Lilserenity
Well-known
Hiya,
If I have duplicated an existing thread it's not through the lack of looking and I think on the whole this is the most appropriate forum section.
The premise of this thread is: Your photo projects for 2009, what subjects are you tackling this year? It doesn't have to be a new project solely contained within 2009, but something ongoing. Secondly, it would be interesting to hear what your motivation is behind it. And maybe thirdly why you are doing it, is there something you are trying to explain, like a story, or just to document it for what it is?
I just thought it would be cool to get an insight into what people are doing longer term rather than just the shooting this and that (which we all do!)
I have a couple of projects this year. One I won't discuss at length in here as its related to my walking but last year I started my South Downs Way project which I am still finishing and this year I am walking the North Downs Way (132 miles from Farnham to Dover in England.) That is very much a black and white landscape photography project.
The one I want to mention here is one of my urban projects.
Where/What? Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England
Milton Keynes in Bucks is a 1970s 'new town' in England which is basically a town created where one didn't exist before or in the case of Milton Keynes was created from several smaller townships and filled in between to create a new town. Milton Keynes is unlike any other British town/city in that it's based on a grid system (not quite as rigidly as the US for example) whereas everywhere else in the UK is very organic in its growth and not nearly as organised in how it has developed. Milton Keynes is a very unusual place as it's very forward looking in its architecture even 40 years after the initial development began.
Why? When I was growing up we used to live 'down the road' (about 15-20 miles) away in another town in Bucks and we would sometimes visit Milton Keynes which was very much still in its infancy when I was younger. I remember always being in 'awe' almost in some senses of this very different place of elevated central boulevards, greenery, glass buildings, grid roads - heck even in the street lighting was different to everywhere else!
Over the years I have been back numerous times and I can't say that I love the place, and sometimes I can't even say I like it even. It sits queasily atop the traditional image of a green and pleasant England with its steel and glass, asphalt and concrete. I'm interested in capturing this unusual location, and place and trying to get beneath this veneer if you will. I feel there is something very false and slightly loose and unhinged (no offence to residents of MK) -- I think this is something perhaps personal to me but I have never felt it like any other English town/city, it seemed to lack a soul or the sense that you could belong to the place. I am sure it's very different if you live there. But I guess I'm trying to explore the impossible by expressing my unease with the place through photography. Nothing like a challenge!
Also from a purely photographic stand point, I intend to probably shoot the majority of it using Fuji Acros 100 and with my M2 (and EOS 3 for night shots in some instances) with a 35mm, 50mm and 70-200mm lens but mostly the 35mm. I think the glass and concrete with the reflections of all that's around in black and white will allow someone to suspend their belief of 'what is' and hopefully I will be able to instill that this is a personal experience of a place.
There is more to this place and my relationship with it than I can give here really, but suffice to say I've seen some good and bad things in the place. I think it's the anti-thesis to where I do live on the South Coast of England in Worthing and the South Downs behind us, which I often lament as being the place where my sanity dozes peacefully occasionally aroused by the warmth of summer sun and the scent of warm evening beer, whereas Milton Keynes to me is the raw lacerated end of my nerves jangling on edge twitching and where insanity creeps.
End result? A lot of prints definitely but also a photo book accompanied by words, using one of the many Self Publishing/Print on Demand services now available.
So... now I have thoroughly weirded you all out
what are you up to this year and why?
Vicky
If I have duplicated an existing thread it's not through the lack of looking and I think on the whole this is the most appropriate forum section.
The premise of this thread is: Your photo projects for 2009, what subjects are you tackling this year? It doesn't have to be a new project solely contained within 2009, but something ongoing. Secondly, it would be interesting to hear what your motivation is behind it. And maybe thirdly why you are doing it, is there something you are trying to explain, like a story, or just to document it for what it is?
I just thought it would be cool to get an insight into what people are doing longer term rather than just the shooting this and that (which we all do!)
I have a couple of projects this year. One I won't discuss at length in here as its related to my walking but last year I started my South Downs Way project which I am still finishing and this year I am walking the North Downs Way (132 miles from Farnham to Dover in England.) That is very much a black and white landscape photography project.
The one I want to mention here is one of my urban projects.
Where/What? Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England
Milton Keynes in Bucks is a 1970s 'new town' in England which is basically a town created where one didn't exist before or in the case of Milton Keynes was created from several smaller townships and filled in between to create a new town. Milton Keynes is unlike any other British town/city in that it's based on a grid system (not quite as rigidly as the US for example) whereas everywhere else in the UK is very organic in its growth and not nearly as organised in how it has developed. Milton Keynes is a very unusual place as it's very forward looking in its architecture even 40 years after the initial development began.
Why? When I was growing up we used to live 'down the road' (about 15-20 miles) away in another town in Bucks and we would sometimes visit Milton Keynes which was very much still in its infancy when I was younger. I remember always being in 'awe' almost in some senses of this very different place of elevated central boulevards, greenery, glass buildings, grid roads - heck even in the street lighting was different to everywhere else!
