Comments on: Jeff Mermelstein Video from Media Matters

By: Lance

Lance — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 10:46:12 +0000

“I only have one question, how on earth does he expose his film right in this kind of tempo ? HOW ???
he takes a basic measure and goes off from there or what ?”

Mermelstein now uses a Leica M7. He says he just sets it on automatic and shoots. Also, you get a lot more exposure latitude with negative film, as opposed to transparency film.

By: Brad M

Brad M — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:17:09 +0000

JA, no I have not seen him in the streets waving his camera. And no I don’t think his approach is disgraceful. Lighten up. He’s no Gilden.

Alexander, there’s no need to adjust the exposure if the light is the same. This is definitely an issue with fussy SLR users that feel the need to meter every shot. In most of the shots I saw the light was pretty consistent. Also consider that adjustments on the lens can almost approach sleight-of-hand. I have the same camera and while I often use its meter to first get in the ballpark and then manually adjust thereafter, I occasionally ignore the meter and try to do it by eye. It’s something meter-less camera users have had to do for decades. Furthermore, consider the huge exposure latitude of color neg film. It can handle great amounts of over- (and under-) exposure. That’s a cushion only film can afford.

Great set of vids here. Favorited!

By: Alexander

Alexander — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 23:43:15 +0000

I only have one question, how on earth does he expose his film right in this kind of tempo ? HOW ???
he takes a basic measure and goes off from there or what ?

Thanks for sharing!

By: Michal Kimlicka

Michal Kimlicka — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 17:32:42 +0000

thanks for posting this videos…
a really strong motivation.

By: Michael David Murphy

Michael David Murphy — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 03:40:21 +0000

Sorry, Didi. The lifespan of televised video on youtube that isn’t posted by the networks is variable.

By: Didi

Didi — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 02:23:09 +0000

I was out of town when you posted this & it seems totally missed the boat on both the original vid & the 3-part You-Tube version. MDM - is there any place online where it’s still viewable? When I clicked on the above links, it says “We’re sorry this video is no longer available.”

By: Cary

Cary — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 20:44:32 +0000

Thanks for posting this, I hadn’t seen the whole piece before. I like how he gets honked at by the white truck when crossing the street near end of the first clip. And I love the phrase he uses regarding editing, “enticing a courtship with a picture.” I almost got the sense he’s just burning through frames so that this videographer can get footage of him in action. I counted approximately 24 times he takes a picture.

By: Drooper

Drooper — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:32:57 +0000

He sounds like John C. Reilly. Good to watch, interesting stuff. Gonna have to try his aggressive style of taking photos sometime.

By: Michael David Murphy

Michael David Murphy — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 22:19:00 +0000

JA (above) gets the comment of the week/month/year. Pretty bent of shape for 7am, eh?

By: foster park

foster park — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:15:41 +0000

my favorite part is the little shrug/smile he gives people after the fact. as if to say, “i had to do it, you were so damned interesting just then!” genius. the most inspiring thing i’ve seen on the interweb in forever.