A Lesson in Framing

        After class today i decided to walk down broadway near Strand bookstore and my attention was caught by a man dressed in a brown suit and dress hat holding an old fashioned polaroid camera. The way he stood laid back just awaiting something holding one of the most beautiful peices of equipment i've i ever saw, i had to stop. I asked him first is it a land camera, because i myself have a old polaroid land camera made in the 1950's that reminded me of his. We began to talk and he asked if i was a photographer, and i said no but i'm into photography and the arts, and i actually said i'm a film student automatically, when technically im a design tech major... Anyways he began to open up his bag which revealed another camera which happens to be a polaroid land camera that i asked about only made in the 60's. He began saying let me give you your first lesson in framing. He started showing me the two places on the camera which you look out of that say "range" and "view" Range gives you perspective of what is going to be in the frame, and view lets you focus in on what your'e seeing. At first it was a little struggle adjusting to the weight of the camera and the tactile feel of something so old, but after a while i got the hang of it. He had me focus in on a taxi cab from a distance, once i got that, then the light pole, a bag of garbage, then a shriveled  wrapper on the ground, then finally a close up of himself. When i finally felt comfortable in framing and focusing, he showed me how to adjust the aperture on the camera, flick it back and take the picture. My first shot wasnt too bad,except for the flash was too bright. We did some readjustments and this went on for a while practicing, till i finally got the right shot! It was really amazing talking to this man who by the way his name is Louis Mendes who is a portrait photographer and native of NYC. I realized at the moment, opportunities like these dont come around so very often so i started asking him questions. My first question was,
"How did you become interested in photography and taking photos?" He replied

" Well growing up my family took a lot of photos and my sister particularly was the photographer of the family. When being a photographer, you're never able to be in the picture, so one day she handed the camera to me, so she could finally be in a photo, and i've had my hands on cameras ever since."
What Louis does today is photograph many other photographers and the NY Times did a great story on Louis last December. (An Old-Fashioned Camera in a Digital Age) I also asked Louis
"Being a student,designer and artist in this world today, what advice do you give me for pursuing the art world?" He looked at me and said
"Learn as much as you can, receive an education and stay focused."
The thing about New York City is, you never know who you're going to run into, what you're going to see and what you're going to learn. Like he told me, "People see me and this camera attracts attention, you don't see it everyday and people want their photograph taken... its spur of the moment." Like me stopping to admire his 1940's camera and taking the time to appreciate the words of someone who has lived life and still has the drive, creativity, and spirit to keep on living, documenting life, making history and inspiring the people of today, through the fashions of yesterday.

(My land camera which is a slightly older version then Mendes's)

Louis Mendes