet the criteria of the theme without having access to a vehicle. I may fail and have nothing, but my brain is working churning out ideas for shots that might work later. Someone who makes rain where there is none AND takes a good pic, will get my vote.

BTW: I almost stood in my shower fully clothed with an umbrella while the water ran over me, I scrubbed the idea not because it was out of theme, but just to messy to clean up.

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That would be really nice. I am not too keen on taking my gear out in the rain!

There’s a very good reason I keep a pack of these in my camera bag.

Hmm, I usually just pull a condom from my wallet when it rains…usually have some room left over even with the big zooms… 😆

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More on Ilex: http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Ilex

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The company on your lens thingy is ilex (link:http://www.nwmangum.com/Kodak/Rochester.html) a lens company in Rochester. I didn’t dig hard but it appears that you have a lens for a large format camera
[url]
http://www.photokb.com/Uwe/Forum.aspx/photo-darkroom/558/Anyone-know-what-this-lens-might-be%5B/url%5D.

I found several dead listing on ebay for the same thing, all long gone with no info or price.

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Clouddancer: I just wanted to wish both good luck, we’re all counting on you.

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Arizona sucks for monuments. Just saying. I don’t expect many votes, except maybe for the American Gothic statue (and probably not there much, either).

I really liked that one, it’s both novel in content and perspective.

+1 (when the plussing of ones is allowed)

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that how i feel about the ubiquitous “pops to bigger” that we see so much of. hell yeah all our entries look better bigger but the contest in held on fark with a 640 pixel width and 200KB file size.

and any captions added are to enhance the image 99% of the time. and therefore should be against the rules.

mumble mumble mumble

As long as we are limited to that tiny size, I’ve no problems with the pops to bigger. I think the dimensions on Fark suck, but I’ve made that complaint before.

I tend to agree with you on the captions, even though I am guilty of “cute captioning” myself. Though some photo captions save a lot of time and questions, where is that, what kind of bug is that, ect. Like so many Fark issues, there are so many differing opinions, it will never be truly resolved.

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Well. Liberty Island national monument has an old copper statue, but it’s all corroded and green. Probably wouldn’t make for good photos anyway.

I just to say that I will NOT be posting photos of that Statue, primarily because I won’t go out there because of the tourists. I refuse to pay 25 bucks to be loaded like cattle onto a boat and then be herded through a tour of the SoL. I’ll shoot her from the surrounding shore, but I can’t stomach the thought of going to Liberty Island.

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Ravnostic: Just wanted to say I really liked your shots in this thread, I voted. The mailbox really (ah hah!) delivered!

/thank you, try the veal

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Seems like technical difficulties were the theme of the theme. I, too, had problems: I was posting from a Mac. Seriously, how do people use those things? Stupid one button mouse.

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ennuipoet: You’re speaking my language. As I sit here with my 23 or 25 some-odd cameras…

It hasn’t arrive there…yet. Just this weekend I added a YashicaMat and an old selenium light meter. My problem is I goof off on ebay and find things at bargain bin prices and just can’t stop the clicking finger.

Of course, that also works to my advantage on new stuff. I just picked up a Tamron 90mm Macro for half of retail.

Is there a support group I should be looking into?

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I may be turning into a hoarder! 😀 I buy old cameras not just to use, but to collect. I’ve a Polaroid Land 80 Highlander that is in mint condition, the film for it hasn’t be produced in the mid 70’s. Aside from the aesthetics, there is something almost magical in holding something in your hands that someone used to capture moments of their lives with. I think about the things a camera must have seen, and in a way connect with them. The older the camera, the more I day dream about it.

I’m strange, I admit, but it appeals to the poet in me.

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