black and white photography

I am a film pusher…

January 10, 2014

In case you don’t know by now… I love film.

And I am determined to use my film cameras even more this year.

So I decided I need to ‘Show & Tell’ a little more.

Digital photography is an amazing tool.

With the invention of the ultra fast…

Incredibly versatile…

And instantaneously gratifying digital cameras… You can now have over 5,000 photos of your wedding.

Photos that capture every single moment (and pore) flawlessly and beautifully.

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But photographs taken with good old-fashioned…

Incredibly slow…

Frustratingly unpredictable…

Most likely grainy and potentially blurry film cameras…

Will hopefully give you at least one or two photos…

That you’ll want to hold on to…

…forever.

And no fancy Photoshop actions required.

Because photographing with film is about more than just using a tool to document.

It is about turning a moment in to art.

It is about quality…Not quantity.

And once you fall in love with film…

You just may become a film pusher too.

(All of these photos were taken with my medium format film cameras.)

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013…

January 1, 2013

At the end of a year I love to look back at the year gone by…

…and get inspiration for the new year to come.

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After I have finished reflecting on the year gone by…

…I take that inspiration in to the new year and…

…with all of my heart.

Thank you for being a part of my inspiration…

…on my journey through photography.

Happy New Year!

I hope you have the best 2013 possible.

A Photographer’s Wedding…

August 4, 2011

Klea and Dave got married at the Westerbeke Ranch in Sonoma on July 23, 2011.

Klea and Dave’s wedding may have been one of the easiest and one of the hardest weddings that I have ever photographed.

It was one of the easiest weddings that I have photographed because Klea is also a photographer so she knew how to create a beautiful wedding… She picked a photogenic location with amazing light and carefully planned all of the details.

It was one of the hardest weddings because Klea is also a photographer so naturally she has high expectations of the photographs of her own wedding. With Klea’s high expectations weighing heavily on my mind, I may have been a bit more nervous than I normally am before I photograph a wedding. But I had to remind myself that she hired me for a reason and that my job was to stay calm and to do what I always do… except with more film. Because like every good photographer, Klea loves film and she wanted me to document each part of the day with my film camera as well as with my digital camera.

So to make sure I had every moment covered, I hired Annika Erickson, another talented photographer, to be the second photographer… and here is our story of Klea and Dave’s wedding...

See if you can tell which photographs are digital and which photographs are film…

Congratulations, Klea and Dave, and thank you for trusting me to document your very photogenic and love-filled day.

To see more photos of Klea and Dave’s wedding and to find out which photos are film click here.

You tell me… (contest below)

February 9, 2011

I often get asked, “What is the difference between film and digital.”

So I have a series of descriptive words that I use to try and convey why I love film so much.

But it is hard… so I need help.

I’d love for you tell me what you think the difference is.

So… this is film.

And… this (click here) is digital.

Now you tell me what you think, by Friday the 18th, and I will pick one person to win a surprise film print.

This is film (and my summer)…

October 1, 2010

I love film and I love summer.

And I couldn’t live without either one.

Well, maybe I could.

But life would be a lot less interesting and a lot less fun.

The only problem is that they are both so very time-consuming.

This summer was so busy that it seemed not to exist at all.

But I know it did because I have the film to prove it.

Even with the endlessly long summer days,

It seemed there still was never enough time…

To stop.

Or even pause and devote the time that film selfishly demanded.

So it sat neglected.

Piling up on my desk.

Waiting in the sidelines, as digital got all the glory.

Waiting for the grand finale.

And finally, here, the first day of October, it is.

A few of the summer film highlights, all at once.

Like cliffs notes.

Or the final minutes of a firework show.

But I still have high hopes of devoting a full post to each of these amazing occasions, faces, relationships.

I have even started the spinning the narratives in my head.

But time is running out.

As it is known to do.

And so this will have to do for now.

This showcase of why I love film and why I hope you will too.

Besides the obvious yet unpredictable beauty of film,

I also love its more discreet yet unfaltering faithfulness.

I feel comforted knowing that if disaster struck, and all my hard drives suddenly crashed tomorrow,

My film would still be there, sitting in a pile on my desk.

Waiting patiently in line to be filed away.

And talking excitedly about the summer that really did exist.

Sometimes you have to look back…

August 31, 2010

…to see how far you’ve come….

…and to see just where you need to go.

All of these photos were taken at least five years ago… if not more. I am sharing them now because the other day I had to dig through an old hard drive for something, and because I dig through old hard drives the same way I dig through my closet, I got lost looking in each folder. Before I knew it, several hours had gone by and I was still pulling out photo after photo and trying each one on again for size.

Luckily I was able to write-off my nostalgic meandering down memory lane because of my Photo of the Day album on my facebook page. Because I decided to try and post a photo every day, I thought it would be fun to share some of my old favorites that helped lead me to where I am, as a photographer, today.

Sometimes on the roller-coaster of photography, I get lost and insecure about the path I am on, especially as we transition from the blur that was summer, in to the shortening days of fall, and eventually in to the quiet days of winter. The transitions make me wonder how much longer I can endure the uncertainty of photography, with all its highs and lows of emotions and money.

And then, these old photos stand up like long lost friends and remind me that I really have come a long, long way… and if I am lucky then I still have a long way yet to go. They also tell me that if I am smart then I will start using 35mm black and white film again, because there really is nothing like it.

To see more Photos of the Day click this public link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=186972&l=719aab5a14&id=43263909756

Still Need More Artists and Farmers…

December 7, 2009

…of Petaluma, for ProjectHERE.

I plan on really getting going on the project in January, so please send Petaluman Artists and Farmers my way.

Four for Them, and One for Me…

December 6, 2009

These Rolleiflex photos are from Jennifer and Brandon’s wedding which I photographed forever ago (it was only back in May, but it feels like forever ago.) They didn’t ask for film. I just shot a few rolls because it was a small wedding and we had lots of extra time to play, but because the film was for me and not for them, it took me until now to scan them. But it was a nice surprise when I did, because I just love some of these photos.

But I especially love this last one. It is a real moment of them taking a time-out from all the activities on a John Deere fleece blanket. It is probably not the one that will make it in to a frame at their house, but it is one of the ones that I like best, because it is honest and real… and those are qualities that I admire most in photography.