Rope-A-Dope

Muhammad Ali was a master tactician and strategist and toward the end of his boxing career when he could no longer Float like a Butterfly -or Sting Like A Bee, - he used the now famous Rope-A-Dope ploy - resting on the ropes, protecting himself from blows, luring his opponent into a trap then pounding 'em with crushing body blows and uppercuts.

I use the SP(street photography) version of the Rope-A-Dope when I'm tired, frustrated, or just 'cause I feel like it.

Go to a place where SP action is likely to occur. This could be a corner, a stairwell, a bus stop - any configuration that naturally tends to funnel people together.

Find a comfortable spot "against the ropes" to survey the scene..

Protect yourself from "blows" of suspicion by using standard SP psych-ops such as pretending to smoke a cigarette or talk on a cell phone ... then when the time is right, "rope a dope"...

Shop Worn

Will image manipulation technologies, i.e. Photoshop and the various new bend,fold and mutilate apps. spell the death knell for street photography? Or should I say ANOTHER death knell, as traditional street photography is routinely pronounced dead. Or is all of photography as we (thought we) knew it already long dead and buried?

DRESS FOR LESS stress

First - the shoes. Doc Martens all the way, baby... easy on the feet and since I go for a "conventioneer" look just enough behind the style curve for a three-day-Marriott-staying- Avis- renting-Widget Supply Wholesaler, to be wearing.

The conventioneer can go places where the "working man" would look out of place...

The "tourist" too, has limits on where he can go without attracting attention.. But the "conventioneer" - can go anywhere, he has the keys to the city..

He's friggin INVISIBLE!!

Sequential Street Photography

SSP something that I've been paying more attention to lately. The approach is a little different than regular SP, in that you generally have to calculate or predict the "decisive moment" in advance.

My aesthetic is to have three or more shots in close chronology each a creditable image in its own right, but with the effect of the sum greater than the parts.

Nothing extraordinary with this set, but some exciting stuff to follow soon.. (i hope!).