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...

Karma...

Music | #1 Crush by Garbage

The idea of Karma is both intriguing and quite frightening. I must have done some good things recently because in the last few days, I found I would be working with some internationally known folks for what they do and incorporating them with my own photography. The frightening thing is, I know I will fuck up somewhere and I'll get my ass handed to me. But now she has granted me good news, uplifting my spirit and allowing me to move further forward.

In a few weeks, I will be working with the great Françoise Weeks, premiere florist based right here in Portland, OR. This will be our second go around on a theme that came out amazingly, garnering her some very nice press in Europe. I will merely be happy holding on to her coat tails! Look for our collaboration no later than the end of this month.

I found out just today that I will be having my 2nd solo exhibition sometime mid 2014. As the deal gets more set in concrete, I will be passing along more details. For now, I will be working with an amazing leather mask maker from New York. We will have roughly 10 to 14 months to get ready, where as my last solo show, I had 3 weeks... Will be yet another great collaboration for me!


2011 Cain | Floral Arrangement by Françoise Weeks
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Work and Courtesy of Le Cordonnier
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I love you, Karma...

Anticipation

Music | I Have Seen by Zero 7

In conjunction to my last post and to expound on the title, Why I Love What I Do, as we become more and more reliant on technology - to get the things we want, I'm feeling much more at home in doing my Wet Plates. I've been down that road of explaining why I love to get my hands dirty, smelling the aroma of the various fumes, taking chemicals and combining them to help create what I love...

I've spent close to 4 years now slowly learning the process, gathering my materials, building with my hands, trading and buying my equipment. I've made sacrifices and dealt with a lot of POS moments to move forward and keep trying to get to that feeling of seeing an image emerge from nothingness... I realize it is that moment of anticipation is what I live for...


... nothingness ...

Tri X

Music | Who is He and What is He to You by Bill Withers

Every time I process a roll of film, I"m reminded how magical photography really is...

When the Ending Doesn't Have an End

Music | Induction by Broken Spindles

The exhibition that started this project has selected there artists and unfortunately, I was not a part of the show. Françoise and I had all ready decided we would try and shoot more of the head pieces to continue the project and here are 2 more.


click to view gallery

Though I didn't get into the exhibition with the wet plates, I have no regrets at all in pursuing this project. Having brought myself the opportunity to work with Françoise, Cain and Ray, I have a series of 3 great images to put into the portfolio. It has also initiated me to start printing again, which led me to a few print sales. Working with Ray, I found I may have the opportunity to share studio space where these images were created...

Getting into that exhibition would have been a nice ending to a journey that began when I saw the first show 3 years ago. Though January was when I found out about the Call for Artists, I took on what I thought would be a difficult uphill challenge just to see if I could accomplish something from start to finish. They say the destination is secondary to the journey and I've learned that is correct. I'm not one of the artists that will be in that show, but what I started a little more than a month ago, I'm still walking thru the trip.

Artists, Creating, Something from Nothing...

Music | Angel by Weekend Players

Stepping out of the subject matter I tend to shoot, Françoise Weeks asked if I would photograph her latest creations that were going into an upcoming show. I'm finding it important to being with and working with other artists, if for nothing else, to gain perspective.


click to view gallery

The small sampling of what I shot here still shows the attention to detail, but flow and freedom in which all the various elements come together as well. I'd love to see the process... of creating happening. Magical both as a piece and process... But that is what artists do... make something out of nothing...