Monthly Archive for February, 2008

Upcoming Subdivisions

Published
by
Andy
on February 27, 2008
in construction and photography
.

One of my current projects involves photographing the construction explosion - and stand-still from the housing market depression - going on here in Idaho Falls. The contractors we’ve been building for are saying Idaho Falls is supposed to be the next Salt Lake City (which means Rexburg is the next Provo?).

Today after work I went and found a few subdivisions that are just in the beginning stages. There is a lot of land around Bonneville High School, and in the Iona area that is being developed. Here are a few digital captures:

FoundationBeingBackFilled

 

 

 

 

 

 

FutureSubdivision

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right now there isn’t a lot going on because of all the snow on the ground, but within two weeks or so things are going to explode.

Sloughs

Published
by
Andy
on February 22, 2008
in photography and sloughs
. 2 Comments

I had to go help my boss haul some sheet rock to the dump this afternoon. He lives out in Menan on the Louisville Highway, so I figured I’d take advantage of the situation, and go photograph the sloughs. I found the one Darren had shown me. I wasn’t really able to make a decent photograph then, but today, conditions were much more favorable, and I made a photograph that I’m pretty excited about. Here’s a facsimile of the photograph I made with my 5×7:

UnnamedSlough

There was a russian olive real close by, and I had to photograph it:

RussianOlive

I swung by the Texas Slough and made this photograph again:

TexasSlough22022008

It’s pretty close to the same angle as my first photograph of these trees from four years ago (I can’t believe it’s already been that long). That first photograph was one of the first I ever made with my 5×7, and as that camera has had working bellows for a week now, this is one of the first I made with those new bellows.

I’ve decided to resume developing my negatives in WD2D+ Pyro developer. I really miss the high acutance and the tonal separation it gives. The D-23 I’ve been using comes fairly close, but it’s not enough for me.

Podcast Roundup

Published
by
Andy
on February 20, 2008
in photography and podcasts
.

Ever since iTunes offered podcast subcriptions in 2004, I’ve been hooked. It all started with This Week in Tech, hosted by Leo Laporte, a formed Tech TV (R.I.P.) host. Within the last few months I’ve found several podcasts dealing with photography, and figured I’d share them (I should mention they are in no particular order of importance).

Brooks Jensen, editor of LensWork Publishing puts out two superb podcasts. The first one is On Photography and the Creative Process. This one is my favorite of his. Each show is only a few mintues long where Jensen discusses pretty much whatever, dealing with photography, the arts, and any other topic he finds helpful/relevant/useful. The second one he produces is Vision of the Heart, where he discusses specific photographs by photographers that have been represented in the LensWork publication. It’s mostly helpful to have the publication in hand so you can look at the image Jensen discusses and analyzes, but is still a really good show to listen to.

 

Jeff Curto, who teaches photography at the College of DuPage in Illinois puts out two very good shows as well. His main podcast is called Camera Position and discusses the “creative side of photography.” Episodes usually range from ten to twenty minutes, and he discusses his own photographs, as well as other’s, and other topics such as gallery representation/exhibition preparation (I found that episode particularly helpful and motivating). His other podcast is about the History of Photography. This one is just recorded sessions of his history of photography class that he teaches, and as such, episodes range from 90 to 120 minutes, so it’s fairly long, but if you want a good way to brush up on your history of the medium, this is an excellent way to do it. It is an enhanced podcast, meaning he includes the slides from the lecture in the podcast, and those really help. I prefer to listen/watch this podcast when I can have my iPod in hand to see and read the slides.

 

There are a few that I found via the Photocast Network: The Candid Frame, and Focus Ring. They’re both pretty good. I just found them about a week ago, so I can’t give a very thorough and honest review, but I like what I’ve heard so far.

 

Then the last one, is This Week in Photography with Scott Bourne and Alex Lindsay. These two produce another podcast called MacBreak Weekly with Leo Laporte, Andy Inahtko and Merlin Mann where they discuss what is happening in the world of Apple computers. This Week in Photography is a new podcast, and it’s an alright show. There really is more emphasis on gear and cheap Photoshop tricks than there is on the “meat” of the medium, that is, ideas, theories, and creative process.

 

Hope you enjoy.

Can I See It?

Published
by
Andy
on February 16, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

Tonight my little brother Riley got his Webelos rank advancement in the Cub Scouts, as did the other three boys in the Webelos den. After the awards ceremony, my dad, who is the Webelos Den Leader, wanted me to snap a picture of the four scouts. After I took the picture, all the boys came rushing up to me asking "Can I see it?" When I was a kid, after a picture was snapped, I ran off, not caring to ever see the picture. Today, with the instant feedback that digital cameras provide, both the photographer and the photographed can immediately see the photograph (I know I’m stating the obvious here, and digital cameras weren’t the first to do this either - Polaroid photographs have given this ability for years before digital), and to a kid there is a lot of fun in seeing that image of him or herself immediately after the shutter has snapped. I can’t even count how many times my younger siblings and cousins have run up to the photographer demanding to see the picture.

Think of people in third world countries, who have never even seen themselves at all. A photographer goes over with a digital camera to record that village (or something close to a village), makes some photographs of the indigenous people and shows it to them. There would be a huge amount of wonderment and excitement. I know I can’t remember the first time I saw a photograph of myself. It was shown to me probably when I couldn’t even talk, by my mother showing a picture of me talking in a baby voice "that’s you!"

It’s Alive!!!

Published
by
Andy
on February 16, 2008
in camera construction
.

So I finished my latest shot at making bellows for my 5×7 last night, and they turned out well enough to mount on the camera (they don’t look as good as commercially made bellows, but they work). I just now got them mounted and the camera put back together. Everything is light tight, and functional so I’ll be using it hopefully this evening today.

New Project

Published
by
Andy
on February 6, 2008
in photography and time-lapse
.

A couple weeks ago I quit working at Best Buy to go frame again. I missed building, despite the frigid temperatures.

Today I began a new photographic project that I’ve been meaning to start for a long time now: Take a photograph once every certain amount of time, and put them together in somewhat of a movie/slide show/time-lapse presentation.

I did this one today (it’s a little rough; I’m still figuring out my software, specifically Flash):

 

It’s only six frames long, as opposed to the eight I had hoped for, but I don’t want to waste too much of my bosses time and money.