the photography thread.

[Vinchenzo]

some photos from the past few months

[chuck d]

^^^I like the candle diptych!  It's interesting how the change in perspective affects the viewing of two similar photographs.  The first one seems like it's shot from the perspective of kneeling to an alter as part of a religious ritual.  Then the next shot makes me think that I've stood up and turned around and am now examining the alter after finishing my obligatory practice, which makes me want to examine the practice.  Paul Graham made a book called Shimmer of Possibility that deals a lot with how sequencing and multiple shots of similar subject matter influence how photographs are read.  It's kind of an elitist photography book, but that's because he's a badass.  It's well worth a look.
And I like the two birds with one book bag!

[chuck d]

Doing a photo series of hookers in front of my apartment.

Are these film or digital?  Have you fucked around with higher ASA/ISO speeds?  These are some photos that a little grain wouldn't ruin.  Hope you keep at it, that's a pretty awesome opportunity.

[Vinchenzo]

^^^I like the candle diptych!  It's interesting how the change in perspective affects the viewing of two similar photographs.  The first one seems like it's shot from the perspective of kneeling to an alter as part of a religious ritual.  Then the next shot makes me think that I've stood up and turned around and am now examining the alter after finishing my obligatory practice, which makes me want to examine the practice.  Paul Graham made a book called Shimmer of Possibility that deals a lot with how sequencing and multiple shots of similar subject matter influence how photographs are read.  It's kind of an elitist photography book, but that's because he's a badass.  It's well worth a look.
And I like the two birds with one book bag!

Very true on the shots since I was crouching on the first and standing on the second. Thanks a lot.

[Rockin Robbin]

Are these film or digital?  Have you fucked around with higher ASA/ISO speeds?  These are some photos that a little grain wouldn't ruin.  Hope you keep at it, that's a pretty awesome opportunity.

They're digital, but I'm shooting between 3200-4000 ISO. Here's tonight's lovely ladies.

[Fongstarr.]

Where do you live where there are so any pros all night? Would be sick to take a pic of the girl talking to the potential buyer. Like leaning over the car. It's like capturing a crime.

[eranka]

haha you live in a really nice neighbourhood, great series!

[_UniversalTruth_]

some tourist stuff

[Cadillac Ranch Dressing]

[_UniversalTruth_]

[Brandon]

such rad stuff in here lately.

RR, that series is fucking awesome. please keep up with it and post bits often.

chuck d, i went to check out the garry winogrand retrospective at SFMoMA last weekend. loved every bit of it, but i left thinking more about paul graham's lawnmower man series, which was located on the floor below. each frame was placed either a little higher or lower than the previous, forcing you to mimic the back and forth/up and down push of the mower as you moved across the wall. had to keep coming back to it. thanks for reminding me to check out that book.

[Bobby Peru]

Rockin Robbin. Those hooker shots are great. Do you have an online portfolio of other stuff?

Also, are you in the tenderloin?

[chuck d]

such rad stuff in here lately.

RR, that series is fucking awesome. please keep up with it and post bits often.

chuck d, i went to check out the garry winogrand retrospective at SFMoMA last weekend. loved every bit of it, but i left thinking more about paul graham's lawnmower man series, which was located on the floor below. each frame was placed either a little higher or lower than the previous, forcing you to mimic the back and forth/up and down push of the mower as you moved across the wall. had to keep coming back to it. thanks for reminding me to check out that book.

I have a friend who just got hired at SFMoMA.  I wish I were in the Bay Area, I'd love to see a Winogrand retrospective. 

Paul Graham is a genius.  One of the few recognized champions of sequenciing.  Most photographers are out to get "that one" but he grasps the potential of the medium to do more than make "breathtaking" "eye-popping" "jaw-dropping" single images.  Those type of photographs people love to look at... once.  Then you forget about it.  Paul Graham can make you fixated on photographs of people walking home with cases of Pepsi, or mowing lawns.  One of my favorite things ever said about photography came from The Unreasonable Apple (http://www.paulgrahamarchive.com/writings_by.html). 
This part...
"The point is that we need the smart, erudite and eloquent people in the art world, the clever curators and writers, those who do get it, to take the time to speak seriously about the nature of such photography, and articulate something of its dazzlingly unique qualities, to help the greater art world, and the public itself understand the nature of the creative act when you dance with life itself - when you form the meaningless world into photographs, then form those photographs into a meaningful world."

