2005 Paul's Photo Pages
Taking pictures can be a form of relaxation, or of
sharpening one's senses, of learning to see again in new ways, or even
learning to see in ways we used to but gradually forgot. It can
also help one be more creative in other ways--maybe it is the
discipline that comes with forcing oneself to look at things he or she
normally takes for granted. I know, for example, that I am a
better song writer when I listen to a lot more music than normal, and
perhaps taking photographs will also translate into more frequent
songwriting. I only know that I used to
write a song a week, and also
used to take a lot more pictures. But "growing up" and taking on
the mundane chores of work, no matter how interesting work itself might
be, takes away a lot of choice. By CHOOSING to take pictures, or
write poems, or just doing things differently than the routine, perhaps
we are recapturing a bit of what we didn't even know we had lost.
In the 1970s I took pictures for fun, among several hobbies. I think I used a Konica SLR that beclonged to my family, but also recall a rangefinder. Later used a Pentax MX. We used to shoot slides at that time, and I recall that with its deep reds, Agfa (ASA 25) was both slow and gorgeous. Recently found some of those shots and scanned them from slides. As well, while on a recent trip to Europe to see old friends and visit the school I attended in Denmark 30 years earlier, I decided to get a new camera and explore photography again. My friend John advised me, midway through the trip in an email message, to shoot the digital Nikon D-70 on "cloudy" and use "raw" mode, which gets all the data and allows for better control during processing, expecially for prints. That means the European shots other than Iceland and Denmark 2005 (which I took before I spoke to John) were shot in lower resolution,. Also, I found that I had ASA (ISO) set for very fast in those last two countries, which made shooting at night easier but which also introduced some graininess. In any case, am also using this as an opportinity to get acquainted with digital processing software.
You may find the shots mainly touristic, but I hope they also capture a sense of inquiry at times or interest in patterns, light, and shapes. Perhaps I will add more socially relevant photos over time. That is an area that has always interested me, one I have explored in song, but not yet so often on film. Thanks to Dennis Fox, whose own gallery inspired me to try my hand at making one of my own.
You comments are welcome: paul@arenson.org
In the 1970s I took pictures for fun, among several hobbies. I think I used a Konica SLR that beclonged to my family, but also recall a rangefinder. Later used a Pentax MX. We used to shoot slides at that time, and I recall that with its deep reds, Agfa (ASA 25) was both slow and gorgeous. Recently found some of those shots and scanned them from slides. As well, while on a recent trip to Europe to see old friends and visit the school I attended in Denmark 30 years earlier, I decided to get a new camera and explore photography again. My friend John advised me, midway through the trip in an email message, to shoot the digital Nikon D-70 on "cloudy" and use "raw" mode, which gets all the data and allows for better control during processing, expecially for prints. That means the European shots other than Iceland and Denmark 2005 (which I took before I spoke to John) were shot in lower resolution,. Also, I found that I had ASA (ISO) set for very fast in those last two countries, which made shooting at night easier but which also introduced some graininess. In any case, am also using this as an opportinity to get acquainted with digital processing software.
You may find the shots mainly touristic, but I hope they also capture a sense of inquiry at times or interest in patterns, light, and shapes. Perhaps I will add more socially relevant photos over time. That is an area that has always interested me, one I have explored in song, but not yet so often on film. Thanks to Dennis Fox, whose own gallery inspired me to try my hand at making one of my own.
You comments are welcome: paul@arenson.org
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Keitai
Snapshot
Gallery 2005  Perhaps getting a modern cell phone is what did it, get me interested in photography again....the quality is pretty crappy, but you can shoot what fancies you very quickly, and it was a few sunsets over Massachusetts that got me hooked. |
Denmark Study Gallery 1975-6 I was a student at the International People's College, Denmark from Sept. 1975 to March 2006. These are all scans of slides I found from the time. Some post-scan processing has been applied. |
Denmark Gallery 2005 Went back to Denmark for the first time in 30 years in Jan-Feb of 2005. You will be able to see some pictures of the same people here and in the Denmark study folder. Specifically, Marianne, Alan, and Lis. Also met the principal of the International People's College and a few of the teachers. |
Spain Gallery 2005 Went there to visit Harry and Yuko, two friends from Japan and, recently, Fayetteville, North Carolina. Now they are back in Japan. These are scans of photos from one of those disposable cameras. |
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UK Gallery 2005
 Stopped there after Spain to see Nami (former Hitotsubashi University student) and her husband, Alex, whom she met at the University of Birmingham in 1998, As I had just bought the camera, I regret I did not get a picture of them. Will ask them to send a few of themselves. |
Iceland Gallery 2005: Stopped here while in Denmark, though it is halfway to North America. In fact, while in Iceland I stepped on the North American continent, which meets the European continent right there (well, the continental shelf). |
Travel
and Mood Gallery 1975  Contains photos from a long time ago and more recently. |
Friends,
Family, Pets Pictures old and new of friends, most taken by me, a few by them. |
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