f.64, Direct Sunlight, a 150mm lens.

So through the past week(s) I've continued to check out the area I like to call roads to nowhere. I shot a bunch of film out there, somewhat arbitrarily from my main project, or maybe it isn't. I've just been trying to give myself a lot more freedom with what I shot so the images don't become overly formulaic. (and although much of my work of late has been successful, I feel at times it has become just that)

I'm really happy with the top 3 images, the bottom two feel a little too pretty the more I look at them, to be honest they're all kindof pretty but again, the bottom two are just a little too much.

So here comes a bunch of new stuff that I may or may not edit into my book!






Further Note, I shot most of this work at f.64 and really really overexposed to increase my shadow detail. Shooting directly at the sun became a little wonky but I am tempted to really like how this stuff looks. Also special thanks to Abe for letting me borrow his 150, it's nice to have choices of lens length when I'm shooting this stuff.

Not much time left in the semester, The book is really close to being edited (and needs to be finalized by the end of this week to be honest). next post will prolly be in 2 weeks. Happy Thanksgiving.

Longer Exposures...

Tried to post this the other night but didn't have time...

So, the days are getting very very short...I've kindof adopted this habit of wanting to shoot all my landscapes at f.45 so exposure time is rapidly becoming an issue...sortof. Last week I did a bunch of longer exposures, did several hour longs that were too thin to print, but these ones range from 10 minutes to an hour and I'm pretty happy with them.

These first two are a revisit to the rapidly disappearing woods behind my house, I'm much happier with the light and color here, a lot less contrasty and a little more appropriate.



I also shot this long kindof amazing little spot where marsh, concrete, and river come together. (whether or not the picture does this spot justic i'll let you decide.) I haven't shot anything at night in several years but I am pretty happy with this.

NPZ 800

So I had this roll of fuji NPZ 800, I've never really shot with high speed film, It's funny cuz a few years ago all this grain would have bothered me. But now with digital being so dominant I kindof like the grainy look of film, and it's flexibility in low light...now all I have to do is shoot the roll of Ilford 3200 I have...







I'm not sure how much I like this bottom shot (or the middle for that matter) but hey this is just a blog! It's kindof nice to shoot handheld, maybe it's just the freedom and the new format. anywho...

reshoot

I forgot to post this last week, this is a reshoot of the overgrown sign, I like this version a lot more, you can see the older one here.

Roads to Nowhere...

So yesterday I packed up my 6x9 and my 4x5 and left my house, walking due south into the woods...I had planned on shooting out on the old dirt roads that are a mile or two into the woods, but before I got very far I couldn't help but shoot where they are clearing the woods here.

As far as I know this is supposed to be protected land but I guess these people just don't care.

Eventually I reached the old roads, they don't really go anywhere, instead you find them like a river, a dozen tributaries of small pathways converge into these old roads, most of which dead end in the marsh. I dig this location, but due to the gross factor of VC film I was really unhappy with a lot of my stuff I shot out there.

I did get these last two shots near the roads/lands end.

I'm pretty excited about working out in this area, I feel a few more excursions out here in my imminent future. Everything out there is pretty much untouched, all the old junk is sun-bleached, the pathways overgrown. I dig it.

So I decided to try to shoot the dump, Its kindof amazing how not so many years ago this was just a big pile of garbage. (now it's a big pile of garbage with grass growing out of it...and methane exhaust pipes) But I'm not sure if this compisition is too thrilling. However...




...I do like this lot, a lot. there's just the smallest amount of pavement remaining in this landscape, It's kindof got a lot going on but I like the amount of nature vs the amount of relic. Had shot some other 4x5 sheets this weekend but I will need to reshoot the other locations in a more interesting manner.


some medium format should be coming up soon have a few rolls to develop!

Newbury, Perspective

Two new 4x5 shots, I'm really happy with these and the top location has a few other gems to shoot but I need to catch the light early in the day... Who would throw away this perfectly good picket fence...?

So I've been rethinking my perspective a bit, maybe focusing down a bit more. Focusing more directly on the evidence of man and nature. I shot these in Newbury, both in empty lots near a bridge, but in these I've tried to obscure the location a bit and focus more on the land at hand.

I like them, hope you do too.

Brooklyn

So I dragged my Cameras down to Brooklyn this past weekend and shot some work there that kindof reflects what I'm doing here in Massachusettes. When I return I'll be shooting a lot more stuff but in the meantime I have this location near Kate's, an empty lot at Marcy/Metropolitan.

I like the top and bottom two images and will prolly keep them as a diptych, the third will not make the cut but since I went through the time to retouch it i figured I may as well post it.




