process :: third nature

process

Taking a picture, part four: analog to digital

April 16th, 2008 | by Dalton | published in process

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 Just as a note, I have continued improving my digital workflow and some of these notes are now out-of-date.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.

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…

Philosophical re-adjustment

April 8th, 2008 | by Dalton | published in personal work, process

I have to admit, I’ve been a little down on photography lately. Between technical issues and a downturn in mood, I think my work has been suffering. Not to mention that I’ve been feeling harried, and haven’t had nearly as much time as I would like to devote to photographic projects.

Central Park

April 6th, 2008 | by Dalton | published in personal work, process

I had what I thought was a great plan yesterday: go to see the Lee Friedlander exhibition at the Met, followed by some photos in Central Park. The museum was crowded, but the show was excellent and worth the effort.

We’re experiencing technical difficulties

April 3rd, 2008 | by Dalton | published in process

The light leak coming in from the loose seal in my A12 magazine was easy enough to diagnose, and I seem to have licked my uneven development issues—my last two rolls, at least, have developed without incident, with a tip o’ the hat to Robert for the advice. But then this popped up on my most recent contact sheet.

Waverly Street, Philadelphia

March 29th, 2008 | by Dalton | published in personal work, process

I haven’t been doing much urban landscape photography lately, so a quick trip to Philadelphia seemed to be a good opportunity to take my camera to the streets and shoot a roll or two. I am not very familiar with Philadelphia, but after walking the streets for a few hours I seemed to get the hang of it and found quite a few spots I liked. I shot most of a roll in this little alley near Rittenhouse Square.

Taking a picture, part three: the capture

March 22nd, 2008 | by Dalton | published in process

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 two: the subject

March 11th, 2008 | by Dalton | published in process

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 one: equipment selection

March 4th, 2008 | by Dalton | published in process

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.

This is part one in what may ultimately prove to be a very long series on the physical process of taking photographs. I had assumed that writing this introduction would be fairly straightforward, but after thinking about it for a while, I’ve become less sure of myself. This is usually the entire decision-making process when it comes to equipment selection for me:

Hasselblad and HP5

I mean, right?

Well, the whole idea behind documenting this process is about challenging my basic assumptions, so let’s start with this one. What’s so special about black and white film? Read more on Taking a picture, part one: equipment selection…

Stoney Run Park, Baltimore, Maryland, No. 4

March 3rd, 2008 | by Dalton | published in personal work, process

I recently read a post from a textile artist named Lisa Call about what she’s learned from blogging, and number four on the list was the item that spoke most directly to me: