A couple of you have suggested that I rescind editing comments so as to allow them to appear on the site sooner than they have been with me editing them (Okay, I’ll admit I fell a little behind while we’ve been involved in our home renovation project.)

The comment review process is to prevent “comment spamming” but so far (knock on wood) it hasn’t been a problem. So, at least for the time being, I’ve removed the editing requirement and comments will appear on the site as soon as you post them. See? I listen, I’m responsive…

If spamming or inappropriate comments become a problem, I’ll reinstate the editing requirement. So go crazy, comment away! Remember, though, keep it clean and short.

What is street photography? Let’s define it by it’s intentions: to capture a sense of contemporary life, usually in cities. Within this broad context, “contemporary life” includes people and whatever they have created, from skyscrapers to smashed soda cans. It reflects how we live, how we feel, what we think. It’s not about the street itself or the tools used to create it. And its intent is “non-commercial,” meaning it is not intended to sell a product or generate profit from someone else’s endeavors.

One of my favorite street photographers is Joe Holmes whose site, joe’s nyc, I regularly visit. Joe is a walk-around photographer. His unique perspective allows him to capture wonderful images of people and things in and around New York City that most never “see.” But you don’t need a big city in order to capture great street shots. They’re everywhere; you just have to look for them. With practice, you can develop an “eye” for the things that work for you. The thumbnail images I’ve included in this article (click to enlarge) are from a collection on Flickr taken by various street photographers and represent excellent  examples of street photography.

So how does it differ, if at all, from documentary or journalistic photography? Well, the line is blurry but, in street photography, the photographer tries to combine subjects and situations in ways that capture elements we might not otherwise notice, often evoking humor or raw emotion in the process. In that respect, the street photograph is as much a portrait of the photographer as his subject.

For example, a telephoto image of a baseball player hitting a series-winning home run aims to document that moment in time. However, a fortuitous shot of the hotdog vendor dropping his tray, with hotdogs scattering in every direction just as the ball is hit and the fans leap to their feet, would constitute street photography.

However, an image taken “in the street” isn’t necessarily a street photograph. Advertising images are routinely taken in the street as are countless vacation snapshots. Generally, neither qualify as “street.” Rather, the street photographer is more a hunter utilizing an element of stealth in order to capture his “prey,” a unique vision of something only he sees. In addition, the street photographer doesn’t expect to get rich in the pursuit. If financial gain were his motive, he’d likely choose fashion or wildlife or landscape or any number of alternative avenues of photography.

Today’s street photographs will likely become more important in years to come, not because of the events or notable people in them but because the images will show “us” in the context of things we enjoyed, things that made us laugh and, perhaps more importantly, they will reflect the vision of the photographer who created them.

I admit that I don’t approach photography like a seasoned street photographer. I’ve concentrated on wildlife, landscape and, more recently, dabbled in portraiture. I’m afraid I’ve suffered both from laziness - I don’t want to pack a lot of gear as I walk around town - and a certain apprehension about photographing people I don’t know without their permission. But I suspect I’ll give it a try, perhaps after I get a more compact long lens, the better for hunting…

But by all means, if you have a camera and a little creative desire, give street photography a try. Be the hunter. Be alert and have your camera ready. Remember stealth. And above all, have fun! You might just discover a part of your creative self you didn’t realize was there.

I found this curious. Microsoft, always on the cutting edge of flawless security (wink wink), is making it more difficult for Mac and Unix users to use Vista on their systems claiming it’s “for security reasons.” While it’s more likely a business decision they would simply rather not explain, it does seem counter to sound business logic.

With Macs now using Intel chips, virtualization programs let Mac users easily switch back and forth between Apple’s Mac OSX operating system and Windows. So you’d think Microsoft would welcome the potential additional sales of its Vista operating system to both Mac and Unix users.

Well, apparently not. Buried within Vista’s 14-page licensing rules lies a ban on using the least expensive versions of Vista in virtualization engines. Instead, people wanting to put Vista  in a virtualized program must buy the $299 Business version or the $399 Ultimate package.

Scott Woodgate, a director in Microsoft’s Vista team, concedes that the least expensive versions of Vista would work in virtualization programs but says Microsoft wants to restrict it because of security holes [in the cheaper versions] spawned by virtualization technology.

Yeah, right.

It’s Wednesday so this must be hump day. It occurred to me that I have no idea where the term originated, so I set about conducting a little (very little) research. I’m afraid I learned little more than I already knew.

“Hump day” is, of course, a synonym for Wednesday. The idiom is based on the notion that if a worker has made it half-way through the week, struggling uphill from Monday, that the rest of the week is an easier slide toward Friday and the weekend; the end is in sight from the hump, the top of the hill.

Used in the context of climbing a proverbial hill to get through a tough week makes sense. But there’s also the double entendre related to sex. I’m not clear if, in that context, the term applies only to those who limit their sex to Wednesdays…

Anyway,  I’m still no closer to knowing the idiom’s origin. If you know, please share.

Tune-in for sweet surprises as legend-dairy ice cream co-founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield of Ben & Jerry’s visit Stephen Colbert and “The Colbert Report” to celebrate and discuss his new ice cream, AmeriCone Dream, tonight at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT.

According to its website, Ben & Jerry’s new flavor is “a decadent melting pot of vanilla ice cream with fudge-covered waffle cone pieces and a caramel swirl. It’s the sweet taste of liberty in your mouth.” Colbert believes AmeriCone Dream can make a difference. “I’m not afraid to say it. Dessert has a well-known liberal agenda. What I hope to do with this ice cream is bring some balance back to the freezer case.”

Stephen Colbert is donating his proceeds from the sale of AmeriCone Dream to charity through The Stephen Colbert AmeriCone Dream Fund. The Fund will support charities of concern to Stephen such as food and medical assistance for disadvantaged children, helping veterans and their families, and environmental causes. “I will save the world,” said Colbert.

Coming soon to a fair & balanced freezer section near you.

The New York Times, among other papers, recently published a new Hubble Space Telescope photograph of distant galaxies colliding. Of course, astronomers have had pictures of colliding galaxies for quite some time, but with the vastly improved resolution provided by the Hubble, you can actually see the lawyers rushing to the scene… 

But I kid, I kid! Actually, this is a Hubble image of NGC 6745 showing the results of two galaxies that have been colliding for  hundreds of millions of years. Just off the  above photograph to the lower right is the smaller galaxy, moving away. The larger galaxy,  pictured above, used to be a  spiral galaxy but now is damaged and appears  peculiar.