LomoGuru of the Week: emperornorton

From having a close encounter with a mountain lion to accidentally meeting Steve Jobs, Joel Sax had experienced a number of unimaginable things that have granted him a deeper sense of understanding. Any amateur or longtime film photographer can definitely learn a thing about making the most out of one’s skills and loving the art of photography from the wise words of our LomoGuru, emperornorton!

Name: Joel Sax
LomoHome: emperornorton
Location: Trabuco Canyon, CA
Number of years as a Lomographer: since 1969
Number of years in the Community: since 2011

Tell us something about yourself.

It’s said that there are two kinds of photographers: those who wait for the light and those who go looking for it. I tend to be the latter.

I live with my wife, cat, and Boston Terrier in a condominium on the edge of the Cleveland National Forest. I haven’t worked in years due to a disability stemming from my bipolar disorder. As a matter of principle, I do not take government assistance at this time because we can get by without it – my wife is a software engineer with a degree from Stanford – and there are other people who need it more than I do.

I am a native Southern Californian but I have lived in different places such as Northern California, North Carolina, Greece, and Croatia. I graduated from Pomona College in California with a degree in Anthropology. As a young man, I hoped to become a professor but the illness overcame me after the death of my father and I flunked out of graduate school. I worked a variety of jobs before going to former Yugoslavia in 1992. I spoke for a while about my experiences when I came back but eventually the depression overwhelmed me. At the age of 47, I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

People sometimes ask to what degree does my illness affect my art. The honest answer is that I don’t know, except that I believe I am better on medications. I was on Lithium then Tegretol. These made writing poetry harder but they silenced the chatter in my brain, making it easier for me to concentrate on other tasks and interact with people.

Having no life, I spend a lot of time surfing the net, writing, photographing, and going for long walks in the adjacent wilderness park. I tutor adults in reading, work on a native plant seed farm, and run two support groups for people living with bipolar disorder and depression.

Back in late 2003, I saw a mountain lion less than a mile from my house. It looked at me and I stared back at it. The lion decided that I appeared more of a challenge than a meal and bounded off. Two months later, he killed a biker and mauled another. He was the second mountain lion that I had seen in the wild and I am hoping for a third sighting. I have no plans to be eaten but I do hope to have a camera in my hand when that comes.

Tell us something about your LomoHome’s name. Why did you decide to have that username? Or if you can change it, what LomoHome name would you like to have?

Emperor Norton was a San Francisco street person from the Gold Rush era who lost his fortune trying to corner the rice market so he could sell it to the Chinese. He invested everything in buying a shipload of rice from Peru. Unfortunately, the following week, other ships arrive. Then, he disappeared for a while. On his return he hit on a schtick and declared himself as the “Emperor of the United States." A few years later, he added the label “Protector of Mexico.” He used to show up at local bars and eat off the buffet table for free. A local newspaper printed his proclamations including one that called for a bridge across the San Francisco Bay, a vision that was eventually realized. Once, he demanded service at the Palace Hotel and nearly ended up being shipped off to a state mental hospital in Stockton. Public furor over his arrest led to him being released on his own recognizance.

Despite being adopted by the Discordians as one of their saints, he did not do these things to cause chaos. In fact, he was for the most part respectful of the laws and people of the city. He participated in intellectual circles and was buried with honor when he died of stroke while walking to an astronomy lecture.

There’s a debate about whether he was schizophrenic or bipolar. I tend to favor the latter diagnosis because people sometimes reported him as very depressed and then very energized. In any case, I adopt the name to do him honor and remind people of those with invisible illnesses who live among us.

Share with us your most memorable experience in the Community.

Shortly after I set up an account, I received a message from atria007: "Get some pictures up!”

I was on the fence as to whether I was going to take this seriously or not. I went to the nearest Lomography Store and bought a La Sardina, which I packed along with my digital camera, a Pinhole Blender, an Instax 210, and of course, my Nikon D40. On top of these, I added an Ihagee Exakta that my grandfather had bequeathed to me, perhaps because he sensed I might enjoy it.

I came back from a trip with several photos, including some beauties from the Exakta, which I posted. atria007 became one of my first friends.

Have you actually met people in the Community that you now consider as close friends? If yes, name at least one of them.

I nearly got together with clownshoes once when I went to Miami for a conference. The trouble was that when I was free, he was working, and when he was free, I was in sessions.

It doesn’t help that I am shy. There are other lomographers around me but I haven’t gotten up the nerve to ask them if they wanted to meet and they haven’t asked me either. For a while, there was a group on Facebook that did local Lomo activities but I could never make it to their events and they folded before I could get myself together.

I see the work of many good lomographers. I hesitate to name them because I am certain to leave some worthy person – no, several – out and hurt their feelings, but I like maria_vlachou's endless experimentation and why-yu's ongoing exploration of derelict buildings, some of which she develops herself using “coffeenol." These are just two names but there are many more talented ones and I am grateful to all of them for giving us more photographs to see.

