Suspect Photography

May 1, 2013

Ricoh GR Digital IV: Thoughts, Trials, and Tests. But No Tribulations.

Dog is a much better skater than I.

Ricoh and DPA (Digital Photo Academy) surprised me with a Ricoh GR Digital recently. My good buddy Gabe Biderman has always be a devotee and I knew it was a serious camera, but I never really gave it much thought. However, when UPS drops off a jewel such as the GR Digital IV at your doorstep, it merits giving it a shot or two, or three.

The original Film GR and the Digital GR D side by side. Brothers or Lovers?

For those unfamiliar with this camera it is based on the Ricoh GR1, a high end point and shoot from 1996. The camera quickly achieved a cult like following, and pretty much was about as good as it got for its size. When the digital age arrived the high end point and shoot film cams pretty much went the way of the dodo bird and Ricoh took a big hit. In the US, they retreated from the camera market and had poor distribution. In 2005 they introduced the GR Digital, an updated yet surprisingly similar looking camera to its analog father. Once again, it attained a almost cult like following, but due to distribution issues, was still a bit of a hassle to find in the USA. A few years ago Ricoh decided that it was time to return to the US market enforce and attract more dealers thus making their cameras easier to find and purchase. This year, Ricoh attained Pentax corporation and this Japanese power horse is once again fully invested in world wide photography. The GR Digital is now in its fourth version, and a newer one is actually going to start shipping very soon. Enough history, lets get to the camera.

Ruinism in Pointillism

The Ricoh GR Digital 4 is a small compact digital point and shoot with a super sharp 28 mm f 1.9 prime lens. No zoom, and don’t even think about engaging the digital zoom feature. The Sensor is relatively small by todays standards at 1.7″ and 10 megapixel, however I wouldn’t be too concerned with that, considering the camera is actually very small. If the sensor was larger, so would the camera and you could forget about putting it in a jean or shirt pocket. After spending a day with the GR riding in my tight Levi 510 black jeans I opted to get the matching leather case and roll the cam on my belt like Batman would have it. For me, it’s either off the shoulder and I’m noticing it is there, or on the hip where I mostly don’t notice it, mostly. The GR has its own ergonomics, one designed in the mid 90’s. It’s a thin rectangle with a “bump” on the right side that acts as both grip and battery holder. The GR is housed in a magnesium shell reinforced with cushy rubber. For a cam of its size, it actually has a bit of heft, it feels well made and it is. The buttons and dials have solid clicks and are appealing in a tactile sense. When you turn the camera on the lens pops out and retracts on power off. Start up time I’d say is middling, not super fast, yet not terribly slow. From pocket to ready to shoot is about 1.2 seconds.

GR reacts swiftly and focuses fast close up.

The camera has a bit of a sense of humor, where on a film camera you would have a sliding latch to open the film door, this camera uses a similar looking mechanism in the same place, but it pops the flash. The menu system is very MS DOS like, it’s not a pretty GUI, and you can’t assign specific wallpaper to it. There are three main menus, and they are fairly long. The camera does just about anything, from interval shooting, HDR bracketing, AE Bracketing, Raw Capture (but not RAW + Jpeg weird huh), passive and active AF (GR focuses fast and nice), a killer macro mode (1.7mm), a hot shoe, a nice bright 3″ LCD screen and to top it off with, a non-HD video mode (640) which says, “I’m a camera not a video camera thank you”. However, it does have HDMI out so go figure. Now this one little feature may just be completely unique, I have never seen anything like this before, when you turn the camera off it gives you a daily shot count. Yes, it tells you how many images in total you have made for that calender day. Its like having your Dad tell you to brush your teeth before you go sleep. I think this is a useful tool to understand how you photograph and to help you to shoot more or less by having a record.

