I am in Hamilton, Ontario this weekend for the inagural VoxPopCon conference. Last night after the conference opening we checked out the Hamilton Art Crawl: a great street festival, with an amazing vibe! Lots of positive, creative people on the street, including this guy:
(NIkon D7100, 18-105 lens, ISO 5000, post-processed in Nik Silver Efex Pro)
As I’ve said before, I am not a film-only purist, and there are times when digital technology s what is needed to get the shot. Last night was one of those occasions. I was shooting Angela Saini at the Free Times Cafe here in Toronto. A great location to hear great music, but the stage is very dimly lit. I had to crank up the ISO on my Nikon D7100 to 6400, just to get a decent shot in available light. 6400 is a speed that takes drastic chemical steps to achieve in a film camera, and I wold likely have ended up with golf-ball sized grain. I like this look better.
I noticed this young photographer on the subway yesterday. He was equipped with a Canon SLR and what appeared to be a manual focus lens, likely a 50mm or 35mm. What I noticed more than the camera and though was his eyes: he was looking at everything, noticing everything, and in his mind framing every possible shot. Without ever seeing an image of his, I am quite confident that his photography would be good.
He had the right gear; and I don’t mean his camera, I mean his eyes and awareness which transcend whatever camera he had in his hands.
Today’s photo is an image of my elder daughter Julia, beside a window in our house that seems to guarantee great light all the time :-). I had a roll of Ilford HP5+ kicking around so I loaded it into my Baby Speed Graphic, using a 6×7 120 roll film adapter from a Mamiya RB67 which just happens to fit 🙂 I’ve never had great luck with that film in 35mm (always too grainy), but in 120 I’m blown away!
On Thursday night I had fun shooting the second Vox Toronto Songwriter event at the Cameron House. Four performers were on stage, including Angela Saini, who is the subject of today’s photo. (I had the honour of shooting the cover for her upcoming CD, stay tuned!).
It was a challenging shoot: the room was very dim, and I had to set my Nikon D90 to ISO 3200, and then underexpose a stop, to have a chance at shooting handheld, without a flash. Even then, it was a good thing that I shoot hundreds of image, as many many frames were just too blurred to use.
Today’s image is another example of starting with the negative from a Fuji FP3000B instant print, with some post work and toning. The model Luna is a graphic arts student. I love working with artists, actors, musicians etc. They get it! 🙂
Another intense character on the TTC!
Here is one more image from Michigan: I found I had three more instant film negatives to scan, and I decided to do some extensive post-processing on this one, adding some glow and toning. I love being able to mix the best of old and new photographic technologies together!
Another of the kind of face I find fascinating! He had power and presence, but also a sense of world-weariness.
Taken on February 15th, 2013. Valentine’s Day never ended for this couple :-).
My Third Eye 