Prefect Film Photography, People In The Light

Peter Lindbergh, Erin Wasson, Paramount Studios, Hollywood, USA, 2002



These beautiful photos were captured in the perfect lights at the perfect moments. They were captured by different photographers, but bring me promenade into a gallery of time. What a perfect photos!


Jon Blumb, 1992, William S. Burroughs


Herman Leonard, Duke Ellington, Paris, 1958


Yale Joel, Singer Lena Horne on stage in a Paris nightclub, December 1947


Cecil Beaton Untitled, n.d.


Floris Neusüss Photogram Principle, Self-Portrait 1972


Roberto Baccarini 1930


Vernon Merritt III for LIFE, Mrs. Donn F. Eisele 1968


Bert Hardy. U.S. 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean. 1957


Bert Hardy – Chinatown, Liverpool, May 1942


Jerry Berndt The Combat Zone, Boston, 1970


Herbert Spencer Margaret Nolan in Light, 1964

The Flare (College News Paper)

Longview freshman’s extensive interest in film photography

April 9, 2014 by Tory Van Blarcum

Photo by Michael Brown/ THE FLARE. Joel Ferguson, Longview freshman, received the nickname ‘darkroom Nazi’ after peers noticed how often he could be found working in the lab located in the Communications/Automotive Building, Room 122.

In the photography department there is a student nicknamed the “Darkroom Nazi,” a takeoff from “Seinfeld’s” Soup Nazi.
“I’ve taken pictures all my life but never saw them as any good until recently,” said Joel Ferguson, Longview freshman.
Ferguson got the nickname due to his passion for film photography. He can frequently be found in the darkroom perfecting his photos or around town shooting rolls of film.
“I enjoy being able to capture things as they are,” Ferguson said, “and show people how I see them.”
At age 8, Ferguson began taking photos but never thought of it as anything more than taking his dad’s camera and using up all his film. When his mother would go to develop the rolls of film, she would laugh at the things Ferguson photographed.
“I like the concept of writing with light,” Ferguson said.
When it comes to processing film photography, it’s mainly based on the amount of light exposed to the negative. For Ferguson it’s become easy to determine the correct exposure.
Ferguson uses two different cameras when shooting his rolls of film. He uses a Minolta XGM and a Minolta X370 that belonged to his uncle. He is currently repairing a Minolta X7 that belonged to his father.
Ferguson decided he wanted to return to school about a week before the Spring Semester began and was looking for fun classes to take. He is an undecided major. After having dropped out about three years ago, Ferguson wanted his first semester back to be laid back and fun. A friend of his mentioned O. Rufus Lovett, photography instructor, to him and said that he was a fun teacher and that Ferguson should take one of his classes. With not much availability the week before the semester started Ferguson wasn’t sure if he would be able to get in the Photo 1 class.
“I got lucky to get in,” Ferguson said.
He has found a love and passion for photography and is considering majoring in it but is not sure.
“I always like to fiddle with something,” Ferguson said.
Besides photography, Ferguson also enjoys tinkering with things. His current project is fixing his aunt’s old cuckoo clock. He has also fixed a few other antique clocks that could possibly get him some trades with local antique shops in Kilgore.
“I enjoy creating things,” Ferguson said.
For him it’s more about fixing something for the fun of repairing it rather than possessing it once it’s fixed.
At age 20, Ferguson decided to move just north of Nashville in Tennessee, until returning in February 2013. While there he continued to find different projects to entertain himself. While living there, he learned skills such as blacksmithing, wood turning, carpentry, leather working and other trades.

Written by: Tory Van Blarcum on April 9, 2014.

Filed Under: Featured, Features, News Tagged With: film, film photography, kilgore college, photography

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Film Photography

Film is there a place for it ??

