Almost Golden

Nearly done. I have almost every photo printed that will go in my final portfolio. I am still thinking of printing 4 more, but I'm not sure if I want them in there. My portfolio came in the mail and I really like the look of it. I think it will make the final portfolio look very good. All I need to do now is print my artist statement, cut some tracing paper, and put everything in the portfolio. These two images are ones that made it into the final. I liked the golden color of them along with the chrome and black holes. On this Innova paper, the gold color is extremely vibrant and I've been very happy with the prints that have turned out. I don't have a lot to say except it will be nice to enjoy this summer weather and even nicer to enjoy summer in a couple of weeks!

Getting Closer

This week has been pretty tough but rewarding. I now have three photos done which I have pictured above. So far I am very happy with the Innova paper I am using. It gives a really rich print (after a few adjustments to the prints) and I cannot wait to see what it does to the next photos I will be printing over the weekend and next week. Time is getting short and I know this week will be really chaotic, but as long as all the pictures print the way these first three have it will be worth it. Anyways, I really don't have a lot to say about these photos since I have posted the drafts before, but I do like the richer quality to them now that they have been editted for the Innova paper.

More to come soon!

More From the Farm

This is the second set from the photos I took at the Mustang Farm. I have been going through them as fast as I can so that I can get to doing final edits for the semester. These were some of my favorites out of the shoot. It was fun to go through the pictures though this week and see the progression during the shoot. I saw how awful some of the first photos, a peak about at the middle of the shoot, and the end photos were again awful. I must have gotten more burned out by the end of the day than I remember feeling. I like the first photo because of how cool the pile of hubcaps looked. There were hundreds of shiny hubcaps and wheels there which looked so out of place among the heaps of rust surrounding it. I hoping to generate the same reaction when I slip one of these hubcap pictures into the final portfolio. The other three photos are very much like the others I intend to put into the final. I really liked the way the colors appeared on the second photo along with the peeling and rust. The bottom picture had a beautiful gold color that amazingly remained after years of being left out in the weather. It amazes me sometimes how well these cars stand up to the elements. While doing this shoot I walked by a car with a leather interior that was nearly perfect, yet the outside was full of holes and will probably cave in with one nudge. I also liked the silver trim against that dirty gold background.

Over the next two weeks I will be posting photos the I hope to get into my final portfolio. Please let me know what you think!

One Month to Go

Things are coming fast. It amazes me that in one month we will all be on summer vacation and even more amazing that next year will be my last year as an undergrad. With the nice weather finally here and tons of work piled on the inbox, its hard to concentrate on actually getting things done. Last weekend was a welcome reprieve from school though. I got back to the Mustang Farm and spent much more time shooting there. The first thing I wanted to shoot was something that had been haunting me since I first saw it. When I first saw the rusting school bus I was immediately drawn to it. I wasn't able to get any pictures of it on my first visit, but something about the way it sat tilted in the ground with large chunks of it missing and an old wooden wheeled car sitting on top of it all called out to me. It was the quintessential junkyard find. It was also the brightest vehicles in the whole yard. The yellow paint was starting to turn orange in areas because of the rust running down the sides. The image I have here is cropped from the original which I feel did make it better (thanks for the advice everybody). The other two images were taken at the same place. The more abstract one was actually taken as a bit of an afterthought. I thought the roof of that car looked kind of cool so I lifted the camera over my head and shot a few without really looking at them. I'm happy that that one came out well. The middle one was one that I feel fits in very well with the other pictures I took this semester. It is very similar to a few others I have shot in that it focuses in on one door with a look through the dirty, dingy glass. I'm really looking forward to finishing editting the rest of these photos and continuing to put them into some sort of final project. I'm leaning toward making a book right now so I have a lot of work ahead of me for the next few weeks!

Cars and Barns

This week was not too productive on the new photos front, but I did get some time to go through my photos from this semester to start to pull together something for my final project. I would really like to make a book. I feel that it would be a good way to have something substantial to show after several semesters of work. I really hope that this will not be the last photo class I take here at Clark, but I have no idea what next year's schedule will look like. A book would be a nice way to finish off it that's the way it has to be.

The two images are ones that I hope to put into the book. They are not final edits, but they are getting closer. I think the top one benefited from the crop we discussed in class. By letting that red color dominate the top and sides of the frame it becomes a little more important and I think it focuses the image. I really like how that one has come out so far with that shadow that lines up right in the cut out of red. I would like to get several more like this at the same time of the day.

The second image is from the Mustang Farm that I visited two weeks ago. I feel that it is still a bit under saturated, but in general I like the way it came out. I have always loved the way old cars and trucks seem to be peering out of the weeds sometimes. This abandoned Ford has definitely seen better days and with that one headlight looking out makes me think of all the forgotten memories this truck has been a part of. I will be returning to the Farm on Saturday to take a whole bunch of photos. Should be an exciting weekend!

