The return to blogging
It’s been a min and by a min, I mean It’s been over a year since i posted anything on this blog but i needed to solve an issue that i was facing when i wanted to post some new photos. My First thought was probably the same as what most people would default to, Social Media. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter. Whatever else is out there that I don’t even know about yet. None of them really offered what i wanted to do and so here we are. A blog that i could write up some thoughts along side of posting photographs i’ve recently made.
Where’s the Malort?
I was really itching to just drive somewhere like i used to. I used to do it all the time. Just get in the car on a whim and start driving. Typically it would be mostly unplanned. I’d pick a direction and go. This time around i gave myself and 4-5hour drive limit and checked maps of cities/places that are with in that drive range. It was between Dayton OH, and Louisville KY. (hint) bourbon town won the flip.
Get up before the ass crack of dawn
We recently purchased a KIA sportage Hybrid and it needed to hit the road ASAP.
So we made a quick plan. Spend a day in Louisville, but it order to make that happen it required getting up early. So early that i considered just not sleeping and stay up and start driving at some point. I ended up not doing that considering i wanted to be awake when we arrived. The drive was great and super easy. I really enjoyed leaving in darkness and slowly seeing the sun rise as i drove.
Sam “Aye the sunrise” (She woke up took a picture and went back to bed)
Yes the sunrise. It was quite exciting to see, It’s not often that i get to enjoy it in its entirety. I was sort of forced to experience this amazing occasion since i was driving through it. I attempted to snap up and few photographs of it with the Ricoh GRIIIx, shooting from the hip as they say and some turned out decently. Dont photograph and drive by the way. Keep your eyes on the road. this is only to be attempted but idiots like me.
Louisville. I can’t draw too many conclusions considering only spending about a day there. So what i’m about to say is based on my experience thus far. Big city with a small town feel. Everyone we interacted with there was incredibly friendly and interesting. Shoutout to Troy at Proof on Main. My wife never had a mint julep before and he delivered! Bourbon, horse racing, Tiny bats, A hotel/Art museum/restaurant and bar, sliders, and of course we found some malort. We didn’t even leave yet and already wanted to plan another trip or a longer one at least. We walked around, We explored and we found a closed old school candy shop. How much more could we discover in a few days or a weeks time? Honestly that probably doesn’t matter too much. The only thing that matters is your optimism and desire to walk for hours until your feet hurt, find a place to eat, drink and rejuvenate then continue on walking. Your feet will get to rest when you’re dead.
Until the next adventure enjoy the rest of our trips photographs below.
I would never have thought to use this setup, But sometimes change is necessary.
Don’t let G.A.S fill your shelf
You know how much people lust off of gear? G.A.S., as we camera tech junkies say; Gear Acquisition Syndrome. It’s that feeling you get when you see someone with a newer version of a camera or piece of gear that you have or when you watch one of Benj Haisch’s videos about the Leica M cameras, medium format cameras with adapted M lenses. I myself, now cannot stop thinking about a Hasseblad 907X to use with my current 501C setup. I’ve never used anything other than medium format film because digital has been out of reach for so long and only today being somewhat affordable.
In all honesty, I still suffer from this on a daily basis. I watch tech and gear review videos on my downtime. I’ve watched videos about the latest Apple tech. I recently purchased a new MacBook pro because I convinced myself I needed an upgrade. I might have been okay with purchasing a lower priced MacBook or Mac mini, but I convinced myself that the higher specced Mac would last me longer as did my last MacBook. Here in lies the issue. We see things that others have and convince ourselves we need it.
So here we are writing a blog on a MacBook pro that is overkill for what I am currently using it for. That´s okay. I realize that sometimes you need to get the G.A.S out (pun intended). There are other options to get rid of this syndrome and I’ve been trying them out the last few days. One thing to do is just stop consuming. Turn off YouTube or search for other things to watch on it. Watch dog or cat videos, watch people making food and then go make some food.
Consumption of reviews or people talking about gear or pictures of new gear on social media is probably the number one reason for G.A.S. I mean of course it is. Its advertising, marketing. It´s meant to stimulate your brain into thinking you need this, you want this!
The other thing I have been doing is to try creating something using what I have or switching up the norm. If you know me, I’m usually carrying my Leica MP or M10. It’s become part of my everyday checklist. I make sure I have my wallet, phone, keys, camera, and sometimes extra film.
My current setup or sometimes dual set up is now my Canon digital camera with my adapted Leica Lens and boy does it feel weird. It’s not weird so much in the sense that looks awkward, in fact it looks pretty normal and compact.
It’s awkward only because it´s not what I’m used to. It´s not the rangefinder I prefer and it´s looking through a EVF that is technically more convenient. I can see exposure changes as I make them.
I can go on forever about the pros and cons, but I’d like to stick to the topic of G.A.S. Changing up your own perspective probably generates some sort of creative endorphins, and you start to think again. You start to ask questions and think of different solutions to problems you haven’t seen yet because this setup is new to you. It’s refreshing and at the same time makes you miss your old pal, your comfy zone. I think this is my preferred method of creating and making new ways to create.
I’ll probably stick to this setup for the next few weeks and post a follow up blog with my results. So for now I’ll leave you with this thought.
Jump into something new, create problems for yourself to solve. Staying stagnant doesn’t do anyone any good.
Shooting Film doesn’t make you a better photographer.
Have you scrolled down instagram lately? Have you actually spent the time to look at someone’s captions or possibly the tags they’ve used? No? Just me. Well Let me go on this personal rant for a little bit. Just let me have it please. I know i know. I’m doing the old man bitching about this new generation thing. That’s fine. I recognize that I’m doing it but i wanted to say it. FILM DOES NOT MAKE A BETTER PHOTOGRAPH.
Just cause someone shoots film doesn’t mean they’re better than you. I have some SHIT photos made on film. Some that will never see the light of day. I can admit that to myself. My film photos are not better or worse than my digital work. My main goal of this blog is to maybe try and explain what does go into making photographs, Especially when it comes to using film as a medium.
Photo editing software and presets are so common today. There are a plethora of film emulating preset out there. Half of the pro photographers i follow have their own preset packs that they sell. In this world of 1-5 click photo editing out there It’s very easy for people to disregard the hard work that goes into being a professional photographer. Whether you use film or digital Both mediums have a lot of preconception behind them.
Film maybe more so than digital. Only for the mere fact that film prices are rising and the cost per images is increasing as well depending on the outcome on the finished product of your image. Print, digital scans, etc. all of this surrounding the world of film is an added cost to the medium. When you take that all into consideration. Every click of the shutter might sound like a cash register bell.
I wish i could really figure out where the conception of film photographers are better comes from. All i can really do is answer how i feel, perceive the medium and use it for myself. Film made me better not because of the costs involved, not because shooting film is better just by saying it. It helped me slow down my process. While the immediacy of digital allowed me to learn the technical aspect of photography fairly quickly. Film gave me that patience i needed. It allowed me to think about my intentionality that i needed at the time. receiving such quick feed back was great to learn lighting, how to look for light. How to hone the craft. To this day, You might see me with a digital camera around my neck. Always practicing techniques and different ways to photograph.
