Pat Green Snaps!

After a long day of street photography, I just wanted some good pizza with a dear partner in crime and life before taking the train home. I didn’t expect to meet an international legend. I also did not know I would be moved, encouraged, and touched by the legend. But that is what happened. 

The last six months have been exhausting. Physically, emotionally, and financially I have been running on fumes and hanging on by a thread. It has been an arduous road and will continue to be. There is a positive turn around the bend that will ease some burdens. This season has been a time of growth and introspection as to who I am and what matters in this life. I found in recent months I have been struggling in my photography. For the first time since 1983 I found

What comfort levels can you push for growth? What is your comfort zone? Is it better to stay in your comfort zone or do you grow outside the comfort zone?

There are many different sub categories to street photography. My favorites are unobtrusive street photography and the street portrait. Unobtrusive street photography is also known as candid street photography and has overlap with photojournalism and documentary photography. It is in this realm my inner storyteller comes out. The art in this is choosing your subjects and anticipating the moment, For me this heightens my senses, forces me to be present. Robert Doisneau and

Will he win the prize? Carnival arcade in Summer, the carny barker lets the little boy get a higher vantage point! The family watches with anticipation as he focuses and winds up for the overhand throw. 

Moments like this are classic Americana. Since the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, the modern traveling carnival experience has had moments, and photographs, similar to this. It is because of the Chicago connection that I love shooting carnivals. One of the stars in the Chicago Flag reflected in my company logo is dedicated to the 1893 World’s Fair. 

It is not only a timeless moment for any street photographer to take part in, but it is a moment that requires being aware and having your

How much closer can you get? Will you take a once in a lifetime opportunity or play it safe and practical? These questions and more were things I had to ask with this shot.

I had just finished shooting the grand opening gala for The Chicago Architectural Resource Center. I packed up my gear, wished everyone a good night, and went outside to order a ride to the train station to go home. The surge pricing and the wait time made a ride to Union Station not a viable option. I was going to have to walk over a mile. 

I had no idea what the reason for the delay was until I finished cutting through the Fulton Market District. Mexican Independence Day. It was a caravan as far far as the eye could see c

What do you have to do to get to the moment? Will you go with the crowd or find another way?

On Labor Day at was at a festival in Naperville, Illinois. It is a suburb of chicago. I am in the arcade game area which had a narrow passage. Ahead of me I saw a man with a great hat on. I could not get a good angle on him from where I was and he was working his way through the crowd. I had to get ahead of him if I wanted the shot. 

My only path was around and not through. I had to leave the main path and get up into a grass hill between the main path and local buildings. I trotted my way up and around to get to where he would be coming through the crowd. 

He saw me coming around and he knew my intentions. What I did not know is he was with his kids and wanted the

What can you do to get closer to your subject, lead, prospect,  client?

There is an old saying in Photography that was coined by Robert Capa, one of the best combat photographers and photojournalists we’ve had.  “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” 

When I do street photography I mostly am running about with a fixed lens compact camera. My zoom feature is my feet. If there is a zoom feature on my compact. 

I saw this band performing in a park in the Chicago Suburbs on Labor Day. Their outfits and stage presence was compelling and I really wanted a shot of them. The crowd was large, tight, and not masked. Frankly, I would expect nothing less from Naperville Illinois in the middle of the deadly Del

Do you choose the moment everyone is watching or do you choose the people reacting to the moment? Which is the decisive moment? Which one freezes time that is unforgettable?

Labor Day. Naperville is a suburb of Chicago that hosted an event. Concerts on a main stage, carnival rides, carnival games, and food. It was one of the most crowded event I have been socially since shelter in place happened. Any of my Zine Documentary readers will know from my last issue, The Masks We Wear, that I take Covid-19 seriously and adhere to guidelines as best I can. 

If you put a lot o

Are you a prisoner of rules? Do you serve the rules or do the rules serve you? I have never been a fan of rules. Someone dear to me once told me that conventions are good, rules restrict. 

A lattice supports the vine so it can grow, but it does not control the vine or tell the vine how to be a vine, it merely gives a structure. The same is true of a rule or convention.

The rule of odds is a composition rule taught to many first year photographers and beginning enthusiasts. It is often taught on the heels of the rule of thirds. The rule of odds, as defined succinctly by Digital Photography Schoo

“Just be you!” I said. 

I was walking along Adams Street in downtown Chicago with my Press credentials dangling from my neck on my way to shoot some B roll for an assignment. 

I saw these two casually leaning against a wall pretty much as you see them now. When I am out specifically to shoot street I usually have either a small digital compact or film compact. You can be discreet and shoot street all day. The set up I had with me, there was no being discreet. But I wanted to create a moment here.

I walked up to them and said, “You two exude cool, may I take a few photos?” The man said, “Hi Press,” (referring to my Press Badge), “what do you want?”

“Just go back to doing what you were doing. Be you.”

