B&J 8x10

Getting the Burke and James 8x10 up and running was more of a disassembling process than a true restore. The aperture blades on the shutter started falling out when I decided to just go whole hog and yank out the aperture controls entirely, and shoot wide open with that huge piece of glass. While it has its disadvantages, it's still an amazing process. More info and some future plans after the break.

The process of shooting with this camera right now is somewhat involved. After loading the film (in a darkroom), the lights are set, the studio is blacked out, darkslide pulled, lights popped, darkslide replaced, and then lights on to reset for another shot. It can take upwards of 5 minutes to take a shot between composing and focusing, shutting all the modeling lights off on the strobes, and struggling in the darkness to find everything.

And then, because I'm like that, theres the developing process. No tidy tanks and reels like 35mm, or even medium format. Open trays of chemicals in a cramped bathroom pulling double duty as a darkroom (though thankfully ventilated). 13 minutes in darkness, constantly agitating trays sounds more like an OCD activity instead of a relaxing hobby.

Next up is doing contact prints and developing those in the same setup. First is doing a test strip on an ad-hoc setup. A softbox put right up against the paper, negative and a sheet of glass with cardboards to isolate areas while I check what power levels give what exposures. Barring a disaster in the developing, I should have a fairly reliable way to make prints without buying an expensive enlarger for 8x10's.

Betcha can't use just one, doc...

Why use one beauty dish when you have an entire school's worth of equipment at your disposal? That seemed like sound logic to me as I ransacked the the portrait studio bays next to mine of their lights, stands and beauty dishes. I could have gotten even more, but I didn't want to appear greedy. Photographers wax poetic about how gorgeous a beauty dish can be, and how if one is good, two is better. I never did hear anyone say if two is better than three must be overkill, so I went for it.

See a lighting diagram and more info after the jump.

It started innocently enough, I booked a model to do a shoot at the request of my retoucher back in Michigan. He sent makeup concepts, we picked a girl, and we were good to go. While the original idea was to have a lip-gloss centric shoot, we thought we would expand the number of looks we could get by starting with just the basic face and eye makeup first, then adding the lips in afterwards.

In the course of doing our initial shots, I noticed that my model had exceedingly long hair. Since most of my work has been lacking a hair stylist (this time as well unfortunately), I thought we could use the hair to frame and accentuate her face. My makeup artist wrapped the hair around her neck and held it to her back while I took a few frames, but I felt that something was lacking in the lighting. We already had a fairly large setup going, but it was typical of my older work as well. I wanted to push things a little bit.

In just a few minutes, I had three beauty dishes on booms positioned within inches of the model. The lightmeter that I had initially dreaded using was telling me to shoot at f/32 at ISO 50. Thats a whole lot of light, and they weren't even turned up the whole way.

I was afraid that I was actually taking a huge step back in technique, and that I would simply be blasting my model with too much light for the sake of using too much light. But even on the cruddy screen of the Aptus back, I could tell I had finally left that behind. Turning down the power slightly on the right beauty dish gave a little shadow for some definition and depth, but the overall light is even and smooth all the way across her face.

This shot ended up being a very last-minute submission for the best of college contest after a nearly sleepless night of retouching. It still has a little ways to go before being a final, polished image though. Sometime soon-Retouching post.

120 Marathon

Taking a huge step back in size, but a just a few steps forward in technology, I thought I'd show a few of the 120 film cameras that I've been playing around with since I started photography. Starting with the pictured 1967 Hasseblad 500c, it's a completely manual, utterly analog, electricity-less camera. And gorgeous to boot. Sure it may lack metering, precision shutter or film backs that are practically foolproof, but it's an absolutely amazing kit. It was previously owned by said portrait studio photographer that the 8x10 camera was obtained from, and it's in remarkable shape.

I'll admit that the Hasselblad has an allure about it, in part due to its lunar pedigree, and the current 50+ megapixel digital. And being primarily a Canon shooter, Carl Zeiss lenses are few and far between. This camera gave me the chance to use some vintage glass that promises to be even better than some modern day lenses. More toys, and a step in the other direction after the jump.

In complete and utter contrast to the Hasselblad's legendary mechanics and glass, we have my Holga CFN, which just decided to die sometime today. This was the first 120 film camera I ever owned, picked up between train stops from Hikone to Osaka, Japan. The 'dreamy', soft, messed up shots that emanated from this camera were more of a source of amusement for me than a real working camera, but weighing next to nothing made it easy to take along with me everywhere. While the shutter inside the lens is still working, the lack of a flash feature has doomed this camera to be disassembled, where its repair may be dubious.

My first twin lens reflex camera was this Rolleicord, a member of the Rolleiflex family. Slightly more compact than the Hasselblad, this came with a complete kit-leather case, meter, filters, lens adapters, and even one original magnesium-filled flashbulb. This was the first 120 camera that I would take outside to use as a normal point and shoot due to the surprisingly accurate analog light meter that bayonets onto the front. I also shot only black and white film, and used it to practice developing, with some help from my girlfriend.

But one of my favorite cameras is my RZ67, for several reasons. Not only did Annie Leibovitz use this type of camera for a huge amount of her studio work, I bought this while out in Seattle checking out Chase Jarvis' studio. I use this camera a lot of my own studio work, and it's so simple to use that I almost regretted getting my new Mamiya 645 for school. If I could have gotten my hands on the necessary adapter, I'd be using this camera instead. It has some of the best intuitive controls that I've seen on camera's like this, and the simplicity makes using it effortless. While it may be a bit of a beast in its weight class, I can comfortably handhold for an entire roll.

These are just my 120 MF film cameras, and while some may argue that it's even more irrelevant to have so many different ones when the only difference that matters is the film, I still feel that they're all appropriate for different situations, have different feels and even subject impact. The Rolleiflex gets stares and questions, the Mamiya makes people run the other way, and the Holga is ignored as if it were a cheap disposable camera.

Film may be dying out professionally, even as I start my career. But a surprising number of students still enjoy shooting film, and even some of them still develop in at-home darkrooms. Whether for nostalgia or for fun, film isn't going away quite yet. The people that still shoot film are the ones that will eventually be instrumental in saving it from extinction, just like in the impossible project's efforts to bring back Polaroid film to the huddled masses, but that's for another post.

It's Alive...

If film is dead, I want to be Dr. Frankenstein. I've been on such a film kick for the past year, it's kind of crazy. I've lost track of how many film cameras I have now, but I just added two very nice retro jewels to my collection. Pictured here is a Burke and James 8x10 view camera. this thing is a beast, I don't even have a picture of the full setup with the rolling stand yet. The camera itself weighs about 20lbs, is solid wood, and has definitely seen better days. But luckily enough for me, it still operates, sort of, and only took $1.04 in parts to get it back together.

Ever since our guest speaker at Hallmark, Barbara Bordnick talked about doing portraits with Polaroid 8x10's, I've been a little obsessed with the idea. The images she showed us were hauntingly beautiful, and I think that film is undoubtedly a more sincere way of capturing a true portrait. Sure its easier with digital, and sure no one may be able to tell the difference, or care, but its an entirely personal thing to me. This is as close to my photography as I can get.

Finding a cheap, used 8x10 camera was easy in my mind, but it took a little bit of searching. It wasn't until a craigslist ad listing cheap hasselblad film bodies did I even stumble upon this one. And to sweeten the deal, the photographer selling this equipment knew my portrait teacher here at Hallmark, Rich Barnes. The whole deal turned into a steal for me, and I wasn't even expecting to get what I really wanted. It was almost in passing that a pack of polaroid 8x10's, a processor and a holder were thrown in.

A couple of wood screws and some fiddling later, the camera is temperamental, sticky, and still just as heavy, but I can see an image on the ground glass. An 8x10 film holder is definitely needed before I try out what may be one of the few remaining packs of 8x10 polaroid in the world. But now, all thats left to do is check to see if the packard shutter behind the lens will sync with some pocket wizards.

Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. -Victor Frankenstein

Sustainable Red-Wine

Phase one at Hallmark is winding down, and our final project is due in a week. One picture we have to shoot is a product with an appropriate background or location, and I just happened to pick up this cool bottle of wine from a local store. While driving back to the studio, I also passed a tree with some great red leaves that were falling. Some people driving past may have seen me picking leaves up off the ground and shoving them in a plastic baggie.

The cool thing about the commercial bays at school are that, right now at least, it's pretty empty after school. I get to use equipment from 2 or 3 bays instead of having to keep changing everything out when i start a new picture. Luckily, this was a fairly simple setup, but I think a few weeks of instruction and some lighting diagrams will do me good.

The setup, which I actually do have a picture of this time, was a little more complex than I've done in the past.

A softbox in the back through the infinity table, one in the front right for the bottle, and a third bare bulb underneath the table. No bounce cards, but I did have to black out the wall on the left side to get rid of some highlights. Post processing was cleaning up the bottle and re-arranging some of the leaves, curves, and some trade secrets.

It likely won't get used for class for one reason-they want us to be turn in lightroom edits only, and this shot, like most product shots, is a disaster till it gets polished. I'll definitely be holding onto this one for a while.

Keep coming back to check out new pics that will be getting posted, we're just getting started.

Hallmark in Motion- Weeks 3 & 4

After watching most of the class get jump started from zero to 'pro' photographers, we hit the ground running, literally. Our assignment this week included techniques on capturing motion, and my experience as a 'sportraiture' photographer came in handy. Josh was willing enough to run endlessly through dirty puddles in the unusually wet Massachusetts weather so I could get a great shot like this one. More after the jump.

Without 'distractions' like things to do on the weekends, we have plenty of time to throw on a jacket and spend a few hours in the rain. Josh, Colin and I took the day to do our motion assignment, and ended up with some great shots. Nearly running over Josh just so that Colin could get his homework done was priceless.

Coming up in the next couple weeks we have a few field trips, including one to New York for PhotoExpo, and to some smaller locales around the Massachusetts area. Assignments should start falling out of the sky any day now, and I'll have something a bit more interesting to talk about than how I captured movement with a fast shutter speed.





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Best Camera

I got on board with Chase Jarvis' "Best Camera" because I missed the way I used to take dozens of pictures on my cell phone before I even had a real camera. Having something that can grab the things you see every day in a split second is a great way to stay creative, take notes, and keep yourself occupied.

Having used the previous Jarvis approved camera app, I wasn't disappointed by the way the app handled, it had plenty of features and a lot more control than other iPhone apps. I miss some of the presets from Camera Bag, but the options in Best Camera aren't lacking, and the sharing feature that uploads to twitter, facebook, email and the Best Camera website is really cool, and I'm sure more features will be rolled out soon.

Overall, it's a great and ambitious foray into a web app and social site, and I've been going crazy editing a whole backlog of iPhone pics from the past year. Check it out on twitter or Facebook.







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Hallmark 2010- Weeks 1-2

So as most of you know, I'm out in Turners Falls Massachusetts where I've just started Phase 1 of the most comprehensive photographic education anywhere in the US. Weeks one and two blew by pretty quickly, with guest speakers and equipment being handed out, and our first assignment shot in neighboring Historic Deerfield. We're getting to know our teachers and their backgrounds, and getting settled into the program thats as demanding as they come.

Our week one assignment, with one of my final images posted above, was really an eye opener for me. Working mostly with artificial lighting, I usually never had to worry about the quality of available light. Having to work exclusively with said natural light put me on the spot, especially when the weather turned sour, giving us nothing but even, diffuse light for the entire day.

Read more and see some other shots from the day after the jump.


Coming from a very strobist background, having to deal with the giant softbox in the sky wasn't exactly intuitive. I've never had to work with models in all natural light, so it threw me for a bit of a loop when we had to photograph three different sets of subjects using it. The weather that day wasn't exactly cooperating, and trying to find a shadow was next to impossible.

Luckily, I still remember how to work without cranking down my exposure and blasting something with light. The above shot of Claudia was shot with an 85mm F/1.2 @ F/2.8 in the middle of a corn field we walked past. The new 5D Mark II creates literally noiseless images at ISO 50, and the color comes out fantastic in Photoshop CS4. Claudia, the 'model' for the day is another student whom I spent some time working with for our people assignment.

