800 ASA Stand Development Tri-x Negs

Here are some Muay Thai boxer photos shot at 800ASA, the higher ASA rating allowed me to use faster shutter speeds within the gym. The stand development was 20C, 1-50 Rodinal developed for 2 hours with agitation for the first 30 seconds (inverting tank) and every 30 minutes there after for 15 seconds (light swirling agitation). I also have 5 rolls shot at 1600ASA that I will be experimenting with over the next while.

With this new stand development method and the new very fast 35mm 1.4 lens plus rangefinder camera I should now be able to shoot in very low light successfully, not quite up  to what a digi camera can do but still it should work very well. I can go to at least 1/15, f1.4 at 800ASA, which will be tricky to shoot but it should be possible to get sharp images. I am looking forward to see what results I get from the 1600ASA boxing exposures.

"Train Is Coming Show" Is Done

This morning after 1 hour of sleep (worked developing/scanning film all night), I went down to the Jubilee Auditorium and picked up my 36 prints. Tarryn from the Jubilee who has helped me through out this exhibition helped me again to take down the framed photographs, I put them in bags then on cart and hustled them upstairs to my waiting truck. I gave Tarryn some chocolates as a thank you then that was that my first major solo show was done! It was a great experience thou I am not sure the cost of printing-matting-framing the show was worth it to me financially ($3000? $4000), that money might have been better spent buying film or traveling somewhere to make pictures. As an experience thou it was pretty amazing and challenging, I never worked so hard in the darkroom as I did for these pictures, I think I became a better printer as a result. I am also happy I was able to give a voice to the people I photographed and am glad I had the opportunity to show the Edmonton public a bit of the Klong Toey world. Hopefully what the people saw will inspire them in someway, either directly helping Klong Toey, indirectly volunteering here Edmonton or maybe artistically, creatively in some way. If the show did nothing else I hope it taught viewer how incredibly fortunate we are here in the West and to appreciate the wonderful lives they have.

I will make up the opening night show video in the coming weeks and post it on youtube, please keep an eye out for that. The small $200 check I got for the show I will put towards the 35mm Leica lens.

35mm Dumpsite Photos Part 8

Cooking breakfast Mae Sot garbage dump, Mae Sot Thailand 2013

Photoshop Lesson

I had a nice 1 hour and 30 minute photoshop lesson today given by my camera club friend Jim. Heres a bit of advice, do not try to learn photoshop on 3 hours sleep! Last night I worked until 6am developing film and then woke up around 9am before going to Jim's house for the lesson.

I plan on doing my Toot Yung Gallery colour show prints digitally so I need to improve my editing skills to a some what acceptable level. Jim is a great teacher who is helping many people in the club to learn photoshop. Today we were able to salvage a badly damaged 120mm neg of freelance sex worker Nit. I ain't throwing away any of my colour or b/w negs, they all can be saved! I can print them all digitally at some future date. Heck I could probably rescue them in photoshop, then make a digital corrected negative and then print it traditionally in the dark (the best of both worlds).

Better get to bed, going to take a nap before meeting another friend Larry tonight. Larry is a great photographer and art collector, he has a beautiful new photograph that I am eager to see, then we will share a meal and talk photography. Its amazing how long we can talk photography, 2 hours is easy, 3 or 4 possible without to much effort!

Kit For October

I have been thinking a lot about the next trip to Thailand which will be for 5 weeks starting in October. What camera gear should I take? Should I take the 4x5 yes or no? As you can see the heaviest gear is the 4x5 stuff, I am tempted to leave it behind, but some of my best work in the past has been with this tool, I want to continue to improve with large format and eventually move up to 8x10, a few failures here and there are part of the learning curve.

