But the honeymoon is now also over. We had a fantastic time on the Hawaiian Isle of Kauai. AKA Jurassic Park. The purpose of the honeymoon is to relax and have fun, and that’s exactly what happened. Photography was certainly not the focus, however NOT taking some photos would be missing a huge opportunity to capture images from one of the most beautiful places on earth.

Not wanting to lug around lenses and bodies, I just took my Canon s90. However I did get a 3rd party filter attachment (the polarizer did come in handy) and, more importantly, the WP-DC35 underwater housing made by Canon. Wetness and water is prevalent in Hawaii, and if you don’t have some form of water protection you’re missing a whole lot.

These photos are just a little sliver of time we can hold onto.  We had a wonderful honeymoon, and now we also have wonderful memories.

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The raffle is accepting donations (for tickets for the raffle) until the 27th. All monies go to the Canadian Red Cross. The Red Cross donations are to be routed through Chapters (think of it as Canada’s Barnes & Noble) who with match the donation, as with the Canadian government - thereby effectively tripling the donation.

Facebook link to the Art Raffle

With my old SD850 it just had a certain look that screamed POINT-N-SHOOT, but I don’t feel that with the results I got from my Thanksgiving trip to Arizona.

Let me state here that America’s National Parks are my most favourite thing about the country. They do a great job at providing information and access to some truly magnificent natural wonders. We only spent a brief amount of time in the Grand Canyon, and I kind of regret that. We got the bright idea that we should spend more time in Sedona which, I think, was a mistake but there wasn’t much to be done about that considering our time and hotel reservations.

Sedona does indeed have some great vistas - but you can only really see them from your car and very few mediocre scenic points if you’re not willing to dish out the dollars for a Jeep, Helicopter, or Balloon ride. The place also smacks of touristic cheesiness. It doesn’t approach the awfulness of Niagara Falls, but it’s getting there.

The first shots of this gallery are of Montezuma Castle. It was interesting to see these kinds of old Hopi settlements and I was impressed - that is until someone told me about Mesa Verde. This looks like small potatoes by comparison. Oh well, it was nice fall day and I enjoyed walking around in the park with my fiancee. The middle shots of the big canyon would be of the Grand Canyon, and the rest are basically scenes around Sedona. I included some shots from my Autocord as well.

All-in-all it was a nice trip. We did more driving than we would’ve liked, but it gave us a little taste of Arizona and I’m sure we’ll be back to the Grand Canyon one day.

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The first shots in the

Despite its size, it didn’t take as long as I thought it would compared to my other larger piece (it was only an 8×10) but this required far less geometric patterns, and far less areas to clear.

In the intervening weeks I didn’t do much. I did a little writing. Memoirs to be precise. I thought back to my youth and my coin-collecting days and thought I should re-ignite a similar passion for that by collecting banknotes. One of the more interesting (and inexpensive) avenues of that hobby I delved into happened to be something called Notgeld, emergency money from the Weimar Republic. They displayed a huge variety of styles, techniques, and were very socially aware and expressive. I saw a certain preciousness in these little prints. It’s really something else to hold a piece of art compared to seeing another digital image on the screen. A lot of these notes looked to me to have been done by making woodcuts or linocuts, and one day I suddenly thought, “Hey! I can do that, can’t I?”

I hadn’t done much art in years. Not since TV Cream Toys anyway. I was unsatisfied with my drawing and couldn’t make myself stick with it. I liked my results in Adobe Illustrator but I find the disconnect from the tablet to the screen frustrating. But I thought that there may be potential in printmaking: a means I could use to combine the hands-on nature of drawing and the clean lines and design capabilities of Illustrator.

I got in touch with Randy at the Westminster Art Supply Warehouse to ask about woodcut supplies. Woodcutting supplies and info is, however, quite scarce compared to the relative abundance of lino-cut supplies and info. So I bought ink, paper, a brayer, a baren, and of course the cutting tools and linoleum blocks.

I started by making a simple little print of a cat. I didn’t think much of it but my fiancee loved it and she put it beside her monitor on her desk. Next I tried to do something more stylized. I took one of my old photos from Australia, specifically of the 12 Apostles rock formation on the Ocean Road. I liked what came out and I had fun doing it:

Next I proceeded to do something a lot more ambitious on a much larger block. This took an entire weekend and I had sore hands by the end of it all. Making little squares with geometric precision (or as much as I could muster) wasn’t so much fun. This one is a design of a German city called Esslingen that I visited back in 2004. I seem to be focusing on these old trips because my little digital photos that I took back them seem kind of dated in that they were taken on a 3.2 megapixel digital point and shoot. Not the best image quality, not much room to enlarge, and plus I had a tendency to underexpose too much back then. But using them as reference points for the linocuts gave them a new life.

Most surprisingly, the way people were beginning to respond to these prints was surprising. Much different from the typical “Nice pic” comments I usually get. Even though the content of these prints are somewhat simple, it’s a testament to the enduring reverence people have for the art object.

