The 52 Project, Week 3

Wow, so the past week has been quite a bear. I've spent most of my time: hunting down a "lost" package of 120 film,  gearing up for a big wedding, and scrambling to finish a photobook for the Hancock Historical Society. Luckily for me, shooting film was just the prescription for a stressful week. The scans below represent some fun experiments with Kodak Tri-x 400 B&W, hand developed in D-76, scanned on an Epson V700.

Ruby giving a big "dumb guy" smile. ^_

Scan 1: Ruby the American Bulldog

If it's not already becoming apparent, I have an affinity for pets. I like them, they stay still, I take their picture, simple as that. Though I don't normally like medium/large sized dogs, the two you can see in this blogpost are dosile, happy young dogs. This particular pup is Ruby. She's just under two years old, and an American Bulldog mix. She reminds me a lot of Chance from "Homeward Bound".

Twiggy barely ever sits still, especially hard w/ manual focus.

 Scan 2: Twiggy, the Mutt

Oh Twiggy, such an innocent little wire-haird dog. She's just over a year old, and I have no idea what combinations of dog are in her, but they sure give her a distinct look. She lives with Ruby, seen above, and they couldn't get along better. 

Beehive or not, this is some BIG hair!

Scan 3: Big Sexy Hair

Having set the "great hair" bar a little high with last week's bearded beast, I had to find someone/thing with equally impressive hair. Then, while dining at the Panera Bread in Westlake, OH, I came past this lady with some truly original hair. Certainly if you lived during the '60's and earlier you've probably seen a "do" like this, but to me, this was a new thing that was truly awesome to behold in person.

Something good: I particularly like the "look" that Tri-X film gives when processed. There appears to be deeper blacks and more blown whites, especially so in higher contrast, outdoor areas. 

Something bad: Hand processing the film is going well, but my film is just curving way too much during drying to make for good scans. Note the horrid light "falloff" on the edges of scan 3. The negative does NOT look like this; if only I could get the hang of the Epson V700.

Something learned: Even though I'm working with significantly less data, 16 bit B&W vs. 48 big RGB, each film does really have its own unique look. And from what I've been reading thus far, each developer leaves its own unique "mark". I intend to exploit as many combinations as I can throughout this project, starting with all films in D-76, then working my way to other developers.

Next week:  The more I play with B&W films, the more I like them. There's just something about not having to sit in Lightroom for hours playing with the file to get it to look like it does out of the darkroom. Expose for the shadows, develop for the highlights, simple as that. I'm going to keep shooting different B&W films and post their results.



The 52 Project, Week 2

Here it is, week 2, and so far The 52 Project shows no signs of stopping (especially since I'm already shooting and processing weeks 3-5). This week I made the switch back to color film, Kodak Portra 400NC, and I must say it's already becoming an old friend. The shots I've chosen for this week vary quite a bit, and each bring their own unique aspects to the table. Without further adieu, here's my picks:

When you've got a beard this big, sausages sell themselves!

Scan 1: Kimmel's Mountain Man Meats

This fine specimen of a "man's man" is a Findlay local and proprietor of Kimmel's Mountain Man Meats. The beard is striking, and looks even better than when not tied up in a hair net. At first, it looked like a giant fake beard, but when I realized it was the real deal I asked him to let it all hang loose for the shot. And this guy was all about it, he combed and waxed it just for this portrait. I think I'm going to have to start a photo series on awesome/unique hair.

Simple compositions are fun every once and a while.

Scan 2: Vivid Vases at Val's

On a gloomy Saturday afternoon, I was looking for something, anything to shoot. Walking through the living room of another Findlay area artist, Val Escobedo, I was struck by the extremely calm atmosphere created. I did my best to capture the feeling I had once I walked in the door, simple and relaxed.

Looks like they're not taking their basement with them.

 Scan 3: Leftovers of the Hammond House

On the same day as a deadly wave of tornados passed through Wood County, OH, I was on assignment for a local couple needing coverage of an Ohio Historical Site while it was being moved across Findlay to the Hancock County Historical Society. Quite heavy burden as the 1850's house was cut into four large pieces, loaded up, and shipped along the main streets in Findlay, OH. This is what was left of the original site, a messy, empty, foundation.

Sleeping ktities make the all manual action of the 'Blad that much easier.

Scan 4: Kay Kitten Sleeps Again

I simply couldn't help myself. About 10 minutes after last week's capture, I had to see what she'd look like on color film.  Just look at her, she's adorable no matter how technically flawed the photo may be.

Something good: Quite a few keepers this week, with a lot of varying subjects and styles. The color processing was handled by a pro lab, Miller's Professional, aka Mpix on the consumer end. They did a great job, and have awesome specials with rush processing and same day shipping.

Something bad: The color off-camera shots I tried just didn't feel right upon looking at them. Technically, they were alright. A little bit of flair, but colors that screamed "gel your flashes to match the ambient!". Also, scan 4 really doesn't have focus on the intended subject, although that is one sharp couch.

Something learned: Most all of Kodak films have great exposure latitude, as demonstrated by the wide variety of shots displayed this week. Portra NC films, however, are very, very picky about lighting situations, and fair much better in natural light than any other lighting situation. I'll have to practice more with artificial and mixed lighting with this film.

Next week:  I'm trying to broaden my film horizons a little more, and will be experimenting with Kodak Tri-X (B&W), and Fuji Pro high speed color films as soon as I'm done hunting down the USPS man that still hasn't delivered it to me. >__<



The 52 Project, Week 1

Since this is the inaugural edition of The 52 Project, let's cover some of the ground rules for how these posts will (hopefully) be laid out. Firstly, we'll have story time. I'll discuss what I shot, how I shot it, and maybe even have a fun story in there. Next, we'll look at what I chose to scan, and why (sometimes I may choose non-keepers). Following the images I'll have a quick review section, giving a quick rundown of the good, the bad, and the ugly of the scans shown. And finally, I'll include a little bit about what I'd like to do better/differently in the next week of shooting (this is a learning process, after all).

Having shot my way through six rolls of color 120 film, this first roll of black and white is actually my 7th ever. I'm slightly more confident when shooting, but still playing it safe, using a predictable combination of 400 speed film and metering with the built-in Kiev 88 meter. I'm fascinated that this meter is 10 years older than me but still somehow works; and very accurately at that! Well, enough beating around the bush, let's get to the shots!

Kay doing what kittens do best!

Scan 1: Kay Kitten Sleeping

Not much to say here: I love cats, blog readers have asked for more blog posts about kittens, and compositions with lots of hidden triangles are fun. Besides, with a kitten this cute, my buddy Berb needs to share this adorable kitten with the rest of the world.

House found on Sandusky Street, Findlay, OH

Scan 2: Cool House in Findlay Ohio

I usually don't like architecture of any kind, but this house was more about the creepy feeling I got while walking past. The very contrasty colors on the front of the house really make it pop.

That's not scanner dust, just a visibly dirty wall :p

Scan 3: B&W 6x6 Self Portrait

While winding last week's roll of film down, I suddenly had the inspiration to break out the unused pc sync cords in my lighting bag and see if they could trigger my wireless, off-camera strobes. "Son of a bitch, they do!" This was more a test than anything else, and had I not clipped off my toe at the very bottom of the frame, I'd probably like this image even more.

Something good: Got a lot of good shots this week, uploaded 5 keepers to Flickr (you're seeing 3 of them). All exposures were either spot on or slightly underexposed (good for enlarging and scanning). This is a very good thing considering it was my first ever hand-processed roll in the darkroom.

Something bad: Having been the first ever hand-processed roll in the darkroom, I was bound to mess up. My last frame had two lines streaked over it from touching part of the unused film on the plastic reel. Oh well, 11 out of 12 good exposures is still better than my digital record ever was.

Something learned: This week really gave me a respect for the darkroom process, and the look of black and white film, which too often is badly emulated in digital. Hopefully throughout this project, this interest in black and white will blossom into something more.

Next week:  I'll be getting back to Kodak color films with some more Portra 400NC. Granted the black and white off-camera lighting results, I'd really like to try it out in color and see how it looks. I'm still building up a library of film, but would like to try just about everything I can to learn as much as I can. If anybody has some suggestions for film, processing, etc. please leave a comment and I'll be sure to get to it.