The Guided Tattoo Studio
Well, after a few years and a lot of tries I finally knocked something off my Photo Bucket List.
It has been over a month and I suck about updating the website sometimes, but here we are.
James Thiry; Artist and Owner of The Guided Tattoo Studio is such an awesome guy and a very talented artist.
This session I was pretty nervous about and even made myself feel awkward during for absolutely no reason.
I had spent a lot of time sending messages on Instagram when I had it and have spent a lot of time emailing, and making phone calls to shops to try and make this happen; so I think that it finally happening all of the ‘‘seen’’ or emails with no response I just got it in my head that I was just being weird.
I won’t slander any artist or shops or anything like that because I get it, you’re inviting someone to be up in your shit while putting something permanent on someones skin so I can understand that.
However one shop in particular actually laughed over the phone when I asked if any artists at their shop would be interested in having a session photo’d to use for their personal use especially with social media. So, that was kinda what made me start feeling weird about what I was asking to do.
Now writing this I am realizing this was almost two months ago, I suck.
James was working on a leg piece for his wife on Valentines Day, so thinking to add in this information reminded me, it has almost been two months.
The only thing I wish I could change is that I wish I would have moved around more; I am very happy with what I got but if I could do it again.
Like I said in the beginning James is an awesome guy and a badass Artist, he offers Tattooing, Pet Portraits, and even has a shop where he sells his Paintings and Art!
The details, colors, shading, and line work is so beautiful. As good as this camera is and as good as I can possibly be with color grading this photo still doesn’t do his work justice.
I can’t thank James enough for letting me photo this, even though I feel like I didn’t do enough which is normal with any session I do, I am more than happy to look back at these as still be as happy that I got to do this for someone FINALLY!
Honestly, all the ignored messages and no thank you responses leading up to my first photo’d tattoo session being for a husband tattooing his wife on valentines day is pretty fucking awesome and makes up for it.
I’ll be sending this to James once written and live, so I would just like to say thank you, man I really appreciate your time and letting me into your space to capture these photos for you. It was an awesome ass time!
If you’re local to Newburgh Indiana or close by make sure to check out his Shop. If you’re not local make sure to check out his Online Store!
One Year Without Social Media..
Practicing lighting for headshots in my spare/extra room.
If I had to choose one word for this last year out of 200,000+ English words I know exactly which one it would be..
Looking back a year ago, I was in such a negative headspace. I was reflecting my work on engagements from others. Voices constantly telling me who cares, because ultimately looking at the screen it showed what I was thinking and feeling.
Sending photos to friends and still not showing any engagements so the people I expected to cheer for me the most were even getting tired of how saturated my posts were becoming.
I compared myself and focused on others opinions way to much and I needed it to all stop. With social media and home/work life I just wasn’t feeling great about a lot of things and I honestly could really only control one thing. Social media had to go. It took a lot to adjust to this; but once I did it got better for a little while.
One of the funniest things I learned was that the same people that would message you through snapchat all day everyday will act like sending a text once a week is to much for them. I lost a lot of contacts and friends this last year and it’s mainly been because I am sick of being the friend that is constantly trying to see how someone is doing. I think in the last year I have gotten one text asking me how I am doing. Other than that everyone just has more important things going on in their lives; and that is perfectly fine. But my life isn’t excluded from being the same.
I’ve had a couple people make fun of me for taking photos. I am literally just capturing memories and moments for myself and others to share with their families.
It’s not like I am smoking crack in a Dollar General bathroom naked or something.
Also, this is my website and I can say what I want; there are some very pathetic and sad fucks that should really take some time out of their day to reflect on their life and decisions and figure out a way to fix their own issues instead of sitting around talking about someone else who is very happy with their life and everything they have done. It’s not someonelses fault that you are where you are in this point in time, so don’t be a fucking cunt about it and cry like it’s someonelses problem. Especially when they have gone out of their way to try and be your friend and help you out.
Before moving onto some positive things, using this website I have generated $0. I have spent over $500 on this website alone in the last year. Financially this last year has costed my family a lot of money with pennies in return.
I have created and captured moments that I will cherish for the rest of my life, and that has been the greatest outcome of all of this. It has made every cent I have spent worth it. I might not be booked up with appointments every month, it might not be a successful side project; but I wouldn’t trade everything I have gotten for anything.
I have learned a lot though, shooting film, expired film, scanning film, shooting digital and .jpeg; switching from using Lightroom to Lightroom Classic which was a little to learn on its own.
Scanning film has been a really cool thing as well I have loved getting to process and see the colors and contrast of the images. Sometimes it has been really worrying like shooting 21 year old film and having to wait over a month to get everything back and see how it turned out or if it even did.
Recovering film has been something I am very thankful to have the option of doing too. It makes me feel as if I am creating the photo even though it’s photos of before I was born or of me as a baby/toddler. Getting to see photos of my sister when we were kids. It is a feeling I can’t describe, but I am thankful to have those photos.
I miss my friends and I miss my family. I miss seeing and knowing what everyone was doing, what their kids were doing. Now I might see my friends kids once in 6 months, and only when my wife shows me something that was sent to her or posted on Facebook. That has really been the hardest part. I don’t really talk to anyone other than my wife which I am fine with, but I do miss people.
I honestly don’t even know what to put on this part, but that has kind of been a lot of this last year and these blogs. Only some thought out ideas but not much planned in organizing. Oh well, I don’t want to focus on the film section just because I have had so many blogs about film.
I have taken some badass photos in the last year, I am really proud of myself when it comes to a lot of these.
Someone’s memories they will share for the rest of their lives.
I am still amazed a lot of times at the quality and color of a lot of the photos I take. I will hyper fixate on photos and get so upset and stressed out on the look thinking one small thing I did ruined it but I look back and realize how amazing I really did with them. One day I will learn to think highly of myself.
Like this awesome photo of high water and standing on the Port side of the M/V A.W Bayer, so fucking badass.
People can have their opinions, talk about me and make fun of me for how much I am behind a camera when I am at work or how much I push it as a hobby. It hasn’t negatively held me back from anything or affected my learning or progression with work, I have hundreds if not thousands of photos to share and that are constantly being shared throughout the river industry, my family can see what I do to provide for them on a daily basis and I get to share stories based off of photos I have taken.
Like being able to go back 8 years in photos and Logan giving me a finger being a thing and us conistantly sticking to that.
Us finding a payphone and having a mini session with Delilah.
Elijah turning 1 year old.
Delilah fake ice skating for the first time.
These are my memories that I can share, my physical stories. I wouldn’t give this away for anything.
So, the best word I can possibly think of to describe this last year and being off of Social Media for one whole year.. Emotional..
Canon Sure Shot 80 Tele
I just want to start out by saying that not only was this a test roll for using this point and shoot camera, but also my son Elijah’s first Christmas. I might have another roll that I am currently scanning to add into this blog, but I am unsure at the moment due to not being able to keep up with shit.
Future me here over a month later, it was from this camera and will also be included in this Blog.
I think the best place to start this would be to say that this is the best ‘‘look’’ I have ever gotten from Fuji 400.
