Late Spring US Road Trip

It's been almost a year since I left the US, so I'm really excited to announce my upcoming late spring trip to America. These are the locations I will be visiting and the dates (might change slightly):

Apr 11-12              Los Angeles, CA
Apr 13-19             Phoenix, AZ
Apr 22-26           Santa Fe, NM
Apr 29-May 3     Salt Lake City, UT
May 6-25            Portland, OR
Jun 4-7                Nevada City, CA

In addition to these, I will also be visiting and spending some time in San Francisco, Chicago, Indiana, and a first for me, New York. No firm dates for these just yet.

I'm very excited about this trip, the photos I will make, and hopefully the people I will meet. If you happen to be at any of these locations during these dates and you want to shoot with me, let me know!

Fishermen, Lake Wawasee, Indiana, March 2018

Camera and Lens: Sony a6000, Meike 35mm f/1.7
Settings: ISO 100, 1/125sec, aperture unknown

Even though we had to call this boat ride short because everyone was cold, I loved that time on the lake that foggy evening.

Calm waters, no one around but a handful of fishermen... so relaxing and beautiful.

See more images of Indiana.

Dock, Chain O'Lakes, March 2018

Camera: Holga 120N
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC

Rainy day at Chain O'Lakes State Park, Indiana.

See more images of Indiana.

Lifeguard Tower, Michigan City, February 2018

Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5
Speed: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC

This unreleased image is part of my project America Untitled that is being exhibited this month.

I made this image on a very, very cold day in Michigan City, Indiana. The beaches along the shore of Lake Michigan looked like anything but sand beaches where people get tan or children play, and all the equipment used during the summer by visitors and staff were like out-of-place artifacts.

This lifeguard tower stood out to me, and I think it made for a compelling image.

See more images of Lake Michigan.

Shooting digital in Michigan City, Indiana

I made some of my favorite images of this past winter in Michigan City, Indiana. The black and white fits perfectly the wintery landscape, but I also saw the potential for some color once the weather improved a bit.

That's why it was the first place that came to my mind to try my two new lenses for the Sony a6500.

I decided to pull the trigger on these two to finally upgrade my digital kit (I'd been shooting with the very inexpensive kit lenses forever), rushed by our imminent move overseas. Everything is much more expensive here, as I explain in the video.

It was a nice morning at Lake Michigan, as I was able to make the three images I was hoping for. Not exactly what I had in mind (especially the one of the hut on the beach), but still time well spent outdoors.

Lighthouse, Michigan City, April 2018

I know. I've been lagging behind. Things have been a bit busy since we got to Spain due to paperwork and well, just life. But fear not, I'll be back next week with new videos and images.

For now, this one I made just before leaving the US, in Michigan City, Indiana. I drove there from Goshen for sunrise since I wanted to take a couple of shots before the light became too harsh.

The video about how I made this one, and the other two I took that morning, is coming soon, very soon.

Frozen Beach, Michigan City, February 2018

Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC

While walking on this frozen beach along the shore of Lake Michigan, I ran across this crack on the ice that I, of course, had to photograph.

I wanted to show some context and not just an abstract image from above. So I placed the crack on the bottom left of the frame and left plenty of empty space between it and the background, in this case the frozen dunes.

See more photos of Lake Michigan.

Power Plant, Michigan City, February 2018

Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 250mm f/5.6 + Zenzanon PS 2x Teleconverter
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC

I'd been considering getting rid of either the 250mm lens or the 2x teleconverter to simplify my camera kit a little bit.

However, I got to use both -at the same time- very recently. I made a few images of a power plan in Michigan City from the nearby Indiana Dunes, and the combination of the long lens plus the teleconverter (500mm, or 275mm in full frame equivalent) proved to be very useful. I wouldn't be able to catpure it without them.

So I'm back to the drawing board and considering keeping both for situations like this, where I definitely need that focal length.

See more photos of Indiana.

The last of winter, Michigan City, February 2018

Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC

Watch the video where I made this image: "Shooting film: The last of winter".

I'd been waiting for a day like this the whole winter. As I said before, landscape photography is all about the conditions. I couldn't dream of better conditions for photography than the ones I had this day.

It was a foggy day, and I decided to head north to Michigan City where I intended to photograph Lake Michigan. On my way there, I stopped by multiple spots trying to make the most of that incredible weather.

