Camera 4 x 5 Speed Graphic

Film Kodak

Lens 127mm

During January of 1942 Frank “Poppy” Noel was covering the British troops, who were only a few steps ahead of the Japanese, in Singapore for Associated Press. The Pacific War was going badly, the Japanese bombers were beginning to hit the city and Noel had contracted malaria. Word got to Noel from New York that he was to head home and despite the weathered and tough persona, he was glad to be going home.

He booked passage on a freighter that would take him to Burma. His luggage for the 15,000 mile trip was a Speed Graphic and the clothes on his back. Less than 300 miles out of port on the Indian Ocean a Japanese torpedo ruptured their vessel. Noel was trapped in his cabin but managed to escape and board a life boat with twenty seven survivors out of the seventy seven original crew. They drifted aimlessly for five days in scorching tropic heat.

In the endless ocean a lifeboat drifted towards them. The boat carried Indian sailors, survivors from the freighter. They had lost their water supply in the rush to escape the sinking boat. As they neared Noel’s boat one of the sailors reached out with his hand and begged for water. Sadly, they had none to offer them. Noel - sick with malaria, thirst and low on morale - was switched on despite the hardships and pulled out his Speed Graphic. He took a single frame of the moment the sailor realised there was no water to be shared. The expression is heart crushing, the eyes conveying desperate sadness. The boats drifted apart and were later separated by a tropical storm. The other life boat was never seen again.

Noel’s career was always fraught with danger. He went on to cover the war in Europe, then the Palestine war in 1948 and later in Korea where he was captured by the Chinese early on and held prisoner. He did escape once but all that earned him was beatings and solitary confinement in a small cell.

Colleagues from Tokyo managed to somehow sneak in a camera for Noel. He took amazing pictures of POW’s which were snuck out. The first set was of Americans in prison uniforms, each one identified by name and town. The pictures were relayed around the world. Noel, amazingly, went on to photograph hundreds more and many were featured on front pages of newspapers around the world. He was rescued in an operation on 9 August 1953, a full 32 months after his capture.

He went on to work in New York for a while and later for AP in Florida where he retired and passed away far from war, prisons and lack of water.

Camera 4×5 Speed Graphic

Film Kodak

Lens 127mm

For the first week we have the action packed Labor Strife in Detroit (Ford Strikers Riot) from 1942, the inaugural winner captured by Milton Brooks.

The Speed Graphic by Graflex was the camera used by professionals, ie the press, around the mid 20th Century. They were difficult to use by today’s standards and offered only one shot per six to seven seconds. With this in mind, to get that one shot you needed patience and an instinct unlike anything we are used to with today’s 6fps prosumer digital cameras that can fill your 32GB card in a matter of minutes with hundreds of RAW images. I make this point to emphasise how special these early images are and how true the saying, ‘the decisive moment‘, really is. I also make this point to emphasise the meaning behind Milton Brooks’s nickname, ‘One-shot Milton’. He was known as a master of patience and it is said that he would often make one shot, and then go home.

In Spring of 1941 Brooks, working for The Detroit News, was to be found at the River Rouge - one of Ford’s biggest plants in Detroit. He was covering a strike started after a man was fired on April 3rd. Henry Ford had always insisted that he would close down a plant before dealing with the unions and he held out unlike his competitors, General Motors and Chrysler. A swell of workers walked then line and urged everyone to strike, closing down the 120,000 man plant.

A man was seen arguing with the pickets. He was trying to get past the line. Other photographers moved on looking for more interesting scenes. Brooks, patient as always, waited it out observing the now heated argument. It didn’t take long for the clubs to come out swinging. Brooks took his picture and went on to win the first Pulitzer in the field of photography.

In my life I’v clicked the shutter no more than 5,000 times. That’s a small number by anyone’s standards and especially for someone that considers themselves an amateur photographer.

I have however taken thosands upon thousands of photos in just the last month. I’m a freak of nature. I can’t walk to the kitchen without mentally taking a few photos. I open the pantry and as the light hits the boxes of cereal I take a snap. Before I close the door I’ve spent a roll of 36 frames. On my way to work, walking around the city, going to get my lunch, meeting friends, brushing my teeth, photos, photos, click, thunk.

