On Any Sunday

As on the second Wednesday of every month, we had our ASMP NJ chapter Salon last week. The invited guest from “outside” was Grayson Dantzic, who showed his father’s images of Billie Holiday in 1950’s Newark (his father, Jerry Dantzic, an old friend of mine, is confined to bed due to a degenerative nerve disorder, he’s 81).

We had a great time looking at Jerry’s images but I was just a bit discouraged by the fact that none of the regular attendees had brought any pictures to show. We’d not had the Salon over the summer and, due to unforeseen circumstances, had to cancel our September meeting so I’d think that after four months someone must have something to show. I mean, I could have shown new work but... I do that too often and the Salon’s not supposed to be a showcase for me. It’s supposed to be a participatory thing.

I was bemoaning the situation with Linda Bohm, ASMP-NJ’s Treasurer (and a prolific photographer herself) and we’re both kind of astounded at the number of photographers we know who don’t make photographs. See that bruschetta? It was part of last Sunday’s lunch. I was out with a girlfriend, on a date for Pete’s sake, and I made a food picture that would stand up to any made on assignment for, say, a cookbook or the Sunday NY Times Magazine. Why aren’t other photographers shooting all the time?

Hello out there in New Jersey. Are your eyes open? Where the hell are your pictures? I don’t get it.