Since I am in the final semester of my graduate degree at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco I decided to take a fun class to escape the pressure of my thesis, at least for a few hours a week. The class I chose is “Plastic and Pinhole Photography”. I mostly find myself gravitating toward the Holga in this class, although I have also run quite a bit of film through the Zero 2000 and Blackbird, Fly as well.
I grew up in Dallas, Texas and as such didn’t have access to the ocean. I have now lived in California for just over ten years and I am still awestruck every time catch a glimpse of the Pacific. At the risk of sounding too much like a San Francisco hippy, there is an inescapable force that the ocean carries with it. When I plant my feet firmly in the sand and allow the tide to slowly wash around me I experience a feeling that is simply too difficult to describe. The mood on the coast is vastly different with each visit. I can go to the same cliff or beach every day at the same time for a week straight and have very different light and character each time.
It is with this background that I decided there is no better place to focus on for my class project than the northern California coast line. I photographed the following nine images within the same week at various spots around the Bay area. The project has since changed slightly and I will post updates throughout the semester, but this is the genesis.
Recently I have been dabbling in the art of pinhole photography. For those of you who don’t know what this is, it is essentially about bringing photography back to the basics. And when I say basics, I mean basics. Pinhole photography entails putting a piece of film inside a light-tight box or can and exposing it through a pin-sized hole for about 30 seconds to a minute. No lens. No viewfinder. That’s it. The images come out fairly soft and dream-like. The fun of this process is never knowing what you are going to get until you run the film through the chemicals. The following are three images that I created using this method this week.
Rayko Gallery in San Francisco is hosting the opening reception for the 2010 International Juried Plastic Camera Show this Friday, February 26th. I was very fortunate to get a piece in the show alongside some really amazing artists. If you are in the Bay area and are available this Friday I highly recommend you swing by the gallery to check out the incredible work. If you aren’t available, fear not… the exhibit runs through April 17th. Further information about the exhibit and gallery can be found on RayKo’s website. The image that I have in the show, taken with a Holga plastic camera, is below. I hope to see you at the gallery this Friday!
Last week I took a short drive out to Point Reyes National Seashore, about an hour north of San Francisco, for a photo shoot. While there are certainly closer beaches, nothing matches Point Reyes. The large preserve that juts out into the Pacific Ocean features miles of uninterrupted beaches below looming cliffs, green rolling pasture land with black and white spotted cows, beautiful historic farmhouses and one of the most picturesque lighthouses that the west coast has to offer. As I meandered along the coastline snapping shots here and there I couldn’t help but think about our family on the east coast currently digging themselves out of blizzard conditions. Here I was on the beach in February in near 70-degree weather and I was once again reminded of why we live in California.
Okay, you didn’t actually think that I would
travel all the way to Arizona without my
digital camera in tow, did you? No, sir.
As an added bonus to the Sedona post,
here are a couple of shots that I took with
my 5d MkII of the Grand Canyon. I have
been to the Canyon a few different times,
but it is a uniquely awe-inspiring and
breath-taking experience each and every
time. There are some natural wonders that
no matter how great the photograph, will
never compare to the experience of
standing there and taking it all in. That
said, I will upload these images anyhow.
If only 10% of the impact of the moment is
conveyed with these photographs then it is
well worth it.
Yes, yes… I know, this post is a little late. Thanksgiving, you say? We are practically at Christmas! Okay, valid point. However, since I just switched over to a new blog recently I have a little catching up to do. I hope you’ll forgive me. Now that we got that out of the way, I thought I would share a few shots taken during our trip to Sedona, Arizona for Turkey Day. I brought my film gear with me on this trip and made that my primary medium. My pack included my 4×5 Sinar view camera, my trusted Hasselblad medium-format camera and the good ‘ole Holga. Thankfully we drove to Sedona instead of flying and had room in the car for all the gear. Ethan, our 16-month-old had to be smooshed to the side to accommodate the large-format camera, but all in the name of art, right? I’m sure he understands. Sedona was an amazingly beautiful haven amidst the Arizona desert, chock full of crystals and talk of the mystical vortex. The following are some of the scans from the Hasselblad:
