Second Image Cafe

Security guards responding to photographers

(Image used with permission from Discarted.com)

In LA a group of photographers began photographing the US Bank building and were immediately confronted by numerous security guards. There’s a video on their website and numerous comments, one of which includes a quote of California law specifically stating it is illegal to interfere with the rights of citizens to photograph in public places. Take a look.

Donald W. Eddy at 103

September 10, 2008. My brother, Paul from Nevada, and I drove to Sarasota, Florida to see Dad. Our sister had called a few days earlier saying that Dad was most likely on his last legs and the inevitable would probably happen within a week or so. He’d been in bed for about two weeks not wanting to get up, not wanting to shave or eat. He’d said he was tired . . . (more)

Being a photographer within Eastman Kodak Company’s research facilities in Rochester, took me to many areas of new ideas being hatched by the many young scientists working a great variety of projects. Each staff member was required to sign a non-disclosure agreement that basically said nothing could be revealed about the work being done within a one year period of leaving the company. (article)

Laser lab at Eastman Kodak, ca. 1970

Myopic Corporate Power

For whatever small reason, a sidebar link at the New York Times site Kodak Article, I took a short trip back in time via the Net to see what was going on at Kodak Park today, August 2008, especially in research where I’d spent five years in Building 59 from 1966-71 at the experienced ages of 27-32. Maybe this was triggered because my boss at Kodak, one of the very few creative and future thinking people I’ve ever known at Kodak had recently died, Earl Kage.

Earl, Director of the Motion Picture Research Studios, as a supervisory person, did not play the power game as so many at large corporations do. He was dedicated to having his photographers, seven including himself, produce the finest output of images possible.
I was the most recent hired photographer having been offered the job and lured away from the George Eastman House where I’d been on staff for three years. I was also the only college educated photographer having studied at Rochester Institute of Technology and had considerable knowledge of the chemistry, physics, and processes that Kodak used.

The studios main objective was the testing of every Kodak produced film product for still and motion picture cameras. This also included all competitors’ products for comparison. In between testing assignments Earl would have us use the studios or to go out and shoot whatever we wanted just as long as the images were excellent and creative. These would be used to present at various times to Kodak employees showing everyone how excellent were the Kodak films as well as promotional and recruiting.

This is the first installment of the power games supervisory people play as they have occurred to or been witnessed by me over the past forty years. The NY Times article quite infuriated me because of the truths contained within it! The arrogant viewed superiority and narrow mindedness of those in charge of research, and no doubt many other departments, was a direct, as I saw it, impediment to Kodak’s future. It probably continues to this day and is certainly a major reason for Kodak’s decompression. Check out the NY Times link above.

Here’s an example that took place many years ago.

A typical corporate chemistry lab during the 1960s. Unknown person.

Sam Campanaro, my immediate supervisor and first under Earl Kage, and I were assigned to do some photography in a newly built research building on the banks far above the Genesee River a block or so north and across Lake Avenue. We loaded Sam’s car with lights, 4×5 and 35mm cameras, ancillary items and lots of film. We expected to be shooting for about three full days. The photos would be used in a variety of publications and displays. Read the rest of this entry »

The Big Sur Fire 2008

The flight from Los Angeles to San Jose started fairly well  along the coast and over the Pacific. A huge fog bank lay just off the land extending for miles to the north. Eventually we headed inland flying over mountainous areas. I saw no direct flames from fires but there were definite signs of smoke rising from localized areas. Some photos I took while over the Santa Cruz mountains prior to landing contain plumes of smoke, but no flames. Read the rest of this entry »