Here is my current kit thinking

3 Leica M6 bodies (or 2 M6s and my M4P)
21mm F 2.8
28mm F2
35mm F1.4
50mm F1.4
Small Leica Flash
150 rolls of Tri-x/HP5

Linhof 4x5
90mm Nikon
150mm Nikon
Pentax Spot meter
Broken down carbon fiber tripod
Reflector.
5 or 6 Grafmatic backs
300+ sheets of Tri-x 4x5
Film changing tent

Film Almost Developed

I have 4 rolls of dump site 35mm and a bunch of pushed boxing 35mm left to develop. All the 4x5 film is now developed. I am unhappy with my 4x5 work this trip, I need to concentrate more and focus better when I am using the larger format next time around. I think it is a bit tough to switch quickly from 35mm to 4x5, the formats and shooting styles are so different, I did not do a great job of that this trip. Next time around with the better, faster, sharper (?) Nikon 90mm I hope to do a better job. I will scan and post some of the nicer 4x5 negs when I get my scanner working properly.

35mm Dumpsite Photos Part 7

Ever since I have come back from my trip, I keep flashing back to the dump. I keep looking at the clock  here and then calculating the time there and trying to guess what the people are doing. I remember photographing this young baby (first three pictures below), out front of the shack the babies sister (who was maybe 10-12 years old) was cooking some food over an open fire. I think the parents were off working trying to earn money scavenging for recyclable goods in the dump. These memories continue to flash through my mind while I sit here in Canada gorging myself on the best foods, living in a big comfortable home and enjoying the safety and security of life in the West. The differences in our lives, in our futures is just not right, its really f-cked up. This is why documentary people photography is important, these types of stories must be seen and told not hidden and forgotten.

Plastic 35mm Carrying Cases

I have been searching for a long time for some kind of plastic cases to carry my 35mm film in. When I transport the film overseas in clear plastic bags (to help security at X-ray machines) I inevidably get cassettes that open by accident leading to exposed film. I found the perfect  transport solution at Japan Camera Hunter, these babies go for $10 CAD plus shipping. I ordered 20 of the white style boxes which will help reflect heat. I can now carry up to 200 rolls with me and they will be safe and secure. I no longer worry about the X-ray machines as I have found that the 5 machines I face to and from Thailand (2 there, 3 back) do not effect my Tri-x in a negative (pun intended) way. With these cases I can also easily stack my film in the small bar fridges provided by most hotel rooms.

http://japancamerahunter.com/shop/japancamerahunter-film-cases/

35mm F1.4 Leica Lens Test

I shot some film with the new lens here are the results, fricking sharp at point of focus negs with F1.4 and F 2, LOVE IT! I am happy I got the more expensive version of the lens, its sharper at the wider apertures that I use and it allows closer focusing like in the picture of the leaf  detail below. The most exciting part for me with this new tool is the possibilities for great photos it opens up, if I can take just 1 photo I am proud of, 1 photo that says something important then the $3500 CAD price tag is worth it to me.

Mom, Tri-x (200ASA) 35mm Lens at F1.4 1/60 handheld.

Large leaf detail, F2 1/30 handheld.

Got My Lens!!

Well I got my 35mm F1.4 Summilux today and it looks FINE! I still have to figure out how to pay for this, will probably have to borrow some money as my expected tax refund check has not arrived. This lens cost a fortune but I think I will love it. Back in the old days when I shot my Canon A-1 and Canon F-1 cameras I loved my 35mm F2. The 35mm was my favourite lens for years until I started moving up in formats and forgot about it. Now that I am moving down again with the Leica 35s I hope this 35mm F1.4 will become my favourite lens, at the price I am paying I hope so! Here is pic of this wonderful piece of glass, maybe one of the best (smallest, sharpest, fastest) lens in the world. I am going to shoot this sucker to death, will shoot the shit out of it for the rest of my life! I am very excited. lets go make some fricking pictures!

Intensity

I keep looking at this photo of the great photographer W. Eugene Smith, the intensity in his eyes, in his face, is so inspiring. No wonder this guy was great, he was completely devoted to his work.

