The Boondock Saint
August 25, 2008
This is Karen, once again. I’ve known her the longest of all the models — going on our third year now — and I’ve watched her literally grow up. Now she’s the mature one.
Yes, the scab is left there on purpose. (larger)
(larger)
She probably hates this one but I like the shape of her head, it’s quite classic and besides, this Sicilian is a sucker for those aristocratic “blonde” Northern Italians. (larger)
(larger)
Thanks Karen.
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And now a word to my stalkers:
I used up the rest of my 4x5 film about a month ago. That effectively ends my internet models project (really it was over with the last Jessalyn shoot.) Obviously I’ve continued to shoot with models — I always need fresh material and practice, plus it’s fun. But my new goal is to photograph more diverse subjects and to master my digital camera, which up until now has been used for proofing and loose snaps. Over the next few months I am going to try to wear out my little toy Nikon D300. I want to develop stronger shooting, editing, and post-processing skills. I also need more colorful commercial-looking material to demonstrate that I can do catalogs and general editorial and fashion assignments.
But I am hardly done with film — I am slowly assembling a “heavy metal” 8x10 view camera system. Which will be an old-school 8x10 studio monorail mounted on a heavy 5-series Gitzo tripod with honking six-inch gob of glass for a lens. I’ve already got the lens, tripod, and small bits — now I am waiting for a good deal on a clean Sinar Norma or P.
As for my internet models project, I have edited it to 78 final photos (although if I had the time and money I could find twice as many good shots.) If you figure that each image has at least half a day’s work into it, and I spent a boat load of money… well let’s not go there. My online gallery and PDF portfolio is up-to-date. I will get around to updating the little Blurb book eventually but I am not nearly as enthusiastic about Printing-On-Demand photo books as I once was. The vendors force you to use their proprietary software, which means a big investment in time for a tiny one-off book. The larger Asuka and Shared Ink books are better quality than the Blurb books, but at nearly $300 a pop they still don’t have consistently neutral greyscale images. So I’ve come full-circle — once again I find it more satisfying to make big, beautiful inkjets and place them into a custom-made portfolio book.
Dropping a large (1,200 names) postcard mailing later this week. Wish me luck.
Reader Comments (add yours)
1. Jason — Aug 25 2008 03:24 PM
I certainly would like to see what else you have up your sleeve. Are you going to stick to humans?