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  Kate Friend: Beneath Iceland’s largest glacier

Photography: Unbelievable photos taken beneath Iceland's biggest glacier, by Kate Friend

  by Liv Siddall, 

You may know photographer Kate Friend for her high-end fashion editorial photography for the likes of NOWNESS, Dazed Digital or The Sunday Times, and for being the founder of contemporary fashion and culture magazine MOTHER. Stepping away from fashion editorial, Kate ventured out to Iceland where she delved below the largest glacier in the country to take photographs of it from beneath.
“Vatnajökull is the largest glacier in Iceland and the largest glacier mass in all of Europe,” Kate tells us. “It covers an area of roughly 8,000 sq. km and is almost 1000m thick at its deepest point. The landscape under the glacier is an undulating plateau, 600-800m above sea level with numerous valleys and canyons. The glacier is melting at a rate of around one metre-per-year. It is only possible to climb beneath the glacier in winter, when the ice is completely frozen.”
The photographs, you’ll agree, are utterly mind-boggling. The inside of the glacier is a huge, indigo cathedral that ripples upwards in huge cascading waves of ice. The series is almost a photography diary of Kate’s journey deep below the surface of the ice. “The story follows a timeline, from the winding and very lonely road through volcanic plains and gale force winds, to the entrance of the ice cave (a crack in the glacial surface), and to the cathedral-like interior of the glacier. It might seem hard to believe but the images have not been colour-altered.”
Kate’s trip out to Iceland to document this extremely rare sight was one of curiosity and of concern, “Vatnajökull is estimated to be melting at a rate of one metre per-year. In one of the most recent reports from the Icelandic government’s Committee on Climate Change, it warns that by the next century, Iceland’s glaciers will no longer exist.”

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  Kate Friend: Beneath Iceland’s largest glacier

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  Kate Friend: Beneath Iceland’s largest glacier

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  Kate Friend: Beneath Iceland’s largest glacier

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  Kate Friend: Beneath Iceland’s largest glacier

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  Kate Friend: Beneath Iceland’s largest glacier

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  Kate Friend: Beneath Iceland’s largest glacier

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  Kate Friend: Beneath Iceland’s largest glacier

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  Kate Friend: Beneath Iceland’s largest glacier

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  Kate Friend: Beneath Iceland’s largest glacier

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  Kate Friend: Beneath Iceland’s largest glacier

Further reading:

www.katefriend.com

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  José Gallego Robinson: Untitled

Photography: Palpable loveliness from photographer José Gallego Robinson

  by Liv Siddall, 

Hmmm looks like someone’s got a thing for hands, which is no bad thing when you’re as talented as Argentinian photographer José Gallego Robinson. His photographs conjure up the taste of underripe berries, the feel of sand on cold legs, and the bliss of seeing morning sunshine give old wooden floorboards a wake-up call. To see someone with such a consistent atmosphere throughout his portfolio is so pleasing; it’s like his whole collection of photographs has it’s own entirely unique flavour or perhaps fragrance.

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  José Gallego Robinson: Untitled

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  José Gallego Robinson: This line is part of a very large circle

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  José Gallego Robinson: Untitled

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  José Gallego Robinson: Untitled

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  José Gallego Robinson: Untitled

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  José Gallego Robinson:

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  José Gallego Robinson: Untitled

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  José Gallego Robinson: Untitled
  

  Further reading:

  www.flickr.com/decaidence
  

Interview with Shelbie Dimond

Interview with Shelbie Dimond

Shelbie Dimond is a film photographer currently based-in San Francisco, California. She is an advocate of film. And below is the interview of Shooting Film with Shelbie Dimond about her film photography.

I'm 20 years old. I live in a cabin in the woods with my husband. We have two cats and two bunnies, I love mafia movies, sushi, instant film, polly pockets and roller skating. I begin roller derby training in a week!

How did you get started and interested in film photography?
My father gave me his old Canon AE-1, which he used for astro photography. When I was little, he'd take long exposures of me with comets, the northern lights and meteor showers. I started taking self portraits out of boredom during the winter months, and it just grew from there.

Do you remember what was your first film camera, and what cameras do you use now?
The AE-1 was my first, along with a polaroid camera. I still use the AE-1, land cameras, SX-70 and as of yesterday, Instax Mini 8.

Do you work as an amateur or professional photographer, and have you completed training or have you learned by yourself?
I work professionally, and I spent about a year and a half in college studying photography. I am mostly self taught, but I am going back to school next year to study more. I'd like to practice studio work and get back in the dark room.