Washing Windows in Contrasty Light

On the negative side, don’t shoot over 400 ISO in color. This camera is not made for low light. The ISO does go to 3200 but its got noise the size of square marbles. The camera has all the modes you would expect such as Shift P, S, M and my favorite, A mode or Aperture priority. However since the sensor is so small, the camera inherently has a ton of depth of field, so no bukeh for you and a top aperture of F 9.0. I could also site as a negative, the price. The camera is not inexpensive at $550.00, but I must also recall my fathers favorite motto, “Good things are not cheap-cheap things are not good”. This is not a casual camera, it is a deliberate photographers tool. It’s not available in blue nor red, its matt black and business.

Look into those eyes... love the camera's 28 mm lens for an enviriomental portrait

Look into those eyes… love the camera’s 28 mm lens for an environmental portrait

The camera has 3 custom modes called MY1, MY2 and MY3. You can access these on the top master control. The menu system allows for control of many variables, from exposure modes, focus modes, style modes, ISO, file settings and such. The idea is to really master these three shooting preferences and toggle easily between them. I especially like the film sim modes, which include a nice submenu to customize the style. Say if you were to choose B&W, you can adjust the contrast, sharpness (remember that 28 mm 1.9 prime lens?…Oh yea its sharp), vignette strength, vividness (why not)?, and a very tightly adjusted sepia tone. If you follow my blog, you know that I am a huge fan of in camera stylistic choices, and the GR in this case not only gives them to you, it makes it easy to save them and use them when you need that particular look. I took most of my test image in Positive Film, a color saturated film similar to Fujifilm Provia. I also chose to use a heavy vignette, and I upped the saturation and contrast. This was MY3, MY1 was a contrasty sharp B&W, MY 2 P with a boost of vivid. The camera came with a letter from Pentax’s Jim Malcolm and in it, he wrote extensively describing what he had assigned his three “MY” settings. Asking your MY is akin to asking what film you have loaded. Sweet.

MY1: B&W Contrast & Sharpness Boost

MY 2: Vivid, P Mode

MY 3: Positive Film, boost Vivid, Sharpness, and light boost of Contrast.Vignetting High. P Mode

Which of MY settings do you prefer? Please comment.

Using these very specific style choices on Jpeg images will enhance the final result of both your photographic body of work and aid you in fine tuning your own photographic voice.

MY 3 Tulips on acid shot

The camera considering its price point is very oddly placed and if I was to be asked, would I spend $550 on this camera I would have to look deep into my cam-soul to answer that yes. It is a solid performing, prime lens shooting, well built, advanced camera. However, there are others in the market similar to the GR and dare I say better? One comes to mind, the Sony X100 which features a great 1″ 20 mp sensor for a hundred bucks more. However, there is still something very attractive to the GR. It might be the grip, or the familiar look to the design, or perhaps its just little nuances, such as when you turn the camera off, it gives you a shot count for that calendar day. That last little tidbit has big consequences, I believe the more you shoot, the better a photographer you get. You will see compositions emerge from the tangle of complicated backgrounds. Subjects will appear more interesting if you master photography and one sure way to fast track to master is shoot a lot. How much is a lot? Well, this camera will tell you every darn time you turn it off. I like that. The GR digital is a photographers camera. A very particular photographer.

The camera makes cool images, the meter rocks, and the lens is a performer.

UPDATE 9/24/2013 :

this image was updated into a short post about the camera here.

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April 1, 2013

Suspect Photography Workshops: West Village Photo Walk, Saturday May 18th 2013

Village Americana

When it comes to charming neighborhoods, New York City’s West Village is second to none. From turn of the century carriage houses to ornate brownstones and winding little streets the West Village has a romance all its own. This photo walk will culminate in the “secret garden” which will be in full bloom and offer exquisite photographic opportunities.

Hidden gardens found and photographed.

David will share his secrets to photographing great compositions and teach you to spot the elements that will help you capture this colorful and eclectic New York neighborhood. An emphasis on choosing repetitive elements to seek out and photograph will be encouraged to reinforce a project based thought process. This photo walk will set a great foundation for capturing, “Sense of place” and introduce you to the full potential of your camera.

