Roxy Creative – Arkansas Based Commercial Fashion and Advertising Photographer

52 Week Photography Project – Week 4

Again… I’m not much of a writer, so I made a video.

Again, these pictures were photographed with Ilford Delta 3200 rated at ISO 400. My assumptions of them being very low contrast and grainy from the pull processing wasn’t quite correct. There was a little grain (which is hard to notice at this size on the blog… one of the advantages of medium format film), but not as much as when it’s shot and processed at 3200. There is still a lot of tonality and range in the film as well.

As an unexpected side note, something I did on this roll of film was accidentally shoot the last couple of frames WAY over exposed. It would be like shooting this film at ISO 80. Of course I noticed I had over exposed it right afterwards and just expected those last frames to be blown out and unusable after developing this film. To my surprise, the pictures turned out really well. Look for a blog post about this sometime next week. I hope you enjoy the pictures below.

Sometimes I don’t have someone to stand in front of the lens to test film and lighting, so I use my daughter’s stuffed animals.

Sometimes I can convince my wife to stand in front of the camera.

Tech specs:

Mamiya 645 AFD

80mm lens @ f/I don’t remember… maybe 3.5?

Shutter Speed: I don’t remember

Film: 120 Ilford Delta 3200 Pro rated at ISO 400

Developer: Kodak D-76 (1+1) pull processed for 9:30 @ 68 degrees

Now that you’re done checking out the pictures, don’t forget to comment below, then head over to Patti’s blog to see her photo from this weeks theme of the 52 Week Photo Project.

52 Week Photography Project – Week 3

Ok… we’re on week three of 52. To be honest, I didn’t put much effort into this week. We’ve been fighting off germs around the Gregory household. Also, ever since I saw the theme for this week, I was hoping a certain event would occur. It did. This week’s theme is “beginning.” The event I was hoping to occur was that my dog would have her puppies. It’s the beginning of eight new lives. I hope you like the picture

After you’re finished checking out my picture below, be sure to look at Erin Bunting’s week three photo.

Tech specs:

Nikon D700

35mm lens @ f/5.0

Shutter 1/50

ISO 6400

52 Week Photography Project – Week 2

This week’s theme is “12.” When I toss around ideas for photos in my head, I usually toss the first few ideas because I want to get something original. I always think that if it was an easy idea to come up with, then there’s probably a hundred other people doing it as well. This weeks idea was the second idea to pop in my head. I usually would have dismissed it, but it was an opportunity for me to try something I don’t usually do. So… here’s my thought process: 12 –> 1 dozen –> eggs –> white –> high-key photo. I hope that makes sense. I have always loved low-key photos (see my week 1 photo) but have never really tried a high-key picture and this gave me that opportunity. Many people think of high-key photos as being over exposed, but that’s incorrect. It’s lighting a scene to reduce contrast ratios between lighter portions and dark portions. It is a very interesting style of photography and if you’re a photographer reading this, i definitely recommend you check out the idea. Even after shooting this, it’s still not my favorite, but I’m glad I played around with the idea. After checking out my pics hop over to my photo buddy, Taylor Howard’s week 2 blog post. Without further adieu… my photo and a cell phone pic of my setup.

Sorry about the cheesy drop shadow on the edge of the photo. I wanted you to see the crop. Oh… That’s not a real egg. It came from my daughter’s play kitchen

And here’s my setup for the photo.

I used the flashlight to help me see to focus. With no contrast, there wasn’t anything for the camera to focus on, so I had to do it manually.

Tech specs:

35mm lens @ f/3.5

Shutter 1/250

ISO 320

SB-900 inside softbox set @ 1/32 power

52 Week Photography Project – Week 1

I have joined in with a group of other local picture takers to do a 52 week photography project. They have provided a theme for every week of 2012. The first week’s theme is a self-portrait. After checking out my photo and video below, head over to Kim Boyd’s self-portrait. She’s the very talented photographer behind KB Candids.

We all had to answer a few questions about ourselves. I did it on a video.

You’ll find my self-portrait below. I’m the “Snobby Mr. Rogers of Photography.”

Tech specs
35mm lens @ f/22
shutter 1.3″
ISO 200

1 strobe with a 20 degree gridspot on my face
1 snooted flash on my shoe
1 handheld daylight balanced flashlight being held by my beautiful assistant (wife) over the cameras.

If I could go back and do it again, I’d probably add a little bit of light bouncing off the wall behind my legs so you’d be able to tell I was crossing my leg. Because my legs are in black, it could cause some people to think my leg is contorted at a weird angle. I’d also probably add a rim or hair light for a little more separation from the background.

It’s Time to Reevaluate our Art

I know I should keep my mouth shut, but sometimes the pressure valve needs to be released. I’m not even sure this will be posted for others to read. I’m typing this on a Word document to let my thoughts marinate awhile before deciding to post it.

I’ve had my fill of photography. I’m tired of it. Where has this art form gone? Everything I see from other photographers online, and everything I post online is kitsch. It has no artistic value. It seems we’ve restricted the sensations depicted in photographs to laughter and lechery.

Where’s the class?

Where’s the mystery?

Where’s the emotion?

Where’s the head-scratching, thought-provoking societal rebelliousness of art past?

Art used to change minds, influence culture, build nations up and tear nations down. Certainly, there’s a time and place for insipid photographs, but please don’t constrain yourself. I believe no one (including myself) realizes the power encompassed in their eye when the camera is up to their face.

“Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.” James 4:14

How is your art going to make an impact through your short walk in this world?