Michael Duncan

Had the good fortune this week to be on a fun(ny) shoot.

As I have noted before, I read a number of photographer blogs, including a handful of aggregator sites — those in which the blogger shares photography of others. One such place on the web is created by Chris St. James, an individual who has battled the disease of multiple sclerosis. His blog is the well-respected Universe d’Artiste.

Chris has posted his farewell blog entry, announcing his imminent death to the disease.  As you can see from the comments posted to his blog, the announcement is met with varying responses, but all with great conviction, attempts at understanding, and efforts to signify the importance Chris and life itself has to us all who remain.

Some may find this gentleman’s postings uncomfortable.  However, I believe his words and his granting others the opportunity to express their feelings about him while he is still alive, make this the best use of the internet I have seen in a long, long time.

This week was the third anniversary of the loss of a good friend and father to the person I love.  In recent times I have lost too many people who are important to me. So, the rest of you — you know who you are — take care of yourself, or I’ll get really mad.

In the meantime, the death of those who are important to us — including those we don’t even know, but who contribute valuable things to our own lives, such as Chris — are reminders that life is far too short and we better not wait around to tell the people we care about how important they are to us. Otherwise, it may become too late.

This is a photograph taken several years ago near where I grew up.  The bridge was built in the Depression era over Fourche Maline Creek on old U.S. 270 east of Wilburton, Oklahoma.  I chose to shoot this with infra red film to get a certain mood from the infra red halation effect on the sky and background foliage.  It also depicts a certain kind of light on the bridge that you can find today as a Photoshop filter.  But, hey, no “cheating” here. This is all film and all darkroom work.

Funny thing is I have only one frame of this shot on film.  Usually I’ll take three or four at least, to make sure that the exposure is correct or some weird scratch or difficult dust spot doesn’t ruin my only shot.  But not here.  Frankly, while the composition is what I had in my mind’s eye when I took the picture, I didn’t really think much of the picture until I was in the darkroom printing and this is what came up.

I have made several 16 x 20 prints of this image, including the one hanging in my office. One of the prints was captured the best of the show award at the Oklahoma Bar Association Art Show in 2003 in Oklahoma City.

It is one of my favorites.  One reason is this bridge has historical significance to me.  My parents, grandparents and great grandparents (comprising of all my Oklahoma ancestry since pre-statehood) all traveled over this structure at one time or another before the highway was re-routed.

(Sadly, the county has since painted the bridge and taken down the bullet-hole riddled sign.  It’s just not the same.)

I should have posted this during Valentine’s week. But, still, it’s a scene from one of my favorite, if not the favorite, movie.  It’s the final scene of “Cinema Paradiso” when the now grown up Salvatore, who was once the little boy helper of the projectionist Alfredo, screens for the first time the reel that his mentor Alfredo had left for him from the collection of cinema clips he had been required to censor.  

The movie is about the bittersweet of love and the love of cinema.  The Ennio Morricone’s romantic score alone is enough to make you cry. If you have not seen this movie, rent it.  

This self portrait turned out better than I’d ever imagine.  I was standing on a lonesome highway near Santa Fe for this 30 second exposure.  My “assistant” (he has a title now — woo hoo) used his trusty flashlight to paint some light on me, without exposing the surroundings. 

This may be the first time I’ve successfully captured real stars — that look like stars — in the sky.

I read lots of photography blogs.  Sometimes daily.  One blogger has come up with is funny-but-true list of the different classifications  of photography — a card catalog of sorts.  So, with credit to the author (See:  http://180mag.ca/180editorblog.html):

Right, how do we classify photography? I can think of different classes of painting, the first that comes to mind is painting vs illustration. One being art and the other advertising I suppose. One you learn at University and one at College?

Cute Animal Photography (yes it deserves a major classification all to itself simply on volume and popularity)

This photograph was taken a few weeks ago during foggy conditions in Norman.  The area was looking a lot like San Francisco (well, the foggy part anyway).  So, I drove over to campus to shoot some of the university buildings (which look like Cambridge, England in any weather condition). 

I ended up finding my favorite shot of the night doesn’t have any buildings in it at all.  But this image captures a mood that was distinctive on this evening.  There is just enough detail to show the trees as, uh trees.  And, the street lamps aligning the Parrington Oval draw the viewer further into the image.

This is in keeping with what some know me as:  a black and white film photographer.  But, perhaps the remarkable thing is this is a color image.  You can see one small spot of the color blue in the lower right section of the frame. That is a light marking an emergency phone on the Parrington Oval. 

The effect of the fog and low light results in an almost entirely monochromatic image.

Tulsa federal building

Considering all the hysteria among some law enforcement that anyone with a camera is a menice to society, I must admit I did not linger long while shooting this photo of the federal building late one night in Tulsa.  I was prepared to whisk out my bar card and explain that I am licensed and admitted to do business inside this building, but I doubt a security guard questioning some guy with a camera on a cold winter night would really care about that. 

 But…no one came.  I guess I don’t look too threatening. 

The building on Boulder Avenue was constructed in 1917 as a federal court house and post office. The post office has been removed, but the court and other federal offices occupy the structure now.  It is a good example of neo-classical architecture with a limestone facade.  It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  

The ornate interior design is very impressive, but they don’t allow cameras there even when the building is open.

Spent this weekend attending a photography seminar in Tulsa.  There is nothing like discovering (again) how much knowledge one doesn’t have about something which is important to them. 

In my case, learning the ins and outs of digital photography is the order of the day.  I have been somewhat resistant to this, given my primary love of the wet darkroom.  There is nothing like printing uninterupted from midnight to sunup in a darkroom with Led Zepplin blaring on the stereo. 

Certainly computer manipulation of digital images allows the photographer to do so much more to create images beyond the capabilities of emulsion-based imagery.  But, sitting in front of a computer monitor feels too much like work and not enough like the solitary introspective experience which makes the analog world of photography more appealing.  The young uns probably don’t get that.

I don’t intend to replace my film photography with the digital stuff entirely. But, the latter does make it easier to finish projects and show other people what I’ve done.  This blog serves a function in that endeavor as well.

Meanwhile, hung out with Rager and his gang at the Rocky Mountain School of Photography seminar.  That’s him above — Mr. Abraham Lincoln.