If you’re like me you are always carrying a camera around with you so when you see a photo you can take a quick capture and move on with whatever you were doing. Sometimes there are things I pass buy everyday and think "I need to take a shot of that", but at the same time you think "I will get it next time I come by". Well guess what, things change. I have learned that a photograph is only there for an instant, even if you think you see it over and over. The light will never be exactly the same again or the colors may not be as intense the next time you get around to taking that photo.

The image above was something I used to see every day. I would walk past this spot outside of an office building as I was going in all the time. One day a few weeks back I took advantage of some snow falling and went back to shoot this shot that I had in my mind for a while. Good thing I did! As of today it is gone. The tree and junipers have been removed for some updated landscaping. If I had waited much longer to shoot this one I wouldn't have it to add to my black and white images. So I learned a lesson, again, that you should always shoot it when you see it because it may never be there again.

Nikon F4, Nikkor 50mm, 1/60th sec at F1.4, Tri-X 400 in XTOL

 There is something to the handmade wet print that just speaks to me. I think is has to do with the work and thought that goes into making them. It’s always like magic when the image appears in the tray but it goes way beyond that. The little baby steps, the subtle changes between test prints that is the journey to the final print that is so darn fun. It’s hard work to be sure, but the reward is measured by the effort put into it. There are phrases that come to mind, “you get out of it, what you put into it” and “anything worth doing is worth doing well”.

Another aspect of the wet print is the fact that it was made with the touch of my hand. Not just on the print but on the tools that make the print. From the knobs on my enlarger, to the filters I choose and slide in front of the lens. It is real, in this world, a physical process that produces a physical result. It’s not some bits and bytes displayed on a screen that has no physical properties. It is real, and will always be real.

I got a direct mail marketing piece in the mail from a well known printer company advertizing the new printer that prints really nice big prints. It even states it prints beautiful black and white prints at the touch of a button. Well, we all know it takes much more work to get a fantastic print from one of these than just pushing a button.  Any way it does look really nice but I saw the price and just about fell over. $1,195.00! On sale, holy cow! That doesn’t include paper and ink. I don’t get why so many people have abandoned the darkroom to make prints, especially when an entry level printer costs so darn much. Oh well, to each his/her own. Mine is hand made in the dark, I like it that way.

Nikon F4, Tokina 28-70, 2 sec @ f8 TRI-X 400 pushed two stops (1600 iso)

In my last post I confessed how much I like to shoot film. One of the reasons I like to shoot it so much is that I can stay engaged with what/who I am photographing. That little screen on the back of digital cameras distracts me so much that I stop interacting with my subjects. I stop thinking of what the next shot could be. I love to work in a stream of thought that is a constant flow from shot to shot. I just can’t get that mojo going when I am looking at the back of a camera after every shot. Sure I can put tape over the screen but I’m not the only one who wants to look at that screen.  My clients and models always want to see that last shot. So, there goes that magic feeling and the creative stream.

I was reading the March issue of PDN and there is an article in it called “Art and Commerce”, by Coner Risch. Turns out Joanna Ewing, the Art Director in charge of Urban Outfitters catalog department, thinks shooting digital takes the creative flow out of the process too. She requires all photographers to shoot film. Her reason for this, is that, she feels the process of shooting film is more fluid. She says the digital shoot had a “stilting” effect. Mostly because of the instant feedback that makes everyone want to look at that last shot, even the model.  I read that and said to myself “that’s it, that’s why I enjoy the film shoot so much more.”

The article goes on to discuss how film isn’t really any more expensive because there are added costs do a digital shoot that a film shoot doesn’t have. It really is about the same cost when you boil it all down. Joanna also talked about using mood boards and how she tries to get the “look” down before proceeding. It’s a really good article. If you subscribe you can check it out online at pdnonline.com or just go buy the issue. It’s worth it.

 Nikon F4, sigma 70-300mm lens and Kodak TX400, devloped in Xtol. 

