"9289", my gritty & grainy Trans-Siberian

[Andrea Taurisano]

Hello everyone

I came recently back from a solo journey on the main Trans-Siberian route, at the beginning of the winter. That meant being the only foreigner on the train, which afforded me fairly genuine (and memorable..) encounters with the locals.

The resulting book "9289", like my previous "The Japan book", presents sketches, notes, written the way I like, as grainy, gritty and contrasty photographs. There is even some pinhole stuff, which you'll easily spot among the others as soft images of the sort I'd charcoal sketch, if only I could... Few will like it, I'm sure. Anyway, here is where you can browse through the whole book (and in case order a copy): - 9289 -

It is particularly important for me to enable full preview of the book (not only the first pages), cause I like the WYSIWYG-philosophy...

A few random sample shots to tease (or scare away, depending..).

Thanks for reading this.

 

[sjgslack]

The shots look beautiful -- it must have been quite an experience

 

[leicamshooter]

Yes.. Thank you... can you tell us about the process and your workflow while on the trip?

 

[--s]

that pics give me goose bumps. just ordered a copy, thanks!

 

[Andrea Taurisano]

Yes.. Thank you... can you tell us about the process and your workflow while on the trip?

With pleasure. First of all, my purpose was the journey itself, the being there, alone and far away from everything. I did not have a particular photo project in mind. Which is why all my fancy cameras stayed home and I traveled super light: with a Ricoh GR1 and a home made, cardboard pinhole-camera (70 grams). That's why I call these photos my travel notes, or sketches.

I was away for 17 days and brought 17 rolls for Tri-X (but ended up using only 10).

(I was not so insane to set off for such a trip without a backup camera. That was a Ricoh GR, constantly kept in high-contrast JPG mode, 3200 ISO, with which about a third of the photos in the book were taken. And if I did it right it should take some effort to tell which ones).

Once home, I developed my Tri-X in Rodinal with extra agitation to maximize grain & contrast, then scanned. All photos in the book except a couple, are uncropped.

The book's made on Blurb, trade book style (= rough paper that lends itself perfect to this photo type). I guess that's what you wondered.

 

[Johnmcd]

Outstanding! I've dreamt of doing the same trip. Ordered a copy also. My Xmas present to myself 🙂

Cheers - John

 

[Sejanus.Aelianus]

I like the shot of the gent outside the hut but none of the others. Do you have more "portraits".

 

[Andrea Taurisano]

I like the shot of the gent outside the hut but none of the others. Do you have more "portraits".

There are a few more in the book, but portraiture is far from the main content.

 

[Range Loser]

Great work Andrea, just spent an hour looking at your blog. Always have a love of snowbound places. Have you seen Jarret Schecter's Russia Off Track?

 

[Andrea Taurisano]

Great work Andrea, just spent an hour looking at your blog. Always have a love of snowbound places. Have you seen Jarret Schecter's Russia Off Track?

Thanx, and no, I haven't. I'm going to do a search right now..

Edit: Jacob Sobol did also amazing work on his (still ongoing) Trans-Siberian project "Arrival and Departures".

 

[Monochrom]

Great work loved the tone you used for your photographs!!!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[Range Loser]

Thanks for the suggestion, very interesting work.
I also like Simon Roberts Motherland book, and one of my all time favourites is Joakim Eskildsen's The Roma Journeys. Both very different photography, but inspiring stuff.

 

[jesse1dog]

Excellent use of the double page spread in the trade book forme - I hadn't thought of doing that!
Loved the basic nature of the photography too.
Well done!

jesse

 

[Andrea Taurisano]

Excellent use of the double page spread in the trade book forme - I hadn't thought of doing that!
Loved the basic nature of the photography too.
Well done!

jesse

You know, I'm really loving the trade book way. It's humble, zen, and very cheap. Its low cost, even compared to cheap prints, affords me a (to me) very much needed "tactile" approach to photography. Memories should not remain in hard disks.

Trade books are cheap enough that I can give away copies to friends or anyone I know appreciates my work. And anyone else who wishes a copy can buy one without too much concern.

 

[paulfish4570]

i really, really like the bottom one in this thread. now i will look at the book ...

 

[axiom]

Thanks for sharing

 

[Black]

Andrea - thats a wonderful book & a nice mix of styles throughout. I think you have just found yourself another customer.

 

[David_Manning]

Andrea...very evocative shots. Lots of bleak Soviet-feeling emotion here. The pictures ask questions instead of providing answers. Good work.

Did I read correctly...GR1 film and GR digital? Did they feel similar enough in operation?

 

[paulfish4570]

i have this quotation in my signature: "Film will only become art when its materials are as inexpensive as pencil and paper." - Jean Cocteau

i think this time has come, and your blurb book proves it ...

 

[Andrea Taurisano]

Andrea...very evocative shots. Lots of bleak Soviet-feeling emotion here. The pictures ask questions instead of providing answers. Good work.

Did I read correctly...GR1 film and GR digital? Did they feel similar enough in operation?

You read correctly. In operation they feel definitely similar. The main difference is that the GR1 features a rather tiny viewfinder, whereas the GR has an excellent LCD. I normally prefer the former (and generally film over digital), but the latter is a major advantage when using glasses. Both have an excellent snap function that pre-locks the focus at a predetermined distance (ex. infinite). I use this function often for shots through curtains, dirty windows and similar. Wonderful cameras both of them. And the GR, if properly used and at 3200 ISO delivers something that looks disturbingly similar to film.