spike The Ship of Theseus is not just a ship, and it’s not just an object made up of ship parts; it’s an idea perceived as a (specific) ship. And it’s not just an idea perceived as that specific ship, it’s an idea that has continuity from its initial construction, even if not one single original ship part is still in place.
Now let’s say this ship was founded in 1934.
In order to motivate myself to spend more time with cameras, I’ve decided, somewhat on a whim, to begin the “365 Project.” Each day for a year, I will take at least one photograph digitally, develop them through post-processing using Lightroom and Photoshop, and publish them in a set on Flickr.
This will give me an excuse to try new lighting techniques and, in some cases but not frequently, use post-processing effects to add a touch of creativity. I’m a big fan of realistic looking photographs rather than adding fake aged-print or cross-processed looks, so if I do add some effects, I’ll try to stay faithful to the content of the image.
Here are some of my favorites so far.
This article is now on The Landes Family Tree Research website. Continue reading here.
I love the photographs I can get with my Mamiya RZ67 Pro II, but the camera isn’t exactly portable. There’s something special about medium format film, and I’ve wanted to be able to get that quality without lugging around a suitcase. Before Memorial Day, I shopped around and purchases a used Mamiya C330 Professional.
It’s a twin lens reflect camera, so it is taking me some time to adjust. With the twin lens, you compose with the upper lens while the camera uses the lower lens to capture the exposure. That creates a problem with composition, where the resulting photograph is framed slightly differently from what I see through the waist-level finder. Also, when focusing close, the camera extends its bellows, which requires an adjustment to the settings to ensure enough light is reaching the film.
With practice, I’m sure I can overcome these quirks. When I picked up the negatives from the lab, I was surprised about how accurate the exposures were. I had, for the most part, guessed the exposure settings using the “Sunny 16” rule.
The camera taxes a 6cm x 6cm square format image, a little smaller than the 6cm x 7cm provided by the RZ67, but it comes in a package that is much more convenient. I had considered getting a Mamiya 7 II for a portable camera capable of 6×7 negatives, but I liked the idea of the twin lens reflex more than the idea of a rangefinder.
As I tend to do, I took the camera to Princeton to get a feel for its capabilities. I chose the black and white Ilford HP5 Plus for the first roll. The second roll was used mostly for Memorial Day activities, and for this I used Fujifilm 400H. I’ve included some of the black and white photos — which were for the most part more successful than the color images — after the jump. You can also view the Flickr sets for my walk around Princeton and for my Memorial Day Activities.
As part of my Photographic Essay course at the Arts Council of Princeton, I was tasked with creating a set of photographs with an underlying theme or narrative. I was looking for a topic somewhat esoteric, but my creative mind just wasn’t functioning well during this particular time frame. I narrowed my choices down to something related to the Delaware and Raritan Canal or a singing competition show supported by Reid Sound at Rider University. Even after starting with the latter, I kept an open mind and prepared to take the photographic essay in a different direction to protect against the possibility that I could not spam the entire event from start to finish with enough images to tell some sort of story.
The event moved forward, and I committed myself to the project. “The R Factor” mimicked the popular television show “The X Factor.” More than twenty student performers from the university auditioned for a chance to make the final performance. I started with these auditions, taking photographs to document the progress of some of the performers as well of the event itself.
The photography presented the usual challenges. Stages and auditoriums are dark locations, and a spotlight can easily throw off metering. I pumped up the ISO to compensate for the lighting. In the hallways where performers were waiting and warming up before the final performance, the fluorescent lighting played with the color balance.
There is a good amount of talent on the Rider University campus. The R Factor did a great job of showcasing some of the school’s best performers. Here are a few images from the events; more photographs are available on Flickr, many of which were not included in the essay. A slideshow of the essay follows these photos.
After the jump, I present a slideshow representing the photographic essay in its current form. The essay as a whole is relatively successful, telling the story of the event, although I did not use any text for narrative.
