End of June Photography Meetups

As the days grow longer and warmer, photographers all over the northern hemisphere are finding it harder and harder to stay in their homes, looking for excuses to buy more gear. While in the midst of these gorgeous summer days, many photographers will find themselves meeting up, sharing stories, trading prints, and enjoying the days together. If you should find yourself so inclined, make sure to mark your calendar for the next two week's worth of events: 

• Photostock 2012 - A four day long photographic adventure in Harbor Springs, MI hosted by world-renouned photographer Bill Schwab. Follow the link for location details, as well as a fine list of things to expect. This year they'll also be featuring another famous photographer, Andrew Moore, author of the best selling photography book, "Detroit Disassembled". Be sure to check this marvelous event out; did I mention it's FREE?!
• Analog's Pulse: A Weeknd in Cleveland - An all-analog photography meetup in the heart of Cleveland, OH. Hosted by Scott Meivogel of Aperture, folks young and old will have four unique photowalks exploring different historic neighborhoods of downtown Cleveland. If you're into urban photography or into film, make sure you don't miss this event. There will also be a variety of prizes in store courtey of Old School PhotoLab and The Film Photography Podcast. Check out the event on Facebook, here. 

That's it for now folks, it's back to the darkroom printing off some carbon transfers for Photostock 2012, hope to see you at one or both of these fantastic events!

Happy shooting, and long live film.

Film Photography Podcast, NYC 2012 Meetup

Man how time flies when you're out on the road attending meetup after meetup!

FPP Meetup group posing in front of Lomography NYC for an 8x10 group shot. Image by FPP Host/Founder Michael Raso.

Just a quick update for everybody out there, last weekend was the Film Photography Podcast NYC Meetup 2012 edition. The day was headed up by FPP contributor Dan Domme, site designer Michael Calleia and his lovely wife Erica. There were plenty of folks in attendance, and we had a glorious, sunshine-filled afternoon with which to visit Lomography NYC, Washington Square Park, Chinatown, and finally The Impossible Project NYC space. Check out the full episode BONUS FPP episode below (complete with videos, show notes, and more!).

http://filmphotographyproject.com/podcast/2012/05/film-photography-podcast-episode-60-%E2%80%93-may-22-2012

But that's not all, folks! Meetup season is just getting into full swing, be sure to check out the FPP Main Site for meetup details and updates.

John Edward Lenhart, 1927 - 2012

Earlier this morning, I received news today that while incredibly saddening, is a humble reminder of just how strong an impact photography can have. Around 10AM this morning, my grandfather, John Edward Lehnhart (Ned), passed away. For the sake of both my family and myself while writing this, I'm going to spare the details surrounding his death. After all, this post has no meaning being on a photographer's blog being a "woe is me", this post will be about photography, and what it means to be a photographer during sorrowful times. 

About three and a half years ago, I was an eager senior at The University of Findlay waiting, excited to start his first ever Digital Photography class, with professor Jeff Salisbury. Within seconds of the sounding bell to class, Jeff asked the class, "Why do we as humans take pictures?" The flurry of usual answers ensued, "To express ourselves!", "To capture the world around us.", so on and so on. After a few minutes of not hearing the answer he'd wanted to come out, he started to get a little bit teary-eyed and asked the class, "What about because people die?". All fifteen of us students, stunned, had no idea how to respond to that. After a few more seconds of silence, Jeff went on to explain how a young woman he'd taken senior pictures of several years earlier had died in a car accident earlier that morning. He hadn't been taking the news well all day, and explained to us all just how important it is to get any pictures we can of our loved ones, no matter how mundane the portraits may seem at the time.

Today, with a bit of a smirk and a tear in my eye, I can confirm just how right Jeff was.

The technical qualities of a photograph always come second to the fact that you took the time to take it!What I used to think was a questionably executed photograph, an exercise in bad film loading, and a test sheet in a new developer, is now one of the strongest photos I have of my grandfather. Most of my relatives didn't even know this photo existed, until today, and now I'm going to spend the next several days making silver gelatin contacts, per my family's request. A typical snapshot of that loved one today could be one of the only things you have when they are gone.

So the next time you're photographing your boyfriend/girlfriend, spouse, crazy uncle, family pet for the ump-teenth time, calm their frustrations by letting them know these shots are for you.

Now get out there and make some great pictures!

Ned & Art at The Toledo Mud Hens John & Rita Lenhart, Maumee, OH