Hello all recently my blogs have been inspired by colleges with questions and friends with passion today is no different. A great friend Jim S. still shoots nothing but film in multiple formats.  I love Jim he pushes me all the time to shoot more film and actually got me a few years ago to start shooting film again.  (No that is not Jim but Actor Ken Arnold)

As the business started to grow and change again for us I had less time for fun photography and I was classifying film as fun photography.  Thinking back I should have never stopped shooting it with a few reasons coming up.
I was shooting an event for friends an older gentleman about 20 years older than I was shooting digital asked me if I know of anyone that wanted to purchase dark room equipment.  We chatted and I laughed when he told me how happy he was when he stopped shooting film many years ago for the savings.  I laughed because when I shot film I had no editing software there were a couple labs that did it all for me. Now I have the full Adobe CC setup, I edit I do video, I have other video programs, and I work with a couple of graphic artist. Wow has the industry changed.  That is another story for us old folks later.

So the shots I am posting are medium format film low res scans and I shot these about a year ago.  We did these when working with Actor Ken Arnold; we went over all of the digital files did our editing and had more than enough for him to have a years worth of material.  Completely forgot about the film negatives, in fact lost track of it because when they came back from the lab we moved onto other work for clients and Ken was happy with digital files.

Not sure why I was going over these negatives more than likely spring cleaning at the office and the studio; but I posted the first one you saw on Facebook tagged Ken in it along with a couple of other ones.  The post clearly stated they were film photos low res negative scan.  
People were instantly attracted to the photos or the word FILM, you really never know which one in truth.  So we have started to toss around the idea of offering film for some of clients more specifically headshots.  Another photographer asked us why just do it digital and give it the right effect.  Our response well it is not that simple and anything that creates more traffic and makes a product stand out from others is worth the extra effort.  Your Thoughts??

  by Laure

Interview with Photographer Cary Fagan

There’s something in the water in Texas. There is such an influx of creativity in the photography genre. Cary Fagan, a TX based film photographer creates such a dreamy aura within his work. I asked him a few questions about the aesthetic of his work and what’s happening in the future…

INTRODUCE YOURSELF, AND WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE NUMBER AND WHY?

 Hi my name is Cary Fagan, and my favorite number is 8 because it’s an even number, it plays a special role in mathematics, and I was born on the 8^th of July and the number 8 was on every soccer jersey I ever played in.

WHEN DID YOU BEGIN SHOOTING?

 I began shooting 4 years ago after I realized that with photography I can create and tell stories without actually having to speak to people; recluse.

WHAT WAS THE FIRST THING/SUBJECT THAT YOU BEGAN TAKING PHOTOS OF?

 Photography for me all began as a punishment. Due to the consequences of my behavior in middle school I was responsible for waking up early, and heading to this park everyday for a week, with my father to take photographs. I had no idea what I was getting into, neither did I like the idea of it. The very first photo I took that started my passion was of an alligator, then trees, and then flowers. Nature is a huge influence on the photos I take.

WHO ARE YOUR FAVORITE INSPIRATIONS?

 Tamara Litchestein

Megan Tipps

Bryant Eslava
Matthew Tammaro

Dennis Auburn

 These are the people I look up for inspiration; I know each of these talented photographers have had their fair share on shooting film. I have moments where I day dream about meeting them, then they give me a “101” on film photography because they believe in me and we just hang out with jazz music playing in the background.

WHAT ARE THE TOP 5 BANDS THAT YOU ARE LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?

Thundercat

Toro Y Moi

Mac DeMarco

Summer Camp

King Krule

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE SHOOT TO DATE?

  I can’t categorize a favorite shoot just because with each shoot I’ve done I couldn’t fathom the excitement working with the people and environment. The chemistry was there.

WHY DO YOU SHOOT FILM?

 This is a question I am often asked by photographers and non-photographers alike. And the question is quite easy to answer, in theory.

I shoot film because I can. It really is that simple. It’s a lifestyle choice, just like being a vegetarian or a smoker. I have had the opportunity to shoot the very finest digital has to offer, and I still use digital cameras to take pictures of simple things. For my work I like to take time over my pictures. I like to take time shooting and take time working out what images I like afterwards. I don’t like to fiddle around with white balance, or file formats or focus peaking (whatever that is). From a commercial perspective there is nothing like digital, and the market demands it. But I don’t work as a commercial photographer. Hell, I don’t even work as an anything photographer any longer. This means I don’t have the pressure to supply images or anything like that. I am able to shoot what I want when I want.

