d o u c y

bumper

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 06:18 -0800

I found this old car in a driveway. Old, languishing, but somehow content - well, at least I wanted it to be. It was definitely put out to just do it's thing and be a standing-still car. I really liked how the colours came out in this one - something painterly about it.

two photographers

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 13:20 -0800

At first I was tempted to name this one "ass in the grass." Not that anyone's an ass here, but if you check out one of the asses, you wonder if its owner spent a lot of time in the grass.
I guess it loses something in the explanation... Anyway, this one came out of the summer roll of film - the same pink one I've been talking about - but it's obviously toned with more variety. There's a good bet that I exposed this one normally, and all the others are over exposed a stop or so (as has been recommended to me). Anyway, something about this one I liked, for the balance and documentary quality to it - that's pretty much what the moment looked like. ;)

chairs

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 10:13 -0800

Most of my cross process shots are posted straight - no digital post-processing. This one, however, is not. I was really surprised by the hue that dominated this roll of film - magenta/violet - I'd never seen that before. I was hoping for a green/blue shift, like in sea creature. Because these chairs were bright yellow and red and orange, and felt that if the film went green, these would pop.
But they didn't. The in-camera original turned out to be very much like my recently posted shot of evil herbie - one big picture of purple. So I colour balanced it in Photoshop. Mainly midtones - pulled the Magenta/Green all the way into the green. Slight levels adjustment. The original is just as grainy.

space

Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:11 -0800

I liked the word on the wall. Then Sarah liked it even more. Then I liked it all even more. :)
This one was actually a digital shot (gasp). Post processing involved a slight rotational correction to get the ground level, and then I pulled a selection by colour (red) and applied a slight intensification (saturation). Then applied a very slight solid colour on the same selection set to overlay with very low opacity. I might have done the same thing by just choosing reds in the Hue/Sat settings, or by using the Red channel as the mask... in fact, it may have been a better way to approach it, but I like the end result anyway.

the end of bondage

Wed, 25 Aug 2010 06:41 -0800

I know, I know - an overly dramatic name. That's what I do, though. I 'overly dramatic'.
This is shooting out the window from work. Cross_processed 100 Provia film. The poetry of it, for me, was the lasting remnants of masking tape, clinging to the window and demanding attention. Like that bit of chalk on the board that the teacher doesn't quite erase. Like the eyelash, sand speckle or dry spot - you can't figure out which - that has you blinking while you watch a sunset.
When I was a kid I had a fear of sunny days. Or at least, I got anxious when it was really clear out and I had nothing to do. Something about the poetry of "masking tape," that it "bonds" things, that I'm looking out from within in this shot, and that the sky symbolizes freedom/opportunity for so many, sometimes freedom and opportunity you don't have, while for many, it is the scariest thing in the world. Just a very intense juxtaposition. Something about how, even though you can "rip off the tape," escape your bondage, if it has been long, there will always be some "guck" that you'll be scratching, rubbing at for a long long time.

evil herbie

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 06:06 -0800

There's something about the reflection of power lines or telephone poles that is so sinister. I think it has something to do with the feeling of being trapped in a vehicle on a highway, staring out the window at the poles flashing by, teasing you with their sense of movement and flight when in fact each successive one indicates another metaphorical nail in the coffin, another full breath away from wherever you want to be.
Youch - bleak. I was focusing on capturing the great reflection in the hood of this herbie-esque car. When the shots came out super-purple, I realized that it would have been a better shot to capture evil herbie's other 'eye'.

dark

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 19:54 -0800

Walking over the Granville Street Bridge a few weeks ago. Wasn't expecting the severe shift into reds/purples on this film, so the word "dark" doesn't quite hit the way I wanted to (it was supposed to be white).
I liked the contrast between the poetics of "dark" and the city skyline on what was an incredibly bright day.

green dandilions

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 08:25 -0800

Maybe not the most interesting subject matter, but among my recent batch of cross processed shots, this one captures best what I love about the approach - the colour shift sometimes is enough to make you see "regular" things with a bit more attention, perhaps alerting you to something not so regular about them, maybe something magical.
I've never seen green dandilions before. Now I have! :)

the cecil

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 18:45 -0800

Whether you love it, hate it, or object to the idea of it, the Cecil is a mainstay of Vancouver lore. Especially among males. I was walking over the bridge trying to finish my roll of film and the billboard caught my eye (say what you will about why). I noticed the sign marking the end of days for the Cecil and needed to document it.
Interestingly, this shot is one of the only ones on the roll that turned out alright - I can never predict what happens with cross process, but this roll pushed to pink more than any I've ever shot. I wonder if the constant heat over the past month had anything to do with it - my camera was in the sun a lot. But many just became washed out red scapes, like you were looking through that old cellophane that came with your favorite Transformer so you could read its stats.

station redux

Sat, 24 Jul 2010 13:08 -0800

This image seems to be in my mind lately. I originally posted it a while back (here). It got more comments and buzz than any other, which was nice for my ego. Thanks to Adam Blasberg for the skytrain shooting adventure and generous film donation. ;)
Last winter, as an employee of Opus, I was given a complementary Fine Art Canvas print. Because the original image was a low res scan of slide film, I had to go back and get a high-res to print the large canvas I wanted (30"x12"). But the new scan was different. More blue in the green, more yellow in the yellow. Took some jigging in Photoshop to get it close.
Today I installed Fotomoto so I could offer these images on prints of various sorts. What you see over the Internet on your monitor will always be somewhat different from a print, but it's important to me to maintain as much fidelity as I possibly can.
So, for this reason: station redux. If you wish to purchase a print, please try the fotomoto links below the image. The print will look closer to this version of the image than the one I originally posted. If you do, I hope it turns out fantastic - I'd love any feedback about the process.