Laguna Beach, CA - 2010

This was as much a session to clear the head as much as anything else.  I didn't want anything literal so I thought I'd try my hand with the new meter, a red filter and the new film.  I also exposed a couple of sheets of Acros 100 but haven't developed it yet.  Thankfully this is a spot I can go back too and keep trying to get it right.

This was a 4 minute exposure. At this size you can't tell that a dog bumped the tripod leg. As I said, trials and tribulations!

Once again, I find myself in the Admiral's Lounge at John Wayne Airport. When the TSA screener starts to recognize you it's readily apparent that you travel far too often.

A post by Dan Milnor today got my creative juices flowing and trapped in an airport today is painful and frustrating. The clock is a'tickin and the time is not replacable. Which is to say I need - and that's akin to breathing almost - to be out making images, holding the camera and really using what talent I have. The older I get the more of an issue this becomes.

My day job pay the bills and I'll never be a "working photographer." I've come to grips with that and it's OK. What I haven't come to grips with, is the lack of time to pursue what, at the core of who I am, I need to pursue.

Over the last two weeks I've stepped out of the comfort zone and photographed people, working guys, whose life style really doesn't exist anymore. I'm debating on how much I will show here. Are they single images? Will it develop beyond anything superficially? Should I keep them to myself until it's a fleshed out bit of work instead of prematurely showing it on the web? All questions without answers for the moment.

It's stuff to contemplate while in the air over the next several days. And BTW, this is my first post from the iPhone. In a dunderheaded move, I left my computer somewhere and didn't realize it until I arrived at the security stand expecting to put it on the x-Ray conveyor belt. A huge bummer! If there are obvious mistakes please forgive me.

Colin Flanary Graham makes images of all three and they are really something I look forward to seeing.  He doesn't post often on his blog but when he does there always seems to be a treasure waiting to view.  He's a large format photographer who built his own camera because the available formats didn't fit his vision.  So he's also a gifted woodworker.  That really makes me jealous.  He's also a carbon printer.  I've never seen a carbon print but from what I've read they are difficult to make and a thing of beauty to see.  

Check out his new work and his about page to see more about his process and technique.  The photo geek in me found it interesting.

Kevin German is part of a group of photographic cooperative and I really enjoy his work. I admire his ability to chase his dream and make it work. I don't know him except what I read on his blog and what I see in his images. I may be reading way too much into this but it seems that he's found a way to chase his dream.

I found this particular post interesting.

I'm back at home for the day, on a plane tomorrow again but want to get another post up while I develop a couple of rolls from Kentucky and a couple from this morning.  More from that stuff later.

I bookmark sites that I want to come back to if I've read something on a particular photographer.  I saw an article about Vanessa Winship on a trip late last year.  When I was able to check out her site I was immediately struck by the compelling  portraits I found there.  As with the Dan Woods images, I find myself envious of the ability to travel but with her I am equally envious of her ability to connect with people in a way that allows the images to be made. 

These are really nice images and should feel so inclined please take a moment to have a look.

I came upon Dan Wood's photography on flickr.  Someone commented on one of his images that he would have a better chance of getting selected in some pool if he didn't put the borders on his images.  What that person didn't realize is that Dan prints his own work and the borders were full frame images printed in the darkroom.  They look to be really wonderful prints and I'm envious that he has a darkroom to print his work.

Take a gander at his images.  The travel stuff makes me a bit envious as he's traveled the world and seen some interesting places.  

Somewhere Over Central California, 2007

This is one of them.

Central Park, 2004It was taken on a trip to New York in 2004. But when I first saw this image I didn't like it much. I do now. Why that is I don't know, but I think it's because it reflects the way I've always enjoyed making images. 

My current efforts are struggles; with myself, with the camera, with the subject matter.  When I'm just out walking, as I was on this particular day, it seems to come a bit more naturally with me.  I see something and I make an image. I've gotten away from that and find myself too worried about technical details I shouldn't be thinking about at all.

You might ask why the world needs another tree image.  My answer would be that it probably doesn't. But I do and that's simply enough for me. I make images largely for myself because I have to. That seems to be a common theme with the photographers I've spoken with lately and one I've gotten away from because life so easily gets in the way.

We'll see where this review leads me but I suspect I've found a better way, at least for me, in approaching the work and making images I'm much more happy with.

I came upon Tommy Kane's blog by chance but I don't remember how. Take a look at his work and read through the blog a bit.  It's quite enjoyable.

Indiana Steeple - October, 2009

This is another image from the trip to Kentucky late last year.  I'm headed back in a few weeks and plan to spend some time making images again.  I think I have a better idea of what I'm looking for this time.  For a variety of reasons only the Leica and Yashica Mat will be making the trip. 

A Photographer's Desk - 2010

I did see this over at the BJP Blog. It ties into my previous post about photographers and the insistence that somehow we all need to be checked up on as we put a camera up to our eye.

I'm hopeful that I'll have more images to come in the near future. Maybe contact sheets!