Preview From This Weekend

Saturday I headed to Clinton, South Carolina for Amanda and Jesse's engagement session.  They live in Athens...the wedding will be in Tallahassee....but, they met at Presbyterian College.  So, I thought PC would be the perfect spot.  It was.  Here are some of the "polaroids" from Saturday afternoon.

Geek Note:  Polaroid 600SE camera with 150mm f5.6 lens.  Fuji 100C instant film.  It was dark, so some of the exposures were 1/15 sec.  I needed a tripod.  Also, a very cool aspect of Fuji instant film is that it is self terminating.  You don't have to pull it after a specific time.  It stops developing when it is finished.  The first image wasn't pulled for over an hour.  

A Little Update

Spring marks the start of the wedding season.  There will be a lot more updates in the coming weeks.  I have some amazing weddings and engagement sessions coming up that I'll be using to expand my film portfolio.  Stay tuned!


On another note, I added another piece to my film camera collection.  I got a great deal on a Canon A2e on Ebay.  I had two of these many years ago.  I loved them, and I'm so happy to have one again.


As part of buying any piece of film equipment, I shot a test roll of film.  The camera is in perfect working order, but the images I shot were unremarkable.  Here is one that wasn't too awful.

Tech Notes:  Canon A2e with Canon 50mm f1.4 lens.  Kodak 400VC film (a free roll from the Kodak booth at Imaging USA).  Film rated at 200.  Processed and proofed at Coke's Camera, Macon, GA.  4x6 proof scanned by me.

Film is Alive

Southern Weddings Magazine has an article interviewing several wedding photographers who use film.  It is wonderful  that Southern Weddings recognizes the value of film and provided a forum for these luminaries to discuss why they prefer film.  Take a look at the article (via A Bryan Photo).  To add my two cents...I feel an image captured on film more closely matches what the human eye sees.  When you see the print, it matches your memory.

It Is Official

This week I booked my first film wedding of the modern era (I photographed weddings for about 5 years on film before switching to digital) and place my first ad for film weddings.  I'm so excited to see what comes of my crazy idea.  Thanks to everyone for the encouragement and concern.

Engaged by Richard

As part of my ongoing testing, I sent some recent rolls to Richard Photo Lab.  They are considered by many to be the best film lab in the country.  I'm very pleased with the results.  I guess you get what you pay for.

These images are from a recent engagement session.  All were shot with my Mamiya 645 AF on Fuji 400H film.  All images are the original, uncropped scans.

Where It All Began

My love of photography began with a camera given to me by my aunt as a graduation gift.  It was her old camera, but it was the world to me.  It was a simple 35mm camera made by Sears.  Well, I think it was actually made by Ricoh, but it was sold by Sears with the Sears name on it.  It used the K mount lens mount.  I had a couple of lenses for it and used it for a year or so before starting my love afair with Canon.  It was the beginning.


Thanks to ebay, I found one tonight.  We'll see if I win.  It would be nice to have it again.

The Lasting Nature of Film

Film reigned for more than 150 years.  During that time, many iconic images were created with it.  Now, you can own a very nice (and not inexpensive) print of some of those images.  


Conde´ Nast, publishers of Vogue, Vanity Fair, and GQ among others, have an online store where they offer high quality prints of images that have appeared in their magazines.  These are not the images you typically find in magazines.  These are works of art by some of the luminaries of the photographic world captured on film.  These images capture writers, actors, athletes and musicians that have shaped our culture.  


These images are amazing.  They are perfect.  They are a source of inspiration.


Take a moment to find a favorite.  Mine is the portrait of Alfred Hitchcock.

10 Rules To Live By

Lomography is a wonderful concept devoted to analog photography.  They provide great info and inspiration.  Best of all they sell unique photographic equipment and specialty films to aid in the pursuit of the happy accident.  Not mired by the need for perfection, Lomography celebrates the unexpected and unusual.


They have created 10 rules to help anyone understand the aim of Lomography.  These rules actually apply regardless of your equipment.

Take your camera everywhere you go

Use it any time – day and night

Lomography is not an interference in your life, but part of it

Try the shot from the hip

Approach the objects of your lomographic desire as close as possible

Don’t think (william firebrace)

Be fast

You don’t have to know beforehand what you captured on film

Afterwards either

Don’t worry about any rules

Now I have to figure out how to incorporate this in my professional work.

A Podcast For Like Minded Crazy People

Host, Scott Sheppard, produces a weekly podcast, Inside Analog Photo, in which he interviews analog (film) photographers and manufacturers.  He has interviewed everyone from a rep for Mamiya to Kodak film engineers to Jose Villa.  The interviews usually last 30-60 minutes and Sheppard asks questions ranging from "how did you get into photography?" to "what gear are you using?"  It is part inspiration and part instruction.  I have learned so much.  It is absolutely the best place for information on analog photography.

I am so glad I have found so many like minded photographers and have even had the pleasure of speaking with a few.  I am constantly amazed by the giving nature of some photographers.  

Bridal Show Season

I wanted to share the images that make up the backdrop of my current bridal show booth.  Each image is a 30x40 poster in the booth.  I unveiled them at the Macon's Wedding Ring Bridal Show and they will again be on display this Saturday at the Gallery 51 Grand Opening. Drop by to see them in person.