Olympia SM3 Typewriter photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m, a model, and Ilford HP5 film. — Olympia SM3 Typewriter photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m, a model, and Ilford HP5 film.

Olympia SM3 and a Nude

April 30, 2019 in Black and White Film, Nudes, Photo Sessions

I mentioned in a previous blog post that when it comes to geeky things I’m a fairly avid collector of typewriters. That includes the lovely Olympia SM3 seen in this image. I suppose it was only a matter of time before I incorporated one into a photoshoot in some way. Actually, I plan on incorporating a lot of typewriters into my photoshoots in the near future and turn it all into a long series, but for this image I thought I would take a little bit of inspiration from one of my favorite films, Naked Lunch.

I wanted to loosely mimic the poster art of the film, but in my own sort of way incorporating the human body. I probably should have used a different typewriter. The “Clark Nova” used in the film is clearly based on a Smith Corona 5-series machine and I own one or two of those, but I just like the Olympia SM3 so much better as far as looks. It happens to be my favorite machine to both type on and to look at so in this case it is a win-win photographically.

Photographed with a Minolta SRT-101 and Fomapan 100 speed film. — Photographed with a Minolta SRT-101 and Fomapan 100 speed film.

Back in Portland

April 26, 2019 in Black and White Film, Nudes, Photo Sessions

I arrived back in Portland a couple of days ago with a large chunk of film to develop, a whole lot of mail to open, and a comfortable bed that feels oh so good after two weeks in California. It’s always the sign of a really good vacation when you are incredibly happy to be home at the end of it.

I did a couple of photoshoots while I was gone, mostly in the area where I grew up which is around Gilroy and Morgan Hill California. It felt a little odd to be doing photo sessions in the region of my childhood home. I was practicing photography during the time I lived there, my teenage years, but I certainly wasn’t doing nudes back then. Mostly pictures of fire hydrants and mail boxes. I never would have imagined back then that decades later I would be tromping through out of the way fields doing the work I do today but with the same camera I held in my hands back then - my trusty Minolta SRT-101.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford HP5 film. — Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford HP5 film.

Forest Nudes in Black & White

April 17, 2019 in Black and White Film, Nudes, Nature, Photo Sessions

I’m still down in California for another week but I had a little downtime today and figured I would write a really quick blog post. This image came to mind mainly because the landscapes I am walking through while on my trip are the polar opposite of what you see in this image.

I like California a lot, and in many ways still consider it my home, but after being here over a week I really miss the forest. There is nothing quite like leaving the place you live for a little while to make you truly appreciate it. I’m looking forward to coming back to Oregon and engaging in some photography sessions with some tall trees and thick mossy woods around.

This image was made in a rather thick forest which blocked out a lot of natural light. I had to push my roll of Ilford HP5 up to ISO 800 in order to keep an exposure in the range of being able to use my camera handheld. Thankfully I managed to keep contrast under control in development. If you look closely at the photograph you can see my own thumbprint on the model’s stomach which was my bad. I got a little handsy when rolling the film onto a spool in the development process. The thumb print is now on the negative and I’m not particularly inclined to photoshop it out.

Photographed with a Mamiya C330 TLR and Fomapan 100 speed film. — Photographed with a Mamiya C330 TLR and Fomapan 100 speed film.

Off To California!

April 05, 2019 in Announcements, Nudes, Photo Sessions

I’m heading off to California on Monday for an extended three week long break. I’m not sure how much access or time I’m going to have to write in this blog so I figured I would make one last post before I hit the road. Who knows, I might have a lot of down time and will end up making posts a lot. Or it might be complete radio silence for the entire time I’m away. That is sort of the beauty of the way I like to take vacations. Pretty much anything can happen. Or nothing can happen at all.

Either way, I have my Hasselblad and my Minolta SRT-101 all packed up with a generous amount of film ready for some adventures. Anyone who is a film photographer knows that sometimes traveling with film gear can be a bit of a pain. That is one of the things I really envy about digital photographers. Media cards don’t take up a lot of room in a camera bag. Bricks of film however, not to mention a light meter, lens filters, etc. can make it pretty tough to get away with that one carry on bag you plan on stuff into the overhead compartment on the plane.

Photographed with a Mamiya C330 TLR and Fomapan 100 speed film. — Photographed with a Mamiya C330 TLR and Fomapan 100 speed film.

Portrait in Seattle

April 02, 2019 in Black and White Film, Nudes, Photo Sessions

The photograph was made in an incredibly cheap and run down motel room up in Seattle on an April afternoon about four years ago. I remember the trip vividly because I was going through a very emotional breakup at the time and I wanted to get out of Portland for a while to clear my head. So I set up a bunch of photoshoots in Seattle as a way to take my mind off my troubles.

Well, as luck would have it, the weather ended up being terrible that week. I’m talking rain showers that made even Seattle natives hide away indoors. I scheduled four shoots and all four of them flaked on me last minute. I can’t say I blamed any of them. The weather was not great for photoshoots. So what is a photographer to do? Well, I posted a quick ad on Craigslist (back when you could do casting calls for nudes on Craigslist) and crossed my fingers I would get a response.

Welcome To My Blog

Here you will find the ramblings of photographer Alexis Kennedy, his latest images, and just general thoughts about photography, film, art, and creativity.

Alexis works primarily with analogue film including 35mm, medium format, and large format film.

