...and justice for all

I am going to keep my political opinions to myself, but I will admit that I am one of the 99%.

...And Justice For All

Holga 120N
Kodak Portra 400
fill flash w/ 1/2 CTO gel

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A Couple More From The Anachronism IV

So there are a couple more images that I have yet to post from this great night.



How I love this most colorful of costumes on the maddest of hatters. Kodak's Portra really gives great tones throughout.



Again nice tones here, but the guy looks a little reluctant in the image, hence I dub thee "Reluctant Time Traveller."

Images taken with the Holga 120N, Kodak Portra 400, and a small flash with a 1/2 CTO gel in order to warm up skin tones and colors a bit.

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First Time TLR-ing It

I wanted to use the Rolleiflex that has been sitting on my shelf for a few years, but before I could go out shooting I had to invest in a CLA due to the (de)ceased shutter.


I spent the money and went out shooting.

This is my story.

I loaded the film wrong and grew increasingly frustrated not seeing the frame counter move whenever I cocked the shutter.

I figured that I was one to blame for the mishap, and indeed I was.  I did not insert the film through the rollers on the transport and that is what prevented me from doing my street shooting on the lower east side.  Oh well.

I tried to salvage the film by rerolling it in my blackened bathroom, but I did that incorrectly and ended up jamming the camera with some tape I did not secure.  Grumble.

Frustrated, I popped the camera back open ruining the roll of film.  I did not like throwing away $5, but it was necessary and I was glad the camera was fine.

I threw in some Kodak Tri-X and went out shooting again the next day, this time, to a much less interesting place, but I tried my best to make interesting photos.

Let me tell you, using this thing is completely different than the SLRs or rangefinders I am familiar with.  I was having a hell of a time with the flipped image - lining things up or framing served as a major hindrance because I had to think and make coordinated motor movements in reverse - it is not something I usually do.

In a way I suppose that is a good thing; I had a long enough time to consider if the shot was worth making.

I am very surprised with the quality of the lens.  I have always liked the Tessar formula, but this one in particular (the f/3.5) writes more beautifully than all of the other Tessars I have used before.




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Marriage of Content and Image

I first got the idea for this post while listening to Bruce Dickinson's "Chemical Wedding" album (Bruce Dickinson is the singer for Iron Maiden).  Each of the songs on the album is inspired by the writings of William Blake, who is probably most famous for writing (and illuminating) "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell." Circuitous route for the explanation of the entry's spawning, eh?

In "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" Blake writes of the union of the body and soul; they are not separate entities and together form a whole.  One is not to be rejected for the sake of the other.

In addition to Blake's great words he created images to parallel and complement his content, intending the two to be experienced together.  The entire message would not be transmitted if the words were read alone.

Body and soul

Images and words

One work

One unified endeavor

As a photographer I constantly try to push myself to learn a new technique or become more familiar with the cameras in my arsenal.  

Through trial and error I came upon an important realization that some cameras are more suited for certain tasks than others.  Each camera has a different feel and imparts a different aesthetic thumbprint upon an image.

Consider the subject.  Consider the camera.  Consider the goal.  Consider how to achieve the goal.

Learn what works.  Learn what detracts.  Learn what adds.

Only through intimate understanding and practice with the camera can you increase the impact of the image.

These are some examples of images that I think are married well:

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Anachronism IV: Sasha: Fire Gypsy (part 6)

I am not quite sure if she was eating the fire or blowing flames on this image. Perhaps a combination of both.

It does not matter to me so much because I enjoy the simplicity and ambiguousness of the image.



This one reminds me of a long and curvaceous dragon, not unlike those in Chinese depictions, dancing with the summoner of flames.

Okay. That is the close of all the fire dancer images. I plan on writing an entry that will incorporate one or two of the images, so please forgive me for posting again, if only to demonstrate an idea.

Stay tuned for the next posting, I am really going to try to make that an interesting one.  [edit - I am not so sure how well the next entry turned out; I was tired of kicking the idea around in my head and needed to get it out there]

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Anachronism IV: Sasha: Fire Gypsy (part 5)

I am lumping these two images together because of the commonality in theme.

Circles are a powerful form and always draw the eye when viewing an image.

When photographing I tend to see in shapes and have trained myself to consciously strip down elements that are nonessential to a point when it becomes an unconscious habit in order to make a stronger a picture.

In practically all of my photographs I have one point of interest.

In these Anachronism photographs I focus on Sasha and the flames that surround her are an extension of the image content and the reason why I am photographing this event.

I have to imagine the flames creating a pleasing form (based on my experience and intuition concerning how light writes on film) in order to complement Sasha.

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Anachronism IV: Sasha: Fire Gypsy (part 4)

For whatever reason this is the most popular image of the set on flickr. Personally, it does not do too much for me, but there might be a few things about this image that made it garner the most attention.

It is fun to follow the light streaks and have an interesting pattern.

On another level the figure mirrors the design of the tattoo on Sasha's back (angel/devil wings) and it is as if the fire is going to help her take flight. That may be a bit far fetched, but it occurred to me, why not someone else?

It could also be because the lil' bit o' butt illuminated by the fire and the flash, but then if that was the case, I would imagine the image discussed here would be more popular.

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