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Author: Manny Kagan
Folsom Street
Folsom Street
When I decided to write stories about the streets of San Francisco last month, Folsom Street was not on my list. The only thing I knew about it was that it is a commercial street where I would come to buy electrical fixtures during the remodeling of our house years ago. It is also the one-way street to take to the Embarcadero.
But then a friend asked me if I had ever photographed the Folsom Street Fair. I usually do not go to fairs. But when my friend told me that on one of the visits there a few years ago, he witnessed a woman performing oral sex on a stage, he got my attention.
The street was named after Joseph L. Folsom, in the quartermaster’s department of United States Army in 1848-1849. He built a fine residence on the northern corner of Second and Folsom Street. It is difficult to imagine what would be his reaction, if he found out that over 130 years later (in 1984), there would start one of the largest outdoor spectacular events to celebrate BDSM, a variety of erotic practices involving bondage, discipline, submission and sadomasochism. I learned that Folsom Street has been the center of San Francisco’s leather community since the mid-1960s. When I announced to my family that I’m planning to visit and photograph the event on Sunday, September 24th, I received a stern warning from my wife and both of my daughters. In the past, this yearly event attracted 400,000 visitors, and my family was concerned about my safety. Of course for me this sounded like telling a fox stay away from the chicken coop. So at noon, on one of the hottest days in San Francisco, at 80F, I took the Muni underground to Van Ness and I walked a few blocks, and paid the $10.00 entrance fee, and I got to my destination. The Fair covered five blocks of Folsom Street from the 8th to 13th Street. There were many naked or partially clad men and women, some with various leather straps crisscrossing their bodies. On the first stage, I witnessed three women performing a sadistic act. Next to it was the area where men and women would lay down on an X-shaped wooden platform to be spanked. It was very hot and many were seeking the shade on the sidewalk, while consuming barbequed meat with glasses of beer. Then I came to a stage, which was blocked by a huge crowd of men with their cell phones pointing up in the air. When I pushed myself closer I witnessed seven men engaged in group sex, with the eighth one walking around with the microphone making comments. After making enough clicks with my small camera, I decided to quit. San Francisco is a very special city. It was always on the forefront of liberal self-impressions. As far as I am concerned, I visited Folsom Fair twice: my first and last time. And though I might use one of the images out of the 300 that I photographed on that day for one of my “42 Encounters” books, I realized that my family was right. Sometimes the threat is not outside, but rather inside the person. Not all experiences are worth experiencing.
Enjoy and Share.
P.S. Though I had plenty of images of naked bodies, you can find plenty of those online. The four I decided to share with you show people who were more creative with their attire.
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Can You Watch My Words?
Can You Watch My Words?
In my recent conversation with a client over the phone I made an inappropriate joke, to which she laughingly retorted: “Watch your words.” The next day I called and apologized, but this little encounter got me thinking. But “How can we watch what we are saying?” After all, words are sounds, which we listen to, not watch? The answer came in a San Francisco Chronicle article on August 31, 2016 titled, “Good Boy! Dogs Understand What You are Saying.” For the dog, it is not so much important which words the owner uses, but rather how they say them. “…the dog is looking at your body language and your eyes, and perhaps starting to infer that “stinky mess” is a word of praise, if you are saying it with a happy voice.” Apparently, the reaction in dogs like in humans has to do with the evolution of the brain. “As with the people’s brains, parts of dogs’ left hemispheres react to the meaning and parts of the right hemisphere to intonation – the emotional content of a sound. Perhaps this is why I do not like to communicate with my clients (or anyone else for that matter) through social media, but rather prefer to meet them in person whenever possible.
The article pointed out that the study of dogs who were trained to enter a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine, confirms the 7% rule.
In 1971, Albert Mahrabian published a book, “Silent Message”, in which he discussed his research on non-verbal communication. According to his observation, 55 percent was assigned on the speaker’s body language, another 38 percent to the tone and music of the voice, and only 7 percent on the credibility of the words. Since then others have challenged the assigned percentages, but the fact remains: when it comes to humans, 7 percent can still build or ruin relationship. Therefore, watch what you are saying.
