A Fan of The Blues In the Middle of Nowhere

You never know what you’re gonna find out there, I mean, I sure wasn’t expecting Lead Belly. But there he was, alright.

Hope you have good light and plenty of shutter time this weekend. Whatever you do, be sure to stay hydrated!

Tasting notes: Leicaflex SL2 film camera, 35 mm Summicron (old version), Ilford Ortho film.

FIVE OH CRAP

During the early part of the pandemic, I decided that I would document some of the local schools and playgrounds in my neck of the woods. Nothing overly profound as a motivation, just images of empty fields, that kind of thing. The kind of shots many folks would end up making. Mostly, it was a nice chance for me to get out of the house with a camera and a simple goal in mind during an uncertain time. Then, things got a little weird. I noticed that every time I began photographing, the police would drop by to ask me what was going on. The officers I met always just laughed when I told them what was up, so some nutter must have been calling them, and, in a show of good faith, they had to check me out. Now, these images have begun to take on a slightly more sinister meaning for me.

Tasting notes: Leicaflex SL2, 35mm f/2 lens, Lomo Berlin film.

Nice glass!

We came across this hellaciously large chandelier in Nashville, TN. Some old warehouses had been repurposed as commercial space with maybe a few artist studios thrown in for good measure. It was a pleasant enough experience, but the lighting fixture looked like a separate galaxy, and was the highlight of the visit for me. As you can see, the old industrial scale windows were also pretty great. Anyway, I resisted walking underneath the chandelier, in case it fell. I used the Leica R6, the 35mm f/2 lens, and a roll of Kodak XX film. By the way, the Summicron-R really is a nice piece of glass in its own right.

Not *that* grain silo

Old grain silos are an obvious subject of photographic interest, and you can find them in many areas of the country. My wife and I came across this one near Nashville, TN a couple of years ago and we stopped to document it. Naturally, I didn't keep any notes, as this was a casual trip. Anyway, I was trying to figure out more information about it online, but the search results were dominated by news of a mural that was painted on an abandoned silo in west Nashville. My initial reaction was, 'How the hell could we have missed such a huge mural'? 

We are not that unobservant, of course, although by now, this old silo could also have been repainted. Kodak XX film, Leica R6.2, 35mm Summicron. Summer light.

Luscious colors

A couple of years ago, we were wandering around Ponce City Market in ATL and came across a space that was being prepped for renovation. I fell in love with the patina on these old columns. Film is the perfect medium for these type of scenes, in my opinion. I exposed for the level of ambient light I wanted to record in the main space, and I knew that at least some information would be retained in the highlight areas of the windows. The final image successfully captured the feeling I had at the time. By now, the space is probably fully occupied, but I have not had the chance to go back to see what things look like. My gear that day was the Leica R8 and the last version of the 35mm Summicron-R. 

Can your photographs of other people's art be considered art in their own right?

I was taking a load off in the main lobby of the High Museum of Art in Atlanta when my attention was diverted to how the surface of a large painting by Ellsworth Kelly was changing as the ambient light fluctuated. I'm that kind of person. I was motivated to frame up and take a shot.

I don't think this image can be considered a documentary photograph of the original artwork, if for no other reason than it doesn't show the entire piece. That said, I feel that it does successfully record one aspect of my experience of contemplating the piece, namely my interest in how the shadow cast by the canvas interacts with the painted surface and the wall behind. Leica R8, 35 mm Summicron, Kodak Portra 400. Notice how the old lens adds a nice vignette to all of the images I took that day. Saves time in post.

Emulsion compulsion

For me, and I think for many, the past week has been an incredible energy suck. The only thing I really want to say is that having a daily studio practice where I just try to show up to make work has helped me not get completely mired in a doom spiral. I wish the same for you.

One of the distinct pleasures of analog photography is the possibility of working with specialized or even unique emulsions. This could mean shooting a long-expired, even out of production emulsion, working with a stock rated at ISO 0.6, or finding a cache of film that is used in surveillance cameras for pennies on the dollar and rolling it yourself.

You really do never know what you are going to get. As an example, here is a shot taken in Jackson WY on color IR film, perhaps the most unique (and expensive) emulsion I've ever used. This film is no longer manufactured, and I paid about $20 for a 24 exposure roll of the stuff. I kept it in the freezer next to some gorgeous scallops until my trip. The film results in an image with a very unique look, that is for sure, but is it too much of a gimmick?

For increased credibility, I'll add that the photograph was made using the Leica R6 camera and the yummy 35 mm f/2 lens (Summicron in Leicaspeak). For me, the dark band of magenta/purple at the bottom really anchors the composition, and makes the image work, but not everyone would find the color palette appealing. Many might have preferred the scallops, actually.

That Leica feeling

At some point on your photographic journey, you're going to want to shoot with a Leica. You're going to want to see for yourself what the Leica hardware brings to your images. You're going to be at least tempted to do it, and you'll give it some serious thought. I've been there, but I never really wanted to lay out the cash required to get into the M-system. I turned my attention instead to the Leica reflex cameras and they've kept me pretty busy ever since. As with all film cameras, they are not being made anymore, but they definitely had a good run (1964-2009). The penultimate Leica R camera was the R8, which is unique looking, let's put it that way. A few years ago they were practically giving them away, and the lenses were pretty affordable, too, at least the non-exotic ones. That is not so much the case anymore as folks have discovered these remarkable photographic tools. The first lens I bought was a 35mm f/2. Believe it or not, the camera and lens together cost about $600 -- it will be at least double that these days, unfortunately. At any rate, I took this set-up with me on a trip to Washington, DC, and spent about an hour photographing near the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture. I had a roll of Ilford HP5+ in the camera and I shot the entire roll there. Here's one of my favorites from that shoot. I like the contrast in this photograph between the new architecture and the reflection of the classic architecture in the windows. I was at f/8 to test the sharpness of the lens. It did pretty well in that regard, I'd say. (Click to see the image larger.) These lens designs are all pretty long in the tooth by now and it is worth noting that they can't really compete with more modern lens designs on the technical side. I'm willing to carry that burden.