Yes the way I processed it did help, but I have not been able to achieve this with any other scans of Fuji 400.
The softness of the Blacks, the slightly desaturated colors, the soft highlights. All around beautiful in my opinion.
I should really explain some things before getting really far into this. I had a dickhead cat sleep on top of my scanner causing so much hair I could never clean my scanner bed. It’s fixed now but was not for these scans. It caused a lot of editing with removing hair and also caused some horizontal lines through the images. You will eventually see some blue and magenta lines and the hair covering the sensor is why. I assumed it was the development processes fault so I did nothing to try and correct this while scanning.
Another thing I would like to add is that you will also see some newton rings, I don’t mind either of these things in the photos with how I am shooting; I am also not spending $40+ for glass in hopes it helps with the issue. I am only scanning for myself so it is not an expense I need.
I started this Blog on February 3rd, 2025 and I am just now circling back to it on March 11th, 2025.
With it being over a month that I have realized what all I capture on film and I have been able to mentally process it, I couldn’t be happier in all aspects.
Phots of Memaw decorating Christmas cookies with the grand kids, and dancing with Delilah.
Levi and Bailey decorating Christmas cookies in their matching pajamas.
I got to capture these moments without looking at a screen and being worries about the settings and missing the actual moment.
I was able to just pull the camera from my pocket snap and put it back.
I am just very thankful for everything I am able to do and share with everyone. Our time together as a family is always limited, being able to look back on moments like this and have that physical memory years and years to come is beautiful.
Alright, time to refocus on using this camera and all the amazing photos I got with it. Very surprisingly, low light was really good, too!
I was running and gunning with the Canon Sure Shot 80 Tele just to test it fully on the second roll and not too worried about how some of the photos would turn out.
Still, I am very impressed with the colors and low light performance.
Leaving the borders of the film really adds to the photos in every shot. Having something that can fit in a shirt pocket and just be pulled out and snap a photo like this is crazy, no calibration no adjustments just point and shoot.
I will be taking more photos with this camera more often. The look is just too good to pass up, especially when using Fuji400 for this kind of look.
I do hope to eventually try a roll of Kodak Gold or something else in this camera just to see what that can produce, but this will most certainly not be the last blog I write about shooting with this camera. I love it!
Now for the Second Roll
Elijah’s First Birthday
Such a fun and exciting year it has been.
2024 flew by in a couple weeks it felt like. Our house was constantly trying to catch up with one thing after the other, work was advancing and changing, life event after life event; it was a pretty productive year.
I wouldn’t trade a second of it all though. Watching my family change and adapt was a pretty awesome thing I am very thankful for. Getting to see Delilah be a (the best) big sister. Changing diapers (98% Erin) for the first time in 7 years. Learning that we need a bigger house and have out grown ours, getting to deal with baby food and baby product prices after 202’0’s BULLSHIT!
We also got to do all the fun things like learning what it is like to have a baby that wants to be in EVERYTHING. Delilah we fortunately did not have the issue of wanting to climb and jump and just be into every single thing. We proofed the house for her but did not even need it.
I watched this tiny little duhde belly flop from our couch on to a cover in our floor, or climb and scale his foam toys and stand 3 feet in the air when he stands 26 inches tall, it’s insane!
Getting to watch him grow along with Delilah has been the best feeling ever and I am so happy and thankful for being able to do that.
An entire year, and we are finally here.
One thing I can definitely tell a difference in is my photography style. Not so dark and soft at the same time. Also these from the Birthday were shot with a flash.
We had a lot of help with everything and I appreciate that more than anything.
From making all of the balloons and creating an arch (hanging the banter crooked), helping with keeping an eye on Elijah, making awesome shirts (I didn’t ever put mine on because I forgot) to just showing up and being there to enjoy the time.
All of the planning and theme idea that turned out so fucking amazing and perfect, it was very fitting and really besides dinosaurs one of my favorite things so I was very happy with it all.
Not going to point fingers at who was hanging things sideways, but I do very much appreciate all of the balloons, even the 47 that got popped.
Thank you for the awesome shirts that we can now forever have and cherish along with our photos, and all of them help getting setup and taking down.
Also, I should have had a CPL on for the glasses but I do fucking love the way it looks with how dark contrasted Kyles face is.
I should have a photo of some very amazing and delicious and beautiful cupcakes that were made for us DYE FREE but someone was a fatass and ate 13 of them durring the party.
I am the fatass, in total I had probably 25..
We can pretend that in this photo I am not getting onto Delilah about the party not being about her and to act right and smile for the photos, but if we do we would not be truthful.
This is actually one of my favorites from the entire party because it represents our family in my eyes so much.
Erin - Seems clueless from what’s going on around here. (I don’t mean that in a dickheaded way but take it as you want.)
Elijah - Duhde is just neutral and does not give a shit about anything around him, his only focus is on what he cares about at that moment (the cake which normally if it’s not something he wants to mess with he will not.)
Delilah - Pouting and being upset about a balloon ONE IN PATICULAR when we had 400 balloons (minus the 47 RIP in peace) and it was the end of the world to her in that moment that she needed to cry about it.
Me.. Being an asshole and telling Delilah to ‘‘Suck it the fuck up for 2 seconds and be happy’’ because I think after the age of 5 you reach that part in life where your child is still a child but can also get just a little idea of being realistic in some cases, such as; a fucking balloon being played with by another kid not being the end of all fucking time.
Side note, who would do the ONE with the O at the top and not from the bottom? Just curious?
Side note again, tell me another birthday party for a 1 year old where you' are going to get photos like this.. I will wait..
It was a really special day, getting to spend it with people that mean a lot to use, hanging out and enjoying the time we had. Birthdays to me are celebrating life and I think we did a really good job of that for Elijah’s First Birthday.
Hopefully next year I will remember to photo the cupcakes and not just eat them all, maybe we can save some balloons to and hang things leveled..
We practiced for this often starting about two weeks before Elijah’s Birthday, so happy to have this!
I love seeing the backdrop not cropped into and also seeing the hair light above!
If you have made is this far thank you, just a moment of silence for the 47 popped during the making.
RIP In Peace..
Note to Self
I don’t know how we keep ending up here…
Your work is amazing and has been doing great. For not being on social media for almost one whole year you’ve gotten paid sessions, you’ve finally achieved a goal you’ve had for over two years.
Not every photo you take is going to be amazing, not every lens will be the best for you. Sometimes even though all of your settings are perfect and all your levels are great it just won’t look the way you wanted.
Step back sometimes and take a break. If your edits aren’t going how you want just take the day off and circle back.
Your attention and goal for perfectiveness is a lot to maintain sometimes but it is what makes you, you.
Sometimes you forget that you’re in no rush for any of this. Your whole goal is to capture moments to create physical memories and stories. Sometimes you just have to take what you got throw on a Black & White Preset and call it ‘‘Good Enough’’.
The goal is Perfection, but it’s not always the point and you stress about this to much some times.
Just because people aren’t lining up to have photos taken, or you’re not booked up when you really want to be does not mean you have failed.
You’re just successfully unsuccessful and that is ok. You are always going to think the worst of what you are capturing. You see in your head what you envision and that’s great, but what you have captured and created is the only image others see, take the complements and stop hating everything you do because something is slightly off from what you wanted.
Just remember when you get in this mind set of wanting to sell all of your camera gear and be done with the stress, you are the one doing it to yourself.
Regardless of how you’re feeling today or if someone cares or doesn’t care about your photos, you are still doing shit. Your photos are still used in offices all over the country, you are still capturing core memories of and for your family.
You will be shooting a Black & White event in a week, you’re doing a lot of big shit to feel like such a useless photographer.
Always learn, strive for perfection, try new things; but take your time and step back when needed. The only person you are failing with photography is yourself for no reason.
Come back and read again the next time you need this.
First and Second Week of 2025
A couple subjects I want to hit before this blog really starts is I started writing this about something else when I started talking about something else and decided to scrap the entire blog and leave one section which is what you will read below before everything really begins.
Our first snow of 2025 being on Delilah’s 7th birthday could not be more perfect, and I definitely took advantage of it. I finished a roll of 120 film that I tested in a Kodak Tourist camera from 1948. It is a 610 camera that I made some adjustments to fit 120 in. I started the roll when I did Keiylah’s Senior Photos.
I also loaded a roll of 35mm into a Canon Sure Shot 80 Tele and shot the entire roll over the first two days of the snow storm.
I also spent a lot of time these first two days recording short videos to place together. I have been getting good responses on YouTube from these kind of videos and it doesn’t take a lot of effort so it works out really good. I get to practices shots and settings while also giving myself different areas and conditions to color grade so I honestly love everything about it.
It also gave me some time to work on a new preset that I have come to really enjoy using. I am not sure in other conditions how well I will like it but for the colors and snow and skin tone I think it compliments these photos amazingly. I am speaking of just the one above. I have been slowly very very slowly crafting an EveryDay preset pack. I have no goal of where to end on it. my goal is to create the most versatile Lightroom Preset Pack I possibly can for myself; I won’t ever put this one up for sale, but I am sick of purchasing packs to be disappointed and I love coloring on my own.
Shit where did this Blog go, are we talking about Delilah’s Birthday and our first snow of the year or being a fucking nerd.. Anyways.
And here we are, you will notice I marked out what this blog started out as at the end of the last section, that is because instead of focusing on that I wanted to just include everything from the first two weeks of the year just as a filler blog this week. This blog might be a lengthy one.
Taken with an iPhone 8 Plus
January 5th, 2018. I never knew that 7 years later so much would have changed, so much would have happened, and that we would be right here where we are right now. it has been an incredible experience watching this tiny baby grow, learn to crawl, walk, talk, read, do math, fall down, cry, get mad, it has been such a cray and amazing and beautiful 7 years we have loved every second of it.
We have all come such a long way, we have all done so much and I could not be more excited to capture more of it. I swear I am going to have to figure out my own data server once we buy a house for all of my video and photo stuff.
As I am typing this the Goals for 2025 blog is scheduled, and I am currently already in the works of some of the goals.
I finally have a tattoo artist interested in letting me photo a session, that doesn’t mean it will go through but it is a start.
I have shot the first photos that I know will definitely be going into the photo book at the end of the year. I am test printing the photos I decide on to make sure the colors and everything look good. I am just using a Canon Selphy CP 1300 so the quality will only be so good, but it gives me an idea. I know a lot of times the digital and physical photos can differ and I do not want to pay $300 per book to have photos that are not the best they can be. I still need to see if I can pay for a test print too.
Quality Check, essentially. Very ironic that the first test print had issues that I have never seen my printer have. I honestly couldn’t be happier that something like this happened. It’s great to have something like this to look back on. The whole purpose is to check how it prints and the colors started printing out of line, that’s amazing.
Getting in shape isn’t really a ‘‘new year new me’’ thing. I have been doing this trend of spending a couple months eating less and good and hitting the treadmill hard, and then spending a couple months taking a break and being more relaxed on how I am eating. I did however in the first two weeks hit a PR in 2025 of hitting 4 miles in under 1 hour. I want to document things like this, this year. Normally I have a mental note of everything and I can’t even tell you my fastest mile. I wish I could though.
I have already gotten in my head pretty good though which I am really good at doing. Seeing my photos and wanting to delete them, thinking about how something could have been better than it was, or that the colors just are not at all what I wanted and I get really upset about it. I am going to my Sigma more often right now than my Sony lens. I am shipping off my Sony later this month to temp exchange with someone in Florida so I can test the Sim 24-70mm f/2.8 II. I can’t wait to try that out and share my experience.
It has been a pretty good and exciting year so far and as long as I keep everything on track all of my goals I have set will be achieved before the end of the year. I am going to take more time with next weeks blog though. I want to make sure it is as good as it can be.
2025 Goals
First photo of 2025
I think enough time has passed that I am able and should make a blog about all of my goals for 2025. This is definitely going to be a big list and I want to go into some details on why a specific thing is on this list.
This photo is so fucking awesome!
Shoot Film for an entire week.
No Sony A7RV, just whatever camera I decide and whatever film, part of me wants to do this on 120, the other part is not sure if I am fully ready for that yet. That might be an awesome reason to though.
2. Write More Blogs.
I want to get better at really explaining more of what I am talking about in a more organized order. I sometimes have my ideas and get all over the place with what I am sharing and I love it, but I am not sure how it is for someone else to read and I would just like to organize it better.
3. Photo Book of the River Industry.
I have already explained in Goodbye 2024 that this year 2025 I will be setting a goal to creat a photo book with select photos I take at work only during this year. I have already gotten the project started and these books will only be gifted to select people and not for sale. I want to make sure I hit this project as hard as I can.
4. Shoot Food Photography.
Taking photos of food is not something I am familiar with doing at all and I think learning to, and shooting photos for a restaurant and them using the photos for a ‘‘digital menu’’ would be pretty awesome to try.
5. Shoot a Full Week in Black & White
Again it has never been a secret that Black & White is my favorite and I think forcing myself to shoot and edit every photo for a full week in Black & White will be really awesome to try and do.
6. Shoot More Videos.
A video about me for the website and YouTube Channel would be cool to make, especially with finally understanding and being more familiar with S-Log3 and DaVinci. I still have a lot more to learn with setting up shots with video like I do photo, I just don’t know if that ‘‘I can see it before I do it’’ thing is going to kick in with video like it has photography, but that is why I want to shoot more ands get more used to it all.
7. More Negative Scanning.
Getting better at scanning, CLEANING THE GLASS OF THE SCANNER, and just editing the negatives is another thing I would like to focus on more this year. I am still in the very early stages of figuring all of this out. I just now have come up with my own scanning settings that I like and I think show the best results but I know I can improve all together and learn more.
8. Only Shoot When I Really Want.
Something I have already started at the end of 2024 is also something I want to continue doing. It is not easy though, going to a party or event and leaving my camera behind or bringing it and not getting it out just feels guilty, but I am already this year starting to get that dysmorphia going and feeling like everything I am doing is wrong and could/should be better and it mostly happens when I am forcing myself to shoot in situations I should hangout and relax so focusing on when I truly want to shoot is a big thing this year.
9. Teach More on the Website.
1 Blog a month dedicated to teaching something about photography, understanding ISO, or understanding Exposure, how to use depth, things like this would be so fun to write about and teach, while also refreshing myself and giving me more reason to restart.
10. Clean Up 50 Bags of Trash from the Riverfronts.
in our area we have 2 riverfronts we frequent and our biggest complaint and mood killer is when we go and try to kayak and/or take photos and see just how much trash is built up everywhere. I think it would be good for us to spend some time this year and clean up trash at both of the fronts. My goal is to clean up at least 50 bags during the Spring and Summer.
11. Read 1 Book a Month
I did not read a lot last year, or the year before, or year before that. I think the last book I read I listened to someone else read it. Delilah is learning to read and I want to encourage her and set the example that learning is good for you. It will help me achieve another goal of mine too.
12. Less Screen Time.
The goal reading more will help with, I know last year I cut my screen time in half or more when leaving social media I did not have something to endlessly scroll. I want even less screen time this year. I want my most screen time to be when I am running on treadmill.
13. 100 Miles in 1 Month.
Just like that they keep playing into the next. I don’t have a set month just when it happens it happens. I want to run 100 miles in a month on treadmill this year. Last year when I went to river school I was at 98 miles for that month and I just could not do class, and study, and the driving, and run. I was mentally destroyed from worrying I would fail my test and letting myself down physically. I want to achieve that this year.
14. Compete in 3 Marathons.
Delilah and I did our first one last year which was 4 miles and I want to at least participate in 3 this year. It will be really good for me to force myself to be physical in a public setting. Something I have a huge issue with is lifting weight and running in public, I have just never had a fun time with it.
15. Learn to Tattoo.
So when I was 16 years old I had it set that at some point in my life I would do tattoos for someone. I have always drawn, graphic design was fun too but I have not drawn in a couple years. I think finally getting the stuff and practicing and eventually tattooing myself this year would be so much fun to do.
16. Photo a Tattoo Artist.
I have actually been trying to do this since 2023, but unfortunately it’s not something that has been easy to do. I have called, emailed, and waited to hear back from so many places and people but for some reason it’s not something that seems wanted. I think if I was an artist if a photographer wanted to sit in on a session and photo my work while working and doing portraits of me at work I would be all over it! One place I called almost killed me trying this entirely because they made the whole conversation awkward and made me feel weird about what I was trying to do and I just hung up on them.
I have my work related goals and things too, but that’s something I will keep between myself and work. It is going to be a big year. I am excited for everything to come and all the things I will learn and be able to share. I think what I am most excited for is at the end of the year seeing my Photo Book in hand for the first time. It is crazy thinking about something that far away though. None of these goals are to far to achieve, as long as I stay on top of myself this year I will cross everything off this list. I will been coming back to this blog often throughout this year.
120 FiLM
This is my first ever roll of 120 Film & my first time shooting with the Kodak Reflex II made in 1948.
Camera: Kodak Reflex II
Film: Lomochrome ‘92
Develop Lab: Reformed Film Lab
I have a couple thoughts, concerns, and key findings with this experience.
How ironic the first photo and second photo I ever take of 120 are together in one. As soon as I snapped this photo of the building I remembered I had taken a photo of my PC setup because I wanted to practice exposing for the screen to not be blown out. Sure did nail that one.
I had already backed out of taking this photo due to people going in and out, I had already packed everything up and got into the car and talked myself into getting out and retaking it.
I love everything about this photo other than having to screenshot the photo on my phone because Squarespace strikes again and I can not upload a photo over 60 megapixels even though it’s under their 20mb requirement.
I love the film presets I made and used on these photos as much as I love the 120 film photos! I think it is super fitting and having pictures of the process is really awesome as well.
I normally don’t shoot photos of buildings but with film it felt very fitting and it turned out to be right and I am very happy with that. Also the light leak on this photo is from me finding out I had my film in wrong, how none of the rest got any light mishaps I do not know, but I really like it on this one.
Side note I am shooting 120 film in a 610 camera so some things are off and ligning the film in right was one of them.
The next couple of 120 photos, mainly the rest of the roll I accidentally metered to the wrong aperture and caused myself to underexpose. I was able to recover some detail but caused more grain and noise. I don’t mind it much though.
I guess now is a good time for me to start really explaining and breaking down how I feel about the processing of film with this.
The 120 film is freaking massive compared to 35mm, which yeah obviously but the quality difference is crazy! Also the file size of the scans, but that is another obvious thing.
I don’t mind the dust and grain, some noise and some small pieces of hair, but the ones I underexposed damn, so much noise. I don’t think I will shoot Lomochrome Color 92 in 120 again, maybe 35mm in a point and shoot, but not 120. Maybe a day in the fall when the sun is coming up and everything is fogged it might have some good colors but I think for just a normal well lit day shooting what I typically do it’s not for me.
Some more incorrect aperture and incorrect rolling of the damn film! I need to really figure out do I just roll to the next exposure after taking a photo or wait? Something I did not think of while shooting this roll.
As we near the end of the roll I will say one photo I am not bothering to post is one I accidentally took of the ceiling while messing with the self timer. I did such an awesome job failing this first roll hahaha.
Our first snow of the year and you can’t see it coming down because again I exposed wrong and shutter speed was adjusted to be wrong. Colors here though are amazing and I love the soft blacks
This one I am a little disappointed at the focusing, I swear I seen it focused but I think it’s more of a motion issue than a focus issue but I am not sure which one to blame, however I do know who to blame. The kid.
Once again we have reached the end of a blog. I think it is safe to say that Lomochrome 92 is not my friend, neither is rolling to the next exposure, or focusing, or metering, or the Post office who I paid extra to get my shit sent quicker for it to sit at the post office an entire fucking week and me thinking that my first roll including my 620 spool from my 1948 camera was gone. Yeah not many friends in that.
I will say shooting with the Kodak Reflex II was a lot of fun and something I look forward to doing more of. Shooting 120 and scanning the negatives and editing everything is so much fun and very fulfilling.
I think trying more film and actually paying more attention to what I am metering and shooting will be great, I don’t think I am ready for Kodak Gold just yet, something a little cheaper for the next couple, Black & White would be amazing in this thing. Maybe that is what is next. Maybe.
Reformed Film Lab has processed 5 rolls of film for me an I will not be using anyone else for film processing. They are amazing and I love how active they are on social media. It has been so nice using them.
Using the links I have provided you get $10 off your order!
Goodbye 2024
It was such an amazing year looking back. A lot of good things came from it too.
I think the biggest one that cannot be topped is getting to meet and watch Elijah grow, seeing how Delilah has reacted and changed as a big sister. Something we never knew how it would turn out honestly. An only child for 6 years having a baby brother is a big change for anyone. I can say though, we have two very smart and loving babies.
First Photo of 2024
Shot with Sony A7RIII and Tamron 24-70mm f/4
My first photo of 2024 was of two dear friends of mine recovering and saving my drone, I pushed it way past the battery limit over the river and it actually died over the water but was up high enough that it coasted forward while descending and landed in a farmers field. I am very thankful for the recovery and for the good friends I have.
I will share some of the shots I risked the drone for though, they were definitely worth it.
Another major event in 2024 was prepping the ARTCo office in Mount Vernon, IN for the 2024 Open House and christening of the M/V Royce Wilken. I cannot fully express the feeling of getting to be apart of something like that, the experience of it all, being able to spend time with and talk to the former president of a company as big as ARTCo. It was truly amazing, the memories and conversations I will forever remember. If you would like to read more on the 2024 ARTCo Open House just follow the link!
I believe upgrading my camera was a pretty major thing this year. Going from an A7RIII to an A7RV was insane. I could have done just fine shooting the open house with my old setup, but with what it was I wanted the best I could possibly do, so I did just that. I am still in shock from all of it and so grateful for being able to do all of this, this year.
I still have a lot to learn and get used to with the A7RV, as much as I have used it I still think I can do better with it, video and photo wise.
Side note, seeing a triple screw in person for the first time was so badass!
If you go through my last 4 or 5 Blogs you will know that I spent a lot of time this year shooting film for the first time in over 20 years. I think a bigger impact from it this year was buying the equipment and software to scan and process negatives on my own allowing me to scan negatives my mom has had for 30+ years and recovering photos that had been damaged. Seeing some photos for the first time and recovering photos of my sister who has passed is something I am very thankful for.
Taking my nieces senior photos was a very emotional experience, I still frequently look at the Blog I created about it and get emotional. It is really crazy how quick time passes.
Like I said in the start, watching both of these kids grow together has been the best thing about 2024. Seeing how happy they are together, how good Delilah is as a big sister and how quick Elijah is learning is the best feeling in the world. I am so lucky to have everything I have and to be able to do the things I do. I know being a stay at home mom 24/7 and school teacher is not easy, but I am forever thankful that our beautiful babies are well taken care of and given the freedom to grow and be their own people in the comfort of our home and environment. I would not trade that for anything.
I am sure I am leaving some things out, like
Delilah getting over her fear of loosing teeth and pulling one out all on her own.
Elijah already standing at 9 months old with no damn teeth yet.
The amazing friends I have had supporting me through out the year.
The awesome people I have gotten to work with and learn from.
Everything I got to be apart of this year and just how positive all of it was.
Speaking of amazing friends supporting me, if it wasn’t for this guy I would have quit my job probably 20 times had he not been there to talk to. Some times this year were very hectic and I am glad I had someone to help me through it.
In conclusion 2024 was a very positive year for me at home and at work, and I am looking forward to 2025. I have a lot of personal goals I plan to achieve this year, 1 being creating my own photo book focusing on the river industry. I shoot so much at work and I know that I have sights that are unseen by so many people. I want to include back stories to each photo so that someone unfamiliar with this industry can understand what they are looking at. I think that will be a good thing to work on and have a goal for.
My actual personal goals I will keep to myself haha.
Some very honorable mentions shown below.
2025 is the year I plan on learning and pushing myself more than ever with photography and video.
I want to write and share more on this website as well.
Going into this year with being off all social media for almost 10 months is an incredible achievement.
I really don’t think I could be more happy and positive to end a year, but I am ver optimistic to do even more and better in 2025.
Thank you everyone who has read these, commented, bought from the Print Shop, and just been there to support me. I can’t express how thankful I am for everything.
Last Photo of 2024
Shot with Sony A7RV and Sigma 50mm f/1.4
Happy New Year!
FiLM Part 001
Before I get to far in this mess of all over the place experience the equipment I have and am using for scanning film.
Scanner: Epson V550
Software: I tried EPSON Scan V1 and V2 on Mac it somewhat worked, Windows 11 it worked but was a headache and underperformed no matter the settings I tried.
I now use SilverFast 7 I will come back and change this if that is wrong, but it has been so amazing with everything I have needed and more. The quality is better the dust removal has been better, color and contrast are better.
I scan in .tiff format and process the images in Lightroom Classic using NegativeLab Pro
The Epson V550 was $260 from eBay, NegativeLab Pro was $100 and SilverFast was $50.
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I just started with scanning and processing film negatives so I can not act like I know everything only what I have experienced and what I have watched on YouTube.
I wanted to make a video on this so bad but trying to setup my camera and also dealing with issues setting up it just has not worked out. That and I get to focused on everything I am doing but I am determined to get a video of scanning soon and also in the process of making a video of shooting a 21 year expired roll of Kodak Gold 200.
Scanning has been so awesome when it works out. I have ran into issues with my scanner having errors and spending an hour reseting it and my pc to make a scan work, one of the reasons I have not setup to make a video of me scanning. I did the unboxing and setup in a video and scratched it when it took 3 hours to connect properly to my computer. Instead of burning my house down I just quit the video snd hyper focused on making the Epson software work which I don’t even use anymore.
On my negative scans I don’t mind having some dust, these are all 20-30+ year old film negatives so showing some ‘‘age’’ I like but dealing with new scanning softwares and trying to color and edit them to be true or appealing has made me want to go back to my first scans and rescan but I just haven’t because mainly I like seeing the difference in my learning.
Scans like this that have a very burgundy red for brown and a blue for while look. I love it, I would like to see it with how I scan currently BUT I was learning and it is beautiful as it is.
I think I will have more consistency when I start shooting more with some of the point and shoots I have and I am not manually focusing the lenses I am trying to test and use on manual bodies I am also trying to test and use.
I am not knocking all the manual things, I use my Sony A7RV in manual and when I was shooting with my Sony a5100 I used it for a year with a $40 manual lens BUT I could see everything a lot better with making sure I was focused properly.
As of right now the only film I have personally shot with and have scans of is Fuji400 it is cheap enough I can afford to test with.
I have some 120 Lomochrome 92’ I will have in today to scan and I am really excited for that, it is also my first time shooting 120 film. This will be posted before I process the film and I plan on having a blog of its own of shooting 120 for the first time with the Kodak Reflex II so I will link that here once it is don’e and up. Even if it doesn’t turn out.
After scanning hundreds of film negatives 1 by 1 and editing them in Lightroom and some inside Photoshop I think I am able to say I have gotten then hang of using my scanner and softwares.
Scanning 35mm and 110 film is a bit different and getting the quality you can from 110 is really surprising when you are holding it, it seems like nothing but once you scan it, I don’t know I just was not expecting that, I also love leaving the border in the 110 photos because I think it adds so much more to the photo its self.
Some of these are kind of scattered I am going from modern day to way back 20+ years ago, you should really be able to tell the difference between the two but I could also say I guess. This was shot this year (2024). This Camera Nikon FG film Fuji 400, I really like Fuji400 and it is cheaper.
If I don’t end this I will never stop talking about how much I love film, and how amazing it is to scan old negatives and seeing new photos you have never seen from when you were a kid appear in front of you to share with your kid. I just love everything about it. Even the times the photo is not focused, or you expose wrong because a bad photo is a good learning experience and you can look back on your mistake and laugh about it. I am very fortunate to be able to do this and to learn the process of it all. Being able to rescan photos of my family that have been damaged and lost over the years is an amazing feeling. Especially getting photos of people who have passed away and are no longer with us. Having new photos of them is really crazy to think about and I am grateful for that.
I still have a lot more to find and scan, I can not wait to see what else I can recover.
It' is upsetting how many people in these photos are not with us anymore, how their physical absence in our lives have changed a lot of us; it is important to remember the time we did have with them, reflect and cherish that. A lot of questions and what ifs can go on for days, but the years we got to have with them will not change. Our good times, our bad times, when we fought, when we got along. Laughing, or crying. Our memories are ours, and our photos hold meaning to that. As long as I know they would be happy of me today, I can be content.
P.S I looked like a pug ass baby..
I guess it is time for an About Me
Long story short my name is Jon and I am a failed photographer.
Short story Long, my name is Jon and I am a photography hobbyist.
I always loved photography and what it really is. Capturing moments in time and having physical memories.
My mom had a really old Polaroid camera when I was little and shooting and seeing the photo in minutes was a really awesome thing.
I got to use my own disposable camera when I was in 3rd grade and being able to shoot whatever I wanted with an entire roll I felt like such a badasss.
After that all I wanted was to take and create photos.
Fast forward 20+ years later and I have been taking and editing photos since.
I have started shooting film again and even scanning my own negatives.
Bringing back memories from old negatives or even seeing faces you have been unable to see for a very long time.
I think of it as ‘‘taking’’ a photo of someone you can no longer photo and while that is upsetting it is also so beautiful.
99% of my work is with digital photos but recently this year (2024) I have started shooting film and scanning so that is why I have included so much of it.
I am really good about leaving things out or jumping all over the place and was told I needed to add some more to this so here goes.
I hyper fixate on doing and learning things. I have a lot of hobbies which most are expensive, I would say photography hands down wins at being the most expensive.
I love learning and understand that I am learning and I love challenging myself and also understand that I am but with that being said I am also very hard on myself when I sometimes don’t have to be. That doesn’t change it though.
I say I am a failed photographer because well I have spent the last few years consistently upgrading my equipment, getting better at contrast, better at editing and color grading, and it is almost impossible for me to give away sessions for free. I have Mae myself be ok with this.
I don’t use social media, mostly because I always compared myself to others and reflected my work and mental state off of likes and reactions and that’s not what photography should be about. It’s not about how well you do, it’s not this person doing better. It’s about admiring others work, appreciating their techniques, capturing the moments you want to remember, like your child crawling for the first time, a special little vacation you went as all out as you could on. Giving yourself photos that in a month, a year, 5 years, you can look back on and remember those moments.
One day, when I am gone, my kids are grown and they have kids of their own they will see all the beautiful photos I took of their parent growing up and those photos to them will give them memories to reflect on and share. That is what photography is to me. This went from an about me to a what I think about photography didn’t it..
Oh well, this is who I am. Someone that is all over the place Wirth anything and everything all of the time. This is a perfect example why videos are so difficult to make and keep together haha.
Skip to present day and I am a very fortunate and lucky father of two raising a little girl and a little duhde (spelled that way on purpose) with my best friend (dick that said I spelled dude wrong) trying my best to capture all of our moments.
Have fun with going through the website, subscribe to emails for some updates. I look forward to writing and creating more.
Delilah’s First Roll of Film
Before we get to far into this and I forget please check out the Film section of the Portfolio Page!
Delilah’s first time ever shooting on film and her gear was the Nikon N65 SLR with a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens, settings on automatic.
I think personally not knowing what had been shot was one of the coolest things. An entire roll (almost) that I would see her full point of view.
Delilah - I just wants to say it was not fun… it was wonderful.
I love shots on film because you don’t know if it was good or bad. It was like a movie coming out and not watching the trailer so it’s not ruined.
I am happy they make film cameras because when you use a ‘‘real camera’’ you take it and see it and it ruins the surprise.
I love love love film, taking photos at Memaws on film on Sundays was so much fun and I can not wait to go back with more film and do more, insert a smiley face at the end; can you do smiley face on that? :)
I know that with shipping time and waiting it took about a full week to get 4 rolls processed and sent back; that is pretty amazing time. As of scanning and color processing the negatives I think I had this one roll of 36 exposures knocked out in an hour. Also pretty amazing I think. Especially for not being used to scanning yet.
I think this has been an overall good experience for us both with learning how film really works and seeing Delilahs reaction to the process and being apart of the scanning and processing negatives is really something I will cherish. She is so willing to learn and I love it.
I also forgot to mention and don’t feeling like going back and addling it in so I will just add it into here. The film she was shooting with was Fuji400 and I have to say after seeing my first processed roll of Karmir 160, I really appreciate Fuji400, but more to come of that at a later time.
So the company that developed the negatives was Reformed Film Lab and they did such an amazing job all around! Awesome communication, awesome updates, very active on YouTube. Their pack your order videos are super awesome Delilah and I love them! I will have my referral link so you can go check them out and get a $10 coupon!
Oh and their rewards program is crazy! You really should check them out!
I could not be more happy and proud of how good this kid did with her photos and with how much she really enjoyed it and got into it. I am just so amazed and happy to have these moments that she captured that will forever be frozen into a memory.
Also, I did help with the last little few of the roll so we could get a new roll in and off to a friend to use. Delilahs roll was used for over a month before completed. Was one hell of a time.
My Nana
Insert sad song, and snot crying.
This grown child is the first baby I would ever hold, and first “child” that would ever test my mental state.
It saddens me just how big such a small thing can grow. It’s like yesterday I was having my first aneurysm trying to teach math to a first grader.
I can not believe how quick time really has gone, the idea of my own daughter being the same age as my favorite times of you growing up is terrifying!
All of our fun pranks, and dances, and funny YouTube videos. Glad we finally learned math though.
I could not be more happy, sad, and proud. Mostly sad, I got very teary eyed while taking these, editing these, and even looking at these.
I wish I kept up with memory cards 15 years ago as much as I do now. I have lost so many photos I will never see again! Who knows, maybe one day I will stumble around and find a really old phone or card with some photos on it.
I love you Nana <3
Scanning Film
This photo is now one of, it not the most cherished photo I have ever created.
Delilah wearing my “website hat” and the next exposure being the first time I ever tried to get a flare on film with the FUJI400 on the film just all of it!
So added to the list of equipment I have unnecessarily purchased in 2024 (total is somewhere around $15,000-$20,000) is an Epson Perfection V550.
This is definitely a huge learning experience and is going to take a lot of time to get where I want it all to be.
Being able to scan film negatives, slides, and high resolution photos is so awesome!
These gentlemen enjoying their lunch from the 1960’s that I bought from a thrift store is now forever digitized and I love every spec of age you can see and that has been highlighted. The top where someone had this hanging with tape, the hairs that will forever be stuck on this image the blemishes. I love everything about it.
Being able to take a physical photo and digitize it while also pulling a little more detail is so insane!
As I am typing I am realizing that scanning these upside down and flipping horizontally I forgot to also flip them Vertically, and because I am a POS I am not going back and fixing it for the sake of posting on this website for the 2 viewers to be myself and my wife.
These slides I can not scan just yet, I need to get a lot better and also need to figure out how to clean film before scanning these. I have 4 pages of slides of this tank but something at some point since the 1960’s has spilled inside of them so they have smudges on them that will show when scanned. Still beautiful to take photos of them like this!
I guess I should find a subject for this and really get to a point with it. Scanning film digitally is something I have wanted to do for a while, I underestimated it a lot though. It’s not difficult or anything just peeping for it and starting out has been more than I had mentally prepared for. The software took 3 fucking hours to finally work with windows 11. That had me mentally melting into my chair. once working it was a lot of fun figuring things out after watching 100’s of hours of YouTube videos over the last year.
If you think the glass is clean, it is not. If it is clean, it is not. I am shying away from showing a lot of the negatives I have scanned just because I need more practice before anything and I am trying to save most of that for a YouTube video. I do enjoy getting to show the digitized photos I have scanned and gotten more detail from like the one above from 1965.
I will update the film section, and also have another Blog in maybe a month or so. Like I said above I am saving most for a YouTube video, I just wanted to share some photo and film scans and be all over the place with my thoughts and this process. Hopefully it won’t be to long and I can share even more.
I have to learn my own process before sharing or even acting like I fully know what I am doing. I just know at the moment I be doing and it be working. Know what I’m saying? Anyways.
Update
Well, I have upgraded my entire setup. Bought things I thought I would only dream of using.
New camera body is the Sony A7RV, new lens is the Sony 16mm-30mm f/2.8 G Master Mark II.
New and faster cards, a new top light, new batteries, new camera cage, probably leaving things out but this is the most of it at least and it has been something.
I was asked to shoot an event for the company I work for and the circumstances of this event I did not want any worry of anything being out of focus or some how messed up.
So something as big as this was I went as all in as I possibly could. In the end it was all worth every penny.
I can’t even describe the joy of seeing these colors. The A7RIII is An amazing camera but when comparing it to the RV it is like being in a different world. I can say the dedicated sensor for auto white balancing does an incredible job!
Having other people praise these photos and getting to hear how happy others are made everything worth it. I still can not believe it. It is really difficult for me to think highly of myself in any way and any kind of praise or comment I get I react weird about but all of this just made me so happy.
Being able to capture these photos and give people these physical memories is insane to think about. I remember seeing photos like this when I started on the river and seeing these from 50 to 60 years ago still being displayed after that long I can’t grasp the true value of being the person to capture these and these photos one day telling a story once I am far gone.
ARTCo Open House 2024, first ever open house in Mount Vernon, Indiana.
The M/V Royce Wilken being christened to honor ARTCo’s former president.
Both of these are very special to have happened, capturing everything of that day is, and was such an honor.
I now have conversations that I will hold deeply to me, memories of getting to see my family tour my workplace and my boat, it is more than I could ask for.
Without all the hardworking people that put in so much work before and during this none of these photos would even be possible.
This photo right here I tossed my remote and left my drone in the air alone for a solid 10 minutes while running around with my camera and making sure I got all the shots I needed and even forgot that it was in the air!
my biggest and most special supporters.
Squarespace is being difficult and I am unable to upload the entire album, the people that put in so much hard work to make this happen should be appreciated.
PolarPro Shortstache Everyday Filter
I still have very mixed feelings on this filter. I love it in some cases, and dislike it in others.
I don’t like the idea that the name is Everyday filter, when I find myself wanting to take it off.
In my opinion I think this filter was boosted a little more than it should have been by ‘influencers’ and photographers.
Big purchases (anything over $50 to me is a big purchase) I like to really review a lot before deciding on if I should. I have wanted a new CPL filter for a while and have seen a lot on Black Mist filters and have wanted to give them a try so when I seen PolarPro had both built into the same filter I was already sold on the idea before researching. When finally researching everything I seen was so good! Big YouTubers and small YouTubers both had really good opinions on the filter with amazing example photos.
Another thing I do is I will google image search samples over and over to get the best idea I can of how something will look.
I don’t feel like my filter is giving the same look as the examples I have seen. It seems in most cases I am taking away quality from my photos more than adding a nice soft effect. I have had some images be to much and seem fuzzy, and have had to remove the filter. Again back to the name, Everyday; I don’t feel I should be in situations I have to remove it.
It is a 1/4 Black Mist filter, I would like to try a 1/8 version over the 1/4. A slightly less harsh ‘‘bloom?’’ I think that is the correct word to use anyways I think a little less would be more of an Everyday.
A good example of a little less. Direct sunlight looks so beautiful but is too much. It’s like you have smudges on your lens but only in the light. If it was a little softer it would be so perfect.
Same area as the photo above, just facing away from the sun. Exposure on this had to be cranked to .45 and shadows pulled high. it will darken images which is fine but finding a balance with it has not been easy. Also no haze or anything was added in this image and my daughters skin appears very smoothed over. It does take some quality away from the image and darken some.
Very good example of needing perfect conditions for this filter to be what is advertised. It is definitely not an Everyday filter. You have to be either very early morning, late day, cloudy, to get what I feel is the full potential of this filter.
Lowlight is amazing. You will have to over expose though to make up for the slight added darkness of the filter.
I just won’t be using it much in direct light during really sunny times. Lower light is really where this filter shines. To much light or being to bright takes away so much from my experience so far.
I am still just stuck on not really being able to recommend it. I don’t want to have to pack an extra CPL with me incase conditions aren’t perfect for the PolarPro but seems to not be an option for now. I will be looking forward to hopefully a future 1/8 version. I will continue to use PolarPro only because their company is so well managed.
New Point of Views
I have been wanting to shoot videos like this for so long. The entire process of POV shooting photos is so awesome. Getting to watch and edit everything after is so much fun. It is so simple but so satisfying.
It’s not easy to get used to having this on my head. I have only used it on my hard hat once the first day I got it, but using it on my hat or the headband is such a weird feeling.
I am really excited to use this when shooting cars, but if I meet the owner which has happened multiple times now I don’t want to stand there with this on my head looking even more awkward. We will get there though.
Also something you will see in this POV that I will be writing my next Blog about is the PolarPro Every Day filter, I have very mixed feelings on this and thought it was something I should note for a future post.
Anyways the POV videos are something I seriously can’t wait to shoot more of. My family and I have a trip to Texas coming up and I will be using this GoPro so much for it.
Oh, it is the GoPro Hero 11 Black by the way, I never mentioned that.