I’m not saying that you can’t have that intention with digital rather than I didn’t have it. This was all based of my own personal way of learning how to photograph or make better photographs. Digital gave me to ugh ease of pressing a button and not caring about what the outcome will be or what i was trying to say in an image. Honestly due to that fact i sometimes started thinking why not just shoot with my phone? It was small and always in my pocket. Some may think it lacks all the control of an SLR, but it also came with an added challenge photograph with the most basic of options.
We work with the tools we are either given or choose to use. A jackhammer might be easier for some to demolish a house but the feeling of using a sledge hammer might be more satisfactory to others. They both will get the job done. You need to figure out what’s right for you and not follow a path that’s not yours or jump on to trends just because. Try all the mediums of photography before you settle on anything. Try and experiment. At the end of the day. Film is the medium i chose because it suited me best, not because It made me better.
Stay safe, Stay the course, Make photographs
New World Orders
Day something or other of quarantine. I want to start this off with you should stay home or how to shoot and make images while staying in doors. Unfortunately I am not an indoor human being. I have tried making images in the confines of my home. I took a bunch of self portraits that the world will never see because i failed at them and thats okay.
Failing is perfectly okay. I really want to run with this. No one can do everything, And let’s all be honest with each other. Would a world of perfection be one you would want to live in? A world where everyone is the same and everyone is as happy as can be? Have you ever seen the movie “Pleansantville”? I highly suggest you give it a watch and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.
What were you doing
This is where i’m at now. I’m in a mode of i need to create like i used to. I need to be outside even though i shouldn’t be. I’m sure everyone is going to have their opinion about this and how i’m being selfish. I’m not thinking of the greater good and everyone i could potentially be infecting. Hear me out on this though. What if we still could go outside with extreme safety precautions?
What can one person do to ensure the safety of themselves as well as the safety of others? What are people out there walking their dogs or exercising doing to keep themselves safe? There are quite a few questions that come to mind every time i walk out the door and what i realized is that there is only so much i can control. I have all of my safety precautions in place as instructed by the CDC. Wear a mask when you’re outside. This in it self is a very big debate at the moment People that are not comfortable wearing masks still touch their face every chance they have. Stay 6 feet apart when possible. No large groups of people. WASH YOUR HANDS!
Pandemic Fashion
So there it is, Everything i can do in order to protect Myself as well as others. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not saying everyone who used to be up in your face street photographers should go back to how they use to photograph. A slight adjustment to your style and you can be safe and be out there. I took most of these images on a 35mm lens. Shot at about f11-16 zone focused. What this allowed me to do was get closer like i used to do but by extending my arms our rather than physically getting in close.
I typically only use the viewfinder when in action, But circumstances call for different tactics. If you have a live view on your camera i highly recommend using it. If you dont, find your most familiar lens. The one you can frame in your head without even thinking about it and just guess your composition. I would never teach this to anyone but again Covid 19 days.
A persons arm length is anywhere from 1.5-3 feet long. Take advantage of this when trying to get in for a closer image while still maintaining social distancing. Use your head and be safe out there. I know how hard it is right now for a lot of creators that rely on a certain aspects to be present in their art. Lets all try to find ways to still create but also by being safe. If you do have any suggestions please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Japan part 2 never happened...
If you did not get a chance to read the original blog post about Japan you can find it here or also published in apple news
I was recently deciding on whether or not i wanted to sort of revive this blog. It used to be a once a month or sometimes two times a month blog post. Its been over 3 months since the last time i wrote anything and i then began to read over my past posts and noticed that i sort of technically lied at the end of one of them. Specifically the blog post from Japan. This only recently occurred to me cause i’ve already been exploring and looking for new things to do in Japan when i go back in February. (i’m realizing how much stuff there is to see in japan after all this research) Even though i never completed and uploaded the rest of my Images from my trip to japan.
If you did not get a chance to read the original blog post about Japan you can find it here or also published in apple news
I was recently deciding on whether or not i wanted to sort of revive this blog. It used to be a once a month or sometimes two times a month blog post. Its been over 3 months since the last time i wrote anything and i then began to read over my past posts and noticed that i sort of technically lied at the end of one of them. Specifically the blog post from Japan. This only recently occurred to me cause i’ve already been exploring and looking for new things to do in Japan when i go back in February. (i’m realizing how much stuff there is to see in japan after all this research) Even though i never completed and uploaded the rest of my Images from my trip to japan.
Now that my trip upcoming trip is only two months away. I’ve been contemplating on how to go about it this time around. I did quite a bit of the tourist sight seeing stuff the last time i was there and I don’t plan on repeating any of that other than maybe Disneyland. It’s hard to pass that one up. I do however plan on slowing it down this time around. I was in such a euphoric state of mind from the time i landed to the time i left that i dont think i fully had the time to immerse myself in the Japanese culture.
Well that’s the plan for this trip. I want to do what the Japanese do when they wake up in the morning, I want to eat what they eat for breakfast. Speaking of food. The last time i was there every morning i’d run down to the closest convenient store and just grab some break fast nigiri. It was so amazing that I’m pretty sure history is going to repeat itself, but i’ll probably set aside a morning for a really good breakfast in Japan.
Feeling is mutual
The last time i went to Japan, There really wasn’t any planning involved. I knew what time my flight in was, I knew what the address to the hotel was and i knew what time i had to leave for my flight out. I really didn’t do any sort of research or ask people what to do in Japan. I know, i know some of you out there that are way more organized than me are probably freaking out right now. How do you go to a completely new country with a language you dont speak other than the basic Hello’s, goodbye’s, and thank you without any sort of preparation?
Very easily for me at least. I’ve always kind of had this fly by the seat of my pants lifestyle and mentality so why would traveling to another country be any different. This year though i do have a slightly more directed trip ahead of me. I’m not quite making a list of things and places i have to go to rather than places and more importantly food i would like to try if given the opportunity to.
I will say however there are 2 things on my list that are almost non negotiable. Something i didn’t get to last time that i kept trying to. Sushi Omakase and Great Matcha. I dont even think i tried anything Matcha other than the kitkats while i was over there. I did have a little bit of fresh seafood while roaming around tsukiji but nothing like having hand made sushi but a well regarded sushi chef. If anyone reading this blog has a favorite sushi place to go to please send me a DM. These are the Two places i have in mind so far, Sushi Arai and Hakkoku. Anyone that is unfamiliar with Sushi Omakase, It’s a chef prepared tasting menu for sushi.
Its Pricey, but thats probably the only thing i’ll really spend my money on while i’m out there. Oh and more than likely film. Lots and lots of film that are harder find state side. I’m going to get back to watching youtube videos of Japan and listening to the Japanesepod101.com podcast to learn some basic Japanese before i go. I’ll have Japan part 3,4,5 or how ever many more blogs it takes when i get back with a ton more images. mean while. Enjoy the slide show below. Yonde kurete arigatō!
Dont just take a photograph, MAKE one!
I've been using the term make a photograph for a little bit now. To most people this sounds a little ridiculous, But it made alot more sense to me lately. Now that i've fully immersed myself into the world of film photography. I've even gone completely film for all of my personal work. I'm still currently working that into my professional work, but Alas sometimes other jobs require a faster turn around time than film will provide.
What if we differentiate a snap shot and photograph first? Where better to start than to break them down individually.
Snapshot - First and foremost is the intent of the image. Typically a snapshot does not have any type of preconception. When i look at certain photographs i've made with say friends at the bowling alley or just hanging out, i take a photo out of reaction. No preparation needs to be done in order to take a snapshot.