Talk to us about your background in photography? And what gives you inspiration?
It all started with me posing really still with crazy things going on in the sky, my dad taking those long exposures. I don't do self portraits much these days, not sure why I stopped. I'm inspired by almost anything- at the right time and place and light. I like to create surreal worlds with my photography, as well as documentation of my life.

Last question, what place does photography have in your everyday life?
I'd say photography holds a very dear place in my everyday life- most of my friends are people that I've met through photography. I use photography to remember places, people, and emotions. Photography is my main creative outlet and how I express myself.

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  Kaija Straumanis: Stuff Being Thrown at My Head

Photography: "Stuff being thrown at my head" by Kaija Straumanis. Brilliant.

 by Liv Siddall, 

The other day someone showed me a series of photos of people who put objects all over their cats and dogs, I was like “GET WITH THE PROGRAM!” This is the new big thing: getting a good camera, standing in a public area and having friends/colleagues throw non-spikey items at your head to create the best self portraits ever!
Kaija Straumanis – whose Twitter bio suggests she is “cut from a very, very strange cloth” – has started this phenomenon with this brilliant, surprisingly excellent series of images. For me, the pumpkin smashing against the side of her head is the real money shot. How long is it gonna be until everyone’s doing this and putting it online? My guess is minutes. Fly, copycats, fly!

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  Kaija Straumanis: Stuff Being Thrown at My Head

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  Kaija Straumanis: Stuff Being Thrown at My Head

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  Kaija Straumanis: Stuff Being Thrown at My Head

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  Kaija Straumanis: Stuff Being Thrown at My Head

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  Kaija Straumanis: Stuff Being Thrown at My Head

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  Kaija Straumanis: Stuff Being Thrown at My Head

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  Kaija Straumanis: Stuff Being Thrown at My Head

Further reading:

www.straumanis.blogspot.co.uk

Photoworks to absorb Art Square photo classes in Leesburg

 by Ben Hancock |

Thomas Ramsay, Nancy Goetzinger, KD Kidder and Neil Steinberg in the Photoworks studio space discussing their recent merger and opening of a new photo school. - Times-Mirror Photo/Rick Wasser

Within 24 hours of finding out Art Square, a visual arts space in Loudoun, was closing, award-winning photographer, cinematographer and film director Tom Ramsay, who taught at Art Square for four years went to visit KD Kidder, the co-owner of Photoworks in downtown Leesburg, with the intention of proposing a collaboration.

As Ramsey entered the shop, Kidder said: "I can't believe you're here."

"Why?" Ramsay asked.

"Because we want to start a photography school here at Photoworks," Kidder said.

That was Jan. 18. Eight weeks later, on March 11, the first class will be held at the Leesburg Photography School at Photoworks.

The grand opening will take place March 7 at a First Friday open house at Photoworks at 2a Loudoun St. SW in Leesburg.

For years, Kidder wanted to start a photography school. The recent closing of Art Square helped to move up the start date.

Photoworks is a 35-year-old example of how it is better sometimes to follow a passion, and not simply the profits.

The company was started by Kidder and Neil Steinberg in February 1979 after a local photography company that employed Kidder folded after over expansion.

Steinberg and Kidder opened their store with a passion for photography and the opportunity to fill an unmet demand in the market. They knew they needed to start small and not concern themselves with growing too quickly.

The two decided to slowly expand into different rooms in the building on a core business model of portraits, film and restoration work.

Their love of photography kept the doors open and, even as the business evolved, Photoworks stuck to what Kidder and Steinberg thought was best.

As digital photography began to eat the film business, Photoworks kept a darkroom because Kidder enjoyed developing photos herself.

Steinberg, a portrait photographer, and Kidder, who prefers candid event photography, also specialize in commercial head shots and restoration services for photos that have been burned, folded or underexposed.

The company's newest commitment to launch a photography school is perhaps even more solid than the original decision to start the business.

Offering photography classes made sense for the Photoworks business model because no extra permits or business licenses were required and only a minimal capital investment was needed.

By growing an interest in photography, Photoworks wanted to grow interaction with local photographers and bring back the collegial atmosphere Kidder missed from the old film days.

When film was popular, Kidder said, she would see patrons once a week or more when they had film to develop. Now, since photographers don't need to come in to the shop, the community aspect has gone.

Kidder and Steinberg, with Ramsay and his wife, Nancy Goetzinger, also a photographer and videographer, hope to bring back that community.

