photographs
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
I had no idea when or how I was going to make this image, but I knew it was going to happen since I saw this monument during my first visit to Michigan City. A few weeks later, I finally had the chance.
I was fortunate enough to see and photograph these ancient trees during my last visit to the Eastern Sierra in California.
Read MoreCamera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
This photo was taken on this foggy day in San Francisco, near the Brigde Vista Point.
On the lower part of the image, Fort Point, a fort from the Civil War era. On top and separated by a layer of thick fog, the Golden Gate Bridge.
Camera and Lens: Rolleiflex 3.5F
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 1600
Developer: Ilfotec HC
During our stay in Palm Springs, California, I took a few walks around the town carrying only my Rolleiflex (you should always carry a camera with you!) and of course, I tried to make some images during such walks.
This is one of my favorites from those rolls, featuring two of the many palm trees you can find in the area, taken near or during sunset.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
Death Valley is one of my absolute favorite places to photograph, one where you can find a variety of subjects you can't find in many other places.
It's not easy to explain how that landscape makes you feel once you are there, scale is hard to comprehend. To call it "vast" is one thing, to see it in person is another. And I haven't even made it to the most remote parts of the park yet!
This was one of the last images I made that day, after hours of exploring, driving and hiking through the park. Just before sunset, at the very popular Mesquite Dunes.
They are indeed very popular, and it's hard to find dunes withouth footprints. I parked some half a mile away from the parking lot and walked to smaller but cleaner dunes, east of the bigger and more visited ones.
There I found plenty of unspoiled dunes (unspoiled for the last few days, at least) where I could play with the light and the patterns of the sand.
As you can see, I took this picture on the shaded side of the dune, where only part of the ripples were being bathed with light from the setting Sun.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150 f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D-76
This was the last photo I took in the mountains of Oregon, during blue hour on one of my last days in the state. We'd leave a few days later to start the American Road Trip and I haven't been back to what it used to be my backyard since then. 5 months! Time really flies.
As the title suggests, the mountain in the photo is Mt Jefferson, the second tallest peak in Oregon. To the left you can see the Three Sisters, farther south and containing the third tallest peak (which I climbed!). The image was taken from Mt Hood, the tallest of them all!
I struggled to make any images that day, I knew it was going to be my last day for a long time over there and I wanted to take advantage making images I hadn't made before. And while I didn't realize succeed at that, I still came back with a few pictures I like, like this one.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D-76
I love winter. And last week, winter came in the form of a foot of snow so I headed outside and tried to make the best of it.
It was mostly car photography: you don't want to walk on the road when the shoulders are covered in snow and ice, and anything that is not pavement is private property.
But I was able to capture some cool scenes, like this tree. I can't tell you where I took it, somewhere in a radius of 30 miles from Goshen, but I was lucky to find it and to have the time to get out of the car and take it.
More winter photos coming soon, in the meanwhile, you can see more photos of Indiana.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 250mm f/5.6
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
If you've watched the video from San Francisco, you know I had to visit San Francisco a few times, and drive to Marin Headlands 4 mornings in a row to get this shot.
I wanted to make an image of the Golden Gate, at sunrise, with the fog. And while the bridge is always at the same place and sunrise happens always at the same time, the fog is more elusive. Persistence paid off though.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 50mm f/3.5
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D-76
This is one of the images from my visit to Chain O Lakes. The Sun was behind me and I saw these shadows on the frozen lake, casting from the line of the trees also behind me, contrasting with the ones at the other side of the lake.
I thought that image wouldn't work like that, so I added an extra element: the lone tree. Now, I wish I'd taken the other photo as well because it might have worked as well, or even better, than this one with the tree in it.
But anyway, here it is: "One Tree and One Thousand Shadows".
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotech HC
Point Lobos and the Sutro Baths are a pretty cool spot to visit in San Francisco. But please do so early in the morning, on a weekday if possible. I tried to go there for sunset and it was impossible to find a place where to park the car.
But the day I took this photo, I got there before noon after photographing the Golden Gate and the Fisherman's Wharf. Granted, there were already a few people, but no crowds. This is why I was able to set up my camera a few times and take a few long exposures of this beautiful place.
In this photo, you are seeing the "pond" that is part of the baths, the wall that seaparates it from the ocean -with some birds on it- and a couple rocks being hit by waves.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
I saw this tree earlier that day, and I knew I had to take some photographs at sunset or near sunset time. I did take a few shots from the sides, but I wasn't fully happy with those compositions.
