Show "Families of the Dump" Possibilities 2?

These 55 scans are other possibilities shot in November 2013 at the dump. Having my part of the group show being devoted to the families of the dump is the right way to go, it will allow a common theme and more importantly it will allow me to show more works and tell a larger story. I wanted to show the family/dump pics and now I can. To have 4 or 5 pics of dad in a separate room is also important to me, I can pay tribute to my father with his brutally honest last/day pics as well.

I still need to look through lots of contacts and such but a good portion of the 15 photos will be from this blog post and the last.

Show Families of the Dump" Possibilities?

The show will be limited to "Families of the Dump" images with a few of dad shown separated. The idea would be to have a theme and a certain amount of continuity in this group show, not doing a 'Best Of" thing.  Here are 39 maybes from May 2013 trip. I still have to look through all the November trip photos and other May shot dump pics. There are a ton of possible negs to print. I will have to edit down the final selection to 15 photographs. Another thing to consider is that almost all of these negs I have never printed so I have only seen the digital versions, not all negs might be fit for printing technically, mostly I am worried about their sharpness. With all the film I shot over 2 trips involving 14 or 15 days of shooting, I should have no problem filling the 15 photograph group show quota. When you add in the 4 or 5 images I want to show of dad separately that's one hell of a lot of printing, I have 5 months to complete it.  The selection process starts tonight, I will look through my scans and my enlarged contacts. I need to start looking for all the negs (a major difficulty) and begin printing this week. I figure for each of my off weeks between now and February I need to do 1 fine prints, I might also have to start printing on my work weeks as well. There promises to be a lot of 10 hour printing nights in my future.

Dad Again

Here is a shot I did of dad last night with the Mark II 5D. I prefer doing b/w work with film but the digital has a real clarity to the images that is quite appealing, you can see pretty much everything in detail. When I get the 24mm 1.4 (this week I hope) I plan on using it exclusively and putting away the 24-70mm zoom. I want to try to limit myself to get more. My friend Larry does wonderful photography mostly with the Mark II, III and the 24mm 1.4.  I know that great work can be done with that simple combination, I want to force myself to try to do the same, limiting your tools should yield better quality photographs. The idea is less gadgets more creativity. Gosh thou I love my gadgets!

In the photo below dad had just wiped away a tear and was thinking.

Dad August 31 2014

Quote: Richard Pryor

On his job as a boxing gym sparring partner.

"I always had to fight the guys who looked like they just killed their parents."

Link: Worlds Largest Film Camera

This a great little story about building the worlds largest camera. I love the fact he is using it to shoot people with, not your average landscape stuff (like everyone else). Wonder how much this thing cost to do, rather amazing in its scope. Thou I wonder if shooting cultures could have been better captured using a 8x10 or 11x14 and traveling the world for 10 years shooting thousands of portraits at probably about the same costs. The camera they made is amazing and beautiful thou I am not sure they can make amazing pics with it.

Here is a link to the Lomography.com article and the Vimeo vids.

Lomography Article

Worlds Largest Film Camera

Need To Choose Well

I have been thinking a lot about what 15 or so photos I will use in the show. I need to select well, not only because I am in the same show as a great photographer (Larry Louie) but also because I get these exhibitions so seldom I need to make them count. If I choose the right work and print it to the highest standard who knows there that might lead, the dominoes could fall a bit. When you get your opportunities you need to make the most. of them. There is a possibility I might include some of the Cambodian slum negs and who knows maybe even something from the bar world photos of 2003. I think thou all the work will be from the last 2-3 years.

There should be no additional costs for this exhibition, I have all the frames, cut and uncut mats and all the photo paper I need. The negs are waiting patiently to be brought to life in the darkroom. I will start printing tomorrow night. I want to make these prints SING.

Let the games begin!

Quotes: Daido Moriyama

"I think the most important thing photographs can do is relate to the photographer and the viewer's memories."

"At first sight a photograph looks straight forward as it slices off a scene or moment in time. But images that photography captures are actually ambiguous and it's because of this ambiguity that I like photography."

Links: More Daido Moriyama Videos

I love how it this major opening at the Tate in London Moriyama carries his camera with him : ).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2f04KsUs5E

Here is Moriyama wandering the streets of Tokyo with a digi camera and speaking about his life and photography.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foWAs3V_lkg&index=12&list=PLSMuKJ0kRiU0wb0f5_Y_mQ4mu0n5nHQaK

Link: Daido Moriyama Documentary "Near Equal"

Here is a fun documentary on the current photographer I am studying Mr Daido Moriyama. You have got to love the simplicity of his approach, such simple tools whether it is the camera he uses or his darkroom.

Like always it comes down to your vision, your feeling, your creative statement not the gadgets and gear you use. Moriyama like so many great artists sees with his heart and brain first everything else is secondary. It is fascinating to listen to him describe what photography is, what a photograph is, the mans mind works in such a unique way. Watching a doc like this expands your thinking, it opens doors to what really is possible in photography. This is is all very exciting.

I need to put more abstraction, more randomness into my pictures, let shutter click and the creativity flow. Lets throw all rules out the window, there are no more rules, lets begin to see at a purer more basic and truer level.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnEYplvebAE