Familiar Places, New Light

For the last few weeks the above title has been a photographic theme for me. I've been going on hikes/walks to places I've been many times before but trying to get there in time for the best possible light(usually early morning). Sometimes I can feel stuck or like I've been treading the same photographic ground too much - so this has been an exercise in meeting that situation head-on. This morning I started at Cascade Locks(one of the first places I ever photographed with a digital camera)and walked into downtown Akron as the Sun rose. I didn't come away with anything quite as interesting as I had hoped but I still enjoyed the challenge of trying to see something new in such familiar territory. I've also been shooting some black and white film on these trips which I should have posted soon. I do find myself reversing trends and shooting more digital lately - but that probably has a lot to do with the "magic hour" lighting I've been trying to capture.

Beaver Dam Morning Stroll

This morning I woke up and checked the weather report - it looked like the skies where going to be fairly clear and it was going to be a little cold(for this time of year anyways). So I quickly sipped my coffee while searching for my flannel and wiping the sleep from my eyes. I hit the road for the Beaver Pond Trailhead near the corner of Ira and Riverview Roads. I've hiked here tons of times but have never had the chance to get a good Summer morning shot -I envisioned a beautiful photograph titled "Beaver Pond Sunrise #1" - I even imagined the fog mysteriously rising from the pond. Well, things don't always go according to plan and the sun and fog refused to materialize - in fact I actually rushed back to my car a little early as the predicted 10% chance of rain turned to a 100% reality. I managed to capture these three shots in the diffuse, cloudy light before I was on my way to work. I guess when life throws you lemons....

Kendall Evening

On this cool evening I decided to go for a hike at Virginia Kendall - I hiked the Cross Country Trail(a longtime favorite that I had not been on in a few years). On one part of the trail I noticed a structure a few hundred yards away that I had never seen before - then I thought its not that I never noticed it - it was never there. I started approaching what kind of looked to be a barn but turned out to be a green house. On my way to the green house I also realized that the weed covered field had been cultivated sometime in the last few years. It all seemed very strange - someone started farming and quit farming this area all in the time since I had been here last. I need to look into this more!

All About Light

Ever since I've been heavily into photography I've pretty much carried a camera with me everywhere, but now many times when I'm out it stays in the bag - if the light isn't good there is no use in taking a photograph. While I'm glad I have many shots that document my life and the events(family&friends) that I've attended those are rarely anything I would organize in any kind of portfolio. For the first few years I couldn't figure it out - I would go hiking to all these beautiful places but my photos looked so flat and bland. It took me way too long to realize that unless you're shooting landscapes during the "magic hour" - up to an hour after sunrise or an hour before sunset - the light just isn't going to be all that good. The right light can make the most boring object look interesting(below) and the wrong light can make the Grand Canyon look boring. I believe I really started to develop my "eye for light" by the years of working on a farm - I began to notice the wonderful shadows and glowing oranges and yellows at the right times of day from being outside constantly. Above is a photo I took yesterday at Laura's company picnic at Hardesty Park - to me its the worst kind of light - directly overhead, midday, summer sun - it takes a good subject to make it worth shooting in the the harsh light but sometimes you have to document an event or place and simply can't wait for the "magic hour".  One of the best techniques for these times is to use your flash(works better up close and personal) - people may look at you like you're crazy - but next time you see a newspaper photographer shooting people in the sun watch and learn.  The flash will overcome many of the harsh shadows that make people look so terrible in the sun.  Photography is all about capturing light - the word actually translates from Greek - meaning "light drawing".  So if your gonna shoot - try your best to draw with good light.  

Houseguest at Musica

Yesterday evening Houseguest played a reunion show at Musica for the Square Records 10th Anniversary and also to benefit their friend Dan who is fighting cancer. The show was absolutely amazing and what someone called a "life reunion" - there were more people that I knew in one room than probably any other time in my life. I really don't like trying to take photos at Musica - I can't seem to get anything to work really well. I attempted bouncing my flash off the ceiling(a favorite method of mine) but I couldn't bounce it well because of the black ceiling....and I rarely like the look I get from shooting it directly at the band. So I switched to shooting everything with the too-dim-stage lighting - which meant mostly shooting wide open at high-ISO(between 1250 and 6400). It was one of those nights where capturing the moment was more important that having photos of perfect quality.  Also I have begun to realize the grain/noise I see in my shots when I view them large isn't offensive to the average viewer seeing them at a much smaller size.  Regardless of picture-quality it was one of the most fun nights ever. Below is a video I shot - my camera actually over-heated and shut of right at the very end of the song - I've never had that happen before. 