While the above work took way too long to create, I cut and printed the following block in a couple of hours.

After doing so I posted this on a message board I frequent and someone offered to buy a print. Something about this comment got me thinking about when I was learning about printmaking at the University of Western Ontario. I remember having a good time during my intro to printmaking during the summer of ‘00, but in the fall of ‘01 things had changed somehow. I was an angry young man, or so it probably seemed. What was I angry about? I don’t know. Maybe I felt like every social group I tried to align myself with became out of reach (even though I didn’t really call them), or maybe I felt rejected by them (possibly because I alienated them). I’m pretty sure I felt frustrated that people weren’t recognizing how wonderful I thought I was (especially the ladies). A lack of social skills exacerbated this problem, and the result was a steaming cauldron of angst.

“Why was I taking printmaking!?” I began to think to myself. “What future is there in it? You can’t make money with lino prints! And who does lithography? LITHOGRAPHY! What is this the 1800s?” In fact I began to completely question the use of an art degree at all. “Greek art? Blech! Museum studies? Blah! New media - THAT’S where it’s at! Computers and stuff!”

Of course I couldn’t articulate what I was feeling very well and the result was, in retrospect, an embarrassing tantrum in printmaking class. It was mostly huffing and puffing, but I’m sure I raised my voice once or twice in various classes and generally looked like an unfriendly douchebag (if you’ll forgive the term… but my preppy attire and lack of amiability makes it appropriate in this circumstance). I was 21 years old, but inverting the numbers would’ve been more appropriate.

My behavior did not go unnoticed, and one day while I was in a particular huff my printmaking professor Tricia confronted me and asked me what the problem was. I said I wasn’t sure if I could go on with this stuff. I didn’t see the point anymore. She then led me to the director of the Visual Arts department and, I remember this clearly, the director saw Tricia first and asked, “Ah Tricia, have you spoken with Mister Arnold yet?” when I suddenly came into view.

Below: the Karlsruhe Marktplatz

After having a discussion with the director (Hatch I think his name was) I spoke with other advisers, and finally decided to drop printmaking, get my basic degree and get out of there, and then move out to the west coast (where my family had fled from London to). I focused on my new media course using antiquated software producing what now must seem laughably dated Photoshop projects, HTML webpages limited to 30kb, ZIP drives, and 3-5 minute videos that took innumerable hours to make on a Mac that would crash almost always. At work I now make 3-5 minute videos in 3-5 minutes.

I guess that really says something about the disposable nature of the “new media”. Things date easily. Additionally, everyone’s adept at it. Millions of people know how to use Photoshop, millions of people know how to edit their own video quickly and easily, and even more people fancy themselves photographers. I think I’m coming to see that if you’re going to differentiate yourself as a creative person these days you need to do something different, or at least something that has endured - like printmaking.

I’m surprised I’ve kept up with these linocuts so far. I never had this dedication when it came to drawing, and the results are satisfying and hopefully they’ll endure longer than a digicam snap. Hopefully I’ll keep cutting and printing. And hopefully Tricia sees this blog post and sees I’m sorry for being a brat and that I now wish I had stuck with printmaking.

I started to add color. I’m in deep now.

One other thing that’s been occupying my time is my impending wedding. We’ve finally set a date for May 30 2010. I’ll have just turned 30 years old. I can’t be 30 already can I?

The wedding will be at a charming little place called the Café Mozart in San Juan Capistrano. It has a nice little European flavor, a beautiful little courtyard to get married, plus it’s great for couples who value frugality.

Last night we got into gear and dressed in our casual best in order to make some save the date cards that would include a photo of the both of us. I almost wanted to hire a professional to do this because taking a photo of yourself, let alone two people, can be difficult. It would have to be posed, no spur of the moment chance, or split second windows of time in which our love would explode on the sensor. But the results were pretty good regardless (plus we saved a few hundred dollars by doing it this way…. seriously some photographers charge $600 for engagement photos).

At first we went to a regional park, but I wasn’t feeling the location. Plus it was still a bit too bright out for Kelly’s sensitive eyes. But later on we went to another park closer to home where things started clicking.

I tried using my strobe but, again, it’s difficult to use (I should really REALLY take a workshop on artificial lighting). The natural light at the time was just about perfect luckily, although I had to use a higher ISO. Plus, because I was setting the timer and rushing to the camera, I had no idea how we appeared in the frame so I had to crop a fair bit as a result. But it should all be fine in a 4×6 or even a 5×7. The real question now is which one to send out?

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Anyway, I’ve been going there to snap some timed exposures of the waves. It’s a pretty messy business and I always end up wet or slimy. But I always have fun.

