Progressions and Movement

Music | Threads by David Ware

A day of accomplishment! Yesterday was good having processed more film and finally getting to make a start at printing, but also, I felt a little disappointed in not being able to get an acceptable print.

Today, lots of errands completed, I got another start with some advice from a master printer, Ray Bidegain. He has helped my in the past with technical problems and he came through again. Since Platinum Palladium printing is still new to me. I have not figured out how to read the prints thru the process. Dry down is much more significant than what I am accustomed to. More difficult is to change my thought structure in working with a dynamic range that I am not entirely familiar with either. It appears that it takes me to ponder finesse changes in a print for several days. However, I do know a bad print when I see one...

Todays printing session started off in the right direction and those finesse changes seemed to come much quicker. I managed to make 3 prints of 2 images that could be in the exhibition. I'm feeling quite elated...


Detail 8x10 Platinum Palladium pour of Contessa


8x10 Platinum Palladium pour of Stephanie
The Platinum Palladium pour is so exciting to me. I won't ever get tired suddenly seeing a latent image come up. With my music in the background, an expresso or whiskey nearby, I'm finishing my session on a high note!

What Keeps Me Sane

Music | It's Good to Be in Love by Frou Frou

Two shoots in 2 days. 8x10 film and it feels so good! Shot digital for good measure as well. Having intension and purpose and getting things done is what I have craved for months. Best of all, success!


Stephanie wearing Floral Accoutrements by Françoise Weeks


Ella

Milestones...

Music | Underwater Love by Jerome Isma-Ae

Knowing I can make a Platinum Palladium print at my place and solo is huge. I know I am merely going thru the motions right now, and that actually learning the process will take years, but this is a great start for me. I'm very excited at the notion of learning another alternative process.


Platinum Palladium test print

What is Beautiful...

Music | Resolution by Thievery Corporation

I'm sitting here wondering what to write because this image is having an enveloping play with my brain. I often get to a point where I know if I think about it hard enough, I will be able to verbalize some nuances of my thoughts. Sometimes, I don't care and admire it and let it go. It is a beautiful image for right now, just for the sake of beauty.


This is Beautiful...
I don't always have the need to express in words what I feel. I don't have art speak on my mind hardly ever anyway. I've been told that is important to be able to speak about your work. I have enough of a hard time to even come up with an artist statement, let alone talk about specific work and how it relates to me. I am working on it though.

Today, I don't give a fuck. I post this image out into the world because I feel like it.

Fuck you.

Late Christmas

Music | Look for Me (I'll Be around) by Neko Case

I love getting unexpected Christmas gifts after Christmas. To say it was unexpected is kind of unfair as I got to work with Françoise Weeks again. I just kind of expect great things whenever we work together. On this day, I put together a crew with an assistant and make up artist for the shoot. Also, I have a great studio to work in with lots of room to spread out. It feels like we are stepping up to the next level.



As per usual, we came up with a simple concept and moved forward. Because of a new project, I'd have to kill you if I told you what it was. Suffice to say, we have another absolute amazing image. It will be a while before these new images will be released. However, because we put so much into each shoot, we decided to do a secondary shoot where we could show something.

Having great support and lots of room to work, though I wanted to do even more, we got so much into each of the photos without feeling overly over done. The room to be able to breath cannot be taken lightly. When things ramp up in the brain, either by inspiration or some technical issue, it is nice to be able to physically step back and get a different view to work things out.

After working on getting our HERO shot, I let the make up artist go. Our only initial concept for the secondary shoot was that we were going to use mud and cheese cloth. It is an idea I worked with before, but thought this was another opportunity to push the idea further.





Having great talent to work with makes creating so fulfilling. The energy goes thru the roof when collaboration happens. Not often do you get lost in the moment. Time goes away... I'm all ready looking forward to work with these folks again.

Memory Lane at Midnight

Music | A Love Supreme by John Coltrane

1990, I took a trip to Japan. Fantastic memorable trip visiting family and being a tourist. But one of the things I also hold dear to that time, shortly after I got back was the jet lag. I'd be up wide awake at 4 a.m. I felt bad that I wasn't really getting anything done as I would be asleep during the day. So one night, around 11 p.m., I went into the darkroom and started developing film and making prints. I'd be in there til 5 to 6 a.m. for the next week. I was so amazingly productive, no distractions... Music and photography...

