This is the start of a new series I’m working on – portraits of everyday objects. I want to show things we pass every day but don’t pay attention to as if they were subjects deserving of portraits. These are by definition environmental portraits, as these things are found in our environment, not in a contextless studio. I’ve done a few before in color, but I think the black-and-white lends them a certain formality that elevates them from record shots.
The first two were shot on Kodak Tri-X, developed in Rodinal 1:25. I was actually kind of hoping to get sandpaper-y grain with that combination, but no such luck. It’s ok though, because it isn’t that far off the rest of the images, so the change in film and developer isn’t that noticeable. All the rest are on Ilford HP5+, developed in Pyrocat HD.
All photos taken with my Rolleiflex 2.8E.
Rolleiflex 2.8E, Kodak Ektar 100.
Taken with my Rolleiflex 2.8E, on Kodak Ektar 100.
I love all the ironic details of this image – the modern-day hippies panhandling with their massive shisha pipe and their puppy dog, in front of a bank and the Sysco truck (“People and Products You Can Count On”). It was serendipitous that they were posed in front of a bank and a food service truck is behind them when their sign says “broke and hungry”. A poignant clash of cultures. I wanted to get closer to fill the frame more with the hippies and their puppy, but I didn’t want to engage them especially on a negative level (I could see them reacting with anything from suspicion to hostility if they knew I was photographing them, since on a day-to-day basis I appear the very symbol of upper-middle-class conformity and public officialdom – it’s khakis or slacks and a dress shirt while at work). So I popped inside the Pret-A-Manger in front of them and took this from inside the window. I think the person sitting at the bar next to me was a little wierded out by having this guy with a Rollei walk up next to him and take a picture – I suspect he wasn’t entirely sure what kind of camera it was, if it was even a camera.
Just a simple photo of a fire hydrant. It’s possible to make portraits of things, not just people.
Taken with my Rolleiflex 2.8E, Ilford FP4+, developed in Pyrocat HD.
This is my friend Sam Huang, one of the owners of Mad Momo’s, a Himalayan/fusion cuisine restaurant and beer deck in the Columbia Heights neighborhood here in Washington DC. He and another friend of mine took over a partially renovated space, finished the build-out, and turned it into this really cool restaurant with sidewalk seating, a dining room, lounge space, two bars, and front and rear roof decks. The food is inspired by traditional Himalayan dumplings, called momos, thus the name of the restaurant. I took this portrait of him in the front window of the main room using my Rolleiflex. Someone commented to me elsewhere seeing how much I’ve been using the Rollei lately that I’d better not wear it out… well, it’s only 57 years old now, so I figure as long as I do proper maintenance on it, it will outlast me.
Shot with Kodak Tri-X, developed in Pyrocat HD.
I just like the staircase at the National Gallery because by itself it has a sculptural feel, and combined with the bronze torso, it becomes almost an installation piece in itself. Plus in a way it reminds me of Frederick Evans’ cathedral stairs photos.
This is another of my experiments with motion and time on the Metro. I wanted to convey that sense of anticipation as the train arrives like I did last time, but in this shot I wanted to give more of a sense of the space and also to have the fellow passengers more visible.
These two are views from the building in which I work during the day. I wanted to capture that birds-eye view of the city you get from inside a tall building, and include the building itself in the image, to remind you of the vantage point.
Two photos showing different perspectives on the Capital Bikeshare bikes. Shot with my Rolleiflex 2.8E on Kodak Tri-X, developed in Pyrocat HD. I had previously experimented with Rodinal as a developer for Tri-X trying to bring out the grain Tri-X is famous for. I don’t know if there was something I did wrong, or if my developer was old and no longer at full strength (Rodinal allegedly lasts forever, but mine was oh, a good eight years old, and the negs came out kinda flat). I ordered some new Rodinal to replace it to try at higher concentrations to see if I can get the look I was after. It’s nice to see though that if I switch to my tried and true Pyrocat, I can get negs that are as grainless as I want them to be on Tri-X.
I’m starting a new series of portraits of the food truck vendors I frequent here in DC, in or around their trucks. Here are the first two. It’s an important project because the food trucks themselves are endangered by some incredibly ill-considered proposed regulations that would basically make it impossible for them to do business. After looking at the pictures, please go to the Save DC Food Trucks website and sign the petition!
These were taken with my Rolleiflex. This time I’m using Kodak Tri-X, a film I had resisted for years as being too grainy. Well, as you can see in these photos, it’s not. In 35mm, it’s a different story, but then almost everything in 35mm is grainy short of say Ilford PanF or the former Kodak TechPan.
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