jbhphoto.com Blog

Dec

2013

A NEW ILFORD MULTIGRADE FIBRE BASE FAMILY

More good news about Ilford traditional products.

PRESS ROOM STORY

BORN, ESTABLISHED, DEVELOPED! … A NEW ILFORD MULTIGRADE FIBRE BASE FAMILY
4th December 2013

BORN, ESTABLISHED, DEVELOPED! … A NEW ILFORD MULTIGRADE FIBRE BASE FAMILY
ILFORD PHOTO announce a new range of variable contrast Baryta Fibre Base papers, a completely new and improved MULTIGRADE FB and a new COOLTONE FB paper to complement the existing MULTIGRADE FB WARMTONE.

For 20 years the best selling ILFORD MULTIGRADE IV FB paper has been the product of choice for creative photographers and printers the world over. BORN following extensive R&D, significant improvements have been made to the product that is now renamed ILFORD MULTIGRADE FB CLASSIC. The new paper is available in Glossy and Matt surfaces and offers sharper images, improved maximum density and shorter exposure times. The new MULTIGRADE FB CLASSIC has also been developed to better respond to traditional toning techniques than the product it replaces.

More info here: http://www.ilfordphoto.com/pressroom/article.asp?n=174
and here: http://www.ilfordphoto.com/products/producttype.asp?n=5&t=Photographic+Papers

Nov

2013

WADDAYA KNOW. . . FILM IS STILL NOT DEAD

This is a fascinating little film made by Indie Film Lab and sponsored by Kodak. Rather than try to explain it all, here is what they have to say;

Published on Nov 16, 2013

Earlier this year, Indie Film Lab took a trip from Montgomery, AL to Las Vegas, NV for the annual WPPI trade show. After we decided it would be more interesting to travel via RV than plane, we started planning our trip around the places we wanted to see. Originally, we had an idea to create a 5-10 minute video of our trip, for fun, then Kodak came on board and our project has turned into a 47 minute feature. The film has now turned the focus less on the trip, to more on the photographers themselves and why they shoot film. We can’t thank Kodak and all our friends who helped and supported us and our project. We hope you enjoy the film and are inspired to create things you truly care for, in a way you are truly passionate. Long Live Film.

You can find the film on YouTube at this address:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjtphPVchJI&feature=youtu.be

I suggest if you are a photographer or are interested in photography, that you sit down and take the time to watch this 47 minute video. Listen carefully to what the people are saying. Take note that those interviewed are not a bunch of old fogies “dinosaurs” that are bitter about film getting a bad rap. These are young, first generation digital only photographers that are beginning to realize that they have been lied to.

They are beginning to “get it!” They are realizing that digital is not a replacement for film. It is simply another art form. . . another way of working. Listen carefully to how nearly everyone interviewed talks about the look of film being different.

This is a breath of fresh air. Exactly what I was hoping would happen. . . the younger generation has suddenly discovered they have an alternative when it comes to their photographic art. You cannot hide the truth. Truth always rises to the top. Do not be fooled into thinking anything is a dead ringer replacement for anything else. You can bank on it!

Shoot digital. . . shoot film. . . it does not matter to me. Just don’t tell me film is dead and that digital is a replacement for film. Digital can not do everything film can, nor can film do everything digital can. Not so. . . choose your tools wisely. As Fred Picker used to say;

“Different Is Not The Same!”

JB

Nov

2013

RIES PHOTO CONTEST 2014

Susan and I are honored to have been chosen to be two of six judges for the first Ries Photo Contest sponsored by Ries Tripods. The sponsors hope to make this an annual event and that all depends on you entering your photographs. The theme of this contest is “HANDS” and is open to artistic interpretation.

Here is a quote from the contest web site;

We created this contest in the interest of promoting the art of photography. Please, be creative, have fun, and continue to pursue the passion. We also wanted this to count for something, so we are helping Operation Photo Rescue in conjunction with the 2nd place photo. Please visit their website & see if you can help. www.operationphotorescue.org

1st Place: Winners Choice – Tripod (A100, J100, or H100) and Head (A200, A250, J100, or J250. Custom Engraved with winners name.

2nd Place: A J100 tripod will be auctioned on E-Bay, with the proceeds going to Operation Photo Rescue in the name of the 2nd Place Winner.

3rd Place: A J100 tripod will be donated to the Photographic School of your choice as outlined in the rules, in the name of the 3rd Place Winner

Go to the RIES PHOTO CONTEST web site to enter. Here you will find the JUDGES. There is a $10.00 entry fee and you can find more information, the CONTEST RULES and ENTRY FORM.

We are looking forward to seeing your entries and hope you enjoy the contest!

JB

Oct

2013

UPSIDE DOWN

Seems that a large view camera always attracts curiosity. Everyone either gives you a long wondering look or asks questions about that big box on a tripod. Mostly they want to know how old the camera is and if you can still buy film. Is that a Hasselblad is a question that comes up from time to time?

For those that are truly interested, a peek under the dark cloth is always a good way to confuse them even more. The first thing they do is stick their nose right up against the ground glass. With that point blank view you see nothing. I have to explain that they need to back up. That it is like looking at a TV screen. After getting a good look they suddenly realize everything is upside down. I have to explain that it is also reversed left to right. Comments range from silence to questions about how can you do anything when the world is upside down and reversed? I usual just say that you get used to it and it becomes part of how you and the camera work.

The truth is, nothing will improve your overall composition more than looking at it upside down. It is a way to trick your left brain into shutting up and allowing your right brain to take over. The left brain is your engineering side. . . it deals with facts and figures. Your right brain is the creative side. . . it deals with form and shape. We are taught from an early age to be left brain dominant, so we get used to ignoring our creative side. The quickest way to shut your left brain up is to show it something it cannot readily identify. With the composition upside down, the right brain is in its natural environment and unimpeded by the chatter from the left side.

>With the inverted view on the ground glass it seems that the subconscious sees things that the conscious mind does not pick up on. I see things on the ground glass that are interesting, they have absolutely no meaning, yet there is something inside that says this is something of interest. There are abstract images that I have made that did not register until I looked at the proofs. There are times that something just calls out to be framed and photographed. It may have no rhyme or reason at the time of exposure, but later becomes something of great interest, even something totally different than originally envisioned.

Do not be afraid of the inverted image. It is one of the most powerful assets you have when making photographs. You will quickly get used to seeing things this way. It rapidly becomes part of your connection to the camera and your subject. Do I recommend you get one of those reflex viewing hoods that turn things back around? Absolutely NOT!

Quit fighting what comes naturally and allow your creativity to flow from within. Quit trying to analyze the subject and allow that inverted view to work its own magic. As I said earlier; Nothing will improve your overall composition more than looking at it upside down.
JB

15

Oct

2013

JBH PHOTOGRAPHY HOW-TO E-BOOKS
We are proud to announce that the JBH photography how-to book series is now available in e-book format. Each book has been revised and updated. This how-to book series has been created specifically for those interested in traditional large format fine art black & white film photography, practiced in the wet darkroom.

All four books are available for immediate download in PDF format to your computer.

SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER!
Purchase multiple e-books and save.

NOTE: A PayPal account is not required to purchase.
You can use your credit card without having or creating an account with PayPal.

Stop by our new BOOK STORE for more information and to purchase securely with PayPal.

JB

Posted by JB Harlin in Darkroom, DIY, Film, How-To, Photography

06

Oct

2013

CALL ME PRIMITIVE
I was recently reading about creativity, and I was captivated by a chapter titled, “THOUGHTS ON CREATIVITY” from the book “The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression” First Edition 1994, by Bruce Barnbaum p. 141.   He touches on things I have seen but have never really understood.

Barnbaum says that in Western art creativity is all about originality, where Eastern, or as he calls it “primitive art” is more about traditional methods of the original masters. He talks of how the primitive artist works toward the quality and style of the ancient masters, and how any departure is not acceptable in their culture.

Barnbaum goes on to talk about how the primitive art mindset is not in fashion, nor acceptable in Western art. How working in the style of past masters is seen as, “redundant, hollow, and meaningless.” He talks of how even using past known techniques is looked upon as mere “copies” and are deeply frowned upon. He further says that working in the style of past masters is “a good learning experience” yet is not accepted as anything of worth by Western civilization.

I see this a lot in our Western culture. Someone takes a hand full of cow dung and throws it at a canvas and it immediately becomes a fresh new art form. Personally, all I see is BS. I have to admit that there are a lot of things I do not understand. Jazz is another thing I can’t comprehend. . . several people all playing something different at the same time is not music to me. But, that is my personal take and mine alone.

