the celebration

to celebrate the arrival of the scanner, i tried out some of my fuji provia slide film.

remember this post? remember how at the end i said i'd get the pictures up as soon as i had them? well now i have them. it only took me a year and a half.


see that white speck on the horizon at the end of the little path?

here's that section blown up:



yeah, that's a boat.

thank you epson.

self sufficiency in scanning

back when i was at byu and had free access to an imacon scanner for my 4x5 film i didn't know how good i had it. i didn't really have a plan for scanning my film once i left school - i guess i just figured i would cross that bridge when i got there.

well, that bridge has been harder to cross than i ever imagined. in new york i had to rent time on a scanner in manhattan. not too bad but still somewhat expensive. now that we're in indiana, there aren't really any viable options (that i have found) for getting my film scanned...

until now.

thanks to epson (as i've mentioned in a previous post) that bridge has just been shortened significantly.

i've gone and made the leap, purchasing the epson v700.

this beauty is a fraction of the cost of the imacon yet is almost equal to it (from what i've read) in quality.

i've got a handful of slides to scan and, if the u.p.s. man comes through, i should have the scanner in my home tonight. i will be, in a way, fully self-sufficient - photographically speaking.

that calls for a celebration!

photographs on display

i'm really excited to announce that i've got 15 photographs hanging up at 816 Pint & Slice (a restaurant in downtown fort wayne) from now through december.

it's a pretty cool setup they have there - every month they give local artists a chance to display their work, free of charge or commission.

so if you're in the area looking for some pizza, stop by, get a bite, and take a look!

816 Pint & Slice

816 South Calhoun St.

Fort Wayne, IN

drum roll please...

i've finally put some finishing touches on my new gallery including some new 35mm 'street photography' shots. i think i'll call it finished for now.

also, i just got some large format slides back from the lab (woohoo!) so as soon as i get my photo budget out of the red and well into the black i'll purchase this and post them in my gallery.

~

as a side note, i have to say that finding this was a miracle. for a while the only reasonable way to get my 4x5's scanned was by using one of these. byu had one that i used while at school and i was able to rent time on one in nyc for a reasonable fee but since leaving ny i haven't had access to one. thanks epson for bringing high quality, large format scans into a reasonable price range.

boston, and other news

can i just say, i love my new camera. it's so compact and user-friendly. that might sound weird considering it's size, but compared to my old camera, this one is a real champ.

anyhow, last may (sorry i'm a little behind on my posts) we went to boston to see my brother-in-law - and the city - before they moved away. just before we got boston we stopped in at the vine lake cemetery in medfield, massachusetts. my great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great (that's 9 greats) grandfather, james allen, is buried there. he was the first of my allen ancestors to come to america - somewhere around 1637. he was also one of the original 13 founders of medfield. it was a pretty cool experience to learn a bit about him and then see his gravesite.

i brought my large format camera and took some shots of james allen's headstone.

here i am, about to photograph acorn street in boston. i'm not quite sure how the picture will turn out because of the crazy light - an overcast day would have been better but hey, you can't really schedule that when you're just visiting.

we also stopped by the sacred grove in palmyra, new york on the way home.

and now for the first bit of news, i got a new (used) lens!

this piece of work is the calumet caltar 90mm f/8 lens (woohoo!). i sold my other camera and was able to get this wide angle lens with the proceeds.

it's not the top of the line lens, and f/8 is a little slow for this type of lens, but it is a good lens and also an enormous improvement on what i was using before.

and as for my website... it's coming. i hate to promise but hopefully it will be up by this weekend. cross your fingers.

heads up!

if you head over to my website and find this, don't be alarmed. i'm just in the middle of transitioning to a new site. hopefully it will be up by the end of the week. thanks!

holiday sale and giveaway!

from now up until the clock strikes 12 on new years day, you can get 10% off of your order from my gallery! simply use the super secret coupon code 'holidaypromo' as you check out and the price will be magically reduced!

but that's not all!

as an added bonus (for me and for one lucky winner), marta of the famed 'marta writes' blog has included me in her lineup of holiday giveaways! she is featuring various artists and other crafty people every weekday this week and all through next week. be sure to head on over to her blog on tuesday, december 15th and comment on the giveaway post to be entered.

happy holidays!

sale at jeffreyallenphoto.com!

head on over to jeffreyallenphoto.com for a 10% off deal on prints from 8"x10" up to 16"x24" (excluding canvas prints).

the sale ends monday at noon so head over there, pull up a chair, and stay a while.

sorry paul simon

yesterday must have been a sad day for paul simon. they finally took his kodachrome away.

yes it's true, kodak announced yesterday that they are discontinuing this beloved slide film.

kodachrome was loved for its vibrant and very accurate color reproduction. it was a favorite of photographers since it was first released in 1935. for example, the famous 'afghan girl' on the cover of national geographic was shot using kodachrome.

i can't say i'll miss this film though - i've never actually used it before. still the news that it's being discontinued is sad. it makes me wonder what the future holds for film in general. i don't think it will disappear completely any time soon - there are still too many advantages.

seeing as how i've never used it before i thought i had better give it a try before it's gone completely. i went ahead and shelled out 11 clams to get a roll of it. now that's some pricey slide film - i thought velvia was bad at 6 bucks a roll. i'll see for myself what mr. simon was so excited about back in 1973.

now for those with an extra 18 minutes to spare i've included a video (in 2 parts) that kodak made in 1958 to show how film is made. if you speak dutch you're in luck (don't worry, there are english captions). you can also watch a higher quality version of the video here.

a plug for a blog of a friend of a friend

rodney smith is a clever and interesting photographer. i first heard of him back at school when the museum of fine art held a show of his called 'adam's dream'. in a lot of his work he uses well-dressed models in strange and interesting situations. his black and white photographs have a nostalgic, romantic, and other-worldly feeling.

i just received word today that he has started blogging. i can only imagine that his writing, like his photography, will be whimsical and interesting. if you haven't heard of him yet, check out his site and his blog.

in his own words:

Dear Family, Friends, Colleagues, Associates, Enemies, Fans, Detractors, Etc.

I am very proud to announce my latest endeavor: a blog of biblical proportions that lifts the veil that for too long has shrouded my work in secrecy. Please visit here, where The End is just the beginning. Please link me, add me, and otherwise follow me.

All my best,

Rodney Smith

stop by his site and check out his blog for a minute or two, you'll be sure to enjoy it.