Dig It

Farmers - Clermont County OH Photograph by Melvin Grier

I think there is a parallel between good photography and gardening. They both require the right light and they both require patience. When we bought our home in Avondale there was a small plot of land that had been a garden in the backyard. My father was happy to have a place to grow his tomatoes and peppers. He did it the old school way using a tiller to prepare the soil for planting. My Dad got sick and couldn't use our little plot of earth anymore so after awhile I decided to try my hand at it. I rented the tiller and after getting the darn thing started I churned some soil. The next morning I woke up with what I thought was a heart attack. My upper body was one big pain. It was the tiller I concluded.I went to the Avondale Branch Library and found a book on "square foot gardening" that promoted the system of small plots of ground dedicated to one type of crop that you never stepped on and the use of compost and no tiller.Now I have seedlings going in my basement under lights and my four piles of compost are coming to life. Now I am bringing a couple of Nikon F5s back to life. I want the discipline of film.Wait until it's processed to see if that decisive moment is in focus. Forget the little monitor. Then processing the film in my darkroom and standing over a tray as that print emerges on the enlarging paper. Time controls the seedling and the photo image. Each appears in it's own time and has it's own reward.We are now an instant gratification society. Gotta have it. Gotta have it now. Even when I was on deadline at the Post and used Dektol at 1:1 it took a minute to process the film and whatever time I needed to make a print. Digital made that urgency easier to deal with.Digital is a wonderful tool for the demands placed upon news photographers to get those images and get them now. That immediacy does not necessarily render good work but it serves a purpose. My purpose in my life now is peace of mind through my photography and the serenity I find in gardening. It's a process I welcome.

Facing It

I faced up to the reality of the times I live in, and joined Facebook. I’ve made half- hearted attempts at other networking sites but soon lost interest and swore I would never try again. It seemed like a daily occurrence that I would get a request to become someone’s friend and now finally I’ll give in. ”Friend” means something special to me. It’s a cut way above acquaintance. A friend is that person you know that either through shared experiences or beliefs you can count on to come through in a pinch. I know my wife, Brenda, is my best friend. There are others that I count on and they can count on me. So now I guess the count will begin on how many friends I get through Facebook. Whoever dies with the most friends wins? It would come as no surprise to those of you who embraced Facebook some time ago that I have heard from people that I would have never guessed were part of this online society. I still have not heard from my daughter, who might be a little embarrassed that her father is venturing into this network.Be my friend...please?

Yes We Did

Madison Rd., Cincinnati OH, Election Day 2008

On the street where I live in Avondale, the Obama/Biden yard signs are still in place. I don't think it is from neglect or laziness but more a sense of pride and relief . When I went into the polling station I carried with me memories of riding on segregated trains as a young boy to Locust Grove GA, the small town where my parents were born and where I spent blazing hot summers playing with my many cousins. On my first memorable trip, my cousin Wymond admonished me not to drink from the "White" fountain. Later in my life as a member of the United States Air Force, stationed in Montgomery Alabama I was told by the taxi driver that the only way he could transport me and the white Airmen to the base, was if I sat on the floor of the cab, out of sight of those who might object to the integration of his vehicle. I thought about my time at Mildenhall AFB and watching black people being hosed by firefighters and attacked by police dogs as it was broadcast on the TV in the ward where I worked as a medic. I thought about all those who paid the ultimate price by dying for the right to vote and exercise the rights this country promises.Now on January 20th 2009 as Barack Hussein Obama becomes the 44th president of the United States we can embrace the challenges that await us and say again," Yes We Can".

Jazz - It's Not About the Area Code

JAZZ TRUMPETER MIKE WADE


We get another chance to support great Jazz music here in Cincinnati - Doc B is back. After a hiatus, Doc B Productions is presenting Jazz at Jaspers, located on Mt. Lookout Square, on Thursday evenings. The first show on November 6 featured the dynamic and inventive drummer Mark Lomax fronting a quartet. The music was first rate as only Doc B will present. For some reason I can't understand, local Jazz fans seem to think the quality of the music is tied into the musician's Zip Code.If the artist has a 212 code then the locals will show up. The local players have a hard time finding a venue or an audience when they do. Walt Broadnax supplies both.This Thursday Mike Wade performs.

Further info at: http://www.jazzincincy.com/ ©Melvin Grier

Free at What Cost?

Let me make one thing clear, I'm not much of a business man. Maybe that's why I never pursued freelance work during my time as a staff photographer at the Post.Of course the occasional extra curricular job would come my way but they were mostly far afield of the photojournalism that I most enjoy. I did know quite a few photographers who earned a living running studios or doing on site corporate work. When digital photography arrived things began to change for all of us. In my case it was adjustments in equipment and methods and in some cases loss of control on the final presentation of the photograph in the Post. I think the impact on my colleagues that didn't work for a newspaper was far more career threatening. Digital cameras with their auto this and auto that make it possible to ensure that pictures "come out".Of course the quality of the image is still problematic. I was reminded of this shift from photographic ability to photographic automatic when I read a recent feature piece about a well meaning couple who attends a local high school and take pictures of sporting events to give to the participants. It's a nice gesture but I equate it with giving away hot dogs, pizza and spirit wear. It is a revenue stream that is eliminated.Another entry level opportunity for income is gone because the best price we can hope for, is the one that costs us nothing. © Melvin Grier

Back to the Streets

On Friday September 19, some of the us former Post employees and other media types got together for the Greater Cincinnati Society of Professional Journalists 2008 Awards Banquet and Hall of Fame Inductions. I was not on the list of award recipients. I have no complaint because SPJ has been good to me in past years. I attended to support several of my former colleagues. For me it was a bittersweet evening. Seeing some of the people I worked with brought home how much I missed that daily interaction with the accomplished journalists I worked with. As E.W. Scripps chairman William Burleigh made his speech,  pages from various years of the Post flashed on the screen the audience saw what I always knew, the Post did good and sometimes great work. Far from the Grand Ballroom at the Phoenix and on the pavement of Main Street in Over The Rhine I encountered a vendor selling Street Vibes, an alternative newspaper that addresses issues of homelessness and social justice. This vendor is as grassroots as you can get. To photograph or write about those type of issues is why a lot of us got into journalism in the first place.I worked for a company whose motto was "Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way". On December 31, 2007 it got a little darker here in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. © Melvin Grier

Bruce Menefield - Jazz Musician

Bruce Menefield, a Jazz musician based in Cincinnati, is shown practicing and commenting about his approach to this great music. Bruce then performs at the Hyatt in downtown Cincinnati . © Melvin Grier