In the moment. on Flickr.
February 20, 2013
December 27, 2012
September 13, 2012
May 10, 2012
Alone on Flickr.
Canon Canonet QL17 Giii | 40mm f/1.7 (shot at f/2) Kodak Tri-x 400 (shot at 1600) | Diafine
A few photos back, I talk about the experience of driving home just as the sun set and the fog rolled in and my impromptu adventure in a nearby nature preserve to try to take some photos of it all. It was a really fun, but kind of spooky walk/run through the dark, noisy woods. I half expected a werewolf to jump out at me as I walked along the trail back to my car.
Anyway, now for some technical, uninteresting notes: I developed this film using Diafine, which is a 2-bath compensating developer. Basically, the first solution embeds the developer into the film emulsion, but it doesn’t actually get developed yet. Three minutes later, you dump out Bath A and pour in Bath B, which reacts with the developer in the film to develop it. The magic is that you get a speed increase in most film (Tri-x is the gold standard at 2-stops) without an increase in grain (it’s of a different quality than, say, Rodinal’s grain). But you also get a pretty gray negative (this photo had some work done in post, but that’s the beauty of a rich, gray negative; you get so much flexibility). This is good if you’re scanning and even better if you’re scanning and guessing at exposure, like I was. Say you guess is a bit off and you expose as if the film were at ISO 400. The next frame, you expose as if it were ISO 1600. In most developers, one of the two frames will be over- or under-developed depending on what you’re shooting for. But with Diafine, you get just the right amount of development, regardless (to a degree) of what speed you shot the film at. This is great for shooting on the fly and something that builds in a lot of flexibility with respect to how you meter/if you meter. Now, there will be people out there who say that photography is a precise art form and that doing anything less than Ansel Adam’s zone system for shooting and developing is a travesty. There are also those who will say that you always need a $300 Sekonic light meter in order to properly expose each frame. Phooey on to you, I say.
May 7, 2012
The Weisman Art Museum: A Holgarama on Flickr.
Holga BC135 | Kodak Plus-x | XTOL (1:1) | post-processed in Topaz Adjust
I’m fascinated by the intersection of analog and digital technology. There’s nothing like shooting with a film camera and the freedom that digital processing affords allows a lot of creativity once your negative is scanned. I’m not going to get into the digital vs. film debate because I think both have their place in a photographer’s toolbox. For this shot, I decided to embrace the Weisman Art Museum’s wonderful curves, Holga’s dreamy lens and ability to overlap frames, and the power of tonemapping, which highlights local contrast most often used in digital camera photos. It’s a tool best used minimally, but for the dreamy, unfocused, and overlapping look this image already possessed, I thought it worked out very well!
May 7, 2012
Stuck Between Stations on Flickr.
Holga BC135 | Kodak Plus-x | XTOL (1:1) | post-processed in Topaz Adjust
“The devil and John Berryman, they took a walk together and they ended up on Washington talking to the river | He said I surrounded myself with doctors and deep thinkers | But big heads and soft bodies make for lousy lovers | There was that night that we thought that John Berryman could fly | But he didn’t so he died”
The Hold Steady’s “Stuck Between Stations” accurately names the Washington Avenue Bridge as the suicide location of the poet John Berryman, who jumped to his death from atop on January 7, 1972. It’s a famous landmark, not so much because of suicides, but because it connects the east and west sides of the University of Minnesota together. During the day, it’s filled with throngs of students on all forms of transportation. Luckily, for the winter months, it has a covered part that provides shelter from the Minnesota cold.
This is a panorama shot in-camera on film using a 35mm Holga. Holgas are great because you can use the shutter at all times, it’s not coupled to the film winder. To create these imperfect (but that’s the appeal) images, you take a shot, wind about halfway, take another shot, wind halfway again, and take your final shot. You have to guess where each frame lands in relation to the previous one. It takes some trial and error, but I think you end up with some special images.
March 4, 2012
a brand new minneapolis no. 11 (dupont & 25th) on Flickr.
Mamiya 645 1000s | Mamiya Sekor-C 80mm f/1.9 (shot at f/2.8) | Kodak Tri-x 400 | 8x ND | D-76
This gentleman, who may be a distant relative of Clint Eastwood, was ambling down the street in the residential part of Uptown when I asked for his photo. He thought about it for a few seconds and finally agreed. When I asked how he was doing, he said, “Better than last week.” I guess that’s a good thing, right?
