Testing out the Voigtlander Bessa L camera and Voigtlander Snapshot-Skopar 25mm f4 lens at the park. Perfect street photography combo!
March 19, 2012
March 8, 2012
February 28, 2012
Candid shot of President Barack Obama on the 2008 campaign trail (Roanoke, VA).
Remember this guy?
I took this photo back in 2008 in Roanoke, VA. President Obama (well…he wasn’t president quite yet) was making his way south and I was able to catch him in Roanoke, only a couple hours from my home in Greensboro, NC.
I really like this photo for a few reasons (in no particular order):
- This was the first time I had ever entered an event as “PRESS”. A big deal for me at the time, especially considering I was getting front row seating during a political rally for a man who became our first black president. I felt like I was taking part in history. Bumping shoulders with big name press photographers was also a highlight for me.
- I have the negatives for this day. When it’s important (and even when it’s not, haha), I shoot film. In this case, a few rolls of expired Fuji 800 Press film.
- I took a lot of photos this day, but this one stands out to me because of the relaxed and casual nature of it. When I look at this photo I see a real person, not a political celebrity…not the soon-to-be leader of the free world…a real person. Politicians are so serious (wait until you see the photos I took of Senator John McCain), moments like this are what helps people like me really relate to a candidate. Some may say that Obama won the election because he won the people.
I look forward to sharing more of my 2008 campaign photos, with the upcoming presidential election excitement is building in the United States…I think it’s exciting to look back on 4 years ago!
Shot with a Nikon F5 and 200mm f/2.8 lens on Fuji Press 800 film.
February 18, 2012
"To dare is to lose one’s footing momentarily. To not dare is to lose oneself."
— Soren Kierkegaard
February 18, 2012
It’s such a beautiful day today (spring is coming!), thought I’d share one of my favorites from last summer.
Miles and “BoomPop” on the beach, making drip castles.
I love the peace we all find near the water.
Shot with a Mamiya 645 (super) and 80mm/2.8 lens on Kodak Portra 400 (220)
February 13, 2012
Picked up a Leica CL to use while the M4-P is off for repair. So far it seems like quite the bargain.
Yes, it’s made by Minolta technically, but certainly has the feel of a Leica. Advance and shutter are silky smooth, and no plastic!
I really like the front mounted shutter speed dial, shutter speed indicator in the viewfinder,the easy film loading, and the fact it’s SO SMALL.
Seems, so far, like this would be a great camera for starting out with rangefinders.
February 7, 2012
I love shooting blues musicians.
Ron is no exception. He’s been performing for more years than I have been alive (I’m 30) and has developed quite a unique style for the genre.
In fact, developing that style is a concept that is the cornerstone of Ron as a person. He’s an inspiring influence in that he encourages finding yourself - your style - your vision. Basing your craft on another artist is fruitless - when you find yourself, and only then, will you truly shine.
I shot this photo while on set shooting a commercial for CatHead Vodka - what a great night. I really think his expression captures the Ron we all know and love. He’s one of the happiest guys I’ve ever met - and incredibly talented.
Check him out at Music Maker here: http://www.musicmaker.org/artists_profile/Ron-Hunter
Look for more coming soon, I have quite the stockpile of photographs from several different Blues musicians and look forward to sharing them with you all.
Shot with a Nikon F100 and 50mm f/1.4 lens on Kodak Tri-X 400 film developed in Rodinal 1:50
January 3, 2012
A new series from A.E. Pearson Photography - “Beautiful Bride”
It’s tempting to blog a whole ton of images from a wedding. Look around, it’s really common these days amongst portrait and wedding photographers.
But…I really like simplicity. To me, there is a lot to be said about breaking down a wedding or portrait session into the few images that really stand out.
So, that’s what this “Beautiful Bride” thing is all about. What I’ll try to do is pick only a few images from every wedding and blog them as single images - maybe some pairs (you have probably noticed I’m a big fan of pairing images).
On to the image…
This is Stephanie. Stephanie is someone very dear to me, an amazing woman with an amazing husband (Stephen) - I love them both very much. When she asked me to photograph her wedding it was an instant “YES!”, her and her musician husband both have a strong eye for photography and I was really honored to have been asked.
