Fabulous Muscles

A “Road Trip” sounds more interesting than it really was, if I wasnt asleep on a bus, I was photgraphing trees, trucks or trains.

Left shortly after I arrived.

Peak Imaging have increased their prices, £4.04 plus P&P for a 35mm roll. Of course there are cheaper places to get them done, but scratches on the negative is almost always guaranteed. I’m told Asda can process for just £1.50 next day service & £1.99 for one hour and there are places just as cheap on-line.

An alternative solution is to develop at home. Use the same tanks and equipment as you would for B&W, just buy a C-41 kit ( available from Silver Print). If you’ve done black and white before the only real difference is you need to keep the temperature constant and making up the solutions will take you an extra 5 minutes. The cost per roll is a little over £1 if you follow the recommended number of rolls per litre, but imagine you could keep using them till there is a deterioration in quality.

Obviously the end result is not the same as you get from a pro lab, so probably more suited to Lomo / Holga / Cross Process users than those who are trying to keep variation to a minimum.

Image of Mungxi Zhang developed using Colortex C41Negative kit

Have always been a big fan of Jens Windolf, so when I got the opportunity to photograph an abandoned laboratory his images were in the back of my head. Having scanned two rolls (20 images) have come to the conclusion “I am no Jens Windolf”

He’s elusive on Flickr, so when this link is no longer active, try here.

Not having a steady income, hasn’t stopped me from shooting film.

Instead I get out more, taking random busses, getting off when the area gets more interesting.

More importantly they are all shot with black & white film and home developed.

Full set here.

Incidently, if you’re interested in having your photo taken, mail me : eamonlane at gmail dot com

Over the weekend of 31 Jan - 01 Feb, Carlo Nicora and I photographed 1,000 people as part of a project to create a true portrait of Britain.

No attempt was made to glamorise what we saw, stopping everyone who crossed our path. We asked the same question fifteen hundred times and succeeded in capturing an image every 40 seconds.

Shot with a Nikon F90X and 50mm f1.4 lens using Kodak Elite 100 slide film, so it has a physical aspect to it. Currently looking for somewhere suitable to present it.

All 1,000 may be viewed at www.thousandportraits.com and there is even a video.

If you are one of the people who was photographed over the weekend you can download a copy here.

Asakusa Portraits by Hiroh Kikai inspired me to shoot people in black and white. Despite using the same camera and even one of similar age that’s where the similarities end.

Over 20 years Kikai photographed about 600 people using temple walls in Asakusa as a backdrop for his pictures. His criteria for picking the person to photograph is simply “I look for people who just can’t be ignored”

I can imagine spending 20 years on this project, but more than happy to continue on for a few months. As for a criteria to be included in the set “If you’re on the beach as I walk past, I will ask you”

Incidentally, if you’re one of the people in this set and you’d like a print, get in touch and I’ll send you one for free.

Recently I’ve concentrated on more theme based projects, photographing a lot of people and printing images that I think are worth viewing large. For nearly 4 years I’ve posted images to a Flickr account, you’ll find a set of 860 photos of random people I’ve asked to photograph and everything else that caught my eye.

The latest project will be available to view on the 1st March at ThousandPortraits.Com

If you happen to be free sometime between the 27th Feb to 27th Mar you may consider spending an hour or two at L’Keg Gallery. On display will be a selection of images from “La Pura Vida’s : Can’t Pay the Rent” Flickr pool, and yes, you have the oppertunity to buy them.

If you can’t afford the $100 to buy a F.M. print, or don’t happen to live in L.A. you can always keep an eye out for images appearing on this page. Be the first to comment and you’ll get a print for free.

London Calling Photographers will be hosting a debate ” Know your rights: Facing the police crackdown on public photography ” on Wednesday Feb 4.

The list of speakers is impressive as it is the first time Professional photography bodies and the Metropolitan Police will meet in public to discuss the apparent crack-down on public photography.

Oliver Laurent : News Editor of the British Journal of Photography.
Superintendent David Hartshorn :  Metropolitan Police Public Order Branch.
Jeff Moore :  Chairman of the British Press Photographer’s Association.

More details can be found on the London Calling Photographers homepage.

Met up with David last night and threw around the idea of going to Iran for a week in March. The reasons are obvious

“Drinking alcohol is illegal, and if seen by police may be met with punishment. Of course, you will not find any place in Iran that openly sells alcohol. Drinking is, however, common among some of people especially during parties and weddings. An interesting item of trivia is that both wine and distilled spirits are believed to have first originated in Iran. Non-alcoholic drinks are widely available. ”

Getting someone to pay for the flights in return for images would be ideal. May spend some time writing a letter or two.

Image by Joni