Mustang Farm

This was a great week! I finally feel like I found a place I can spend a lot of time photographing. I traveled to Wrentham over the weekend to visit Tosy's Mustang Farm. I had read about this place on several websites I frequently visit and knew it was going to be a great place, but nothing could have prepared me for what I found. There were rows upon rows of Mustangs from 1964 to the late 1990s. Mixed among them were other Fords of various ages and conditions and a smattering of Ramblers, Volvo's, Dodges, and Chevy's. As I walked farther and farther back into the junkyard the cars got older and the photographic opportunities greatly increased. There are hundreds if not thousands of photographs to take there of aging paint and metal. In addition, this will be a great place to visit through the years to find parts and project cars. The pictures posted here are just a small showing of the photos I will take here. I did not take a lot of pictures on my first visit because I was unsure what their policy was. Some junkyard owners are very picky about people taking pictures, but after paying for a part and asking the owner he said it would be fine to take as many pictures as I wanted. Next weekend I will be going back hopefully on Thursday and Saturday to get a ton of pictures. I cannot wait to get back in there and uncover the stories those cars would like to tell.

Something Different

This past week was spring break and I must say it was a needed and welcome break. I didn't do a whole lot of work, but it felt really good to just relax for awhile. I did however get to go down to the Cape at the end of the break which was awesome because I had not been down there since September. My brother also came down to shoot some event photos for a photography class he is taking. The pictures above all came from the St. Patricks Day parade in Dennis and Yarmouth. It was kind of strange to see St Paddys day stuff so early, but it was truly a fun day. I never realized how many true Irish people lived down on the Cape. The shoot was a lot of fun because although I like people photography I never really spend a lot of time doing it. I think I am slowly developing my comfort level with walking up to a stranger and taking their picture, but I always end up taking other pictures. I know I need to force myself to develop this and hopefully this will be a turning point in that endeavor. It was also fun because this was the first serious shoot I have done with my new camera since it was fixed. I think the pictures it is taking are excellent and I am very happy with them.

Tomorrow (actually today looking according to the clock) I will be traveling to Wrentham to visit Tosy's Mustang Farm to find some parts for my 82 Mustang and to take some photos of the cars in the junkyard. I'm very excited about seeing this place in person because I have heard a lot about it on the internet and it sounds like there is a huge selection of Mustangs and Fords tucked away there. Off to bed for an early rise!

Off Week

This was not a good week for me. I had multiple papers and projects due, student group budgets were due, plus the weather was lousy so my photographing time was whittled down to next to nothing. I did however, get my camera back and it seems to be fixed and completely fine! The only pictures I was able to take this week were about 150 the afternoon after I got my camera back. I just went to my lower driveway and shot for a little bit the two older cars we own: my 82 Mustang and our family's 83 AMC Eagle. To be honest I do not feel that anything is even worth posting since I was not able to take my time and concentrate. It was really frustrating this week to edit what I did have knowing that they really did not mean anything to me or to anybody looking at them. Anyways, this one is the only one of the batch that I feel may be acceptable and fit into my theme. The color is awful and it is not terribly interesting but it is a significant part of my childhood. I grew up exploring Wheeler's Garage in Berlin, MA and still love to go over there and smell the decades of oil, grease, and cigarette smoke accumulated on all the surfaces. I promise I will be working very hard this upcoming week since it is spring break and I truly have nothing else to do. I'm excited to get over this week and get back to work!

57 Chevy Revisited

So I realize I talked about the process of finding that old Chevy in last week's post and never actually showed what it looked like to me as I walked toward it. For that I apologize and hope these three pictures make up for that. I've been staring at one of the pictures this week because I set it as my wallpaper on my computer and love the sad face this car has as it sits alone amongst the other car parts and garbage bins covered by snow and decades of grime. I firmly believe that all cars have a personality and as I flipped through the pages of my dad's Collectible Automobile tonight I saw that over and over again in the section highlighting abandoned cars. The years of weather take a serious toll on these cars and make each one unique. Each has a story to tell and I hope I can find a few more that will let me tell their story. Just a note on these pictures, these have not been greatly edited since they were done on Photoshop Elements. I plan to re post them as soon as I get them edited this week.

On a separate note, I got my camera back from Nikon yesterday and shot a few quick pics of my Mustang and everything seems to be working fine. I'm am very happy once more!

