Nudes

When Figures and Landscapes Merge Together

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Lately I’ve been far more interested in landscape and nature photography over figure studies and portraits. I suppose it is normal for any artist to go through phases in their work and I’m certainly no exception. There is something very appealing in this (sort of) post COVID world about taking a camera outdoors and just absorbing the silent stillness of nature. It’s nice to take my time with very little or absolutely no agenda at all and getting through a roll of film over the course of several hours as opposed to several minutes, which is the norm when I’m working with people.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Rollei RPX ISO 100 film in Medium Format.

I suppose it was inevitable when I was making this creative transition in my brain that I would create some images that merged the landscape and a nude together. I managed to find this spot at the perfect time. The weather was still fairly warm yet there was plenty of overcast and cloud cover to make the lighting very soft and even. Basically the kind of conditions the Pacific Northwest is famous for, though the extreme weather we’ve been having the past year or so has made less common. A tree on Sauvie Island had broken apart during a recent storm and made for a great piece of architecture for the model to pose on.

Looking at the final edited image, I feel confident that taking several steps back and capturing the entire scene was the right call here.

The Human Form in Architecture

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I’ve been exploring indoor spaces a lot lately. In part because the weather has been incredibly cold, but also because it has been thrilling to entire a defined space and figure out ways I can use four walls to my advantage. There is something about photographing in a studio sometimes that really forces you to just work with what you have in front of you.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford Pan F ISO 50 medium format film.

I am particularly happy with the light play here and the way the bright highlights were bouncing off the white roof out the window, creating heavy shadows that wrap around all the shapes in the frame. There is a fun juxtaposition here between the straight lines and sharp corners of the studio space and the curvy lines of the model.

I’m also particularly pleased that I managed to retain a lot of shadow detail even though I was working with Ilford Pan F film. Anyone who has ever worked with Ilford Pan F knows that it is very easy to get out of control with the contrast! With gentle agitation in the developing tank and mixing a slightly cold chemical bath I think I kept it under control though.

Golden Hour and Portraits

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It’s no secret that the final minutes of light right before sunset are often the best moments to make photographs. You have to be swift and decisive because you don’t have a lot of time before the sun dips below the horizon, but if you have your scene set up and get you get a little bit lucky with your exposures, great things can happen.

Photographed with a Sony A7c and Zeiss 55mm f/1.8 lens.

When COVID was in full swing and everyone was being incredibly cautious about where we went and who we worked with I did quite a few photo sessions in my living room. I have west facing windows that tend to get very dramatic light in the final minutes of the day. Sometimes the light is just way too harsh to work with, but on this particular day it was perfect. Probably because it was the fall season when the light tends to be a bit more subdued, yet full of color.

Nude on the Shore

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I’ve been quite happy with a lot of the film I’ve been developing lately. This image is a perfect example. It was made right as the sun was setting over the mountains to the west of Portland and I managed to make an exposure in those last few seconds when the light gives off its last few seconds of usable glow.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford Pan F ISO 50 medium format film.

I think this image is made all the sweeter for me as I managed to pull it off with Ilford Pan F film. I love Ilford Pan F film but I won’t deny that given its relatively low ISO (i.e. low sensitivity to light) and my general loathing of tripods I don’t use it all that often. Ilford Pan F tends to also be high in contrast, which is a quality that I think adds to the dramatic effect of the low hanging sun.

Nude From Above

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I apologize if it feels like it has been a minute since I’ve updated this blog. A lot of life changes have been going on, mostly for the better, and that means having to prioritize what I can realistically accomplish without burning myself out. I assure you however, I have been very hard at work making new images! In fact that has been my primary focus right now. Developing film, editing finished pieces, and enjoying the satisfaction of completing something.

Social media and the internet in general sometimes just needs to be ignored in order to make that happen.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford FP4 ISO 125 medium format film.

Anyone who has ever photographed with any camera with a waste level finder knows that it can be incredibly complicated and disorienting to try and photograph straight down. This is primarily due to the fact that the image in the viewfinder is already reversed, and when you are holding the camera above your head or straight out at arms length and aiming down it will almost make you dizzy trying to compose an image.

I made about seven exposures of this exact pose in this exact spot and this was the only frame that I feel like I composed properly. I was standing on a broken log above the model, balancing as best I could, with the camera being held straight outward, the lens aiming straight down. Needless to say, a Hasselblad isn’t exactly built to be held in this manner and working the controls, focus, and hitting the shutter button was awkward.

The little challenges one encounters with photography can be interesting that’s for sure!