So, I’ve recently purchased way too much film, flashcubes, and instant analog greatness.  Now, I have a stock pile of film, and it’s time to shoot.  I’ve been out of town a lot, and only have random things in my hotel room to shoot.  So, I took a few “Polaroids”, and then snapped some point and shoot photos of the result.  No scanner in my room, so bear with me.

The first is some still photography…the second is a shot of the overpriced movie I bought in my hotel room.  I can go on and on about the details of how I shot this, but it’s just a little thinking about light.  Everything else is boring.  Regardless, I hope you enjoy the simplicity of these photos, and the fact that everything doesn’t have to be “great” to be a photo you like.

I learned a big lesson this day.  If you have a couple who plans a wonderful day, is in love with each other, and has fantastic family and friends…then you have a recipie for a beautiful wedding.  In the end, I just needed to show up and do what I usually do.  Capture great photos of a couple in love with each other.  Thank you Mary and James for letting me be a part of your special day.

Now…on to the photos:

I tried one of these out today and I’m going to be keeping an eye on the Sony NEX models…

But, Polaroid film is really cool.  I remember my first camera.  It was a Kodak Champ.  Instant, integral, Polaroid-esque camera.  Flashbar and all.  Then, Polaroid sued Kodak.  The cameras were discontinued, and film was no longer available.  Fast forward to now, and there are a boat-load of Polaroid integral film cameras still out there.  Now, there is film.

So, what you see here, is I’m a Pioneer Member.

So, I know what you’re saying.  Cool…this guy has spent way too much money on the ability to take blurry photos.  Now, before all the Impossible Project fans send me hate mail, let me say this.  First, I’m a Pioneer Member.  So, lay off.  Second, I do like the “project”, and I plan to support it.  I’ve taken some cool photos, but I really want to see improvements.  Figure it out, and I’m there.

That said, I still love my $3 Colorpack III the best.  It’s zone (guess) focusing, plastic lens, and just simplicity and coolness all wrapped up in one.

You can probably seen in the photo an infamous flashcube.  I had a concern that I wouldn’t be able to get these anymore, and they’d be really expensive.  Well, I’ve been pleasantly surprised.  I’m finding a great number of these on eBay, and they’re cheap.  So…all your flashcubes belong to me!

These things seem to store well, and I have a serious stockpile of them.  :)

Something great I got from the Impossible Project was a big shipment of Polaroid Type 100 peel-apart film.  They were looking to generate some cash for their next Impossible film iteration, and I bought a bunch of packs at 50% off.  Today, if you want sepia, cross-processed, or other film effects, you just click the action.  Before PhotoShop, you actually needed to change your film.  Recently, I shot some really cool double-exposures using some Polaroid Blue, my Colorpack III, and working with flashcubes.

Thanks to Aleks for another great shoot.  These shots took a decent amount of time, and I supplemented light with a Menards shop light and a 150W bulb.  We also finished off a pack of Fuji FP-100C film.

For the rest of this month, I have a lot of travelling to do, and will try to blog more at night.  I’ve been playing around with so many cool things, I just need to sit down and write about them.  The above pictures (aside from scanned Polaroids) were taken with my Canon 50mm f/1.2L.  That lens is serious glass, and fits perfectly with my shooting style.

Also coming up, I should get back my wedding images from my second shooter gig with Peter Matthes Photography.

…more to come…

I was a second shooter again for Peter Matthes Photography.  Pete and I both shoot Canon, we have different styles which compliment each other’s shooting, and I know exactly how he wants lights setup when needed.  Have a look at a sample of some photos from the day.

More to come…

…shoot boring photos…

…cut my prices…

…shoot wedding ’table photos’…

I don’t care if someone will do it cheaper…

I want to shoot what I want for people who appreciate it.

It’s been too long since I’ve blogged or updated my site.  First, life is good.  I have something new going on at my day job.  It’s challenging, exciting, and I’m looking forward to the future.  That said…I’m not abandoning photography.  I’m just focusing on what I like, what I want, and what inspires me in the world of photography.  Yes, I’m still shooting…just not enough.  Yes, I’m taking sessions here and there.  But, only for the right “fit”.

So, what’s next?  Well, a re-evaluation of my site.   I’m going to be busy for a bit longer, but hope to dabble in some new stuff, play with film and Polaroids a bit more, and plan out the next workshop later this year.

Here’s an oldie but goodie!

Stay tuned…but until then, enjoy your summer.

-Jay

So…please pardon any snafus while I fix what needs to be fixed. 

It’s great to have to think about the photo in advance, because it might be several weeks before you see the results.

One thing we did on our anniversary is to sit down, and look at our wedding album.  It was a weekday, we were tired from work.  So, we made a pizza, opened some wine, and sat on the couch.  Marta went and got our album.  We looked through it 3 times.  It was great.  There wasn’t any grabbing the laptop, finding the CD, resetting the WiFi, or looking through folders on our hard drive.  The album was on a bookshelf, and we knew exactly where to find it.  It wasn’t the victim of a corrupt disk, or lost on the “cloud”.  No pop-up ads appeared looking through the photos.

The next day, I brought it to work.  I showed a few co-workers, and we all got a kick out of it.  People tell me I’m skinny, and the album proves that I WAS skinny…now…well, that’s still open for discussion. 

So, what’s the point of this post?  No, it’s not to talk about the fact I have a wonderful wife, and a fantastic marriage.  It’s to promote the wedding album. It is an unfortunate problem where brides looking for a wedding photographer is a race to the bottom.  Meaning, the most photos for the least price, and none of that ala carte stuff.  Yes, a wedding album is expensive.  The reason for that, is 10 years from now, it will look just like it did.  It’s a snapshot in time you can never get back.  It’s easy to share with friends, it doesn’t require electricity, and it tells a story.  That story is a special moment in time which will always be remembered.

To all those future brides: Please don’t focus on images/dollar.  If you are truly broke, and your wedding is low budget, plan for an album in the future.  No one wants to look at your laptop, Flickr, Shutterfly, or whatever.com account.  When I got married, it was shot on film, and everyone still used floppy disks.  Don’t allow for your wedding photos to become an obsolete format.  Get an album, grab some family or friends, and sit down and have a look.  You want a story of your special day.

Special thanks to Roger Beck for the fantastic job he did photographing Marta’s and my wedding.
http://rogerbeck.com

Until next time…