Photographer captures evolving landscape of Coweta and beyond

by Clay Neely

“Sometimes you just have to take leaps that you’re not totally prepared for but the timing is right."

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According to the ancient Greek philosopher Heraclitus, the only thing that is constant is change. In our lives, as in business, things are continuously changing and evolving, and we must learn to adapt to the changes, as they may dictate our future.
Photographer Bob Shapiro has been a resident of Newnan for more than 40 years. As a photographer, he has captured many of the extraordinary changes of the city in which he lives, through his camera’s lens.
These changes did not happen overnight.
“When I first started in 1973, I knew every single one of my customers as friends first,” said Shapiro. “Now, it’s the other way around. My customers become my friends and we develop long-standing relationships.”
Originally a native of St. Petersburg, Florida, Shapiro joined the Air Force in 1966 as a photo interpreter. Stationed at a B-52 base in Guam, he scored bomb missions in Southeast Asia.
“I would interpret U2 spy plane shots and I was there in the earliest days of satellite photography. Our offices shared a building with the photography lab,” said Shapiro. “I was fascinated with watching these guys process and print film. I’d often be in the lab for hours.”
“Finally, I bought my own Pentax Spotmatic and two lenses. The first photograph I ever took, I was able to process and print myself,” he recalled.
For the next 18 months, Shapiro had the entire lab at his disposal, and it was there that he began to learn his craft through trial and error.
“I’d always been a frustrated artist,” said Shapiro. “I had friends in school that painted and sketched, but now, all of the sudden, I can see something in my mind and get it onto a flat piece of paper. I knew I wanted be a photographer.”
Upon telling his father of his revelation, though, Shapiro was met with total silence.
“I don’t think that’s quite what he had in mind for me in terms of a career,” said Shapiro. “But he gave me $500 dollars and I moved to Atlanta. I accepted a job in a warehouse that sold photographic equipment for a few months, then began working at a studio in Riverdale. I liked what I was doing. Then, I was presented with the opportunity to work for The Newnan Times-Herald,” said Shapiro.
“I might have stretched the truth and told them I could do stuff that I actually couldn’t,” he laughed. “I honestly didn’t have enough training to be a photographer for a paper, but I guess I did alright since I wound up working there for the next seven years.”

Shapiro in 1976 at Drake Stadium

However, in 1980, Shapiro and his wife, Georgia, made the decision to open a photography studio together.

“Sometimes you just have to take leaps that you’re not totally prepared for but the timing is right,” said Shapiro.
On May 1, 1980, Shapiro worked throughout the night putting out the local newspaper, then met at his lawyer’s office at noon to sign the papers for the studio purchase.
“The first studio was where Harmon & Garove is now located,” said Shapiro. “It was a great spot, the front door facing the courthouse. In the summer, we would open the front doors and smell the popcorn popping at Kessler’s.”
He remained there until 1984, when Shapiro purchased a vacant lot that would ultimately become his new studio.
“I never thought that photography could pay for a building, but Georgia was convinced that it could,” said Shapiro. “I guess she was right.”
Through his many years as a professional photographer, Shapiro has witnessed a multitude of changes: styles, preferences, locations, gear. However, the advent of digital photography would prove to be the biggest shift for Shapiro.
“It changed everything,” said Shapiro. “Every time I clicked a film camera, it would cost $1.25 after all expenses, so I had to choose shots carefully. For something like a wedding, I’d shoot around 200 photographs. Now, I’ll shoot 1,500 images. The images aren’t any better with digital,” said Shapiro. “That’s probably the biggest change — just fire off the shots.”
“And if I wasn’t shooting, I was in the darkroom,” said Shapiro. “If you shot color and wanted it in black and white, it was very difficult. There were so many different films you used for both inside and outside. Cameras had no light meters. You relied on instinct. You had to understand the mechanics and chemistry of photography to be a photographer — digital photography changed all that.”
“In the past, when you worked with film, you didn’t experiment much. You looked at everything with a trained eye,” said Shapiro.
Digital photography allows for the time and expense to try new things, as Shapiro often does in his studio. Shapiro appears relatively unfazed by the digital revolution and the prospect of future changes.
“I’m terrible at predicting the future. What I do know is that the pendulum swings back and forth,” said Shapiro. “Styles change, tastes shift. You used to see all these photographs that were made on railroad tracks — now they’re all taken out in open fields.”
Shapiro feels that studio photography will ultimately become popular again, citing the same pendulum effect where people inevitably want something that looks different. Often, what is “old” becomes “new” again.
“Film will never come back, though,” said Shapiro. “Which is a shame since one of the most difficult things to do is create a quality black-and-white print. That’s where you see the largest gap between film and digital. I could show you 10 ways to do it on Photoshop but it still lacks a certain nuance. It’s just like comparing a vinyl record to an MP3 file. The latter is more convenient but you sacrifice quality because of the conversion process.”
Shapiro has managed to sustain the great recession where professional photography was no exception to the hardships.
“When the economy tanked, I spoke to a colleague and he said, ‘You know, it’s a blessing, the fact that we own our buildings.’ If we had been renting, I don’t know what would have happened,” said Shapiro.
“Dealing with a bad economy and a thousand other photographers out there who are doing it cheaper than me? It’s nice that we’re seeing the economy on the rebound but I’m definitely happy I’m on this end of my career.”
However, he indicates no sign of slowing down and shudders at very mention of the “R” word.
“People constantly ask me when I’m going to retire,” he said. “I really don’t see a reason to. I don’t play golf. I’m much more flexible these days so we can travel whenever we choose.”
“What’s the point in retiring when you love what you do?”
 

