More fun with the Rolleiflex. All of this series was shot with Kodak Portra 160 NC, which is a fantastic film for night photography because of the way it handles color in mixed lighting conditions. In my opinion, it’s probably the best color film for this kind of shooting, ever. Others may disagree.
Nothing fancy – just a nice portrait of a very handsome young man.
Here’s another cabinet card, this time from Kearney, Nebraska (which I’ve actually been to before, on my cross-country drive from DC to San Francisco). These boys are obviously from a family which had assimilated to Anglo culture. It would be interesting to try and illustrate the divergence between assimilation and resistance through photographs like this. Too bad there’s not a date on the card to help with the process.
The last image was taken at the Farmers’ Market and NOT at Whole Foods, but it’s food themed, and I wanted to include it but had to re-scan it from last time, so here is the revised scan.
Some images from the Penn Quarter farmers’ market (7th and D streets NW), and one of the organic food trucks – Cirque Cuisine.
There’s a growing organic and whole/natural food scene here in DC and they have a number of farmers’ markets in various neighborhoods throughout the city. The one at Penn Quarter is special because every vendor there actually grows or makes everything they sell, even the flower vendors and the soap sellers. The beef and bison is raised and butchered by the folks who sell it there, and the bread is sold by the baker. Many other farmers’ markets have vendors who buy their products wholesale and are not responsible for their production.
Although the Cirque Cuisine truck doesn’t work the farmers’ markets, (I usually find them at Franklin Square Park) they do use natural, organic ingredients in their food, and as such they’re part of the healthy organic food movement here. And they also have some really tasty sandwiches!
These shots were part of a test run from my newly renovated Rolleiflex. I’d say it is working great, wouldn’t you? I had a great chat with the bread man about the Rollei – it brought out a bout of nostalgia for him as he remembered people using them in his childhood. I caught him in a candid moment – he’s actually quite animated and friendly, and not depressed like he seems in this shot.
The Rollei is a great conversation-starter because it attracts a lot of attention and people respond positively to it. I don’t know why per se- maybe it is that nostalgia factor, or because it just has that classic look to it.
Today was a very busy day. This morning I went out to Glen Echo Photoworks to help out with the open house. We had a lot of folks come through asking about my upcoming classes and about the prints I brought along.
Then I went to dinner with my parents for their 50th anniversary at Blacksalt, which is a fancy fish and seafood restaurant here in DC. I had made the reservations and told the restaurant about the anniversary in advance, so they prepared special menus that said Happy 50th Anniversary on them, and when dessert came out, they specially decorated the plate with chocolate sauce.
The photo relevance here is that I brought the Rollei along to take their photo at the table. I’ll have the film dropped off Tuesday and get it back later this week.
On the way home, I detoured back to Glen Echo and waited for the neon lights to come on so I could burn through some more of that 5×7 Portra I have sitting around. And burn through it I did. I also stopped off in Georgetown and shot some more on the waterfront, and even grabbed a couple of sheets in the rain. I’m really looking forward to seeing those!
I’m teaching more classes at Glen Echo Photoworks this fall and winter. I’ll be offering Advanced Topics in Platinum/Palladium, Intro to Platinum/Palladium, and a lecture/presentation on Identifying and Collecting Antique Photos.
Advanced Topics in Platinum/Palladium runs September 15-October 6 (Saturdays 9am-4pm), and covers advanced contrast control techniques, paper choices, troubleshooting techniques, and gum-over platinum. Although I did not have making digitally enlarged negatives in the original curriculum design, I’m going to make it an option at student’s request.
Intro to Platinum/Palladium will be held the weekend of October 20-21 from 9am-4pm each day. Topics covered include history, technical basics (chemistry, equipment, paper), major process controls (negatives, exposure, processing) and fine controls (contrast, process variations).
On the evening of Wednesday, November 17 from 7-9 pm, I’ll be teaching a mini-workshop on Identifying and Collecting Antique Photographs. The course will be a mini-photo history class from the Daguerreotype to silver-gelatin and color, and will be illustrated with examples from my personal collection. Which, if you’ve been following my blog for any length of time, you know is pretty cool.
 Advanced Pt/Pd Topics |
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Make lemonade!
I was out running errands yesterday, and after a successful outing to Home Despot (yes, I know how I spelled it…) to get new paint for the bedroom (Martha Stewart Living colors if you must know, Azurite (dark blue, not quite Navy) for the accent wall and the entryway, and Etched Glass (very pale blue) for the main walls), I came home to find a football game in progress at the neighboring high school. The high school has about four parking spaces, all of which are currently demolished during renovations of the school, so anyone who drove to the game parked in the neighborhood. Meaning that I had to double-park to unload the paint, then drive around in circles for fifteen minutes before giving up.
This was actually the good thing – I gave up, and drove down to Chinatown (well, DC’s ersatz Chinatown wannabe – there’s maybe eight chinese restaurants, and the Chinatown Arch, and then to keep it looking “like Chinatown”, the CVS, the Irish Pub, Fuddruckers, and Hooters (yes there’s a Hooters in DC’s Chinatown) all have duplicate signage in Chinese characters). There’s plenty of colorful neon signs in Chinatown so I figured it would be a target-rich environment for doing some night photography. And lo-and-behold, what did I happen to have in the trunk of my car but my 5×7, pre-loaded with some Kodak Portra 160 from a previous outing that was fruitless.
This was particularly successful as it provided me with an opportunity to test out the lenses I just got back from being serviced. I had sent off the shutters to my Turner Reich 12/19/25 triple convertible, Kodak 12″ commercial Ektar and 14″ Commercial Ektar. I didn’t have the 14″ Commercial Ektar with me because it won’t fit on the 5×7’s front standard – it’s a big fat lens in a #5 Ilex shutter, and the Canham takes a Linhof Technika lensboard. Meaning the lensboard can’t take the 14″ Commercial Ektar in itself, and the lens is so heavy it might torque itself off the front standard if given half a chance. The 12″ Commercial Ektar though is in a #4 shutter, which is a fair sight smaller. What a difference two inches makes! I’ll have to take the film in to Dodge/Chrome on Monday after work.
So, long story short, the football game that kept me from parking got me out of the house and off my ass, and I had a productive evening shooting perhaps seven sheets of 5×7 color. Thank You Cardozo High football team!
Another CDV by C.D. Fredricks, of Lavinia Warren Stratton, Mrs. Tom Thumb. It’s an interesting addition to the Tom Thumb collection, as it shows they (the Thumbs) were very much the same as 21st century celebrities, getting photographed by all the fashionable photographers and trying to capitalize on their fame while it lasted. They seem to have had a particular loyalty to Brady, as this is the first definitive non-Brady I own of them. Can’t wait to find more
dcphotoartist 