Man’s best friend? My parents taught me compassion. If someone was ill or needed help I should not just stand by in apathy, but try to help… get involved…make it better. This was not just limited to people. As a small child I heard from various relatives that my Grand Father’s Grand Father in old age was quite frail, thin, with a heart condition. He would bend down and pass out. His doctor warned him that bending down could be fatal. On a cold January day, he saw a starving kitten, bent down to feed it and passed out permanently.
I read In Sunday’s NY Post, “The city’s weirdest museum will soon be closing…” “Brooklyn Torah Animal World is flat broke and will shut its doors soon if no one helps.” it said. I wonder what a visitor might get from the exhibit, which claims all the animals from Noah’s Arc except a pig. It explains in owner Rabbi Deutsch’s own words “You know, a bakery sells not what the baker likes, but … you have to be sensitive to what people want to see or not want to see.”
I am not an “animal lover”. I do not just pour my heart out over any animal that I see. Some stop and fawn over this cute puppy or that baby possum. But if an animal is in pain, is trapped or lost, then at least I question what might possibly be done to help it. I do not just cross the street, look the other way, or ignore it. Perhaps it is because I am sensitive. Or maybe it is how I would want to be treated if I was cold and hungry.
Recently a religious man asked me why I was not afraid of getting bitten by a squirrel ( fear, no – caution yes). He continued saying I could get rabies from squirrels. He did not know they do not carry rabies. We got into a conversation on his upbringing and how Shoa survivors could easily have a fear of dogs. That is powerful imagery. Yes, I can try to imagine that such terror has lasting effects. But is that how it should be? I do not particularly like dogs, and am allergic to them. But each dog is different. Some do wonderful things for people. Sometimes we rely on them for their amazing talents as rescuers, detectives and guides. Is it fair to them, or good ourselves to still carry such negative feelings for an innocent animal that we do not even know? Is it fair to the pig that he should suffer more than any other Kosher or Non-Kosher animal because the museum does not even show him? At least keep the stuffed animal in a separate room – isolated but available to those who may want to see him?
An artist’s job is to ask questions; to care; to raise consciousness and awareness. I think we are better people for thinking about things rather than ignoring them. Certainly one could argue there are more important things to think about. But so too one might say how nothing is beneath consideration. Sometimes a sentence can be taken out of context. So readers should not assume me to be siding with pigs, whatever that means. I have never eaten any part of a pig. And unlike some people who I read have them as pets, and boast of their personal grooming fastidiousness – I must admit I am prejudiced. But does that make me a better person?
I do not think maintaining a fear of dogs, is better than learning to appreciate them or to understand them. Some religious people have pets and love those pets. Some don’t relate. And some hate and loath animals. Because I am a NY State licensed wildlife rehabber interested in helping injured and orphaned squirrels, I am often engaging visitors to my studio and website about their feelings towards and their knowledge of squirrels. It’s the same three categories of fear, apathy and compassion that I hear. The more people know, the more fascinated and respectful they are of these interesting creatures. Yet hunters, for example, insist on defending the indefensible. They insist that it is fair and right to hunt for sport. I do not understand how blasting a baby or mother squirrel high in the trees, who is either trying to survive in this terribly cold world or trying to enjoy a beautiful day without hunger, is any type of sport for anyone.
Maybe you would enjoy visiting Torah Animal World. Education could be good. Will children leave knowing that animals have feelings too or only that some are cute, scary, different, and dumb, Kosher or Non Kosher? Maybe just like people, there are good and bad individuals in the animals world? Maybe they each are a product of their experiences in life? Maybe we could feel better at times knowing that we are helping rather than not knowing how we are causing pain. Getting over one’s fear is usually suggested if one has a fear of the water, of heights or even of relationships. Could a museum or program like this, possibly provide an immersive experience to get people over their fears of animals?
In speaking to people who visit my studio and ask questions about my squirrel photographs, there is always something in the person’s past to have triggered their fear of squirrels. Discussion reveals a desire to recognize the cause and irrationality of continuing to live in that fear. I used to fear bees. Then I learned stinging is their last resort. It is suicide on their part. They die. Their stinging is usually only done when in fear. So when others go crazy over a bee in in the yard, I stand still and calm. No problem. A person with deep seated fear of dogs, might wish to get over it and feel better in the process by being a friend too.
This article appeared originally in The 5 Towns Jewish Times – http://5tjt.com/
I may seem negative, critical or too serious about photography and the condition of photographers these days. But in many ways, photographers never had it so good. Many are not happy. Others do not understand a variety of subtleties that lay below the surface, or they gloss over blatant issues they cannot control. But for now let us acknowledge the positives.
Unlike when I bit the bullet and went totally digital back in early 2001, today there is a huge infrastructure of software and services to solve every problem and assist the photographer from the first step to the last of project completion. The internet and Google are always at the ready to solve our problems and point us in the right direction.
Photographers have virtual meetings with clients across town or across the globe. We can work remotely and still be at our desk computer. Great imagery can look even more incredible on large high definition screens. New TV’s and monitors are coming out that double and soon will triple the high definition resolution we are just starting to get used to in sizes as large as nine feet. That is 110 inches! High definition video, is known as 2K, for the nearly 2000 pixel width of the image compared with standard definition’s resolution of a mere 720pixels. Emerging higher resolution 4K is already right around the corner and 6K is close at hand.
Camera are smaller, lighter, better, faster, sharper, and shoot motion – the new term for video, as well as still photos. Remote technology has made control of unmanned cameras very easy and practical. Lighting gear is more sophisticated, light weight and less power hungry than ever before. Portable lighting which was an extremely unwieldy and bulky hassle, has in the last few years become a pleasure due to large lithium ion batteries and an abundance of high tech reliable flash circuitry from more manufacturers than ever.
LED lighting has expanded into so many worlds including both practical and creative photographic uses. These life-time lasting, nearly indestructible bulbs draw such little power, that they can run on small battery systems which were impossible with traditional tungsten or halogen light bulbs.
Rechargeable batteries in common flash light sizes have nearly doubled in capacity with some having great performance even when not used for a long time. Rapid battery chargers are available that can charge some batteries in fifteen or twenty minutes if you want to do so right at a photo shoot.
I often talk about lighting which should be the heart and soul of every image. Photographers today can better control their lights, and have them exactly where, when and how they want, due to amazing technology that pairs space age science involving radio signals, light sensors and even magnetic pulses.
For small products, photographers can buy light weight light box solutions instead of having to build heavier ones from scratch. And today’s developments include user friendly camera cases, straps and pods like never before!
Digital technology has exceeded film in image quality and detail. Images can be recorded in such low light that the eye might loses color perception, but with the right settings today’s cameras can produce a rich vibrant fully saturated brilliant color photograph or video.
Traditional photographic paper was only rated for 25 years, and that when stored in dark dry conditions. Today’s inkjet pigment printers can produce vibrant razor sharp images right in your den with an archival quality rated up to two hundred years!
The arduous work photographers needed to go through in print making, film processing and film duplication is gone. Files can be duplicated in unlimited quantities, with identical image quality and beamed around the world instantaneously.
Cataloguing and keeping track of one’s image bank has never been easier with reliable software, and storage solutions that are stable and cost effective. Instead of lugging a collection of expensive 20 inch prints around, one can tailor a presentation from thousands of images on a tiny micro SD card!
Gear has gotten smaller, lighter, cheaper, more reliable and a lot more capable.
For new photographers, information is as far or as near as their internet connection.
Smart phone apps can guide and instruct on everything from posing to lighting.
Websites give start up photographers the wisdom, insights and advice comparable to the business and marketing savvy of old timers but tailored to our times.
Photography and video is more fun, and so much easier than ever before. A few advanced amateurs always produced more interesting and meaningful imagery than some routinely programmed professionals and now their creativity can even express itself with the ubiquitous smart phone whether on vacation to a remote land, or just marveling over the everyday life on your end table.