Barrow Street

This Photo Walk will begin at a local Village café where David (and a few cappuccinos later) will show you how to properly set your camera’s functions to maximize this type of “street shooting”. You will also be given a “shoot list” to help you navigate and keep your vision sharp. DSLR’s, Digital Point and Shoots with override settings, and Mirrorless cameras are all welcome. Take this opportunity to learn your camera better, as David will be able to show you how to get the most out of the complex menu settings of a modern digital camera.

The lessons you will learn will be invaluable next time you are on vacation and roam about with your camera.

This West Village Photo Walk is limited to 10 attendees and runs from 9 am to noon. You are welcome to arrive at 8:30 am with a small portfolio (print or tablet is fine) to get some feedback on your photography.

This photo walk is rain or shine, and costs $79. per person. Please use the pay pal button to process the payment. Suspect Photography Workshops will gladly refund your payment in full if you cancel 3 days or more before the photo walk. Canceling two days before the day of the photo walk will earn you a workshop credit for future workshops.

Studies in Light and Composition

Entrance to the secret garden

Village Characters

Any questions please feel free to contact David Brommer. David has taught numerous photo walks and attendees always walk away with some great images, new photographic ideas and most of all, fun.

Remember, the limit is ten attendees and this walk is going to sell out so jump in now and reserve your spot.

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January 1, 2013

It’s the end of year and we’re still here: Images and Reflections of 2012

The 12th year of the new millennium comes to a close and like most of us in the western world, I find my thoughts drawn to what happened, what I accomplished, created, did right, did wrong, and learned. Retrospect is trending it would seem, and it is demanded by the calendar.

These ruminations are dominated by two biggies in 2012; shooting with my Fujifilm XPro1 and starting this blog. My role at B&H Photo running the Event Space is a massive creative block of my time and I pride myself on what I can create on my off hours. I’m not alone in the assumption that a simple camera stimulated my creativity in such a profound way, Gabriel Biderman also credits the XPro1 as major new work instigator for this year. I now can state with absolute certainty that a piece of gear can inspire you to take great photographs. Learning the Ins and outs of a lens and camera forces you to milk a good photograph out of the kit, utilizing the new technology expands your horizons, and hey you know what? A few good photographs come out of it. Can I get a Camera Hallelujah!

I made a selection of images for this blog in no particular order using Adobe Bridge to look back in the image folders of 2012. These aren’t the best nor represent 2012 as a statement of the year. They are just what I choose as I looked back, they are simply images that hadn’t been blogged over the year. New stuff? Yea.

Images and Reflection’s of 2012.

Those images are presented in varying post editing techniques. I wouldn’t recommend mixing and matching like this, it dilutes the style of the photographer. But I do have to say, this year I really fell in love with Nik Silver Efex pro.

Listing of what got accomplished

Learned Wet plate photography techniques
The book I co-authored was translated into Korean.
Taught a cyanotype class with Barbara in Cortona at the Cortona on the Move festival
Shot a few gigs worth of image mostly with the Fujifilm XPro1.
Survived a contentious American presidency with my pick winning (I know that’s not creative, but trust me, it was a long and arduous political process that sapped lots of creative juice as it ran its inevitable course).
Was able to register the URL “Suspect Photography” and start this blog. (darn thing was taken since I have building web sites but now I got it)!
Exhibited in a group show at Soho Digital At Gallery
My Youtube video for Better Photographic Composition: Beyond the Rule of Thirds reached over 100K views… omg!
Saw and photographed a number of great rock concerts. Gotta keep that up, seeing live music is so inspirational.

What’s it gonna be for 2013? I have two goals. To start with, create a one week long seminar teaching photographic style development. Second, loose some weight. I need to bulk down from a large format body to a 35 mm format. We can see about APS-C size in 2014.

Happy New Year to all!

