In August 2010 I had the opportunity to travel to Rossland, BC to meet up with some old friends and make some new ones. Our host, Michael Cordiez was instrumental in bringing everyone together including two truly inspirational photographers, Dave Aharonian and Ron Skei. The times we spent talking about our craft and philosophy of artistic photography will provide continued inspiration.

I hope not too much time passes before i get to see my new friends Doug Doyle, Jeany, and Michael’s wonderful wife, Row.

And our work would not be complete without the dedication and tireless work of the models who endure so much of our crazed inspirations. Getting up at 5:30 am to shoot in a freezing lake is not something that many people i know would endure. But the results are always beautiful and full of graceful serenity.

The friendships that emerge from these collaborations are something that I will cherish for a lifetime. And it is always difficult to say good bye, especially when the next meeting is usually uncertain. The times shared with these friends calms my soul and nourishes my inspirational drive. Excitedly looking forward to what comes next.

scott
27 august, 2010
vancouver, BC

Sometimes the best opportunities are right outside your door. These shots were taken in the field just outside the house where we’re staying.

I don’t know what it is about the vibe up here, but there really doesn’t seems to be nearly so many uptight people here when it comes to nudity. We all got up early, Michael (our host), Rhus, Sarah Ellis, and Michael’s photographer friend Doug and headed out to this lake early this morning. Rhus and I picked one corner of the beach, while Michael, Doug, and Sarah Ellis worked the other side.

I shot a roll of film and, of course the Mamiya didn’t want to advance the film. Probably has something to do with the metric system they use up here. But in the end, I think the shots will work out fine. We took a little bit of digital just as some dogs came trundling down to the beach.

Enjoy,
scott

model: Rhus Brutalis

The time so far in Rossland has been incredibly energizing. The landscapes are completely inspiring and the people even more so. But having a few moments to shoot a few art nudes with Rhus was all I really needed to make me realize how much there there really is to take advantage of here in this beautiful place.

So here is a quick iPad edit of Rhus in a beautiful grove of ferns from earlier this afternoon.

enjoy,
scott

So, I am writing this posting from a bus traveling from New York City back home to Allentown. It’s becoming quite apparent to me that we’re living in a world that is becoming simultaneously more interconnected and more mobile at the same time. The bus I’m riding on has WiFi and I’m connected to my blog through the Wordpress app on my iPad. I’m listening to Pat Metheny in the background and watching the high clouds intensify as we travel west.

Before I left yesterday, I finished up a morning shoot with a model named Firefly Sky and I quickly transferred some of the shots to the iPad so i could review them on the trip up. And I actually brought one of the shots into an app called Filterstorm and produced a really nice, clean edit of the shot. Sure, it’s just a black and white conversion, but I was able to use a curves adjustment tool to recover the highlights a bit and use the channel mixer on the black and white tool to get the skin tones looking really nice.

Is this a bit of gadget geekery? Of course it is, but it’s also kind of liberating. The experience is light and effortless where a laptop would just be cumbersome. The freedom to create while you’ve got the downtime of a bus ride is exciting in ways that are, dare I say, magical and revolutionary.

See you all when I get home…

Firefly - iPad Portrait

Lili Adonia - iPad Portrait

well after about a full day of curve design and some tweaks this morning, i finally got a curve that produces a fairly linear curve for salted paper prints.  the salted paper process was invented by William Henry Fox Talbot, known as The Father of Modern Photography, in 1833 while he was on his honey moon.  the kit that i am using from bostick and sullivan uses a solution of Ammonium Chloride and Sodium Citrate as the salt sensitizing agent.  a Silver Nitrate solution gives you the metal base to create the image.  the paper is coated with each solution and then exposed to UV light to create the image.  after the exposure is complete, there is no development per se.  the image is already formed on the paper.  you’re only left to wash away the unused silver and then the print is fixed in regular photo fixer (Sodium Thiosulfate).  the result is a print with blacks that are kind of dark chocolate, but toning the print in a gold chloride solution gives the prints a more neutral, almost eggplant tone that’s really pleasant.

this scan is of one of my first artist proof prints and the tones are about right.  its cropped not exactly how i want it, but rather to match the size of the coatings i’d done.  as i write this, i’m waiting for a few more 8×10 inch sheets to dry and i’ll make a one or two more prints tonight.  with a 20-minute exposure time, it take a while to make each print, but they’re quite worthwhile!

enjoy,
scott

Kiera - Beltzville, Frame 6. 5x7 inch Salt Print, toned with Gold Chloride

film: Ilford Delta 400 at ISO 800
model: Keira Grant

i recently revisited a few images from a session i did with a friend Olivia.  we spent an few minutes at a workshop i was teaching working with a very simple lighting setup.  a single, large softbox over head and close to the wall where Olivia was posing.  when i went to finish these images, i started to play with a much lower-contrast look than i’m normally accustomed.  and i was really thrilled with how well this look conveyed the emotions of her poses.

Olivia - Workshop Low Contrast #1

Olivia - Workshop Low Contrast #2

Olivia - Workshop Low Contrast #3

a little while ago i ventured back into the darkroom armed with some new ideas for tweaking my palladium printing techniques.  i wasn’t happy with the prints that i’d made before.  there were issues with clearing the prints and the density of the blacks wasn’t exactly where i wanted it to be.  i’d read on an APUG thread that, while the developer lasts almost indefinitely, it does need to be replenished and that a little bit of fresh potassium oxalate should be added before each printing session.  there were also recommendations for clearing baths – using disodium EDTA and adding some sodium sulfite to the tetrasodium EDTA.  so i ordered some new chemistry from Art Craft Chemicals and had another go at it.  right from the first couple of test prints it was obvious that the process was working much better than anything i’d done previously.

the following images are scans of the palladium prints made that weekend.  the enlarged negatives were made from scans of the original film frames, printed on Pictorico OHP transparency film with a custom Quadtone RIP profile.  the prints are about 9×11 inches, printed on 11×15 sheets of Arches Platine paper.  they are available for purchase.

Stephanie Anne - Clay Frame #2

Stephanie Anne - Clay, Frame #3

Stephanie Anee - Clay, Frame #5

Maria - Reflection at Ringing Rocks

the reflection in this shot is not photoshop trickery again.  this was a pool of still water that we found out at ringing rocks park.  the mirror like surface is just what came through the lens!

shot on Ilford Delta 400, pushed to ISO 800.  1/8th of a second at f/5.6 if i recall.  scanned from the negative.

sunday morning with Desalle.  one image shot with the “Legendary” Canon 135mm L series lens, the other shot with my Lensbaby composer.  beautiful both ways, i’d say.

Desalle - Natural Light with the 135mm

Desalle - Lensbaby Composer (with soft-focus aperture)

Desalle - Lensababy Composer Double Glass Optic (with soft focus optic)