film fridays - times square

i was in nyc visiting friends a few years back and we were on our way through the city when i made this image. i've seen a lot of photos of times square, but i wanted to take back something that seemed less commercial and more gritty than the current touristy vibe that the area has. the black and white film helped with that, i think.

specs: taken with a nikon fm3a and kodak tmax 400 film.

film fridays - the grand canyon

the grand canyon in black and white. i have a bunch of photos of it, but i like this one because of the shadow from the tree on the cliff where i was perched.

specs: shot on kodak tmax 400 film with a nikon fm3a camera (i think).

film fridays - multiple exposure

i made the portrait part of this week's film fridays image while still an undergrad in college. i was taking my very first studio photography class, and recruited just about everyone i knew to come and sit for me to let me take their photos. this guy was in my creative writing class, and it was a really fun session. fast forward about 7 years, and i took another photo of the crystal pool doors at glen echo park here in maryland (these are the old, decaying, beat up doors i was talking about in an earlier post!). i was teaching my photo class at the time about creating double exposure prints in the darkroom and how they could take two separate negatives and combine them into one image, and made this print as a demo. i really liked it, so i kept it on file.

both images were shot with 35mm film cameras, and i believe both were nikon N90s bodies. the film for both would have been kodak black and white (either tmax or tri-x, not sure which).

and yes, i know you could do something similar to this with digital, and what's more, i know how to do this sort of effect digitally... but that takes all the fun out of it. :)

film fridays - matt

i've always liked this photo i made of my friend matt several years back. it's not exactly a portrait, not fashion either. but the minimal aspects of it, the focus on tiny details of his jacket, and the implied body language are all kind of cool to me. it's just a little tiny sliver of time that is very dear to me, and this photo serves as a reminder.

like most of my "film fridays" choices, this image never fit with any exhibits so has not seen the light of day until now.  that is one of the driving forces behind this weekly feature, since everyone tends to see and know my holga work.  not that i don't plan to share my holga images more, but other work deserves attention on this blog too.

the specs: made with a nikon fm3a camera, and kodak tmax 400 film.

film fridays - san francisco

this is the famous golden gate bridge in san francisco - i visited there in 2004.  this image was made with a hasselblad xpan II camera and kodak t-max 400 film.  i love the xpan because it's such a wildly different crop than anything else i use, and it forces me to think about my compositions in a different way. i think this photo is a good example of that, utilizing the negative space throughout most of the frame!

film fridays - new york city

i made this image in new york city in 2003 or 2004 (i'd have to look it up) during a visit there. i was standing inside the guggenheim museum, watching people come in the revolving door.  don't worry, i actually looked at the inside of the museum too. :)

the specs: nikon FM3A camera body, and kodak t-max 400 film.

film fridays

yeah, i know what you're thinking... isn't like, every day a film day for you? well, i do shoot digitally on occasion, but yes, the majority of my personal work is indeed captured on film. however, the majority of my film work is shot with a holga camera, and i specifically wanted to showcase some images that i've taken over the years that were NOT made with a holga. i'll note the camera used and if i can remember, the type of film i used as well.

so first up, an image i made in 2004 in san francisco, california. it is photographed using a nikon FM3A camera, and kodak tmax (i think) 400 speed film.

i love the geometry of this photo, and love the FM3A. i lament that i don't get to spend as much time using this camera as i did in the past. i have too many cameras and not enough time! but one of my goals is to shoot more film and get back to the fun-ness of making photos that are single exposure (read: not made with the holga). i don't plan to give up on the holga any time soon, but a little diversity is a good thing, and it keeps the creative juices flowing.

so that's it, and expect another non-holga film image every friday from now until... whenever i feel like doing something else. :)