Lifts and High Voltage Lines

Tonight I am posting an image that I took this afternoon. I call it Lifts and High Voltage.

For Once - If only by a day I trumped NPR Marketplace

NPR Marketplace - The photo wars back then

The above image is from the Robert Burley's Book - The Disappearance of Darkness. It is about the amazingly fast decline of film photography and the decline of analog photography. Something that has been on my mind a lot lately. In fact I blogged about this book only the day before this Marketplace. All this while I contemplate the purchase of a more lightweight 4x5 camera which might be easier to use than my Sinar F. I know all the debate's that have gone on about this. But I just don't see how film becomes anything other then the media of artists. Not that their is anything wrong with that! It just will not be the tool used by common folks for recording their daily lives or the commercial sector. It however has been an amazingly fast transition.  The link will take you to the Kai Ryssdal's Marketplace interview with Mr. Burley.

Amazon Link- To purchase the "Analog" Book

Disappearance of Darkness - Book Trailer

The decline of analog photograpy- The Dissapearance of Darkness

As many of you know I have had an interest in photography since I was a kid. I had my first darkroom in the basement of my parents house when I was in 7th or 8th grade and continued to do film photography well through architecture school. Along with another prized possession, my Bach Stradivarius trumpet, my Nikon F and a bunch of lenses I had accumulated were stolen from my first house and for at least a time put an end to my photography hobby. Photography in the intervening years transformed and shortly after we started Oculus Inc., the architecture firm I own with my wife Lisa in 1994, digital camera's such as the Sony Mavica came onto the scene. For pure practicality and utility digital imaging was the way to go as we could immediately share and use the images for work. Photography for me had become both utilitarian and snapshots. Quick captures of project information or kids, family and events. Not seriously working to capture crafted artistic images. While I had been given a replacement film camera it was already pragmatically obsolete as it was much easier to use, even the sluggish, point and shoot digitals for taking work and family photographs. In the intervening decade film sales plummeted. Mirroring the decline of their analog devices/techniques such as hand drafting, typewriting, vinyl records and such, the analog photo industry almost evaporated over night. The speed of its transformation/decline has really been unprecedented in the history of technology. Today while there are very likely more images than ever being taken/captured film for most part is technically obsolete. Yesterday I downloaded and App on my Iphone which is Kodak's limp attempt to promote its very few remaining of analog film products. What was so immediately apparent was just how irrelevant to the society and economy this product has become. The last significant "volume" of film use/manufacture is for the movie industry which will likely be essentially film free for commercial purposes by 2015. Certainly there are a hand full of users who will continue to use film as their chosen media. Film is still capable of creating some of the best, most powerful images. It for the most part has not changed, unless it is no longer manufactured, but the world, technology and the society around it has. I have been seriously considering purchasing a Graflex "Speed Graphic" as a more convenient large format 4x5 camera to my Sinar F. I find the Sinar very difficult to use in the field where most of my artistic photography takes place. In the course of researching the Speed Graphic camera it has become even more apparent that film is still declining. I was researching less expensive black and white films to  use for example and I discovered that Photokemika or Efke had recently, August 2012, stopped production. I had assumed, wrongly it appears, that smaller offbeat companies like this would be able to remain alive serving a boutique market. It appears there is not enough profit for them to repair ancient film coating equipment and it was easier to just close up shop. With both movies and medicine making their last moves away from silver based analog film will there be enough product manufactured available for the dedicated art photographers to continue to practice their art form?

Today I came upon a serious photographer/writer who has been working on a project for that last few years regarding the decline of analog film photography industry. His name is Walter Burley. He has just had a book published about the project "The Disappearance of Darkness". I hope anyone who reads this does not think I am trying to predict the end of film or that I am supporting it. Quite the contrary. I am saddened by this the way I would be saddened by hearing of the passing of an old friend. But my sadness can't change reality. I am wondering however if I should make a continued effort to pursue film as a viable media. Should I invest more in one more camera that I may not use or which film may not be available for? I have a bunch of gear based around the use of film which would all become moot should the materials become too limiting. Already my preferred film choice E100G has been discontinued by Kodak and Fuji will base the continued manufacture of product on financial/commercial viability. We might be artists but they are a company who's purpose is to make money not art.

