Still Kicking And Clicking!

Most of you know that last week I was diagnosed with Chronic Leukemia. Treatments are going well and Anna has created a special blog to keep everyone up to date on my progress with the disease, "How's Dave Doing?"

I want to let you know that I'm doing fine and still photographing and looking forward to getting serious about some new projects. Thanks for all the warm wishes you have been sending in, they are greatly appreciated.

So here are some recent images I have been having fun with. I'd love to hear your comments. More to come...




The de Young Museum, early morning,
Golden Gate Park.
©2007 David W. Sumner









Homeless man sleeping at the Band Shell, Golden Gate Park. ©2007 David W. Sumner














Old riding stables, Golden Gate Park.
©2007 David W. Sumner









Anna's reading glasses in her studio.
©2007 David W. Sumner











Plant in a bottle in Anna's studio.
©2007 David W. Sumner
















Fun shooting one of Phylis Diller's costumes,
now on display at the San Francisco Performing Arts
Library & Museum. ©2007 David W. Sumner

The Urban Wilderness?

Taming Mother Nature?
The Lucasfilms complex
on the Presidio.

(Photo: ©2007 David W. Sumner)

"One World, One Lens"

In the May 2007 issue of The Digital Journalist, Donald Winslow's article, One World, One Lens, takes an interesting look at the career of photographer James Whitlow Delano. The article's opening statements really hit home:

"To look at a photograph by James Whitlow Delano is to peer inside a meticulously crafted poem. Viewing a gallery of his images, each one as concise as haiku, is like traveling through scenes from Marco Polo's dream-world. But the eye and the art are Delano's – and only his. The Tokyo-based American-born photographer once told an interviewer, '"I don't change anything for anyone.… I have a point of view and a reason for each undertaking."'

Knowing this, one might find it hard to believe that he shoots everything, regardless of what it is, with one – and only one – lens.

"Much as a poet finds and polishes his voice, Delano has found and polished his singular lens. '"I have two Leica M-2s and two 35mm f2 lenses. They are likely older than me," he told News Photographer. "One lens means speed. Very simple operations. That is critical. If you miss the moment, you cannot get it back. I shoot exclusively with Leica. On the few occasions that I have used a Hasselblad, which is a wonderful camera, I feel like I am driving a Mack truck. But the Leica makes the work possible. You can suggest the energy rippling just below the surface."'

"The absence of an overstuffed camera bag filled with the latest, greatest gadgets is not only evidence of an artist with a clear vision who has found and mastered his essential tools, it's also a reflection of his intent. "

Read the full article here.

The First Person

Thanks to Eric Brizee for sending this image to me...

The first photograph of a person. Boulevard du Temple, by Louis Daguerre, 1838.
(A 10 minute exposure.)

Food For Thought

Here's a quote from Bill Jay's introduction to Michael Kenna's book Night Work, published in 2000:

"I can remember the very moment that marked the beginning of art-photography’s demise. It was in March of 1975 and Ansel Adams was asked to give a presentation at a national conference of photographic educators. His opening sentence affirmed that fine photography was inseparable from craftsmanship – and the audience of young academic “artists” erupted into boos! What unmitigated gall! The hubris . . . Still, Ansel was right, and it is significant that you have heard of Ansel Adams but everyone of the booers never rose above oblivion so were incapable of sinking back into it.

"How refreshing, then, in this era of vapid posturing, that Michael Kenna reaffirms the truth that revelation of the subject is achieved through careful craftsmanship which can only be reached through painstaking attention to detail."

I like that.