"South Omaha"

Kodak Ektar 100

in , , ,
My prior experience with color film was largely with Fujifilm's now defunct NPS 160. It produced a low contrast image with a lot of exposure latitude, something that gave images a certain look that I was really into at the time. This look stuck with me as I began shooting ninety-three. Over time, my tastes changed (and my processing skills improved) and I've settled on a bit different look for my images.

Recently, I've been shooting with about as new of a color film that exists in this now digital world. Kodak Ektar 100 was introduced in the fall of 2008. Ektar is an unusual sort of film, a negative film that behaves a lot like a slide film. It's more forgiving than most slide films, but offers a lot more contrast than typical negative films.


I have recently found myself drawn to the Kodachrome images of photographers like William Christenberry and Saul Leiter rather than the sort of pristine perfection of someone like Stephen Shore's large format work. With this in mind, Ektar has been the perfect film for a somewhat sloppy photographer like myself to come back to. It's not as picky about exposure as slide film, but has a certain look that is pretty much exactly what I was looking for.

Ektar is very sharp film with a fine grain structure. It appears to scan well from what I've seen so far, although I'm without a scanner to really dig into just how much detail is there. Even the machine scanned files look pretty good printed at 18x12, if a little short on resolution upon close examination.

I've settled on Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas for film processing and basic scanning. The quality is top notch and they offer a fast turn around. I send a few rolls out in a Priority Mail flat-rate box and I get a package back in the mail a week later. The wait has taken some getting used to, but it's been worth it. The results are great and it's immensely satisfying to carry around this tiny camera and lens that are worth less than $100 altogether.


I'm looking to debut the South Omaha photographs sometime next year, perhaps in May at Hot Shops Art Center. Stay tuned for more details, as they say.

Independence Day

in ,


This 4th of July finds me once again searching South Omaha for photographs. It's a fantastic day, not entirely too hot, and just enough clouds to make for good images. Everywhere I walked, the loud bang of a firework was never too far away and sometimes close enough to startle me. You never know how people will react to a strange bearded guy wandering around with a camera around his neck.

The project is slowly moving forward. I was happy with much of the last four rolls I got back from Dwayne's and have another three ready to go out in the mail. Above is a photograph of the back of some of the businesses along 24th Street.

At this point, I'm thinking I'd like to have a small show to reveal the work. It's been too long since I've exhibited anything.

June

in ,

It's hard to believe June is already two-thirds over. Time has a way of really getting away from me.

I'm still at work photographing South Omaha. So far, it has been a bit of a struggle for me. The first camera had a wonky shutter and I keep forgetting to set the dial back to aperture priority on the second one. It's unbelievably frustrating to look down and suddenly realize you've shot half a roll of film at 1/60th of a second. Rather than admit defeat, I say a few impolite words in my head and go right back at it. I'm also finding the small area I've chosen to focus on to be more restrictive than I had imagined. In most cases, I just set out in the car and go for hours. This subject requires more thought and depth, more time spent walking and searching.

A few days ago, a friend asked me why I'm continuing to attempt something that I find to be so frustrating. I find that I need to work in a different way and develop new skills, no matter how much I want to go back to what I know best. It's the only way I can get better and evolve as an artist. So I press on.

I am sending four rolls of film off to Dwayne's in Parsons, Kansas tomorrow. New photographs soon, U.S. Mail and old Minolta camera willing.

---------------------------------

Also, don't forget that I'm posting three images of Nebraska to my Flickr account every day this month. I've enjoyed going back through all the images from ninety-three for what feels like the thousandth time. There's always something new to be found...


Including the photograph of the sandhills and sky of Arthur County, Nebraska that is now on the front page of my website.