Richard Vanek - Black and White Photography

This July begone with full Sun power here. We have over 32C in shadows and on the Sun, well after last week hardly 18C it is impossible to handle this heats. I must say that it is very strange and unfortunately become more and more often that temperature are going up and down so much. One week you have 14-16C and next week is doubled.
I am staying home today preparing my prints for presentation and for one competition. Yesterday my son had a birthday so we took him and his friends into nice museum. I have to tell you I love old huge building of museums in hot summer days. They are nice cool and spacey. There was almost nobody in this museum of writing communication. Museum contains complete history of writing from Mesopotamia until todays SMS communication. You can see all kinds of writing tools from wooden stick until modern printers, through, fountain pens, press equipment. It is rather small but very nice museum with special action and programs for children. We enjoyed our half they very much.

Green, blue, green, blue, grass, sky, grass, sky all is turning when you roll down the hill and you feel how hard is ground. You like it, so you do it one more time, until mama is calling you home and sky is dark.

So how high we are now? Can I fly from here? Will I fly enough to get home?

The process of portfolio making is rather lengthy, but still interesting. This long time it takes is mostly because I do not have all the time I wish for my photography.
Yesterday I have again met with my friends Caroline and Hape. Caroline is helping me a lot and not only that she is giving a lot of her optimism and energy. We spoke yesterday some two and half hours, why looking at my photographs. We removed three photos and add one new. I also presented here little poem like text which could go with each of the photograph. These text supposed to underline effect to the viewer and not replace photo itself. I hope it will work that way.

I have plan to make some new photos to this childhood series. And on other hand I am quite full of ideas about new set of photos for the book I have mentioned before. The Book, written by my friend.
Yesterday Caroline had idea to invest four to five days totally to the photography for a single subject and than spend rest of the time to bring it to the form which could be presented. What she ment is actually take a short week for nonstop photographing only. Time enough to get into total mood and get into the subject. Than after that, spend couple of month (or weeks) to work on exposed material. I think that is brilliant idea and maybe I will do it this way for the book. I do not see other way to actually make thing happening more.

Some years ago, when I was still living in Slovakia I used to visit every year photography FIAP contest FotoForum in city called Ruzomberok. It was for me kind of yearly event. I travel there by train and spend whole day there. First visiting the exhibition and than walking around the city full of impression from seen photographs.
This year I choose as a first competition where I send my work exactly the same FotoForum event. It is for me very symbolic. I must say I send it little later I hope it will still arrived there and will be accepted. Following I have selected and print at Ilford Smooth Pearl paper with UT7 inks on my 2100 epson. Prints look very good.

• Way to the Neverland
• Game in The BackHouse
• French Girl
• Can I Fly?

Door on lock, Jesus behind a glass. Standing in front but seeing above, you never will be alone, if you believe...

I have made some simple modification on front page of Europe in Black and White web site. Those brought, I think, better possibility to find what is new. I also add section where I announce new things for sale.
No, not yet the prints, but I still have some great photo equipment which is only collecting dust here. So you have opportunity to buy some great cameras and other interesting photo equipment. Now the links are not active, but I will soon add page where there will be pictures of actual equipment. In any case you can use the contact form already now to indicate your interest.

So I am here in Prague, drinking with my friends, having nice time, discovering new view on reality. You can't miss that. If you ever like to see rigth side of the life, go where your friends are and enjoy the time!!!

We are back again. I have a lot of work planned for following ten days. We need to fix some things in house and finish one room. At the same time I like to develop some old 6x6 negatives. I am planning to post new project called 30 years ago. This one will contain some of the images I have made when I was around 8-10 years old. I think it can be fun.

I do not know how do you call them, but My Yahoo and del.idio.us are some kind of RSS center where you can store your RSS feeds and be notified when they are updated. I have add shortcuts to My Yahoo and del.icio.us to the main page. If you know some other site like these, let me know.

There was no much time left yesterday evening to post any new pictures. I would love to publish some new, but different things had to be done. And frankly, there is such a mess in my room after we returned. DVD and CD all over the place, still box from new scanner and all papers from packing last print I sent to photo contests in Slovakia. I need to clean it a bit.
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Anyway, I have received few emails with requests to extend links to web 2.0 kind of online RSS readers. I have add few new ones. I hope they all work. In case you find out that your favorite is not working please let me know. For me it is a bit difficult to check as I do not have any registration to those particular sites.

You know, not every morning is bright and full of optimism. Well maybe it is, at least for me, but even in such a case some mornings are different. Now we have here quite a summer, temperatures in shadow rise up to 30C and sometimes few degrees above it. Whole day from morning I sit at work than I come home. Kids are on holiday, visiting grand parents so me and Viera are doing last things with house rebuild. After I come home from work I redress and let's go to second shift.
Than morning is very late. And I wake when Sun is quite high already and it is warm again. Normally we go these days by car, even it is only few km we usually do on bike. Today I need to bring car to garage to fix a breaks. And I have got a bicycle for rest of my journey to my work. Oh man, what a refreshment it was to cycle in rather cool air!