 

Black and White Summer

I've really been enjoying capturing this Summer in black and white on film. These shots were taken on my second roll of Kentmere 400 - which came out pretty good. For being a true 'budget' black and white film and not just a privat-label knock off of something else I really like this it. Its awesome that Iflord seems so committed to staying in the black and white analogue business. I'm also excited to say that Laura bought me a whole bunch of Arista Premium 400(Tri-X) for my birthday - so I'm stocked on b&w film for a good while!

Brews + Prose

Last night I went out to Market Garden Brewery for Brews + Prose - a book reading series. The authors were my friend, David Giffels, and Alissa Nutting. David was hoping I could capture a photo that could be used for his soon to be released book 'The Hard Way on Purpose' - which he read from(and he absolutely killed it, the essay was awesome and the crowd loved it). The lighting was a little challenging but I did my best shooting 'natural light' - ISO 640 f/2.8 at 1/60th. The noise will be manageable when the photo is shrunk down to the size it will be used at - I just hope that I caught an expression David is happy with(the reflections in his glasses were challenging too - had to get the right angle). Alissa Nutting read from her book Tampa and was intense and hilarious at the same time. I had never been to a book reading before but would definitely attend again in the future - having a few of Cleveland's finest craft beers just added to the experience(if you haven't had Market Garden's CitraMax yet you are missing out).

Garden Update for Early August

This morning I went out to water and check on the veggie part of our garden. Though we got a late start, everything seems to be coming along nicely. We even had some of our fresh cucumbers on our salad last night. The above photo is of one of the male male pumpkin flowers on the pumpkin plants that are overwhelming our side garden.

The Ledges in Morning

I posted last week about attempting to visit the Ledges in the morning. Today I tried my luck again - the Lake and Ledges lots were locked but I was able to park at the Octagon and hike to the Ledges. I believe this lot was only open because a park employee was cleaning the shelter. I need to find out what the deal with all of this is. Anyways - I managed to get a few decent shots. The above is my favorite - not because its one of my greatest - but just because I love the way the fog is hanging over the valley(look closely - or click to see it larger). Being that I haven't been able to photograph hikes in the middle of the Summer for years I tend to forget that hiking in the woods isn't always the best - the magic hour sun is mostly blocked by the trees. There needs to be some kind of open space to really take advantage of a low-in-the-sky sun. Also I need to carry my tri-pod more - standard advice for taking landscapes - I just hate to take the time to set it up even though I know I could get better shots with it.

The New Zipper City World HQ

This is the mess in the middle of the floor of my new office. The Zipper City World Headquarters has been moving a few miles this month and now the job of organizing the new location begins. Thanks to generous amounts of tax breaks and financial assistance from government of all levels we have decided to stay in Akron. The massive volumes of supplies, files and equipment that had built up at the old site over many years has made this a slow & tedious process but hopefully it will be complete by the end of the weekend and posting and photographing will continue at their normal rampant pace. This new state-of-the-art facility is loaded with all the newest(and oldest) photographic technology and should afford me the opportunity to share with you, my vast readership, even more of the knowledge and photographic genius that you have come to expect....stay tuned - its only gonna get better.

Krieger's Market: A Photo Essay

Krieger's is a market in Cuyahoga Falls. They have a huge selection of produce with plenty of local selections mixed in(depending on season of course). They also carry some items you can't find other places and their prices are as cheap as anyone's. The only reason I don't go as crazy for them as some people is their stuff isn't always the freshest - you have to really check it or make sure you will be using it soon. For absolute freshness and longevity I'd recommend Szalay's or Graf's. Anyways - this was my first attempt with a Lomography product - Lady Grey 400 film. More with my opinions on that tomorrow...

Jack and the Bear

At the Burning River Feat the other night Laura and I caught the headlining act on the main stage - their sound instantly drew us in. It takes a lot for a band to impress me anymore but 'Jack and the Bear' did - and I don't think it was just all the Christmas Ale we had drank. The singer was a bit over the top and it would have sank a lesser band - but they backed up the antics and pulled it off with their sound. I shot these at ISO 1250 and Photoshop CC was able to make them acceptable. I've said it before and I'll say it again - if your're using CS4 or earlier versions of PS - upgrading to CC is more valuable than buying a new camera.

