Fog

A photographer always is watching for images that cross his path.  This image was taken right before I headed off to bed.  I looked out a window and saw a wonderful layer of fog settling in the neighborhood, and I just had to grab my camera/tripod and find the ideal spot to create this image.  Works for me.

tintype

This is the latest in my Holga camera tintype series.

Making the mundane magical

I haven't posted in a little while, but that's going to change.

I love how ordinary things around us can become special with the right light.  On this early morning photo, if you weren't in the exact right place at the right time, the early morning sun would not have caught the dew on this tiny cobweb in such a beautiful way.  Ten minutes later and the magic was gone.

Holga Tintype

In working on my Holga tintype series, I had a couple extra tins left over from my first batch, and I wanted to try some double exposures.   What is printed on the tintype is not the same thing I see in the viewfinder.  The distances are different between the two as the viewfinder on these camera are off to a side and you're not seeing what's being shot.  So as I take more images, I will be better able to estimate where I want to place different items and get exactly what I want in the shot.

I'm also experimenting with shooting urbanscapes and different themes.  It's an interesting process to me to see what works and what doesn't.

I've been able to slowly start working on my Holga tintype series.  Right now it's an arduous process.  The unexposed tins have to be loaded into the camera in a light-sealed condition.  Since I don't have a changing bag in order to change tins inside my camera on location,  I have to load the camera at home in my darkroom, go to the location, shoot, come back home and develop the exposed tin.  Then I can load up the camera again and repeat the process.

In addition, I recently took a nasty bump to my head and received a mild concussion -- just enough for my doctor to order me not to drive until the next appointment when I will be hopefully cleared.  So this makes me subject to the kindness of strangers for transportation to sites.

Now that I am seeing how this process works, and the results I am able to achieve, I will be working more on the artistic, poetic quality of the images.

More to come.

I've been searching for a photographic project to do just for the sheer enjoyment of doing it.  I've always been interested in experimental photography, and one process I've really gotten a lot of pleasure pursuing is tintype, which is the method of photography done back in the 1800's where photographs were exposed and printed on sheets of metal.  I do use an alternative emulsion as the original chemicals are extremely toxic and almost impossible to transport from place to place.  Using my method, I can coat any number of tins that I want, let them dry, put them in a box away from the light and go on my travels.  I change my plates in a changing bag, which allows me to change these plates without any damage from light.  When I get home, then I can develop all the tins that I have shot.

The part of this that is intriguing to me is that the camera I am using to shoot my images is a Holga plastic camera.  Holgas are extremely cheap and have become very popular in an alternative, pop-culture kind of way.  This means that the images I take are processed on a piece of tin that is 2 inches by 2 inches.  These images attached to this post are originally 2x2, so they appear much larger on screen than the size of the original tin.  At first I thought the images were ok; however, closer examination with a magnifying glass revealed a clarity of these images that I did not think was possible for an image so small.  The scanned images so far don't do justice to the original plates; maybe as I go along I'll be able to produce better scans in order to post how much detail is actually in these photos.

I've come up with the term "micro-photography" or "miniature photography."  There's a whole microcosm hiding on each plate.

I was inspired to start this project after viewing YouTube videos about this young photographer who has been doing some extremely interesting (at least to me) tintype photography.  His work has included sizes from 2"x2" up to 4'x5', and his camera is the back of a large truck.  His name is Ian Ruhter, a name I urge anyone who is interested in photography to look up.

Now that I know this process actually does work, I'm ready to take it out into the world and explore different ways that I can make this work.  More will be coming.

You know, there's moments that something catches my eye and I have to stop and see what it is that's capturing my attention.  Late this afternoon I was coming home passing the local Blue Line metrorail near where I live.  It was a drizzly afternoon and the light was almost gone, and this lone metro train was passing by this deserted area.  I saw it in a number of different ways, but first I had to rush back home to grab my camera (yes, I know that it should have been in the car already!).  Of course, that one magical moment that I'd seen had passed, the lighting was different by the time I got back.  But since I was out there in the cold and wet already, I decided just to play with the scene a little. 

Now, on a winter, late afternoon Sunday, the train doesn't run that often, so I did have time to thoroughly enjoy the chill in the air and the mist dampening everything that wasn't under my umbrella.  Before I left, I was able to get a couple shots. 

When I got home, I was looking at the image, and I got into a playful mood and decided to do this black&white-on-color image.  The holidays are putting me into a playful mood letting me enjoy my fascination with all things fantasy and magical.

I've had the great pleasure to take a Photography on Location class with Tom Paiva, an architectural photographer with many, many years of experience.  His website and blog is located at tompaiva.com.  Please check out his site and see the incredible work he does. 

One of the assignments was to shoot at night in an industrial area looking for mixes of lighting of different color temperatures.  You can see this when one light appears to be white while another one may show up as a yellow light or a range of other colors.  I went one night down to the industrial area in Long Beach near the refineries and railroads with a friend.  If you want to try this, I strongly suggest going with one or more people, because these areas are dark and dangerous.  I was nervous as heck, but I was able to capture several images I was happy with.

Because it was so dark, the exposure times on these images were from approximately 30 seconds up to one minute for the bottom image where I had to boost up the ISO to 1000 because it almost pitch black.  This has been such an eye-opening experience into all sorts of photography that I'd only seen but never knew how to create!

I just went on a road trip to the Salton Sea along with fellow photographers and spent an interesting time learning new techniques and great hints on working with the environment by Tom Paiva, the instructor for this Photography on Location class.  His website and blog at tompaiva.com is a real inspiration.  

I used this opportunity to also shoot a couple friends in some wonderful indirect light.



I recently spent three evenings down at the Huntington Beach pier.  I was very curious about long exposure images of the ocean.  I've seen them many times, but this was the first time I actually had a chance to experiment with different exposure times.

The pier is a magnet spot for photographers, and each evening there were six or seven photographers waiting for the sunset.  The view of the sunset from that spot on the beach is AMAZING!  But I was the last photographer there each evening.  I guess I was the only one interested in the longer shutter speeds. 

My exposure speeds were from 15 seconds to two minutes at f22.  I was so amazed on how dark it actually was when I was able to get shots at two minutes. 

This definitely is an area I enjoyed playing with, and I'm going to explore the ocean more.

Well, it's the new year, and it's great to be taking photos again.  During the holidays I couldn't seem to pick up my camera.  It's good to be out shooting; I always feel better with camera in hand.

I've always been fascinated by public transportation and the microcosm of life that exists on each platform at any time of the day or night.  Each person is in the middle of their lives, and everything gets put on pause while they wait for the next train.  So many stories on one small platform.

Wonderful rainy day; perfect to go out and do some shooting.  Being a Monday, everything was quiet to begin with, but with the rain not much was moving except a lone straggler or two.

A sunset image in Malibu overlooking the Pacific Ocean.