Impossible Project PX100 - Hillary

Just a quick post today of some photos taken recently with Hillary (a model you've seen here before) on some Impossible Project PX 100 (a film you've seen here before). All of these shots were taken with an SX70 Sonar, available light (which was slim) and a tripod. I did nearly forget the proper protocol for shielding these out of camera due to how much of the Color Protection film I've been shooting lately, but, luckily I remembered at the last minute. Enjoy.

Rollei Retro 100 - Mamiya 645 - Hillary

I'm aware that I haven't been posting much recently. With the weather changing and the number of project's I've been pulled into at work my time for shooting has become a little more limited. I did, however, want to jump on here quickly to post a few photos in a small attempt to keep up with this little photo blog. Hopefully as winter continues I'll be booking a few more studio shoots (similar to what you will see here today) and that will afford me not only a chance to shoot some more film, but, also some new images to post here on a more regular basis. 

Today's images were shot with a camera that I love to work with but have actually used very rarely since I've gotten it - the Mamiya 645 fitted with a Sekor 80mm f/2.8 lens. The camera (also fitted with an auto winder) is a real beast to lug around but has a really great feel in your hands. The film for this shoot was a roll of one of favorite medium format films, Rollei Retro 100, which I had developed over at Aperture here in Cleveland. And then of course the model (who may look familiar from a few earlier posts using different instant film types) is Hillary from Taxi Mgmt. Both images were shot using available window light and a single reflector.

More images coming soon. Enjoy.

Impossible Project PX680 Test Film V4C and... Digital (Gasp!)

Today I have the last of my instant photos from my recent shoot with Hillary. This shot was taken on Impossible Projects PX 680 V4c Test film with an ND pack filter using my trusty SX70. Ligthen/Darken wheel was set about half way to darken, and, the photo was left unshielded out of camera but developed in my pocket away from any light source. Temps were pretty chilly this day so I tried to keep this photo warm, but, I think that may be partially responsible for the blown highlights.

To make up for the partially blown exposure (and because this is my blog and I can do whatever I want) today I'm also sharing some of the digital images from this location. I know it's become a rarity on this site for me to post anything digital, but, I do still shoot digital and see no reason not to share that part of my work here on occasion as well. So, enjoy.

Expired Polaroid Type 664 - Hillary

As promised, today I have a few more images from this past weekends shoot with Hillary. These two were taken while we were shooting over in the Tremont area just outside of downtown cleveland for what was our first look of the day. I shot both of these with my Polaroid 250 using expired Polaroid Type 664. I've had a couple packs of this film sitting around for a while now but just haven't ever gotten around to shooting with it. 

I'd say the film itself is still holding up quite well. Not surprising, really, for expired Polaroid stock. The highlights are a bit blown in these images, but, considering the Polaroid 250 meters and exposes automatically I think the overall exposure came out pretty well. The only downside to these images is that shooting this film serves as a constant reminder that the remainder of this film (along with all the other remaining Polaroid stock) is constantly disappearing and many of these film types will never be reproduced like the integral films are by the Impossible Project. Fingers crossed, though, that one day someone might remedy that.

Expired Polaroid Type 57 - Graflex Crown Graphic

This past weekend was the first time in a long time that I got the chance to work with a new model. Hillary was nice enough to drive down from the Erie, PA area Saturday for a shoot. We shot a couple looks that morning with a variety of cameras and a few different film types. Down the road I hope to post a few images from my Mamiya 645j that I had loaded with Rollei Retro 100, and, perhaps an image or two from my Polaroid 250 using some original Polaroid 664.

Today's image, however, is more of a celebration for me personally as I've finally put to use once more my 4x5 Crown Graphic. It's a been a little frustrating to not have this camera out in recent weeks as it's become one of my favorite camera's to use, but, the disappearance of the readily available Fuji 4x5 instant films definitely cut into how often it sees the light of day. So finally, from my slowly dwindling supply of expired Polaroid Type 57, here's a new large format image. Despite the grainy, temperamental nature of this expired film, I really do enjoy using it and trying to get decent results from it. 

