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Transformer Building, No. 3 [Diana camera]
Pennsylvania Mine, Grass Valley, California
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Upcoming Workshops:
Digital Black & White
Jan 29 – Feb 2, 2007
The Lepp Institue for Digital Imaging, Los Osos, California
Click here for a class description and more info
Transformer Building, No. 2 [Diana camera]
Pennsylvania Mine, Grass Valley, California
-------------------------
Upcoming Workshops:
Digital Black & White
Jan 29 – Feb 2, 2007
The Lepp Institue for Digital Imaging, Los Osos, California
Click here for a class description and more info
Transformer Building No. 1, [Diana camera]
Pennsylvania Mine, Grass Valley, California
This is one of the structures on the grounds of the Empire Mine State Park, which is a few miles from my house. There are some fine hiking trails in the park that lead you past the ruins of several old mining structures and the crumbling foundations of mine headframes. The two ruined transformer buildings from the old Pennsylvania Mine can be found near the start of one of the trails. I am not sure why it's called the Pennsylvania Mine, seeing as it's in California. My only guess is that it was named by someone who was from Pennsylvania.
-------------------------
Upcoming Workshops:
Digital Black & White
Jan 29 – Feb 2, 2007
The Lepp Institue for Digital Imaging, Los Osos, California
Click here for a class description and more info
After the Storm [Diana camera]
early October, 2006 | Black and white image with digital toning
(click in the image for a larger version)
The same toy sailboat that was seen a few posts ago. This was taken with a Diana camera, a plastic cheapie wonder that dates from the early 1960s. The Diana was made by the Great Wall Plastic Company in Kowloon, Hong Kong and it is the original plastic camera that many art photographers began to use in the early 1970s for its uneven focus, vignetted exposure and unpredictable tendency to produce strange light leaks.
The Diana and it's many clones (cameras that looked just like Diana, or very similar, but with different names) are no longer made but can be found on eBay (though sometimes they are very overpriced) or, if you're lucky, in antique or junk shops. The plastic Holga camera, which first appeared in the early 1980s, is still being manufactured and is the current day incarnation of the Diana. In comparison, however, the Holga seems quite a bit sturdier than the often flimsy-feeling Diana and the lens, especially on the newer ones, is noticeably sharper (if such a thing can be said of a plastic lens). Though the Holga and the Diana are both cheap, plastic cameras that use medium format film, to the true Diana afficionado nothing creates images that look quite like those from a Diana.
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Upcoming Workshop:
Digital Black & White
Jan 29 – Feb 2, 2007
The Lepp Institue for Digital Imaging, Los Osos, California
Click here for a class description and more info
Amphibious Landing Craft & Tea Kettle [pinhole photograph]
Oct 30, 2006, Port Clyde, Maine
(click in the image for a larger version)
This ZeroImage pinhole photograph shows the celebrated Sea Truk that was shown here back in late September. I am very pleased with how this turned out. The low angle and super wide-angle of the pinhole camera really make the tires look huge. In reality, of course, they are pretty gigantic; check out the depth scale (in feet) that marks the steps at the front of the truk...the top of the tire is over 10 feet high. I also like that the tea kettle is barely noticeable at first since it is so small and the tire grabs your attention right away. This image has just the right amount of strange, incongruous surrealism for me. It was a good photo day that afternoon, even though the tide was higher than I expected.
Tea Kettle & Lobster Boat [pinhole photograph]
October 30, 2006, Port Clyde, Maine
(click in the image for a larger version)
This is the pinhole version of another photograph that was posted back in early October. That version was taken with my Canon 5D and was intended as a digital "test" of the setup. From the beginning the image was imagined as a pinhole photograph. If memory serves, I think the exposure time was about 30 seconds.
Trivial details that I find very satisfying: The angle of the kettle spout and the angle of the boom on the lobster boat are nearly the same. ;-)
This was shot using a ZeroImage 6x9 multi-format camera. The Zero 69 is a wooden pinhole camera with no viewfinder that uses 120 roll film. This image shows the full 6x9cm format; earlier Zero photos I have posted here were 6x7cm. I have another photo from this same shoot that I am quite pleased with scheduled to be posted on Monday morning so stay tuned!
Anatomy Model and Lobster [Canon 5D]
Dec. 8, 2006
(click in the image for a slightly larger version)
Another un-collage collage from the same location as the previous post (UPDATE 12-13-06: this anatomical model is no longer in the shop). Like the previous image this photograph is not a double exposure, nor a digital collage. It is a single exposure made looking in through a window combining the items behind the glaass and the reflections on the outside of the glass. I have no problem with either double-exposures or digital collages but since it does look like it could be one or the other, I thought I would clarify the method. The only Photoshop work is basic brightness and contrast adjustments and color tinting, both globally and locally. See the previous post for more on window reflection "collages", as well as a view of the previous image before any adjustments were made and a look at the Layers palette of the completed master file.
The Return [Canon 5D]
December 8, 2006
(click in the image for a larger version)
This is not a double exposure, nor a digital collage. It is a single exposure made looking in through a window combining the items behind the glaass and the reflections on the outside of the glass. I have no problem with either double-exposures or digital collages but since it does look like it could be one or the other, I thought I would clarify the method. The only Photoshop work is basic brightness and contrast adjustments and color tinting, both globally and locally. The original raw capture with no adjustments, as well as the Layers palette of the final master image, are posted below for comparison (click in the small image to see a slightly larger version).
One of the reasons I am posting this (apart from the fact that I think it's a very cool image with a lot of potential meanings swirling around) is to float the idea that you don't necessarily have to use multiple images in order to create what appears to be a multiple image collage. Window reflections, such as in the image above, are probably the easiest way to accomplish this. Of course, you are at the mercy of photographic chance and serendipity with this method, hoping to find something interesting, both in terms of the scene behind the glass and what is reflected on the outside of the glass.
If the window in question is near where you live, then you can take the time to study the scene and note at what time of the day the reflections are the best. Then you can take time to study the weather and the skies, looking for moments when there are interesting clouds, or, simply, interesting juxtapositions with the "outside world". The random chance nature of this type of image makes finding one something really special and totally unexpected in the midst of an ordinary day (I stopped to take this after dropping my daughter off at kindergarten).
Of course, if you still shoot with film cameras, then planned double-exposures (or multiple exposures) can still be made the old-fashioned way. And, if like me, you like to shoot with Holga or Diana cameras that can take a picture without the film being advanced first, then there is always the possibility of accidental double-exposures. The results from these unplanned double-exposures are sometimes frustrating and disappointing, but can often lead to very intriguing and pleasingly unexpected images. Some digital cameras can also combine multiple shots into a single image in-camera.
If you're curious as to just what this scene is showing, it's a tiny (one small room) natural history collectible shop that is a new addition to our town. It's full of the skulls of beasts, birds and reptiles...including a human skeleton (not sure if it's real or not...I haven't been inside yet); anatomical figures such as the one in these photos; giant insects in glass cases, bones, animal skins, fossils, stuffed animals, etc. This small shop is only open for limited hours on Fridays and Saturdays. I plan on stopping by later this week to check it out from the inside. If any interesting images are discovered, I'm sure they will find their way here. In the meantime, I have another reflection photo from this window that I will be posting on Wednesday morning.
(UPDATE 12-13-06: this anatomical model is no longer in the shop)
Sailing [Canon 5D];
taken in early October on the forest path near our home.
(click in the image for a larger version)
