Photojournal of Phase 1 = Level 1 = Utah Winter Photos

by The Hippy Coyote

I just started scanning into this section of my dozen boxes of negatives and slides one year ago... then a thousand other projects took priority.

My 35mm film is aging. Keeping it a cool temperature helps, but it is turning purple. All 35mm film changes. It's based upon chemical reactions.

That's why I ALWAYS refrigerated or froze my film IMMEDIATELY after a shoot. Even if I had to wait until I came home -- I'd pop the film in the freezer. That was to stop the chemical reaction of light and silver nitrate. I'm not going to explain it. I understand it, but I never had to deal with it much.

Of the 300 rolls of Black & White film I've shot, only about a dozen rolls were processed by me. Well, you probably don't know, but in the old days, a "real" black and white photographer took control of every step of the process of developing and printing.

Some color photographers tried to do the same thing, but the toxic chemicals in color film developing are so toxic and obnoxious and expensive and require temperature regulation, automation, a large space, adequate ventilation... whereas, black and white photo developing could be set up in any bathroom in about 5 minutes, if you have all the stuff required.

Plus, I was an expert photographer -- not an expert chemical film processor. My thousands and thousands of "thanks" go to my buddies at Alan's Custom Lab, conveniently across the street from the Hollywood Post Office I also visited weekly.

So, "Thank you Helene," my main Printer at Alan's lab. And thanks to all the cool people who worked there, like, Kendell. "Thanks."

Black and white photography has gone the way of the cassette. Perhaps I am fortunate to have lived at the end of the photography generation. I experienced color photography, black & white photography, infrared photography, cinematography...I was a lighting director for MTV and music videos, I was a Director of Photography for a black & white samurai short movie, i was special effects production assistant for Cinesong and Apogee...

I had some wonderful and incredible jobs and experiences in photography.

The end of my photography? Utah.

I was stranded in Utah. That first year, I kept taking photos at my normal pace. I'd shoot between 3 and 13 rolls a week. The cost of shipping the film back and forth to Los Angeles from Salt Lake City, Utah, wasn't too expensive, but more than I could afford SINCE I COULDN'T GET A JOB and my girlfriend dumped me -- after claiming she would book me in some cool places in Salt Lake and Park City... ******* I just wanted to cuss. ********

Okay. Anyway. Now I'm starting to get pissed off thinking about that year in Utah. It was a horrible, miserable year, and it was the end of my photography career. I really loved my Nikon. Thanks.

Focusing On Photoshop

I've been using Photoshop since 1999. I'm still a novice.

I had a conversation with a friend of mine who does matte paintings for movies. Before I left for Utah he was famous for his ability to make paint look so real in movies. I hung out with him sometimes and he explained his matte painting techniques. Rocco Gioffre is his name. I'd better call him up and warn him he's in here now.

Rocco explained how things are blurred in the parts of the image we aren't focused on. I totally related to this as a photographer who would later become very adept at adjusting and manipulating the "depth of field" by using different types of lenses, shooting at different lens speeds to use different apertures...which creates shallower or deeper depths of field. Depth of field, is the range of distance from you and your main photography subject that is in focus. What is closer becomes blurrier and and what is farther aways becomes blurrier.

After coming back from Utah I connected with Rocco again. Much to my surprise he no longer works with brushes. He does everything in Photoshop. He inspired me a lot as he helped me look at Photoshop as an extension of myself... I'm getting closer. He told me to get a Wacom tablet. I am looking forward to following his advice.

The above picture is the original version of my album cover. Check out the final artwork to see how I repainted my face in Photoshop.

The Hippy Coyote

Not FIred Up About FIreWorks Program

I'm still not fired up about Fireworks.

I've started using Adobe Illustrator the past couple years.

I'm getting the hang of it. It's not so bad. My signmaker told me to use it to create OUTLINE FONTS which become scalable to any size.

 THC

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