Digital technology in addition informs us immediately that at the very minimum we have an image. From that high tech display we can also learn in what direction to adjust things to make that image better. This instantaneous feedback is akin to a proof that at best used to take hours and cost much. Perhaps nothing has more emboldened new camera holders to try their hand than the instantaneous feedback they now get from the camera’s screen.
It is an exciting, amazing science fiction type world of technology that has old prose marveling anew each month at the latest developments, while new comers take it for granted – expecting exponential advancements regularly.
Cloud storage allows world wide access to our images. Fast computers. Beautiful and lightweight portfolio presentation tools, a variety of backup storage options. Easy online learning. The fun of sharing images. Instant feedback. Wow! And on top of that there is so much infrastructure to support “photographers” now, that anyone can claim the title and with no employees or studio, produce work to please their clients.
So what could be bad? I will end this one article on a positive note.
This article appeared originally in The 5 Towns Jewish Times – http://5tjt.com/
There is something very special in saving a squirrel’s life and then getting the opportunity to appreciate first hand, its gentleness, intellect and attachment. Leonardo Da Vinci had said “Great love springs from great knowledge of the beloved object, and if you know it but little you will be able to love it only a little or not at all.”
People who know nothing of squirrels ask if I am afraid of Rabies? But squirrels do not carry Rabies! They ask if I am afraid of the sharp nails and teeth? Should not the one pound vegetarian be afraid of the 200 pound meat eater?
People ask why I love squirrels, and I ask if history has not taught them that one always fears what one does not understand, and hates those that one wrongs!
Are People in New York different from those in Florida? We must be. Because squirrels are the same. And in Florida, unlike most of the United States, squirrels are legal pets. Their teeth are no shorter in Florida, their nails are just as sharp. They can bite right through bone and can scratch you deep.
But unlike a domesticated animal, that gets everything provided for it by its owners, in the wild, squirrels have to find and fend for themselves. They have to stay as warm as you in the coldest of nights, and have to feed their babies, when they themselves cannot find food. Every day they must flee hungry predators, speeding cars, and men mad enough to have convinced themselves that it is sport to kill someone who could never kill them. Like you, they feel pain, need food and shelter and crave affection from someone they trust! And like you they will miss a brother or mommy, who fails to return home at night.
After studying them for nearing a decade, I continue to marvel at how much we can learn about ourselves, about others, and about the world we live in by studying these industrious, talented, creative, and amusing creatures. Humans use irresistible force and high tech deception, to kill and maim innocents who in the face of traps, weapons and chemicals, do the best they can, and still continue to hope for another day.
Yes squirrels nibble your flowers, devour your bird seed, and find the weak entry spot in your attic. But are they any less entitled to life than birds? Is a flower really more beautiful than a fully functioning small mammal? Perhaps we understand neither.
As for the attic that should have been properly maintained? They cannot be expected to know it’s your home. But those that cut down trees every day for frivolous reasons, don’t care about the nest that a mother and its helpless babies call home. And then feeding it into the wood chipper, quite well summaries our “humanitarian” nature.
If there is any hope at treating world problems, and domestic ills, it will come from people like Abby, who had the courage and concern to see what an injured squirrel could become, and the patience and love to demonstrate to the small mammal, that we do not have to be wild!
PHOTO PROSE: Annoying Photographers
By Gary Rabenko
Years ago, a few photographers were using a unique, hard to find old magnesium ladder made by the White Metal and Stamping Company. It was super lightweight, and very strong. More importantly, the steps and top were at the perfect height, and the ladder had no back or rail. 34 years ago, I was introduced to that gem of an unavailable ladder. They never needed replacing, so the company folded! I was assured they were unavailable, so I redoubled my efforts and ended up with a collection.
Gradually it seems all the photographers who have heard about using a posing ladder now use a boxy, clunky, cumbersome eyesore, and trip hazard that is neither practical nor pleasurable. That is an annoyance I never would consider if it was the only ladder on the planet. It’s annoying.
