Questions And Answers

Just thought it would be fun on this cold night to post some questions I've been asked by people, and my responses to often crazy, and sometimes sane, questions.

(Q) You like photographing homeless people?

(A) Only when I take selfies

(Q) Are you really homeless?

(A) Read my initial blog entry.

(Q) How can you be on the internet if you're homeless?

(A) Even homeless people have access to McDonald's, libraries, friends homes, and other places with wi-fi hot spots.

(Q) Yet you have a camera and a laptop?

(A) Most homeless people have not always been homeless. Many of us once had jobs and--gasp!--possessions. My most valuable possessions are my camera, my laptop and an $8 coffee maker I bought at Walmart. Too bad I've been out of coffee for a month.

(Q) Are there any benefits to being homeless?

(A) Lack of  a hot shower is one of my favorites. Duh.

(Q) Why don't you just get another job, you bum!

(A) Corporate America sucks.

(Q) Do you make any money from your photography?

(A) Very, very, very, very, very, very rarely. Get the picture, no pun intended. At least three times a week I think about selling my camera for food money.

(Q) Are you dirty?

(A) Yes. But I've been out cutting wood all day. 

(Q) What's it like being homeless in the country?

1. You have bear, moose, and deer for neighbors
2. Less chance of people trying to steal your gear than if you were homeless in the city
3. Less chance of getting hasseled by cops than if you were homeless in the city
4. People don't care if you're dirty because most people out here are loggers, farmers, or otherwise work their own land and are equally as dirty.

(Q) I'm thinking about being homeless for a while so I can better understand what it's like to be homeless by immersing myself in that lifestyle. Also, I feel this might better help a photo essay I wish to do on the homeless. What do you think?

(A) First, I think you're an idiot. Homelessness is not a lifestyle; it's a situation. Second, the homeless don't like to be photographed, unless you're buying us food or drink.

(Q) What's the first camera you've ever owned?

(A) Nikon F3. That was a analog--film--camera for you youngsters who might not have known.

(Q) Film or digital?
(A) I think it's good to learn with film. Even today. I don't think it's practical to work with film; considering the cost of purchasing and developing, even I, a one time purist, gave in to the dank dark world of digital. I still like the look of film. I hate that photography lost something during the digital revolution. Rather than good photographers, we are now inundated with good post-processors. 

(Q) Did you actually go to school for photography or are you talking out of your ass?
(A) I have an MFA specializing in commercial photography, which I earned at a over-rated over-priced place known as The New School. I have even taught college level photography courses at North Lake Community College in Irving, Texas and at Tarrant County Community College, in Ft. Worth, Texas.

(Q) Other than teaching, have you worked in any other areas of photography?
(A) I have worked on over 200 weddings and 150 modelling portfolios.

(Q) Do you consider yourself a good photographer?
(A) I consider myself average. 

(Q) Will you critique my work?
(A) Yes, but I am brutally blunt and honest.

(Q) Any advice for new/aspiring photographers?
(A) Don't become obsessed with gear, it's more about the art and your eye than it is about the megapixels.
(B) Don't rely on photography as a sole source of income.

(Q) What do you shoot with now?
(A) All I have. Nikon D7000, 18-105 kit lens, and a 50mm 1.4G. As long as I don't have to pawn/sell it for food, it's all I need.

(Q) Nikon, Canon or...................?
(A) Ah, the age old debate. Personally, I've always been a Nikon guy. Have been sine '85. That said, I believe all modern cameras produce excellent results. Glass is more important than megapixels. Different makers have different ergonomics. That's my two cents on it

(Q) What's the fastest way I can make money in photography?
(A) Sell your camera

Images Past and Present

The Start of an Adirondack Winter

Christmas Treats

The Land Where I Live, taken in the fall when there was still a bit of warmth

The Land Where I live, taken about a week ago

An introduction

I know I'm not the most photogenic person in the world. In fact, I hate being captured on film or digital media. Perhaps that's why I like to be on the other side of the camera, taking photographs of people, places and things other than myself. I will try to initiate this blog as openly and honestly as possible, with the necessary disclosures. To start with, My name is Michael. I could have been a Frank, a Steve or a Christopher, but my parents made me a Michael, a common name for a very uncommon person.

The first question that I'm usually asked is "Oh, you take pictures of the homeless?" I typically reply "No, only if I'm doing self portraits."

Am I really homeless? That is a question that is subjective one's perspective and point of view. In fact, there might be homeless people out there in this vast world who take offense to me calling myself homeless, and I respect and accept that. However, by my--and society's--standards, I fit the definition of being among the homeless. I don't wear this like a badge of honor, but I am not ashamed of it, either. I am ashamed of many things I've done in my life, but not being homeless.

I live in a cabin in the woods on property that is not my own. I have electricity. I do not have access to running or hot water. Most of my food is grown or foraged from dumpsters. I visit food pantries when I can. I have no income, no vehicle, no health insurance, no permanent residence. I live a very minimalist lifestyle. So am I homeless? That's something for the reader to decipher.  Up until May of last year, I had a job, a home, friends and family who went out of their ways to help me when I fell on tough times. I took advantage of that, betrayed their love and trust, and hurt them in ways, shapes and forms that will haunt me for my remaining days. I can't turn back the clock and undo these things. I just have to accept them, and hope that at some point in life I can repent and atone for the wrongs I've done. Enough on that for the moment.

My reason for this blog is twofold. One, photography has always been a love of my life. I've been involved with photography on and off since I was fifteen years old. I'm forty-six now if that means anything. I have more than smidgen of formal photography training, and have worked in the field. I enjoy being able to capture things as seen through my aging eyes. I hope this blog to be not only of interest to other people, but also a vehicle of self discovery, that I might, even now, learn and grow through the words and images I put forth on the screen.

If you've followed me here from Godlike Productions or one of the other forums I visit, then you probably already know a good part of my back story. I want this, however, to be a different entity from my other blog or forum threads, a photographic essay of my life and my surroundings. I hope that you, the reader, will enjoy what I have to write and show, and if I can bring some sort of smile, gleam of hope, or thread of enlightenment to even one person then it's all worth the effort.

As I said in my first paragraph, I live, literally, in a cabin in the woods, somewhere in the Adirondack Mountains, where deer, bear, skunks, porcupines and other forms of wildlife are my nearest neighbors. I've been here--now for the second time in my life--since May. Warm summers have given way to the onset of what already threatens to be a cold and brutal winter. The image above is the warm glow of my wood-fired stove, my sole source of heat in this mountain vista. Here I reside with my three most treasured possessions--a camera, a laptop and an $8 coffee maker I got at Walmart.

This is how I heat my cabin in the winter. Unfortunately, I got a late jump on cutting and splitting wood, and a lot of the wood wasn't properly cured and is still damp and wet. For anyone who has ever survived with wood fired heat, you know that wet wood does not burn efficiently, and that most of the energy is lost as the wood sizzles, snaps and pops instead of producing a nice hot flame to curl up beside. Hence, I have to split the wood extra fine, and then set it atop the stove to dry while other wood is struggling to burn in the firebox. Sounds like fun, I know.