Film, BMX, and Sacramento(#5)

Phew, this has been a busy last few days!  Sunday I attended a really cool event at the local BMX track and got a couple good photos.  Then Michelle and I jumped into the car and headed south to Sacramento for two nights of alone time.  While down there I got flipped off once and mean-mugged by a gangsta wannabe in his 300M with chrome fool!  Good times.  We also spent a few hours at Ikea and brought some organizational items home.  Upon our return to Redding, I immediately began assembling shelving units and hunting screws that little Daniel wandered off with.  After much grunting, sweating and hammering the Swedish furniture was completed and it was already time for a birthday party for Lyn.  I'm worn out just from writing all that! It was a lot of fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat, bad Sacramento drivers and all.

On the photography side, I didn't take as many photos in Sac town as I should have.  I was thinking about bringing a Mamiya down, but didn't really want to lug around a 6 pound camera plus tripod, plus the Canon for metering with out a clear idea of what I wanted to shoot.

In short, it stayed home.

Since receiving the two medium format cameras I have run a roll of film through each, but only developed a roll from one.  The results are fantastic, meaning no light leaks or major problems with negatives.  As for actual artistic value of the negatives, well, there is room for improvement!

It was a lot of fun to process film again.  Once the chemicals were mixed and in storage containers it was really simple to knock it out at home.  In fact, I may process another couple rolls today.

The duties of father-hood and husband-hood our calling so I must be off.  I'll leave you with this picture of Kevin Suttmoeller, 43 years young and still rocking BMX!

Don't let the lens distortion fool you, that gap was 20+ feet!  There are few more pics of BMX over at flickr.com/ihatecrashing and I will be posting more up as I get them edited.

-dg

Medium Format Here I Come... (#4)

After the last blog I began scouring the internet for a deal on a medium format camera.  I was really hoping to find an older Hasselblad for a deal on ebay, but quickly realized they don't go for much less than 1k and accessories for them aren't cheap either.  While checking a particular online camera forum, I stumbled across a gentleman selling two complete Mamiya RB67 Pro S models for a price I couldn't resist.  After sending a few text messages to a friend that has a similar model and exchanging emails with the seller, I decided I was going to take the plunge.

I decided to give medium format film a try for a couple of reasons.  One, I feel like with film you have to slow down and really considered what you are about to do.  Once you release the shutter, there is no "delete" button.  Sure you could throw the negative away, but that negative cost you money.  Two, looking into the viewfinder, at least a waist level viewfinder, makes you look away from the subject and down at the focus screen.  In a small way it helps me look at the negative I am about to make in a more objective way.  Three, the shutter makes the coolest sound ever.  Ok, that last one is a little cheesy but it is true!

The goal is to get a scanner and do most of my developing at home for black and white, color stuff I will send off for.  Hopefully the process of making film photos will help improve my digital photography and maybe I can get some good art out the whole ordeal!

-dg

Crossroads... (#3)

In case you haven't noticed, I'm a little bit obsessive-compulsive when it comes to things I'm interested in.  Cars, boats, motorcycles, biking, skating, surfing, sailing, radio controlled airplanes, photography, backpacking, shooting...  It is a long list, really long.  Unfortunately my time and money isn't as long as my list.  Maybe someday I'll create something that becomes wildly popular and produces enough income to be a full-time adventurer.  But for now I have to create a hierarchy of importance.  Decision time.

BMX (Bicycle Motocross) used to be on top of that hierarchy, it had a long reign in fact.  I rode BMX bikes from the age of 5 until 22.  Really getting serious around my sophomore year in high school.  The JV soccer team cut me and I pretty much swore off team sports and jumped on my bike.  That same week I completed a four foot tall launch ramp and landing, shoved it into the street and started jumping.

Working all summer for my dad, I was able to save up the $575 it cost me to build my "dirt jumper".  A beautiful chrome GT Fueler with Profile three-piece cranks, 48 spoked double walled rims.  It was a beast. When we moved to northern California it was all about racing.  My Fueler was cannibalized for the cranks and a very expensive 20" racing machine was built.  It's pretty amazing how much money I spent on BMXing.

Now, as I'm sure you have gathered if you have read the past blogs, photography is right up there in importance to me.  When I think about it, I was always the one trying to get pictures and video of my  friends when we were riding.  Maybe photography has always been that important to me but I just didn't recognize it.

Here is where the decision comes in.  I have a limited amount of fundage to spend at will.  So if I buy a bike, I have to wait to get camera gear.  What makes this decision difficult is that the emotional satisfaction of creating images is nearly identical to the satisfaction of riding.  The riding requires more physical work, but when you manual through a rhythm section, flow through a skatepark, or float a simple table-top over a smooth double, there is a feeling that you just created something pleasing.  It is art.  People enjoying watching it, you enjoy making it.  Just like photography.

So last night,  I was telling Michelle about my dilemma and she said I should go after photography.  Initially I resisted and stuck to my guns about buying a BMX bike.  But last night I couldn't sleep.  Sad, I know.  Seriously every time I woke up, which was often, I was thinking, "BMX or Photography".  Part of what I am afraid of is that if I don't get a bike now, the opportunity will never come again.  Talk about an irrational fear!  So after that sleepless night.  And this blog.  I think I am going to stick to photography.

Maybe I can do some stuff for the local BMX track with my photography.  Plus I have a son I can live vicariously through...

-dg

The Journey. (#2)

Last week I had an awesome opportunity to hang out with few really cool people and get to help out on the set of a "fashion film shoot".  My friend Jesse has been turning his Red One digital camera on its side lately and filming stuff in portrait format.  You can read more about it on his website jesserosten.com.  Anyway, Michelle was the make-up artist for the day and I tagged a long to help lug lights around.  It was kind of a date for Michelle and I because we both got to hang out and do things we love! 

I try to jump at every opportunity to be involved with things that interest me.  Lately that interest has been heavy in the photography department.  I'm not really an aspiring cinematographer, but a lot of principles from film-making bleed over to photo-making.  Even when moving light stands around there are little concepts that I pick up and it encourages me to stretch my own creativity. 

Speaking of stretching, our friends the Skinners asked me to take some photos for them and I agreed.  It was a little nerve wracking considering this was my second time doing a photo shoot with someone other than Michelle and Daniel!  They seemed to be happy with the results which is what really counts, but I definitely was not breaking any molds.  

As a novice photographer, I am noticing how it is a journey to find my own style.  It seems that some people pick up a camera and have a distinct view on the world and it shows through their work.  Someday I'll have a signature look.  In the meantime it is a lot of copying and experimenting, which is kind of fun and frustrating. 

I guess the whole purpose of this post is to say that I am on an artistic journey, although it doesn't always feel that way, and I am grateful for the opportunity to participate.  What journey are you on?

-dg