Once, two photographers were at an event on the North Shore. An excellent photographer had only a black suit. The invitation specified black tie. The client had a fit during the smorgasbord and banished the photographer to places unseen. Later poor chap had to borrow an ill fitting waiter’s jacket for the party! Today, photographers wear short sleeves, striped shirts, sneakers, T shirts. It seems that people like a paparazzi look. How it aids in the decor by the chupah. I will let readers decide.
Whenever I see event photographers at work, it seems they are saying “one more photo”. It’s always one more. It would be so refreshing to hear: “folks, we will need to do a bunch of these!” There are many reasons for creating more than just one. But, for those who participate in a three hour photo-shoot, hearing “just one more”, even one more time can be nerve wracking.
How many event photographers really look like they are enjoying their work? I ask this, not to make the point that most either look spaced, distracted, or disinterested, even though they do. That is a whole other issue. Here, I would like to know why anyone would want, expect, require, or accept crew members in their shots. Yet even in published work, and advertisements, it has become fashionable for crew members to be in the shots. This bugs me. Maybe it is unavoidable and that is why it is tolerated. But the reason it is unavoidable is that there is no discipline, no training, no teamwork, and no caring. Each person on a shoot cares only about getting his or her shot, and not interested in the whole situation and all the production issues involved. With the crazy low packages that desperate photographers are selling now, certainly there can be no attention to this type of detail. It means the public is getting used to it. As crews get larger and larger with more doing less, they are also getting more obtrusive with faces in your albums and video. That is especially annoying when those faces do not look like they are in the moment, or even aware of a moment! Its annoying.
How do you feel when you get that perfect shot? Don’t you feel great and want to look at it right away to be sure? And then it is either a good feeling or a disappointment – right? Well, I would think that photographers should be more disciplined. On the job is not the time to enjoy the shot they just made. That is the time to be working towards the next shot, right? So why is it that most photographers miss important shots, just after they get a great shot? You guessed it!
Of course that is not as annoying to me as the daydreamers. Most photographers somewhere during the job will … space out. It usually is when they are on top of everything and there is nothing to do. So that is the moment I keep telling myself, something important is just about to occur. That is what I sometimes find myself reminding my crew… just to be sure. And invariably something great always does happen… if not immediately, immediately afterwards!
Light is everything to a photographer. Years ago, I could count on the fingers of one hand, photographers who set up large room lights at events. We had to modify garage door openers into remote flash controls, and run hundreds of feet of extension cord back then. Each decade saw more sophisticated radio remotes, and more portable flash units. Today most photographers set up additional lighting. But the funny thing is that once it is set up, they do not use it with any skill, do not notice when it is malfunctioning, and often block their own lights as well as other photographer’s lights. This is annoying.
Light is everything and the angle, direction and intensity of the light are critical. None of that is important to the videographers who cannot benefit from the electronic flashes. But it would be a good idea if they were trained, and disciplined not to block the photographer’s lights. After all the photographer went to the trouble of buying them, bringing them and setting them up, ostensibly to do something. And then, they get blocked! This is really annoying.
I spoke about ladders, before. I am sure every caterer and venue owner hates photographers who come in with our ladders, only to immediately lean them up against the wall, not the photographer’s wall, the owner’s wall. Certainly that is annoying and they just keep doing it.
I am always early. That is the only way to be on time.
An assistant begged for more work and was eventually hired. Punctuality was discussed, and assured. Two days before the gig: “9:00 AM seems so early.” OK, come half an hour later.” Soon It’s 9:30, and no assistant. At 9:45 he calls and is lost. He arrives at 10 AM. Guess 9:00AM was the right time to meet.
Planning to arrive only on time, not early is really annoying.
PHOTO PROSE
By Gary Rabenko
Many want to improve their photography. With everyone being a photographer in their own way, interest in how pro photographers think is on the rise. Do pros see differently and think differently about the picture taking process than normal picture takers? We do.
At a recent simcha, a lady was annoyed by a photographer that kept photographing her while she was eating. Reading those words triggered this article. I am extremely sensitive to how people think they look and what they are doing. I realize that sometimes the best of intentions could be unobvious to subjects and bystanders.