Some people thought this was a very different approach for me to be shooting in such an urban environment but I'm not sure it's a huge departure. I also shot these stopped way down ~f45, normally I shoot at about 22 and I think I might like that a little better.

wheelbarrows, sally's Place, Some Landscapes.

So my blog keeps on exploding every time I try to post and label these images. This weekend was nothing but rain and despite the fact that I might have bronchitis it yielded some pretty fun 4x5 work. Had to do a lot of blocking and wiping down of my stuff to keep the rain away but I've got some fun stuff.

Starting with a weird wheelbarrow picture (dunno why but I love wheelbarrows)

This sign is being eaten by plants, I've had my eye on it for a while now...

And the rest of these are from Sally's Place in Seabrook, NH. It's a wierd place full of discarded mysteries, but I like it.

I'm definately happiest with the top two images but they all printed quite nicely. Felt good to shoot work that relates to my landscape project...(wheelbarrows excluded!) anyways I hope this post doesn't bug out because I have a train to catch. Oh and guess what it's still raining!

Summer, Cabin

So it's been quite a while since i put up anything fresh on the blog. To make a long story short I worked quite hard this summer living in NYC and shot when I could. I'm pretty happy with what I shot, but am kindof bummed that I didn't shoot more.

Anyways it's back to school now and here's some stuff that I've been able to get scanned.

Cabin, Fireworks, 2008

Deerprints in Mud, Summer 2008

Granite Rubble, Summer 2008

I really like the bottom 2 detail shots, after looking at a lot of the stuff I shot, seems I spent a lot of time looking down at the ground. I really enjoy these though. The cabin shot I think I like, but that place has all kinds of loaded value for me so who knows.

5-13-08

Finals, Review Boards are here.
I have been focusing more on printing lately, (reprinting mostly) This past week has been really beautiful with the weather. The sun has been out in full force and I took some time to tune up my bike and start riding a bit, as well as a day to the beach! (such things are necessary to break up end semester stress!)

However I did manage to come up with several sheets of film that I'm happy with. While wandering in the woods near the Old Newbury dump I found a Shantee Town (sp?) Was a bit scarey at first after passing several "No Trespassing" Signs then stumbling across this. It looks like it hasn't been inhabited for some years, I found maybe a dozen shelters and I hope to return there to shoot some more of them.

This shed was probably the most ornate of the structures I found, some were little more than just caves. I'm assuming most of these were built from junk dragged away from the dump, which is less than a quarter mile from here.


I also returned to the old B&M tracks a bit more, these old tracks run all through essex county and I'm always finding some interesting stuff amidst the old path that's been left behind.


I think this will be the last new work I post for a few weeks, Moving to NYC next Tuesday, and although I plan on shooting through this week I don't know how soon I'll have fresh scans up.

That being said, I still might be making new work up until this coming weekend, as long as I have a significant bit to develop I'll put it through the works on friday.

-DA

5-6-08

The new camera is great, I got my first batch of film back today and did scans and some quick retouching for this post. no more light leaks! Great to have my own camera and get rid of some mechanical problems from the one I had been using from school.

So I found a really exciting new location in Groveland. This road has become flooded because of a beaver dam. The dam is maybe 15 feet wide but has created a huge flood plain, engulfing this road and making it nearly impassable. It's crazy to see nature just taking land back like this with a little help from it's furry friends.

I also stumbled across this old mill-house in Byfield which has split in half from wear and weathering as far as I can tell. I want to revisit and reshoot here but it will prolly require me to get a bit wet, tresspass, or possibly both. still worth it though!

This last shot is just a longer view of one of my favorite bits of lost road, old 95 peaks out here.

There's a lot more to be seen but this is just a quick edit. Review boards are coming up and I'll have to make a post to summarize that. Just wanna say special thanks to Natt for helping me get around to these locations and assisting in shooting.

-DA

4-27-08

So I know I haven't gotten around to posting more old stuff but here's some new bits. I'm still wandering about the back roads and routes of essex county. I'm always looking for things that are just out of the reach of the average persons eye. around a lost corner, over a fence or just in the middle of no where.

Some of these images I found myself looking down from above, I really like how this opens up the perspective in some of these shots. A grander observation of the elements of the scene can be made.

4-19-08

First picture upload, These shots are about a week old. Located in West Newbury. I find that to be a great place to shoot, lots of stuff there that is quite unreal. Undeveloped but the footprint of man is always evident with some minor relics (garbage). Hopefully have more coming out soon. Still haven't developed this weeks work. will also post older stuffs.