35mm Dumpsite Photos Part 6

When I was in the dump several times the men and women there told me I should wear a hat to help keep off the sun. One time when they were telling this Doo-ayes younger brother put his sisters girly style hat on my head as a joke, I think the first photograph below was when that happened. The link below is the original blog story from that day. This is another one of those beautiful people moments from the last trip, its one of those memories that goes over and over again in my mind.

http://gerryyaum.blogspot.ca/2013/05/you-need-hat.html

Quote: William Shakespeare

“This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. Farewell, my blessing season ...”

“Hamlet. Act 1.”

Nice Way To Show Your Work

I found this show video yesterday for the Wave Gallery in Italy where my colleague Jonathan Luckhurst has shown work. The way the art work is presented at 1:30 second mark of the video is quite nice, simple and direct, just plastic sheets holding a photograph. This light weight way of showing work might be the answer to my shipping work overseas problem, it might be easier and cheaper to do than aluminum. Many people are hooked on only presenting work in traditional ways (black metal frames). There is no reason to be rigid in the way you show, there are lots of options, just as there are many types of photography. We should all be open to the multiple types of photography (digi, colour, variety of subjects) and the multiple types of ways of putting your work on the wall.

I might try showing color work at the Toot Yung Gallery this way.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoIN9TfZbmI

The 27

Am doing 27 submissions for the "Families Of The Dump" photographs. I would never get into the major places like the National Gallery but those submissions are important, hopefully with effort and time someone will eventually take notice of the work (a bit like advertising). I might have a better shot of having some of the smaller places show the photographs. The people who allowed me into their lives deserve to have their stories told and all these submissions is my attempt to do that.

It will take me a couple of weeks to get this all together and sent out, so far I have about 20% of the work completed.

Here is a list of the wide variety of galleries, from world class facilities down to local places around town:

1. Art Gallery Of Alberta
2. Art Gallery Of Calgary
3. The Museum Of Contemporary Art Calgary
4. The Art Gallery Of Hamilton 

5. The Winnipeg Art Gallery  

6. The Vancouver Art Gallery

7. The Ottawa Art Gallery

8. The Montreal Museum Of Fine Arts
9. The Art Gallery Of Ontario
10. The National Gallery Of Canada 
11. Luz Gallery-Studio Victoria
12. Kamloops Art Gallery
13. Art Gallery of Regina
14. Side Gallery England
15. Pier 24 San Francisco
16. Visual Arts Alberta
17. Viewpoint Gallery Halifax
18. Latitude 51 Gallery Edmonton
19. Photo Life Magazine
20. Art Gallery Of Mississauga
21. Art Gallery Of Peel
23. Art Gallery Of Nova Scotia
24. Gallery 44-Toronto
25. Wave Gallery-Italy

26. Art Gallery of St. Albert 
27. Red Deer Museum+Art Gallery

Beautiful People

One of the first things I realized when I picked up a camera and started making pictures of people was that it opened doors into the world of my subject. I got to learn about the person I was photographing, they told me about their lives, their feelings, sometimes their inner thoughts as we made pictures together. People have always been fascinating to me, why they do what they do, what they believe, what motivates them, what makes them tick? With a camera in your hand you have sort of an invitation into the lives, into the worlds of others, it sort of gives you licence to enter a forbidden place.

The more photography I do, the more deep I get into different lives, cultures, experiences the more I want it, its like an insatiable addiction. An addiction to learn, to understand, to create and to tell stories. One experience feeds on another, it fascinates me, drives me to work harder and it makes me want to tell others (some call it sermonizing) of those experiences, through the photographs, shows, online galleries, emails, blogs etc.