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December 17, 2012

The “Faking It” Show at the Metropolitan Museum of Art Review

Platinum Print, Ilford 8x10 FP4, Dagor 81/4" Lens, 1/4th Sec f 64

Platinum Print, Ilford 8×10 FP4, Dagor 81/4″ Lens, 1/4th Sec f 64

There are occasionally museum exhibitions that really hit the mark and make you say, “wow”. Shows that leave a bloody gash in what you think you know and become an influence on what you create henceforth. These shows don’t manifest often, perhaps once every couple of years and mostly they are a rarity. This show however is one of the former, a real “Wow show”. I suggest you don’t walk, you RUN to the Met and spend a morning or afternoon diving into this first ever major exhibition devoted to history of manipulated photography before the digital age.

The show is divided up into sections, each focusing on a different set of motivations for manipulating the camera image. “Picture Perfect” illustrates early processes that sought to rectify the technical limitations of photography. These include turning B&W to color and increasing dynamic range by printing with multiple negatives. There are stunning hand colored images in this section as well as fake clouds. “Artifice in the Name of Art” indulges fantasy and here we have some wonderful examples of the pictorialists F. Holland Day and Edward Steichen. Perhaps the most interesting was the “Politics and Persuasion” section. This is where faking it shines, whence you can change the thoughts and motivations of society with an photograph. The well known image of the Zeppelin, “Los Angeles” hovering next to the Empire State building is featured and until I read the placard, I had previously bought into the idea the mast on the Empire State Building was indeed a “dock” for dirigibles (if your interested, the whole story is told nicely in this NY Times article) and believed the fabrication.

We are treated to spirit photography and some funky fun Weegee image in “Novelties and Amusements” as well as some stereo images that you have to look into a contraception to see. “Pictures in Print” shows where the work of the faking photographer ends up, and you guessed it, the media. I guess some things never change. I was thrilled to see in the “Protoshop” section one of my mentors Jerry Uelsmann‘s work. Two of Jerry’s prints were on display and I never get tired of looking at his surreal images made long before photoshop was ever conceived. When I first met Jerry at the SPE (Society For Photographic Education) national conference over a decade ago, I asked him what he thought of the advent of Photoshop. He whispered to me, “The best part of photoshop is the unlimited possibilities and the worst part of photoshop… the unlimited possibilities”. A wise man for sure and I’ll never forget that exchange.

Perhaps the highlight of the afternoon was when I spotted the great landscape photographer Ansel Adams checking out the show. I was sure happy I had my camera handy and quickly made the exposure.

OK, I faked it. Ansel has been dead for many years, but I’m sure if he was alive he would have really loved this show!

I thought it funny that the principal sponsor of the show is Adobe and I have to thank them for a job well done. The curation of the show is exquisite and the walls are filled with a vast treasure trove of early photography and legendary photographers. The show runs through January 27th and I highly recommend that you visit the Met before the show comes down. For more information please visit the Met’s website and don’t fake it. You just might end up on the walls of a famous museum.

And one more thing, the image I made outside the Met on the steps of the sign for the show, it’s a fake too.

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December 2, 2012

Hurricane Sandy and the Obliteration of a Safe North East

Chelsea Pier on the Hudson River Monday October 29th

I’m not sure I know where I’m going with this blog post. Being a Manhattanite effected by the super storm Hurricane Sandy I was one of millions who lived through an interesting time to say the least. It was the week of Photo Plus East, the massive imaging trade show at the Jacob Javitz Convention Center and we had just finished up a grueling week of camera a photo education. My favorite holiday, Halloween was a few days away and the reports of a “Frankentstorm” started being reported. The Saturday before the storm the government and media really started to talk about it. The presidential election was in the fury of its last days and even that took a back seat to the impending storm.

By Sunday it was obvious, we would be getting hit, and get hit bad. Hurricane Sandy was killing people in Caribbean, and she was moving up the eastern seaboard slowly. From the mid west of the USA a massive low pressure cold front was heading towards the Atlantic and would collide with Sandy far off the coast of the Carolinas. The weather scientists were saying this was more than the perfect storm, this was something we haven’t seen yet. Ominous.