Photograph - So much can go into a photograph, Possibly even years before a photograph has even been made. What i mean by this is a photographer goes through years of preparation to make a proper photograph. There are years of practice and understanding of basic technical photography. Then there is studying of what made past photographs so great. Once all of this has been mastered, it becomes easily applicable to make photographs even in an instance.
I've been using the term make a photograph for a little bit now. To most people this sounds a little ridiculous, But it made alot more sense to me lately. Now that i've fully immersed myself into the world of film photography. I've even gone completely film for all of my personal work. I'm still currently working that into my professional work, but Alas sometimes other jobs require a faster turn around time than film will provide.
What if we differentiate a snap shot and photograph first? Where better to start than to break them down individually.
Snapshot - First and foremost is the intent of the image. Typically a snapshot does not have any type of preconception. When i look at certain photographs i've made with say friends at the bowling alley or just hanging out, i take a photo out of reaction. No preparation needs to be done in order to take a snapshot.
Photograph - So much can go into a photograph, Possibly even years before a photograph has even been made. What i mean by this is a photographer goes through years of preparation to make a proper photograph. There are years of practice and understanding of basic technical photography. Then there is studying of what made past photographs so great. Once all of this has been mastered, it becomes easily applicable to make photographs even in an instance.
Daily commute in Tokyo
Now that we have it somewhere differentiated we can dig a little bit deeper about making a photograph. All the training that goes into it often goes unseen. Let's take an athlete for example. Yes talent is necessary, but talent without training means nothing when its time to apply that professionally. We don't normally see the hours of practice or gym time athletes put in. The same goes for any artist really. Talent can go a long way. A good eye can get you far, but what makes a photograph good to being great? A lot of practice and discipline.
How much practice and discipline you say? Well that's hard to say cause it could be different from person to person. How did i do it? I typically learn quite a bit by just doing it. I read alot ,I read blogs, watched videos, studied(still studying) the greats. Ultimately though i learn the best by applying everything i read to actually doing it. Took A LOT of snapshots before i started considering them some what of a photograph.
Valley of Fire, Las Vegas
Now that we have the philosophy of a photograph prior to click the shutter. There is still more that goes into a photograph after the image it self is made. If you're a film photographer, there is developing. What chemicals to use, what times to develop at if you're using Black and white film. There are so many variables to developing film and what kind of film you use that its too much to list in this blog. Same goes for digital though, you have a few editing programs to use. You also have a bajillion ways to edit an image to make it into your vision. Then we have the final product which to me is still and always will be a physical print.
A print i made for myself on 8x10 art rag paper.
So thats the short version of how i conceptualize most of my photographs. I typically shoot with an aim to print my work. The example print above is my personal preference for convenience. I am currently looking into more dark room printing for some black and white images, but that's a whole topic on its own.
Do you see yourself in your photographs?
I'm not talking about selfies like the one i just posted above. I want to go a little deeper than this. This conversation might not even completely relate to me just yet. I say this because I'm not 100% sure i've found myself photographically. I do however think i'm really close and that i have the foresight to see or look for my persona in all of my images. One of the things that separate photographs from person to person is their personal emotion or attachment to the photographs they take. The next step is to showcase that in the photograph. You want people to feel how you felt when they look at your photographs right?
How do you do this you ask? Well i can't really answer that in one sentence considering the fact that i'm still working on doing the same exact thing. I can how ever try and give you some insight on how I'm working on doing this for myself.
Dessert selfies in Nevada
I'm not talking about selfies like the one i just posted above. I want to go a little deeper than this. This conversation might not even completely relate to me just yet. I say this because I'm not 100% sure i've found myself photographically. I do however think i'm really close and that i have the foresight to see or look for my persona in all of my images. One of the things that separate photographs from person to person is their personal emotion or attachment to the photographs they take. The next step is to showcase that in the photograph. You want people to feel how you felt when they look at your photographs right?
How do you do this you ask? Well i can't really answer that in one sentence considering the fact that i'm still working on doing the same exact thing. I can how ever try and give you some insight on how I'm working on doing this for myself.
Chaos in my mind
One of the main tips and possibly the best one i can give you is photograph what you like. for go all the self doubting thoughts of cliche images or thinking i have a similar shot already. Keep photographing. I understand this is sort of contradictory to being decisive and how i slowed down when i started using film again, however if you constantly stop yourself from photographing images you'll have less of a chance finding your style.
Next time your out photographing or just with family or friends, don’t not take a photo because your sub conciousness tells you that it’s been done before. Do it anyways take the photographs that you want to take. I still compeletly beleive it’s better to take a bad or repetitive photo rather than to regret not taking it at all.
stagnant without progression
second tip!!! Turn that switch off that allows the outside influences to dictate who you are inside. This is probably by far that best piece of advice I can give to anyone I know. This doesn’t even have to apply to photography or photographers. This goes out to anyone I know or anyone that reads this blog post. You may have heard the saying “dance like there is no one watching”. This statement has lit the imaginary light bulb that hovers over my head so brightly that you’ll get a sunburn standing right next to me.
Who is anyone out there to tell you who you are or what you like? Photograph your shoes that you wear every day and love oh so much that you have 3 pairs of it. Take more photos of your cat because your basically an old cat lady/man. Just make sure you're making photographs with intention to show who you are and make sure your persona shows in every image. It doesn't have to be blatant, subtlety works just as well. Hints of yourself hiding in photographs can be immensely thought provoking. It'll create viewer interaction with your photographs.
So go out and make photographs with intent to put yourself in it. Don't listen to what anyone else tells you is good or bad. shoot for yourself.
A year later
Time is a such a crazy concept. How much we chase after it and are prisoners to it. Trying to get to work on time. Wasting three minutes of your life on a youtube video about cats. Spending a year away from home doing a book photography project. I did actually miss the exact date for this to be sort of a follow up anniversary blog, but there in lies the point for how i started this blog. Time sometimes just runs away from us.
Time is a such a scary concept to me. If you're ever around me you'll see or notice how nonchalant i am as a person and how patience i can be. I've always been this way for certain things. Like if you've ever had the opportunity to ride with me in my car. I don't switch lanes like crazy. I stay in my lane. I love the cruise. I love the slow pace of enjoying the drive.
The home i lived in for a year.
Time is a such a crazy concept. How much we chase after it and are prisoners to it. Trying to get to work on time. Wasting three minutes of your life on a youtube video about cats. Spending a year away from home doing a book photography project. I did actually miss the exact date for this to be sort of a follow up anniversary blog, but there in lies the point for how i started this blog. Time sometimes just runs away from us.
Time is a such a scary concept to me. If you're ever around me you'll see or notice how nonchalant i am as a person and how patience i can be. I've always been this way for certain things. Like if you've ever had the opportunity to ride with me in my car. I don't switch lanes like crazy. I stay in my lane. I love the cruise. I love the slow pace of enjoying the drive.
Then there is the other side of me that maybe alot of people don't know or dont pay attention to. It's my sense of urgency. I'm not a person that likes to "waste" time and please remember this as a point of view. What i consider a waste of time may not be something you consider a waste of time. One example of this is content creation. I take what little time i have now and dedicate it to photography. I spend as much time as i can and when i dont come back with anything (which is often) i feel like i wasted time. Which is also subjective depending on what i came away with that day.
