I hadn’t been out shooting with other people in a while. I generally prefer to be on my own, but sometimes a group setting draws out different things and gets me into new situations. The Los Angles Flickr group hasn’t been floating events that fit my interest and/or schedule, so I decided to give Meetup a shot.

I’d gone on an outing earlier in the year with the L.A. Street Photography group, but since it was a trip to Edwards Air Force Base and the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, it didn’t really count as “street photography”. This time, the destination was downtown Los Angeles, to include the Mission district/Skid Row and the garment and jewelry districts, with a black-and-white theme. A half-dozen guys showed up, toting a mix of film and digital rigs. I  toted the AE-1, Mat-24G and Sprocket Rocket. The Yashica drew many comments from passers-by.

We managed to hike from 3rd and Hill through Pershing Square, the aforementioned districts and Skid Row. I didn’t feel comfortable making images in the latter – the scene was pretty hostile – but got a few in the other areas. We ended up in Little Tokyo as the air was cooling, and took a break near the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA. They’re hosting “Art in the Streets“, a massive exhibition of street art from many generations and from all over the world.

The entrance to the show was framed by a Levi’s-sponsored film-making exhibit, and guarded by a bunch of energetic and chatty USC film school students. We wandered in to look around. The Yashica again spurred conversation, and after some talk about the state of film photography and the evils of 3-D cinema (one lad mistook the TLR for some sort of 3-D apparatus), I was waved into the larger space sans admission fee. I’ve quietly admired street art and graffiti for years, and the variety and quality on display really was mind-blowing. Equally impressive was the historical background information on the artists and pieces. It made for a great ending to the day.

OK, I guess “Small Arts Media LLC” is officially up and running, so I need to get off my ass and do something about it.

And, as I feared, that was the easy part.

Went out the other night for a work happy-hour, which we don’t do often enough. Things have been a bit crazy on the job, and we all needed the chance to decompress and have a drink on the company’s dime. We met at the landmark Cat & Fiddle on Sunset. I used to go all of the time when I had friends living near the place, but I hadn’t been in years. They have a great outdoor patio space, and I like the English pub feel. The service is notoriously slow and somewhat aloof, but the food’s decent enough to wait for when you have interesting company.

I decided to shoot a little with the AE-1, and since I knew the light was going to be subdued, I went with the Ilford HP5+ 400 stock. I think I got a good batch of shots overall, and the results were roundly appreciated. I say again and again that I need to shoot more people – I do enjoy it, but my shyness/propriety gets in the way. It’s easier with this bunch. They’re good humans, and it shows.

It’s funny how folks are surprised that this whole “film thing” still works.

Comfortable Despite the Obvious

Because I’m told I don’t post often enough, and because I’m told I need to shoot more color, here – enjoy.

This harbor seal watched us watch him/her from our boat as 80 or so cameras snapped at him/her. A bunch of us were out on a cruise sponsored by the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Lots of fog and no whales, but still plenty of sights and a chance to hang out with friends.

A gallery patron views my work.

Went out on the evening of the 26th into the deserted streets of Pomona’s Arts Colony district to see the monthly “Last Saturday’s Local Photography Exhibit” show at Silence Gallery. It’s the first time (outside of Flickr) that I’ve shown anything publicly, and the first time I’ve ever bothered to properly mat and frame pieces.

It was cool to to have something up, though I admit it felt odd to see them there in such an “official” way. They were among a group of works by really good photographers, and I was proud to have been included. A new goal is to get more out there, and more often.

Moving with the Tradition

On September 19, I got the chance to cover the 13th annual Soboba Inter-tribal Pow Wow for the Valley Chronicle. It was the first work I done for the paper since June, and I was ready to take something on. The event presented a chance to capture some great color with the DSLRs and to try some new film things out with the AE-1. I even deployed the bbf for a little while near the end of my time there.

The pow wow was held in the arena at the Soboba Casino, on Indian land near San Jacinto. The ceremonies were stunning, filled with color and sound. I got to see the purifying Gourd Dance, a “tiny-tots” pow wow featuring the youngsters in full costume, and the dance, drum and song competitions. The highlight of the day was the Grand Entry, a procession of hundreds of people, from little children to tribal elders, all in the finest and most ornate ceremonial dress.

