March 19th, 2010
or… Test Run with the Horseman.
I finally got a chance to head out with the Horseman. I had to wait to get a tripod sturdy enough (thanks Kevin!). Otherwise, I was pretty much limited to wishful thinking.
The weather was not terribly cooperative, so I headed to the Garfield Park conservatory to function test, and play with the 75mm ultra-wide on the Fuji 160S (three new things at once, MADNESS).
All in all I’m pretty happy. The camera and film performed well. The tripod will need some tweaking, and will be upgraded down the line - but all good for now. A few shots below. No portfolio pieces today, I don’t think. But still fun.
100% crop from the center grotto of the above. Nice little waterfall. (man, I need a new scanner. FYI Client work is drum scanned, not done on this old thing.)
All in all - I think things worked well. A few kinks to work out. But good tools, and I like the way this film scans. Once I nail the color balance, we’ll be in good shape.
Good light!
Tags: Field Test, Fuji, horseman, Jungle
Posted in Personal, Photographs | No Comments »
March 3rd, 2010
Jim Fiscus has an interesting interview (given by a student from his alma-mater, East Texas State) over on the Stockland-Martel blog.
In particular, I liked his parting advice to “aspiring” photographers. (I put aspiring in quotes, because frankly, I think it applies to ALL photographers.)
Learn business skills. Outwork your competitors. Take risks, and be willing to fail.
Good stuff. A simple lesson that bears repeating. Luck is important, but the harder you work, the more opportunity for luck to jump in and lend a hand - you make your own luck.
A few other gems hiding in there. His point about good light is important. Many people seem to think you can fix or create just about anything in post production. And there is no doubt that you can do quite alot. But starting with good light. Learning how to light and set a subject, puts you that much further ahead. It saves you time in post, you start with better material, all in all - you can work to make a good or great picture that much better, instead of spending all of your time trying to overcome flaws in technique.
All of which is a long way of saying. Technique matters. It doesn’t matter how grand and creative your vision is, if you cannot effectively realize it in final image.
Read the full interview here.
Thanks all. Good light.
Liam
Tags: light, luck, technique
Posted in Business | 1 Comment »
January 28th, 2010
Far from it in fact. It may be the perfect solution for a wide range of photographic needs (especially architecture work). I think mostly, it is just suffering from a PR hit. It’s not new. It’s not shiny.
Maybe we should just start calling it: High-Def ExDR Silver-Polymer Media
It’ll be a hit. You heard it here first.
The original full frame sensors.
(A quick self portrait while waiting for the Brown line to the dentist…)
In other news.
I keep stumping myself about my blog. I outline these huge sweeping posts about Photography as aesthetic… Or Authenticity, and truth. Interpretation vs. translation…
Then I get overwhelmed and end up writing nothing. This is a problem that I intend to work on. Feel free to call me out on it.
Tags: Film, High-Def ExDR Silver-Polymer Media, PR, Street
Posted in Personal, Photographs | 1 Comment »
January 10th, 2010
Fuji has announced that they will no longer be making quickload 4×5 films - ceasing production in April.
This is very disappointing. I had been using Porta 160 VC readyloads from Kodak, and when they stopped manufacturing, I finally settled on the Fuji 160 160-C quickloads as a replacement. Now with those going under, I’m not sure what will make the most sense from a workflow standpoint.
Have I mentioned how much I hate having to load my own holders? Dusty, annoying. Room for error. Etc.
Maybe I’ll just have to hire an assistant to do that for me while on location.
–
In other news… I saw on Rob Haggart’s blog “A Photo Editor” - Lady Gaga Named Creative Director at Polaroid - I am of mixed feelings about this. On the one hand - she’s proven she’s very good at creating and maintaining public interest in a brand (herself). On the other hand, what polaroid needs is good products and good strategy, not gimmicks.
So we’ll see.
Mostly I just want my Type 55 back. But I know I’m a very small market share. 
Tags: Film, Frustration, Fuji, Kodak, Lady Gaga, Polaroid
Posted in Business, Industry | No Comments »
January 8th, 2010
A few things I stumbled upon and wanted to share with you.
I’m deliriously happy that I just picked up my new 4×5 camera. A Horseman LS45, in fantastic condition. Sure it’s big and heavy, but it’s gorgeous. A few choice accessories, (and probably a beefier tripod) and I’ll be one happy snapper on the next architectural shoot.
Isn’t she pretty…
(please ignore the shadow on the wall… I know…you know, we’ll just pretend it’s not there.)
Those of you that have time and a good internet connection should also watch this amazing aesthetic piece on architecture. Alex Roman did an amazing job with this entirely rendered piece…which is a bit frustrating how good that is getting. But well worth seeing.
Click the image to view the HD video on Vimeo.
And finally - I know I’m a bit late with the news (since it happened in late November) - but I just learned that Charis Wilson died at the age of 95. For those of you who do not know. She was Edward Weston’s muse, model, and by most counts, writer as well (writing the grant proposal that got him the first Guggenheim fellowship ever awarded to a photographer, and likely many articles attributed to him during that period). She was a cool woman, always active in the arts and elsewhere.
And of course, many of Weston’s shots during their period together are among the finest he made. Two stunners I had the privilege to see on exhibit a few years ago.
NY Times article here: Charis Wilson, Model and Muse, Dies at 95
Thanks Charis, for a life well lived, and your contributions to the art.
Tags: camera, CG render, cool, gearhead, horseman, memoriam, weston
Posted in Personal | No Comments »
January 6th, 2010
A few new images to start the year, from my first trip to the new modern wing at the Art Institute of Chicago. Just playing with the Leica M4-2 and the BW400CN. A nice film. I like TriX better - but the convenience of lab processing is hard to pass up.
I hope you all have a healthy, happy, and otherwise gorgeous 2010.
Tags: Architecture, Leica, Street
Posted in Personal, Photographs | 2 Comments »