Do you think you’ll still be taking Lomographs in the next 5 years? Why?

The only thing that would stop me shooting analog is the ceasing of film production and the closing film labs. I am still upset with Kodak for taking my Kodachrome away. That film was simply the best and there is nothing on the market now that equals it.

What is your favorite Lomo camera and why? Do you have any memorable experiences using this camera?

Definitely, it’s the La Sardina. It is simple, compact, light, and has quiet shutter that lets you sneak up on people. Plus, it does double exposures.

As for non-lomographic analogue cameras, I love my Nikon N8008. It was my third camera. When I bought it, I resolved that I would be taking pictures with it as long as I can. Thirty years later, I am still using it. It was among the cameras that I lugged with me on a recent trip to Arizona and I shot most of my films using it. It’s my main vehicle for cross-processing and black and white photography. It’s been with me across United States and Europe.

I plan to take these cameras with me when I go to Senegal next year. Me fearing Ebola? The man who went to former Yugoslavia in the middle of the 1992 war?

Please share with us your favorite Lomographic shot and explain why you love that particular image

I took this while I was still a student at UC Berkeley Extension in San Francisco. My teacher hated it and the students were divided over whether they liked it or not. Some even asked: What was the subject? What was that background supposed to be?

I see a lot of photos that strive to meet the broadest possible expectation of a good photograph but people tend to move on and forget about them. The fact that people debated “Rabbit Ears” told me that I had wreaked art.

This next photo was received the same way. I bleached out the eye just to annoy an instructor who, to my surprise, praised my chutzpah.

Please share a Lomograph you wish you had taken and explain why.

I blog about photos that others have taken that I like so let me take this on a different tack. One time, I was mucking around the end of California Street in Palo Alto, California, working on a photo project for a class. I had found these balloons and chairs that interested me intensely. When I was photographing these, I heard a roller blader and looked up. Steve Jobs was coasting by. He saw that I had a camera and there was a look of terror in his eyes. I let the camera drop to show him that I wasn’t going to take a picture. He rode on.

I am glad that I missed the shot. The Apple founder was just out enjoying his afternoon. Being famous doesn’t give other people license to invade your privacy. There’s a lot of photographers in the world and if you have to make your living off famous faces, then you aren’t pursuing a very meaningful line of photography in my book. I think that the homeless also deserve a little respect from us photographers, too.

What’s the best Lomographic or photography advice you think you have given?

Take the best photo that you can. Ideally, you shouldn’t have to do anything but you are allowed to use your darkroom or photoshop skills to improve on what you have created.

I have dropped the purism that used to afflict me when I first came here. I realized that photoshopping was the same thing I had done when I worked in darkrooms, only without the chemicals. Much of what I do with Paint Shop Pro is based on the principles I learned when I used to sweat over an enlarger. It is no sin to make your good photo great.

Most of us use a processor to develop our negatives and photos. Why hand over the power to decide what the final product looks like to an outsider who does not possess our vision? I don’t do fancy work when I edit my photos. I don’t use filters to posterize or solarize them, eventhough these are darkroom processes, too. My cross processing is real. I don’t crop or alter the hues. Mostly I just tinker with shadows and highlights, and fix the fading that processors seem to introduce into their product as a matter of course.

Think about this: Is there that much difference between digital and analogue? Well, everything on this site is digital – we’re not passing prints between us. Certain concepts carry across under different names. When we use film, we talk about grain. In the digital realm, we talk about pixels. Photography consists of arranging countless dots into compelling formations. Analogue does it more randomly than digital. Fortunately, we have our cameras to do much of that work for us: we don’t place each and every dot consciously. The luck of where those dots fall and our ability to coerce them to our will nonetheless are what make photography intriguing for me.

Even in the digital world, however, you can see the difference between digital and film. That is a powerful motive that I have for shooting analogue.

If there’s one song or movie that best describes your Lomo life, which one is it and why?

I am a Stephen Sondheim fan, so I would have to choose “Anyone Can Whistle” from the musical of the same name.

When I am doing it well, photography is a very emotional process for me. I don’t know if this is because of my illness. Sometimes, I curse at the equipment. Sometimes, I see what others can do and despair. I am keenly aware that despite my education as a photographer and as a liberal arts major, the intelligence that I am alleged to have, and my equipment, I cannot duplicate what others seem to do with so little effort, such as take photos of their friends.

Is there any advice you can give to new analogue shooters?

Most of the advice people give here has to do with perseverance, studying what others do, and learning the craft. These all go without saying. Add to this not being hard on yourself when the equipment or the film or your vision fails you.

The other thing is make photos you like. Unfortunately, not everyone will appreciate your favorites because they don’t understand them but keep putting them out there. You have a duty to educate others in a new way of seeing. Everywhere you go, you will find images. I don’t care if you use a Diana, a pinhole made from a cigarette box, or a cell phone camera. Learn how your camera takes pictures and dance with it.

written by icequeenubia on 2014-11-02 #lifestyle #lomoguru #lomoguru-of-the-week