It probably sounds a little confusing to you but it makes sense in my head i swear. Macro Patience, Micro speed. It's something i think i've lived by for the longest time and never payed attention to it much. What do i mean by that statement? Patience for the overall game plan is essential. Like not rushing or worrying why i havnt "made" it yet and it's only been 2 years of serious work.
Micro speed on the other hand is constantly putting as much time and effort as i can into creating work. What i am doing at this given moment is a good example to this. I'm spending my time on the train writing a blog. Most of my so called down time is spent either trying to write a blog, developing and scanning film or out trying to create more images. Sounds boring right? It kind of is sometimes. Most of the time I really love doing it. I enjoy putting my time into creating something of myself, something to leave behind or some sort of history to my existence on this earth.
On that note. I'm off to do something else, Another blog or maybe just go work on another project.
Making work just to make work
Awhile back i wrote a blog about being in ruts and how sometimes you just need to photograph to get through it or how sometimes the creativity comes from the process of doing. Well it is the winter time. This is usually the time i feel the most uncreative. It's like there is something about the constant dark and gloomy days that sucks all the energy out of me. It could just be the cold that i hate venturing out in? Whatever it maybe it sucks and i hate it. Well of course i can't not take my own advice right? So what i decided to do was work on a zine.
In all honesty, I have wanted to start a zine for a few months now. I actually came across the idea naturally from looking at some old and recent work. Which on a side note is a good reason to always go back and look at old work. Sometimes you need fresh eyes on old stuff to realize there is something you missed or kind of brushed off.
Cover pages of my Zine
Awhile back i wrote a blog about being in ruts and how sometimes you just need to photograph to get through it or how sometimes the creativity comes from the process of doing. Well it is the winter time. This is usually the time i feel the most uncreative. It's like there is something about the constant dark and gloomy days that sucks all the energy out of me. It could just be the cold that i hate venturing out in? Whatever it maybe it sucks and i hate it. Well of course i can't not take my own advice right? So what i decided to do was work on a zine.
In all honesty, I have wanted to start a zine for a few months now. I actually came across the idea naturally from looking at some old and recent work. Which on a side note is a good reason to always go back and look at old work. Sometimes you need fresh eyes on old stuff to realize there is something you missed or kind of brushed off.
A page from my Zine.
So after going through some images, I noticed a pattern of images that were shot from the drivers seat of my car. I'm almost 100% sure that there are a bunch of other people that do the same thing i do. Carry you're camera everywhere you go, even while driving and end up taking pictures while driving cause sometimes you just don't or can't stop on the side of the road to take a proper photograph. Well what did i get? A decent amount of work from the inside of my car, but when i say decent it's something around 400 images or so.
Hmm what to do with all these images? Let's create a series out of them. Why do this? Why the fuck not? Realistically i could just let these images sit and never show them at all. Thats not fair to the public right? Well it doesn't really matter what's fair to your audience if you have one.
Seattle Washington
Now I'm not saying you shouldn't care about the community you've created around your bodies of work rather than you shouldn't let your audience dictate the kind of work you do or why you do the work you do. I believe if you did follow a path that someone else dictates for you, you would never get anything done. You're more likely to work on something thats true to you and actually finish it. So here is it. A few images from an upcoming zine that will be released here shortly.
If you guys have any comments or questions All my contact info is on my website.
Travel for work
Traveling is fun, Traveling is important. Traveling is work. Yes i said it. Its work. In today's world filled with breath taking images of gorgeous land scapes and beautiful beaches we often forget What it took to make that photograph or how far someone walked to get to that spot for a landscape shot. Photography in the past and maybe even to this day are shrugged of as the easy way out for an artist. I say this because there is this assumption of buy a nice camera and click a button. That's it, we've made social media gold. You know what though. This does happen, Alot unfortunately. That is sort of the dilemma with photography being so accessible today. Anyone can get lucky sometimes though, A true testament to a photographers artistry is constantly working to be consistent and create more work.
This is basically how i see or think when I do travel. It's not always just traveling to travel. It's sort of an workaholics mentality really. The last few places i traveled to at the end of 2017 i purposefully set aside time to photograph. I already bring my camera with me everywhere but sometimes you just have to dedicate a full day or two to just explore, learn and try to encapsulate your experience in a image or series of images.
Flying over japan at sunset
Traveling is fun, Traveling is important. Traveling is work. Yes i said it. Its work. In today's world filled with breath taking images of gorgeous land scapes and beautiful beaches we often forget What it took to make that photograph or how far someone walked to get to that spot for a landscape shot. Photography in the past and maybe even to this day are shrugged of as the easy way out for an artist. I say this because there is this assumption of buy a nice camera and click a button. That's it, we've made social media gold. You know what though. This does happen, Alot unfortunately. That is sort of the dilemma with photography being so accessible today. Anyone can get lucky sometimes though, A true testament to a photographers artistry is constantly working to be consistent and create more work.
This is basically how i see or think when I do travel. It's not always just traveling to travel. It's sort of an workaholics mentality really. The last few places i traveled to at the end of 2017 i purposefully set aside time to photograph. I already bring my camera with me everywhere but sometimes you just have to dedicate a full day or two to just explore, learn and try to encapsulate your experience in a image or series of images.
Automated carpark in Japan
I want to take my recent trip to New Orleans and Japan for example. If my iPhone pedometer was accurate at tracking my steps the 2 days i walked around to photograph. I logged about 20miles of walking. Almost a marathon of walking just to find some photographs. Japan was about 8miles a day of walking around to do the same. Now that you know what my feet went through, There is a mental aspect of it as well. Although i am already naturally a noisy person i suppose it's not very hard for me to be very aware of my surroundings at all times. I'm probably in a constant state of ease dropping and staring at people and situations all the time.(this is sometimes detrimental to the people traveling with me cause i don't listen to them lol) This is what it takes unfortunately, It really is a lot of work to create images.
Now don't get me wrong this is something i love doing so i don't consider it so much work per se, but i understand everything that goes into my images. I understand that work and work ethic is still required to do something that i love to do.
Right about at this point you maybe thinking I'm only traveling to get better pictures to show off on social media. Now thats not completely un true because i do like to share my work on social media, but that not my number 1 priority or even a thought really. I just really love creating a vision or a window to my world or the world of others that i photograph. Sometimes i work just to make work. I really don't do it for any other reason. I put hard work into making images that make me happy and thats really all there is to say.
Closed down New Orleans shop
CONCLUSION TIME!!!
Next time you look at someones work and think do yourself i could do that. Try to understand the amount of work it actually took to make that. I'm not just talking about photography either, It could be a custom glass fixture or clay bowls. Someone put alot of work into learning their craft practicing it. It's a lot more work than you think.
A week in the future
Currently back in another airport on my way back to Vancouver, where I left you last. The memories of Japan are still very fresh in my mind, but that being said I’m still having trouble putting my thoughts together for this blog. Japan isn’t somthing I can even begin to encapsulate in a short blog. I feel like it deserves a 1000 page hard cover book. Sadly I didn’t have enough time to explore and immerse myself in the Japanese culture to attempt such a feat. I’ll do my best to give you my view of how I experienced Japan.