Maybe one of these day's I'll finally get around to developing some of the sheet film I've shot over the last couple months... or even start shooting more sheet film in place of the instant film supply I do have. At the very least, I could again shoot some large format color images...

35mm Rollei ATP 1.1 - Photos with Natalie

I figured I would follow up my most recent post about Rollei ATP 1.1 with some more of the photos that I came across on that same roll of film. These were actually taken as far back as October of last year when I headed down to the Columbus area to shoot with Natali. At the time I had posted a shot taken with a Polaroid 250 using expired Polaroid Sepia and mentioned that I had taken some 35mm images as well that I would share in the future when I finally got the roll developed. Well... eight months later here we are.

At first I was a little disappointed when I scanned these images in, but, after looking at them in comparison to the rest of the images on the roll I decided these weren't as bad as I expected. I did put in a little time working on the levels and contrast of these images after they were scanned to get them to where they are now. Whereas I am generally a purist with my instant film scans, I am a little more liberal with my 35mm, MF and sheet film scans. Since I'm not yet at the point of developing my own film, which takes away a certain amount of control, I am alright with considering Photoshop my digital darkroom for negatives after they have been developed and scanned.

  
You will notice though that overall I didn't do much work on these in the way of retouching as I would my traditional digital model photography. In fact, I ended up liking the sloppy scanned borders, dust and grit so much that I decided to keep all of those things in tact just as they came in. I think the high contrast, gritty feel of these photos actually works really well and the more I look at them the more they grow on me. 

As I continue through this roll of Rollei ATP 1.1 I'm starting to think I may need to give this film another go around. Yes, it is a bit more difficult to shoot, but I think the results can be very nice when all is said and done.

Fuji FP-100C45 - Graflex Crown Graphic 4x5 - Pink Dress, Green Grass

Today I have a quick post from a very quick shoot that I did this past weekend. I worked with a newer model in a few different spots around Cleveland, and, had the chance to grab these two shots in the process with my Crown Graphic and some Fuji FP-100C45. These were actually taken just off the side of the road in a mostly industrial area of Cleveland - the grass just happens to be overgrown and not yet taken care of as it's still early spring. This Fuji peel-a-part film grows on me a bit more each time I shoot with it.

Impossible Project PX100 Test Film - Photos with Bridget

As promised in my previous post I am back to share some more photos of Bridget. This time on Impossible Project's PX100 test film. Being the first shoot that I've had in a while where I was able to work outside due to an unseasonably warm spring, these were shot in a couple different locations around the Cleveland area. The first two from the lower beach/breakers around Edgewater park, and, the second two from a random little alleyway downtown behind the Halle building.

These were both shot using an original model SX-70. Temperature outside was somewhere near 55-60 degrees f - and just to be safe I did keep these in a pocket to be sure it was warm enough for development. The alleyway that I took the next two in was a little darker, so, without a tripod the slightly longer exposure time did give me a bit of motion blur and a softer image.

And finally, just for good measure, I like to remind people sometimes that I do in fact still shoot digitally on a semi regular basis. This is especially true when I am shooting fashion and portrait work for mine or someone else's portfolio. So, below are two of the images that I recently finished from the above alley set. Enjoy.

Fuji Instax - w/Ashley K

As I mentioned a few posts ago, my last shoot with Ashley was the first time that I got to mess around with a Fuji Instax (since she was kind enough to bring hers). Personally, I was a bit skeptical. I don't know if it was the fact that this is supposedly the current instant technology, or if it's because the camera looks like a giant toy, or even just the fact that I'm a huge fan of vintage Polaroid cameras and the Impossible Project's films, but I was skeptical none the less. After a little tinkering though, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome of some of the images.

The colors are pretty true and using the camera is about as easy as it gets. There are a few different controls that give you a little bit of control over different aspects of the shot (lighten, darken, flash on or off, etc). I was surprised to find that I actually preferred the flash on with this camera. Shooting mainly Polaroid cameras with Impossible film I almost exclusively shoot without flash. I've always found that it washes out the image or gives terrible flat light. The flash on the Instax, however, really did add some punch to the photos. Used in combination with the "lighten" setting I was able to get a very Terry Richardson type of look - something like the two images below.