One of the big things about film for me is the very fact that it is “outdates”. We are living in a society that documents every move we make. That covets our information on a scale not ever seen before, and we willingly give it. We go onto facebook and tell people what we are eating, and take a picture. I am not immune to this, I have done it too. But I don’t want my photography to become that. I don’t want my life to be consumed by that. I rely on the internet. I use facebook for my business, but I find the whole facebook culture to be rather unpleasant. I sometimes dream of having a little shop, which only has a phone (an old rotary dial type), a cat and a kettle and stepping out of the rat race. But that is unrealistic, I have to eat too. For me film is also that little bit of escape from this frenetic hyper life that we are all becoming addicted to. I don’t think film is for everyone. Someone called me a “Film Evangelist” the other day, but I don’t think that is correct. That would imply that I coerce and push people to like or follow something, with unwavering belief. I feel that I am far more of a “film champion”. I champion film and I talk about it, sell it, and share it. But I don’t force others to like it, that is their decision.

I am not going to sit here and tell you film is better. It’s up to you to work out what is better for you. But I am not going to tell you what your medium is. I think Its’ daft to attack a medium that someone else uses just because you don’t use it. We are not children. Take pictures of whatever you want, as long as it is what suits you. But don’t tell other people what they should be shooting with, that is not up to you, unless you are a hipster taking an instagram of your lunch, then we should all be allowed to slap some sense into you. I guess what I am trying to say is, shoot whatever you like. Just make sure you shoot.

What about you? Why do you shoot film, and if you don’t, why not?

Lauren: I shoot film simply because that’s how I started and it brings me back to the roots of photography as a whole. I seem to take my time more with film instead of wildly shoot as with digital. Digital seems to “plastic” for lack of a better word. I feel like it’s easier to manipulate the image a bit more with film from the camera to the processing as opposed to Photoshop that anyone can learn to do. 

WHAT WOULD YOUR IDEAL SHOOT BE?

A girl with freckles, wearing pastel colored dresses, surrounded by redwood trees, creating shadows from the sun, and jazz music playing in the background

A group of women in sheer dresses, we’re at the white sands desert in New Mexico.

While the sun is falling for the golden hour, and everyone is having fun.

Both things I’ve created in my head for a while now, just waiting for the right moment to capture those moments.

WHAT’S THE FUTURE HOLD FOR YOU?

 Well.. my goal this year is to publish my own photo book and sell copies worldwide. I also want the privilege to talk to people about my come up as an artist. That moment, I would cherish the most. 

Find Cary on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram 

Picturing Wanteete: Project Update #1

by: Michael Raso

For folks just tuning in, Louise Contino, a New York-based photographer is spending four months teaching the villagers the basics of film photography from February to June 2014. Her goal, to help the poverty-stricken community to tell their story via the medium of photography.
Read all about it in our first blog by FPP Correspondent Viviane Li HERE.

______________________________

above: The Wanteete community presented Louise with Pineapples upon her arrival

Picturing Wanteete Photo Collective Project
Update by Louise Contino / April 2014
I have reached the halfway point. The past two months in Uganda have been a whirlwind of amazing and challenging new experiences for me. Two months remain and I am so grateful for this additional time because I am certainly not ready to return home yet!
In fact, things are just starting to get really, really good! And so interesting!

above: Here's half the class working on their first lesson on manipulating the camera controls for correct focus and exposure.

I am happy to report that the project got off the ground successfully and that we are making a lot of headway. The Wanteete Photo Collective is composed of seventeen beautiful people that represent different key actors in their community. Some of the roles we have represented in the collective include a mother, a father, a teacher, a school organizer, an elder, a male student, a female student, and a community leader. Bringing such a diverse group of people together allows this project to represent seventeen distinct voices and unique perspectives on the Wanteete community, which I think will be extremely valuable to the narrative in the end. Not too mention, we have loads of fun together.

We meet twice weekly on Mondays and Fridays for a few hours. We make art, we laugh, we learn the basics, we engage in serious conversations about the community's struggles and visions for change and most of all we enrich each others lives in unforgettable ways through this crazy cultural exchange that I've concocted.

 

Please visit the Facebook page to get a closer look of what really goes on "behind the scenes" in the photo collective each week. I just released a post on Picturing Wanteete that features 96 photos documenting the evolution of the Photo Collective and some of our best milestones. Highlights from this album are included in this MEGA update, but please peruse the rest of the album at your leisure to get a fuller picture. It is my pleasure to share this with all of you!
Over the past five weeks I have witnessed wonderful changes in the self-esteem and confidence of several collective members through participation in this project-- most especially in Robinah (age 15) and Mpiima (age 13), the collective's youngest members.

Before joining the collective, most people had never seen a camera before let alone operated one. It has been a slow, difficult and magical journey to teach them how to use their camera as a tool. I am pleased to report that we are getting terrific results.
Last Friday the Photo Collective learned how to hand-process film for their first time. Logistical issues have required me to assume the responsibility of developing all the film on a bi-weekly basis. It's a LOT of work, but I don't mind.

Of course, I wish that everybody could be responsible for developing their own film all the time. However, some logistical roadblocks stand in our way. Mostly it's the lack of running water, limited equipment and supplies, and the technical challenge of mastering film processing as a novice (we have little room for error because film stock is limited). The good news is that later this month I will be spending 10+ days in the community living with all my new friends, and I plan on engaging the Collective in film processing again at that point.
So far the Collective has taken over 1,000 photographs. MY GOODNESS THAT'S A LOT OF IMAGES! Sorting through all of them requires a significant portion of my time, and planning group critiques for 17 students is certainly challenging.

Now I really need the students to focus (quite literally, please focus your cameras people!!) and zero in on what they really want their final photo narratives to be about. Of course, I don't expect the Collective to be producing masterpieces but it is important to me that the final product communicates a meaningful message to the world about the community struggles and the strength of the Wanteete people. We have lots of work to do, and thankfully everyone still is very inspired and engaged. It is so exciting to think of where this hard work will lead us.
The project's website will be up and running soon too. I look forward to sharing that with you also, so stay on the lookout. For now, it's your turn to share. Please visit the Facebook page, "like" it if you have not yet, and share it widely with your friends. This project is all about building awareness and with your help I can be sure that the Wanteete Photo Collective's story reaches a wider audience throughout the world.
After processing all the film, I scan all the negatives into my computer with this nifty portable film scanner that your contributions allowed me to purchase! Thanks again to each and everyone of you for your continued support. I simply could not be doing any of this without your encouragement and financial backing. You're awesome!

I need to give specific shout outs to two amazing people who made the long journey to visit me in Uganda and show their support and love. The first is Bruno B. Feder from Brazil, my lovely project assistant. Bruno and I became friends through the community at the International Center for Photography, and he offered to come visit me in Uganda and help assist the project. I didn't really believe him. . . but then, he really did show up! And at the perfect time no less. I was really sick with a stomach virus when Bruno arrived and he was such a good friend to me that I got better in no time! He was an immense help with getting the project established in Phase 1 and it meant the world to me for him to volunteer his time and talent to my project. Woo Hoo Bruno!

Then, on the day Bruno left the country, my brilliant, handsome and amazing boyfriend Eli Kinigstein arrived en scene. We spent one week working on my project and one week traveling west together to venture on several amazing expeditions in and around the Rwenzori Mountains of the Moon. I am a seriously lucky lady to have such a supportive partner. Sorry if this makes you blush Eli, but thanks A LOT. You're the best.
Sending you all my love and gratitude from sunny, beautiful Uganda. Be well and please stay in touch. Happy Spring to you all!
My very best,
Louise Contino