Great Lakes Burning River Fest

On Friday night Laura and I made out way to Whiskey Island in Cleveland to attend the Burning River Fest - the Burning River Fest is put on by Great Lakes Brewery and other sponsors to support the Burning River Foundation. There is music(three stages), exhibits, lots of food, Great Lakes Beer(including Christmas Ale), and amazing views and atmosphere. The evening's weather was absolutely perfect and we wandered around shooting photos, drinking beer and learning a little bit. When we first started roaming around we commented on how this isn't what most people would picture when they think of Cleveland - and that is a shame - because its a great event in a beautiful location and it IS Cleveland.

Kendall Morning

This morning I dragged myself out of bed nice and early to get some sunrise photos - I knew it was going to be a perfect day weather-wise. I drove down to the Ledges, wiping sleep from my eyes, and waiting for the coffee to kick in. I turned onto Truxell Road Road with an eye to the sky getting excited to hopefully catch some magic photos - there are lots of great sunrise-at-the-ledges photos out there but I wanted mine. When I pulled up to the access road to make the turn to the parking lot the gate was locked - "shoot," I thought "I'll just park at The Octagon and walk". The gate to the Octagon was locked. "Well, I still have time - I'll park at the Lake and walk farther". Lake gate locked. Now I was fairly upset - I ended up driving all of the way around and to the Sled-Ridding Hill on Quick Road. I was frustrated but still managed to get some good early morning photos - just not the ones I had set out to take.

Remembering Chris

This is the rest of the roll of Kodak UltraMax 400 that I posted some of yesterday. This part of the roll was shot in Mansfield at The Red Fox. A few friends and I had made our way down there to meet with the family and other mutual friends of Chris Stull who passed away last year. We all wanted to get together and remember him at his favorite hometown dive bar. It was a great evening of reminiscing and laughing - with some somber moments as well. All in all it was nice to keep Chris's spirit alive.

Highbridge Trail on Film

The other morning I finished a roll of Kodak UltraMax 400 in my Nikon L35AF while hiking on the Highbridge Trail. I've always considered the trail part of the Gorge Metro Park but I picked it up this time from Cascade. I was there early enough to catch some pretty good light but I still wish I had gotten there even earlier - sometimes I move too slow in the morning. The above photo was taken underneath the Main Street Bridge.  I had this film developed at Walgreen's because the guy who runs my local lab(ACCL) is on vacation - they seemed flabbergasted that I only wanted uncut negatives.  I also shot a new kind of black and white film that morning which could be interesting....

Pushed to the (T)Max!

When Kodak discontinued T-Max p3200 a while back I quickly ordered a couple rolls in anticipation of the price going through the roof. With the way digital cameras can shoot at ridiculously high ISO's that film photographers from the analog days could have only dreamed of the announcement wasn't a surprise - but being such a photo-history-nerd I knew I needed to try this revolutionary(at-the-time) film out. The opportunity finally presented itself last Friday at Musica when Laura and I decided to check out Welsey Bright and the Hi-Lites. I knew Musica had decent stage lighting I and I thought I would get some good shots. When I did some test metering on my Pentax K1000 barely anything registered at 3200. So feeling the camera couldn't handle this low-light metering I downloaded an app on Laura's smart phone - I didn't like the numbers I was seeing so I downloaded a "second opinion" app. It still wasn't looking to good. I made the decision to shoot the show at f/2.8-3.5 at 1/60th and develop the film at 6400(which was twelve minutes in HC-110 dilution B). When I hung the film to dry it looked charcoal gray with a few black spots where the spotlights were. I didn't have high hopes - later I could barely tell where to cut the negatives - one frame from the next was barely distinguishable. Anyways - after fiddling with my scanner to figure out a where a shot ended and the next began I came away with only 3 or 4 shots out of the whole roll of 36 that were worth dealing with - here they are for your viewing pleasure. I'll bring a flash to Musica next time.

PS - Don't miss Wesley Bright if you get the chance to see him - absolutely amazing - "Otis Redding reincarnate" - as a drunk me was quoted Friday....

Arista Premium 400

I've mentioned the Arista Premium 400 that I ordered a little while back from Freestyle Photographic Supplies a few times and now I finally have a well-traveled roll developed to show you. The big deal with this film is that it is supposedly Kodak's Tri-X rebranded - but at half of the cost. I read a lot of the debates in the online forums and the general consensus seemed to point to this being true - but I wanted to find out for myself - so I shot, developed, and scanned the Arista just as I would Tri-X(developed in HC-110(b) for 6 minutes). I now believe the rumors - it has to be made by Kodak. It looks, feels and acts just the same. As far as I'm concerned this is great news - I love Tri-X - and I love saving money(ie. I'm cheap)