Earlier this week I posted some images that I'd created in the colour darkroom, using Clematis seedheads (colloquial name 'old man's beard'). Last night whilst trawling through Google and Flickr I discovered some amazing images that have been created using this ethereal hairy plant.
Bill Westheimer's work is breathtaking. These images have such movement and drama, and the Collodion Glass Plate technique adds an unusual inky depth.
Clematis 17, original photogram on collodion glass plate by Bill Westheimer
Clematis 11, original photogram on collodion glass plate by Bill Westheimer
I don't know much about Sébastien Maloron but he publishes his work under the moniker Ventadour on Flickr and Deviantart. This image below has the distinctive finish of a Lith print - a technique that is created in the darkroom with specific Lith paper and developer, I love the grain and beautiful contrast.
lith print on Fomatone 132, Moersch Easylith 1+50, Homemade G253 1+100 by Sébastien Maloron
Finally, here's a Clematis ziatype (of the flower before it seeds) by German photographer Wolfgang Moersch. I must admit I didn't know what a Ziatype was until I googled and I found out more about it here, it seems to be an offshoot of the palladium-platinum printing system.
Clematis Ziatype by Wolfgang Moersch
Recently I've been mulling over cameras, and more specifically purchasing a high-end digital point & shoot or decent DSLR. I'd never really got to grips with SLRs, having more interest in low end point & shoots, toy cameras, polaroids and alternative photographic processes like photograms instead.
Taking the plunge into the world of SLRs isn't be a decision to be made lightly, not least because of the cost. The last few weeks I've been researching and pondering the merits and drawbacks and I finally made a fairly decisive decision after a lovely day out this Sunday at Avonmouth and Severn Beach taking photos and having a trial go on Chris's Nikon DSLR.
The camera was lovely, the weight of the shutter and solidity of the build. It had all the bells and whistles, but it didn't instantly grab me. I'd need to do an intensive course or lots of reading up to make the process quick and intuitive and I'm not sure that's a path I want to follow - at least not for the time being. After half an hour I switched back to my faithful compact and had lots of fun taking closeups and details from a fantastic mini-funfair that hadn't seen much fun for at least the last decade by the look of the decaying rides and weathered buildings. Amazing for photographs though.
Details of a weathered formica tabletop - nice contrast between the bright yellow and grey and the lichens growing in the gap
A detail of plastic sheeting leaning against a wall
Cherry motif on one of the fairground rides
Taking these pics made me realise that my little digital point and shoot is more than adequate for days out snapping and for taking my bag pictures between Toby photoshoots. Then Chris texted me to say our friend Sally had just bought a Diana mini. Curiosity piqued I checked out the camera and it was love at first sight.
Hello lover. An inexpensive little plastic camera that takes 35mm film, shoots square film and half frame and is basically cute as a button. I also adore the idea of going back to film, it feels wierdly subversive. So, I purchased one and it arrived today, yay! I dug out an old film in the back of a cupboard, loaded it up, snapped half the film before realising I hadn't taken the lens cap off, and managed to mess up the exposures on most of the rest. Still I rushed down to the nearest 30 minute photo lab and gleefully took my precious (and rather rubbish) paper beauties back to scan. The scanner was still in the box from last year but it didn't take long to get it up and running.
Metal table top photographed with Diana mini
And this is the reason I love film and crap cameras. Vignetting on the edge, abstract details, grain, wonky light leaks... it makes my heart skip a beat.
I pootled around for happy couple of hours earlier this week on a blog-hop, starting at Katy Elliot's daily journal of her life and house renovation in Marblehead, MA, and then over to Etsy buddy Lillyella, and to Tinctory to find out how her solar dyes were progressing and ended up at a delightful find, the sumptuous blog of Pia Jane Bijkerk.
I was immediately struck by Pia's beautiful finds and writings and reading further it came as no surprise to find she's a renowned international stylist and writer.
Paris: Made by hand by Pia Jane Bijkerk
Her first book, Paris: Made by hand is now on my Christmas wish-list and looks like the perfect excuse to hop on the Eurostar for the weekend and wander Parisian neighbourhoods for beautiful design haunts. She is currently working on her new book and lives on a houseboat in Amsterdam. Plus, she is exploring musical avenues with her soundscapes. Wow!
Images from http://www.piajanebijkerk.com
So, I sent Pia and email and despite her busy deadlines she kindly featured my pinhole and photograms and revealed that one of her favourite processes at college was making photograms. Next time she's back home she says she's going to look them up and I for one can't wait for her to share them with us.
Today is pinhole day, an international event created to promote and celebrate the art of pinhole photography. Photographers around the world are encouraged to participate in the simple act of making a pinhole photograph and show the unusual beauty of this historical photographic process.
Birdcage, polaroid pinhole photograph, Rowena Dugdale, 120 sec exposure on instant Fufifilm
This year I took some photos and contributed the above image to the gallery. I'm glad I got involved - Pinhole photography is a passion of mine but I don't get to create as many images as I used to - especially since Polaroid went belly-up. I use an assortment of cameras (including a repurposed Pringles-can) but my favourite is a camera from a kit that Polaroid used to make. It was never available in Europe but I ordered it from B&H in New York and it's been a trusty simple camera.
Here are a couple of other shots. It was a cloudy day and the Fujifilm struggled to capture the colour with the longer exposures. I really miss Polaroid film. Fuji is like a polite party-guest, very well behaved but a little dull, whereas Polaroid was like the unreliable drunken friend who was life and soul of the party. The saturation of Polaroid film on longer exposures was divine - it often had a strong blue cast and gorgeous contrast.
Looking around the International pinhole day gallery I found some wonderful images. Here's a sample of three photographs that stood out for me.
Alistair Scott Laid up
Alistair Scott showed quite some initiative today. Stuck in bed with a broken leg, he did a self-portrait using a Nikon D3 adapted with pinhole cover and using a remote release. Sending you best wishes for a speedy recovery Alistair.
Massimo Vaccaro dreaming
I love the atmosphere in this image - classic pinhole styling and very beautiful.
Tarja Trygg In the Sunshine
Tarja says that this image was exposed for one day with a lensless can using b&w photo paper. She has a fantastic website which I plan on spending more time on, exploring Solargraphy and tracking different the paths of the Sun are around the world through pinhole photography.
It's hard to write objectively about friends because we all think our buddies are creative and great. Also, I think it's somehow not very British to gush about our mates - in general we're too busy taking the piss or flaunting our modesty.
I love the photography that Chris Kidd captures and creates. The fact that he's my mate also allows me a little more insight into his process and methodology than if his work was simply a picture on a wall or image in a book. His photographic world is acutely and poetically human. He captures the ephemeral and out-lived, the discarded and lost. He's a storyteller and story-maker. These images aren't all instant fixes, many of them take time to grow on you, like the best songs, they have a hook but also a depth that pulls you back again and again.
Chris shoots from the hip, literally. Whether he's using a holga, a compact digital or a rollei, he'll walk in the room, mentally scan it, and have taken three or four shots from the camera attached to his belt before you're aware he's shooting. A mundane domestic setting is as much his playground as a windswept seaside town and his camera is a natural extension to his curiosity and perfect sense of place.