I don’t know if I’m crazy or obsessed but I believe it’s both. Every photo I take wins the Pulitzer only to be shadowed by the next one a moment later. I write this in a room in partial light offering me at least 3 rolls of photos by the time I finish. You just don’t stand a chance next to me. I’m telling you I’m a camera first, a human second.

You think I’m kidding don’t you?

Next time you’re at the video store and don’t know what to select, grab the Proxy and enjoy a quirky fun movie, sure sure.

RIP

It’s not out on Australia TV just yet but it will be here soon so look out for it on Channel 10.

Having had a taste for random public portraits I wanted more. I figured if I set up on a corner with a nice backdrop I could get some decent medium format portraits of good quality. The only problem is that would look a bit overwhelming to the public and I will certainly get rejected more often than not.

What if I gave them a dollar? What if I pledged to donate a dollar of my hard earned cash to Cancer Council Australia? Would they then agree? Would they match my dollar? I plan to find out very soon.

My plan is to make a sign with clear instructions of what I’m doing and why. I will be set up with a tripod in a busy intersection taking portraits. I will have cards made up with some contact details including my website where I will display the portraits.

The website will serve to legitimise my project, inspire and collect more donations. They can come and view their portraits and maybe even buy a print.

Find out more and keep track of this project here - ktnxbi.com/portrait

Silly sticky plugin!

Two nights ago I met up with a few fellow Z enthusiasts. On the way home I must have been a bit out of it because I forgot to turn on my fans (I have switches in the cabin for various things). A few streets away I glanced over, as is habbit for me, at my guages and noticed the water temperature was at 235F which is about 113C which is a touch warm for the car to put it lightly. Had I overlooked the guage the engine would have overheated and blown abd I would have broken down and cried.

I found a lot of them interesting and I thought I’d share two of them with you.

So I was about this young and my grandfather took me on my first fishing trip. He made a fishing pole out of a stick with some string on it and a metal hook at the end. You would never have guessed it but I caught a fish with it and I do clearly recall the memory of catching my first ever fish. It was a tiny fish, nearly as small as the hook actually but that didn’t matter. Of course the fish was placed there by my grandfather pictured next to me. I’ve no idea where he got the fish but he pulled it off and gave me a memory that stayed with me.

As I grew older I often recalled the memory and eventually came to the conclusion that I didn’t catch the fish. The hook was simply too big and there was no bait on it to begin with.

You can imagine my surprise when I came across this photo. It gave me a really warm loving feeling. They say that most people will run for their family photos first in the case of a house fire. I don’t blame them and in fact I will be doing the same.

The other photo is a really old family portrait. They are all from my grandfathers side in their village, Kumanovo in Northern Macedonia. I just love the composition, the way they are arranged in height order and the proud look of the man of the house on his tractor.

Today I went out shooting in the city right after work. The sun was really weak and all but gone by the time I was ready to leave work. I didn’t let it stop me and I wasn’t too fussed about what images I got. It was, let’s say, my re-initiation to street shooting after a long absence. I would have been happy just to wander about for an hour and get some exercise.

The light as I said was weak so I didn’t fuss about it. I was finding it difficult to see a good scene so I made my own. I started asking people if I could shoot them up close. Street portraits. Some staring at the camera, some trying to act natural and others I let do whatever they wanted. It was very fun approaching strangers and striking up a conversation with them.

There was the stereotypical labourer in glass reflection sunnies. An Asian photographer who asked me where I was from thinking I’m a tourist. The Indian in cool reading glasses seriously staring at my camera. The kebab shop owner who was rewarded with a purchase after I shot two frames. The two British old ladies who were polite as per reputation and laughed themselves silly as I thanked them and walked away. The Aborigine who asked me for change and was rewarded some gold with the conditional 2 frames. He also thought I was from Europe. The homeless massively white bearded man who laughed like a child when I told him the reason I wanted to take his photo was his handsome features. And without a doubt the most interesting guy of all. The old Asian guy who posed for me regally and then commenced to speak to me in Cantonese. As I’m lifting my shoulders in confusion he grabs a random girl waiting to cross the street and asks her to translate. He apparently wanted me to go back one day and give him copies. He says he will be at that same corner each day handing out fliers as he was today.

Apart from all the cool people I got to photograph I thought that the most interesting thing was that not a single soul said no and I asked around a dozen. I don’t care if all of the portraits turn out like crap, today was worth a lot more than a few frames. Not everyone shuns us photographers as we walk the streets looking for moments.