Richard Avedon at the SFMOMA

Richard Avedon's photographs are on exhibit at the SFMOMA

It is a must see... his portraits that he took out west of coal miners, carnies etc are literally larger than life!

The museum store has a book about this portrait project that shows Richard Avedon using a 8x10 view camera to create these pictures.

Of course my favorite images were from his fashion work.

My all time fav is the image below with the model and the elephants.

I definitely encourage you to see such spectacular black and white prints.

Photographer Ulrica Wihlborg

I came across Photographer Ulrica Wihlborg's work in the recent Rangefinder Magazine.

I love her work and yes she uses film! Her camera of choice is a medium format Contax and she also uses Cannon 35mm cameras. So check her out!

See Ulrica's work at her website Axel & Moa

Read the entire Rangefinder article

Holgas ~ not just a toy

The Holga is an inexpensive, medium format 120 film "toy camera", made in China, appreciated for its low-fidelity aesthetic.The Holga's cheap construction and simple meniscus lens often yields pictures that display vignetting, blur, light leaks, and other distortions.

They are so much more than a "toy camera"!

To learn more about holgas visit this site by lomography. For a great how to use holga manual check out the one created by Freestyles.

Here are a few of Edie's Holga images.

Have fun holgaing...

Jose Villa + Holga

photos by Jose Villa

Jose is happy to share some of his images that he took with a Holga while in Mexico. He encourages everyone to try out a Holga if you have not already.

To see more of his work visit Jose's blog. Get back to basics and have fun with your very own Holga!

Artist ~ Hugh Shurley

My friend Joan invited me to the lecture by artist/photographer Hugh Shurley, part of Looking Glass's Summer Lecture Series.

He uses multi-layered photographic prints and objects to create rich in depth pieces that tell a story literally layer by layer. He prints his own images in his darkroom with his large collection of film negatives. It was quite an inspirational lecture. Here are a few of his images, to find more of his work and to learn more about his process, visit his website.

Blogs About Film

Film is alive and people are talking about it. I recently came across two great blogs written by photographers who use film.

The first one I came across was Keep Film Alive blog by photographer Tanja Lippert. Tanja interviews various photographers who talk about their background with film, their experiences and share a little about themselves and why thy love film.

The second one is Richard Isreal's blog I Love Film. It is a great resource for getting inspired and learning about various types of film, printing techniques and alternative processes.

They both offer great info and insights and definitely worth adding to your list of good reads.

New member ~ Kevin Chin

Images by Kevin Chin

Kevin is devoted to film. Here are some of his images, note the first one was created using Infra-red film.

Welcome Michelle Pattee

Images by Michelle Pattee

Robert Cavalli ~ Rangefinder Magazine

Profile of a Hollywood Printmaker
by Sharon Dawson

Robert Cavalli, owner of Still Moving Pictures, a custom black and white lab, has been helping photographers create outstanding photographs for 20-plus years. The first thing that strikes you about Robert when you first meet him is his deep love for the art of image making.

Robert helps bring to light special moments in printing, and I found that having a conversation with him is equally as illuminating: One incredible thought quickly melds into the next. Ideas brought up seem new but familiar at the same time. You want to shout, "Wait! Go back!" But it is too late, he has already moved on. Its almost too much to hold on to. Creative thoughts remain etched in your ind to sort out later. You walk walk from the conversation in awe.

"The whole world inspires me. Photography is about the play of light on the world, capturing the deep emotions we feel and what matters to an individual. Photographs are as much about the photographer as they are about the image," Robert says.

Read more...

Surprises

by Misti Layne

I love surprises and some of the best are when I get proofs back from the lab and go through the images of the wedding that is now a blur in my mind. I've been shooting film since I was kid and typically know what I'm going to get when I snap the shot. But I never fail to get surprises that make me smile.

I love the deep tones and contrast of black and white film and usually use available light when I can or bounced flash. I'm pretty much self taught so I know the basic rules but like to break them. You know the ones-don't shoot into the sun, Sunny 16, Rules of Thirds, etc, etc. I guess because I haven't had them fully explained to me I just don't care to live by them and actually play with them.

So I recently got back some film and a couple of the shots just made me smile because first the bride was just a joy and you can see it on her face and second the play of light was just fun and cool and added to the element of getting ready which is also one of my favorite parts to shoot in a wedding. So here are my two fave latest "surprises".