F&CK Digital

There must be some kind of movement going on. It seems to me there is a digital backlash at the moment. Maybe not a full scale revolt, but it seems to me like a lot of photographers I know who had all but switched to digital are now shooting more film.

I know I started shooting film again about 6 months ago when I decided to buy an old Rolleiflex to carry around with me from time to time. Just this week I went ahead and bought a Mamiya RZ67 Pro II (for really cheap I might add… a barely used demo kit with lens & film back for only $850!!!). And, a little over a year ago I bought a 4×5 camera primarily to shoot Polaroid Type-55 (that idea unfortunately went out the door quickly with Polaroid film’s demise).

Now, I must confess that most of my film shooting will be for personal projects. I’ll sprinkle in some film shots on editorial shoots when budgets allow for both digital fees and film related expenses. For commercial projects, it’ll be digital for sure since the Art Directors usually like seeing what’s going on as we shoot. But, for the projects that actually mean something to me, I’ll likely be using one of my film cameras (not that my paying jobs don’t mean anything… but you know what I mean).

I just got done shooting an editorial assignment for Inc. magazine. I brought out my new RZ67 and shot film for the first time on an editorial shoot for quite some time. Having never used an RZ67 before I didn’t want to rely on it alone, so I got the primary shot out of the way with my digital system (Contax 645 w/ Phase One P25+). But once I did, I switched over to the RZ67 and had a bit more fun with it. It was nice shooting and not running back to a monitor every 10 shots or looking at the LCD on the back of the camera to see what we had.

This isn’t digital vs film quality debate. I’m not going to say one is of better quality than the other. I’m not shooting film again for quality reasons. They are just different. I shoot differently when shooting film. I like the way I shoot with film. I slow down and think about things more than I would with digital. And anything that can get me to think has to be good.

Moving?

A couple months ago I visited New York City. It was my first time in New York since about 1984. I would have been 12 at the time. I was surprised by how much I liked the city. I guess the image of New York I had in my mind had no basis in reality. I found myself liking New York so much that I wondered what it would be like to move there.

Moving when you have a real job is usually not a big deal. Either you get moved to a new office by your company or you move for a new job. But when you work for yourself it’s a bit more tricky. It’s as if you would be starting over from scratch.

Quite often for editorial work, with both new and old clients, I get called on because they need a photographer in the Bay Area or Los Angeles. With editorial work I rarely get called to travel outside California. I’d love to travel more for editorial work, but so far that hasn’t been the case (That isn’t true of commercial work… for commercial work I’ve traveled all over the US and Europe)

I’m not suggesting I have some great name recognition as a “San Francisco Photographer” or potential clients instantly think of me when they have a shoot in the Bay Area (I hope they do). It seems that most of my new clients tend to call when they have a shoot in the area and find me on sites like Workbook, Blackbook, Photoserve, or they have been receiving my promo pieces and finally have a project for me. So, does this mean getting new clients after a move is as easy as updating my location information in the places I promote myself and sending a move notice to my current clients? Will my existing clients start sending me on shoots close to my new location just as they would at my old location?

So how do you do it… how do you pick up and move and start over as a photographer? Especially when you’re in my position: someone relatively new to photography (about 4 years now) who is constantly seeing an increase in work, types of clients, size of jobs, and actually discovers people do already know who and where I am when I contact them. Is this constant progress due to a response to my work and my promotional efforts? Or, is it because of where I live? Will I loose that if I move or will it continue in my new city?

I’m not suggesting I’m moving any time soon… or ever for that matter. But it has been on my mind and New York would be first on the list (in the U.S. anyway).

And I know you come here not only for your photography related information, but also political commentary, so… Don’t forget to vote tomorrow!