I started the day by asking the event’s chairman for permission to shoot, seeking any rules I might need to know about covering things respectfully. I mingled and did my best to be unobtrusive, and used the 30D with the long lens more than anything else. After getting photos to accompany specific story points for the paper, I let myself go and shot whatever I found appealing.

The selects I sent off to the Chronicle are here. The editor chose seven photos, and I hope to see two or three of those published tomorrow.

Along with the work for the paper, I wanted to try some new things with film. Since I’m developing black and white film, I decided to try push processing. With that in mind, I picked up some more Arista Premium 400 with the aim of shooting at 1600. Unfortunately, I underestimated the amount of light in the arena. I had counted on a solid roof, but the cover was a translucent American flag-styled canopy with substantial gaps between the panels that striped the faux-turf floor with sunlight, making it look like a football field. With my lack of experience at the processing technique, it wasn’t the right situation for success.

Despite those problems, I did manage to pull a handful of images out of the tank – fewer than 25% of the 48 exposures – that showed surprising contrast and a nice level of grain. Those that worked are among some of the best-looking photos I have ever taken. You can see a slide show of Soboba images from Flickr here.

Big Squeeze

I got the first roll back from the blackbird on Saturday, and I have to say, I was surprised by the results. I put a roll of Kodak BW400CN through it, and even with Costco quick processing, I like what came of it.

I started with a few attempts in the back yard, but both focus and exposure on them were way off. Apart from an interesting mistake, there was nothing worth posting. A trip to the Orange County fair gave me better opportunities with light and subjects I could play with. The camera drew a lot of attention and a couple of people asked about it.

For the first batch, I decided to go with the square mask. It’s pretty tough to frame up a shot properly, looking straight down at a small clear plastic box with the much smaller black box of the black frame outline printed on it. I started to get the hang of it near the end of the roll. Consequently, a lot of shots are too dead-center for my taste. Focusing became easier as I got my head around the process, and the small aperture makes for a forgiving depth-of-field anyway. I like the grain and contrast, and the square aspect adds something to the feel.

You can see a set of images here. There’s a roll of FujiColor Pro in it now with the rectangular mask, so we’ll see how that turns out.

Bloom on Bloom

Why do I fear experimentation so much? It’s not like I have anything to lose but a little time. Since I’m doing this mostly for myself, I can only disappoint me, right? For some reason that’s been a problem lately. It’s kept me from doing a lot of things.

Independence Day was a chance to force myself to do something new. Fireworks don’t happen every day, at least not around here, so I wanted to make the opportunity count. I read up on bulb-setting long-exposure technique and made sure I had everything I needed. Thought about it for days before. I was psyched up and ready to get some great shots.

It got dark, the time came, and I … felt like I was going to freeze up. I have no idea why. I had to make myself start. Once I did, it was no big deal. That’s how it usually goes, so I should see the pattern for what it is. The results weren’t spectacular, but again, as usual, I learned something by doing and came up with a handful of shots I can live with.

Insecurity sucks.

Turns out I was unjustifiably hard on myself over the quality of the photos I got on the dual high school graduation assignment on June 11. Despite what I thought to be a poor showing, the editor chose a number of shots and each grad story (West Valley HS and San Jacinto HS) got an illustration. I needed the confidence bost.

As a bit of a bonus round, a follow-on story from the Memorial Day event got a pic as well. You can call me “File Photo”.

West Valley High School Graduation, Hemet, CA

If I’ve learned (or confirmed) anything from my last assignment, it’s that I do not do good work when under pressure or when under-prepared. As one who puts the “Pro” in procrastination, I’ve always tried to fool myself into thinking that I do, though the results are consistently disappointing. Whether its a report for work or photography, I need to give myself more time or opt out of things that I can’t hope to do well.

Any chance to shoot is a chance to improve, but while I’m grateful for the opportunity, I had people depending on me. I’ll be lucky if they can use any of what I produced at all.