There are many picture taking pros at the budget end who never had “sensitivity training”. Many freelance photographers don’t get the chance to review their photos with an experienced pro, and given the chance, many would not bother. They show up, shoot, go home, get paid. A handful of photographers are the exception. Yet sometimes their good intentions get misinterpreted.
For example, I am known for getting a lot of unobtrusive shots and a lot of shots that are done so quickly they go unnoticed. One of my techniques is to seem to be doing shots in an opposite or different direction, while waiting for the action to peak with my intended subjects. So as I approach a subject seven paces ahead on my right, and just before they might notice me, I turn to the left and fire off a shot or two even while continuing to advance in my travels. Maybe those persons on the left were stuffing there face. That is OK. They are not real shots. They will be deleted. I did not focus or compose or frame the shot. Might those left handed subjects be irritated, I guess so. But my reputation is based on the right hand shot I take next!
A similar example might involve a combination of camera/light settings that I plan on using at the next table, where children are playing. That shot I will be doing from a distance of four feet. I know the look and composition I desire. I may test the camera settings on an unawares subject first. That person is stunned and looks up, but I am long gone. What kind of photographer is this, he thinks? Now I am a photographer focused to four feet! My zoom lens might be getting a distant shot, but the person a mere eight feet away thinks I am photographing her.
I can move through a crowd and get lots of great candid shots. It is swift and stealthy work. Making no eye contact I am off to the next image. That’s doing my job telling the story of the day. Those photos convey a moment in time. The people are in the moment. Those photos say “so glad to see you; what a beautiful dress; it’s awesome; I am so excited; come here… etc! Those photos are the ones alleged to speak a thousand words! I can go through the smorgasbord and do hundreds of those. Each will be priceless later.
But not if every few feet I am stopped by persons who do not realize that I am doing true candid shots and think that I skipped them and that they must stop and pose for a photo. So “Hey photographer!” and “Take a picture here!” follow me. I try to ignore it and keep moving. Until someone catches up with me, puts his hand on my shoulder, and says …he has misunderstood my doing exactly what I should be doing, and instead thinks me impudent or rude. He wants me to take those requested photos. Let me be clear, those photos do not involve the event’s principles, the subjects themselves will most likely never ever see the photos. And the client has already told me to ignore them and do what I was hired to do. But guests keep asking for photos. They are doing it in the excitement of the moment. Yet those photos will never tell the story, they are only attendance shots. They tell about the interruption of the story to pose for and acknowledge the camera. The expressions do not show joy, they show public relation smiles. And from experience those photos rarely make it into the album.
Also, candid shots, when done by skilled photographers involve different camera settings than looking to the camera snapshots. Changing settings from one type of shot to another wastes time. It is not practical to be doing both. That leads to errors and affects one’s rhythm. Doing one group photo leads to everyone wanting group shots. So how can the photographer be doing the candid shots you will want later? Some photographers think it is good to set up fake candid shots. Others get cute moments of unimportant persons. But are they valuable shots? People must look good, and we all agree chewing does not look good. So a good photographer has something else in mind, while a bad photographer just may not know better. But sometimes the food is good, the crowd is hungry and the time is short. In such situations, I downgrade to doing “look at me” candids where people know to stop chewing.
You can show off the photo you just took on your camera’s back. I cannot unless I want to miss my next shot. You can see my screen but not how I intend to crop or adjust the photo later. If you like that small view, it does not mean you really understand it fully. If you do not like what you think you are seeing, where does that leave us? Do I show you the second shot too? Where will this end? Will each guest want to see his shot, too? Is this what the client is paying for? Pros should think differently because we are being paid to get better and different results.
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Gary Rabenko can be reached at gary@rabenko.com. Rabenko Photography & Video Artists is located in Manhattan at 1370 Broadway, 5th Floor; and in Woodmere, NY at 1001 Broadway.
Photo Prose
By Gary Rabenko
iPhones, iPads, iPods –ay yay yay
Is there a “me” in all this? Where have we all gone?
It gets worse daily.