Over the years I have been back numerous times and I can't say that I love the place, and sometimes I can't even say I like it even. It sits queasily atop the traditional image of a green and pleasant England with its steel and glass, asphalt and concrete. I'm interested in capturing this unusual location, and place and trying to get beneath this veneer if you will. I feel there is something very false and slightly loose and unhinged (no offence to residents of MK) -- I think this is something perhaps personal to me but I have never felt it like any other English town/city, it seemed to lack a soul or the sense that you could belong to the place. I am sure it's very different if you live there. But I guess I'm trying to explore the impossible by expressing my unease with the place through photography. Nothing like a challenge!
Also from a purely photographic stand point, I intend to probably shoot the majority of it using Fuji Acros 100 and with my M2 (and EOS 3 for night shots in some instances) with a 35mm, 50mm and 70-200mm lens but mostly the 35mm. I think the glass and concrete with the reflections of all that's around in black and white will allow someone to suspend their belief of 'what is' and hopefully I will be able to instill that this is a personal experience of a place.
There is more to this place and my relationship with it than I can give here really, but suffice to say I've seen some good and bad things in the place. I think it's the anti-thesis to where I do live on the South Coast of England in Worthing and the South Downs behind us, which I often lament as being the place where my sanity dozes peacefully occasionally aroused by the warmth of summer sun and the scent of warm evening beer, whereas Milton Keynes to me is the raw lacerated end of my nerves jangling on edge twitching and where insanity creeps.
End result? A lot of prints definitely but also a photo book accompanied by words, using one of the many Self Publishing/Print on Demand services now available.
So... now I have thoroughly weirded you all out
what are you up to this year and why?Vicky
chris000
Landscaper
Ah Milton Keynes, I knew it well when it was first being developed, concrete cows and warehouses painted bright red to "look like a field of poppies". I'm sure it has mellowed somewhat with age.
I like to photograph the less obvious landscapes of England (i.e. not the usual tourist areas). I'm currently taking a lot of images around the Vale of Pewsey and thinking about trying to take a fresh look at my hone of Salisbury Plain. I'm also paying a visit to the Isle of Wight for a few days which I have always loved.
Good luck with MK!
I like to photograph the less obvious landscapes of England (i.e. not the usual tourist areas). I'm currently taking a lot of images around the Vale of Pewsey and thinking about trying to take a fresh look at my hone of Salisbury Plain. I'm also paying a visit to the Isle of Wight for a few days which I have always loved.
Good luck with MK!
nikon_sam
Shooter of Film...
As I have stated many times in this forum I have given up on buying another camera body...I still look for other items related to photography but another body I do not need...(I have said that if I happen to find a body at a garage sale for $5 I might allow it but as yet I haven't come across said camera)
This decision has allowed me to further enjoy the cameras I already own and one of those is a Zone VI 4x5 Field camera...
Let me back up a bit...I also have and love shooting with a Yashica Mat 124g and I'm looking for a lens or two that will give a similar look to them but with the 4x5...
So far I have picked up a Ektar lens and a product of Zeiss Ikon (not too sure where this lens came from but it did look clean and it does function but it is getting CLA'd before I put it to use)
I have shot a few rolls of 120 film and just today ran about 8 sheets of 4x5 through using the Ektar lens...
As far as a Project goes I don't have a clear direction yet but with getting this camera out of the closet one should come up shortly...
Maybe the Project for now is using gear I have and learning about lens characters that I want...Lately I've been researching about lenses as much as I've been using them...
For now that's good enough for me & 2009...
This decision has allowed me to further enjoy the cameras I already own and one of those is a Zone VI 4x5 Field camera...
Let me back up a bit...I also have and love shooting with a Yashica Mat 124g and I'm looking for a lens or two that will give a similar look to them but with the 4x5...
So far I have picked up a Ektar lens and a product of Zeiss Ikon (not too sure where this lens came from but it did look clean and it does function but it is getting CLA'd before I put it to use)
I have shot a few rolls of 120 film and just today ran about 8 sheets of 4x5 through using the Ektar lens...
As far as a Project goes I don't have a clear direction yet but with getting this camera out of the closet one should come up shortly...
Maybe the Project for now is using gear I have and learning about lens characters that I want...Lately I've been researching about lenses as much as I've been using them...
For now that's good enough for me & 2009...
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tom_f77
Tom Fenwick
I like this thread.
Most of the last year I've been working on something I am calling "Living the Dream" for now. What it's about is developing along the way, but at the moment it's mainly about... Well, you decide.
This year I want to develop it further, including more people and getting at the social side of it less obliquely without disturbing the overall feel too much. I need more images like this one: Shhhhh!
Tom
Most of the last year I've been working on something I am calling "Living the Dream" for now. What it's about is developing along the way, but at the moment it's mainly about... Well, you decide.