Ideas Coming Together

This week I visited both the Stillwater Farm and took some pictures there at sunrise. I really did like the light better than the ones I took in the afternoon. However, it was overcast that morning and I would like to see it with full light on the barn. It was fun to see it at that time of day. I think I got some good pictures from this shoot, but the dull light and lack of sleep left me a little aggravated so I took a break during the day and in the afternoon I walked down my street to one of my neighbors. Ever since I really started getting seriously into cars, I have been making mental notes about who has what car and where they are located. I know it's kind of weird, but I can remember people fairly well by what car they drive. Knowing about this Chevy, I asked my neighbor if I could photograph it and after a little coaxing she agreed to let me take some pictures. As I walked down to it, I realized how tucked away it is. It sits in a little fenced in area along with her garbage cans and other miscellaneous car parts. However, from the street you can just see the front end barely poking out. It looked so lonely and forgotten and just as I got down to it and was about ten minutes into shooting, the clouds broke and the afternoon sunlight cast this golden light on all the chrome. I realized the potential still left in the car and started taking pictures as quickly as I could while still being thoughtful. Afterwards I felt re-energized. Whereas the morning at the barn left me a little disappointed, the car photo shoot really cheered me up. I plan to revisit both places this weekend (time permitting since it's my Mom's birthday). In addition, I'm trying to recall those mental notes about cars I know in town and hopefully I can started visiting them too.

Stillwater Farm II

This past week I again traveled back to Stillwater Farm in Sterling, MA. This time I tried to take more time to study the little details that make that place so interesting. The history and weathering on everything there is really cool and the more I look the more I appreciate this place that I have seen so many times. I think Frank is right though. I really haven't received permission from the farm to take pictures of it. I need to spend a lot more time really studying and examining every part. I also need to try some different times of day. I have seen it many times as the sun sets behind the woods, but I need to see what sunrise looks like there. This weekend will give me that opportunity. I will also be inside the barn fairly soon which should be a lot of fun! In the meantime, this is a picture that I took last weekend as the snow and ice was beginning to melt off the side of the barn. I like the way the slopes move toward one another with the ice and the wet siding. The icicles were really beautiful down on the foundation as they melted and fell off. Hopefully this weekend's warmer weather will let me take some better pictures.

P.S. I have not done much to this photo and it was editted on my computer, so if the colors look a little off that's probably why.

Sacred Wall

While I was at the Stillwater Farm this past week I took a few shots of a wall that had been tacked on the side of the barn many years ago. Over the years, weather and fire have taken its toll on the wall. What remains is one of the most interesting collections of textures and colors found on the farm. It is one of those places that I have seen many times, but never really stopped to think about how cool looking it really is. Unfortunately, the good stuff is higher than I can reach, but with a loaned tripod I think I can shoot it without too much trouble. I like this area because it reminds me of a simpler time. When I visit this farm, even though it is right next to a major road it feels quieter. I can relax there (even though there have been many stressful deadlines faced there) and now I feel that I can explore it freely. I think this will be a fun place to explore photographically. I should be able to get permission to go inside soon which I am really excited to share with everyone. Anyways, these shots are from that outside wall with the bottom photo showing the entire wall. The way I'm thinking right now about my semester project is to try to take a lot of pictures of this barn (since it is easily accessible) and incorporate some junkyard pictures with them to show how the "Yankee" structures of days gone by have stood up to time. Hopefully I will have more pictures uploaded by the end of the weekend!

Stillwater Farm

I spent some time this week at one of my favorite places in Sterling. The Stillwater Farm goes back to 1790 and over my 21 years I have visited it a lot. It is protected by the state, but it unfortunately does not get the funding needed to restore it - only the money needed to keep it from collapsing. Time has left its mark on the barn and house and I find it really interesting to see how the structures age. This photo is of one of the windows on the front of the barn and shows some of that age. The cracking wood trim, cobwebs, and peeling paint all tell a story about the life of this building. One of the ideas I have for the semester long project I have to do for my photography class is to document and show the details of the numerous barns of New England. In a way I feel this fits into my other idea of photographing small private junkyards and old cars since both fit into the old Yankee mentality of holding onto things in case they are needed later or because of being too lazy to get rid of them in the first place. There are plenty of barns to photograph in the area that are in varying degrees of decay so that may be one direction to go in.

New Semester!

Seems like a long time since I've been on here, but its actually only been a month. Over Christmas break I honestly didn't do a lot of shooting. Part of that is due to the fact that there wasn't a lot of time because of shopping and Christmas parties. I did get some pictures of Christmas with my family, but that's where my exciting story begins (sarcasm implied). Starting on Christmas day my BRAND NEW D90 gave me error messages that wouldn't allow me to shoot. Thinking it was a fluke I removed the battery and kept shooting. A few days after New Year's though I went to Boston (very cold day) and the camera completely froze up and gave me error messages saying I had a f-stop of F90 (wouldn't that be nice). Anyways I sent it back to Nikon after reading about some isolated but similar problems online. I will be waiting impatiently...

In addition, my parents bought me a SDHC memory card and I discovered last week while trying to import those pictures that my card reader is out of date and cannot read that card. Time for a new reader too!

Anyways, sorry for the rant. This is a new semester and I'm taking another Digital Photo class with Frank so more pictures will be posted throughout the semester. I cannot wait to get started on this class because it is all project based. I plan to continue on my junkyard/old car route and see where it takes me. More to come very soon!