Mural - First Draft

So apparently Blogger scales images from there native resolution. Ill email this one to ya.

Living in the desert it seldom rains.

Untitled

New Season

Wow, summer is over and RedTown hasn't posted any new work in months. Lots of new projects on the cusp of beginning and they will be very time consuming, but I believe it will be some of RedTown's finest work so stay tuned for that in the months ahead. Final preparations, and what not are being made and soon the beautiful photography will begin to flow again. But to dust off the 'ol cameras and get into a little portrait photography, I asked my friend George to model for me and see what we can do with one light and a very lonely building. The session was shot on film, so once negs are processed and scanned I'll have some real footage to present, but for now, here are a few digital test photos for your enjoyment. Thanks George for being a sport.

Promos!

So I finally got RedTown's official first promos from PsPrint.com the other day. 1000 6x9" promos for a pretty sweet price of I think ~ $175. PsPrint has served me well in the past and I was happy to use them again this time. I will make a minor gripe here though and say that many of the cards have some rough edges and are a little banged around from stacking. I'm not sure how you could avoid this with any company though so really, there's not much to complain about here. Good company with fair prices and quick turn around. Print quality is good - not great. I've done some work with Modern Postcard in the past and they still set the bar in my opinion, but they're also about 5 times more money. Watch yourself when you're submitting files to any online print company. I was very careful to follow every single one of PsPrint's procedures, and yet, I'm still finding that the text isn't super crisp and has some edging that never appeared in my original artwork. Oh well, c'est la vie. I'm still pretty stoked to have them. It's time to hit the streets, knock on coffee shops and bookstores and I don't know, anyplace that is hip enough to let me post stuff for free. Time to drum up some business!!

File Magazine

RedTown has caught the eye of the online photo site File Magazine. This is a great little site whose whole aim in life is to collect amazingly cool photos from talented photographers and present it in a simple online gallery. Check out the Cube while you still can. We're pretty happy to be included.

Per File Magazine: "The purpose of FILE is to collect and display photographs that treat subjects in unexpected ways. Alternate takes, odd angles, unconventional observations - these are some of the ways photographs collected in FILE reinterpret traditional genres."

XOXO XA

I had the opportunity today to dig thru some old negs and do a bit of scanning on the Imacon and couldn't help but feel nostalgic for the days of yore when all it took to be happy in the world was my trusty xa, a roll of whatever film I happened to find in my fridge, and a beautiful sunday afternoon. There is no substitute for that camera in my heart; full manual control, rangefinder focus, attachment flash, cheap optics - all in the pocket size package of surprisingly good build quality. It is in fact, the first camera I ever owned, given to me by my late grandmother when I was 14. That, along with an Olympus OM-2 SLR, which was to be kept safe for me until I had gotten a little practice under my belt with the XA. A remarkable camera for its time, it was the world's smallest 35mm rangefinder, and mine was (and still is) in perfect condition. Everytime I used it I felt my grandmother with me, and every photo I took with it seemed to me the best photo I'd ever made. 

Even though my current carry everywhere camera is now a small Nikon Coolpix p6000, I always keep in my bag my XA with a roll of film ready to go. For me, the convenience of digital has certainly changed the way I shoot. In an afternoon of shooting I'll have at my disposal hundreds of photos to edit, categorize, shuffle off to include in some photo series I'm working on, or post online, or what have you - at almost no cost. Clearly this is the best way to sketch out ideas and be spontaneous with my photography without having to be concerned with all the trouble associated with film. So why is that XA still in my bag everywhere I go? Because you can't replace your first love. To me photography is more than the moment; it is about emotion, the persistence of the ephemeral, and coming to terms with my need to connect with my surroundings by using a tool that has no emotion what so ever. The more perfect new cameras become, the harder it becomes for your photos to speak to you. This is why my XA is always with me - it has soul, it still speaks to me. I love this camera, and it loves me. I know this from all the amazing photos it has given me over the years. It will always be my trusty companion, and I am thankful for that.