I hate following the herd. Period. That's just the kind of guy I am. I don't buy the next thing that comes out just because someone else did. One thing that has come with the digital age that I have been thinking about lately is waist. More on that in another post. With photography it's easy for someone to think that the next piece of gear is going to make them a better photographer and I just don't belive that. The best tool a photographer has is his/her mind and eyes. The gear is just an extension of the artists vision. So with that said, I love to shoot film. There, I said it. I don't usually mention my methods of capture because it really shouldn't matter. But in this day and age of better, faster gear coming out every week (it seems like it anyway) it's hard to say "I love to shoot film" without getting a weird look from someone. Don't get me wrong, I shoot digital if I have to, and there are plenty of times wehn I do. But my heart is with film. It's sort of like a secret club with us film shooters now a days. Like when Harley riders wave the peace sign at each other when they pass on the road. "It's a film thing". Anyway, I want to encourage anyone out there who used to shoot film to go out and shoot a roll just for kicks. If you have never shot a roll in your life then by all means, go shoot some. You will be so supprised at the results. You may think of film as "Old Technology" but it's not. It's just different technology. So, zig every once and a while, be a rebel and shoot some film. 

All but 3 images on my website are shot with film. See if you can guess what ones were shot with a digital camera. If you think you can tell, let me know what your guess is, and I will tell you if you are right or not.

Winter is a great time to get out and see your surroundings. Not a lot of people like to get out and walk in the cold nasty weather. I think it happens to be some of the best time to walk and contemplate things. It's quite, and you end up seeing things without the distractions of the neighborhood, or whatever area you're in. There is a quietness to the winter environment that seems to heighten the senses. Any way I was out a couple of days ago and was noticing how the big picture is made up of lots of little pictures. Snow hanging on some left over leaves on a tree for example made a tree look almost white. But up close there are just little leaves holding a bit of snow. Like delicate hands trying to scoop up and hold the snow, doing its part to clothe the tree in snow. Kind of cool.

It has been a fantastic holiday season and a great start to the New Year for me. I was able to take some time off of work and spend some great time with my wife and kids. I need to figure out how to become independently wealthy so I can just hang out with my family. If anyone has that figured out let me know.

I have been able to use some of that time to catch up on some personal work that I have been shooting. I have been concentrating on what sort of images I can make that draw the view in that are also common, everyday places. I want to evoke a sense of wonder or "wow, were did you take this photo" in the viewer but the image may be something you could see every day but you just don't "see" it.

The image below is of the ground covered in oak leaves. In one day two oak trees dropped all of their leaves and blanketed the whole area with leaves. This image makes people think about shuffling through leaves when they were kids, or making piles of them to jump into. There is a sense of mystery in this photograph too. A little dark, a little "I wonder what is just beyond that tree". This image is of my front yard. A very ordinary suburban front yard like so many people see every day. But when you take the time to see things differently, then the ordinary becomes exciting again.

There is nothing that gets my creative juces flowing more than creating images with black and white film. The grain, tones and the way a fiber print looks after it's been processed... it just sings. There is just something magical about a fiber print that can't be matched. Maybe it's just knowing that it was hand made by a person with emotion and artistry instead of a machine print that makes it really stand out. Even seeing a scan of a print on a computer monitor can't come close. You just have to see one to understand. It could be that I love the traditional process so much because it has nothing to do with a computer. I spend way too much time as it is on a computer so spending time in the dark working with my hands and creating the final image is something magical.

With that said I want to start a little project and see where it goes. I am looking for a family that I can photograph with traditional methods. All of the new coffee table type albums are really cool but what happens to the photos when the album corners get wet, or the pages tear? Remeber those portraits your grandparents or maybe parents had with their image composited inside a wine glass? Who thought that was a good idea? I think a lot of the digital things that are happening today will end up like those wine glass images. Just becasue you can doesn't mean you should. The designer in me wants to make a traditional album with modern design principles. Hopefully that will end up to be classic looking album with a modern sensablity.

If you want to work with me on this give me a call or send an email my way. Let's get working on it.