First video of my short trip to Oregon a few weeks ago. I was too tired to do much after several hours of travel, but I still managed to do a quick trip to the Columbia River Gorge and visit a waterfall.
Read MoreCamera 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.
This is a quick tip for those who, like me, can't wait to see the images on that negative we just developed.
Once you've seen a few negatives, you get a good understanding of how the photo will look, but there's nothing like seeing the positive version of the image.
I use my phone to get a quick sneak peek, this is how I do it.
Read MoreWinter is over here in the Midwest. Sure, it's still cold (it went down to 20F this last night), but the white and snowy landscapes are gone for good, I'm afraid.
In this video, I drove to Michigan City at the shore of Lake Michigan in an attempt to capture the last of winter. I found heavenly conditions for photography and I made some of my favorite images here.
Read More
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
I've been working hard on developing, scanning and editing the photos from my recent trip to Oregon. I still have a few rolls left, but I'm happy with the results I've seen so far.
This exposure was taken from the parking lot of the Multnomah Falls. Not only because you can't really get much closer due to a wildfire this past summer, but also because I really think this is the best spot to photograph the falls.
It was from there where I took the long exposure of the falls at night that you can see in the archives.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
I've already talked about Point Lobos and the Sutro Baths here before. This is another exposure I took there in the early morning of some old stairs that led to the ocean.
The faster, the better. Or so it seems these days.
A few days ago, I was struck by a photographer telling people that in order to learn they should go out every day and shoot as much as they can. Then, they'd have to go through those few hundred photos before the day is over and select 1 or 2. Next day, repeat.
What this photographer seems to be missing is that photography is much more than taking a picture.
Read MoreIn this episode of the American Road Trip, I visit one of the most beautiful places I've seen in the US: the Alabama Hills.
Read MoreCamera 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.
I was supposed to be in Tennessee this week. Or in the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. Those were my two destinations for March. At the end, I decided to stay home.
I’ve been shooting a lot lately. I thought I wouldn’t for a while after the road trip, but the winter here in Northern Indiana has been beautiful, and then I went to Chicago and Portland where I put almost 1,000 miles on the rental car in just 4 days.
So I decided to take a break from making images. It’s been 11 days since I took my last photo with the Bronica; it feels a bit weird but I don’t have that rush I usually have. Not yet. I think it was a necessary break.
I’m still working hard on my photography, just everything that isn’t using the camera: developing film from Portland, writing on the blog, editing videos for my YouTube channel, uploading stock photos and pitching some editorial work. I’ve also been reading some books and playing the piano, not only because I like it but also as an attempt to feed the creativity.
My next photography trip is planned and almost fully booked, but it won’t happen for another month. I know that I will feel that rush to get out before that, but for now, I’m letting the camera rest for a bit.
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.
Third and last day in Chicago, and I had a sunrise mission: take a long exposure of downtown Chicago. I'd tried the days before but I didn't feel like I actually had gotten it so this time I went a bit farther north.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
On my way to the Bristlecone Grove and already on top of the White Mountains in Eastern California, I ran across this view.
All these mountains you can see on this image, including the one I was on, are at least 10,000 feet high. In the foreground, the White Mountains. In the background, the Sierra Nevada. In between, the Owens Valley. This valley is 6,000 feet lower, making it one of the deepest in the US.
Here I tried to capture the contrast between the two mountain ranges and hint the existence of the valley in between them.
From up here and looking west, you can see most of the Sierra Nevada. Turn around to the east and you can see parts of Death Valley. The highest mountains and the lowest point in the continental US, all in an amazing 360 view.
I lost count of how many times I've said it, but this is one of my favorite areas in the US and one of the most beautiful landscapes I've seen.
I loved this thing. I sold it. I don't miss it.
This is one of the questions I get asked the most.
My short, quick, TL;DR... answer is always the same: get the camera you enjoy shooting with the most.
Keep reading if you want to hear me out as I go deeper into what I think you should consider when choosing a new camera.
Read MoreCamera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
Another exposure from Joshua Tree National Park.
I've been developing some fascination with the Moon lately. Not only for experiments like long exposures, but I also like to take regular exposures of the moonrise like this one.
There's something unnatural about seeing the bright Moon in the sky, and the shadows that the landscape creates going in the opposite direction. Somehow, it has a very calming feeling to me.
I took a few similar ones, but this one was the strongest in my opinion.
a6500 with the beautiful kit lens
I apologize in advance for this Saturday morning rant
Is it me or it feels like everyone is freaking out about the new Sony A7III?
As the former owner of an A7II and a current user of a Sony a6500, I was really interested in seeing what they'd come up with for this new generation of cameras. I'm overwhelmed about the reaction to this camera and underwhelmed about the camera itself.
Read MoreCamera 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.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 3200
Developer: Ilfotec HC
I had a full moon during the one and only night I spent at Joshua Tree National Park, so I had to play with some night photography of this moonlit landscape.
Of the multiple exposure I took pushing HP5 to 3200, this one was my favorite. That shadow you see was created by the Moon. You can also see some stars, although not as many as you could see on a moonless night.
I'd been wanting to write this book for a long time, but I always found an excuse to put it off. Now that I don't live in Portland anymore, it seemed like the perfect time to do so.
In "Examples of the PNW", I showcase 15 of my favorite images I made during my time in the Pacific Northwest. I tell the story behind them, how I made them, I give some advice about the location, and I talk about the post-processing involved.
I also thought that it'd be the perfect way to say thank you to the subscribers of my (also new) monthly newsletter. I intend to make this newsletter the link between this website and the people interested in my work, something I can control completely unlike social networks or other websites.
So if you are interested in getting this book (and many more to come in the future), or in signing up for a monthly newsletter about my work and much more, please follow this link.
Thanks for your support!
As I've mentioned before, the week we spent in Palm Springs was a lazy one. I was planning on going to Anza Borrego (didn't happen) and spend at least a full day and night at Joshua Tree National Park.
At the end, I only spent a few hours in the park, and that was a mistake that I still regret today. Definitely somewhere marked in red on my list of places I "must-go-back-to".
With very little time, I spent most of it driving through the park and trying to grasp what it had to offer. I did walk through a Cactus Garden and went on a tiny hike to a nearby arch, but that's nothing in such a vast land.
This video showcases my two sunsets in the park and some photos I took over there. Hope you enjoy it!
