Berlin Light Tower Moment

You know, up-close and personal.

You know me, and my RULE NUMBER TWO.

I really did shoot that way before I came up with the whole "Rule Thing". Yeah, really, that is how they became "MY RULES", you know, from all the rules that I learned from! You know, The New York Institute of Photography, and from all those photo columns, and articles in POPULAR PHOTOGRAPHY magazine, and any book I could find, like anywhere, that dealt with photography!

Anything, and everything.

And yeah, taking a bunch of pictures on all my motorcycle trips ...

Arizona

Florida

Around the United States

And then with my time over in Asia, once I joined the Marines ... SHOOT, SHOOT, SHOOT!

Yeah, but really, it all "came together" once I signed up for that Photography Course "through-the-mail" thing, after graduating from college, no, really, you know ...

That whole NEW YORK INSTITUTE OF PHOTOGRAPHY thing.

You know, I believe I've mentioned it once or twice before ...

That's what I do. I'm a teacher. I repeat myself, a lot.

Remember, I also taught middle school Special Ed. kids at Granite Falls Middle School, you know, as my "REAL" job! The college was my "second job" ... Well, that and all those "jobs" around the world taking pictures for travel companies, and then, yeah, just traveling on my own, once I retired, and after that Pandemic closed things down for a couple of years, yeah, that was tough ...

But it all "added up" to a pretty good way to spend time "outside the classroom". No complaints here.

And the best thing?

Yeah, I found something that I enjoy, and can continue to "practice" for as long as I can, you know, "PUSHING THAT BUTTON"!

It is all about the EXPERIENCES, and those MEMORIES ...

Like, THIS shot of that Berlin Tower, whatever that was called ... Oh! And yeah, of course: RULE NUMBER ONE! You know, say it with me!

"LOOK AT THE LIGHT".

Yeah, this only happens when, well, the sun hits the tower, and "does it's thing". That SIMPLE.

You just have to be ready for it. And yeah ... LUCKY!

And, for one fraction of a second, I was!

Again, that SIMPLE.

Now true, I have been to Berlin, you know, several times over the years (six or eight times, something like that), but yeah, I only have this ONE SHOT, that looks like THIS!

Well, and "a few others" just like it, that is! You know me! It is very rare for me to just shoot ONE shot of ANYTHING, let alone, with LIGHT like this! Are you kidding?

So there you go!

Like I like to say (over and over again!), yeah ... YOU NEVER KNOW.

So yeah, keep that in mind.

Have a camera with you, and, yeah, really ... LOOK AT THE LIGHT.

The fact is, you can NOT make an image, with a camera, without LIGHT, so yeah, again, keep that in mind as well.

True, you can use FLASH, STROBES, MATCHES, LIGHTERS, whatever you can find, but yeah, you MUST have LIGHT!

And yeah, the Greeks figured that one out a long, LONG, time ago, when they came up with that word that translates into English, as, you know ... PHOTOGRAPHY ("drawing, or

sketching, with light". Or really, the other way around ... "Light Drawing/Sketching").

PHOTO (light), and GRAPHY (drawing or sketching).

Yeah, really.

Years, and yeah, like, YEARS before any real "camera", trust me.

Who knew?

I know, go figure.

I sit here and think about how lucky I am that there were people out there, like, way smarter than I ever was, or will be, that is for sure!

Are you serious?

I'm just happy to be able to "fool around" with all these "things", and come up with the images I have over the years ... Like, all of them!

THOUSANDS OF THEM!

I took my FIRST pictures, back in like, 1968, with my mother's POLAROID "Swinger" camera, back when I was in the eighth grade! Yeah, I was a track manager, and got a couple of old Black and White images of Chip Bollinger pole vaulting, and Mike Fox, with both feet off the ground, I might add, running a relay race! You know, all faded, and covered with that "coating stuff" we had to apply to them back then, but yeah! I still can "make them out"!

I did mention it was back in, ahh,1968, right? Yeah.

And with an old, classic, "INSTANT", Polaroid camera ... Ha!

That was the start.

And yes, just as important, if not more so, yeah, I also went on the run track for FOUR years in high school, and yes! I even pole vaulted, and ran a few relays back in my day as well!

And ended up coaching track at the middle school (and a year at the high school), for twenty-five years.

"You are what you photograph".

Come on! I got my very own camera while on my first cross-country motorcycle trip, after I graduated from high school ... Ahh, well, HALFWAY through the trip anyways!

Yeah, my mother gave me a small, Kodak 110 Instamatic camera, for graduating from high school, once I made it out to Douglas, Arizona, by way of Chicago, Illinois (my Aunt and Uncle), from my hometown of Pulaski, New York., where yeah, I actually graduated from!

But you know that already!

What a trip that was!

Now, what that has to do with THIS image, yeah, you know how that goes!

Hint: RULE NUMBER ONE! Say it with me ...

LOOK AT THE LIGHT.

Enough said (or written)!

Get out there, and see what LIGHT you can capture!

Hope to see you out there.

Anywhere, and everywhere!

That is how the GAME is played!

Well, unless you like STUDIO WORK that is, but yeah, that's cool too! Thing is, they work with LIGHT too!

But yeah, I like to TRAVEL, and GET OUT THERE, there is THAT!

Enjoy whatever you come up with. There is no one way to become a photographer, or artist. Just do what YOU do, and how YOU do it!

Enjoy.

See ya!