More from Rome. Like I mentioned before, the only film I shot in Italy was with a Holga because I figured if they didn't turn out I wouldn't be devastated. These are three images that I immediately liked. I have shot a ton of stuff with the Holga, just for fun, and I have collected several images that I like but I couldn't necessarily use for anything. So I'm thinking I'm going to make a book of my favorite Holga images. Probably not any time soon...

So I just spent last week in Italy, visiting a friend living in Siena. It was an amazing trip but I'm not satisfied with the images I made. Since I have been back I have had the same conversation over and over with teachers and friends about how hard it is to make good pictures while traveling. My favorite images are the ones I took of Hannah's (pictured above) apartment, which is no real surprise considering I spent a few days there and became familiar with the space. I also made a quick portrait of her, seeing as portraiture is my focus for the semester. Shooting with my digital camera all week really made me miss my 4x5. I shot some film with a Holga because I figured, after being scanned a couple times it would be worthless. I developed a role of B&W and it came out so I have high hopes for my color film. I shot more portraits with the Holga, so we will see how they come out. I may post more pictures from my trip if I warm up to them. Time will tell.

2.24.09

For once in my two and a half years in Massachusetts, I found myself inspired by snow. Walking home from the photo lab, I noticed how bright it was with the street lights reflecting off the snow. It almost looked like day time. So when I got home I grabbed Maeve, who loves the snow and all things winter, and my 4x5. My favorite is the bottom image, which came out pretty well exposed, much to my surprise. The top is a crop of the original; the jacket I used to protect my camera from the snow sneaked into my frame. I will shoot it over if we get anymore nighttime snow storms.

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....