I love the work of the past masters of photography and I fully intend to continue to produce my work in that style. It is what I like, and if you don’t please yourself, you are not going to be convincing to anyone else. Guess I will kick back and put on some Pink Floyd and contemplate making some more primitive photographs. . . maybe some more of those redundant, hollow, and meaningless copies.

So, you can call me PRIMITIVE. . .

JB

Posted by JB Harlin in Commentary, Photography

19

Sep

2013

ANOTHER WORLD
I was recently involved in a very serious discussion about photography. I was informed that the trend in photography today is for B&W prints to be light and airy. I was told that the deep blacks and brilliant whites I love so much are reminiscent of photography of the 1930’s and 1940’s and is not ‘in’ today. I was also informed that today’s trend is all about color images. I was given the impression that B&W is, in this so-called ‘modern’ world, sort of an ugly stepchild. At least, that was the impression I was given after a conversation with someone that is supposedly an ‘expert’ in the field.

Personally I have never been one to adhere to the current ‘trend’ or ‘fad’ nor do I give a rat’s rear about whatever is ‘in’ today. I have no interest in what is popular, nor in fashion. To be an artist you have to, first and foremost, be true to yourself. If you pander to the wishes of others, you will do little more than chase your tail trying to please everyone else. What is most important is to cater to your own vision. Truly meaningful images only occur when you have an internal connection to what you are photographing. If you are following some sort of fad, or the perceived wants of others, all you create are hollow nothings. This is what advertising photography is to me. I look at the images in magazines and TV commercials and all that is there for me is something visual to catch the eye for the purpose of selling something. My personal definition of salesmanship is, convincing someone to buy something they don’t want, don’t need, and can’t afford. I want nothing to do with this mindset. But I digress from my original thoughts.

I have a different view as to how I want to present my subject. I really wish I could find another planet to photograph. I want to show a world that is unseen by human eyes. This sort of thing being impossible, I have to resort to finding things that I can interpret in such a way as to portray them as otherworldly.

I have no interest in presenting a literal representation, but more literally, I am interested in, and strive to create, my interpretation of what I photograph. I love the abstract. I like to give my viewers a look at something they will not see every day. I have no interest in documenting the boring everyday. I wish I could visit another planet, another world, in another galaxy. But alas, I have to settle for making photographs that match my vision as best I can on this planet.

JB

Posted by JB Harlin in Commentary, Photography

11

Sep

2013

RIES TRIPODS NEW OWNERS
We have recently discovered that Ries Tripods has been sold and is now in full operation under new owners. Though the new company, Ries Productions LLC, may be a new startup, the new owners are in reality those that have operated the company for the last 16 years. The new company is located in Bremerton, WA in a newly remodeled facility.   In a recent exchange of e-mails with the new owners here is part of what they had to say about their new company;

Over the past year, we’ve been blessed with a city government that was very helpful in the remodel of our new building and factory.   Now that we have the capability to design, work with the CAD & CAM and have the new mill & lathe we’re no longer tied to the old castings and we are starting to move forward. We’ll be sending out emails to our customer that we have email addresses for as we introduce new products. For example, we will be laser engraving the Ries logo now instead of branding the legs. The coming months will bring announcements of custom lens boards, film holders, camera mounts, and film changing tents that will mount within the legs of the tripod.

It is extremely encouraging to see an old established company continuing to expand, headed by people that care about their customers and their products.   Ries Tripods was founded in 1936 and has established itself as the workhorse of the photographic tripods. We use both the ‘A’ and ‘J’ model Ries tripods, and would not consider anything else for our LF and ULF work. HERE is a video of their new Haas CNC machine making knobs.

Also, Ries Productions LLC recently sent out this mailing;

There are 167 million Big Game viewers. And they’ll all be watching my small business commercial on the 2014 Big Game. How am I going to get an ad on the Big Game, you ask? Easy, with your help, I’m going to win it from Intuit.

Intuit is giving a small business a TV commercial on the Big Game. I want that ad to belong to my small business. You can help make it happen. Just click here to vote for my business:   http://intuit.me/17dpVYZ.

If you are a Ries customer or not, you might want to vote for this small business.   The LF & ULF film community is a small, yet growing group of people. We need to always stick together and support those businesses that support us. This is an American owned company and their products are 100% Made In America. Take a moment to vote for Ries Productions LLC at the link above. Note, you can vote once a day.