This picture is the eleventh in my 100 strangers project, to learn more and see the rest of A Brand New Minneapolis, click here.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
March 2, 2012
a brand new minneapolis no. 10 (lake & hennepin) on Flickr.
Mamiya 645 1000s | Mamiya Sekor-C 80mm f/1.9 (shot at f/2.8) | Kodak Tri-x 400 | 8x ND | D-76
Although many of my subjects thus far have been a bit world-weary, it’s not my intention through this project to only take pictures of these types of people. The bottom line is that I’m trying to find interesting people, whether it be an interesting character, like no. 7, or an interesting expression, like no. 1. This young woman was interesting to me because of her otherworldly calmness which I think shows in this portrait. Amongst the hustle and bustle of Uptown, it was striking to see someone at peace in her own world.
This picture is the tenth in my 100 strangers project, to learn more and see the rest of A Brand New Minneapolis, click here.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
February 29, 2012
a brand new minneapolis no. 9 (hennepin & 31st) on Flickr.
Mamiya 645 1000s | Mamiya Sekor-C 80mm f/1.9 (shot at f/4) | Kodak Tri-x 400 | 8x ND | D-76
This gentleman was out for a Sunday stroll with his dog when I asked him to be a part of my project. Amongst a sea of North Face fleece jackets, jeans, and New Balances, this gentleman definitely stood out—-in a good way. I’m glad people still dress up, even if it’s only to take the dog for a walk.
This picture is the ninth in my 100 strangers project, to learn more and see the rest of A Brand New Minneapolis, click here.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
February 26, 2012
a brand new minneapolis no. 8 (bryant & lake) on Flickr.
Mamiya 645 1000s | Mamiya Sekor-C 80mm f/1.9 (shot at f/2.8) | Kodak Tri-x 400 | 8x ND | D-76
This gentleman and I made eye contact as he crossed the street. It was the kind of contact that has the potential to be awkward (well, what kind of contact doesn’t?!) but I quickly motioned his way and asked if I could take his photograph. He readily obliged, wished me luck, and went on his way. Easy peasy.
This picture is the eighth in my 100 strangers project, to learn more and see the rest of A Brand New Minneapolis, click here.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
February 17, 2012
February 16, 2012
fingers on Flickr.
Pentax Super Program | 50mm f/1.4 | Tri-X 400 (shot @3200) | Xtol (1:1, 15.5 min)
Winter-bare trees backlit by a nearby outdoor hockey rink in Seward.
February 6, 2012
untitled on Flickr.
Pentax Super Program | Pentax-A SMC 50mm f/1.4 | Arista Premium 400 (Tri-X 400) | Xtol (1:1)
February 5, 2012
Roll-a-week 4/52 on Flickr.
Yashica Mat LM| 80mm f/3.5 | Kodak Tri-X 400 (exposed 1250) | Diafine 4+4
Ah, four weeks into the roll-a-week challenge. I think this is my first roll where all of the frames are properly exposed! Progress! I was having a minor crisis of confidence in my metering ability, after one roll was very over-exposed and the next was very under-exposed. I think my problem was over-reliance on my meter, which caused me in one case to expose for the brightest highlights in a very shadowy shot (a snow river). In addition to that faux pas, I also tried putting my 52mm red filter over the lens hood and surprise, surprise, guess what marred the corner in most of my shots?! No matter, I’m still new at this film thing, but I guess the good news is that I have 48 weeks left to practice. It was really cold when I took these shots—-the coldest its been all winter in Minnesota. I got a few keepers (I think), but at least they all turned out!
Sneak Peak: color in the coming weeks…stay tuned
January 31, 2012
it’s the simple things (roll-a-week 3/52) on Flickr.
Sometimes all it takes to make a good night great is a cup of coffee and a stack of pancakes (they were cooking when I took this shot and when they were done I didn’t have a chance to take a picture as I was too busy scarfing down the gloriousness that is the diner pancake. Hence its absence in the picture, but mention in the description) at the famous greasy spoon Mickey’s Diner in St. Paul.
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