It was a beach wedding on Oak Island, in the middle of summer this year in North Carolina.
Stephanie and her family have been vacationing at Oak Island since she was too young to remember. They always stayed in the same house…every year. There was no better place to have her wedding and reception.
This photo is set in a small bedroom on the ground level of the house, this is where Stephanie dressed. This particular moment was one of my favorites. This is the moment of stillness when everything is done - down to the last tiny detail - and Stephanie walks out the door, down the beach, and into the arms of her husband.
It’s that moment when what’s about to happen becomes real. And, that’s what I see in her smile, and her eyes.
I like the simplicity of it. Her hair, her subtle makeup, her dress, the wine glass…it’s just right I think.
Images like this really illustrate what shooting film, to me, is all about. It’s “real”, authentic. The color, the tonality, everything. There are no tricks, no Photoshop filters, actions, or effects…and she looks gorgeous. Because she IS.
It’s easy to get caught up in trends in photography, ESPECIALLY in the wedding and portrait world, so how about loading up an old film camera and just stepping back for a minute…slow yourself down. It’s freeing to let go of the LCD preview screen, memory cards, and instant feedback.
Shot with a Nikon F5 and 50mm f/1.4 lens on Kodak Portra 400 film developed at TheDarkroom.
January 1, 2012
My Nikon F3 fell victim to my 4 year old son. Landed right on the corner of the viewfinder!
Think I’ll disassemble and see if I can bang it back out with some hammering.
This thing is a tank, but has its weak points…good think replacements are cheap!
December 26, 2011
holdinghandsisoverated-deactiva asked: thanks for all the help! just looked through your site, amazing shots! do you have to do much processing once they come back from the lab? also when shooting portra 400, do you always shoot it at 400 or are you confident going to 800 if you're inside without flash? i'm so nervous showing off my work, i hate doing it as i don't think any of my pictures are up to standard. Thanks!
Thank you Mark, greatly appreciated :)
I send my film to thedarkroom.com and when I get my scans back they are almost always perfectly color corrected and certainly always free of dust spots (the dust spot problem is a big deal…spot-free scans save you TONS of time).
The only time I really have to do any sort of “processing” are the times when I am shooting in mixed lighting conditions (so, like tungsten/light bulb, fluorescent, etc.). Sometimes those scans come out reddish or green.
You can avoid having to do any color correction by correcting for color “in camera”…meaning, you can use color correcting filters on your lens! (you know, the kind that screw on to the end of your lens) Your 50mm f/1.8 lens takes a VERY common lens filter size (52mm) and nobody these days really does color correction this way anymore which makes these filters REALLY cheap on the used market (I buy all my used stuff from keh.com). You can carry around a couple color correcting filters in your pocket that will allow you to completely avoid color correction AFTER you shoot the image. This is the old school, and proper, way to do it.
Here is some more information about color correction filters and color temperature…pretty useful stuff:
http://www.aeimages.com/learn/color-correction.html
The other option is to simply color correct with computer software (I use Adobe Lightroom for all my photography stuff…its a killer program).
I am MORE than confident rating Portra 400 at 800ASA (make sure you have the lab push 1 stop!). In fact, here are some personal examples of Portra 400 pushed to 3200ASA (wow!):
http://aepearson.tumblr.com/post/13226177096/kodak-portra-400-pushed-to-3200-portraits-a
http://aepearson.tumblr.com/post/13408548025/kodak-portra-400-pushed-to-3200-another-example
Also, something I’m still learning is that the worst thing you can do as a photographer is keep your work to yourself! Let the world see, get it out there as much as you can! Don’t be shy - and don’t worry about perfection.
You are only a failure if you fail to learn from your own “mistakes”. That’s the truth. I have made more embarrassing mistakes than I can count, in fact I could probably write a damn book haha.
Cheers, -Drew
(PS: I’m going to answer this question publicly because I think you raise some good questions and maybe this reply could be helpful to more photographers.)
December 25, 2011
Merry Christmas everyone! Spending today with family, opening presents, eating LOTs of food…and just having a joyous time.
Best wishes to you and yours,
-Drew
December 23, 2011
Happy 4th Birthday to my son Miles, in B&W.
