Making my way through developing and scanning my Scotland photos. Learned how not resilient of a stock Pan F is, which gave a lot of extra texture in the negative, but it kinda fits the mood. Just as we thought our clothes were finally dry for the plane ride home, we got DUMPED on with a sudden rainstorm. But we took turns with the hotel hair dryer and hey a little rain dont hurt.
Scotland definitely has made it to the top of my list. It was such a clean, gorgeous, and welcoming country.
Anyone have tips for tacky film? I’m thinking if I ever encounter a roll that was as bad as this one I’ll dry it in a tent before developing so it is less likely to stick to itself. I lost two frames from one roll, which I consider a win because it was sticking everywhereee. See if you can spot my fingerprint in one of these and you’ll see what I mean. :)
Also this was the maiden voyage of my Hasselblad!! I bought it off a former Warner Brothers Studio photographer and had it fixed up. The body was in rough shape so I bit the bullet on some CLA, but I replaced the light seals on the mags myself. I shot and processed so many test rolls before I left it brings me great joy that it all came together in the end and an incredible camera from the late 1950s will live to shoot on.
I took these photos in May, four months after the fires broke out, and have been sitting on them since. I feel at a loss with them. How do you distill such a tragic event into a few squares on the internet? I made myself a voice memo on the drive home. I'm sharing because I had people ask me, "was it really that bad?" Yes, it was really that bad.
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It is a town of vest-wearers and voyeurs.
There is a slow crawl of police making sure
the passerbys getting their instagram videos aren’t up to trouble.
It is a town of temporary infrastructure
that's going to be around for a while.
The houses say, “Altadena is not for sale,”
but the signs say otherwise.
Houses that are still standing have no trespassing signs
or insurance company advertisements.
The lots of rubble have no signs.
Dump Trucks are to and fro.
Cars are lifted away on forklift
House numbers are tagged on the remains of the car in the driveway,
the empty aerosol cans chucked into the car’s shell.
Materials melt into unusual forms.
Chimneys and bathrooms and tiles remain
but the china is broken, the concrete is cracked,
the metal, contorted.
The air tastes wrong.
The crow makes a different noise.
Yet bees buzz and plants grow and flowers bloom
out of the garden of toxic soil
adjacent to walls of asbestos flopping over.
It is disquieting.
The town has lost its soul.
Had a great time shooting this promo for the upcoming western, 7 Spurs! It kept me busy in the darkroom: b&w, e6, and even tintype chemistries were stirred up (lol) for this batch. Hard to believe we knocked this all out in one morning, and the clouds opened up for a brief rainstorm after. Looking forward to helping bring more from this world to life, stay tuned. :)
🌟📸 Behind the Scenes of Our Tintype Shoot!
Our talented photographer @accoyle has taken us through the fascinating process of developing the film! And special thanks to @jessicatillforever for assisting with the development.
Step One: Check out the behind-the-scenes footage showcasing the delicate process of film development. Patience is key as we let the film develop and dry, revealing its beauty only when the light shines just right. 🌅✨
Step Two: Stay tuned for the stunning tintypes that will bring 7 Spurs to life! We can’t wait to share the final results with you!
Thank you for being part of this incredible journey! 🤠❤️ #7Spurs #Tintype #BehindTheScenes #FilmDevelopment #7Spurs #7SpursFilm #7SpursInTheatres #Western #WesternOscar #Oscar #Actor #Indie #Feature #FeatureFilm #Cowboys #Cowgirls #Streaming #BoxOffice
I didn’t know it in the moment when I asked to take most of these peoples’ portraits, but I would get to know them all pretty well in the following few years. Time has flown. Some of these birds have passed. But I’ve gotten to share experiences with these falconers and become connected to my local ecology in a way I would have otherwise overlooked. I’m grateful for these connections and that I can now call these people friends.
Five years in LA and three historic events. I’m exhausted. And that doesn’t even come close to how those on the front lines must feel. Or those who have lost so much. I’ve tried to carve out some sense of normalcy this week, but it’s hard. Dinner with a friend includes parking with your car full of evac supplies in sight so you can watch for looters. Masks are back. The quiet silence of a neighborhood without power and ash slowly falling is eerie. My satellite Garmin plan is active, power banks are charged, and ladders are near the roof for fire fighter access if needed. I cannot wait to stop checking the fire maps and air quality reports. It’s a depressing when your predictions of firenadoes come true, and you learn you can see the Palisades all the way from the North Valley. But I am so grateful that we are ok and for all the people who have checked in and offered support. Counting my blessings and taking this one day at a time.
A short weekend in J Tree was a great reminder of how rejuvenating it is to spend time in the desert with big skies and nice rocks. Crazily, it was my first time out there. Definitely won’t be the last.
Never got around to the “flooding your feed with film sets” challenge, until now. I’m so thankful for this bizarre world I work in. For the incredible sights I’ve seen and places I’ve had the privilege to be. For the people to laugh with when the day gets long. For the friends who have supported me through the anxious times and uncertain times. I feel like I’ve gotten to live many lifetimes in a short time and I look forward to what a new year brings.
At 148 days, it was a week shy of the longest WGA strike ever. But the reality is the strike began before it started. Work slowed significantly at the start of the year. With SAG still striking, it will be time before any work for the crew picks up.
It's been a heck of a three years in LA, but I wouldn't have changed it. Last year I was lucky enough to travel to three countries for work, to meet incredible people, and learn skills I wouldn't have had the opportunity to back home.
To my crew friends, the end is near. Stay strong and keep adapting. The ever changing nature of our job is what can make it so thrilling, and finding a solution is what we do best.
The last day of our trip felt very anticlimactic. We were the only campers at an unassuming carpark. A neighbor came over to say hello. We walked through the small strip of town, already closed for dinner, and packed our bags for the return journey home.
Weird day. Power lines blew up after a tree fell on them last night. Snow on the mountains in LA. Thinking of how hot I was in the Shire not that long ago!