Digital devices have become walls and barriers to social interaction with our closest family and friends, while boosting social interaction with those we never would have known. We have become parties of one and communities of all. When I am photographing a family, need I include their digital device in the shots, is that how one shows affection now days? I thought so, as the Grandparent beamed and smiled with pride brandishing her custom cased iPad as a shield while being photographed!
Does excitement mean tweeting about it. Are the steps to affection; framing, focusing, capturing, and friending?
Grandma used to kvell. Now she tweets.
Its seems we spend so much time and effort planning the big day that even as we are celebrating it we still must be checking and reporting and updating – all distracting us from the actual big day, making the big day, just like any other day… a day that can feel like we are working toward the big day still.
One of my main specialties has been documenting the family at certain milestone moments. Weddings involve two families, but bar and bat mitzvahs are ALL one family. Regardless of whether the simcha centers on the first, last, or middle child, it is always special. Reflecting on what the event means; celebrating with family and friends; sharing and communicating: that’s what it is all about. Our friends and family possess a world of emotion expression and feeling. And that is what makes our interactions special. With family members all carrying their own hand held digital devices, they now can be very distant, even while standing right – here. Infinite information and immeasurable interests now lie in the hands of those we love, making it so easy to distance their hearts and minds from what is beautiful and meaningful right here and now.
I find fathers searching, and scrolling through iPad images of a child, when that very child is right here being photographed and the father could be excited and personally involved in the moment. He could be reacting with visible pride to see his little girl growing up, rather than using this particular moment to dig up photos that are similar different or interesting. Why not enjoy the now!
Strangers enjoy watching me, because I am really into it. But when I go on a trip, or visit a friend, I rarely bring a camera. I am a different person with a camera, than without it. And so is everyone.
Without the digital distractions, I see people responding to the amusing, entertaining and beautiful all around. With the digital devises they are buried in their own selfish world.
Some people are more responsive. Some are less sentimental and sensitive. Before there is any hope that the shy or aloof person might actually be getting involved in the current emotional moment, there he goes, researching this or texting about that. It used to be we used remotes, now we have become remote. We are not here. We are deep and distant in the digital device.
Another issue is that all too often the device presents a challenge or an unexpected hiccup to overcome. That really can amplify the compulsion to focus intently on solving the riddle, and getting it to work. That problem solving can consume the last morsels of our free time and fill potentially relaxing moments with frustrating jobs.
I wanted to write about this after constantly finding families who arrive at the big day following months and even years of planning and preparation, only to bury their heads and hearts in the digital distractions. There is always one more text to send, one more question to Google, one more thought to save.
At first it was a novelty. Sometimes it still is with a new app and new models, sizes or shapes of a digital device. I am a pretty high tech guy and of course I have loads of cameras. But when I visit a friends’ events it’s with no gear. I do not want to document it, I want to enjoy it. Some photos are nice to have. Some are very special and meaningful. But having countless images after a while just gets to be more data to deal with, and more research to review each time. At some simchas 97% of people are viewing the event through a camera. At other events, not a single guest takes photos! And everyone is so active!
I try to find the spiritual in each chupah that I photograph. I look for images of people relating to each other. Parents, sibling, and of course the couple can be very expressive. But there are also moments when we acknowledge a greater power, and those images are special. At a recent wedding ceremony, one set of parents and siblings were misty eyed. Faces reacted to the couple, as each of the wedding rites occurred, the sheva brachot, the wine, the ketubah, oh and of course the ring. Many photos tell those stories, and how much we wish for our temple to be rebuilt!
But other parents and siblings emotionally absent. I tried so hard to photograph them, but on that side of the chupah, mother, grandmother and sisters, were hard at work – armed with digital devices they framed, composed, focused and looked more at their phones then heavenwards, or even Chosen-Kollah-wards. Armed for battle, shields raised, some faces blocked but others obviously concerned that their image was askew, out of focus or dark. You could tell from their questioning faces – of little use in the photo album later.
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Gary Rabenko can be reached at gary@rabenko.com. Rabenko Photography & Video Artists is located at 1001 Broadway in Woodmere.