Time flies. I resurrected this website a year ago, and I’m somewhat dismayed at how little I’ve shared here. Much of this problem is the fact my business has required a significant dedication of time and effort, particularly during the last several months. I’d like to think I’ll have a chance to catch my breath, but that may not be the case for some time.
I have taken some time recently to delve into my family’s history from an ancestry perspective. Using Ancestry.com and all the domestic records they’ve digitized, I’ve been able to match family memory with public records, like the Census, filling in some holes in my knowledge and getting to know some of the relatives I never had a chance to meet. Also, I’ve found a few existing family trees within the service with which I have a relative in common.
While visiting family in California for Thanksgiving this year, I was able to skim through many old documents my grandmother was able to save before she passed away, including birth certificates, a ketubah written in Aramaic, army records, and high school diplomas.
The biggest clue to family history on my father’s side, tracing family back to the time before they arrived in the United States, might have been a scanned family tree diagram sent through email about ten years ago. Unfortunately, no one I’ve talked to seems to have this email or attachment saved.
My next step would probably be to talk to many of the relatives included on the family tree to hear stories of relatives and further complete this project. I haven’t been a particularly good family member in the past, and I’m not in touch with much of my family. I’d be a bit nervous approaching anyone.
If you’re family and you’re interested in seeing what I’ve gathered so far, let me know.
On Independence Day, I spent the morning and afternoon at Battlefield State Park in Princeton, New Jersey. The Princeton Battlefield Preservation Society presented a partial reenactment of the Battle of Princeton, a turning point for General Washington’s troops and Patriots during the Revolutionary War. The day was filled with a variety of demonstrations rather than an outright reenactment.
I decided to bring my Mamiya RZ67 Professional II camera to the event. While most spectators had digital cameras, my older medium format film camera seemed more appropriate. This camera — or any camera — is just as anachronistic as a digital camera, but it was fun to focus on a more manual process in this environment.
This manual process made the day fraught with frustrations for me. I would require a tripod to get the best shots, but carrying my tripod in addition to the camera from one spot to another was a pain. With so many spectators, I wouldn’t be able to get a good shot of the demonstrations without setting up in front of people who were there with their families to enjoy the day’s festivities. As a result, I ended up facing the backs of the subjects.
After giving up on the tripod, I tried holding the camera steady, which proved to be difficult with the cannon demonstration. The best timing would be right as the cannon fired, but each time, the noise startled me. I jumped, and had a difficult time holding the camera steady for the right moment. A small digital camera would have come in handy.
The film was developed by Taylor Photo in Princeton, New Jersey, and scanned at home with an Epson Perfection V700. Continue reading to see a few of the photographs, or see more by visiting this set on Flickr.
I avoided cameraphones for a while. I’d rather have a device that worked exceptionally well as a phone without a lens than a mediocre phone that takes mediocre, low-resolution digital photographs. Eventually, I relented and purchased the original Motorola DROID. The phone comes with a mediocre camera, bust most of that mediocrity can be hidden using applications that process the photograph. There is a subset of applications that attempt to mimic the classic toy-camera look.
Plastic “toy” cameras, like the Holga and Diana, incorporate unpredictability into the art of photography. In general, photographers seek to control everything about their images, particularly lighting and composition. Much of this is left to chance when using toy cameras. Their imprecise construction allowed light to leak onto the film, adding streaks of color or light at locations. Focusing is imprecise, and vignetting is a virtue to be appreciated, not avoided.
Modern apps like those available for the Android operating system and the iPhone allow precise customization over these random imperfections, but that takes the fun out this particular type of art. Even when choosing a “random” setting in these applications, you are left with the knowledge that the image is a lie. The phone, despite not being the best digital camera available, is capable of better photographs. Real plastic Holgas and Dianas produce these images as a result of the only type of image processing they are capable of — the photograph you take is their best work. They are low-fidelity, not just “slumming it.”