The first shot in this series was done a couple of weeks ago. I was unsatisfied with it to a certain extent because I felt it was a bit underexposed, and I wasn’t used to the developer (HC110). So I went back this past weekend to snap a few more shots with Pan F Plus (iso 50). I got even wetter and dirtier than before. That’s OK though, I liked a few of the shots. However, I did somehow make a nasty scratch into the emulsion of the first frame. Luckily, with the magic of photoshop, you can’t notice!

I have a Zero Image 135 pinhole camera that I bought on a whim appearing soon. My fiance had better come home soon from the east coast or else I may buy more camera gear to keep my mind occupied.

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The films I used this weekend were Arista Premium 400 (which is rebadged Tri-X) and Adox 25. Yes, iso 25 film. Super slow, super fine grained. I think I’ve come to the conclusion, when it comes to 35mm at least, that I’d refer using a higher speed film like Tri-X (which is a versatile film that I feel captures the essence of 35mm photography) or a super fine grained film like Adox/Efke or Ilford Pan F plus (which is suitable for big enlargements and detailed work). ISO 125 films like Plus-X just seems so mendium-grained and nothing special in this small format. I also don’t think I should bother shooting color in 35mm any more either - I’m always much more satisfied with color results in medium format.

As for the content of these test shots: Last weekend the coast of Orange County was hit by a deluge of killer waves. Life guards were extra busy and when I was there they were compelled to close the beach. That didn’t stop spectators from looking at the giant waves as you’ll see. The biggest of the waves occured at the jetty in Newport Beach called “The Wedge”. Which was a great locale for people-watching and street (or in this case beach) photography.

The second set is from a local traile called Santiago Oaks canyon where I used the Adox 25. I kept my tripod in tow when I used filters which wasn’t exactly a succesful endeavor because the camera’s meter doesn’t seem to respond to it correctly. I’ll have to compensate the exposure by a full stop next time.

And the last set was a shoot with my favorite model - my fiance. I’m such a lucky guy.

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Back at the start of the month I had the idea I should employ the services of a model to expand my skill set. I made an inquiry as to where to acquire one at my usual haunt at RangeFinderForum.com and they pointed me to ModelMayhem.com. Within a day or two of joining a model named Maile and I set a time for a shoot.

Since she was an inexperienced model, and me an inexperienced photographer when it comes to these things, I think we were well matched. Although, looking back at the work, I think I still have much to learn when it comes to photographing a model. One of the elements to that is I need more equipment. At least a decent reflector.

I haven’t made any progress since that weekend I signed up at the site. Personally I think it’s a very outdated site with all the sophistication of MySpace circa 2005.

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It was a shame because I liked the lens on the camera, I like some of the shots I was able to salvage from my tests. Then I thought, “Why limit myself with two fixed-lens rangefinders in my kit, when I could enjoy more artistic freedom with an SLR system?”

And so I headed to OCCamera to see what they had. I was particularly interested in the Olympus OM1, because, well, I’ve been using Olympus cameras lately. But when I saw the OM1 in person I knew I had to have it. Very compact for an SLR, low mirror vibration, quiet shutter, durable, and impressively designed. It contrasted sharply with the Minolta SRT200 I have, especially in regards to noise and mirror slap.

I started with a roll at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and loved the quality of the results from the common 1:1.8 50mm Zuiko lens. I used some Arista Premium 100 (there are rumors floating around that it’s actually Plus-X), but I left the new orange filter I got on the lens the whole time, foolishly and unnecessarily.

This past week I shot a roll of the AP400 (purported to be Tri-X) and pulled out a nice self portrait as seen below. On Friday it was a roll of AP100 in Old Towne Orange, developed in Rodinal. This series is mainly a sequence of shapes that struck me on my walk. I also snapped a shot of my lovely fiance at Æ’1.8, to test the lens wiiiiide open - the focus on her eyes while her face fades into the creamy bokeh really struck me.

Finally, I tried out some color with the new Ektar 100 yesterday at Quail Botanical Gardens while we scouted out wedding locations. Since no reputable photo shops are open on Sunday, I went to CVS to process the negs. I know, I know, I know, I was really taking chances. But I knew I was taking a risk, and I also knew that the processing would take 20 minutes and not 2 hours-plus like the places I usually go to.

Anyway, I went into CVS, dropped off the roll, and when I returned the clerk said he put my negs in “The little plastic thing.” meaning the canister. When he said this I knew there would be a bunch of fingerprints on the negatives. My suspicious were confirmed when I went home and saw a variety of smudges along with water spots. So I reeled up the roll into my 35mm tank and tossed in some Photo Flo and distilled water. That seemed to do the trick. Scanning was another matter entirely, I must’ve spend over an hour trying to get things to my satisfaction before I could get a workflow going. But all-in-all I was happy from what I was able to pull from the Ektar roll. The film is, however, very high contrast (or it only looks good if high contrast, in my opinion). We’ll see how it performs with some 160NC… and more Tri-X… and, well, with just about anything. Awesome camera, awesome fun.

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