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.

new arrivals in the holga family

i've got some new arrivals in the holga gallery! - san francisco, manhattan, brooklyn, and washington dc. here are a few of them...

once again, the brooklyn bridge:



honestly, can anyone walk over this bridge with camera in hand and not take a few shots? it's such a great location - kind of a photo-cliché but that's ok, right?



love the flatiron building... and the raindrop-covered chair.

i modified my holga so it can focus as close as two feet. it really emphasizes what's in the center of the picture and get you some extra vignetting. the picture above was taken like so.



this is one of my favorite new additions. it just seemed to work out nicely straight from the scan. it's kind of a visual contradiction - everyone is there at the lincoln memorial but no one is looking at him. in fact, they've all got their backs to him. it makes you question the situation.

photographs from holgas have a distinctive style, i.e. lo-fi, (usually) square, optically inferior, etc., etc. it really seems to work well with certain subjects (for me, architecture).

so what scene or location would you want to see in holga form? is there something you feel would fit particularly well into this category? what do you think?

a run-in with the authorities, pt. 2

if you haven't read my post a run-in with the authorities, pt. 1, check it out and then come back.

so here's the photograph that i came away with (luckily i might say).


i'm extremely happy that one of the pictures turned out from that night. i don't think i'll be going back there any time soon.

here's the original photograph by george tice - petit's mobil station - from 1974.

things have changed quite a bit since 1974 when tice was there. the trees have shot up, the water tower has been repainted, and there's a lot more light on the tower. it's kind of lost it's looming qualities but i think it still works. it's one of those ordinary places made more interesting just by noticing it.

the brooklyn bridge

if you were to ask someone to name a bridge in new york city there's a very good chance that they would say "the brooklyn bridge". it has to be one of the most famous bridges in the world. as such it is probably also one of the most photographed bridges in the world. despite its superstar status i figured that i had better not miss an opportunity to photograph it while we're living in new york.

one catch with photographing famous places it that they all have their famous shots - sunset on delicate arch, yosemite valley, the golden gate bridge from the marin headlands - they're the pictures that you see over and over and over. if you visit these places at the right times you can usually see a row of people with their tripods set up to capture that famous shot for themselves.

i'm not against the idea of taking famous photographs for yourself, in fact i think it's a good place to start - just don't end there.

here are two familiar shots of brooklyn bridge that i took in december:



the straight on shot of one of the the towers...



the shot from brooklyn with downtown manhattan in the background...

now here's a shot that i took as i was crossing the brooklyn bridge. i guess it's not really a picture of the brooklyn bridge per se but rather a deeper view into manhattan which includes the brooklyn bridge (as well as the manhattan bridge, the empire state building, and the chrysler building).



the world is full of new ways of seeing things if you just take a little more time to explore and find them.