A photo set dedicated to the 4th anniversary of the most momentous day of my life. December 23rd, 2007. The day my son, Miles was born.
Above-left : Me prepped for entrance into the operating room where he was born.
Above-right : This is the standard spot for fathers to wait while the mother is prepped for surgery. That little bench is where I sat, sleep deprived, sweating under my arms, and nervous to the point of dizziness. Waiting on Miles. This photo means a lot to me, although seemingly “simple”.
Above : Miles’ first breath. Starting now, I documented every day for the first year of his life with one roll of film each day. You should see the stack of negatives…literally hundreds of rolls…and hundreds of hours invested. Every milestone documented, starting with this breath.
Above-left : The entrance to the operating room where Miles was born, the station to the right is where his doctor prepped for surgery. I watched that door for the slightest movement…waiting to be called in and witness my son.
Above-right : Miles has arrived. This is the crucial first few seconds where signs of life are verified, toes and fingers are counted, and Miles learned to breathe oxygen.
Above : 6lb, 12oz. My mom (Miles’ grandma) can be seen through the glass.
Happy birthday, son. Love - Dad
All photos shot with a Nikon F80 and 50mm f1.8 lens. Kodak Tri-X film rated at 1600ASA and developed in Kodak XTOL (1:1) for 13m 15s.
December 22, 2011
Looking for some more film photographers on Tumblr…
Please feel free to reply with some links. Would love to see what other film-shooting-Tumblr’ers are up to.
-Drew
Anyone?
December 22, 2011
Happy Birthday to me, my new Diana MINI. Holy crap is this thing cool.
So, I had my 30th birthday recently. December 14th to be exact. Sort of a depressing time honestly. Everyone says life doesn’t really begin until your 30’s…I’ll take their word for it.
The silver lining however was this gift. A new Diana Mini!
And, oh man is this thing cool!
Shoots half frame or square. I am a HUGE fan of the half-frame format. Since I shoot 99.9% vertical images, the half-frame format works out quite nicely…oh and you get 72 exposures on a standard 35mm roll of film (if you select the square format, with a little switch on the back of the camera, you get 36 exposures).
I have yet to process my first roll, but I can say it’s VERY well built. Much better than I would expect from any plastic “toy” camera.
I’ll post up a more in-depth review once I have some images (taken by the camera) to show.
Until then, I recommend you buy one anyway.
Look how tiny it is next to a “real” Diana (I say “real” because the Diana next to it is the full-size model, and it’s a REAL Diana…meaning an original, not one of the reproductions sold now). At 6’4” tall, I look like a total goof taking photos with this camera, I can fit it in the palm of my hand…it’s tiny.
If you want to check out some photos from the full-size Diana, CLICK HERE. (and feel free to “like” my business page on Facebook while you’re at it!) Notice the excessive light leaks…true trademark of a “real” vintage Diana (and, yes, I even taped it up haha).
This photo was shot with a Nikon F100, 50mm f/1.4 lens, on Tri-X (rated at 1600 and processed in Rodinal).
December 19, 2011
Something worth getting VERY excited about - Collodion Quartely
I have always wanted to try my hand at wet plate photography. It’s one of the most visually stunning of the “alternative process” methods I’ve ever seen (and, yes, that’s in quotes for a reason haha). And it goes back…waaaaay back. Photographers have been using this process for 150 years.
I believe it was the process that replaced the Daguerreotype as a matter of fact (which pre-dates the Collodion process obviously).
To me what makes the process so interesting, besides the images themselves, is the real hands-on skill it requires to pull it off.
In the digital age we’re quickly leaving behind the craft of photography and replacing it with the craft of wearing a hole in your desk with a computer mouse.
Anyway…
I found something really interesting, and something that made me really hopeful today:
Check out the “Collodion Quarterly” Kickstarter page here.
This is the first time I have EVER donated my hard-earned cash to any “cause” on the web. I’m anxiously awaiting the first issue!
Also wondering if I could manage to use my 4x5 field camera for this process. I really don’t know much at this point about the sizing of the plates, but hopefully making them in 4x5 size isn’t too hard for a beginner.