Lost on foreign land
Currently back in another airport on my way back to Vancouver, where I left you last. The memories of Japan are still very fresh in my mind, but that being said I’m still having trouble putting my thoughts together for this blog. Japan isn’t somthing I can even begin to encapsulate in a short blog. I feel like it deserves a 1000 page hard cover book. Sadly I didn’t have enough time to explore and immerse myself in the Japanese culture to attempt such a feat. I’ll do my best to give you my view of how I experienced Japan.
Winning ticket
Most of my stay was in the downtown area of Ginza and surrounding areas. My initial thoughts were that it seemed like Chicago or New York. I say that cause the western lifestyle is very prevalent and a lot of what I saw ws big high end shops. I felt like I was walking in a much cleaner michicagan Avenue. Streets were filled with lights and huge displays of advertisements. There was definitely no shortage of shopping malls within a few blocks of each other. Lamborghini’s and skylines roamed the streets, you’ll even see a bunch of Toyota centuries around. I included a link to this car because it’s only available in japan.
Nissan skyline
Speaking of cars and again this is only my view and I’m basing this off of what I saw. I paid my brother $1 for every car he found that was either a beater or dirty and throughout our entire trip I only paid him $2. Out of the thousands of cars we only saw 2 dirty cars and that was pushing it to be honest. It was just barely dirty probably from a longer trip or somthing. The car wash bills in japan must be through the rough. I don’t know why this is somthing I payed attention to but it was. Every car was immaculate no matter the age. Cement trucks, dump trucks, everything looked like it was unused or freshly washed. I guess this attention to detail and cleanliness was my first peak into the Japanese culture.
It wasn't only the cars that were clean but the city streets were immaculate. I was eating food on the street and literally felt bad when i dropped some crumbs on the ground. Odd thing about it is i didn't see any city garbage cans around. It could be that i wasn't looking hard enough or maybe they have some space age trash cans that i couldn't tell were trash cans? Either way i decided to just pocket any bit of trash i had and throw it away when i got back to my hotel. I mentioned this to my uncle now that i'm back in Washington and he explained that this is the culture in Japan. Cleanliness is a reflection of themselves. Cab drivers for example maintain their cars because customers are king and they want to give them the best experience they can.
Respect is another quality that is on another level in Japan. When i said the customer is king in Japan, I mean this in a very serious way. Japanese people will treat you with the utmost respect and make sure you're happy and satisfied. There wasn't a single restaurant or store that i went to where every customer was greeted by shouting “irasshai-mase" and "arigato" as soon as you walk out.
Like i said earlier, Japan is too much for one blog post. All the photos in this blog were from my phone and i'll be developing and scanning rolls i shot during my travel as soon as i get home to Chicago. So for now enjoy these photos. Japan Part 2 coming soon.
Closed for the holidays
Three weeks of living out of a small suit case sounds daunting doesn’t it? I finnaly officially ended my long term project, although I do have about 2 days to make a few winter photos before I head out again. I’ll be traveling and pretty much living out of a suitcase till I get back to Chicago in January.
My first stop Richmond and Vancouver Canada. I’m actually now sitting at the airport waiting To board my red eye flight to China. There are so many things to talk about during my time here in Canada, where do I start? Well first things first, I was couch surfing in my grandparents condo with my brother and his family occupying the rooms. For anyone that truly knows me, I actually love sleeping on couches even if a bed is available lol. Their condo is actually located in Richmond, about 5-10miles away from downtown Vancouver. Richmond is a very interesting city. It’s litrally almost full blown asia. It’s a nice little hodge podge of Chinese,Filipino, and Thai.
Three weeks of living out of a small suit case sounds daunting doesn’t it? I finnaly officially ended my long term project, although I do have about 2 days to make a few winter photos before I head out again. I’ll be traveling and pretty much living out of a suitcase till I get back to Chicago in January.
My first stop Richmond and Vancouver Canada. I’m actually now sitting at the airport waiting To board my red eye flight to China. There are so many things to talk about during my time here in Canada, where do I start? Well first things first, I was couch surfing in my grandparents condo with my brother and his family occupying the rooms. For anyone that truly knows me, I actually love sleeping on couches even if a bed is available lol. Their condo is actually located in Richmond, about 5-10miles away from downtown Vancouver. Richmond is a very interesting city. It’s litrally almost full blown asia. It’s a nice little hodge podge of Chinese,Filipino, and Thai.
What do you think I explored because of the type of commutnity is in this area? Food of course!!! It’s kind of crazy how dominant of a presence asian food has in Richmond. It was legitimately impossible for my to find good pizza within a few miles of me. Seriously I looked for pizza because life is pizza! I didn’t find any, but what I did find was Amazing Chinese and Vietnamese food and I mean AMAZING! Better than any place I’ve tried in the US.
Go ahead, send me your hater comments. Just remember this is based on my taste and experience. Anyways, I liked most of the food I had while I was here. I can’t say all, but after I ate like Fat chris I started to think about how this culture came to be in Richmond. Why here? Why is there so many Chinese immigrants in this area? I also noticed that the farm to table culture was huge in B.C. I’m not sure if it’s like this in the other major city’s in Canada, but literally 80% of the restaurants I went to were farm to table and or ethically raised meat were being served.
I honestly don’t think I’ve see a City this committed into sourcing locally grown products. How does this concept seem to elude itself from a lot of restaurants and establishments in the US? You may think or I’m probably paying more for this type of meat and products cause their not mass produced? It’s actually very competitive. Not it’s not McDonald’s value meals competitive, but very reasonably priced. I went to a really good bahn mi sandwich place that only charged $7.50 Canadian for a lemon grass chicken sandwich. that’s like $6 usd?!?
insane right? I got to eat farm raised chicken for $6... I only want that there were more places like this back home. I feel like I’ve been ranting a lot about food and not about photography. Well that’s cause my second love is eating. I’d like to continue on about all the food I had to in Canada but there is too much for one blog post. I’m about to bored a plane going to China then japan. I’ll have to cut this short and continue when I have some more free time and WiFi. Till then enjoy these Richmond/Canada photos from my phone. Film photos to follow once developed.
Hauling fruit, more than meets the eye!
What's the best part about being a trucker? I wanted to get a different perspective to another aspect of the farming industry. Another cog in the grand scheme of farming. How does our produce get from farm to factory and then finally to consumers. Who are the people that make this happen is what i wanted to find out. Good thing all the truck drivers i met are more talkative than i am. I got quite a few varying answers, each person did it for a different reason. One of them for example has been doing this his whole life. He originally hauled equipment and other various produce down the west coast. He said he loved getting to see the country by driving around. Now that he's a little bit older and settled down, He's moved to more local hauling practices. He hauls fruit during the harvest season and also hauls cattle and hay. This gave him the option of still driving 8+ hours a day, but is afforded the luxury of going home and sleeping in his own bed at the end of the night.
Fully loaded truck hauling fuji apples to the packing shed.
What's the best part about being a trucker? I wanted to get a different perspective to another aspect of the farming industry. Another cog in the grand scheme of farming. How does our produce get from farm to factory and then finally to consumers. Who are the people that make this happen is what i wanted to find out. Good thing all the truck drivers i met are more talkative than i am. I got quite a few varying answers, each person did it for a different reason. One of them for example has been doing this his whole life. He originally hauled equipment and other various produce down the west coast. He said he loved getting to see the country by driving around. Now that he's a little bit older and settled down, He's moved to more local hauling practices. He hauls fruit during the harvest season and also hauls cattle and hay. This gave him the option of still driving 8+ hours a day, but is afforded the luxury of going home and sleeping in his own bed at the end of the night.