I Feel Naked

I’ve never really done nudes before. Once back in school they had us do a nude assignment. The school provided us with models to use for our shoots. My girlfriend at the time refused to let me photograph another woman naked. And yet, at the same time she refused to let me photograph her naked. Knowing that I had to complete the assignment she eventually caved. I guess the thought of me photographing another woman naked left a worse taste in her mouth than posing for the assignment herself.At a workshop I recently attended we were given a model to photograph. Everyone in the workshop proceeded to photograph her naked. Each photographer had a few minutes with the model and they did their thing. With 15 people in the workshop, the poor model was poked and prodded as if she was a piece of cattle on the way to slaughter. It was now my turn. I don’t really like to be watched by a lot of people when I take pictures (if I can help it, which often times, I can’t) so I went last. As I walked up to the model I said to her “Ok, I’m going to ask you to do something really weird.” The model had a horrified look on her face as if I was about to ask her to do something even Larry Flint would blush at. Instead, I set her mind at ease by asking “would you mind putting your clothes back on?” She laughed and obliged my not-so-deviant request. Everyone else in the room thought I was some sort of weirdo for having the naked woman put her clothes back on.So why nudes now? I’m not quite sure… My assistant Emily does nudes, so maybe rather than my style rubbing off on her as is often the case with photographers and their assistants, it is her that is rubbing off on me. Either way, I had been thinking about exploring nude photography for the last few months, so when given the opportunity I decided to give it a shot. And what better opportunity than when my friend, the lovely and beautiful Jennifer, despite her reservations (something about the pictures ending up on the internet… which I assured her would never happen), let me photograph her one chilly morning last week.Jennifer isn’t a model so having her photo taken isn’t exactly a routine event for her… let alone having her photo taken while undressed. Despite feeling a bit uneasy at first, she did a great job and quickly became relaxed in front of the camera.I do realize these aren’t technically nudes since Jen is covered up for the most part. I didn’t really do anything different than what I would do shooting a clothed woman. I guess thats a good place to start until I figure out what it is I want to do. Maybe next time I’ll try something outside my comfort zone. That’s what this personal work stuff is all about after all… trying something new and different.

Dirty Dingle

Its been a while since my last entry. I’m hoping I’m providing quality and not just quantity. (although I realize its likely neither)

This weeks entry is in honor of Halloween. My friend Deirdre has what I consider to be one of the cutest dogs I’ve ever met. The dog’s name is Dingle (named for the port in Ireland, not the berry).  Dingle is a small Hungarian Puli.   As some (crazy) people like to do with their animals, Deirdre occasionally dresses Dingle up in strange costumes. Normally I find this practice annoying, but for some reason I enjoy seeing Dingle in her various outfits. Deirdre got the idea that Dingle should be dressed up as a Mexican in a sombrero and poncho for her Christmas cards… yes, Christmas cards.

I wanted a grimy border town feeling for the picture so we headed to a back alley in a not so savory section of The Mission.  The alley had exactly the look I wanted, so we set up shop and begin taking pictures.   During the shoot, we were approached by a “lady” who looked a little questionable.  She walked up to me, looking around suspiciously, and asked me if I had any crack. She was asking in a way you would think is only done in movies, as if I or someone near by just might be an undercover cop.  I had to let her down by telling her I in fact did not have any crack for her.  Disappointed, she walked away.

During our little shoot she returned quite a few more times to check back in, just in case my supply had changed.  It hadn’t. I’ll give her this much, she was very persistent… or she just didn’t remember having already asked me… I’m not sure which.  As we continued taking more pictures of the the siesta-esque Dingle we believe that the woman apparently found what she was after. Not thirty yards from where we were, we noticed her and some of her “friends” standing in a circle enjoying what we can only imagine to be what she previously was hoping to purchase from me.  It was at this point we thought it would be a good idea to pack up the gear, grab Dingle and move on.

Needless to say we were very happy to get out of there not only with what I think is a funny picture of Dingle, but also with our lives.   And you’ll be happy to know that Deirdre won “best Christmas card” among her friends and family with the “Dirty Dingle” picture.   Maybe I have a future in taking pictures for greeting cards… and with that thought, please excuse me while I go kill myself.

I hope everyone has a happy Halloween.

Montana

I just got back from spending a few days in Montana visiting my Dad. I’ve lived in a big city of some type all my life, so visiting a place like Montana was a bit different for me. Nothing but space, space and more space between… well, everything. This is a shot of my dad on his “ranch.”