As a photographer and not a first responder I decided I would continue shooting the event. Knowing that power was most likely going to go out, I set to charging all batteries and devices. Monday everything was closed or closing. Hurricane Sandy was approaching. I was going to fall back on photographer mode. I shot these all with the Fujifilm XPro1 with the 18mm f 2.0 lens over the next week. Images were shot in JPEG and then converted to black and white with Nik Silver Efx 2.

When the impending storm was just innocent fun.

Bottled Water was the first thing to run out. Monday the 29th.

The Mayor’s office began mandatory evacuations and broke the city into three zones. Zone A was expecting severe flooding and on Sunday they ordered evacuation from a block from our building. The Chelsea galleries are famous in this neighborhood, and they would be right smack in the center of Zone A.

The Galleries of Chelsea braced for the impact, and flooding.

Things we take for granted, like access to our parks closed and locked up.

Art in NYC is bad ass. They stop for nothing.

The wind picked up Monday night and the storm smacked into Manhattan around 7:30 p.m.. I pretty much stopped shooting at this point and waited out the storm. We lost power shortly afterward.

and then the lights went out. The storm had hit Manhattan. 8:16 PM Monday the 29th.

I thought I had eclipsed my fathers wisdom was “a know it all”. Turns out Dad can still dispense with good advice, he had recommended we fill the bath tub with water. I followed Dad’s advice and was very glad because when the power went, so did the water. I shall not doubt my fathers capacity for wisdom again, if we had not had a bath tub of water to use to flush the toilette that would have put a huge damper on the next 5 days.

News became a luxury in a dark city. The morning of October 30th.

Manhattan had taken its hit. Overall not too bad, severe flooding and a few downed trees. However three other parts of New York, Breezy Point in Queens, The Rockaways (out by JFK airport) and Staten Island would get a hammering of epic proportions. On election day, November 6th I took a trip with Brandon Remler to Staten Island to survey the damage. What I saw will be forever in my mind of the power of nature and the futility of man to thrive in her shadow.

Cleaning up after the massive flood in Staten Island. Sense of humor is still dominant in New Yorkers. November 7th, 7 days after Sandy landed.

Boats in Midland Park Staten Island, tossed like kid’s toys.

The boats created a surreal sense of place, all out of place.

: The scope of property damage was unreal.

Homes pushed off their foundations by storm surges.

In some places, the ground itself was washed away.

I witnessed devastation, but also a community united. The American flag was ever present.

Crooked Church in Staten Island, still standing.

I walked away from this experience with emotions. Everyone you meet asked how you weathered the storm, and you ask them too. I actually felt guilty saying I had no electricity nor water and lived on the 18th floor without elevator service. Those are small inconveniences next to the fires of Breezy Point, the washouts of low lying Rockaways and Staten Island. We are told that this will now be a current state, vicious hurricanes and flooding. NYC now has it’s natural disaster, its earth quake/brush fire/volcano. Water. That will be our challenge.

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October 8, 2012

Darwin, Taxidermy, and the Spiders from Mars. Meandering the halls of The American Museum of Natural History

Skulls 1/50 Second f1.4 iso 1250 Processed in Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.0 “Yellowed Preset”

Taking class trips while in school when I was a kid always promised an exciting day. You got to jump on a bus and leave the tedium of the classrooms behind and explore some thing new. All it took was a permission slip singed, a few bucks from Mom and Dad and off you went to somewhere special and different. My favorite was a trip to the Museum of Natural History in NYC. So much to see; take in a planetarium show, rub a meteorite, and see arguably the best taxidermy in the world exhibited in very cool dioramas. The museum is where learning, culture, and adventure collide to stimulate your imagination to new heights. In a word, “neato”.

