Archives for April 2008

Party Like It’s 1999

That’s right, it’s prints! I spent all weekend cloistered in the apartment working on prints for next Saturday’s Brooklyn Indie Market spring re-opening. It’s been a lot of work so far, and I’m still going to try to print up at least 15 more unframed prints before the end of the week.

Prospect Park Zoo

I don’t know if it’s the promise I made to myself to take more pictures or just the weather, but I made it to Prospect Park to take pictures twice last week, and even went to Central Park on Saturday. In general I think Central Park is too crowded and the landscape views are a bit claustrophobic. Of the three rolls of 120 I shot last week, the photos from Prospect Park are looking much better.

While on one of my walks through through the park, I decided to take a path I’d never seen before and discovered the secluded Vale of Cashmere. It’s hard for me to believe that I’ve been going to the park for seven years now and never discovered this beautiful area (see the photograph from the post below). It’s nestled high up on a hill above Grand Army Plaza, full of birds and squirrels and rabbits, and men hiding in the bushes (oh hey there!). I later learned of the Vale’s somewhat checkered past, known as a cruising and drug spot as well as the site of some anti-gay attacks and at least one murder.

Taking a picture, part five: processing in Photoshop

Thanks for your interest in my “Taking a Picture” series. Just as a note, I have continued improving my digital workflow and some of these notes are now out-of-date. Feel free to drop a line in the comments or contact me directly if you would like more information on my photographic workflow.

Taking a picture, part four: analog to digital

I think my situation is a pretty common one: I love film, especially black and white, but I don’t have the space or the time and energy to devote to a complete darkroom. Developing film is relatively easy and requires very little space, but printing means setting up an enlarger and trays of chemicals. And so, I use a hybrid process: I shoot and develop my own black and white film, but scan and print in digital.

It’s a pretty great situation, as far as I’m concerned. With my mid-range flatbed scanner (an Epson 4990) and my mid-range printer (Epson R2400), I can print excellent quality 12×12 black and white prints with no trouble at all. Larger sizes are beyond my capacity at the moment, but I’m thinking that a better scanner and printer are looming somewhere in the not-too-distant future.

I had been planning a long, drawn out technical discussion about scanning, but I got about half-way through writing it and gave up. For the few people who are using similar equipment and materials, a lot of the research has already been done. I think it’s probably wasteful for me to scan a negative ten different ways just to show that my approach is valid. I have done a lot of research, spent a significant amount of time experimenting, and I have come to the point where I feel like I am getting the most out of my somewhat limited equipment. I am happy to share my approach step-by-step; anyone who is curious can do their own experiments or further research to see if my methods prove out.
Read more on Taking a picture, part four: analog to digital…

Flickr Exploration: Polaroid

Feathers for my hair by Amalia Chimera on Flickr

Girl’s Tower by Kayon on Flickr

Where did he come from? by czuczy on Flickr

Polaroid one by Frederico Erra on Flickr

« older posts