The importance of chance

[Daniel D. Teoli Jr.]

Sirius Glass said:

Thank you for posting this. I would have not come across it on my own.

 

I had posted a thread about 'Ways to Strength and Beauty' on a photo forum. One of the replies was above. My reply to them is below...

That is how chance is. "The more I do...the more I do." That was what Garry Winogrand would say. I say, one thing leads to another. Morale of the story, expose yourself to all sort of things and you can expand your experience.

I found out about 'Ways to Strength and Beauty' after watching 'Triumph of the Will' by Leni Riefenstahl.

I found out about 'Triumph of the Will' after what looked to be a copy of it turned up in my 16mm film archive. (Don't know if it is a full copy or not. It is in 2 parts.)

I found out about the importance of carefully handling large film reels on a core when one of the 'Triumph of the Will' parts blew out from the center. It is like getting toothpaste back in the tube...you can't. I spent about 45 minutes getting it back in shape and had to put in 1 splice.
 

Example of film on core shown vacuum sealed to be frozen to halt vinegar syndrome.

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Daniel D. Teoli Jr. Archival Collection
Daniel D. Teoli Jr. Small Gauge Film Archive
Daniel D. Teoli Jr. Advertising Archive
Daniel D. Teoli Jr. VHS Video Archive
Daniel D. Teoli Jr. Popular Culture Archive
Daniel D. Teoli Jr. Audio Archive
Daniel D. Teoli Jr. Social Documentary Photography

[Daniel D. Teoli Jr.]

Another area of investigation I got 'by chance' from 'Ways to Strength and Beauty'' was pushball. When I get some time, I will cut the pushball clip out. Pictures are one thing but seeing it in action is usually better. I had never heard of pushball. The balls weighed around 50 pounds from what I gather. 

Trying to make a collage for this post with Lightroom 5 also reminded me I need to learn about making mosaic collages of other photos. When I used to do more of my own photography, I would shoot collage scenes for this in mind. I think they call it joiner photography. But I never did anything with them due to lacking the skillset on how to make the collages.

Being an old film photographer, my digital skills are limited. When making the transition from film to digital I was happy just to recreate what I used to do in the darkroom. That served me well for about 98% of my work. 

When I talked about areas of investigation at the beginning; that is what fuels me with my work as an archivist and photographer. I was never much of a reader, but I like learning about things in photos, audio and moving pictures. Intellectuals may like to read more; I like to see or hear it.

Edited April 26, 2025 by Daniel D. Teoli Jr.