Entrance 1/1200 Second f2.8 iso 200

Barbara and I were off to see the Spiders Alive show on this lovely Columbus day. We had this planned for about 3 weeks and truth be told, I really couldn’t wait to connect to my inner child and hit the museum. So I grabbed my faithful Fujifilm X Pro 1 and figuring it would be dimly lit I chose the 35 f 1.4 to document the day. Normally I wouldn’t post these images, just keep them for myself as I am working on other blog entries of shall we say, “more important nature”? However, marching about the museum’s halls with the X Pro 1 gave me a photographic tingling and so I figured I’d share. Once again, experiencing the world is enhanced when you see it as a photographer and the results were better than I thought. This whole blog post was shot using the 35mm 1.4 capturing standard film sim mode as a jpeg.

Leslie the Tarantula Detail 1/100 Second f1.4 iso 200

Spider Detail (crop of 50%) 1/50 Second f1.4 iso 2000

The American kids were super respectful during the demonstration. Notice the hands up when they have a question? They were attentive and into everything the docent was describing.

Docent and kids 1/50 Second f1.4 iso 1250

Rows of specimen bottles 1/50 Second f5.6 iso 2000 Macro Mode

The following is various taxidermy.

Note: All images are shot through glass.

1/50 sec f 1.8 iso 400

1/50 sec f 1.8 iso 800

1/50 sec f 1.4 iso 2000

1/50 sec f 1.8 iso 800

Something wonderful for all those curious about where we came from (humanity that is) is the Hall of Origins. Something I always remember from my childhood is the hominid couple walking across the plains. They are short, hairy and and have an affection to each other. They greet you entering this vast temple to Darwin and it’s always a pleasure to see the lovers from another epoch.

1/50 sec f 1.4 iso 3200 Processed in Nik Silver Efex Pro 2.0 Antique 1 setting

I asked a security guard if any creationists had issue with this hall. After all, Adam and Eve have no place here, and with the abundant skulls and supporting arguments for evolution present, creationists would find no sympathizers. The guard said he had been on duty for three and half years and no one had ever spoken or acted with animosity to the exhibits singularity.

I was very impressed with the quality of the images two fold, first the auto focus did great shooting through the glass, secondly the quality of the overall image. I had set the camera to auto iso of 6400 and kept it in auto focus the whole time. I loved the shooting wide open most of the time and the depth of field accentuated the subject matter terrifically in my estimation. Once again, the Fujifilm X Pro 1 delivers stunning results and is a pleasure to keep as a companion around your neck as you explore the glorious world about you.

~David

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October 3, 2012

The Suspect Story: Part 1, A Un-Published Suspect Photography interview with Chris Gampat of the Phoblographer

Io Electro from the Seattle Suspects series Contax RX 60 2.8 Macro Planar 1/60 sec f 11 Kodak Techpan 25 iso

A couple of years ago, Chris Gampat, chief editor of the Phoblographer asked me a few questions about my Seattle Suspects project. For some reason, the questions and answers were never published, and recently while cleaning up some hard drives, I found the piece. This will be the first part in a three part series about my most photographically productive time, the Seattle years.

Tell us about how you came up with the name, “Seattle Suspects.”

Suspect Photography was the name of my gallery/studio in Seattle. We filled a niche in the photography community of Seattle by showcasing emerging and mid-career photographers that had an edge, but couldn’t find a home in the more established galleries such as Benham and Gail Gibson gallery. We had a great location, in Pioneer Square and I coined a term, Maverick Gallery. These were artist owned galleries that were prevalent in the bohemian inhabited old industrial and manufacturing buildings that made up Pioneer Square.

Suspect Photography was named after an experience I had where I “suspected” anything could exist in an instance of chance. When you look at an uncertain future, you can “suspect” anything, because anything is possible. Suspect Photography is both pragmatic and optimistic with a dash of fanciful promise.

Since the subjects were a selection of Goths, Fetish heads, Drag Queens, Artists, Poets, Musicians, and other assorted wayward souls I had a small difficulty in coming up with a name for the project. So I looked for the common denominator, which was they all came to Suspect Photography to be photographed, and Suspect Photography was in Seattle, hence the name Seattle Suspects. On a side note, everyone I ran the name by loved the title, but Joyce Tenneson. She is the undisputed queen of photography books and she absolutely detested it! I had to go with my gut, and keep the name in spite of Joyce’s opinion.