He continued smoking his blunt and she enjo

Has anyone thanked you for wearing a mask? This Zine Documentary showcases the everyday heroes who wear their masks at work, play, and daily life! Consider it a 20 page thank you!

The reception of the first issue, Asian Fusion, has been wonderful so far.  Just as that issue was a celebration of the influence of Asian Americans in our lives, this is a celebration of those who have worn and continue to wear their masks daily. 

In April of 2020 the CDC guidelines included masks along with social distancing and hand washing to the mandates to slow the spread of COVID 19. Many beautiful and considerate people did their part and continue to do their part 17 mo

On a personal front I have a lot on my plate. There has been more stress in the last few months than in any time of my life. I have been leaning on a small group of people who have been standing with me through the storm. Saturday before last I just needed to walk it all off. I grabbed my Pentax K3ii Limited Silver edition, packed some lenses, batteries, and a water bottle into my photo vest, and took a train to downtown Chicago. And I walked. 

I walked over seven miles and came across the Gold Coast Art Fair in Chicago’s Grant Park. I found my spirits restored connecting with artists and art. Before I left I decided to have a cool drink by a bandstand. Simple trio. Acoustic strings, a violin, and a voice as beautiful as the instruments. I sat and enjoyed their music for a f

There are many expressions of street photography. I mainly practice two forms. The street portrait and the candid moment. The candid moment contains controversy. Some feel it is voyeuristic. For me, the candid form of street photography is a practice in art, journalism, anthropology, sociology, and psychology.  This is a candid moment and one that contains tension. 

Friday is my birthday! What do I want for my birthday? I want you to be my boss! Join the Patreon community if you think I deserve a raise. Tell me what you want to see more of, or less of, in future bi monthly magazines. For as little as $3 a month, you can be my boss and get free digital copies of my zine and special member only editions. For $5 or $10 a month you get even more! The first member only edition mini zine drops the week after my birthday. So come and boss me around a bit. I like it!

For more information on how to join our Patreon community, go to https://www.patreon.com/patlgreen

The First Issue of Pat Green Zine is live! In this first documentary, we celebrate Asian Culture.  Asian Fusion is more than just a genre of cuisine. It is the beauty and wonder of Asian culture interwoven into the fabric of us all. Join the celebration and also address the horror of what we do to harm instead of celebrate and embrace. To get your copy, click here. 

“Check out his first zine, celebrating Asian Fusion. Buy it for coffee table. We are better for the diversity in our lives. Pat’s work reminds us of this.”-DT

We are proud to announce the new book, Portraits of Expectations: Coping Beauty, is now available as a PDF version. This was not the original intention of book due to expectations, but there was a shift in priorities that overruled the expectations. This is as it should be. 

You can get it by going to the Zines page of this website. 

The idea of a conventional photobook contains a level of prestige, but more important than that is the message and the story.  This is a story that is about a very important subject and was beautifully and powerfully delivered. 

Mental health does not care what your race, sexuality, gender, or income level you are at. The idea of a book edition and a magazine edition

This last year has been hard on my mental health. I am not the only one. We need to talk about that. I just published a book for that conversation.

I published my third photo book that went live on Amazon yesterday. The title is Portraits of Expectations: Coping Beauty. Unlike my previous limited edition zines, this one is for a larger audience. 

In the photobook I explore the contrast and beauty of people when they’re using coping skills as opposed to living under the pressures of societal exp

“I fit the bill but I am in no way comfortable with my body being in print right now. “

“I want to be in this project, but I don’t like my body right now.”

These are two real life comments I have had from people who have responded to model calls I have put out for my current book projects. The image empire and false standards of beauty have placed these women in positions of self loathing and embarrassment leading them away from something they would like to do. 

I did not ask them directly, I posted the notices and they came to my inbox to tell me that they loved the idea, they wanted to take part, but they could not over body shame. The image empire won, but these women have lost-and so have I. 

I recentl

I went out to the outdoor deck at the convention center to have a cigarette. Cos-players were meeting “professional” photographers in this area. I saw a young woman dressed as Supergirl. The photographer made Larry Flint seem a gentleman. I got involved. Photography should be fun and not a #metoo story.

2 years I have covered a convention on the East Coast as press. The con is called Otakon. It is an Anime convention. Otakon is focused on celebrating Japanese art and culture mostly in the form of anime and manga. It needs to be stated for the record that Otakon staff take sexism, racism and homophobia seriously. They took the matter seriously when I brought it to their attention.

Cos-players reflect their favorite

 Sometimes Picasso was political. Sometimes he wasn’t. In 1945 he did say the following:

What do you think an artist is? An imbecile who has only eyes if he’s a painter, or ears if he’s a musician, or a lyre at every level of his heart if he’s a poet, or even, if he’s a boxer, just his muscles? On the contrary, he’s at the same time a political being, constantly alive to heartrending, fiery, or happy events, to which he responds in every way[… .] No, painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war for attack and defense against the enemy. [Pablo Picasso, Statement, in Chipp, Theories of Modern Art, 487.]

I just released a new photo zine book called,