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Shelly Sometimes...Always Shoots Film!

by : Michael Raso

Greetings!  I’m Shelly Valdez, aka Shelly Sometimes on various social media sites (visit my Flickr page!), and I live in Denver, Colorado.  I work for a technology public relations/marketing firm, doing all sorts of graphic design.
I’ve been interested in photography ever since I was a little girl when someone gave me a Kodak Instamatic camera. I didn’t have an allowance to be able to afford film, so I would go around pretending to take pictures with it! I didn’t really pick up photography seriously until about 2005, when I got my first digital camera.
I’ve been dabbling in film since 2010.  I was shooting a DSLR at the time, and I also had just purchased my first iPhone.  Not many people think of iPhones as a gateway to film photography, but that’s what did it for me!  I found a camera app called Lomo and I wanted to learn more about that style of shooting. That led me to purchase my first film camera - a Holga 120CFN.
I didn’t really get “hooked” on film photography until late 2011.  I’m a big thrift shopper, and I used to look at cameras all the time, thinking I might hit the jackpot and find a Leica!  Instead, one day, I found a Mamiya Sekor 500DTL, complete with a couple of lenses and a flash - they were a little battered and dirty and I don’t think I paid more than $20 for the lot.  It only took one roll of cheap drugstore film to create a monster.  I couldn’t learn about film photography fast enough and I experienced the first symptoms of what would turn into a serious case of G.A.S.!

top page image: FPP Debonair Camera on Fujifilm 400H / above: Rolleicord III camera on Kodak Ektar 100 film

Now, I shoot pretty much exclusively on film - the DSLR is gathering some dust on the shelf as we speak!  I’m a big fan of vintage mechanical cameras - I use a Rolleicord III for lots of my shooting lately. I’ve been lucky enough to shoot with so many different kinds of cameras:  35mm SLRs, rangefinders, 110, 127, you name it.  I’m also addicted to all things Polaroid - I shoot both integral and pack film!
I love experimenting with all different kinds of film, but I definitely have some favorites.  I’m not a big E-6 shooter; I stick with black and white and color print films. I’ve become really fond of both Fuji Neopan Acros and Kentmere 100.  Can’t beat the price on either of those and you get really great results!  For color, I love the cool tones of Fujifilm Pro 400H.  And for instant films - I could go on for days.  LOVE The Impossible Project’s new Color Protection film, for sure!

above: PX 70 Color Pro film by The Impossible Project

I’ve used quite a few different plastic “toy” cameras in the past - in addition to the Holga 120CFN, I’ve had a Holga 135BC TLR, a Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim and a Diana Mini.  As much fun as these cameras are, they can be expensive to purchase and that’s what made me so intrigued by the Debonair 120 plastic camera when I first heard about it on the FPP.  A medium format camera for only $19.99?  As far as I could tell, I had nothing to lose - even if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t be out much and the money was going to support the FPP podcast!