One of these stops was a park outside the city, a place I spotted on Google Maps when I was approaching my final destination. I gave it a try, and I found "photography heaven".

A foggy, snowy, and calm park with beautiful trees. No one around. Mostly clean snow, with not many footprints. Incredible light. It wasn't even that cold.

I spent an hour in that tiny park. I shot almost two rolls. So worth it.

See more photos of Indiana.

Frozen, Lake Michigan, February 2018

Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 50mm f/3.5
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC

It was as cold as it looks. Freezing.

It isn't easy to walk here. Your feet keep slipping through the hundreds of balls of ice that are all over the place. Sometimes you fall through as deep as your knee, and it hurts.

I'd never been here before, so I don't know what this place looks like without the snow and ice. Am I walking on the beach still? Or is there a lake under me?

Regardless, this is my absolute favorite place to shoot in Northern Indiana / Michiana. I'm planning on going back there once more before the spring gets here, and check how much of this frozen land is still there.

See more photos of Lake Michigan.

Sticks in the snow, Indiana, February 2018

Camera and Lens: Rolleiflex, 75mm f/3.5
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC

This is an almost cliche image, but I couldn't resist during my morning walk with the dog after a snowstorm here in Northern Indiana.

It's also a good excuse to share an image not made with the Bronica. I always have a camera with me, if it's not the big Zenza then it will be either the Rolleiflex or the Holga.

See more photos of Indiana.

Cracked Ice, Salamonie River Forest, February 2018

Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC

I've said it many times, and I'll say it again: I loved photographing the winter here in the Midwest. It gets so cold that the ice is everywhere, freezing creeks, rivers and lakes.

During one of my several walks through the Salamonie River Forest, I ran across this scene. A crack on the frozen lake and some footprints that seemed to have caused such crack (although that wasn't the case).

I'm going to miss the winter.

See more photos of Indiana.

Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial, Michigan City, February 2018

Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC

I had no idea when or how I was going to make this image, but I knew it was going to happen since I saw this monument during my first visit to Michigan City. A few weeks later, I finally had the chance.

See more photos of Indiana.

Tree, Indiana, February 2018

Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D-76

I love winter. And last week, winter came in the form of a foot of snow so I headed outside and tried to make the best of it.

It was mostly car photography: you don't want to walk on the road when the shoulders are covered in snow and ice, and anything that is not pavement is private property.

But I was able to capture some cool scenes, like this tree. I can't tell you where I took it, somewhere in a radius of 30 miles from Goshen, but I was lucky to find it and to have the time to get out of the car and take it.

More winter photos coming soon, in the meanwhile, you can see more photos of Indiana.

I love winter

A video collection of some images I took these last days around here in Michiana, the Indiana Dunes and the Salamonie River.

Shooting Film: Indiana Dunes

The Indiana Dunes is one of the very few places I have here (within driving distance for a one-day trip) where I can take somewhat outdoors photos.

I'd never been to the place before, so I'm not sure what's going to look like when the snow melts. I've seen photos and to be honest, it's a bit "blah".

But now, in winter, it's a landscape I'd never seen before. This video is the first of my already multiple trips up there, and probably not the last one to come (last time I was there, the lake was frozen as far as I could see - truly an amazing view).

"One tree and one thousand shadows", Chain O Lakes, January 2018

Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 50mm f/3.5
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D-76

This is one of the images from my visit to Chain O Lakes. The Sun was behind me and I saw these shadows on the frozen lake, casting from the line of the trees also behind me, contrasting with the ones at the other side of the lake.

I thought that image wouldn't work like that, so I added an extra element: the lone tree. Now, I wish I'd taken the other photo as well because it might have worked as well, or even better, than this one with the tree in it.

But anyway, here it is: "One Tree and One Thousand Shadows".

See more photos of Indiana.

Shooting film in Chain O Lakes, Indiana

There aren't many places where you can go out and enjoy nature here in Northern Indiana, and they require some driving to get to. But they are going to be my playground for a couple more months, so I'm spending some time getting to know them.

The first one, Chain O Lakes, is 40 minutes away from where we live. It's far from being "wilderness", but it does offer some nature that you can enjoy mostly by yourself at this time of the year, as long as you avoid the smaller lakes, crowded with people ice fishing.

As usual, I shot Ilford HP5+ with my Bronica SQ-Ai, although I also loaded Fuji Acros 100 for the first time. I only got to get one shot with this new film (for me) over there, and it's at the very end of the video.