I kept walking around the tree, looking for new angles, when I came across a picnic table that had the best perspective of it. Sitting down on one of the benches, I made this image of the silhouette of the tree.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D76
Others: Orange Filter
On my way back from New Buffalo, I took some secondary roads looking for some farms and farm equipment that would look good in that weather: snow and heavy, dense fog.
I found a few scenes but it's hard to find a place to stop on those roads, and they can be dangerous when the visibility is so low. So I couldn't spend much time there nor shoot all the images I wanted to. But I still managed to come back with a couple I really like, this being one of them.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
I can't say enough good things about Point Arena, one of my favorite spots in the whole coast of California.
On my second day there I found a mostly sunny day, very different to what I'd had a couple days before that. This weather and the beautiful landscape were calling for some long exposures, so that's what I did here.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D76
Notes: Orange Filter
These big, frozen rocks were the first thing that caught my eye once I got to New Buffalo, Michigan. An inch of ice was wrapping them, like big ice cubes. They were smooth, very slippery.
I knew I wanted to photograph them, but I couldn't find a good angle / composition so I gave up and headed towards the beach.
On my way back, I looked for more images near the jetty and saw those rocks again. It was by far the most interesting thing in that place, and I still didn't have an image of it!
I finally found what I was looking for, just when I was ready to give up again due to the freezing wind chills. I saw this space in between four of those rocks, filled with snow, and I decided to compose it. I took two exposures but this is the best one.
Probably not a shot that will speak to many, but it reminds me of that day, brings back feelings of the cold, ice and snow. Frozen rocks from a frozen world.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford FP4+
Exposure: 125
Developer: Kodak D76
There aren't many places to explore around here in Northern Indiana, so I'm trying to take full advantage of those few I've found so far. One of them is Bonneyville Mills.
I wasn't alone that day so I didn't have as much time as I would've loved but I still managed to take a few shots, some -like this one- will be part of #fp4party!
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 50mm f/3.5
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D76
This is my favorite shot from our last trip to the Redwoods. It was a quick drive through the Avenue of the Giants so I didn't have too much time, but I did get to enjoy these magnificient trees again.
Watch the video about the Redwoods.
More photos from Northern California.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
No matter how many photos of the Grand Canyon you'd seen, or heard about it, or read about it, it will happen: your first glimpse of the canyon will take your breath away.
I got that glimpse little by little. I got to the Canyon almost an hour before sunrise in a very cold morning (4 layers of clothing under my coat wasn't enough for the wind chills) and I promptly headed to the nearest viewpoint.
There was enough light to realize I was in front of something big, very big. But the deepest parts of the canyon were still in darkness so I couldn't grasp the full scale of it.
I took this photo well before the Sun rose just behind me. I needed to do something to fight the cold, and thinking about exposing some film helped me in that battle.
I wasn't expecting much of the photo though. Not only was it dark, but also very hazy.
But I love the result. This image looks almost like a painting, and it's my favorite from that morning, against all odds.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford FP4+
Exposure: 125
Developer: Kodak D76
Walking around downtown Goshen, I stumbled upon this scene: a frozen newspaper in the snow.
I shot this image handheld and using a relatively slow ASA (FP4 box speed is 125), so I used a wide aperture. Focusing wasn't easy but I got the paper in focus - although it might not look like it on some parts because it was covered in ice.
I took a couple exposures because I really liked the scene, and it turned out as I was hoping.
Watch the video Shooting film in Goshen, Indiana.
See more photos from Indiana in the archive.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D76
While our week in San Francisco was mostly about spending time with family, I got some time to take some shots by waking up really early every morning.
My main goal was to shoot the Golden Gate in the fog, and maybe some random exploration of the city. I wasn't expecting to go to Fisherman's Wharf at all but somehow, I ended there one morning before the crowds arrived.
This is how I got this shot without having another 25 people in front of me.
As I said before, wake up and get out.
About the shot itself, I only wanted an exposure of this arch so I waited a few minutes until the pidgeons were doing something interesting around it. It was very hard to tell what the shot would look like, but I tried my best to get the contrast between the dark birds and the white arch.
I was hoping for more, but I got 4 where I wanted. Plus the ones resting on top of the arch. Overall, I like how it turned out. But next time, I might want to take 2 or 3 shots to increase my chances.
More photos: Archive -> San Francisco
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
Point Arena was one of my favorite spots in the Mendocino area, and that's why I went there twice leaving behind some other places.
The first day I got rain and fog. The second time I got Sun and a very bright day.
As you can imagine, this image was made on the first day. It's a long exposure of some sea lions hanging out on those rocks. I was hoping they wouldn't move too much for a few minutes so they'd still look sharp enough. And looks like I was right, they didn't move a lot.
You can find more photos from Northern California in the archive.
