Moon Glow

I’m both thrilled and honored to have one of my images in this exhibition at The Vermont Photography Workplace.  It’s extremely rewarding when others believe that my work is worthy of inclusion in a exhibit such as this one.   The full show can be seen at The PhotoPlace Gallery.   Props to Candace Nirvana for this truly was a collaboration when we created the image.

I'll Protect You

A while ago I ordered a pimped out Holga from Holga Mods and haven’t used it until recently.  I was on location at a quarry somewhere in Delaware with Beth Caldwell and pulled it out.  It was a fairly bright day and if you know anything about a Holga the exposure settings are seriously limited so one sort of guesses and hopes for the best.  Experience has taught me to give it plenty of exposure and I have yet to overexpose a negative with the Holga so that’s what I did.  About three weeks after the shoot I processed the film and had some very interesting images.  This is the first one I printed and I’ve titled it I’ll Protect you”. We talk a lot about post production in the digital world but not so much in the analog world.  Perhaps because there are very few people still working with traditional wet darkroom processes.

The post production on this image has everything to do with the finished product.  It was in post that my vision really came together on this one.  Validating once again that every step in the process of making photographs is critical to and contributes to achieving ones vision.

Shooting with the Holga along with this particular image has given me some ideas and inspiration for a project.  Now all I need is the discipline and time to start the project.

Shooting large format is a very slow deliberate process and can be frustrating when working with people.  Especially after shooting so much digital which really moves fast.  Models tend to move around a lot making composition and focusing a large format camera challenging.  Holding poses for long periods of time can be difficult for some models, however many experienced models work with art classes and are totally capable.  I think the important thing here is to work with the model and explain exactly what’s going on and how things will move.  The experienced models usually have worked with large format  photographers so they totally understand.  I also try to work with poses that are easier for them to hold.

It really is a different process that’s humbling and rough when first getting into it but can be incredibly rewarding when working with large negatives in the darkroom.  So much more information on the film resulting in exceptional prints.

More testing and fine tuning of my work flow before I’m ready to share any results.

in this silence

Give me release
witness me
I am outside
give me peace

Heaven holds a sense of wonder
and I wanted to believe
that I’d get caught up
when the rage in me subsides

In this white wave
I am sinking
in this silence
in this white wave
in this silence
I believe

Passion chokes the flower
’til she cries no more
possessing all the beauty
hungry still for more

Heaven holds a sense of wonder…

I can’t help this longing
comfort me
I can’t hold it all in
if you won’t let me

Heaven holds a sense of wonder…

In this white wave
I am sinking
in this silence
in this white wave
in this silence
I believe

I have seen you
in this white wave
you are silent
you are breathing
in this white wave
I am free

by Sarah McLachlan

Listen…

I’ve been struggling and searching over the past few months trying to find a direction for the volume of work that I have been producing. Hard drives full of images rolling around as little more than zeros and ones. I now believe that I’m on a path to seeing much of the work really come to life. Digital printing, yes. Traditional silver printing, yes. Ink jet transfer printing, yes. Platinum/ palladium printing, yes. Did I mention digital negatives for silver printing? I’m overjoyed with the creative and artistic possibilities that all of these options present.

I purposely kept my shooting schedule thin for the month of May to charge the batteries a bit and catch up on some other things. I suppose it’s a good idea to slow down every now and then. I’m returning to a much busier shooting schedule in June and am very excited about the models I have scheduled I may even do an entire shoot with film, no digital. I’ve not done this in quite some time but it seems a challenge I should accept.

Beth and Hunter

I have worked with Beth a few times in the past so we knew each other but I had not met Hunter prior to this session.  They both model for other photographers as well so they are both comfortable in front of the camera.  Thanks to them for making my job easy!!!  They were very relaxed and animated and really enjoyed themselves.  My experience with male nudes is also extremely limited so part of my goal for the session was to tap into my feelings and vision for male nudes.  The male form is just as beautiful as the female.

Beth and Hunter

Working with real emotion is a very special experience for me.  Differing from many situations where art is being created and in many cases the models are there as actors with their job being interpretation of a concept and then of course executing it.  Real honest emotion takes on a whole different level of energy and creativity and is something that I cherish and enjoy.