Q: Dan, what do you do with all the film you shoot?
A:
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
LBRDY Roll 20: Ektar
Outside my apartment the first snow of the year is falling here in New York, six days before Christmas. I just got back from ABBQ09 and am already planning ABBQ10. This next week is bookended by DTMT and INFRASTRUCTURE shows, but I’m thinking about none of that right now.
That’s because two nights ago I scanned the final roll of film from LBRDY and was kind of blown away.
On LBRDY Day 5, RB and I stopped into Southeastern Camera in Wilmington because I hadn’t brought enough film with me. I liked the store and was in the mood to try out some new stuff, so I bought a few rolls of film that I hadn’t used before, including one of the sleek looking and cool sounding Kodak Ektar 100.
I had been wanting to try some new, better, color films and ended up saving the Ektar roll for the final full day of the trip, which was a sun-drenched Labor Day Saturday, spent at the Surf City beach. It was a perfect combination of film, lighting and subject.
I only posted three shots from the roll, but they are best (and they have been entered in the Kodak Ektar Photo Contest). The above photo is my favorite, and may be the best photo I’ve taken this year, but “Under the pier” is damn close. The color of the sky and sand, detail of focus and framing of the people all came together perfectly here. LBRDY was one of the peak creativity weeks of this year, and photos like these reflect that.
If I finish in the top eight of the contest, I’ll win between 1,200 and 20 rolls of Ektar, so you may be reading more about this film soon. Stay tuned.
That’s because two nights ago I scanned the final roll of film from LBRDY and was kind of blown away.
On LBRDY Day 5, RB and I stopped into Southeastern Camera in Wilmington because I hadn’t brought enough film with me. I liked the store and was in the mood to try out some new stuff, so I bought a few rolls of film that I hadn’t used before, including one of the sleek looking and cool sounding Kodak Ektar 100.
I had been wanting to try some new, better, color films and ended up saving the Ektar roll for the final full day of the trip, which was a sun-drenched Labor Day Saturday, spent at the Surf City beach. It was a perfect combination of film, lighting and subject.
I only posted three shots from the roll, but they are best (and they have been entered in the Kodak Ektar Photo Contest). The above photo is my favorite, and may be the best photo I’ve taken this year, but “Under the pier” is damn close. The color of the sky and sand, detail of focus and framing of the people all came together perfectly here. LBRDY was one of the peak creativity weeks of this year, and photos like these reflect that.
If I finish in the top eight of the contest, I’ll win between 1,200 and 20 rolls of Ektar, so you may be reading more about this film soon. Stay tuned.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Austin Christmas caroler flash-mob
ABBQ09, Day 3 -- We were sitting on the rooftop of the Iron Cactus when we saw a mob of Christmas carolers pop up below us. RB and I ran down and started shooting. I got ahead of the mob, crouched down for a better vantage point and then they swarmed me. This is what happened next:
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Channeling loss into writing (again)
Half-way through DS09 I started having the sinking feeling that I was missing a roll of film. I eventually convinced myself that it would turn up once I got back to NY and was able to count out everything properly. The count came back correct, so I put the sinking feeling to bed.
Then I got a quartet of rolls back from the developers, and one came back blank. I told myself that I had wasted money and had given them a blank roll.
Now I’m not too sure.
I’m a roll short. I have no photos from Savannah or the first half of Tybee Island.
And I’m kinda freaking out. Angry, disheartened, annoyed, mad, pissed…. and a touch hopeful that it will turn up somewhere.
I can picture half of the shots too – that’s the kicker. I KNOW what I’m missing, most importantly Savannah at midnight and “breakfast” at Wall’s.
I don’t wanna say it’s like loosing a child, but it hurts.
Then I think back to the rock photography exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum I went to a couple of weeks back -- how over THIRTY years later and after taking one of the most iconic shots in rock and roll history, Bob Gruen is STILL mad that he lost two rolls of film from the day that he shot John Lennon in the New York t-shirt. (Or it might be Don Hunstein and the shoot that became the cover of Bob Dylan’s Freewheelin’… either way, the important shot of the shoot was saved, but the sentiment is the same.)
THIS is what is important to me, and to loose a piece of it… even though I could sketch out half the shots from memory… it hurts.
Then I got a quartet of rolls back from the developers, and one came back blank. I told myself that I had wasted money and had given them a blank roll.
Now I’m not too sure.
I’m a roll short. I have no photos from Savannah or the first half of Tybee Island.
And I’m kinda freaking out. Angry, disheartened, annoyed, mad, pissed…. and a touch hopeful that it will turn up somewhere.
I can picture half of the shots too – that’s the kicker. I KNOW what I’m missing, most importantly Savannah at midnight and “breakfast” at Wall’s.
I don’t wanna say it’s like loosing a child, but it hurts.
Then I think back to the rock photography exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum I went to a couple of weeks back -- how over THIRTY years later and after taking one of the most iconic shots in rock and roll history, Bob Gruen is STILL mad that he lost two rolls of film from the day that he shot John Lennon in the New York t-shirt. (Or it might be Don Hunstein and the shoot that became the cover of Bob Dylan’s Freewheelin’… either way, the important shot of the shoot was saved, but the sentiment is the same.)
THIS is what is important to me, and to loose a piece of it… even though I could sketch out half the shots from memory… it hurts.
Monday, December 07, 2009
Are You Pulling the Wool Over Your Own Eyes?
The GirlieGirl Army» Are You Pulling the Wool Over Your Own Eyes?
By my cousin. It runs in the family.
By my cousin. It runs in the family.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Frank, The Americans and the Met
DM: @ robt. Frank exhibit @ met. Good.
RL: Take notes for nxt week
DM: What’do’ya think I’m here for!
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Robert Frank’s The Americans, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a special exhibit based around prints of all 83 photos from the book. Seeing the photos full-sized was cool, but it was the rest of the exhibit that really made an impact on me.
The Met gathered Franks’ early work, that of those who influenced him, and the real showstopper, a collection of his contact sheets and discarded shots. More than seeing his work, you got to see his process – what he shot and how he chose what was best.
The shots leading up to Parade-Hoboken, New Jersey? Very cool to watch him try to get the shot just right. Watching the parade that Trolley-New Orleans went past before he turned and saw/shot it? Totally helps fill in the scene. As someone who shoots film and spends more time in post-production with the negatives than shooting, it helps seeing the contact sheets of such an influential work, to see how many times Frank tried to get it right, what angels he tried, how he shot the subject and the moment.
Fourth of July, Jay, New York
by Robert Frank
Photo #17 from The Americans - Fourth of July, Jay, New York - shows a giant, old, American flag draped from something, nearly translucent, hanging over a pair of virginal girls with other festival-goers in the distance and a boy not liking something he is eating in the bottom-left corner. On the discarded photos wall was a photo from Jay that he nearly used. It took me four trips across the exhibit to agree that he chose the right photo.
The discarded Jay photo shows the flag hanging from a line, but reveals more of the festival, with better trees and more people looking toward the camera. He could have used it, but the more I looked at the two photos, the more the chosen one was better - it was more archetypal and the suspended flag looked better without seeing how it was hung. Looking at the contact sheet, he shot about ten photos in Jay, and only two of them did not show how the flag was hung. He kept going back to it until he got it right, then kept working post-shoot to choose the right one.
Just by seeing the negatives and proofs, you could piece together his thought-process and approach, and that was why the exhibit was worth going to. Seeing the final product can help you see things in a new way, but seeing the artist at work can help you understand how they made the art, which, as a photographer, is something much more valuable to learn from.
RL: Take notes for nxt week
DM: What’do’ya think I’m here for!
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of Robert Frank’s The Americans, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a special exhibit based around prints of all 83 photos from the book. Seeing the photos full-sized was cool, but it was the rest of the exhibit that really made an impact on me.
The Met gathered Franks’ early work, that of those who influenced him, and the real showstopper, a collection of his contact sheets and discarded shots. More than seeing his work, you got to see his process – what he shot and how he chose what was best.
The shots leading up to Parade-Hoboken, New Jersey? Very cool to watch him try to get the shot just right. Watching the parade that Trolley-New Orleans went past before he turned and saw/shot it? Totally helps fill in the scene. As someone who shoots film and spends more time in post-production with the negatives than shooting, it helps seeing the contact sheets of such an influential work, to see how many times Frank tried to get it right, what angels he tried, how he shot the subject and the moment.
Fourth of July, Jay, New York
by Robert Frank
Photo #17 from The Americans - Fourth of July, Jay, New York - shows a giant, old, American flag draped from something, nearly translucent, hanging over a pair of virginal girls with other festival-goers in the distance and a boy not liking something he is eating in the bottom-left corner. On the discarded photos wall was a photo from Jay that he nearly used. It took me four trips across the exhibit to agree that he chose the right photo.
