taking care of sophi…
showing off her fishtail…
soaking her ingrown toenails…
getting a haircut...
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...
rita...
Rita was another one of my volunteers on Thanksgiving day. I am definitely glad that she let me photograph her. What a solemn pose! When I told her to "hold that pose and expression", I know that she didn't realize how long she would have to maintain it. Everyone seem to just sigh after I clicked the shutter and told them I was done. Rita was no exception there...
the stare...
Here is another case where Tyler allowed me to collaborate with him and show up to take an 8x10 photo during an engagement shoot (even using one shot of his color film). In the end, this photo wasn't the best composition because I angled the camera down too much and created some un-appealing angles on the vertical planks of the building. That is probably being overly picky, but I seem to focus on that now when I look at the image. One thing is for certain, the only way to learn on 8x10 is to make mistakes. Because of the cost involved and the rarity of the film, you really pay attention from that point on after you make a mistake. That being said, in my opinion the warmness of the image and the couple's pose makes up for the composition. Because of that, I couldn't help but post this image. There is still nothing like an 8x10 Impossible color image...
kendra - closeup...
I shot two images of Kendra. This one was taken as a closeup at an angle and focused on her nearest eye. I absolutely love the focus falloff that you get with the 8x10 camera at large apertures...
mapping out an idea...
I am so thankful that I have a son-in-law that is so incredibly creative. He found these maps and set them aside because he knew that they had potential for a photo. I also am so thankful that Tyler is always willing to be part of a collaboration and allow others to benefit from his creativity. You could say that he is selfless with his creativity. He is always willing to share, even if it means that someone else may benefit from his vision. In this case, I think I benefited from his creative vision for these maps. I just knew that I wanted to try a head shot with a shallow depth of field using these maps as the background. These two photos were taken in my garage today using the two maps, my Polaroid 600SE camera on a tripod and lighting coming in the open garage door. In both cases, I believe the subject meets the tone of the map. This is another case where the Polaroid IDUV film intensifies the photo and makes it even better. Not for sure what I will do when I run completely out of the IDUV and 669 film. I took a total of three instant shots today (two IDUV and one Impossible SX-70). These two photos far exceeded what I could have ever expected...
keith and debra...
Taken as the sun was setting on our Thanksgiving gathering at Kathy's house. I am so glad that Keith and Debra let me take this portrait of them...
warming up to the Impossible instalab...
This is an image originally taken with my Fuji X100S camera. I tranferred it to the new Impossible 600 film using the Impossible Instalab. To be honest, I have struggled getting the exposure/contrast correct on the Instlab. With the help of one of my Twitter friends, Patrick Clarke, I think I am getting the hang of this. This image was warmed the entire time (under my arm) during development using the Impossible cold/hot clip. I love the red tones that are the result of this warming...
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...
collaboration in action...
A behind-the-scenes shot of a collaboration between Tyler Tyndell and Cagle Johnson...
faces on film...
This is definitely a film-lover's film to capture faces. It is versatile enough to take indoor shots without a flash and then can be taken outside to take a photo in the late evening in the middle of the street...
deep ellum art...
Have photographed this mural (along with many other ones) in deep ellum mulitple times with different cameras. This Impossible image of Madison King is by far one of my favorites...
before she leaves...
Brought out my 600SE to take a couple of indoor shots with Fuji FP-3000B before Sherri's sister left today. It was a cloudy overcast day so there wasn't much light coming through the windows behind me. A perfect scenario for this fantastic film...
Kathy and Sherri
Sophi, Kathy and Sherri
the bridge to nowhere...
Saw this bridge from a distance while I was taking photos near the Oroville Dam. Sped around to get to it by sunset. Barely made it and then had to walk across the bridge to get the sun behind me (you could only park on one side). Looking at this angle, I love how the bridge just disappears into the hill. After all of that planning, I got in a hurry and slightly overexposed the image (because I left the exposure at neutral). Still a keeper, but sure wish I would have captured more of the blue sky and the golden hills...
living the life...
Caught this moment as the fisherman was coming in from a day on Lake Oroville. After briefly talking with him you could tell that he was "living the life" that he always wanted in retirement. I was down at the lake level on the boat ramp and it felt like you were at the bottom of a deep canyon. The embankment was a rich golden brown and the evening sun just seemed to amplify the colors...
being gracious...