Beautiful Film Photography by Ramon Spaeti

Photography is one of man kind’s greatest breakthroughs. Before it, representations of the self or images of places you liked were a thing that only the well and truly upper class could afford, since the only people that could provide you with them were painters.
Photography changed all that, making images readily available for a much wider group of people, and eventually revolutionizing things like journalism and even art. Truly, we owe a lot of what is modern society to the invention of film.
But modern society is slowly turning its back on film. Not entirely without reason, mind you. Film requires resources to produce, and, whichever way you take it, digital is the smart choice. But there is no denying that film photography looks and feels completely different to its often times impersonal sister, digital photography.
Film photography is more personal and feels more permanent. The photo you get is the photo you get. It is not like you can go experimenting in Photoshop with different filters and see which one fits the picture best. Once you have decided what you are going to use, you are stuck with it. That’s why you have to have a very clear picture of how you want the photo to look, and really know how to produce that image in your head.
Usable photography dates back to the early 1820′s, when, in 1822,  Nicéphore Niépce produced the first photoetching. Sadly, the image was destroyed when attempts to create prints from were made. The oldest surviving photograph is View from The Window at Le Gras, which is also one of Niépce’s works, and was made in 1826 or 1827.
John Herschel was the first person to ever use the terms “photography”, “negative” and “positive” in this field, but the first person to actually make a negative was William Fox Talbot, who came up with a paper-based photographic method, which he made public in 1839. This method initially required hours of exposure to create an image, but after only one year, in 1840, the exposure time was reduced to minutes, making it comparable to the quickest method of that time, namely the daguerreotype, invented by Louis Daguerre.
Color photography took a while longer to make its debut on the scene. The Lumière brothers introduced the first commercially successful color method in 1907, dubbed Autochrome, and it is was used up until the 1950′s.
1935 saw the appearance of Kodachrome, a color method introduced by none other than Kodak, and 1936 was the year that brought us Agfacolor Neu, a method that closely resembles all the modern ones still in use to this day.
As we have mentioned earlier, modern society is turning its back to film photography, and embracing its new love, digital photography. There are, however, people out there producing Instragram-like photographs, using pre-Intragram methods of obtaining said images, namely the good old-fashioned film camera.
Today we will be showing you one such artist: Swiss photographer Ramon Spaeti.
Bases in Zurich, Switzerland’s largest city, Ramon is a self-taught photographer, as well as a Design Director, graduating as a Design Engineer, and having an MBA in Industrial Design.
His passion for analog photography has lead him to exclusively use film cameras to take photos, and his main interest seems to be fashion photography.
His works have been published in some pretty cool magazine like Voltaire Magazine, Vogue Italia and Aesthetica Magazine, gaining him quite a bit of attention, and we would not call it unwarranted attention.
To show you what we mean, here a few of his works.

Get Stalked in Montmartre

These are some photos taken from a photoshoot he did for American Apparel in Paris. The model’s name is Daria.

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At times, fashion photography has to capture moments of intimacy, or at least pretend intimacy. You can see how well-suited film photography is for this. The pictures are grainy, unlike the high-definition digital cameras offer, but not unclear.
Of course, the artist has a huge role to play in how good the pictures come out. The artist is the imagination, after all, and his idea of “getting stalked in Montmartre” really comes across in the pictures, especially the one where you also see the photographer’s reflection in the window.

S Magazine

S Magazine is a biannual editorial focused on art, fashion and sensuality. It stands to reason that Ramon would have jumped at the chance to do a photoshoot for such an illustrious magazine, especially as his method of taking photos is so excellently suited for capturing all three of the magazine’s focus points.

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The model’s name is Christy, and Ramon’s grainy photos once again make you, the viewer, feel like you really are sharing a few brief moments with her. She isn’t looking at the camera for most of the pictures, which makes it seem like she is unaware that she is being photographed, which in turn makes the photos seem voyeuristic in nature.

Stunning Foggy Photographs

Stunning Foggy Photographs

by Khánh Hmoong 

Photographing foggy/misty scenes requires much skill from the photographer. Fog usual occurs in the evening and lasts until early morning. Fog and mist naturally knock out colour, rendering the scene quite 'flat' and lacking in contrast, so longer exposure times are required to achieve a good photograph. Below are 12 stunning analog photographs shot in foggy/misty weather.

untitled by beetlephoto

untitled by (Jt)

untitled by emilyharriet

untitled by nuzz

Follow me... by zane&inzane

Shallow grave by ξαβλ

Passage by monkeytime | brachiator

fog by rumorebianco

untitled by .cascata.

Moon and window by Anton Novoselov

WTC 3 by stevensiegel260

untitled by rbnisonfire