Alison, Take Two...

#0459_35A - Alison, 2016. Leica M2, Zeiss 35mm f/2, Ilford HP5 400.

Through editing the last couple rolls from a shoot with Alison in May (see the first set here)... mostly with the 35 and 21mm. I've always found wide lenses kind of interesting in a studio setting, gives a sense of depth that's often lost with long glass.

Still really bummed that I've got no studio access, though it's forced me to try new things and new locations. Necessity is the mother of invention after all. Have a few shoots in the queue on location that I'll be posting over the next month.

Also watch for a new print release in the next week or two... been slaving away in the darkroom working on some old and new material. Head over to Patreon if you want to get in on early, discounted prints...

 

#0460_03A - Alison, 2016. Leica M2, Zeiss 21mm f/4.5, Ilford FP4 125.

#0460_03A - Alison, 2016. Leica M2, Zeiss 21mm f/4.5, Ilford FP4 125.

#0460_20A - Alison, 2016. Leica M2, Zeiss 21mm f/4.5, Ilford FP4 125.

#0460_36A - Alison, 2016. Leica M2, Zeiss 21mm f/4.5, Ilford FP4 125.

#0460_31A - Alison, 2016. Leica M2, Zeiss 21mm f/4.5, Ilford FP4 125.

The Emperor Has No Balls

I'm going to stand on a soap box for a minute, because I just want to put a few things in writing, for the record, for my own piece of mind, just for the sake of saying it.

"The Emperor Has No Balls" Statue by Las Vegas based horror artist Ginger. Castro District, San Francisco, California 2016.

I'm tired of the false equivalency. Donald Trump is a privileged white man who inherited a metric fuck ton of money from his father, ran a bunch of companies into the ground, gamed the system, stiffed his employees, paid no taxes, and made a reality TV show where he fires people, who now says the system is rigged against him while whining that a Supreme Court Justice was mean to him. Cry me a river...

He brags about sexually assaulting women, then belittles the appearance of those women who have accused him of such acts. Who knew that G.O.P. stood for Grab Our Pussy...

He is alleged to have purposefully walked in on minors in a state of undress at a pageant he operates.

Just let that sink in...

He is openly undermining the integrity of the election process with absolutely no evidence what so ever that there is any fraud taking place.

News organizations are now hiring security for their correspondents while attending Trump rallies because of the violence he promotes against the press and the danger his supporters present.

He is racist, sexist, xenophobic, and quite frankly, a pig. All this aside, I am appalled at an educational system that produces voters that seem to think any of this is ok, and I am appalled at the Republican leadership that says nothing in the face of such disgusting, dangerous rhetoric. I'm looking at you Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell...

Hilary Clinton is quite possibly the most qualified person ever to seek the presidency of the United States. You might not agree with all of her policies, I certainly don't. But to compare her to Donald Trump is absolutely, in no uncertain terms, completely and entirely ludicrous.

Donald Trump is a joke, and it's not funny anymore. Get out and vote.

New Prints, October 2016

Slowly getting everything migrated over to the new platform... working on getting some new prints listed in the shop. Will hopefully be adding more as I go through some past negatives that I've been meaning to print. For now have a look at the print shop for the most recent additions... and as always, stay tuned for more... 

 No. 0363_23A - Castro Street Station. San Francisco, California. June of 2015.

 No. 0363_23A - Castro Street Station. San Francisco, California. June of 2015.

No. 0369_07 - Rodeo Beach, Marin County, CA. July of 2015.

No. 0369_07 - Rodeo Beach, Marin County, CA. July of 2015.

No. 0419_28A - Dogs, Ocean Beach. San Francisco, CA.

No. 0419_28A - Dogs, Ocean Beach. San Francisco, CA.

Doug Johnson 1942 - 2016

My high school photography teacher passed away last week and I have no idea where I'd be without him. I wasn't what you'd call a good student to say the least. My grade point average freshmen year of high school was 0.79 (yes, you read that right). The general consensus was I wouldn't amount to much. Doug Johnson was the first teacher to treat me like a person instead of just another lost cause. He applauded my photographs in front of the class when most people thought of me as just another burnout.

I'd already been fiddling around with cameras for a while before I enrolled in the photography class at Stevenson High School. I'd been looking forward to it all year, and in the first week, after I made my first print in the darkroom, I was hooked, and from then on I didn't want to do anything else. Doug saw my interest and allowed me to pursue it, pushing me in the right directions, letting me work late after school, showing me things that went well beyond the scope of the class. He took me under his wing and I never looked back. I took every photography course the school offered, eventually moving to independent studies, and by my last semester I was spending 4 out of 5 periods a day in the photo room, working on my own photographs, helping set up the darkrooms every day, loading and developing film for other students...

Those of us that spent enough time in the darkrooms came to know him as DJ instead of Mr. Johnson. One of the art teachers, also named Johnson, liked to refer to him as "The Real Mr. Johnson." He taught at Stevenson for 33 years, oddly enough retiring the same year I graduated. I suppose he'd had enough. He was quick with a joke and always happy to see you. He'll be missed to say the least.

God Speed DJ, we'll keep the lights out down here for you...

http://www.hometownlife.com/story/news/local/plymouth/2016/10/07/teacher-pioneered-photography-program-stevenson/91723856/

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/freep/obituary.aspx?n=douglas-w-johnson&pid=181751009&fhid=15366

Alison, First Frames

#0455_31A - Alison, 2016. Leica M3, Zeiss 50mm f/1.5, Ilford FP4 125

Finally have the first few takes from a shoot with Alison Black in May of 2016. Shooting with a new model is typically hit and miss, we didn't click right away, but quickly found a rhythm and got some really good material.

Still have a couple rolls to run from this session, feels like I'm hoarding undeveloped film sometimes.  Watch for another take with a wider view and harsher light...

Sad to say I'm losing my studio access after almost 5 years. Hoping to do more location shoots going forward, getting a bit bored with the studio to be honest, I suppose this is a good excuse to try some new things.

#0457_33A - Alison, 2016. Leica M3, Zeiss 50mm f/1.5, Ilford FP4 125

#0456_26 - Alison, 2016. Voigtlader R3m, 75mm f/2.5, Ilford FP4 125

#0456_30 - Alison, 2016. Voigtlader R3m, 75mm f/2.5, Ilford FP4 125

#0457_14A - Alison, 2016. Leica M3, Zeiss 50mm f/1.5, Ilford FP4 125.

#0457_08A - Alison, 2016. Leica M3, Zeiss 50mm f/1.5, Ilford FP4 125.