In the recent weeks I’ve published two stories about dogs. One of my readers sent a very interesting comment…
Regarding dogs, based on my experience, I agree owners need training. Most owners anthropomorphize their dogs. This can be a serious error. Dogs are pack animals that follow a very rigid hierarchy protocol. If you don’t understand dog protocol and follow it explicitly, you can have a lot of unwanted problems, particularly with larger dogs. For example, people usually like it when their dog seeks attention to be petted, like putting their head under your hand. If you pet the dog, a positive thing for you, the dog also sees it positively, but not the way you think. The dog sees it as submission by you. This tells the dog they’re alpha and the behavior exhibited by alpha dogs who’re encouraged to be alpha can be very problematic. The best book I’ve read on this, and it’s an interesting read, even if you don’t own a dog, is The Monks of New Skeet. They’re a religious order of monks in New York who breed and train German shepherds.
Enjoy and Share.
P.S. People love dogs and often spoil them by treating their pets as children. Those four images will end up in my forthcoming (probably next year) “42 Encounters with Dog Lovers.”
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New Cycle Begins Next Week
New Cycle Begins Next Week
According to the Jewish calendar, this Sunday evening, October 2nd is the beginning of the Jewish new 5777-year, known as Rosh Hashanah, which translates to “Head of the Year”. According to the Torah, the days are counted from the evening of each day. “God called to the light ‘Day’ and to the darkness He called ‘Night’. And there was evening and there was morning, one day” (Genesis 1:5). Notice that it is written “one day” not “the first day”. The counting of the years started after the sixth day. “So God created Man in His Image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). And God saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31). Thus, it is actually the birth of the first man Adam, which has been celebrated for 5777 years. Rosh Hashanah signifies the end of the old cycle and the beginning of the new one. Ten days later on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement is observed. Though Rosh Hashanah is also called the Judgment Day, it is a day to evaluate our accomplishments rather than our transgressions, which will come ten days later, on Yom Kippur. Traditionally, Rosh Hashanah is the day when everyone’s fate is determined and sealed in the book of Life for the next year. We all are given ten days, during which there is a chance to change the verdict through prayer and repentance. It is also the day of acknowledgement of the King – God, who is “in the field” and is accessible during those days before his final judgment is rendered. If you do not believe in God or are not Jewish, you might think that all of this is not relevant to you. However, the cycles of nature cycles are not different from the one I described. October is a good time to have a break in our running around and to take a moment to assess our lives, before moving onto the next cycle.
There are a couple of traditional foods to celebrate Rosh Hashanah. We dip apple slices into honey. The Apple is the symbol of the rounds of the year and the honey represents sweetness. We also eat a round Challah, which is shaped differently in this time of year, also to commemorate the round cycle of the New Year.
I wish you Happy and Sweet new Rosh Hashanah! Shanah Tovah Umetukah!
Enjoy and Share!
P.S. For me, the New 5777 year represents fulfillment of my artistic aspiration in putting together my “42 Encounters” books. The first one “42 Encounters in San Francisco” is going to be available in the first week of the New Year. Stay tuned. Hope you like my artistic rendition of apples. You cannot dip them into honey, but I hope they will give you joy and a sweet feeling, nevertheless.
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The Joy Of Reading Books
The Joy Of Reading Books
I was cleaning my desk and came across an article that I’ve been saving for the past year, from the December 28, 2015 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle, that was written by Hugh McGuire, founder of Pressbooks.com and titled “We Don’t Read Anymore – Unless We can Turn A Page.” The article begins with, “Last year, I read four books”. It describes the process the author went through getting rid of the social media, an attachment to his telephone and other harmful addictions, which took his time and attention away from his real joy in life – reading books.
As an avid reader and book lover, I can relate to his feelings. I’ve been buying books to read since my teenage years back in Riga, where I was born and lived until the age of 25. After moving to San Francisco, this tradition continued. Through the years as my interests have changed, so have the books I’ve been reading. A few years ago, I “discovered” the public library, which helped me with my budget, but I continue buying, especially photography books. I just bought 9 books on Amazon, since the library did not have them. I’ve made space on the bookshelves by donating books I no longer need to the public library.