Came upon this fellow in downtown Chico, CA outside of a coffee shop. He was just hanging out, reading a book and enjoying a cup of coffee. I am often amazed at how gracious people can be when you just outright ask them if you can take their photo. This guy smiled and said "of course". Such a small exchange, but yet so meaningful...
receding water line...
On my way back from Chico, CA to Sacramento, we decided to take a diversion and stop by the Oroville Dam. It is the tallest dam in the US (and until Wednesday, I had never even heard of it). Even more unique, for the photos, is that the water level has receded almost 200 ft below the peak. This provided me an opportunity to get an image like this because of all the visible brown embankments that was void of foilage...
tyler...
A couple of other shots taken on the same day that I took the chocolate image of Tyler. Wanted to try out the pack of Polaroid 600 film that Kyle Depew sent me. As with all the expired film that he sent, it turned out perfect. What a swell guy for sending me all this stuff.
Love these images of Tyler...
the one and only Simon Ponder...
Was excited to hear that Simon was coming to Dallas to go on a Polawalk in Deep Ellum. I have followed his brillance on Twitter for some time (plus he is a fellow Texas Tech alumni), but this was our first time to meet in person. I would have to say that sharing the 8x10 process and fascination of Impossible 8x10 film with fellow photographers is becoming one of my favorite things to do...
halloween with Dr. Tyndell...
Spent Halloween 2013 with little Dr. Tyndell. No better way to celebrate than by pulling out the NIGO & Chocolate films...
photos of matt...
Matt Ronan came over to Greenville last night to get me to help him with a light leak that he had on his camera. Good news is we fixed the light leak so he can stop wasting exposures of his expired Polaroid 669. Tried to take a photo of him using one of my few remaining exposures of Polaroid Chocolate film. Unfortunately, that was sorta bad news because I overexposed another shot (see below). I mixed up my reading from my light meter (@80 ISO) and the exposure I was getting with my Fuji camera (@200 ISO). Basically I wasn't paying attention... ugh...
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So after that, I still wanted a photo, but I didn't want to chance another chocolate exposure so I pulled out some of my most reliable stash: Polaroid 690. I bought all of this film over a year ago from Don's Photo Equipment in Dallas. The good thing is that more often than not, I hit the exposure on this film. Another one in the win column...
texas...
Didn't have the best of luck with photos on the day of the Texas State Fair. This is one of my favorites because of the ominous look in the sky. The heat was unbearable, the clouds were forming and it finally started raining soon after this photo. After all these years of living here, the unpredictable Texas weather never seems to surprise me...
complimentary...
Lots of images from the weekend in front of this mural. None seem to represent the blacks and pastels more than the expired Polaroid 669 film. I dread the day when I have no more. It is coming up sooner than later... Was glad to be able to shoot this image of Frank on this film. A bit repetitious, because his black and white 8x10 photo and Leica image were also taken in front of this mural. The lighting in this area of the alley was absolutely perfect. Made it hard to resist taking so many photos here. Looking at this image I think I have decided that Frank has the look for this film. He makes the film look good and the film definitely compliments him...
guarded...
On Sunday, during the PolawalkTX weekend, we had all of our 8x10 camera gear set up in the alley behind the studio in Deep Ellum. We were all running around in/out of the studio but we always tried to leave at least one person outside to "guard" the equipment. Will had the perfect posture for a typical Security Guard. Add the shirt to the mix and he meant business...
sherri...
One thing I know for sure. I can never get enough photos of Sherri. Part of the reason is they are so rare. She is not a fan of having her photo taken. I think she felt sorry for me on Sunday and let me take this one. I second guessed my meter reading because it was sunny outside and I took her photo in the shade. Because of that, I felt like I needed to overexpose by one stop. Well as you can see, I should have trusted the meter. The next shot came out with a dry pod, so I decided to stop and use what I had. After letting it develop for a while, the image definitely became a keeper. Now if I can just teach her to take photos of me...
breaking down barriers...
Saw this gentleman sitting outside the Old Red Museum in downtown Dallas. He was enjoying the afternoon while reading a book. I find it fascinating how you can approach someone with a Polaroid camera and they almost always say yes to a photo. Something about the camera breaks down the barriers that exist in our lives...
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