Monday, August 31, 2009

I can’t believe it. I am such a sucker. The camera that we see in the front window of Urban Outfitters, I now have. Yes, I bought a Holga! As much as I don’t want to be sucked into certain pop, this camera makes the list of exceptions. I’m cheep and so is the Holga. And the shitty quality photograph it makes, I really love to a great extent as well. They’re liberating. It’s not bad to make a good picture even though it’s plastered with a bright yellow light leak, is it? Seems like this daily routine of making near perfect photographs with all the proper equipment can become suffocating after a project or two. I guess it’s just nice to pick up a light piece of plastic and capture with almost no intent. Oh and plus I can get all those sweet attachments like color filters and fake fisheyes. Who wouldn’t want that!?...

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Scanned Negative

Kodak Portra NC 35 ISO400

Lately, I have been telling people that there are two things that I must do this summer before I head to Boston. First, I need to see Tarantino’s new film, Inglorious Bastards. Second, I have to spend more than one night at camp in the North East Kingdom. So far I have already seen the movie, which was everything I expected and continues to convince me to utter, “Tarantino is a genius” verbatim. Camp is next. Tomorrow I’m off to Island Pond for 4 days and 3 nights. I plan to bring my Bronica and my new LIGHTMETER! Thanks to my way too generous sister, I can now shoot (with a couple of my cameras that don’t have metering systems built in) whenever I want! Therefore that phase where I shoot way too much medium format begins now…

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Scanned Negative

Kodak Portra NC 35 ISO400

I fucking love old, outdated campers. I guess the answer to why is not much of a simple answer either. I like them for a lot of reasons; the retro colors, the sign of use, the sign of life, the materials they are comprised of that we don’t see anymore. Every time I see an old camper such as this one, I just want to take a picture of it along with the owner(s). Sadly, this one was abandoned on a logging road that ran parallel to the river flowing into the Bolton Potholes. As much as I really love this photo, I wish I had had my medium format camera with a different kind of film with me. Just picture an even sharper photo with more vibrant colors in a flawless square frame- damn that would be too cool for school…

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Scanned Negatives

Kodak Portra NC 35 ISO400

With having my afternoons free now, I have been able to enjoy the hot summer weather we have been getting in Vermont. This week I went to the Bolton Potholes to do some cliff jumping with my brother and some of his friends. I like going to places like Bolton because they are Vermont’s hidden secrets. Besides a few Canadians jumping in their skintight bathing suits, the people around us were true Vermonters-straight out of the woods. The air over the riverbed on what was almost a 90’ day was crisp and cool with the scent of cheep beer and cigarettes. The rock walls that surround the area echoed all the “faackkks” and “shhiitts” that could be frequently heard every time someone came up out of the water. It’s these people combined with such surroundings that can’t be found anywhere else on earth. I guess I would have to say I really like that. I also really liked the patches of golden light pushing through the trees too. This photo of Austin was taken in such a spot. I wish I could have chosen more of a decisive moment though. He appears to be too posed, that of which was not the situation at all. And what’s up line of light surrounding his shoulders and head? Too artificial looking? I kind of like it, I kind of don’t…

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Gelatin Silver Fiber Print

11" x 14"

Kodak Tri-X 35 ISO400

During one of my last weekdays in Portland, ME, Luke Butler and I would go out on these photo shoots around town. He was working on a small body of work in concern to his 2D-Design course. His product was actually really neat. He was creating double exposures with Polaroid film, thus an abstract image born (quit fitting for the expectations of his class). I myself was experimenting with an old Brownie Hawkeye that my Mémère gave me way back when I was of a younger age. It’s design is to take 620 film on the old metal film spools, but with some playing around I got the camera to make a photograph with 120 Tri-X. I wasn’t too happy with the exposures, yet I wasn’t really expecting much either. I didn’t really give a shit. I more or less was out for the fun and adventure of it all…

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Scanned Negative

Kodak Portra NC 35 ISO400

A few days ago on my day off, I watched Thomas Riedelsheimer's documentary Rivers and Tides. It’s a beautiful film that displays the everyday work and life of artist Andy Goldsworthy. It’s funny because I saw about ten minutes of the film during Early College; certain shapes and ideas stuck in my head, yet odd enough, I forgot where they came from. It was like an “oh yeah” kind of moment once I watched the scenes for a second time around. I love how he pushes the simple rules that I have learned over the past year in my design classes; the boundaries of hue, pushing them to their limits and combining them with figure ground. In 2D class, it’s sometimes hard to image the tedious exercises applied to everyday artwork. Though watching Goldsworthy, it all becomes relevant.

Yesterday at work it did as well. I hand picked these rocks on a bed that I sit, stand, and walk on every single day. When looking at the rocks all mixed together, they appear to be grey, yet with the Goldsworthy mindset, colors pop like one wouldn’t believe...