Tonite, I decided to process some 8x10 film I have had sitting since last Sunday. I've been too busy doing other things, I just had no time during the week. I was brought back to those evenings, 25 years ago as I pulled the film out of the fix and into the wash. I'm winding down quickly, after hanging the film to dry, with a great sense of accomplishment and to be able to see what I got on film...

Platinum Palladium | No Words...

Music | Blue Diamond by World Saxophone Quartet


My first image printed Platinum Palladium

No Negatives in this World...

Music | La Davina by Maria Callas

Last Saturday, early morning and early evening, I got the opportunity to work with the 4x5 Chamonix shooting both film and a new, then discontinued and soon to be revived product from Ilford / Harmon that is a paper that renders positive images direct. You shoot it like chromes, process it like it is a black and white print.

Paul Cunningham offered up some sheets for us to shoot while I was able to get 2 fantastic models, Fayren and Juliana. Françoise Weeks also got in on the collaboration by creating a head piece for the evening shoot.

The weather here has been extremely hot. Besides catching nice light, the 7 a.m. call time was perfect. The temperature lingered in the mid 60's and was very comfortable. The textured wall was a nice contrast to the very soft light we were working thru. Both Paul and I were able to shoot thru a good number of both of the Direct Positive Paper and film sheets while I also shot a few frames of digital.

Though there was another 10 hours to go for the evening shoot, I didn't have the opportunity to process any of the media. Paul did and got some of the paper prints processed, which left me chomping at the bit to get to mine...

The evening shoot was a challenge for me. I couldn't find the angles, it was a bit windy and I felt lost. I shoot digital when I am stuck to hopefully open a door. I got some great images, but didn't feed me for the 4x5. I ended up doing a 180 and went to another direction. Turns out to be a keeper that I am happy with...


Fayren with Françoise Weeks' Orchid Head Piece



Juliana

8x10 Processed Film...

Music | La Wally by Maria Callas

I shot 6 sheets of film last Sunday and have been processing 2 at a time, which is what my tank allows. My thought process was to process the film over time and see where I stood regarding consistency. I'm feeling pretty good after the 2nd the 3rd go arounds, which I didn't feel the first time. I'm locking it down and feeling good about being able to get great negs for printing. Scanning too...

Françoise Weeks

Music | Check the Rhime by A Tribe Called Quest


Elizabethan Collar | Profile | Wings

Elizabethan Collar

Prints

Music | Tell Me Somethin' Good by Rufus featuring Chaka Khan

For the past several days, I've been working on printing for 2 projects happening this month. I just finished printing and framing 16 portraits for the Freedom Fighters series opening on the 25th and just started printing for the Haute Couture Botanique show opening the 20th.

Sitting at a desk, looking at a monitor and watching prints come out of the ink jet printer isn't anything like optically and chemically creating something from nothing, but I have to say I am feeling quite accomplished rolling off beautiful print after print.


Amanda with Floral Mask">

Tension of the Truth

Music | Rround Midnight by Bill Evans

I sometimes feel time flies by and I miss so much. This shoot was the first time ever I shot large format colour neg. I've been around the block several times over shooting film, especially back in the day... I don't know why, but the intimidation factor for this medium affected me more than I would have thought. Black and white has always been about interpretation, but colour... Colour puts it all out there on the table.

My thoughts after scanning 3 of the 4 sheets I shot over the weekend is that I mostly feel inept. Looking at the colour neg, I had no idea how to read it - not even exposure... Putting the neg on the scanning bed and going thru the software, I was at a lost. It also didn't help that the 1st 2 negatives I tried scanning, I didn't like after getting a totally exaggerated off colour.