Overall, I kinda like the camera. It's fun to use and I got some cool shots from it. I don't know that I'll be getting one for myself anytime soon, but given the chance I would definitely shoot with one again.

Fuji FP-3000B Negative - Ashley K

Since my post the other day on finding a misplaced, forgotten photo I've been wondering what other things might be laying around that I've forgotten about, never scanned, misplaced or otherwise. So, I decided to go through some things to see what I might find. The first thing I grabbed was a box of older Fuji FP-3000b negatives, many of which I have already scanned or posted along the way, and that is where I found these two images of Ashley that I had yet to scan.

If I remember correctly, these were taken sometime right in the beginning of spring when it was still quite chilly outside. We had picked a bunch of wardrobe for the day, but because we were planning to shoot outside and it was still pretty early in the morning (AKA to cold for me) we decided to do a couple photos in the studio with available light. Fuji's 3000 iso film is pretty good for this kind of thing. It lets me shoot on the fly, with minimal light, and still get some decent results. These are simple, almost the type of polaroid you'd submit to an agency, but I kind of like the way they turned out. Just another example of why you should go through your old work every now and then to see what you might of missed.

Canon 5dMII - Ashley

I said I would post some digital, so here's some digital.


Also, I should have a few updates next week, as I hope to be taking many photos over this long weekend. Enjoy your Labor day!

Impossible Project PZ680 - Spectra Fashion

With everything that has been going on in the past couple weeks I have rarely found time to get out and take any photos. Of course, that also means that I've had even less time to try and set up and coordinate a shoot with someone else. Luckily though, now that the gallery show is coming to a close, the art sale is over and I've had a weekend in town... I've managed to once again have a little photo shoot. 

With all of the great work that I've been stumbling upon lately, and the fact that Tiffany got me the Helmut Newton Polaroid book, this shoot has been a long time coming. Ashley is a model that I have worked with a number of times before, so it was easy to knock out three looks this past saturday morning. Of course, I shot a majority of this work digitally, but what I'm displaying here right now is some of the instant photos from the day.

These were all taken with my newly acquired Polaroid Spectra using the Impossible Project's PZ 680 color shade. This was only the second time shooting with this camera, and the first time with this film. I am definitely a fan of both and love the wide cinematic format the Spectra is known for. Impossible's PZ 680 is pretty much in line with what I've come to expect, and love, with all of the Impossible films. Great color, contrast and quality that is constantly improving.


Stay tuned the next couple days and I will probably post a few of the digital images from the weekend as well.

Photograph Info:

Location: Cleveland Ohio

Camera: Polaroid Spectra QPS

Film: Impossible Project PZ 680

Polaroid 100 Chocolate - Andrea - #RoidWeek

Today marks the official start of Polaroid Week 2011 - the tenth year for Polaroid week.


To start things off, I am posting two images shot on expired Polaroid Chocolate with a Polaroid Land 250. These images are of Andrea, from our shoot a few weeks ago, and were taken down in the Flats of Cleveland, Ohio.

To see more great Polaroids all week long be sure to check out the official Polaroid Week Flickr group, the official Facebook page, or just follow the hashtag #roidweek on Twitter.


And of course, keep checking back to my page throughout the week as I continue to update with instant photos all week long... including some new, yet-to-be-taken photos from this weeks Polaroid Walk hosted by Aperture!

Impossible Project PX600 BlackFrame PP - AndreaMJM

I got the chance to work with Andrea this past weekend. She's a traveling model, from San Francisco, and since she was in town for a couple days on work we were able to get together for a few hours and shoot. I didn't take very many instant photos, just these and a few on chocolate I'll post later, but there are definitely some good shots coming when I develop my next rolls of medium format and 35mm.