My day starts with reading the Torah, after a 15-minute meditation, and then I read a few pages or view images from the works of great photographers. Currently, I’m reading “Photography. The Definitive Visual History” by a good teacher Tom Ang (if you want to learn photography check out his books). While having breakfast, I scan the San Francisco Chronicle and the Wall Street Journal. Before going to the office, I read a few pages from another book, “The Life and Love of Trees” by Lewis Blackwell. Currently, on the weekends before I get up, I’m reading “The Seventh Sense” by Joshua Cooper Ramo. In the car, I usually listen to an audio book, which I often borrow from the public library. The latest one is “The Varieties of Religious Experience”, a collection of lectures given in 1901 and 1902 at the University of Edinburgh by the renowned American Psychologist and philosopher William James (I read quite a few books about comparative religions). I also subscribe to three photography magazines, as well as the National Geographic and the Smithsonian. While working on “42 Encounters in San Francisco”, I read every current book about San Francisco’s history. My favorite one was “Cool Grey City of Love” by Gary Kamiya. Sometimes I wonder myself how I am able to do all this reading. After all, I am in the office every day for at least nine hours. In the evening, I write (as I am right now) and on the weekends, I go out on the streets of San Francisco to fill my collection with new images, which I am glad to share with you. Read, enjoy and Share with Friends.
P.S. It was not difficult to find images for this story, since one of the photo collections on my computer is titled “readers”. Book can be a good present to give to a friend. To help you, I produced “42 Encounters in San Francisco”. (It is easy to read with a lot of pictures). You will be able to order the book at the end of September at www.42Encounters.com.
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How I Produced 42 Encounters
How I Produced 42 Encounters
What does it take to publish a photography book? Where does one start? Today, many photographers use the services of a number of web-based companies, like Blurb. This is how I put together my first photography book, “Soy Cubano” in 2013 after my first trip to Cuba, to honor the Cuban friends I met on this trip. Making the book was a spontaneous decision and it took my assistant at the time, Samantha 10 days to assemble it from beginning to end. People liked the results, but the book was too expensive to buy on Amazon. But the seed was planted. For my next photography project I decided to stay close to home.
I started to work on it in early 2015. This time, the process took me much longer. In “Soy Cubano”, I used my sayings (which someone coined as “Mannyisms”) to comment on the images. I intended to do the same with this book as well, until a friend asked me if I would write stories instead. I knew that those stories, or reflections, needed to be short. It takes me much longer to write a short story that the longer ones that you receive every Friday (like this one). In March 2015, I participated in a Photography Workshop Seminar in Santa Fe, New Mexico, taught by the renowned National Geographic photographer Sam Abel. He liked my images, but when during his class he mentioned that “less is more”, I decided to cut the number of my images down. But how many? Sam suggested the number 42. When I returned home to San Francisco, I discovered the meaning of this number (which you will learn about in the book’s introduction).
Thus, the title of the book became “42 Encounters in San Francisco”. This also led me to change the title for my Friday stories to “My Encounters”. I did not realize at that time that the process of producing a series of books with the title “42 Encounters” had just begun. But first I had to select forty-two images and write forty-two stories. On the weekends, I would go out on the streets of San Francisco to encounter and photograph people. During the week, I only had a few hours in the evenings to work on the images, to select the right ones, to replace them with the new ones, do research for the historical notes, to read books about San Francisco’s history, and to write my own stories. All of this while continuing to write stories and finding the right images for the weekly “My Encounters”. While working on the first book, new ideas would come to me. Soon after, I realized that I had enough images for my second book, “42 Encounters with Couples in San Francisco”. Then someone suggested producing forty-two books of “42 Encounters”. I liked the idea. I already have many images for other encounters, for different themes like “42 Encounters with Dog Lovers”, for example. So I decided to continue this process for the next 21 years. During this time, I am planning to publish two books a year, thus by my 90th birthday you will have a collection of forty-two “42 Encounters” books. You can participate in the project by sticking around. Enjoy and Share.
P.S. Today’s four images are from the book. It will be available for purchase to you and your friends quite soon. I hope you will read it, share it with others. Please also write your comments at 42comments.com, or @Encounterspublishing.com. All proceeds from the sale of my books will go into forming a foundation, whose mission will be to help the young and the young at heart people see, capture and share the beauty of the world through the lens of a camera.
Do Not Keep Me As A Secret!
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Cheers,