Nearly Naked Man from the Seattle Suspects. Contax RX 60mm 2.8 1/60 sec F11 Kodak Tech Pan 25 iso

What was working with these people like for you?

Like hanging out with friends that I wanted to become closer to. I love people who are on the edge, I love freaks. I love people who take being called a freak as a compliment.

Susan from Club F*uck Seattle Suspect Series Contax RX 60 2.8 Macro Planar 1/60 sec F 11

How did you get your subjects to pose the way that they did?

I encourage them to take over the studio sounds system. If you didn’t bring a cd over, I’d drop in one of mine, something that local clubs would be playing. It was the mid 90’s so NIN, Skinny Puppy, Dead Can Dance would suffice fine. I’d let them dance for me and coach them to stop when they got into an interesting pose. I would look for positions that were demonstrative of the subject, ones that encouraged positive and negative space with expressive reaching of the arms or straddled legs.

Sparks from the Seattle Suspects series Contax RX 35-70 vario-sonnar 1/60 sec F 11 Kodak Techpan 25 iso

Do you feel that chemistry between a photographer and the subject is vital to creating great photos? If so, why?

Absolutely. Emotions will be caught on film, so if they don’t trust you, then your images will reflect that. They wont give you their all. I likened the underground of Seattle to a court, and I was the court photographer. I photographed the kings and queens of the scene and they trusted my eye to capture this moment in their life. This gave me access to the rest of the courtesans. I have to also say at this point that I was one of them. I wasn’t an outsider looking in, I was an insider of the scene. I partied at the after hour speakeasies where I recruited the Suspects, I promoted at the clubs (Catwalk and Chapel Periolous) and I ran a gallery that featured edgy art. I also shot Fantasy Unlimited ad campaigns that gave me street cred. The Suspect’s trusted me with themselves, and I respected them.

Dalia from the Seattle Suspects series. Contax RX 60 2.8 Macro Planar 1/60 sec f 11 Kodak Techpan 25 iso

How did you inspire yourself?

How could I not? Look closely at the suspects, they are so complicated and strangely beautiful, a blend of darkly serious and deathly whimsical that I always was honored these subjects would pose before my lenses. What we photograph will echo in eternity, I was inspired to ensure their voices and style would not fade into obscurity. The suspects of mid 1990’s Seattle are fully documented and that is inspiration incarnate.

Malinda from the Seattle Suspects series Contax RX 60 2.8 Macro Planar 1/60 sec f 11 Kodak Techpan 25 iso

Tell us about how you lit your subjects to get the look that you wanted.

I approach studio lighting like two puzzles to solve. First, you must light the background. I would hit the background with two While Lighting “oil cans” fitted with barn doors to keep the spill from hitting the subject in the foreground. I would try to even the light out so the flash would give F11 across the entire backdrop. To light the subject I would use a White Lighting Ultra 1800 in a large Photoflex soft box as a main light, pretty much hitting the subject’s torso at f 11 but the trick was to mount the light on a Bogen Super Boom. Booming the box lets me use the light like a great soft skylight to bathe the subject that I can tweak and aim just so. For fill light I would use an Ultra 600 in Photoflex Stripdome to achieve F 8 1/2 output. I recommend playing with your lights and testing them so you can find the look that matches the subjects and the process your using.

Thank you Chris for asking me those questions, and thank you to all the fabulous freaks of mid 90’s Seattle. You set me free to find myself.

Seattle Suspects book published in 2009 with Blurb and available on the Blurb market place or with a print on the Seattle Suspects site.

Please visit the Seattle Suspects main site to view the book and more suspects, and whilst your at it, give a “like” to the Suspects fan page.

~David

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Images and Reflection’s of 2012.

Listing of what got accomplished

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The following is various taxidermy.

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