 

In any case look at Mr. Burley's site and his book. It is serious work about a subject that I value very much. Walter Burley - The Dissapearance of Darkness

Darkroom Techniques make images come alive

I am traveling this week. Spending time in the hotel room this morning looking at other photographers work. I came across the web site for a traditional black and white film photographer,  Rolfe Horn photography. He has a section on his site were he shows how he brings his images to life. On these pages he compares a simply printed image to one that has been dogged and burnt during enlargement. I found this very helpful. The resulting images a very much improved from the plane negative. I hope you enjoy his work and his sharing the techniques he uses. Rolfe Horn PhotographyRolfe Horn photography - Technique

JEAN-CLAUDE BERENS

Urban Visions Web Site



In my many searches for inspiration I came across this site. These are meticulously crafted HDR images of urban decay, architecture and landscapes. He is a self taught European photographer who lives in Luxembourg. Amazing stuff.


http://www.urbanvisions.lu/

Images from Portland Oregon

I have had the good fortune of traveling to Portland Oregon on business recently. On my last trip I was blessed to have great light in the form of clear bright sky and crisp sunshine. While some photographers don't like blue sky I find it  sometimes difficult yet enjoyable to work in. I spent much of a day walking as have on several occasion around Portland a city that I both love to visit and photograph. Portland is know as the Rose City I I spent almost and entire day in a section of Portland called Ladd's Addition. I also spent some time in downtown near the South Park blocks. I hope you enjoy these images!



Gothic in Red!

Wedding at the Museum!

Pole and Sky!



Rose in Sunshine!

Dappled by light!

 

 

Pink!

A Rose by any other name!

Yellow Perfection!

Christopher Payne Photography

Two posts in one day. For my second post  today I am posting a link to Christopher Payne's photography web site. He is a New York based architect and photographer who both shares my architectural background and my interest in vanishing architecture. I found t his link on Lebbius Wood's web site. I hope you enjoy this link and Mr. Payne's work.

http://www.chrispaynephoto.com/index.html

Lebbius Woods Passes

http://lebbeuswoods.net/

Today's Post brings some sad news Architect, Artist and visionary Lebbeus Woods has passed away. I am posting a link to this brilliant persons web site.

Approaching Storm on the Riverfront

Storm Clouds Over St. Louis

An Iphone image of tonights approaching storm.

North Rim of the Grand Canyon

North Rim - Through the Rocks

On the Edjge-Looking North

Blue Sky and Stripes

Toadstools as the Storm Approaches

It has been a while since I have posted. I have been traveling to the Desert Southwest. In particular to Kanab Utah to visit the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park. For this trip I rented a Nikon D800e and tonight I am posting my first images from the trip. The shear size of the sensor and the amount of detail in the images is amazing for a DSLR. I need to enlarge some images on our large format printer/plotter to see just what kind of image quality/size they are producing. Clearly reducing the images for publication online changes them somewhat but still this was an amazing camera compare to my normal cameras, the Nikon D200. I have many more images to edit and I will posting as I select them.

Images from Summer

The rows of valor

Gone!

So many!

On the hill!

Into another state!

Lilly!

Iris!

Lantern and Angel!

The summer is in full swing. Here in the midwest it has been a scorcher with corn crops that once looked good stunded from weeks of  high temperatures and no rain. No rain has meant that the sky has been unuusally sunny even by summer standards. I have had little time to post new images although I have been taking shots at several different venues. Here are some shots from the Jefferson Barracks Cemetary and the Missouri Botanical Garden. Enjoy! I will soon be posting some new film images.

With twist of Blue

Golf Images from St. Albans

The Postcard

Clubhouse and Clouds

On the Tee Box

On the Green

Will It Drop?

Tournament Day

On the Range

Today's post are from images that I took yesterday serving as an event photographer for the annual St. Louis Arc's golf tournament at the Country Club of St. Albans in St. Louis. The weather and light were spectacular.

MDC Nature Photographer

Noppadol Paothong

Noppadol Paothong is the staff photographer for the Missouri Department of Conservation. Many of his images can be found in the Missouri Conservationist magazine with a monthly readership of 500,000. His website and blog give some first hand idea sof the life, technique and equipment of someone doing nature photography for a living. It sounds harder than I would have expected with hours and hours spent waiting quietly in a blind for just the right moment. I think many of us wonder what it would be like to make our living doing something that most of us do for pleasure. I hope this is usefull.

Working in America-Washington Metal Fabricators

Worker

Worker 2

Tools of the Trade



Using the Machines

Parts

Can You Guess

Gone for the Day

Close Encounters



God is in the Details



Machines

Scrap !

Precision

Tubes in Black and White

Yesterday I did a photo shoot with some friends at a Washington Metal Fabricators. Unfortunately the plant was mostly finished for the day but it still presented a number of great shots. So much of the time I am shooting, dead or dying buildings and industrial locations so it was great to get to shoot a living, working plant. WMF is very much alive and well. Enjoy these images from a real live Midwestern manufacturing company.

The Death of the Merchant of Venice



Mississippi River and Merchants Bridge



A Giant in Decline

The Wound

Her Majesty

St. Louis

Today's post are from a recent series of images shot just North of the down town area of St. Louis. I call this the Death of the Merchant of Venice as it is in and around a recently renovated bridge across the Mississippi called what else the Merchant's Bridge. It connects North St. Louis with Venice IL. Just accross the river into Illinois is an Ameren UE power station which is being demolished. It is a place grand in scale and size as the river, the bridge and the power station as well as the views back toward the city are all grand in scale.