Happy belated Christmas

I’ve been so incredibly busy the last few weeks…

Why We Film – Kickstarter

I found this Kickstarter project just a few minutes ago, it’s over in less than a day with only 66% funded at the moment and I think it could use some help.  It’s a documentary film shot on 16mm about why people choose to shoot film.  They’re looking for about $5000 more, so if you’re inclined, you might check it out and help them out, I think it’s a worthy cause.  You can find the campaign here.

 

EDIT: They pulled it off!

Kodak film business to turn a profit in 2016

“When artists spoke, it saved an art form.”  I’ve spoken to so many naysayers over the years, but they don’t count, and they’re so, so wrong.  Film is alive and well, thanks to people who stand their ground and accept no compromise.  I’m so happy that there are champions out there fighting for this, and proud that I can be part of it in a small way.  Long live Kodak.

Read it all here:

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/help-star-wars-kodak-ceo-848593

Final project – Intermediate Photography

The pursuit of technical perfection can be an ideal to live up to, or an annoyance to avoid. I embraced William Klein’s ethos in my own work, caring not at all about trivialities such as focus, exposure, lighting, sharpness, or grain. Much of the process was simply the act of using a camera that performed the way I needed it to, and for this I chose a cheap consumer travel model that has only two shutter speeds, one of which is a slow 1/40sec, and zone focusing. I shot primarily expired film. There is a great difference in how people in Colorado Springs interact to each other as compared to large cities that William Klein shot in, such as Rome, Tokyo, and New York. I endeavored to find events where people would respect personal space just a bit less than normal, be rowdier, exist more intimately in the space and their interactions with others.

Now on to different projects.  I’m scheduled to take Advanced Photography next semester, and in the interim I’m preparing to make another film.

U.S. National Park Service looking for a large format photographer

Which is pretty awesome.  Unfortunately, I’m not a large format photographer, so they’re not going to hire me, but I’ll be looking for it to come up again 50 years from now…

http://phogotraphy.com/2015/12/08/national-park-service-100000-job-opening/

In memory of the fallen

It’s been hard to write this, I get choked up a lot.  I didn’t actually know Officer Garrett Swasey, but as a member of the UCCS campus community his loss has affected me.  On Black Friday, I was out getting shots at the mall for my final project, and there turned out to be a lot less people there than I would have expected; I have no idea why.  I didn’t find out about the shooting at Planned Parenthood until 4:30 or so that night when I got home.  My roommate works at Panera and drove over to the blockade to serve hot chocolate to the police.  The next day I attended the press conference in Gallogly and the candlelight vigil outside the University Center.  In keeping with my ongoing projects, these pictures are inspired by William Klein.

I didn’t attend the actual funeral last Friday, but was on campus for the motorcade’s drive-by on Austin Bluffs Pkwy, just me, a few friends, and half the university.  In typical Colorado fashion, the motorcade was behind schedule by about an hour and a half, but we stuck around.  Many cars passing by honked in support and I am grateful to them.  The sun had already gone behind the mountains when the time finally came, and we surged across the road to the center island forming two long lines, silent, solemn, and dignified.  The procession itself lasted about an hour, so many police vehicles participated, and from all around the country, I’m told; many were sheriffs’ offices from counties I didn’t recognize.  There was a great showing from the police forces of Denver and its suburbs, and I did notice vehicles from: police departments of Laramie, WY, Albuquerque, NM, and the University of Wisconsin, as well as: the CO State Highway Patrol, US Mint, Homeland Security, and BATF.

Probably the most moving thing I’ve seen is pictures and video taken from inside the police cars showing just how many people came out to show their support.  I was a participant, I didn’t move much, and my pictures don’t do justice to the scale, but I’m honored to have been there, to give an insider’s perspective on national headlines.  A heartfelt thanks to all who serve and protect.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13 (KJV)

#uccsstrong

Week 15 – Intermediate Photography

Colorado happenings.  I printed one of these images for my final project, and that and another will be part of an upcoming post in a few days.

It’s been …interesting… having to create new work on a weekly basis, plus choosing a photographer to research and showcase.  Everyone else in the class, even the film users, has been shooting digital for most of the weekly output, but not me.  I don’t even own a digital camera.  I do have a ridiculously fast scanner, which makes my work nearly as fast as digital.  As I write this (Friday), I just developed three rolls of film, and will go home and scan them, then come back tomorrow and run them through Photoshop on a school computer.  I keep the Trip 35 on me at all times, and am always shooting.  I tried expired film, bulk rolls, cutting rolls in half, pretty much anything I could to keep the costs down.  I’ve scrambled to get film developed, scanned, and post-processed in time, but I worked it out to where I’d develop a roll on Thursday which would give me time for everything else, and immediately start on a fresh roll.  Those pictures above were shot last Saturday, the 28th.  As far as the class goes, we developed a pretty close bond and the core group (myself included) will be coming back together for Advanced Photo next semester.  Here’s to you, guys!

(not all classmates pictured)

Our final projects are due Monday, so I don’t think we’re actually looking at weekly photo blogs, we might be done with them, and in that case, this is an extra post.  Back in October I joked about choosing Anne Geddes as one of my photographers for these weekly assignments, and my instructor joked back that if I did she’d fail me.  I think she was joking, but maybe I’ll find out Monday…

Jack Holding Maneesha, 1993 – Anne Geddes

If you’ve ever come across a photo book in your life, chances are it was by Anne Geddes.  I can’t think of any photographer so famous or ubiquitous as her, and depending on what kind of person you are, your standard response will be “Awwwwww…” or “Oh God, not again…”  I fall into the second category myself, and personally, never could understand the aesthetic appeal of babies much (or Anne Geddes for that matter).  I think kittens, puppies, and other baby animals are much cuter.  That being said, every child is precious, and I’d include even the unexpected and unwanted in that.  Children are our future, and they all have the right to a future.

“Babies are the human face of beginnings, but all of nature is caught in this insistent stream of seasons, of aging and rebirth, of concealment and bursting forth. Every time I unwrap a newborn, even after all these years of photographing them, I am aware of the miracle before me.” – Anne Geddes

Cheesecake – Anne Geddes

Why?  Because I can.