The problem today is that despite the fact that these toy cameras can be found for just about $20, it’s still less expensive in the long run to fake the look with your phone, a decide you might have anyway. The costs of buying and developing film add up quickly. The cameras once designed as an affordable option for kids is now out of reach for many photographers. One can’t forget that with digital photography, photographers have the luxury of instant review and retake.
With the added complication of processing film, I’ve only been slowly working with my Holga so far. Amy shot the first roll (black and white) with the Diana today; it will be a few days before I see the resulting negatives. Here is a selection from the Holga. More are available in the Toy Camera set on Flickr. I should point out that the pattern of white dots seems to be a result of the developing process. I’ll speak to the lab about this when I go to pick up the next rolls of film they’re currently developing. Keep reading for some of my recent photographs using the Holga.
On Sunday, I spent the afternoon walking around Sourland Mountain Preserve in Somerset County, New Jersey. This was my first time at the location, and the entrance is not far from where I live. I’m not sure how many miles I walked while at the preserve, but I spent some time walking up and down part of the mountain, mostly in a clearing. I also spent some time walking trails amongst the trees. A pond nearby was populated with three families of geese, and two of these families included a number of goslings.
Most people think New Jersey is flat. Much of New Jersey is, but the state does have its share of hills and mountains, and Sourland Mountain is a great example. As I climbed higher, I could see the houses of Hillsborough in the distance.
I brought my Canon 1D Mark III with me. On hand was a Canon 70-200mm f/4L and the original 2x extender I borrowed from a friend. In addition to this combination, I shot with the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 and briefly with the Canon 50mm f/1.4. The preserve is a great location, and I’d like to come back for portraiture.
The full gallery is on Flickr, and I’ve included a few more photographs after the jump.
I received late word that the cast, executive producers, director, and head writer/showrunner of Doctor Who would be in New York City to promote the new series premiering soon with an event sponsored by television station BBC America — like the BBC, but with commercials interrupting shows designed not to be interrupted. This special event Monday night featured the world premiere of the first story (two episodes) of the new series, before the official airing on April 23, 2011 in the United States and the United Kingdom. The screening was followed by a question and answer session with a panel composed of the individual listed above.
Thinking the event would be only slightly more popular than last year’s, I planned to line up in front of the theater hosting the event in the early afternoon. After checking updates on Facebook in the morning, I realized that I needed to get into Manhattan early or else miss my chance to get in. I also planned to hold a spot for M-D as well, which was unfortunately a fruitless effort. I arrived in line around 9:30 am, and I was already number 450 in line for an event that supposedly had a capacity for 500. Many people in line in front of me camped out the night before; others were waiting since midnight. Despite being a fan of Doctor Who in some form since at least 1981, I was clearly not the biggest fan there. I wasn’t even dressed in costume like about 50% of the other enthusiasts.
I’m quite fine with that. The relationship between “fan” and “object of fan’s affection” is weird. I don’t like relating to people at significantly disparate levels. It’s awkward and strange. People seem to be fanatic about science fiction actors — more so than athletes. Fanaticism is so strong that these individuals say ridiculous things and ask pointless questions at Q&A sessions. To British and Scottish individuals in the television industry, these vocal representatives of my country can be embarrassing.
In a perfect world, I would be able to relate to individuals I admire on a professional level. I’m not in the television industry, however, so that is unlikely. Unless you’re a teenage girl, it’s just not OK to gush over popular individuals.
The first two episodes of the new Doctor Who series are not without their flaws, but they will be a fantastic way to start off what will be an exciting series with interesting stories, wrenching drama, and new monsters. In the theater during the screening, there was almost as many, “Huh?!” reactions as enthusiastic cheers. Afterwards, writer Steven Moffat begged us not to reveal too much about the show (spoilers!), so I’ll just say that I’m not quite sure how viewers will be able to stand waiting one week between episodes one and two.
After the break is one of the many trailers for the new series.