Low Country Love

Here is a sneak peak of today's engagement session from the low country.  Ryan (the bride) and Keith (the groom) decided to use the wedding location for the engagement session as well.  The weather was amazing.  The marsh was beautiful.  The couple was great fun.

Tech Notes:
Mamiaya Universal with 100mm f3.5 lens.  Fuji FP-3000B instant film.


As an added note, I dropped my camera during the session and apparently fogged the film.  I kinda like the results.

Some Call Them Mistakes

I call them learning opportunities.  I had a couple this morning.  


First, remember to pull the dark slide on your back.

Second, you can't do the lifted edge trick on the 3000B film (it processing in only 15 seconds).

Tech Notes:


Mamiya Universal with 100mm f3.5 lens.  Fuji FP-3000B instant film.

Instax In The Rain

I shot a couple of images with my Fuji Instax 210 camera (think Polaroid on steroids).  It is an integral film camera.  There is no peeling apart of the film.  There is no timing.  There is no sticky goop.  Everything is contained in the film itself.  It has a fixed focal length lens with a relatively small maximum aperture.  You have to learn to work with the limitations it presents.


I normally use it for the Instant Guest Book, but I've been thinking of other ways to put it to use.  The first is from my favorite Mexican restaurant, El Carnival.  The second is from my trip back to the office in the rain.

Tech Notes:
Fuji Instax 210 camera with Fuji Instax film (800 ISO).  The first image is a little blurry because the camera won't focus closer than 3 feet.  

30 Photos That Changed The World

There is an awesome post at the Photography Schools Online blog that discusses images that have become part of the vernacular.  The images range from large format landscapes to digital snapshots from Iraq.  While not all the images are analog, most are.  


My personal favorite is the Robert Capa photo from Omaha Beach during D-day.  It has what seems to be a blur caused by panning the camera during exposure.  It adds to the sense of movement and urgency.  The funny part is that Capa did not pan the camera.  The blur came from a lab tech drying the film too quickly.  The heat caused the emulsion to smear slightly.  Analog leads to happy accidents.


It is a wonderful, informative and educational read.  If you are a photographer, or hope to one day be a photographer, study these images.  If you one day create an image with half the impact of these, you have moved a mountain.  Check it out here.

Coffee Break

I decided to experiment this morning while I was brewing my coffee.  I shot the images and then lifted the edges slightly immediately after pulling the film.  Then, I left it to process normally.  I really love the unexpected results, but it will need some refining.

Tech Notes:
Fuji FP-100C instant film shot with a Mamiya Universal and 100mm f3.5 lens.  The coffee cup and sofa were shot with window light.  The chair was exposed using 3 Alien Bees strobes.  I scanned all three at one time on my scanner using a piece of cardboard as a dark background.  I then used Crop and Straighten Photos found under File-Automate in Photoshop to make them individual files.  An oldie but a goody.

Film Is Not Dead-The T-Shirt

Jonathan Canlas is an accomplished photographer who uses film as his exclusive medium of choice.  He is so fanatical about it, that he created the Film Is Not Dead workshop.  He fills 3 days with as much information as possible about all things analog photography.  I hope to make it one day. 


For now, I'll have to be satisfied with the t-shirt.  I can't wait for it to arrive.

Got Some Time On Your Hands?

Digital cameras are not well suited for extended exposures.  The longer the sensor is exposing, the greater the noise.  This isn't a huge issue with most exposures, but what if you needed a very long exposure?  What if you needed a 6 month exposure?


Film is your answer.  More specifically, paper is your answer.  This post about creating a 6 month long exposure using a home made pinhole camera is pretty cool.  The photographer used it to create an image tracking the sun's path.  Also, check out the post with instructions on creating your very own super long exposure.


The coolest part is the use of photographic printing paper to capture the image and then scanning the undeveloped paper.  Amazing!

Instant Beauty

Here are a few Fuji instant prints from the shoot posted yesterday.  These were invaluable for building trust with the client.  The first one was the first frame I exposed.  The client was sold from that moment.

Tech Notes:
Fuji FP-100B shot with a Polaroid 600SE and 150mm f5.6 lens.  As with most of my film work, I used only natural sunlight.  Scanned quick and dirty by me.

The Cat Is Out Of The Bag

A few months back, I convince a good friend and commercial client to let me create a series of images to use for a vintage inspired ad for the Blacksmith Shop.  Best of all, he agreed to let me shoot film.  He has wanted to keep them under wraps until now.  The second image will be an ad on the back cover of Wedding Belles Magazine.

Tech Notes:
Shot entirely with my Mamiya 645 AF.  Most images were captured with the 80mm f2.8 lens.  A few, including the last one, were shot with a 55mm f2.8 manual focus lens I purchased for $25.  Color images are Fuji 400H film and the B&W are Fuji Neopan 400 film.


Thanks to Peggy Keys for the hair and makeup,  Jonathan's Bridal for the dress and gloves,  Allison Lucas for the flowers,  Aubrey Newby for his courage and birdcage veil, and  Kristen Clements for being an awesome model.  

Guest Book In An Instant

I'm so excited to announce a new analog product for weddings.  The Instant Guest Book combines the idea of a photobooth with an awesome guest book.  The IGB is a beautiful scrapbook filled with Fuji Instanx instant prints and your guests' kind words and advice for a happy  marriage.    


Here are a few images of the IGB we created Saturday for Allison and Trey.  They had a very cool family picture wall that added a fantastic border to all the images.  Please contact me if you'd like to have an Instant Guest Book at your reception.

Tech Notes:
The images of the book were captured with a digital camera, but the images in the book were made with a Fuji Instax 210.  The scrapbook is from Kolo.