[Hercules Rockefeller]

[Evil Kraken from the Arctic Sea]

Are any of you guys active on some sort of photography community where you share your shots and get feedback etc?

[sexualhelon]

Yeah, Rockin Robbin, where do you live?

Also - I think you guys have inspired me to get a new camera before my trip to the Baltics/Eastern Europe in May. Rockin Robbin, Chuck D, and Cadillac Ranch Dressing - I like you guys stuff and am wondering if you have any suggestions for a good camera worth my while for carrying around that's near the $300 range? Or anyone can chime in on this really. Definitely time for an upgrade from the old Canon powershot. I did have a 40d for a bit but sold it a while ago - it was just too heavy and a hassle to carry around since I like something that fits snug in my bag, around my neck, or in my pocket for spur of the moment shots. http://woodfriend.blogspot.com/ that's a little photo blogspot I started but would like to actually get more into it.

Oh, and speaking of photography, I'm going to the 43 zine release tonight in LA at the gallery next to the Burgundy Room. Stoked. They're not involved directly with 43 I don't think but Jordan Sullivan and Alexis Gross started this pop up gallery and I'm really into their stuff so I'm stoked to meet them. Been scrolling through their photos on their sites all day.

[chuck d]

In that price range I would get a new Canon Powershot.  They are on the s110 now, so if you can find an s100 or an s95, it will be pretty cheap.  Shoots raw files, fully manual with external controls in the form of an aperture ring and shutter dial.  If you want to spend about twice that though, Sony's rx100 is the best pocket camera on the market right now.

[sexualhelon]

I think you said you use and also suggested the rx100 last time I asked you about your photos?

Eh, I mean, my little powershot is what I've taken mostly all of my photos with that you can see on that little blog/in this thread. I don't think it's out of date enough to warrant getting a newer one of the same type so if that's your advice I guess it's just time to step it up.

The Olympus om10, stylus epic, Holga and Yashika fx-3 are some older, cheaper ones I've thought about or just going to garage sales/flea markets and picking up old random cameras.

But honestly, I think I'm looking for something more like the rx100. I quite like the looks of the Fujifilm XF1 and those are around 400....thoughts on that one?

[Cadillac Ranch Dressing]

There's a lot of good cameras you can get around $300, both film and digital. I'm not too familiar with digi point-and-shoots at the moment, so I wouldn't feel comfortable steering ya in any direction with them.

Are you specifically looking at digital point-and-shoots or something else? Anything in particular you like in a camera?

[sexualhelon]

Nah, I'm not specifically looking for a digital point and shoot. I just like for whatever I'm using to be portable so that I can easily carry it around and snap photos spur of the moment - or, you know, semi spur of the moment. It's nice to be able to see your shots on the screen right after you take them but if I have to get prints and scan them that's cool too. I'm open to any recommendations for camera's you're keen on enough to recommend within that price range. I mean, I could go a little higher but really don't want to go more than $500 because I'm admittedly just getting into photography enough to want a better camera and have a bit of learning to do. If you check out my little blog of the few photos I've taken it might give you sort of an idea of the photos I try to take - people, parties, art shows, random things that catch my eye, etc.... So I'm not trying to necessarily get a crazy camera for model fashion shoots or shot 12 frames per second. The one's I mentioned are ones that some friends have or they're the cameras some photographers I like use. But yeah, seriously, suggest away - any recommendation at all would be really appreciated.

[RCB3]

Went on a walk last night and took some pics. Kinda liked how these 2 turned out:

[Cadillac Ranch Dressing]

Nah, I'm not specifically looking for a digital point and shoot. I just like for whatever I'm using to be portable so that I can easily carry it around and snap photos spur of the moment - or, you know, semi spur of the moment. It's nice to be able to see your shots on the screen right after you take them but if I have to get prints and scan them that's cool too. I'm open to any recommendations for camera's you're keen on enough to recommend within that price range. I mean, I could go a little higher but really don't want to go more than $500 because I'm admittedly just getting into photography enough to want a better camera and have a bit of learning to do. If you check out my little blog of the few photos I've taken it might give you sort of an idea of the photos I try to take - people, parties, art shows, random things that catch my eye, etc.... So I'm not trying to necessarily get a crazy camera for model fashion shoots or shot 12 frames per second. The one's I mentioned are ones that some friends have or they're the cameras some photographers I like use. But yeah, seriously, suggest away - any recommendation at all would be really appreciated.

