Are you feeling blue? Impossible Project

                            I’m still trying to get the feel for the blue tone Polaroid film.

                                                        This is what I came up with.

Thanks for checking it my friends!

wet Plate Collodion a learning experiences

Miss collodion came in to my life out of know were it was like she sought me out. I fell for her form the moment I laid my eyes on her. I had no idea that she was going to open something up in side of me that had been close for many years. Photography as an art form was where I started then it became a job. Life just happened and all of a sudden every thing I loved was taken for me.  I felt like a thief had visited me in the night. Years wet by and I had all this free space in my heart waiting for something to fill it up. I also had the fear that it would happen again so I built these walls to protect my self. I don’t know how it’s possible she just showed up smashed straight through all of the walls entering my heart. It brought be right back to where I started and it made me feel so good. It felt like when I was in high school and had my first crush on a girl. I have heard the collodion process referred to as a woman. I also think of it that way. When ever some thing goes wrong it is never her fault and it is my job to figure out what’s wrong and how to fix it. She is not going to tell you what’s wrong ether. That brings me to this image. I just mixed up a new batch of chemical and I was all excited to try them out. I call my friend Sarah to see if I could shoot a portrait of her to test them out. I shot the first photo of Sarah and as soon as I developed it I knew something was wrong. I wanted it to work out so bad I never anticipated how I was going to feel when it didn’t. My initial reaction was disappointment. How could she let me down? I figured well try again so I did. The same things happen again. As I was looking at the flaws I never stopped to see the beautiful thing that had happened. This is the image that I was about to right off as a mistake. This one turned out to be my favorite one after all.

My main focus was on making it work the way I had seen it work for others. I figured it was my turn to have it work out for me. I wasn’t going to give up on her even though I want to. I mixed something up real quick and bam it worked! I shoot some more photos and I thought I was in the clear. I was so happy for that short time I thought it was going to all work out. I shot another photo and she went right back to her old ways. I was devastated. So I just called it quits. I thought to my self there is no reason to keep beating my self up over something that was not working. After a few days of thinking about what went wrong I realize this was not a total loss some thing amazing happened. I had taken a chance on something new and that was a big step for me. I didn’t stay where it was safe I put my self out there. She gave me the ability to feel again and I'm so grate full for that. My conclusion is I might need to try some new chemical or maybe the old ones will work out only time will tell. For now I'm going to move just move forward searching for the right chemistry. 

Location: 9 stories above Los Angeles   

Photo: Sarah Emmons (double click to enlarge image)

wet plate collodion american indian

  These pictures make me think of what Los Angles use to be like before we laid concrete and basically trashed it.  It must have been such a beautiful place.
  Let me explain how I ended up taking this photo in the first place: I was invited to a pajama jammy jam and upon arrival I met up with my friend Celina (girl in the photo). Her outfit for the night was Native American. It was crazy because she really looked Native American. I asked her if she was Native American and she said yes . I knew I had to photograph her as a Native Angeleno it just made sense to me. 

 I love this image in her eyes, you can see so many emotions. Before I shot this I repeatedly told her she would have to be real still for the photo. I could see she was concentrating on it real hard. Normally I would have had the person soften up there face. I liked it so I just let it be.  Looking at it now I think I shot her this way because the way I feel about the American Indians and the emotions I have about the way the were treated. 

I am not mad at this one either. I had her stand on this electrical box so I could shoot up and make the viewer feel they have to look up to her. The Urban/Native juxtaposition is super surreal.
Photo: Celina Vaniersel
Location: Los Angles, Ca

Down Town, LA _Project 09 #13

After our first adventure into the LA river I knew that I would have to return and get some more shots of the actual river. In the process of shooting, this time I thought it would be my last shoot. While we were walking above the river through the darkness, two people emerged out of nowhere and started asking "were you from?" For those who don't know, they were asking what hood we were claming. I thought for sure that this was going to end is some kind of confrontation, either physical or I was losing my camera. They let us pass and we took off down into the river. My heart was pounding.

This is the image that I shot 15 minutes after that encounter. I took all the adrenaline that was going through me and focused on the image. That is why I shoot photos. It is it is my release otherwise I would have everything bottled up inside me and I would explode.
This is one of the first images I shoot using the last bit of sunlight. This is my favorite light to work with. I have heard it called "quite light", which is a fitting name for this.
I look at the LA river as one of the most beautiful galleries in the world. For one the setting is one of a kind and I have never seen anything like it. All the art that is created in here is done for free; no one is getting paid to do this. Its not hanging it some gallery were only rich people can own it. You have to respect the fact that someone would be willing to go to jail or worse to create a piece on a wall . I have way more respect for all these pieces now after going through what I did to shoot them. When I speak about the release from my day to day struggles, this is a way for others to release their energy too. People look at this river as a sewer that runs through a city. I see something different . I can see the beauty that has drawn all these urban artists to this spot.

I wanted to get a photo of us sitting in the river So we all held still for 30 sec as the sutter stayed open exposing our images next to this wall of art. In this photo from right to left. Me, Jordan and Andre. We sit woudering what the rest of thee night well bring.

This is a photo of me scrambling to put my camera in my back pack . I had the camera set up for a shot and we heard voice yelling down at us from the bridge above. They were letting us know what gang they were claiming. At that point we knew it was time to go.