I am still trying to work out all the kinks and everything with it to make the quality the best that I can. I have been going through a lot of different settings with it and once I feel I have them locked in I will make a blog about what exactly I use. One thing I can say is I don’t use the whole 24fps because it’s more eye like with motion blur. I used 60fps in the video header and I enjoy the way that looks. I have been experiencing lag with anything under 60fps and I don’t think it is a hards look or bad at all.
I am excited for everything I am going to be able to create with this setup, and the longer I keep doing it the better it will get and the more I will learn. I am going to have fun with it all.
I hope you enjoyed the read and Subscribe to the YouTube channel!
Please feel free to check out the Print Shop, Presets, and Apparel.
I hope you have wonderful day.
Vehicle 001
When I first seen this car I was just so amazed, such a beautiful car. I went to a dollar tree, bought a notepad, wrote a note, left it under the wiper (side note, approaching this car I realized it is passenger driven, this car is a fucking import) and waited.
Nothing…
A week of coming back to the same spot (a gym) and finally I got to see it in person again. The first time I seen it I only had a film camera with me and I still haven’t sent that one off yet. I didn’t think to take a photo with my phone. I never leave notes. I have cards but the QR code I used for convenience I didn’t know required a $300 yearly payout and I am fine without it.
I set out this day to photo someones car, edit the photos on the spot, print them, leave them. This is something as someone who is trying to be successful in photography with no social media I want to start doing.
Taking my wife to Dunkn right near the same gym and I see it, finally. After a week of trying to see this car again, here it is. I was so excited to get out and snap some photos, I did not care at all about looking weird or have any kind of anxiety from doing it I was so focused on these being perfect.
I get in the car get everything out, I take my time editing, get everything looking so amazing, go to print and… half of my power cable is at home 10 minutes away on the dresser.
Grab the coffee, hurry home, print them out on the way back my wife wrote a note for me to leave with them because she made fun of my writing on my last note and I kept thinking the person couldn’t read my writing and that is why I had not heard anything but we make it there and the owner is getting in to leave.
I could have flown out of the car to get to him before he left. Approaching this guy that at this point I have harassed and stalked to photo his car I was not sure what to even say and I can only remember some details as to what was said haha. I found out the year after talking to so many people about this amazing vehicle for a week without any photos or information all I had was the license plate and what it spelled, it was a Nissan Skyline, that was it.
1989 Nissan Skyline GTR, I didn’t even think to ask the motor. Hopefully I see this car again, the guy loved the photos. This is the first car I have photo’d and left prints, actually meeting and talking with the owner the first time I decided to do this and it being a car I have looked for, for a week is crazy!
Hopefully I don’t end up with a restraining order, and he has my phone number and website link so sir if you’re reading this I appreciate you talking with me and again your car is sick as fuck! Hahaha this was so much fun, and I can not wait to shoot and leave more and spread the website more and more with people.
Please feel free to check out the Print Shop, Presets, and Apparel.
I hope you have wonderful day.
My Next Lens
My next lens will be the one
So, I have absolutely loved my Sigma 16mm lens. I have not loved that it is an APS-C lens which a crop sensor lens on a full frame camera body takes a lot of quality away.
I have this lens posted, if anyone reading this is interested I will attach a form below to email me about purchasing it and more information on it.
Anyways, I love 16mm, it’s great for doing interior of vehicles or when I am playing around with trying to do videos. I just wish that it was a full frame lens for the full quality.
A lens I have been obsessing over and I am determined to spend the $2,000+ on is the Sony 16mm-35mm f/2.8 GM II.
I have watched review after review on this lens, I have read article after article, look at so many sample photos it’s not even funny and I believe that when I do end up with this lens I might even retire (for the most part) my Sigma 50mm f/1.4.
So both my Sigma 50mm and Sigma 16mm are f/1.4, and I love that for the choice of using that low of an aperture, but I haven’t been using it that much. I don’t shoot nearly enough lowlight to need that, now I could get an ND and shoot that low for video but I don’t see myself needing to.
I stick mostly anywhere from f/2.0-f/4.0 and the sweet spot most of the time is f/2.8, so having my lowest 2.8 won’t be much of a challenge. I did have a f/4.0 lens at one point that I never had an issue with that high of an aperture so I think I will be fine, plus I will have my 50mm on a shelf or in my camera bag if I ever have a situation where I need the lower number.
I think it will be great once I have it, and will change a lot of how I shoot on a daily basis. I want to shoot more vehicles because I can do that if I just see a cool car and leave some prints and a business card and have a better chance of someone hiring me for car photos than being even more of a creep and photoing a human without asking. Having a full frame 16mm-35mm will be so amazing for interior shots while still being amazing for capturing the outside.
I don’t know why I am writing this other than something for me to come back and read a month from now and see where I am at on achieving this goal of owning this lens.
If anyone is interested in the lens I am selling the information and form is below!
I am asking $400
Comes with the Box
Lens cover
Lens Cap
Sun Hood
Please feel free to check out the Print Shop, Presets, and Apparel.
I hope you have wonderful day.
First Process of Many
Well, I can’t use my hotspot on my MacBook so I will type this into my notes and see how it goes maybe I can add this with my phone, I don’t like the idea of it but I do want to share my experience.
UPDATE: They had an accident and did not mean to send the folder half processed. The issue was resolved same day! I will go ahead and add in the missing photos below this and the Blog will continue after!
So. I have mixed feelings with the film process. I am very happy with the outcome, the colors, the overall enjoyment of not knowing and waiting. I am a little upset at the fact that I am missing some photos and still waiting to hear back as to why.
Could it be that some how the film messed up? Could I have exposed wrong and they been beyond saving and the company did not want to bother with sending them? I am being as optimistic as possible and keeping a positive mindset on the situation until resolved.
I can say, for $80+ I do think I will look into other options and prices for developing .TIF format. Some photos I can see dust and hair which I will have an example of under this. Still, I don’t mind that so much because I love that rustic look of it but it is still something to add because maybe I wanted something super clear and really in all honestly it should be for the price.
The .TIF format is what most of the money was for and I do really enjoy having some kind of after control, but I do not feel it is really necessary unless I am shooting a special ordered film, like the Karmir 160, or Lomochrom 92’ I have ordered.
I don’t want to add the companies name until I hear back the reason as to why I only received 16 images (2 are blanks) from a 36 exposure roll, so maybe it was a mistake and it will be corrected which I will update at the header of this Blog when time comes. I just don’t want to give or spread hate over what is probably a simple mistake.
A company I will definitely be trying within the next week is going to be Thirty Nine Photo Shop, I love the story, the guy I have shared a couple of emails with, and their store offers some really amazing film I will really enjoy trying. Their prices are really fair and I just want to give my business to someone who’s passionate about the stories created in photography. I highly recommend checking them out, watch their video on their home page. This is not in anyway some kind of paid promotion or partnership or anything like that, I just want to support a really good place.
I will add a separate Blog about expired film in the coming week so if you’re interested come on back. I would say sign up for newsletters but I am not paying Squarespace $80 a month for me to send 4 fucking emails to someones spam folder a month.
Please feel free to check out the Print Shop, Presets, and Apparel.
I hope you have wonderful day.