FPP Debonair Camera - Kodak Ektachrome 160T

When I first unpacked the Debonair, I had to laugh - this is a really lightweight camera and there’s not a lot to it.  I could see a lot of advantages to it over other toy cameras right away.  It’s SO easy to load - no worrying about propping up your rolls with bits of cardboard, having the sponges in the camera come loose, taping down the back of your camera so it doesn’t come off, etc.  I’ve run all kinds of film through the camera so far - tungsten slide film, black and white, color of various ISOs, and it delivers great images all the time.
Shots from the Debonair have a look that I can’t describe - it has the same sharp focus in the center and fall-off on the edges that a Holga does...but it’s different somehow. I’ve had some shots come back that had an almost 3D quality to them - they were just that clear and sharp.
Funny story about my Debonair - I thought I saw some dust in the lens after I shot my first roll, and figured I could just screw the lens off and clean it out.  Well, big mistake - I actually broke the lens straight off of my camera!  I panicked, but figured out pretty quickly that you could just screw it right back on.  Now, I have to be careful when I focus or the lens comes back off, but besides that, I haven’t noticed any difference at all.  Good thing I bought a second Debonair as a back-up!
This year I decided to enter The Krappy Kamera Competition ( http://www.sohophoto.com/krappy_kamera_comp.html )! It’s held by the Soho Photo Gallery in New York City.  They’ve been doing this juried competition since 1992, and it’s my understanding that they receive hundreds upon hundreds of entries every year.  I saw notices about it for months on Twitter, and thought it sounded great but I didn’t plan to enter.  Then, close to the deadline, I changed my mind and I further decided to only enter images that I took with my FPP Debonair.  Out of all the entries, 50 images were selected to hang in the exhibition, and one of them was mine - a double-exposure shot on Lomography Redscale film that I named ‘A Forest Entire’. To have a photo hanging in a gallery in New York is a dream - even though it gives me a pretty good laugh to know that it was taken on a broken plastic camera!

"A Forest Entire" - Shot with a FPP Plastic Filmtastic Debonair on Lomography Redscale 50-200 film (120)

I don’t have any new exhibition or competition plans in the works - although I always have my eyes open for cool ones!  I’m looking forward to participating in the 600 Exposures on a Polaroid 600 Project (http://snapitseeit.com/600-exposures-on-a-polaroid-600/) and March of Film (http://marchoffilm.com)!
I’m concentrating now on getting better at developing my own black and white at home - I started doing this a couple of months ago, but there’s so much to learn!  I’m also going to be buying a Hasselblad in the next couple of weeks - I’m so excited, and I can’t wait to take my photography to the next level!
All photos by Shelly Valdez

Only Two Days Left to View Fine Art Photography by Diallo Mwathi Jeffery at Oakland City Hall

 

February 27, 2014 --

Oakland, California (PRWEB) February 27, 2014

Award winning documentary filmmaker and fine art photographer Diallo Mwathi Jefferys works are on display this month until February 28, 2014, on the third floor rotunda gallery at the Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza in Oakland, CA. The exhibit offers spectacular panoramic images of the Oakland - San Francisco skyline and architecture, picturing Oakland in a new light. All exhibited photographs are available for sale by the artist for a limited time. The exhibit closes at 5 pm on Friday, February 28, 2014. To make a purchase, contact: http://www.diallo.com/shop.
Subject matter includes both iconic and lesser known Oakland - San Francisco landmarks, dramatic urban landscapes and surprising perspectives of this iconic cityscape. The brilliant limited-edition color photographs on cotton and bamboo are signed by the artist, and range in size from 19 x 13 inches to a 20 x 60 inch panorama of the Oakland - San Francisco bay. You are invited to view the art on display at the Oakland City Hall, and make purchases from the artist directly at: http://www.diallo.com/shop.
Jeffery is a graduate of Oakland Unified Public Schools and Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia, and studied at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA. Jeffery discovered photography as a child using his fathers Pentax K1000 35mm film camera. After attending a stop-motion film camp held by Mosswood Park recreation center in Oakland, Diallo was hooked on visual arts. Jeffery used a borrowed video camera to shoot other films, studied photography under high school teacher Jackie Begrin-Marston, and landed an intern position with noted KTVU newsroom videographer, the late Willie Kee.

Jeffery previously exhibited his photography at Joyce Gordon Gallery, and the Anfilo Café and Gallery in Oakland. Jeffery was employed as a senior television producer for the Monterey County Office of Education, and taught photography and filmmaking in Alameda and Oakland Public Schools. Jeffery is a winner of the 2005 Berkeley Film Festivals Best of Festival Student Filmmaker Award, and the 2009 Alliance for Community Media WAVE Award for Promoting Civic Engagement through Community Media.
Learn more about the artist at http://www.diallo.com.
Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014/02/prweb11623098.htm.