I grew up as a photographer (Clues in my Real Journey posts). But I have always enjoyed the post-processing aspect. With the advent of digital and Photoshop, my world was turned upside down. I embraced the change hungrily - though I miss the cocoon of the darkroom and associated smells.
I helped introduce digital into this country, working as product manager for one of the first importers. I did radio interviews, toured camera clubs, and made people comfortable with the fact that their 35mm camera and slide show days were numbered.
I love new technology.
In the bad old days, I did weddings using a Mamiya 220. I took a grand total of 48 pictures at each wedding. The album consisted of 12 8x10's, all hand printed and mounted to perfection.
Wedding photography covered the cost of my other passions at the time. Before I finished highschool, I was an accomplished pilot with over 400 hrs, and had completed 500 para jumps.
Needless to say, after doing over 800 weddings in my youth, I want to puke if someone asks me to take photo's at a wedding these days. I have never been outstanding behind the lens. My specialty was the darkroom stuff.
So these days, I do photoshop work as a hobby for a couple of photographer friends of mine. It pays the beer bills. Basically, I make their mediocre photography into something that looks professional. The flavour of the month is coffee table book type albums. Being in this lovely country, we often end up being the last to adopt new trends, and this has been one of them.
Finally, we have found a company that prints the stuff fairly decently, and Howie - my favourite Barmitzvah photographer - collected our first samples yesterday, and delivered them last night.
Woohoo! They are Excellent! I have other ideas around the album concept, but have held off till I was happy the quality would be good enough.
Excuse the messy table. It is Charlie the Budgie's spot, and his personal space hygiene is not his strongest point
I used to do it in the cellar of my house, but only for fun. But yeah! You could get high on the fumes from the fixer in particular!
ReplyDeleteWell, in those days, you couldn't take all your films to Boots to be processed!
Cool beans. I had a Yashica very similar, in fact I wonder where the hell it is. Hmph. Never got too far into medium format, although for a long time I had my heart set on a hunky Mamiya RZ-67. *sigh* Lost in the past.
ReplyDeleteNice that you were able to make the transition successfully and are keeping busy with it. I sometimes look sadly at my roll of Tri-X which I haven't touched.
What size is that album/book? It looks really long.
Do you still print?
Hey Seth..
ReplyDeleteIt only looks long cos I took the pics with a uber wide angle lens. It's actually A4. The also make an A4 Landscape, which I am going to do next. The also do an A3 landscape. I can't wait to find a job to do one that big.
There is another supplier we found yesterday which we are going to try as well.
I don't print anymore, though the latest craze developing (hehe pun) is pr0cessing your own colour film, then scanning the results. I still love the texture of film compared to digital. I just don't have the space to set up any sort of darkroom. Processing your own film can be done in the cupboard at night.
I also had a Yashica as a backup, but probably only put three or four rolls through it. I let go of both at the beginning of last year when I moved as part of a major cleaning out the closet exercise.
And omg I loved Tri-X :)
We should start a blog co-authored by a few of us, just to showcase our stuff, no matter how trivial, or how old. Perhaps it will keep us motivated to continue to be creative. I know Torchy! is a keen one, and I think Mirrorboy too.
the book looks really good sethy - very professional. have you tried graffistudio?
ReplyDeletestill on catchup as you see!
torchy!
hey Torchy!
ReplyDeletegraffistudio don't operate here as afar as I know, but i will look them up again to make sure.
This is from rapidstudio, i guess similar stuff.