Cowboy boots are made for hauling
Craig... this was one of those cases where you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover. We only got to speak maybe 2-3 times. He wasn't one of our usual truck drivers. He lived about 4-5 hours in the southern part of Washington so it wasn't exactly convenient for him. He made the trip anyways, but why? When i first talked to him, He seemed to be like any other normal person. We talked about food during his travels, he loved road side truck stop food no matter how greasy it was. There was some appeal to him about gritty diners. The amazing part about him was that he is a college professor. Trucking was a side job past time. He has his masters and taught on a regular basis. Times when he was free he would haul fruit or hay. He said Its not like i need the money, but i don't like sitting at home doing nothing.
Strapping down the apple bins
The guy pictured above was a lot of fun to talk to. He's actually been to alot of places in the world. He used to be a marine and traveled to different bases in the world. One of them was Subic bay philippines. A place thats very familiar to me. I used to travel there very often with a few friends when i lived there. Although its not very far from Manila, it was very different in lifestyle. More of a laid back country life with a sprinkling of American infrastructure. The base was already closed when i lived there, but we both talked about similar places we've been to like the import grocery store which was still standing. It sold alot of imported goods that you wouldn't normally be able to buy in the philippines. He also asked me a lot about film photography and told me he used to have a dark room on the base. Me being who i am and loving to teach anyone about what i love doing. I gave him everything i knew about processing film and if he didn't want to do it himself i gave him the names and contact info for Panda lab in seattle and Indie film lab in Alabama.
As you can see i've been rambling on in this entire blog with no point in sight. I like to talk, I like to be inquisitive. It's just in my nature. In my younger years i was told not to ask people certain questions about their life, That i was being too nosey. I know there are boundaries to what you should and shouldn't ask, but how will you ever meet or learn about someone without asking about them? asking about their lives. Asking why they do certain things? If i refrained from asking people or talking to people i feel like this book project would have been alot more dull than it is. I don't think images always need a backstory, but it certainly doesn't hurt to have one. long story short, People are AMAZING. Don't judge people before you get to know them. You'll find out quickly how many commonalities we all have.
People of the orchards
One of the things i struggled with the most during my time here in the orchards was asking for a portrait. I never planned on doing any real portraits or asking for photos. I envisioned a completely photojournalistic feel to the work i created, but because I'm me and i love pushing myself i made it happen as best as i could.
I started off making a lot of excuses for myself. It's not the right time, The lighting condition isn't ideal, The location isn't very interesting or even told myself that they were too busy and i didn't want to bother them. You know what they say about excuses right? They're like assholes, everyones got one. WELLLLL, I had more than one apparently.
One of 45 people picking apples
One of the things i struggled with the most during my time here in the orchards was asking for a portrait. I never planned on doing any real portraits or asking for photos. I envisioned a completely photojournalistic feel to the work i created, but because I'm me and i love pushing myself i made it happen as best as i could.
I started off making a lot of excuses for myself. It's not the right time, The lighting condition isn't ideal, The location isn't very interesting or even told myself that they were too busy and i didn't want to bother them. You know what they say about excuses right? They're like assholes, everyones got one. WELLLLL, I had more than one apparently.
One of the head foremen in the bus that transports all the employees
I eventually forced myself into asking for portraits. I'm remembered that i hated being stagnant and comfortable with mediocre work. I gave myself no options and walked out with my hasselblad 501c and and a few rolls of 120mm film. Anyone that doesn't know about this camera, It's not exactly ideal for any type of fast moving subjects. It is however perfect for portrait and still life work.
I did however attempt a few shots of people working and moving around. It was extremely difficult to focus off the cuff. I tried to walk around and manually focus as people were moving around but it never worked. I did however figure out where and how people were moving. I noticed repetitive patterns and eventually figured out that waiting was the game. Set up shop in a spot i liked, pre focus and wait.
Workers staking down young apply trees.
The fear that had about asking for portraits or taking could portraits were gone after the first person i asked. It's funny how big of a deal you can make out of such a simple thing. All that fear that you built up is just in your head, but it's so destructive if you don't deal with it head on.
It makes me enjoy these portraits so much more knowing that i fought myself for them. I know its a small personal victory but its still a victory. So for now enjoy the portraits. I have quite a bit of traveling to do in the next month, but i will do my best to get blogs up even while traveling.
One of our forklift operators.
Walk don't run or drive
Today's blog is brought to you by no one. No one at all. I don't have any sponsors for this blog. I don't even know how many people follow this blog. I actually do because squarespace has built in analytics, but i dont really look at them that often. Occasionally i'll take a peak and then cry for an hour. No but seriously. I've learned something i feel to be very valuable to me lately. I'm sure you know the saying "stop and smell the flowers" right? Well if you're that one person that has never heard of this saying. It basically means to take the time to enjoy the little things. This isn't something i was always accustomed to. I used to be very rambunctious even as a kid. I always had too much energy, I'd stay out late either biking or skating around with friends. I hated wasting the day or wasting time.
Shot on Kodak Portra 160
Today's blog is brought to you by no one. No one at all. I don't have any sponsors for this blog. I don't even know how many people follow this blog. I actually do because squarespace has built in analytics, but i dont really look at them that often. Occasionally i'll take a peak and then cry for an hour. No but seriously. I've learned something i feel to be very valuable to me lately. I'm sure you know the saying "stop and smell the flowers" right? Well if you're that one person that has never heard of this saying. It basically means to take the time to enjoy the little things. This isn't something i was always accustomed to. I used to be very rambunctious even as a kid. I always had too much energy, I'd stay out late either biking or skating around with friends. I hated wasting the day or wasting time.
Shot on Kodak Portra 160
Now, before i go on let me just say. I still hate wasting time and wasting the day. I still try to take advantage of everyday i have on this earth. Although my lust for enjoying every min of my life to the fullest is still in tact, It wasn't until i came back to shooting film that i learned the art of slowing something down. Learning to take your time to see an image before clicking the shutter button.
There's always been a lot of talk with-in the community of film photographers as to why they still shoot film. One of the big misconceptions is that film has more dynamic range vs digital or that film has a certain look to it. While some of it is true. I do believe that digital is on par with dynamic range these days and there are a plethora of presets and people creating film like edits on their digital photos that are VERY CLOSE. So why am i still shooting film? Why dump so much money into a "Dying" medium in photography? Well simply put, It allows me to enjoy and connect better with the moments that pass.
Kodak portra 160
What do i you mean it allows you to enjoy and connect? I'm glad i asked myself that. Next time you're out and about, lets say maybe you're at a wedding or traveling and site seeing at some tourist spot where people are holding a DSLR. Heck pay attention to yourself if you're a taking a few photographs. There's a common term called Chimping. It's when you take a picture and immediately review the image on the back of the camera. I used to do this myself every time. It becomes an annoying habit in my opinion. Yes you can turn the image review off on your camera or even gaff tape the LCD to avoid this. Unfortunately i wasn't that disciplined and props to those who were.
