Photographic meanderings

This is a series of posts dedicated to sharing the work of Harold Feinstein, a remarkable photographer. All images are copyright by Harold Feinstein, and linked with permission of Jason Landry of Panopticon Gallery in Boston, MA. Harold has never had a photo book published, and Jason has set up a Kickstart Project to fund it. Please use this link to make a pledge. This series will run until the end of the pledge period. It is my hope that it will inspire people to contribute to this remarkable photographer’s project. Visit Harold Feinstein’s page on Panopticon here.

Today’s image show’s Harold’s affection for his human subjects. Note the freckles on the shoulders of the man laying down.

Soft, gradient light is the only decoration in this Carmel Alleyway.

This is a series of posts dedicated to sharing the work of Harold Feinstein, a remarkable photographer. All images are copyright by Harold Feinstein, and linked with permission of Jason Landry of Panopticon Gallery in Boston, MA. Harold has never had a photo book published, and Jason has set up a Kickstart Project to fund it. Please use this link to make a pledge. This series will run until the end of the pledge period. It is my hope that it will inspire people to contribute to this remarkable photographer’s project. Visit Harold Feinstein’s page on Panopticon here.

Today’s image really struck me because of the implied movement. The window-washer’s brush leaves a trail of suds, swirling and looping on the glass. His arm reaches out, his body leaning. There’s tension in the straps that hold him. But what really caught me was the flight of birds on the left side of the image, slightly blurred.

A verdant alleyway to a home decor shop in Carmel, CA.

Once again, I find myself telling folks that I will be leaving my beloved Yosemite–but only for the winter. Here’s a FAQ list and their answers:

Q. You’re leaving Yosemite? For good?
A. Yes. No.

Q. Where are you going?
A. Ellington, MO.

Q. Why there? What’s in Missouri?
A. The house of some old Navy friends of mine. They’re on the road a lot, and I’ll be keeping an eye on it for them.

Q. But what about your photography? Will you be taking pictures in Missouri? What is there to take pictures of there?,
A. My photography is part of why I’m taking the winter off from working in Yosemite. I’ll be working on Ancients On the Edge of Forever, doing a massive cull on my extensive image file collection, reorganizing it, putting together a series of portfolios, and blogging. Yes, I’ll be taking pictures in Missouri; I’ll be doing a still-photo documentary on the recovery efforts in Joplin, as well as writing the accompanying article. I may also do some sight-seeing while there, and hopefully getting some nice photos.

Q. How will you be getting there?
A. I’ll be driving my car.

Q. No, I mean what route will you be taking?
A. Details are a bit sketchy at this point, but my travel itinerary runs something like this:
Tehachapi, CA to stop for the night with my dear friend Mindy. I’m going to try to drag her to Trona Pinnacles one last time!
Las Vegas to attend the 25th wedding anniversary of my Navy friends
Zion National Park for a few days to see and ‘graph it
Torry, UT to finally meet an online photographer friend, and his photography-editor neighbor who may possibly be a distant cousin of mine.
Then on to Ellington, MO.

Q. But what about Horsetail Falls? Will you be there?
A. Highly doubtful. I’ll be on very, very limited funds this winter, and unless I get a major sale on prints, I simply can’t afford to drive all the way back to CA for the show.

Q. When will you be leaving Yosemite?
A. My odyssey begins on or about November 7th. It may be sooner. No later than November 9th.

Q. When will you be coming back to Yosemite?
A. Tough one to answer. I may return as early as the first week of March–Horsetail is still interesting, far fewer ‘togs to deal with then, or I may wait until my employer calls me back when Glacier Pt. opens. That could be as late as May. Unless I become an “overnight sensation” in the photographic arts world, and people start buying my prints like crazy, and then I could move sooner. Or later. But I *will* return to Yosemite.

Q. Wow. That’s a pretty heavy change, Edie. What can I do to help?
A. In this economy, I really doubt my readers are able to send huge amounts of money. But if you live within 100 miles of the route pictured below, a hot meal, a warm crash space, a hot shower and/or the use of your washer and dryer would be a blessing. I’d be delighted to make portrait of you, your children, your pets, your significant other, or all of the above in exchange.

Here’s my planned route to Missouri:

View Larger Map

Q. I don’t live anywhere near there. But I’m one of the 1%, and I want to help.
A. Wow. There are such things as millionaires with a social conscious. Thank you. First, buy prints from me. I’d much rather earn the money than accept the kindness of strangers. But if you’re insistent on altruistic assistance, hit my PayPal donation link at the top of this page in the sidebar on the right.

I hope this clears up any confusion.

A view of the bell tower at Carmel Mission

Mike over at The Online Photographer posted about this Kickstarter project, and I’m following suit. Can any of my readers help out? Here’s Harold Feinstein’s web page over at Panopticon. Mike is right, the photos are too small, but they work well in the design of the page.

Once again, I’ve learned of another photographer I’d never heard of before reading about him/her on TOP: Thankfully, this one is still alive, and I can at least pass the word and the hat for him.

Harold’s work is best described by Mike Johnston:

“I think maybe he was too cheerful to be really popular with the art establishment—too much affection for people; not enough surly alienation, listless ennui, and truculent anomie.”

There definitely is an affection for his human subjects evident in his Coney Island images. There is a sense of genteel and benevolent voyeurism in the compositions and perspectives.

Harold’s Military Draftees series leave me with a sense of deja vu, for my own time as an inductee into the US Navy, the emotionally flat bewilderment, coupled with a sense of immediate obedience demanded from raw recruits. They sequence well, from naked men lined up for medical exams to men draped with the arms of their buddies, or playing musical instruments.

Go see his photographs, and then go contribute to fund his first photobook.

Edited: Sorry, Mike, I misspelled your name–again!

It wasn’t until I got this shot into Lightroom that I could see the incredible patterns made by the floating kelp canopy; To be honest, this is not as sharp as I’d like it to be. The sea otter is badly out of focus, but I wanted to share it anyway. Kelp is so beautiful, isn’t it?

Carmel has lots of gardens, often tucked into containers in small alleys and in window boxes. This particular specimen caught my eye because of its soft texture, foggy greens and frilled edges.

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Aspen bouquet in the Latte Da Cafe in Lee Vining, CA