Friday, January 30, 2004
This week's been a killer. Between the weather and the workload at the library, finding time for something as simple as making a few initial work prints and scanning them becomes a battle. I'm starting to get the hang of this technique, though there's always room for improvement in my photography. I was very fortunate to have a wonderfully patient model for this part of the project. There's hope of doing more light painting shoots in the near future, if I can line up another model or three. Hard to find someone willing to hold still for the couple of minutes each shot takes (times 36... figure three hours for a standard roll of film).
Posted by coldmarble @ 06:12 PM ET [Link] [blab]
Monday, January 26, 2004
boxy
funky
and 
orange
Got the Jetta running one last time and made it to the car dealer to pick up the Element.
Quite a change to go from low sporty, if ancient and rusting, sedan to big box but a nice change all the same. It starts, it's quiet and I am still too nervous driving it to even turn on the radio.. no distractions, please... concentrate on driving.
It did well on the snowy roads, though it will get sideways if you take a slippery turn too quickly. I liked being up high and able to see ahead. All the controls are right where my hands look for them and simply designed. Still lots to learn about each other, with only a ten mile drive back from the dealer's so far. The roads are just too nasty tonight to go out and play.
Posted by coldmarble @ 07:05 PM ET [Link] [2 blabs]
Sunday, January 25, 2004
Who would want to use a 4x5 camera to photograph the Presidential primaries in this age of instantaneous digital photojournalism?
Beth Keiser, shooting for Reuters, for one.
My hat's off to her. I can understand the appeal of the slower technology, the need to pay close attention and capture the moment in one shot, the change in pace and mindset needed with LF photography.
Posted by coldmarble @ 10:23 PM ET [Link] [blab]
Always interesting poking through my logs, seeing who has dropped by and where they came from. Been noticing a new visitor lately, coming from a JHU IP address. Hope you enjoy the photography and my occasional blatherings. Don't be shy about saying hello, or commenting on any part of the site. I'm always happy to find another person with an interest in alt-process photography.
Posted by coldmarble @ 09:55 AM ET [Link] [blab]
Feels as if I spent last week being nothing more than a scanning machine, churning out a thousand or so pages a day of new materials for the upcoming semester. Eyes ache and burn from too many hours in PhotoShop, shoulders sore from too many repetitive motions, and it won't be better for some time, at least six to eight weeks. This coming week may be one of the worst, as instructors realize the new semester starts and they "forgot" to turn in their reading lists until the last minute.
Two bright spots in an otherwise dreary week shine through. Thursday evening, I had the chance to do another photo session with the delightful model from my experiments with infrared light painting. She was a delight to work with, wonderfully cheerful and cooperative during what turned into a three hour marathon to finish one short roll of IR film. Her school schedule changes soon, so that may have been my last opportunity to work with her for several months. I'll keep my fingers crossed that she'll be up for a shoot at Kilgore Falls once school's finished and the weather warms up.
The second bright spot was a reward for working on Saturday. I treated myself to a few hours in the darkroom, making contact sheets and a couple of initial prints from Thursday's shoot. The contact sheet looked good enough that I want to get busy again soon. Quite a few promising frames that may yield some decent prints if I can find the time to fine tune them. Everything's still sitting on the drying rack now but might have time to scan a couple later this week.
Posted by coldmarble @ 09:48 AM ET [Link] [blab]