The discarded Jay photo shows the flag hanging from a line, but reveals more of the festival, with better trees and more people looking toward the camera. He could have used it, but the more I looked at the two photos, the more the chosen one was better - it was more archetypal and the suspended flag looked better without seeing how it was hung. Looking at the contact sheet, he shot about ten photos in Jay, and only two of them did not show how the flag was hung. He kept going back to it until he got it right, then kept working post-shoot to choose the right one.
Just by seeing the negatives and proofs, you could piece together his thought-process and approach, and that was why the exhibit was worth going to. Seeing the final product can help you see things in a new way, but seeing the artist at work can help you understand how they made the art, which, as a photographer, is something much more valuable to learn from.
Thursday, December 03, 2009
Revere `09, a mini-photo essay
Camera shows him from behind, not moving, simply taking in the shoreline. It's the first beach he's seen in months. He likes it, but feels completely shitty. Not thinking, he takes in the scene.
Slowly audio comes in. Fragments of things being seethed at his companion. Threats of death upon photography. -- Journal, dated 4/5/9
Revere Beach -- "Severe" -- is one of the yearly trips, an April tradition, a strip of beach just outside of Boston, at the end of the T. There are the clams at Santorini's, the dog track in the distance, not too many people (almost all of them local) but more importantly, sun and surf. It's like medicine and unofficially kicks off the summer photo/travel season. It's like a tonic to help ward off the winter blues and this year I needed it. Badly.
I had spent the week prior getting sick with a repository illness and attending funerals. By the time we got to Revere on Sunday, my body was approaching near total system failure with a full-on hangover from the day and night before. I didn't say much the entire trip out there, or even during our stay on the beach... I just needed to get out there, on the shore, and in the sun.
Too cold to go in, having already shot much of the location already, we meandered over the beach near the water, under the clear sky. The beach was wet from the recent rains, and the sand reflected the sun's light. Container ships in the water along the horizon while a few other groups of people walked back and forth, looking at the seaweed and other items that had been brought in by the tide.
It was almost like walking on a sheen of glass, the way the sky and earth reflected one another, and it shows in the photos. Clear, crisp lines, a few clouds... it was desolate and wonderful. A tarnished oasis at the end of the line.
After walking for an hour or so, we decamped at Santorini's, and sat in the sun. Writing, shooting, soaking in the light along with water and cups of tea. A few trips to the bathroom, and eventually my system was purged of all the liquor and illness and dire thoughts. The whole experience was a respite.
I only shot six photos, but they were all that was needed to capture the day (and about all I was capable of, my body was so in revolt). They all share the same PoV and perspective, looking out at the beach, seeing it and soaking it in. These were the last photos that I took before DS09, before everything started clicking and ramping up. Click on one to see them all.
Slowly audio comes in. Fragments of things being seethed at his companion. Threats of death upon photography. -- Journal, dated 4/5/9
Revere Beach -- "Severe" -- is one of the yearly trips, an April tradition, a strip of beach just outside of Boston, at the end of the T. There are the clams at Santorini's, the dog track in the distance, not too many people (almost all of them local) but more importantly, sun and surf. It's like medicine and unofficially kicks off the summer photo/travel season. It's like a tonic to help ward off the winter blues and this year I needed it. Badly.
I had spent the week prior getting sick with a repository illness and attending funerals. By the time we got to Revere on Sunday, my body was approaching near total system failure with a full-on hangover from the day and night before. I didn't say much the entire trip out there, or even during our stay on the beach... I just needed to get out there, on the shore, and in the sun.
Too cold to go in, having already shot much of the location already, we meandered over the beach near the water, under the clear sky. The beach was wet from the recent rains, and the sand reflected the sun's light. Container ships in the water along the horizon while a few other groups of people walked back and forth, looking at the seaweed and other items that had been brought in by the tide.
It was almost like walking on a sheen of glass, the way the sky and earth reflected one another, and it shows in the photos. Clear, crisp lines, a few clouds... it was desolate and wonderful. A tarnished oasis at the end of the line.
After walking for an hour or so, we decamped at Santorini's, and sat in the sun. Writing, shooting, soaking in the light along with water and cups of tea. A few trips to the bathroom, and eventually my system was purged of all the liquor and illness and dire thoughts. The whole experience was a respite.
I only shot six photos, but they were all that was needed to capture the day (and about all I was capable of, my body was so in revolt). They all share the same PoV and perspective, looking out at the beach, seeing it and soaking it in. These were the last photos that I took before DS09, before everything started clicking and ramping up. Click on one to see them all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