Limited Edition Prints Available

You can tell a person has too many typewriters in their house when an extra machine sneaks into the background of your photograph. Why would a person need to own two typewriters? Or three? Or ten? They're easier to take care of than house plants I su

Drifting one day to the next can be a comfort or a personal hell, all depends on the morning. When there is fresh coffee in the pot it tends to be the former. When you only have about thirty minutes to enjoy it because you have to whisk off to work i

Look at that guy! Not a single gray hair to be found. An ancient picture of me out in the Columbia River Gorge during the twilight hours.
.
#colorfilm #oregon #self-portrait #longtimeago

I admit I am completely oppressed with old Motel signs. I seriously think they represent some of the best examples of colorful design and quirky character on display to the general public.

One day I'd love to road trip around backroads and forgotte

I really like the simplicity of the studio, especially as I get older in my life as a photographer.

Having the ability to spend an extra few minutes to compose a frame to perfection can be a wonderful way to work. Making sure there is just enough s

I have one thing to say and it's not going to be nice. Tonight the United States said loud and clear that it hates women so much it would rather throw in with a known grifter and a fraud. Really seems that being a singularly worthless man is still a

I have a feeling I'm going to spend most of my day feeling quite distracted. Typical. I think it will be best to focus on things like photographs, and records I haven't listened to in a while, and maybe tacos. You know, all the things that are best i

If you haven't already done so, be sure to vote tomorrow. As silly as it may sound, voting is the beginning of every positive leap forward we have and it is incredibly important. Apathy doesn't create change, voting is the starting point.
.
#vote #no

I'm about to get on my bike to go to work and it's pouring rain outside. Somehow this picture came to mind. This is not a complaint mind you, I sort of like riding in the rain.
.
#filmphotography #fineart #oregon #landscape #storm #raincloud #hasselb

I am so out of it that it didn't dawn on me until about two minutes ago that today is Halloween. Go figure... The predominate thought in my head right now is more, "Is it Friday yet?". That's adulting I suppose. I'm very much looking forwar

I may be awake. I may be typing a post on Instagram. But oh boy the coffee has not kicked in yet. One of these days I'll learn the secret to starting off the day with a little pep in my step. Until then just know, if I'm making a post there is likely

I do a lot of traveling to small towns and a common thread I see across the United States is boarded up movie theaters along the main strip. It makes me quite sad. So many of these theaters could be community gathering places. Get people out of the h

A little test shot I did a long while back when making sure a new lens I bought worked. I don't have any actual plants at home any more. I'm bad at taking care of them. Just a terrible "plant dad" if you will.
.
#filmphotography #fineart #h

In a rush so I have to keep this post short and sweet. Lot's of adventures this week so I'm going to post something that represents a bit of a more silent moment.
.
#filmphotography #fineart #blackandwhitefilm #believeinfilm #pdx #portland #studio #

Well, I made a post this morning that got instantly removed by the Instagram Police, so here I am posting a serpent monster instead. I guess the eyes of the internet are safe from me for one more day.
.
#hasselblad #dragon #snake #sculpture #island

You can tell a person has too many typewriters in their house when an extra machine sneaks into the background of your photograph. Why would a person need to own two typewriters? Or three? Or ten? They're easier to take care of than house plants I su

Drifting one day to the next can be a comfort or a personal hell, all depends on the morning. When there is fresh coffee in the pot it tends to be the former. When you only have about thirty minutes to enjoy it because you have to whisk off to work i

Look at that guy! Not a single gray hair to be found. An ancient picture of me out in the Columbia River Gorge during the twilight hours.
.
#colorfilm #oregon #self-portrait #longtimeago

I admit I am completely oppressed with old Motel signs. I seriously think they represent some of the best examples of colorful design and quirky character on display to the general public.

One day I'd love to road trip around backroads and forgotte

I really like the simplicity of the studio, especially as I get older in my life as a photographer.

Having the ability to spend an extra few minutes to compose a frame to perfection can be a wonderful way to work. Making sure there is just enough s

I have one thing to say and it's not going to be nice. Tonight the United States said loud and clear that it hates women so much it would rather throw in with a known grifter and a fraud. Really seems that being a singularly worthless man is still a

I have a feeling I'm going to spend most of my day feeling quite distracted. Typical. I think it will be best to focus on things like photographs, and records I haven't listened to in a while, and maybe tacos. You know, all the things that are best i

If you haven't already done so, be sure to vote tomorrow. As silly as it may sound, voting is the beginning of every positive leap forward we have and it is incredibly important. Apathy doesn't create change, voting is the starting point.
.
#vote #no

I'm about to get on my bike to go to work and it's pouring rain outside. Somehow this picture came to mind. This is not a complaint mind you, I sort of like riding in the rain.
.
#filmphotography #fineart #oregon #landscape #storm #raincloud #hasselb

I am so out of it that it didn't dawn on me until about two minutes ago that today is Halloween. Go figure... The predominate thought in my head right now is more, "Is it Friday yet?". That's adulting I suppose. I'm very much looking forwar

I may be awake. I may be typing a post on Instagram. But oh boy the coffee has not kicked in yet. One of these days I'll learn the secret to starting off the day with a little pep in my step. Until then just know, if I'm making a post there is likely

I do a lot of traveling to small towns and a common thread I see across the United States is boarded up movie theaters along the main strip. It makes me quite sad. So many of these theaters could be community gathering places. Get people out of the h

A little test shot I did a long while back when making sure a new lens I bought worked. I don't have any actual plants at home any more. I'm bad at taking care of them. Just a terrible "plant dad" if you will.
.
#filmphotography #fineart #h

In a rush so I have to keep this post short and sweet. Lot's of adventures this week so I'm going to post something that represents a bit of a more silent moment.
.
#filmphotography #fineart #blackandwhitefilm #believeinfilm #pdx #portland #studio #

Well, I made a post this morning that got instantly removed by the Instagram Police, so here I am posting a serpent monster instead. I guess the eyes of the internet are safe from me for one more day.
.
#hasselblad #dragon #snake #sculpture #island