2.20.09

This past week I finally took the time to scan a bunch of film from as far back as last August. These are two images from Thanksgiving, 2008. I mounted a flash on a holga and photographed everyone direct, which really emphasized the vignetting effect of the holga. I love the top image because it is so indicative of my mom and my brother. Plus I like the photos of my uncle graduating from the police academy in the upper right corner. Both images are a little off in their color but they are holga images and it doesn't bother me as much.

2.17.09

Three new ones this week. The past few days have been crazy in my house. Both of my roommates had family visiting, which quickly filled my little apartment. The top photo is a crop of the original, which is unusual for me. Especially since I started using the view camera, I have tried to avoid cropping but it really improved this photo. Maeve is very close with her family and I wanted a photo of her with her brother and father. I like how her father is out of focus in the foreground; a prominent figure but quietly observing the interaction between his children. I wish I had moved the lamp that hovers just above Maeve's head but I had to act fast. Oh well. I finally got a wide angle lens on my camera and it has given me a lot more freedom. I re-shot my friend Jon but this time I put him outside on his porch. The way the camera looks down at him and his slouched posture is really comical considering how tall he is. These images have good texture and great shadow detail. I couldn't decide which of these I liked better so I have posted them both. I'm open to opinions.

Another week of following around my roommates. The bottom photo shows my roommate Angela in the library, a place we frequently go together. I like this portrait of her even though the focus is a little off. I want to photograph her again in the library because I have a couple more ideas and there just wasn't time this week. I switching to a new 4x5 camera with a wide angle lens, which I'm way more comfortable with. I had a basic lesson in focal length this week; I had to make a recessed lens board to accommodate the wide angle lens on the new camera. I really love shooting in large format. Each of these images, despite their artistic quality, are far more important to me than anything I have ever shot on my digital camera.

2.4.09

Finally I've made my first real, stupid mistakes with this large format camera. Super thin negatives and accidental double exposures are plentiful in this new careless phase. And so this is the best I have for this week. I plan to reshoot both of these with some changes. Luckily the ideas are still flowing in abundance. Unlike last semester I'm trying to capture more candid moments. There are still elements of my meticulously constructed shoots, however, considering I have to set up the camera and lights. More to come....