Men At Work

A great friend of mine is in town - so we automatically knew what that meant... 24+ hours of photo sessions. Our session basically goes like this: we're walking to find a restaurant or waiting for his friend to come back from work (because we've locked ourselves out of his apartment...) and see something grand. I tell Stephen, my friend, to "STOP!" and snap away. Practice. Practice. Practice. It's the only way you'll really understand your style. 

Sidenote: I've received Anthony's film and have sent it off to Richard Photo Lab. Can't wait for our next Afghanistan Series to see what he came up with.

Good Things Come In 16lbs. Packages

Last week Anthony and I had this idea to buy a Contax 645 medium format camera (film based). Well, you see, we slowly built up to the idea, and this is how we ended with 16lbs. of pure gold. Anthony has the Mamiya M645 (which is 30 years my Contax) and he uses it to document his time in Afghanistan...and build up a portfolio to decide whether I want to hire him as my assistant when he returns ;)  But that's beside the point! Alright, so Anthony has a film camera. Check. Now, we're talking last week and he's asking me if I too would be interested in owning some type of medium format camera. Perhaps a newer Mamiya or Pentax. But not the Contax 645. No! No! No! That was out of our league. (In case you're unfamiliar with the significance of the Contax - it's basically the cream of the crop in terms of professional medium format cameras*) Then just for fun Anthony does an ebay search for a Contax 645. He comes across one, runs the numbers for what we're getting, concludes it's a pretty good deal,  and tells me, "well, if we're going to do this, we might as well go all the way..." And that's how we ended up with our newest member. So without further ado, let me introduce you to her. 

   Look at this monster compared to my Nikon. Dayyyum! I'll be doing a more thorough    

   entry about the technicalities of the Contax in a later entry.   

    She's equipped with the best glass!!! Zeiss 80mm f/2 lens. Oh man guys, this glass    
    captures some the best, if not, the best images out there! 

So now you're probably wondering why film? Well, why not...? No but really, my style has been evolving to emulate the film feel. While it's no "fine art" approach (and far from being considered "fine art") I think I should at least try it out. And that's where my, "why not" thought comes in. I purchased my first set of film yesterday, so I'm ready to load her up, really think about my composition, and develop the film. That's another thing about film - compared to digital, I just can't run around and snap shots like a madman. I am only limited to 16 exposures per roll. It will force me to take my time and compose an image beautifully. While my main purpose for the Contax will ultimately be for detail shots and portraits, I'm still excited to see what I'll be able to create. It's no fun imitating someone else's style. You have to create your own. Be you! 

*Medium format film is easily twice as large as 35mm film, which means, typically, that an old medium format camera can capture more detail than even the best Nikon or Canon digital cameras. 

Refined Beauty

Before we begin, I must ask you to play this song as you read this post. It's just so beautiful to pass up!



Well it's happening again. This burning desire to create more. To do more. Most of my day consists of scouring the net in search of inspiration, education, and something fresh. The problem now is that it's all in my head. These ideas I have. But I haven't executed them. I want to. I need to. There is no excuse. These next few images give me goosebumps. There is so much beauty! They are very minimal in context - but have a huge impact on me. And that is what I strive for in my photography. Refined beauty. This yearning to be more as a photographer - I can feel it. 

Editing

Let me be real with you. I hate(d) editing pictures. Despised it. Loathed it. Dreaded it...only because I had no idea what on earth I was doing. If I liked the way I edited it, I kept it. Regardless of the fact that each picture was edited differently - "a little contrast here, A LOT of contrast there. Oh, I can turn up the vibrance a lot on this one...nah, but not on the other one." I was a mess. 

And the sad truth...this was "me" last week. I know, embarrassing, right?! Well, yesterday I buckled down and decided to get serious with consistency. I upgraded my Lightroom from 2 to 4. That's how serious I was, forget 3! There were so many new things! I imported all of my photos and edited them - with a HUGE smile on my face! 

Then the magic happened. I fiddled so much with presets that I finally found one I love love love. I immediately saved and applied it to the remainder of my pictures. With a few tweaks here and there. But ahhhhhhhh! I was sooooo excited. And still am!!! Last night I went around the house just shooting - no concept in mind. Just shot. And uploaded them and proceeded to edit with the brand spankin' new presets. Here are some of the results:

Abbreviation: S.O.O.C = straight out of camera (with no editing)

Progress

What gets me motivated in the morning is when my to-do list is blank* and all I have to do is play with Photoshop. Seriously! This weekend I had so many tabs open in PS with different projects running in the background. I wouldn't just work on one. Oh no...I am a woman - AKA the supreme multitasker. So I'd do a little something here...and then switch tabs and do a little something over there. You know, highly advanced multitasking stuff. 

As I was switching between tabs I realized something - all my projects consisted of experimenting with editorial photography. And I couldn't find myself doing anything else but downloading fonts and strategically placing them inside my photos to create "art." These are a few of my favorites! 

So I'm going to translate my instinct for you - my style is transforming into an "editorial" like manner. And I'm loving this route! So now I've got to find a way to incorporate my lifestyle inspiration and editorial style photography into one. Easy. I can work for a magazine...but I love being my own boss. OR! I can create my own magazine...dun dun dun! (Sidenote: I am aware the print bizz is no longer "cool," for lack of a better term.) So we'll have to figure out something new. One step at a time, Lisa. One step at a time.  


*Note: Blank as in "I don't feel like doing the dishes today," "I don't want to clean," etc.