The two images here, of course,  are Impossible's PX600 Black Frame from the Poor Pod pack shot through an SX70 with ND pack filter. These turned out all kinds of funky from direct sunlight exposure and some nice 80-85 degree temps... But still, I like them.

Photograph Info:

Location: Cleveland Ohio

Camera: Polaroid SX70 Sonar

Film: Impossible Project PX600 SS Black Frame PoorPod

Polaroid 100 Chocolate - Manchester

As I mentioned last week, when I posted this skyline, I had a recent shoot with a model who was traveling through the area. We did a bunch of the normal digital stuff, and then I shot a bit with my Polaroid 250 and my SX70. Here are a few of the shots from the 250 on expired Polaroid Chocolate... all taken on Edgewater Beach.

Photograph Info:

Location: Edgewater Beach

Camera: Polaroid Land 250

Film: Polaroid Type 100 Chocolate/Exp 2009

Water Portrait

As usual, I'll start this post with the phrase, "I haven't updated this in a really long time..."

It's true, I just noticed that it was December the last time I posted a photo, which is probably the longest I've gone without posting anything new since starting this blog. Everything has been so busy this winter. I have shot a number of times with different models, but just haven't seemed to have time to put up the photos. Since then, I've also had my work put up for the first time in a small coffee and music shop here in Tremont called Loop. It's nothing much, but it's a start to getting work displayed, and it's actually already brought in some attention and requests from the people who have picked up my business cards.

For this post, I've chose a photo that I just did about two weeks ago. Sarah was scheduled to shoot with a photographer from LA who as in town, but like it often goes with photographers/models/stylists etc, the plans didn't shake out. Being that we had nothing else planned for the day I decided to do a little impromptu shoot here in my apartment with her. I've wanted to do something with water and the old claw foot tub that I have, so that's what we did. There is a nice mixture of natural light and a large soft box from above, and then it's cross processed to subdue the colors a little bit to fit the style. I'm pretty happy with it considering there was almost no planning behind it and the fact that I've never really shot anything quite like it. I think she likes it too... and two weeks later, I think almost all of the water is out of her ears now as well.

Photograph Info:
Location: Apartment
Camera: Canon 5DMII
Lens: 24-70 mm
PostProcess: Portrait Retouch

Artichoke Diptych

Well, I've had this idea for quite some time... I even scheduled a shoot for it, but because of a cancellation by the make up artist at the time it's just never happened. Since Sarah and I haven't shot together in a while, we decided to shoot something this past weekend, so I figured I'd give this a shot after all.

Sarah did the make up without knowing what my concept was...I just said, I want green and yellow, I'll be back shortly. I went and got equipment and the artichokes as well as some jewelry wire in order to make this neck piece. Between her and I it only took about half an hour to forty five minutes to make. It's basically single leaves wired together and then tiered on a ribbon to tie around the neck.

This really isn't my usual style, but I wanted to give this whole concept a shot. I've considered doing more, with different food types, to make an entire series. I'm just not sure yet, there is quite a bit of work behind this shot and the amount of retouching that goes into it. I've spent about two nights retouching skin and removing imperfections to single leaves of the artichoke...

Thoughts?

Photograph Info:
Location: Cleveland Ohio
Camera: Canon 5DMII
Lens: 24-70 mm
PostProcess: Tons.

The Bride and The Bike

So I haven't updated in quite some time. There really hasn't been a lot of time recently for random photography and updates, because I've been working quite a bit on shooting with a few different models over the past couple weeks and it's taken up a majority of my time... both in shooting them and the time spent retouching all of the images from the shoots.

This image here is one from my most recent shoot with Monika. She let me know ahead of time that she had a vintage wedding dress that she wanted to shoot in, but other photographers weren't really giving her the image she had in mind. So, I concepted a little bit darker of an image for a wedding dress using an alley by my apartment, and at the last minute decided to throw in my motorcycle as well.

Alas, here's the final image.

Photograph Info:
Location: Tremont, Ohio
Camera: Canon 5DMII
Lens: 24-70mm
PostProcess: Portrait Retouch