You might have already figured this out, but film cameras dont have an LCD so that solved that problem for me at least. There is also the 12/24/36 frames per roll you have depending on the negative size you are using. This is probably the thing that has slowed me down the most. Every frame becomes precious, not because I'm a cheap ass (I am) but because I want to make each shot count. Knowing that I'm limited to a certain amount of frames per roll prevents me from burst shooting a scene and hoping one of them turns out well. It makes me think more about the content, composition and lighting of a shot before taking it.
Kodak Gold 400
I don't want anyone to think I'm bashing digital or that I'm against the advancement of the current technology. This is just my preferred method of photography. I enjoy analog photography and that is most important thing to me. If you don't like shooting film or are too deep invested into digital, you can still practice some of the techniques i've learned from film photography. Take your time. Perhaps try only shooting 36 frames and pretend that you don't have a 1 terabyte sd card or something. Turn your image review off and don't look at your images till you get home. Trust in your ability to make a photograph. Make a ton of mistakes but learn from them. Most importantly, Enjoy it. Enjoy the process!
Could it be finished?
Time is relative right? I really can't even begin to visualize that it's been over 7 months going on 8. I know the first few blogs seemed like everything is going just fine and I'm out here having the time of my life. I know there were alot of people who thought "oh he's just out there taking pictures, He's got it easy". Well to end all conversation about that. It wasn't easy. Despite what you may or may not think. This is work. Just because i love doing it so much that it didn't seem like work to me does not make it a hobby or vacation. This is my artistic vision and passion project that i poured my heart and soul into. All i can hope for now that its almost done, is that it's complete. That I am satisfied with the outcome. I am doing this for myself after all.
I say hoping that it's complete is because I've always had this feeling with anything i've done, Whether it be a wedding, event, or commercial work. I will always carry that feeling of doubt, doubt that i did everything i could have done, Doubt that i didn't miss something. You'd think overtime that feeling would go away. I would somehow grow so accustomed to being content with my work that i would lose all doubts. It's not quite true. Call it the artist mentality if you will. I on the other hand like to think of it as "Always wanting to better myself".
The hard part is almost over. The feeling of going home is probably almost as good as the pay.
Time is relative right? I really can't even begin to visualize that it's been over 7 months going on 8. I know the first few blogs seemed like everything is going just fine and I'm out here having the time of my life. I know there were alot of people who thought "oh he's just out there taking pictures, He's got it easy". Well to end all conversation about that. It wasn't easy. Despite what you may or may not think. This is work. Just because i love doing it so much that it didn't seem like work to me does not make it a hobby or vacation. This is my artistic vision and passion project that i poured my heart and soul into. All i can hope for now that its almost done, is that it's complete. That I am satisfied with the outcome. I am doing this for myself after all.
I say hoping that it's complete is because I've always had this feeling with anything i've done, Whether it be a wedding, event, or commercial work. I will always carry that feeling of doubt, doubt that i did everything i could have done, Doubt that i didn't miss something. You'd think overtime that feeling would go away. I would somehow grow so accustomed to being content with my work that i would lose all doubts. It's not quite true. Call it the artist mentality if you will. I on the other hand like to think of it as "Always wanting to better myself".
I've always subtly or maybe not so subtle at times, Tried to one up everything. I've caught myself doing it jokingly with friends here and there. Someone comes up with a story to tell or the this cool thing they saw that day and I'll respond with something along the lines of "Oh yea i saw so and so, which is way cooer than your story". You could look at this as a bad way to approach things and maybe it is? Maybe it's a sign of insecurity. Although without this aspiration to "one up myself" all the time, I might not have been able to grow as a photographer. (mind blown huh?) You're probably wanting to know where i came up with this ludicrous train of thinking? Well Let me explain a little bit further.
What do you think you would do if you were completely content with the work you put out on a day to day basis? Let's take artistry out of the equation. Let's talk entry level jobs, If i were to work any type of customer service position per say and i was happy just doing the minimum to get through my day of work, Go home, sleep, and come back to do the same thing the next day? Does that sound like something you'd love to do for the rest of your life?
Last day of harvest at the main orchard location
Good thing for me, I was never content with that. Otherwise i'd be making the same images i was 6,7,8 years ago. I've gone back to images i made when i first started to get serious with my work and good thing i never delete any of my images. Seriously though i have 2 terabytes so far of images. It's pretty nice to see a progression or change in my images. This may be the only way i can satisfy my feeling of discontent. Always looking back at what you've done and knowing that you're better now than you were before. Even if it was only 8 months ago.
Let's talk about analog photography!
I wish i could say i started film Ten, twenty, or thirty years ago, but its not completely true. Well I suppose you could say that i was born and grew up before the digital age hit. I do remember having tons of disposable cameras as a youth. I brought them everywhere with me, especially on family vacations. I do remember my parents having a polaroid SX-70 at home and i got to use it maybe a handful of times. Other than that, i dont remember my parents on any of my family that carried an SLR or something of that sort. It was primarily point and shoot cameras. That was the extent of my film experience. Fast forward to 2014, What does someone that is completely clueless about film and film cameras do when he wants to try out film? Buy a hasselblad 501c of course. (Yes i jumped in to the higher end film cameras first dont judge me) I did do some research online so i can't say i jumped into it completely blind. I found a person on Craigslist with a great deal on one with about 30 rolls of 120 film, deals were made and i walked out of the coffee shop as a hasselblad medium format owner. (which i still own today)
I was watching this live webcast by camera ventures about saving analog cameras. Click the link if you'd like to read about it or perhaps watch the recorded webcast. I filled this form out quite awhile ago in order to help with the research they were doing. It wasn't until i watched the video and heard Bellamy hunt (AKA japancamerahunter) say, We as a community need to do our part in order to help create a better market. Here i am thinking that because i have a few film cameras and buy film that I'm supporting the market of film. Although i am supporting it, It's not enough. We need to do more. We need to be more proactive about talking film and everything that has to do with film. We also need to figure out new ways of appealing to the newer generation.
Omak Stampede Washington state.
I wish i could say i started film Ten, twenty, or thirty years ago, but its not completely true. Well I suppose you could say that i was born and grew up before the digital age hit. I do remember having tons of disposable cameras as a youth. I brought them everywhere with me, especially on family vacations. I do remember my parents having a polaroid SX-70 at home and i got to use it maybe a handful of times. Other than that, i dont remember my parents on any of my family that carried an SLR or something of that sort. It was primarily point and shoot cameras. That was the extent of my film experience. Fast forward to 2014, What does someone that is completely clueless about film and film cameras do when he wants to try out film? Buy a hasselblad 501c of course. (Yes i jumped in to the higher end film cameras first dont judge me) I did do some research online so i can't say i jumped into it completely blind. I found a person on Craigslist with a great deal on one with about 30 rolls of 120 film, deals were made and i walked out of the coffee shop as a hasselblad medium format owner. (which i still own today)
My first Film shot with the hasselblad. Yes thats a pizza
Soooo here is my first shot. Of course it's a pizza, more specifically it's a peqouds pizza. If you're from Chicago you know its the only place you go for deep dish. I shot my first image on the hasselblad medium format film camera. I didn't realize at the time that 120mm film was more costly than 35mm film in terms of how many shots you get per roll. Anyways as you can see i probably should have gone with a cheaper method of learning how to shoot film. Theoretically exposing an image is the same as you would with a digital camera. There are slight differences that i learned later on after wasting a few rolls of 120, for example digital you expose for the highlights cause once those are blown out their gone and you can't recover them. Film is the opposite of this, you expose for the shadows cause film can recover highlights very well.