If you're looking into some small and good for quick stuff, maybe look into an Olympus XA1 or XA2. I just got a XA2 just so I could always have a camera on me. The XA1 is a better camera because of the rangefinder and faster lens, but the XA2 is much cheaper and simpler so it might be good to check it out. The scale focus thing on the XA2 also isn't many peoples' cup of tea (like me) but you may get the hang of it.

I also use a Canon AE-1 Program for a lot of my street stuff as well some low light situations. I really enjoy it because it can be completely automatic as well as manual. It was the first real camera I had and basically learned most of what I know on it. It's also pretty cheap and most of the time you can find it in the $150 range including other lenses, filters, flashes, cases, etc. so checking out eBay regularly is a good thing.

Edit:
Here's some examples of what I've shot with them.

XA2






AE-1P

[sexualhelon]

Thanks man, really appreciate it. I like that it seems I could find each for around $150 and have a canon ae-1 (also looking at the olympus 35sp) along with a olympus xa1 or xa2 for $300 vs spending 400-600 on an RX100 or Fujifilm XF1 - I just really like the aesthetic of the XF1 for some reason.

What're the pros/cons you think between choosing one of those or getting the others?

[Cadillac Ranch Dressing]

Thanks man, really appreciate it. I like that it seems I could find each for around $150 and have a canon ae-1 (also looking at the olympus 35sp) along with a olympus xa1 or xa2 for $300 vs spending 400-600 on an RX100 or Fujifilm XF1 - I just really like the aesthetic of the XF1 for some reason.

What're the pros/cons you think between choosing one of those or getting the others?

No problem!

I don't know too much about the 35SP, RX100, or XF1, but I guess the only thing I could say about the XA2 would be the focusing and lack of control over some stuff. I actually looked it up and the XA and XA1 are different cameras so I would gravitate more towards the XA. The XA has a rangefinder as well aperture priority, while the XA2 has scale focus and a fully automatic shutter (which you may or may not want, especially if you want to learn).

As far as the Canon AE-1P, it's a camera that's never failed me in any situation. It's a really good learning camera because of the ability to have manual control, but also just switch it to automatic if you feel like it.

[chuck d]

I've had a couple of the Canon S series cameras and the reasons I prefer my Sony are the larger sensor, the f1.8, and the ability to tilt the pop-up flash and bounce it off the ceiling.  The larger sensor with the 1.8 give a dof closer to film.  Most pocket cameras create pictures that have the entire scene within the dof, the Sony images look much better.  I would also prefer the Sony over the Fuji because it comes in black, as opposed to red, which they talk about in the review below.  I also own an AE-1, but I rarely use it because it won't fit in my pocket.

http://www.dpreview.com/previews/fujifilm-xf1

[finknoos]

Saw this beauty yesterday

[finknoos]

Thanks man, really appreciate it. I like that it seems I could find each for around $150 and have a canon ae-1 (also looking at the olympus 35sp) along with a olympus xa1 or xa2 for $300 vs spending 400-600 on an RX100 or Fujifilm XF1 - I just really like the aesthetic of the XF1 for some reason.

What're the pros/cons you think between choosing one of those or getting the others?

I had the XF-1 for about a week before it was stolen so ive got a couple of points to say about it if youre interested.

The focusing was brilliant, even in dark situations without the focus assist bulb it would focus nice and quickly, also the high ISO performance was really good for such a small camera, upto about 1600 or so you can take crisp photos and see no grain.
But for me the best bit was simply using it, its a treat to use. Especially having a zoom ring similar to an SLR instead of a control knob that most compacts use make it great for finding the right zoom length quickly without fiddling around. Prety much the only thing i didnt like about it was the method of turning it on, prety much pulling the lens out of the camera... Where as it worked quite well, i always felt like i was going to rip the lens off or break it while turning it on. However i do have the feeling that part of the reason its price is so high for a compact is the aesthetics, it looks beautiful and is a very simplistic design, quite different from most compacts on the market. So a large portion of what you are buying is the looks, although the quality is great too it should be priced down a fair bit.

[crackrazor]

Went on a walk last night and took some pics. Kinda liked how these 2 turned out:

I really like both of these.

[jerrys_kids]

These were taken along time ago but they've always been some of my favorites.

[jerrys_kids]

O heres the other one

Edit: feedback (positive or negative) would be appreciated.