The 3rd piece of film was the charm. First, I went for skin tones and background colour, for at least those 2 I had in my mind a somewhat close point of a reference. As I started working the scan, I had a sudden jump to the past why I thought back then, digital is the way to go! I remember back in the late 90's struggling with my film in the scanner, and mostly the dust issues! But this experience, even though scanning is a digital form, scanning this piece of film felt good. I worked for this shot. I harbored lots of doubt and mixed emotions for this image. This to me is what separates digital and analogue. It isn't about quality, round edges and blah blah blah for those who love to argue which is superior... It is the process going in and the actual moments of creating the image that gives me emotional vivacity.

So the thing about shooting colour film that was somewhat intimidating to me is that I knew it held truth. Many things have been revealed to me after going thru this process. Some negative (notice the pun) and some positive. I will deal with both the next time I do this again, along with every other frame I take. The learning process is what matters most...

The Print...

Music : Folk Song for Cello by Savath & Savalas

Such a shame it is to have to be reminded how beautiful a photographic print can be. I recently shot a few still lifes and thought how alluring it would be to see them as prints, as opposed to seeing them on a screen as I have become accustomed to. I've always thought it was my job to educate clients and the public in general how important photographs are. So easily have I been sucked into the norm, which is of course no excuse since I am a photographer.

The images below were captured almost by happenstance. Earlier in the week, I pulled out the aging pieces that Françoise Weeks created over 5 months ago for a photo shoot. I kept the pieces knowing that I wanted to shoot them again. The floral head piece and scarf were used a week ago with a model, but I just left the shoes in the box they lay rest in. The outdoor studio was consolidated because of rain earlier in the week, but was easy enough to set up a still life. I shot one shoe twice, the other, once and together, once.



TheAvalanches modeling the aged couture pieces by Françoise Weeks



Botanical shoe couture by Françoise Weeks


Botanical shoe couture by Françoise Weeks
There are images that speak to me and scream. The shoes are a great example. As I saw them on the screen, they demanded to be printed - on very nice, textural, heavy cotton rag paper. I can describe the prints as of course beautiful, but also substantial. There is weight depicted.

I've been on a binge printing after printing the shoes. I realize I may never catch up with physical prints, but having them laying about, speaking softly to me to pick them up, study, speculate and just enjoy image on paper is a good enough reason to keep going.

2 Minutes of Fame...

Music | Alone in Kyoto by Air

I've ridden the coattails of Françoise Weeks before and I've done it again. This time, Françoise was featured on a local PBS arts program called Oregon Art Beat. The piece was centered around our photo shoot together and I managed to garner a few of my 15 minutes of fame. I'm so happy for this lady as the program truly captures the essence of who Françoise is... understated, brilliant and just a fantastic person!

Françoise Weeks

Music | Know Your Chicken by Cibo Matto

On the coat tails again with Françoise Weeks. Our latest shoot of her latest Master Piece was documented by OPB, Art Beat. Françoise is being featured on one of the upcoming shows to aire sometime in May.

Surprisingly, the distractions of having a film crew on set wasn't at all bad. We were told to be ourselves as if they weren't there... It actually got pretty simple to do as time went on. I'm sure I made an ass of myself on several occasions, but you only live once, right?

But I'm writing here to talk about the greatness that is Françoise. She put together an entire ensemble, which included a head piece, scarf, bracelets, rings, a necklace and a pair of shoes, all floral appointed.


Entire Ensemble


Profile


Scarf


Purse


Rings and Bracelet


Shoes

Françoise Weeks

Music | Cult of Personality by Living Colour

It is great enough to have a muse or 2 to have available when inspiration hits. It is also great when a fellow artist spurs on inspiration and you create art together. I think I have worked with Françoise Weeks 4 times now. Each and every time, I know I have something to add to the special box of work that will speak over and over, loudly to an audience over a long period of time.

This last shoot we did was short notice. We usually have weeks and weeks in advance to think, decide and go over what the plan is going to be. Funny thing is, we usually keep to ourselves and allow the thought process to put it all together. At most, we come up with a theme, maybe mention a colour and go with that... Maybe a few pictures to pass on between us, then go! It is what I love most about working with Françoise. We allow each other the freedom because we know in the end, the result will be what it will be... It isn't to say we have no expectations, but we know the effort put into the arrangement will be interesting and sometimes beautiful.

Hence...






and from Françoise's blog...