Ilford FP4

Nude From Above

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I apologize if it feels like it has been a minute since I’ve updated this blog. A lot of life changes have been going on, mostly for the better, and that means having to prioritize what I can realistically accomplish without burning myself out. I assure you however, I have been very hard at work making new images! In fact that has been my primary focus right now. Developing film, editing finished pieces, and enjoying the satisfaction of completing something.

Social media and the internet in general sometimes just needs to be ignored in order to make that happen.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford FP4 ISO 125 medium format film.

Anyone who has ever photographed with any camera with a waste level finder knows that it can be incredibly complicated and disorienting to try and photograph straight down. This is primarily due to the fact that the image in the viewfinder is already reversed, and when you are holding the camera above your head or straight out at arms length and aiming down it will almost make you dizzy trying to compose an image.

I made about seven exposures of this exact pose in this exact spot and this was the only frame that I feel like I composed properly. I was standing on a broken log above the model, balancing as best I could, with the camera being held straight outward, the lens aiming straight down. Needless to say, a Hasselblad isn’t exactly built to be held in this manner and working the controls, focus, and hitting the shutter button was awkward.

The little challenges one encounters with photography can be interesting that’s for sure!

Escaping The Wind

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Sometimes when the weather is not cooperating during a photographic outing one really needs to get creative. Or you just need to get lucky. When these photographs were being made the wind was bitterly cold! The temperature on paper wasn’t really so bad, just a mild day in the late fall here in the Pacific Northwest. But the wind… The wind was making it feel fifteen to twenty degrees colder than it actually was.

Anyone who has ever tried to operate a camera with bitterly cold wind howling around you, not to mention anyone who has ever tried to remove their clothing under such conditions can tell you - it is really not fun!

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford FP4 medium format film.

I was actually ready to call the day a bust when we found a strange tree growing near the ground along the shoreline that had a perfect opening. I was able to stand out in the windy cold while the model was able to take shelter at the opening and didn’t have to endure the wind at all. The branches and foliage on the tree were so thick it felt like climbing into a sturdy tent.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford FP4 medium format film.

Our options for posing were very limited given the small opening, but I think we made do with the difficult conditions we had before us and I’m quite happy with the results. I was only able to expose one roll of film in this spot before it was physically impossible to continue. Sometimes one roll of film is all you need though.

Summer Has Yet To Begin

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The weather has been very dreary in the Pacific North West this year. Oddly, I’m not bothered by this in the slightest. When I read the weather reports of other parts of the United States hanging out in triple digit heat I can’t help but think I’ll gladly take a little bit of rain and overcast. Getting a little wet when making a photograph has never been a very big deal.

Photographed with a Mamiya C330 TLR and Ilford FP4 120 film.

I really enjoy the soft lighting of overcast weather. Sometimes it can make working with a slower speed film a little bit of a problem, but nothing a tripod or a steady hand can’t solve. Plus it gives me an excuse to work with the lens aperture wide open. On my Mamiya C330 TLR working at f/2.8 creates a tad bit of softness to the final image that can be enjoyable for portraits and figure studies.

Ultimately, whatever weather gets thrown my way, the bottom line is you have to work with it and do your best!

Olympia SM3 - Playing With Form

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I’ve mentioned on this blog several times that along with photography I also have a passion for typewriters; my Olympia SM3 being a personal favorite. I’m not a particularly good writer mind you, but I do spend a good deal of time journaling with typewriters and writing letters to friends. It is a fun way to pass the time and I think it creates more meaningful and memorable communication with people; something that is sorely lacking in this day and age of social media, memes, and texting.

Olympia SM3 photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford FP4 120 film.

Generally speaking, I have great admiration for machines dedicated to a single task. Film cameras, typewriters, a well made compass, a useful pocket knife. There is something special and admirable about a device that performs a useful function, especially when it can perform that function through mechanical engineering alone.

Seriously, I could ramble about this topic for a very long time.

Put a couple of cocktails in my stomach and you’ll find me talking endlessly on the subject. Every so often my admiration for typewriters merges together with my love of photography. It honestly isn’t really much of a leap when you look at it from a visual perspective. Since a typewriter is meant to be used by humans, the form and interface are designed to be pleasing in a physical sense, despite the fact that it is made from metal and rubber. A typewriter is an extension of your ability to communicate. Using one show flow effortlessly from your brain to your fingers to the page in front of you. It’s no accident that the lines and shape of a typewriter are similar to those of the human body.

Olympia SM3 photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford FP4 in 120.

Of all the typewriters in my collection the Olympia SM3 is probably my favorite. It is just engineered so well. Completely bulletproof and yet so elegant at the time. This is the typewriter that has a permanent place on my desk and it is the typewriter I use about 90% of the time.

It doesn’t hurt that it photographs beautifully.