JB

Posted by JB Harlin in Photography

08

Sep

2013

JOHN SEXTON & ANNE LARSEN VISIT TEXAS
This has been a really great long weekend for us here in the D/FW area of Texas.   John Sexton and his wife Anne Larsen came to Dallas for the opening reception of their joint exhibition at the Sun to Moon gallery, to hold a one-day seminar and an enlightening lecture, including a poster and book signing at Richland College. We are proud to say we attended all three events and had a wonderful time.

It was great to catch up with John and Anne.   We feel so fortunate to be able to spend two days saturated in photography. John is one of my favorite speakers and maybe I should say favorite photography speakers. His stories of working with Ansel Adams are always informative, interesting and funny. He is also a never-ending wealth spring of knowledge. He shares my deeply-felt philosophy of not having secrets. I believe I first heard, never photograph with anyone that has secrets, from Fred Picker, but I can assure you that John and Anne share this view. They also radiate an enthusiasm for photography that is contagious.

Susan and I, and the Metroplex as a whole, are certainly fortunate that John and Anne were able to visit and we hope they will be returning soon. Though, it might be well advised that they plan their next visit during cooler weather!

Again, Thank You John and Anne for a wonderful long weekend and we hope to see you both soon!

JB & Susan

John & Anne one-day seminar.

Anne discussing her photographs.

John telling the story of this photograph.

John at Richland College lecture.

Yes, we did get a personalized poster!

Posted by JB Harlin in Events, Photography

15

Aug

2013

I HATE COMPUTERS!
Guess it is time for one of my long rants. This time I am going to unload on computers. I will begin by saying I really hate computers. A computer is a machine and in being so, for me, it should perform a function. It should perform its assigned functions flawlessly and without me having to waste a lot of time coaxing it into working. I have been on this subject before and I think it is clear that about three years ago we set all of our PC-type boxes on the curb and went 100% Apple. This was the most intelligent move I have made in my life. Maintaining these machines has been a pleasure. I would estimate that I have spent 1/1000 of the time hassling with OS X as I did each year maintaining Windows. Never again!

Now this is where I start, that was just the background, in case you have not kept up with my rants. Once going Apple the only annoyance to me is the lack of support for OS X by some developers. It is an annoyance to have to run some form of Windows to gain access to several applications that are not supported. Fortunately for me, there are only about three applications that I have to hassle with. I have been able to somewhat use these apps by installing Windows XP using OS X BootCamp. They work, but not without some functions failing to perform. This has been a thorn in the side, but doable.

I understand how a very small company cannot afford to support two operating systems. I dearly love my BTZS apps and used them for graphs and plotting VC paper grades.   I whole heartily applaud Fred Newman and the View Camera Store for making this great software available and continuing to support it. The film community is a small dedicated group and we need more like Fred to help keep film alive.   By the way, did you know you can calibrate your enlarger to every VC paper you use? Take a look at my article HERE.

What I do not understand is how a multi-billion dollar company that sells their products in every corner of the world can refuse to support OS X? They do have the resources and should support their customers without discrimination to their choice in computer. I will not mention any names, but there is one very large company that is on my list. What list you ask? The one that says, would not buy water from these people if I were dying of thirst in the desert. That list! Trouble is, I use one of their products and it requires I use their software. Little I can do except complain. . . and I am not alone on this one. Yet this company refuses to listen. Oh Well!!!

We have struggled with BootCamp and I have to admit it does work pretty well. It is a pain to have to restart to switch operating systems though. An old friend of mine is an avid amateur astronomer and he has to have a copy of PhotoShop for manipulating the images he makes. Thing is, he is stuck with an older Windows copy of PhotoShop and refuses to pay to rent the latest version (this is a very sore subject from what I have heard from other photographers that use PS) and legal older versions of PS software is off the scale price-wise now days. This friend of mine and I have been searching for a more convenient way to run our old Windows apps on our Apple computers. Seems my buddy really got hot on the trail when this PS thing hit a few weeks back and did some serious research into a cost effective, working solution. Thanks to him, we found a working answer.

If you are in the same boat as my buddy and me, and are looking for a solution to running Windows apps on an Apple, at an affordable price, here you go. Take a serious look at VMWare Fusion. You can download a 30 day trial to make sure everything works for you. In my case, I had already installed BootCamp and it was extremely simple to add this working partition to Fusion. I had it all up and running, without having to reinstall any of the Windows apps, including Windows, in about thirty minutes. The real thing is, it just works. Even my network printer works now with my BTZS apps. I can run my Windows apps on my OS X desktop just like a native app. My buddy, never having installed a BootCamp partition, had to install everything new and this took him much longer, but he does report that PS and all of his astronomy apps run as expected.

