exposing my weirdness...

I know I am weird. I was passing by a spot in my office and noticed the sun and my shadow. Knew that I had to take a picture so I grabbed one of my SX-70s and framed/shot the image above. Something so simple, yet potentially complex. So little detail, yet so much about me...

tonight I shot film...

Definitely not one of my best self-portrait poses, but I wanted to show the success of a New55 negative that I captured tonight. I shot this one using the new wood wall in my studio/darkroom as the backdrop. Alot went into this shot to set it all up and photograph myself with the Toyo 4x5 camera and Fujinon 210mm lens. An overwhelming success on the focus. I think that this is as sharp as I can expect from a self-portrait. Lots of guessing on the location of my face, but I got it right tonight. For the lighting, I used one strobe and tripped the shutter using an air-bulb cable release. All-in-all, this is the result of needing something to take my mind off all of the stress from the day. Sometimes I watch TV, sometimes I listen to music, sometimes I read books. Tonight I shot film...

me by me...

I realize that I post quite a few film photos of myself. Many times I wonder what people think and then other times it really doesn't matter to me what they think. As I have often said, I get bored and there is nobody to take a picture of, so I end up photographing myself. After spending such a large amount of time at work, photography is my means of releasing/relieving stress. Some nights it is almost a necessity to pick up the camera. This was one of those nights. In the case of this one, it is a photo of ME by ME (sort of). I have one similar to this (except it is an 8x10 photo) that a friend of mine took of me with my 8x10 camera. This one was entirely taken by me using my Polaroid 180 on a tripod with a self-timer. I always seem to like pictures of myself with my Leica M6 and this one is a winner in my book. One of my fears in life is that my family will forget me when I am gone. My goal is for them to have tangible memories of our time spent together on this earth. Unfortunately, I am behind the camera for most of the photos that are taken around our house so there are very few with me in them (relatively speaking). A photo like this represent something to me. Think about it. It shows me being photographed with one of my favorite cameras by none other than myself. And the funny thing is that the actual photograph was taken by nobody (since it was a self-timer). What a mind-bending concept for no reason other than to provide my family with a subtle memory of who I am...

cold and blue...

Another 4x5 selfie in the record books. I can't quite figure out how to control the color of this film.  It's definitely not the temperature of the film. I heated this film before exposing and before processing to get it to 80-90 degrees. I think it must be the color of the light. This was taken in the shade and it seemed like a blueish light. At least it matches how cold it was outside in the shade. Regardless of the results, it is always fun to play around with my 4x5 camera and instant film...

a new chapter...

One of my struggles with having many types of cameras is never really "focusing" on any one particular camera. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy them all, but I probably miss out on becoming an expert on any one camera because I am constantly switching out between types of cameras. I recently got my Hasselblad back from being repaired/CLA'd. Seems that during the past week I have been shooting it more than any other camera (thus my decision to include it in the photo). Tonight I decided to finally dust off my Toyo 4x5 camera and shoot my first frame of New55 film. I have had the film for a few weeks, but I just haven't had time to set up the 4x5 camera to try it out. Not the most exciting shot, but I can now say that I have shot New55 film. The positive and negative both seem to be true to what I metered. I am beyond excited to find some more interesting subjects so that I can shoot more of this film...

the result of boredom...

Been a while since I shot my Toyo 4x5 camera. Was at home tonight with little to do, so I got the camera out and shot a couple of large format selfies. I look at this process as creativity as a result of boredom. It is so neat having instant film, like this Polaroid Type 59, to get such unique photos that you can hold in your hand as a finished product within minutes.

the blues...

All the different shades of blue seemed to really shine in this photo...

double take...

I should reiterate again that I am not a fan of taking photos of myself. So you ask, "why are there so many of them on your blog"? My only answer is that nobody else is available that wants their photo taken. Plus, I don't often complain to myself on how long it takes to develop an idea. It should be noted that composition is tough when you are on both sides of the camera. This one took 5 shots leading up to the keeper. So glad I kept going til I got it right... 

8x10 Self Portrait...

