New Etsy site

 I enjoy shooting with antique cameras, and also have a variety of cameras that I have in my office to inspire me in my creative endeavors. I also like to find obscure cameras and photographic items and second hand stores, antique stores and in unexpected places. I end up with a lot of different models, and figured it was time to thin out the collection and start selling some of my antique cameras and accessories.

I started an Etsy site to sell some of my cameras, and also begin to showcase some of my handcrafted photographic images. I started working on this a few years ago, but other things prevented me from completing my task.

I will be listing different cameras, camera accessories and ephemera. New items will be added each week so stop by to see what I have to post and sell. Soon I will be adding some of my handcrafted photographic images.

If you stop by, thanks for looking!

My kids: the best journalism award

My son Logan (center) chasing a ball down the field during a soccer game earlier this season.

Friday night lights. Feature assignments. Low light miracle shots taken in dungeons called gymnasiums. These are the things that build character and build a portfolio in photojournalism. Who would have known that they would also have another positive outcome: making photos of my kids.

I love taking my 2.8 lenses, a digital body and a few memory cards to sporting events and dance recitals. Sure I can't get the good spot right on the side line or up front on the stage, but that "make due with what you got" photojournalism mentality mixed with a little skill and some luck makes for some fun and memorable photos.

My daughter Kalli at her dance recital this spring.

It feels good to sling that Domke bag over my shoulder, and balance that 80-200 2.8 on my hand. It is like muscle memory, there is no thought process- it just happens.

I will admit, auto focus and shutter priority metering helps a bunch when shooting under mixed lighting conditions. And that screen on the back of the camera and flashing histogram helps as well to get the camera and light balance to be spot on. In those "days of yore" with film cameras push processing and manual focus I would have never had it so easy- ha !

Instead of holding a cell phone at arm's length trying to use the digital zoom on the tiny little lens, I am the dad on the sidelines with the big glass and the chunky camera trying to capture that perfect moment.

 I am blessed to have earned my stripes in the news world, and am grateful that I can apply these skills to taking pictures of my kids. I love giving them the chance to have some memorable photos.
 

An Amish buggy slowly rolls past during a soccer match in Arthur, Il.

Scanning vs. Printing in a digital world

A photo of Kera Padget shot with my 42 year old Pentax SPII on Ilford FP4-Plus.

I love to print photos in a darkroom. It is a magical place where the red safe lights glow, the radio plays, and the photographer becomes a choreographer of sorts - waving hands, adding light, and making pictures appear out of trays of chemistry.

It is so relaxing and at the same time one of the most satisfying experiences to have. Sadly printing is not done very much anymore, and photos are made with zeros and ones in the digital world, shaped and prodded with software behind a large monitor in a room.

As much as I love to print, I have come into a long stretch lately where I am just not able to get the time to make it to the darkroom. I may have a half hour or an hour of spare time here and there between tasks. I have an enlarger and trays and could convert my bathroom into a darkroom. Unfortunately it takes longer to set up and tear down than to actually make a print.

I have access to a darkroom, but it is in the next town. So in between running errands, working, sleeping, eating and the other things that fill my life I have been scanning and using a digital darkroom.

It is a love hate relationship. I have been involved with Photoshop since version 2.0. I am as comfortable behind the computer monitor as I am behind the lens of a good enlarger. I can scan just as well as I can print.

Amanda Jacobs captured with a 100 year old Box Brownie and 120 film.

The real justification for scanning vs. printing for me is to finally get the work seen. The one factor that links printing and scanning is the fact that I still love to shoot film. I feel comfortable behind the lens of a film camera. I don't need the instant gratification of a LCD screen to tell me that I was able to get the shot I wanted. Although sometimes I tend to find myself looking for that screen when I have a difficult lighting condition or am shooting in an unknown location. It is a damn crutch. This digital world of instant gratification.

That is when I remember that for years before digital I did just that: shot film in any location, under any lighting at just about any time. State basketball finals-  film. Big bank fire - film. First baby of the new year - film. No LCD. No playback. No 1000 photos to cull out a good one. Only 36 exposures (or maybe a few rolls or even less with 120) to capture the moment.

Lyosha Svinarski shot with my 42 year old Pentax SPII on Ilford FP-4 film.

Developing negatives is such an amazing experience. Getting the chance to confirm that I actually was able to get the photo that I saw in my head is absolutely one of the most soul satisfying moments.

So my work is a hybrid of old school film and new technology in the digital darkroom.  My friend and former coworker Tom Sistak said that "You can't put the genie back in the bottle."  I may not be able to stop the march of photography from analog to digital, but I am using the technology I have available to make it possible to continue to still shoot film in this digital world.

Shooting with film makes me a better photographer. It makes me think about lighting and composition, and with the limited frame count it also makes each frame special and not just a series of clicks until getting the right one.

So.... I am scanning.  At the end of the day, for me anyway, I am still shooting film. That is what counts.

Boneyard Arts Festival - mini tintypes

I will be part of the Boneyard Arts Festival this year, making mini 35mm tintypes! I will set up my wet plate chemistry in the darkroom at the Urbana Museum of Photography making tintypes from 10 am to 2:30 pm both Friday April 12, and Saturday April 13th.

A 35mm sized tintype I created last summer for a series titled "Intimate Treasures."

Stop by to see some of my other work, and learn a little bit about the wet plate collodion process. With all the ether, collodion and iron sulfate developer being used, the museum should smell like a bonafide 150 year old wet plate studio. As my friend Allie Tomkie would say, "Wet Plate: Free Smells!"