Here is the link to VMWare Fusion. At this writing it will set you back $49.00 and if you dig around on the Internet you may find a $10.00 off coupon code like I did. As I said, I hate computers, but they are a necessity these days. It is just that computing shouldn’t be a life altering, time consuming, event when you need to do something.

Rant over. . . though my love/hate relationship with computers has not changed. Now back to photography, as Edward Weston said, “my favorite subject!”

JB

Posted by JB Harlin in Commentary, Non-Photographic

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More good news about Ilford traditional products.

PRESS ROOM STORY

BORN, ESTABLISHED, DEVELOPED! … A NEW ILFORD MULTIGRADE FIBRE BASE FAMILY 4th December 2013

BORN, ESTABLISHED, DEVELOPED! … A NEW ILFORD MULTIGRADE FIBRE BASE FAMILY ILFORD PHOTO announce a new range of variable contrast Baryta Fibre Base papers, a completely new and improved MULTIGRADE FB and a new COOLTONE FB paper to complement the existing MULTIGRADE FB WARMTONE.

More info here: http://www.ilfordphoto.com/pressroom/article.asp?n=174 and here: http://www.ilfordphoto.com/products/producttype.asp?n=5&t=Photographic+Papers

This is a fascinating little film made by Indie Film Lab and sponsored by Kodak. Rather than try to explain it all, here is what they have to say;

Published on Nov 16, 2013

You can find the film on YouTube at this address:

They are beginning to “get it!” They are realizing that digital is not a replacement for film. It is simply another art form. . . another way of working. Listen carefully to how nearly everyone interviewed talks about the look of film being different.

Shoot digital. . . shoot film. . . it does not matter to me. Just don’t tell me film is dead and that digital is a replacement for film. Digital can not do everything film can, nor can film do everything digital can. Not so. . . choose your tools wisely. As Fred Picker used to say;

“Different Is Not The Same!”

JB

Here is a quote from the contest web site;

1st Place: Winners Choice – Tripod (A100, J100, or H100) and Head (A200, A250, J100, or J250. Custom Engraved with winners name.

2nd Place: A J100 tripod will be auctioned on E-Bay, with the proceeds going to Operation Photo Rescue in the name of the 2nd Place Winner.

3rd Place: A J100 tripod will be donated to the Photographic School of your choice as outlined in the rules, in the name of the 3rd Place Winner

Go to the RIES PHOTO CONTEST web site to enter. Here you will find the JUDGES. There is a $10.00 entry fee and you can find more information, the CONTEST RULES and ENTRY FORM.

We are looking forward to seeing your entries and hope you enjoy the contest!

JB

Quit fighting what comes naturally and allow your creativity to flow from within. Quit trying to analyze the subject and allow that inverted view to work its own magic. As I said earlier; Nothing will improve your overall composition more than looking at it upside down. JB

All four books are available for immediate download in PDF format to your computer.

NOTE: A PayPal account is not required to purchase. You can use your credit card without having or creating an account with PayPal.

Stop by our new BOOK STORE for more information and to purchase securely with PayPal.

JB

Rant over. . . though my love/hate relationship with computers has not changed. Now back to photography, as Edward Weston said, “my favorite subject!”

JB

BORN, ESTABLISHED, DEVELOPED! … A NEW ILFORD MULTIGRADE FIBRE BASE FAMILY
4th December 2013

BORN, ESTABLISHED, DEVELOPED! … A NEW ILFORD MULTIGRADE FIBRE BASE FAMILY
ILFORD PHOTO announce a new range of variable contrast Baryta Fibre Base papers, a completely new and improved MULTIGRADE FB and a new COOLTONE FB paper to complement the existing MULTIGRADE FB WARMTONE.

More info here: http://www.ilfordphoto.com/pressroom/article.asp?n=174
and here: http://www.ilfordphoto.com/products/producttype.asp?n=5&t=Photographic+Papers

Quit fighting what comes naturally and allow your creativity to flow from within. Quit trying to analyze the subject and allow that inverted view to work its own magic. As I said earlier; Nothing will improve your overall composition more than looking at it upside down.
JB

NOTE: A PayPal account is not required to purchase.
You can use your credit card without having or creating an account with PayPal.