I was thinking today of something that happened to me on one of my last days in the dump in Mae Sot. I was standing photographing some adults walking on a road with the garbage as a back drop when 3 young children approached me. These youngsters just ran up smiling and started hugging my legs, I was sort of surrounded and when I looked down they just laughed and smiled up at me holding tight. I tried to make pictures of them but they were sort of embedded in my legs and I could not move without making them fall, so I sort of just smiled and they laughed and smiled and this went on for 3 or 4 minutes. I am not sure why I am telling that story now but its a memory that just flashed back today and it seemed important. That is what photography of people is like you have these shared moments, these wonderful-terrible-sad-happy-exciting-compassionate experiences, things that stay with you forever and change you as a person and artist.

Photographing living breathing feeling people, is so different than doing inanimate objects, rocks, trees and the like. When you can speak to your subject, hear them laugh, see them cry it's more personal. When you feel and understand a tiny bit of their lives and then relate that in a creative way through your pictures, it's really something, its comes down to one word, BEAUTIFUL.

Grumpy Gus

Been writing some pissed off posts lately, was thinking of doing a blog on why I love photographing people, will work on that tonight at work. Got to get a little more optimistic here, keep the negativity to a minimum. Photography is a great thing, a wonderful art form and a outstanding way to raise awareness and educate. Lets put Grumpy Gus Gerry in the backseat for a while, he ain't driving the bus tonight.

2nd Lesson? Funding

Might be doing some more lessons soon, on either the use of a 4x5 camera or darkroom printing-film development. I hope it happens with the new Leica lens (still have not received my tax refund) and with the supplies I have been buying, darkroom chemistry, film and neg sleeves, I am very short on funds. So any money I can generate is a good thing. I also have to save some money for my return to Thai in October, with no grants coming from anywhere I am all on my lonesome funding all this. Another thing I need to get money for is for the production, shipping etc of my 2 overseas shows, both happening within the next year.

Money money money, makes the world go round, all I want to do is  make pictures and tell my stories, F-ck these constant money worries!!

Cambodian Dump Story Link

This sounds like it might even be a worse place than the Mae Sot dump. I am not sure if this is still an active work place or if the government has closed it to worker recyclers.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/06/world/girl-rising-andc-sreyna/index.html?hpt=hp_bn2

35mm Dumpsite Photos Part 5

I am working my security night shifts now, so am limited in what I can do photography wise. I will add photos to this blog through out the week and do some scanning and film development if I can.  The young girl in the first photo was playing hide-and-seek with me, she eventually went farther and farther under the tarp and then disappeared completely under her family shack, when I found her underneath she giggled and laughed at me.

Complications, All Talk No Action

Ever notice how when someone does not want to do something they create unnecessary complications to rationalize why they are not doing it? Many things are very simple, but people tend to make them very complicated, for no other reason than they like to have a good excuse for not doing something. I notice this all the time in photography, people are lazy or unmotivated for some reason and instead of just admitting it they instead create elaborate difficulties and excuses about why something is not done. Many  amateur photographer folks I know have dozens of prepared reasons on why not to make pictures.

My theory (and the way I try to do things, not always successfully) is simple, if you love something (like photography) figure out a way to do it, stop the excuses, stop being lazy, get it done! If you look at the successful people in whatever field you can imagine, they have one thing in common, hard work. 

Show Update

Thought I would give an update on the various shows I am involved in:

- "The Training Is Coming, Portraits From Klong Toey Slum, Bangkok Thailand" at the Kaasa Gallery. This show runs until June 13, I pick up the work on the 14th.
-  I have 1 photo in the Alberta Photo Open which runs in August at Kaasa.
-  Solo exhibition December 2013 at the PhotoNOLA photography festival in New Orleans.
-  Solo exhibition March/April 2014 in Bangkok Thailand in the Toot Yung Gallery.

That's about it, I tried for several other things some I was rejected from with others I have not heard back from the juries. I have to start finding galleries that might show the "Families Of The Dump"series, I will try to get this work seen locally, nationally and internationally.

I found this wonderful international gallery located in Newcastle England, I would love to show there, this place has a long history which focuses on documentary photography.

http://www.amber-online.com/sections/side-gallery