sort of like Joy Division

Woke up early this morning and as usual there was nothing on T.V., so I decided to watch the Joy Division documentary I had taped from last night.  Great documentary, and some of Anton Corbijn’s photographs were included.  I know, I know…it’s not exactely street photography, but the black and white’s are just so good, and have that element of street photography to them.  I typed in Joy Division into the computer a few minutes ago and found out that “they” are playing here in Sydney at the Enmore theatre tonight.  Whats the coincidence?  Problem is the tickets cost $85 dollars which doesn’t exactely make it a cheap evening out and by “they”  I mean Peter Hook and three other guys.  Hmmm…is that Joy Division at all?  Anyway, got me looking at Anton Corbijn photos and watching old clips of Ian Curtis on stage, so who cares.  Hope you enjoy…

http://www.corbijn.co.uk/

“fear shrouds faces in the street”

There is an excellent article in today’s Sydney Morning Herald about the increasing pressures faced by today’s generation of street photographers.   Linda Morris of the Herald points out that privatisation of public space and a creeping intolerance and paranoia born of anxieties around terrorism and paedophilia has led to an anti-photography vibe in Australia.  She interviewed a few of Australia’s and England’s leading street photographers who gave their own stories of intolerance based on the publics “insistence on a right to privacy.”

This way of thinking has led to anti-terrorism legislation for example in England that has made anyone with a camera a suspect.  Thank god it has been overturned.  I would hate to think that Australia is following down this path.

Here is the link to the article  Fear Shrouds Faces in the Street

Australian photography rights here

Redfern Station Sydney

cheap crappy good cameras

All of us hit a block.  A few rolls of film with nothing.  A thousand or so digital files of nothing.  Here’s a quick solution.  Buy a cheap crappy good camera.  My Ricoh rz770 was my girlfriend’s and has an overwhelmingly high buy it now price on ebay of $3.79.  It sports a 35-70 zoom lens, a terribly weak flash that I always seem to forget to turn off, and… well that’s about it.  But on the plus side;  I’m not carrying a big camera, or multiple lenses, or a lightmeter or even a bag.  Just the camera in my pocket and a few rolls of film and off I go.  The real beauty is that you never know what you’re going to get,  where it’s going to focus, how it’s going to expose etc…  so all you can think about is your subject.   Ahhhhhh  ZEN.  So, if you’re stuck or bored or not happy with what you’re getting, give it a try.  You can usually buy one of these little gems for under 10 bucks at your local pawn shop. (less than the roll of film that’s in it!)  It’s a lot of fun.

Ricoh rz770

Ricoh RZ and Tri-x at Central Station Sydney