Another all natural light subject was more of an exercise in manually focusing toy lenses than anything else. Our not-so-little Chinese Sharpei friend here was excited by all the paparazzi attention he was getting.

Class is moving along slowly while all the students are brought up to speed, so I get a chance to relax and stretch myself on assignments. Keep checking back for more info on my new work and the Hallmark class of 2010.

Hallmark 2010

Finally, made it to Mass., and to the Hallmark Institute of Photography. Like I may have mentioned, this town (Turners Falls) is TINY. I mean, three stoplights and one main street tiny. From 1st to 7th street is less than half a mile.

But we made it through three days of orientation at the awesome school they have set up here. The equipment is all brand spankin' new, and the building is practically an oasis for photographers. Huge portrait and commercial bays, gigantic imaging and design labs, it's one heck of a place to do some work. I can see why some students 'lived' there all year. If they didn't have to kick me out every night, I'd just bring my bed and some PJ's. Read more about the school and our awesome guest speakers after the jump.

Orientation every day was ended with a lecture from a noted photographer, and while they're not exactly household names, they sure aren't obscure. First was Gregory Heisler, who's shot over SEVENTY Time Magazine covers, from Clinton and Arafat to Bruce Springsteen and Michael Phelps. He's also our 'Artist in Residence' for the year, meaning we get unfettered access to an extraordinarily accomplished photographer.

Next was fashion photographer Barbara Brodnick, one of the first major female fashion photographers. What I admired her the most for was these amazing 8x10 peel apart polaroid pictures of 'Women of Jazz'. It made me want to run out and get an 8x10 camera and beg Fuji to start producing film for me. She also had a collection of images for her three books on flowers, shot from perspectives that are so unique that she describes them more as landscapes than just pictures of plants.

Our final orientation week speaker was Clay Patrick McBride, who's shot a huge range of music talent including Metallica and Fifty Cent, along with NBA players and Japanese biker girls. He's also made the move to multimedia, delivering videos to his clients for 'online content', and was actually the photographer who inspired the well known stop motion music video of the girl walking on her bed. But his idea was much cooler, if not raunchier.

All three were amazing inspiration for a group of presumably nervous new photographers, many of whom haven't picked a direction to take their work in. For me, it was a great way to see the type of work that gets put on magazine covers, and to realize that I'm getting to that point. For the rest of the year, I'll be (trying) to blog about the whole experience here, to both document my progress personally, and to be a resource for new students who want to know more about the school.

My first impression? This is the place to be, hands down.

Meetup V-Mission Accomplished

Despite 90+ degree weather and the distinct lack of an air-conditioned workspace, we had a blast at our final summer meetup. While we changed the name (Strobist A2/DT), the incredible time we had with everyone stayed the same. Our only regret was that we didn't do this sooner and more often. With a group this successful, monthly meetups would have been easy to accomplish. Read about our final (for me) meetup and our plans for the future after the jump.

Our location was a repeat from an earlier meetup because of our time constraints, but with everything moving around as quickly as it does in there, we still had plenty of new places to shoot. Like a forklift, or a solar collector, or in a spate of daredevil behavior, from the rafters. New photographers and models created incredible opportunities to stretch our creativity, rehash old ideas, and collaborate on new ones. We've formed such a tightly knit group and gotten into a rhythm that we already know what our next step is going to be.

While this was unfortunately the last meetup I'll be able to personally organize and come to, the group is definitely not going away. Several of our members have stepped forward to donate their time and effort to keeping the meetups on schedule. And while I'll be away in Massachusetts, it's easy enough to book models online and keep myself involved in the group that means so much to me. It's been a privilege to work with everyone that comes to our meetups, and created more opportunities than I ever imagined.

From here, the new content I promised will start coming in, starting with some new equipment reviews, techniques and other ideas I want to share with everyone. School starts in just a few weeks, and lighting lessons will be coming in frequently as I pass on information that anyone interested in Strobist type photography will enjoy.

Also, as soon as some good, royalty free, non RIAA controlled music is made available, the video from meetup V will be posted as well. For now, we have a slideshow with pictures from all our members that attended.