A Happy Accident

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This picture is the second in my antique brass lens portrait series. The subjects are model Amy (who I’ve photographed before) and her boyfriend Jerrod. The exposure was about 5 seconds, so there is a bit of movement, which I like, especially in Amy’s eyes. The good news ends there though; I had issues with light leaks (probably my homemade lens board holding the old lens) and some chemical contamination on the paper negative. Even after a fair amount of Photoshopping out the damage, it’s still pretty rough. In this case though, I think it adds to the image. I certainly can’t rely on being lucky every time though!

Amy and Jerrod

Starting a New Project

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With this image, I kick off a new project: portraits taken using a roughly 100 year Busch Rapid Symmetrical brass lens on my 4×5 view camera. I love the vintage look I get from this lens, especially the swirling of the out of focus areas in the corners.

 
dk007

Artist As Model as Artist

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Today another image in my Women and Cameras series. This is a Van Dyke Brown print of model Angel Noel, holding a 1950’s vintage Exakta 35mm single lens reflex (with waist level, not eye-level finder). It was amazing shooting with Angela; she is a artist herself: as a painter she had great instincts for poses and other creative ideas. All in all, a great collaboration!

Van Dyke Browne Print of Angela and Exakta

A Different Path

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Last Friday, I took part in the PAB 2011 Content Walk. The idea was to walk around central Ottawa with cameras, audio recorders etc. to create content and tell stories. The weather rapidly became the story, changing seemingly every ten minutes, but mainly rainy. We spent some time outside, and I got some pictures taken around the canal locks, but soon we had to retreat to the safety of a pub. The weather got steadily worse, but in the basement of the pub we were having a great time. We got some great light and my favourite is the image below. I had to push the film to E.I. 1600 but in this context I don’t mind the grain.

june2011Ottawa018

From a Distance

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Almost all of my people photography recently has been close-up (e.g. head/shoulders) so this image is a bit different. The subject is more than the woman on her smart-phone; it is her position relative to the concrete wall and steps/railing that is the key for me; a small touch of humanity in the midst of stone.

On the Phone

Update on My Photo Resolutions: A Double-Play!

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At the beginning of the year I posted a list of photo resolutions and I am happy to report that I knocked off two of  them today by unveiling the following photograph during my presentation at PAB 2011. With this photo, I have produced (to some at least) a shocking image, and produced a self-portrait completely outside of my comfort zone. My wife suggested that since I have so many cameras I should take a picture of just me and my cameras on the bed. Who am I to resist a dare? 🙂

Guy With Cameras

Take What Is Given

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Sometimes you have to work very hard to get the shot you want.

Then there is the image below: taken in Victoria this week, all I had to do was literally look down from my hotel room balcony to see this interesting composition. To not take the image would have been an affront to opportunity.

Parked Bike

More of the Best of Both Worlds

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Today another image from my photo session with Mysty. Again, I used the hybrid approach of shooting on film, and then using digital post processing; this is really becoming my favourite workflow, as I take advantage of the best of both the film and digital worlds. What a great time to be a photographer!

Along the Wall

Industrial Strength

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Another image in the Women and Cameras series, featuring an Exakta SLR. The Exakta brand has a long and proud history, and can claim the first 35mm Single Lens Reflex (the Kine Exakta of the mid 1930’s). The camera model pictured is from the late 1950’s/early 1960’s; at this point Exakta was a Communist East Germany operation, and I think this camera fits the era: a sturdy, tractor-like camera that belongs in a factory. Certainly the model was surprised at how heavy it was.

misty013

Dimensions

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Another image from my women and classic cameras series; my friend Andrea Ross agreed to pose for me with a 1950’s vintage Stereo Realist. For most of its history, mainstream photography has been an exercise of two dimensions, but cameras like Stereo Realist allowed photographers to shoot in three dimensions. Effective portraits remind me of the search for dimensionality, in the sense that the goal is not merely to show what the subject looks like, but to find some insight into who the person is.

Andrea and Stereo Realist

Andrea is a fascinating, complex person, who has been through much in her life; she is a combination of both strength and vulnerability, openness and privacy. I’d like to think I captured some of that in this image.