This year I want to develop it further, including more people and getting at the social side of it less obliquely without disturbing the overall feel too much. I need more images like this one: Shhhhh!
Tom
projectbluebird
Film Abuser
After a year and a half of intensive school and working, this summer I am going to make time to get out and shoot.
Where/What? Road trip(s), likely to the South/southwest end of Utah.
Where/What? Road trip(s), likely to the South/southwest end of Utah.
Chriscrawfordphoto
Real Men Shoot Film.
I never shoot as much in summer as I do in Winter. I plan to spend much of the summer scanning negs from the more than 80 rolls of film I have shot since August that I haven't had time to scan because of school and taking care of my son.
As for shooting, I hope to concentrate on my Waynedale project. Waynedale is a section of the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana that used to be a small town until it was absorbed by the growing city in the 1950's. I grew up in Waynedale, which still today has a small town look and culture. That is changing though, and I am trying to document the old Waynedale before it is gone.
Vandals smashed the sign that says Sandpoint TV last week. Waynedale never had crime until very recently. I live in Waynedale now and have seen 5 of my neighbors get arrested in the last year
I shot this one a couple weeks ago with my Bessa R2. Elwoods and Sandpoint TV are about the only locally owned appliance stores left in Ft. Wayne.
See the rest of my Waynedale project
As for shooting, I hope to concentrate on my Waynedale project. Waynedale is a section of the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana that used to be a small town until it was absorbed by the growing city in the 1950's. I grew up in Waynedale, which still today has a small town look and culture. That is changing though, and I am trying to document the old Waynedale before it is gone.
Vandals smashed the sign that says Sandpoint TV last week. Waynedale never had crime until very recently. I live in Waynedale now and have seen 5 of my neighbors get arrested in the last year
I shot this one a couple weeks ago with my Bessa R2. Elwoods and Sandpoint TV are about the only locally owned appliance stores left in Ft. Wayne.
See the rest of my Waynedale project
Morca007
Matt
This spring I am planning a project that I'm tentatively calling What is a Nerd?
I'll be asking people who self identify as nerds to come forward and let me make environmental portraits in whatever they identify as their 'home setting.' For example, their computer room, a hobby shop, etc.
Technically, I'll be using my Yashica-D and shooting some sort of colour film (not sure what yet). I'd like to avoid artificial lighting for it, though that might prove difficult.
I'll be asking people who self identify as nerds to come forward and let me make environmental portraits in whatever they identify as their 'home setting.' For example, their computer room, a hobby shop, etc.
Technically, I'll be using my Yashica-D and shooting some sort of colour film (not sure what yet). I'd like to avoid artificial lighting for it, though that might prove difficult.
Al Kaplan
Veteran
I guess that I have three or four overlapping and long term ongoing photo projects (that's a real mouthfull!) right now. One is to get caught up on my film developing and contact printing ~ probably fifty or more rolls developed and needing contacts, another fifty or so still in the cassettes. Two is going through all my contact sheets (the file goes back to 1961) and picking out images that I want to print and hopefully will print. Three is a never will be truely finished project because it's a blog about my life and adventures as a photographer. It bounces around with some old stuff from my files, some recent stuff shot just for the blog to illustrate some of the things that I'm writing about. There're things I wrote about and photographed, from the rock stars of the 1960's, the black power movement in the 1970's, presidents and governors and congressmen, local North Miami mayors and councilmen, my kids, wives and girlfriends...it's been an ongoing project for about three years now, with over a thousand blog postings. My son is bugging me to start editing it into a more coherent body of work. Lastly, I'm shooting more of my "environmental self-portrait series" where I'm using the 15mm Heliar with one hand at arm's length and including myself in the photo. My plate is full.
If you want to check out the work in progress: http://thepriceofsilver.blogspot.com
If you want to check out the work in progress: http://thepriceofsilver.blogspot.com
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Keith
The best camera is one that still works!
I spent some time last week doing some casual work painting the inside of a shop for a potential legal aid office at a place called Inala in Brisbane. It's claim to fame is one of the highest unemployment rates in the country and a fairly rabid drug related crime culture. The shopping center which is the central point of Inala was a real eye opener for me. The population is predominatly Vietnamese and African and the center courtyard of the main shopping centre itself has a ring of unusual and slightly delapidated Asian run bussinesses around it ... it's fascinating and I absolutely loved it. The people, a lot of whom don't seem to know a lot of english, are colourfully creating a unique world all their own which you can choose to ignore or revel in.
I'm very keen to spend some more time down there photographing this phenomenon that has grown unexpectedly in Australia's most laid back city!
I'm very keen to spend some more time down there photographing this phenomenon that has grown unexpectedly in Australia's most laid back city!
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emraphoto
Veteran
i'm off to lagos (nigeria) for a few months and i just read it is either the second or third most dangerous city in the world?!?! bit nervous...
finishing a project for the city of london.
finishing a project for the city of london.