I hope we will be soon done and than I will have some time for live again and for photos, which I miss quite a lot.

Just received this message:

This is bad news for everyone enjoying the great Fuji Neopan films by "rolling your own", i.e. buying in 30.5m/100ft rolls. We are disappointed to inform you that Fujifilm has announced that they will drop Neopan 100 Acros, Neopan 400 Presto, Neopan 1600 Super Presto and Neopan SS from their product line in March 2007.

For me this means end of Neopan and no I will not stock myself to the roof with Neopan, which will made end only little bit later. I will just use different film. It is a pity I love Neopan 400.

I put two pages containing info and pictures of my Olympus OM-2sp spot program and Zuiko 28/2.8 manual focus lens for sale. In case of your interest contact me

I will add pictures to other equipment soon. If you have interest in whole set, you will get some filter and lens boxes as extra and better price.

I have updated and add new pages and pictures for the stuff I have now for sale. Take a look:

Currently for sale:

• Olympus body OM-2n
• Olympus body OM-2sp
• Zuiko 28/2.8
• Zuiko 50/1.4
• Zuiko 85/2.0

Now all pages with details picture on every piece I have for sale is available. I used this equipment for about two years for all my work in years of 2003-2004. So almost every picture on my site with name 2003* or 2004* is made using this nice Olympus photography equipment.
As I mentioned it more times, all stuff is in very good working conditions and only reason I am selling it that I do use my Nikon stuff only now and I find it pity that my Olympus equipment is idling. I have also some OM System books and some user guides in printed form. Also few filters, eyecup and hot shoe.

Currently for sale:

• Olympus body OM-2n
• Olympus body OM-2sp
• Zuiko 28/2.8
• Zuiko 50/1.4
• Zuiko 85/2.0

When I close my eyes, and dream is coming to my mind ,I fly. I fly low with my legs floating behind me as wings. And with me animals are flying, we all enjoying this lightness and freedom.

Sunny winter games, everything is frozen and that taste of ice in your mouth when snowballing with friends. Even the swing father made for you is covered with ice.

When water is wormer than air, it is vaporizing. That morning air was -23C and water was about +4C. Sun was sharp, reflecting from frozen snow crystals. Stockholm, Gamla Stan.

While ago my friend has and still have difficult period of his life. His girlfriend get seriously ill and they were in front of longer term unpleasant treatment. That time I was keeping talking to him, you know trying to keep level of optimism at least on minimal level so they can go over that period easier. Well I must say frankly I could always do more and better, but I do not want to talk about that now.
What I like to talk is that one of my way to show him different view on their trouble was to convince him that he can take all this as a unique opportunity to make great first hand photo story out of it. Well, I know, maybe to hard, but on other hand could help to be able to look at things from other view.

He didn't do it and I didn't ask why I think even if he consider it it wasn't easy and life was hard anyway. In last few days and maybe it is already weeks we are doing some building in our house. Already in the middle I was thinking to make photo reportage from this as well. I had in mind to do it little differently make out of it dramatic story with deep shadows and horror like views. I must tell you I didn't make any shot. Why? Well it is rather easy to explain. I am fully involved in this rebuilding. Making room for my children. I do most of the things with help of my wife. I am busy every day after work and every weekend. Yesterday I was replacing old carpet. Some previous owner of this house decide to glue it to concrete floor so you can imagine that it took me 3 hours to get it out of it and mostly with piece of concrete. And you have similar things almost every time. And than take camera and make picture!!! Well sorry but impossible. And that is also reason, I guess why my friend, also very enthusiastic photo person didn't make any shot from their difficult time.

So that is why we need completely not involved reporters, photo journalist and whoever who can say something from different angle and view about our difficult and nice times.

After I wrote my previous journal entry, friend who I mentioned there reply me with email and he write following lines, which I find perfectly describing the situation:

"when you're in the middle of it all, you just can't take the picture, even if you would like to. It's too close to watch through a lens, you can only watch it through your own eyes."

I am getting every day emails if that part of my Olympus offer is available or the other. It is simple, as far as the item is on my web for sale it is still available. And please do not ask me for price, try to offer amount you think is appropriate and I will tell you. I really do not want to make myself rich with it.

Today we stoped in Nurnburg, after over two hours in traffic jam we just stoped here and visit our friends. They needed to leave few hours after we arrived, but they were very nice and let us key from their apartament. Isn't it great to have a friends?
Now late evening after nice dinner from grill in close by irish pub we have a great mood and enjoying first evening of our travel.