Martha's Vineyard was Beautiful

It was our first time on "the Vineyard", and once we got away from the busy areas, it was beautiful.  We had a beach virtually to ourselves, with few (if any) signs of people, houses or anything as far as we could see.  It was glorious.  Here is a sunset from the beach in Chilmark.
This one wasn't particularly colorful, but the light just before sunset on the mist created from the crashing waves was glorious!

Abel's Hill Beach, Chilmark, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

You can see a larger version here by clicking on the photo.

I also used large and medium format film cameras and will be processing those over the next few weeks.

Here is a photo of the 4x5" film camera on the same beach, same evening:

More will be posted on the website, and you can view the most recent images on Flickr and Facebook as well.

As always, ALL images are printed either in the darkroom or on the highest quality printer by myself, the artist--and are offered in limited edition, archival quality prints.

New Studio Work Horse

I broke down and did it.  It was an offer I couldn't refuse for a printer that will likely carry me forward for the next 10-20 years.  These printers have become so high quality and archival, that I know many have given up their darkroom printing for these.  Since I just started in the darkroom, and there is a difference (not necessarily better or worse in totality), I will continue to do both.  This is also good for prints from film, after scanning the negatives and editing on the computer.

It's big, you can't tell from the photo, but the box it was in was delivered on a palette and I had to unpack it to get it through the door from the garage.  High quality papers and inks mean I can generate excellent color and black and white prints up to 17" x unlimited.  This is also a necessary tool to do any kind of commercial production, portraits or events.

Members Show at the Capital District Photography Center in Troy

Two photos will be part of the show at the Troy Photocenter:

Earth & Sea (Large format film):

Figure on Stone Table (Digital):

The show runs from tonight 8/26/11 through October 2nd. For directions and hours, go to their website.

A few quick notes...

I've been mixing it up between regular old digital, infrared digital, medium format and large format film. Latest examples below, in that order:

So, I'm in a kind of in-between land, which is good for a while.

I'll be getting ready for a small show at the Shenendehowa Community Center in October through early December. It will be a mix of old and new images as well.

Latest news...I'm investing in a brand new, professional quality, large format photo printer. There was a promotion by Epson just too good to pass up. I will have to find a place to rest this 115 pound printer!

And finally, two photos in the 2011 juried Members Show at the PhotoCenter of the Capital District in Troy, NY. The opening reception is next Friday, the 26th, if anyone is in the area. Should be a very nice assortment of photographers. I have a LARGE darkroom print from my large format camera in the show, taken on Monhegan in May.

Photocenter info here:

Digital Infrared!!!

I've been eyeing infrared photography as an "alternative" view of light and color. The problem is, infrared film photography has a steep learning curve. Metering for light exposure, processing, and other aspects are very difference. I've got enough on my plate (learning and practice-wise) on the film side.

At a recent workshop (see the previous post), the instructor, Elizabeth Opalenik, has worked a lot in infrared--both film and now digital. She mentioned a company that converts the sensor in digital cameras to the infrared spectrum. This essentially lets your camera see a different representation of color than your eyes can see. The photos come out color, but very different. However, digitally on the computer you can convert to black and white, yet still control tones in the photo selectively by the original colors in the photo. So, since skies are a different color than trees in infrared, you can adjust each separately. Blue skies tend to be darker, green leaves tend to be almost white.

I had a Nikon D40 body that I wasn't using much anymore, so I decided to do the conversion to a color infrared sensor filter. Now, the humble D40 can have a custom set white balance, which infrared really needs. But, if I shoot a RAW file (instead of JPEG), I can set the white balance on the computer before I edit.

So, here's an example of an infrared photograph as a RAW file:

Now, after adjusting the white balance on the computer to bring out more of the colors, it looks like this:

Finally, after switching the red and blue channels (and leaving the green channel as is), desaturating the photo, and then changing the strength of the underlying colors, this is one possible result:

What a great workshop!

Attended a workshop given by Elizabeth Opalenik at the Center for Photography in Woodstock, NY. We worked with five models (four women and one gentleman) doing figure studies in the great Catskill outdoors. In addition to traditional work, we learned about the use of fabrics and their translucence dry and wet. We explored using motion to create drama, and we played around with a digital camera converted to infrared. In fact, in using infrared with models, I was inspired to have my older Nikon D40 converted to infrared.

Here are some photos from the workshop:

Here's one with a more infrared look:

An example of one with motion:

And an experiment with fabric:

I'll be putting this new knowledge to work with both digital and film. I'm so excited!

Back from Monhegan!

Working my way through developing LOTS of film! Some clunkers, but I'm posting them all until I go through and edit or print them. The slideshow below will be expanded with more photos as I develop and upload them!