That was the start of it. I could go on about this for days and if you have the time i'll tell you about it sometime. I eventually found my way around the film world and to be honest I'm still learning to this day. There is a lot to learn and it can be overwhelming. It definitely was for me at first. Thats why i wanted to write this blog post up. I want to contribute to the Medium of photography that i fell in love with. I other people to see that there is nothing to be scared of. Just jump into it. you'll probably fail at it. I know i did, but i learned and grew from failing. If you read this blog and want to know anything about film photography or photography in general. Send me a message or give me a call. I'll always make time to teach anyone what i know.
P.S. find a cheaper film camera grab a roll of film and try it out. you never know, you might just love it!
The slow down
Dont take the title of this blog literally. It's still quite the opposite of a slow down in terms of work being done. We just finished out early picking of honey crisps called color picking. We're basically only choosing the apples on the tree that have the right amount red coloring on them. This is something the consumer market dictates as higher grade apples even though the taste isn't significantly different from the apples with a little less red coloring on them. So off we went and set up for picking. We had a bunch of white reflectors called extenday out in the rows of trees to encourage coloring from the ground up that had to be tucked away and rolled out again once we were done picking certain fruits.
Dont take the title of this blog literally. It's still quite the opposite of a slow down in terms of work being done. We just finished out early picking of honey crisps called color picking. We're basically only choosing the apples on the tree that have the right amount red coloring on them. This is something the consumer market dictates as higher grade apples even though the taste isn't significantly different from the apples with a little less red coloring on them. So off we went and set up for picking. We had a bunch of white reflectors called extenday out in the rows of trees to encourage coloring from the ground up that had to be tucked away and rolled out again once we were done picking certain fruits.
Extenday for apple coloring
Once the reflectors were removed they were off to the races. Not really because unlike the pears and Gala apples that we picked prior to this. We required them to be a little more picking and actually take their time. We had a rough first go at it and a lot of the apples being picked looked very green. We walked each row and slowly talked to the foreman and pickers to physically show what apples were okay and which ones to leave on the tree. After a few times they got the hang of it and we were getting the color we wanted.
Decent ratio of coloring
You can see in the photo above that some of the apples were still rather green. Thats not to say they're bad apples we just wanted them more glowing red like the ones to the far left corner. Sometimes grabbing the apples that are not ready is impossible. Some of these trees are so loaded to apples that when you pick one the other once close to it comes with it or it'll fall to the ground. So we don't expect a bin that's just fully red in color. Honey crisps right now are the bread and butter on most apple orchards. The domestic market is in such high demand for these right now that its almost impossible for orchards to not have any honey crisp trees and expect to survive.
Our first load of honey crisps
There is so much hard work put into this time of the year. Everything that was done before harvest up to the heavy lifting that is done by all the pickers. The stuff you don't see or think about when you're purchasing apples at the grocery store. The people that actually feed America today is something to think about the next time you buy your produce. Its not even just apples. All produce. Know where your food comes from and the people that put work into providing it for you.
Full bins = happy people
Don't Be like me and get lost in the process
Let me first of apologize for the late blog post. I really tried to get one in before mid week. That was a lie. I completely forgot about writing one to be honest. I've been a little preoccupied with working with some new gear and workflow. I had to recent additions to my photography. One is in the form of a Leica M6. I traded one of my last fuji cameras for it and have been shooting with it pretty much non stop since it arrived. I have about 12 rolls so far that are undeveloped. The other is a new Epson v850. I used to have a Pakon scanner which was an amazing device. Unfortunately it only scanned 35mm. So i sold that and picked up an epson for a really good price on eBay! Down side to the epson is it's a little bit slower at scanning and a little more involved, but thats okay since i can scan medium format, 4x5, and even 8x10 if i own a large format camera.
Still needs a little more coloring
The following images are not taken on film just FYI. Although i've been shooting film i haven't sent them out to be developed yet. I've sort of considered developing all this myself but then decided not to since I'm not here permanently. Until i start developing at home i'll stick to sending my film into my favorite place Indiefilmlab. Once i get them back i'll use my nifty new scanner and the next follow up blog will hopefully be full of film images that have been scanned and digitized. Yes i get that its contradictory to shoot film and then scan for online viewing. It defeats the purpose right? Well It's really the easiest way to share those images and help me create prints on my inkjet at home. Anyways i'm going back to scanning and try to master the software since it is pretty cumbersome.
3...2...1... PICK!
Today harvest started. I can't remember if i ever experience harvest here at the orchards, but if i did i was too young to pay attention to the work thats done. I was out in the orchard at about 6:30am and it was pretty damn chilly outside. I thought that i was right on time but all the employee were already out picking like mad men. I kind of wish this was an exaggeration but it actually wasn't. Harvest is a pretty big deal to these guys. This is the one time that they actually benefit even more from working even faster. Each employee is paid an extra amount per bin they fill so you can imagine how enticing that is to put some pep in your step.
Today harvest started. I can't remember if i ever experience harvest here at the orchards, but if i did i was too young to pay attention to the work thats done. I was out in the orchard at about 6:30am and it was pretty damn chilly outside. I thought that i was right on time but all the employee were already out picking like mad men. I kind of wish this was an exaggeration but it actually wasn't. Harvest is a pretty big deal to these guys. This is the one time that they actually benefit even more from working even faster. Each employee is paid an extra amount per bin they fill so you can imagine how enticing that is to put some pep in your step.
Bin ticket System
Although It sort of marked the start of harvest, It's not completely in full swing just yet. Honestly, before i came here i envisioned harvest as an all out picking fiesta. Start at one orchard and pick all the fruits off the trees and move on to the next. Thats not how its actually done. All the fruits and trees mature at different times. You can't just schedule the picking of fruits, you sort of have to constantly monitor the different varieties week over week and size them up. We started with Stark Crimson pears today or as i like to call them the purple pears(I'm not sure where they got the name Crimson from).
Full bin of Stark crimson/purple pears
It seemed pretty chaotic. People were picking and moving around left and right. Tractors were in and out of rows picking up bin after bin. One of the other tractor drivers drove full bins down towards the house to await pick up from the packing shed trucks and then came back up with more empty bins. I also wanted to get a feel of how i'd able to photograph amongst all the movement. It was a little tough and i too had to be a little bit more quicker on my feet. I actually carried two cameras on my this time one with a 35mm lens and the other with a 50mm. This made it a little hard to focus on the content to if I'm being completely honest. I typically like shooting one camera and one lens.
Bins out, Bins in
I'm not sure what the reason was this morning but i picked up my Leica M6 and my Leica M262 to take with me. That was clearly a mistake as a learned pretty quickly. It slowed me down a little too much having to choose between film or digital, 50mm or 35mm, left foot right foot. so i just slung the M6 across my back and stuck with the 35mm and digital Leica. This allowed me to capture as much of the action as i could so to speak. Today was the trial run of harvest. Everyone did pretty well. Now we wait till probably Friday for the next batch of pears to be picked. Hopefully i remember what i learned today and only take one camera with me.
One last image