Last week Dave and I went to lunch in the ID. We had delicious barbecue duck and seafood curry. Finished with lunch we walked past Salumi where there was still a line out the door at 2:30. We made our way to SAM and saw the Imogen Cunningham show. Her simple elegant work remains timeless, beautiful, inspiring.
But why is so much of SAM's modern sculpture collection so cryptic, kitschy and uninteresting? Why three pieces of fabric tacked to a wall? Why do I feel I need the artist's manifesto or their Master's thesis accompanying their work to understand what is going on?
We stopped for coffee and Dave showed me some photos he's taken with his IPhone. The image quality from this 1mega pixel camera is amazing. Colors vivid and true. Of course in Dave's hands all the images were interesting, memorable.
Dave is one heck of photographer. He's also an amazing street photographer. Street photography is in a zone all its own and Dave lives in that zone.
Above Photo David Adam Edelstein from his blog Noise to Signal
The street photographer learns to maintain a quiet fearlessness and focus. Walking on a busy street you meditate on not disturbing the activity that swirls around you. You are anticipating how forms, color, light, action, everything natural and unnatural will come together for a brief second. Then in something less then a millisecond you know the moment before the image has actually happened. You stop in mid stride, raise your camera to your eye and release the shutter. Then continue walking.
Dave did this over and over again. Once before I had gone out on the street with Dave but I didn't really see what he was doing. I was feeling too exposed and clumsy on the street. This time I could see and sense what Dave was doing.
Dave has been shooting Seattle's downtown streets for some time. He notices when things have changed. Buildings are fussed with, places are gone.
We stopped in front of a downtown post office which use to have a lovely tile facade. Someone thought it was time for a make over and covered the tile with metal corrugated sheets.
This made Dave very sad. He with his camera had seen many lovely moments with that tile as a backdrop. Now it's gone.
I experienced a small revelation that afternoon watching Dave create. Seeing the mediation that is street photography. Seeing the quiet, steady faces of strangers flow by. There's so much emotion on the faces of folks as they work and lunch, shop and stroll.
Seeing people who live on the streets, not busy rushing by. Who use the city more then any one else and who know the city. They notice everything that's going on. They notice the quiet street photographer watching.
Go to Dave's site to see his wonderful work.
See what his dedication and passion has created. See what he watches.
Below are a few of my photos from my afternoon with Dave. Thanks Dave for a wonderful afternoon and Happy Birthday.
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