Of course this blog image will never do this photo justice. I have said multiple times that it is an amazing thing to see an instant 8x10 image of yourself. It really never gets old. That being said, I really don't like images of myself, but part of the process of photography is satisfying the urge to create. Some days, you just need to create something. Yesterday was one of those days. I used up one of my two exposures of 8x10 Polaroid 809 film. I am saving the other one to take a photo of Sherri that matches this relative subject size. Looking forward to sorting through these images years from now and reminiscing at how great we really had it...

lunch time self portrait...

Took this image today at lunch holding and looking through a severely scratched-up piece of glass. The imperfections & reflections are blurred by the shallow depth of field of the Polaroid 180. The expired Polaroid Sepia film is still producing great images...

shooting at night...

One of the photos from my Polaroid 180 last night...

lighting test...

I have found a new film to love. The new formula of black and white film for 600 cameras is something that I will definitely be stocking up on. I have taken several shots under many different conditions and they all have turned out fantastic. I took this one tonight in my garage with a new "hot" light that Tyler ordered to test out the abilities of the light. The setup was just this one light on a stand diffused with an umbrella. I was about 4 ft from the wall to make sure there wasn't a shadow of me on the wall. I think the shadowing of the wall was more a result of the light fall-off. Overall, the photo has a ethereal feel and I like it...

a little introspection...

Spent some time these past few days reflecting on life with very little social media. This included lots of time playing board games with family, spending time with Sherri, watching tv, reading photography books/magazines and rethinking how/why I use my cameras. Honestly, this has been something that I have needed for some time. A balanced life is something we all pursue. I seem to be in constant pursuit of this balance between work, family, spirituality, photography and now social media. Probably not something that I am going to solve anytime soon, but I feel that I have made some great progress...

split person (alities)...

An image that I took last winter, but never posted. Ran across it and decided that tonight is the night. I sometimes post photos to document that I get bored and end up driving around and taking pictures of myself and my Land Rover. The curse of photography, as a serious hobby, is that sometimes you just gotta create something/anything.

Not quite a diptych, but it is two pictures that have something in common...

whitewashed wood...

Used my Fuji x100s to take the image and printed it to the PX680 film via the InstaLab. Wanted to see how well the whites would show up. Really like the overall look/feel of this image. Another one that goes well with the wood border.

my instant hobby/habit...

It has been a little over a year and a half of shooting instant film for me. I have spent more money on all of my cameras, film and accessories than I ever really want to think about. My hobby, photography, has always been expensive. At least Sherri has come to accept that. Now when a package arrives unannounced at our house she doesn't open them to see the how much I spent. She just waits for me to get home and ask the same two questions: what did you buy and how much did it cost. I answer the questions and that is all that she says about it.

So I've spent alot of money on instant photography... With that money I have produced more personal satisfaction than digital photography can ever dole out. There is nothing like producing an image that requires so much thought and is instantly available to hold in your hand. Something about holding the image in your hand; right after you take it. Something about watching the image develop; it's ok to peek while it is developing. Something about having all the images stored away; even if it is in a shoe box.

As much as I enjoy shooting expired Polaroid and Fuji film, I can't imagine instant photography without The Impossible Project. Not only have they revived interest in instant photography, but they are a group of individuals that genuinely want you to enjoy the experience of instant photography. They continually are going out of their way to make sure that information and inspiration is constantly available to all that want to embark on this journey. To TIP, I owe a huge amount of thanks!

With all this being said, here are my final images for Roidweek 2013:

Set up one of my SX70 cameras on a tripod and used a self-timer to capture this. I can never seem to leave the house with just one camera. This kinda shows a typical photo outing for me...

Roidweek 2013 Day 5, Image #1

Shot this 8x10 portrait with my Toyo 8x10 camera pointing directly into the sun. I had hoped for a little flare, but instead a got a low contrast image that I really like...

Roidweek 2013 Day 5, Image #2

8x10 Color Test Film - Take Three...

Wanted to see how the film handles highlights and shadows. I metered on the actual sunlight coming in. The film definitely has a very narrow exposure (as it said in the instructions). I nailed the exposure on the side of my face with the sun. Any more (trying to get details in the shadows) and it would have blown out the highlights.

Overall, I think this is a great image. You could say that my flaws are somewhat hidden by the shadows. This film is great stuff!

And yet still more to come...