I’ve got a bunch of things to write about today, so I’ll start with this:
I have deleted all of my nude images from my Deviant Art profile. I did this in solidarity with the writer and model Unbearable Lightness, who has written (see here and here) about receiving a lot of insulting and threatening comments since Deviant Art began allowing people to link other people’s images to website like Facebook and My Space. Apparently these comments are coming from people who claim to be over the age of 18 but are not.
I’ve also done this in support of the Canadian art nude photographer Eric Boutilier-Brown, who has complained about Deviant Art allowing unauthorized use of artists’ image and has taken off his photos, too.
Will things at Deviant Art change for the better? Only time will tell. I’ve decided to leave my travel photos on my Deviant Art page as there are some people who seem to appreciate them and aren’t just there to ogle naked chicks. As for the nudes, they are off the table there indefinitely. It’s too bad, as I like the look of the site.
For those interested in seeing my travel images, my Deviant Art page can be seen by clicking here.
I have deleted all of my nude images from my Deviant Art profile. I did this in solidarity with the writer and model Unbearable Lightness, who has written (see here and here) about receiving a lot of insulting and threatening comments since Deviant Art began allowing people to link other people’s images to website like Facebook and My Space. Apparently these comments are coming from people who claim to be over the age of 18 but are not.
I’ve also done this in support of the Canadian art nude photographer Eric Boutilier-Brown, who has complained about Deviant Art allowing unauthorized use of artists’ image and has taken off his photos, too.
Will things at Deviant Art change for the better? Only time will tell. I’ve decided to leave my travel photos on my Deviant Art page as there are some people who seem to appreciate them and aren’t just there to ogle naked chicks. As for the nudes, they are off the table there indefinitely. It’s too bad, as I like the look of the site.For those interested in seeing my travel images, my Deviant Art page can be seen by clicking here.
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I also tried printing photos for the first time in three years on Sunday. I actually have not printed regularly for six years, but I decided that enough is enough and back I went into the dark. The results? Well, nothing worthwhile, to be honest.
I began by trying to print one of my Holga images from last year, as I figured it wouldn’t need any real dodging or burning, and as I plan to print the Holga
negatives full frame, I wouldn’t have to worry about cropping. What I failed to take into account was that this was a rather thin (that is, underexposed) negative. That’s because the photo was made in a shady area and the Holga doesn’t really allow you to change your shutter speed to make it longer.
The way to handle a thin negative is to print with increased contrast, and as I use variable contrast paper, that’s what I did. The result of the first print was that it was still too flat looking and low in contrast. So, I increased the contrast again – and again – and again. At last, I set it to maximum contrast, which should have taken the contrast through the roof, but the print still looked very flat.
I moved on to another, properly exposed negative made with my medium format SLR, and while that was better, the print lacked a certain bite to it. I’m hoping that these contrast problems are just the result of using three year old photo paper. Someone suggested I try it to see if it’s still usable, and perhaps it just isn’t anymore. I’ll buy some new paper and see what happens next.
So, the results of printing were not to my liking, but at least I got started again – and that’s the main thing!
I also tried printing photos for the first time in three years on Sunday. I actually have not printed regularly for six years, but I decided that enough is enough and back I went into the dark. The results? Well, nothing worthwhile, to be honest.
I began by trying to print one of my Holga images from last year, as I figured it wouldn’t need any real dodging or burning, and as I plan to print the Holga
negatives full frame, I wouldn’t have to worry about cropping. What I failed to take into account was that this was a rather thin (that is, underexposed) negative. That’s because the photo was made in a shady area and the Holga doesn’t really allow you to change your shutter speed to make it longer.The way to handle a thin negative is to print with increased contrast, and as I use variable contrast paper, that’s what I did. The result of the first print was that it was still too flat looking and low in contrast. So, I increased the contrast again – and again – and again. At last, I set it to maximum contrast, which should have taken the contrast through the roof, but the print still looked very flat.
I moved on to another, properly exposed negative made with my medium format SLR, and while that was better, the print lacked a certain bite to it. I’m hoping that these contrast problems are just the result of using three year old photo paper. Someone suggested I try it to see if it’s still usable, and perhaps it just isn’t anymore. I’ll buy some new paper and see what happens next.
So, the results of printing were not to my liking, but at least I got started again – and that’s the main thing!
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I also had the day off from work yesterday, and given that there was a heat advisory in New York, I decided to stay in. I put the time to good use, filing away 15 more rolls of film. I also did some organizing of my CD collection, finding that I had mistakenly bought duplicate copies of not one but two albums – a Shangri-la’s compilation and an album of opera duets by Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon. This is the second Netrebko album that I’ve double-dipped on. Either I like her enough to subconsciously get two, or I don’t like her enough to even remember having gotten the album in the first place. (I’m not sure which.)
I also had the day off from work yesterday, and given that there was a heat advisory in New York, I decided to stay in. I put the time to good use, filing away 15 more rolls of film. I also did some organizing of my CD collection, finding that I had mistakenly bought duplicate copies of not one but two albums – a Shangri-la’s compilation and an album of opera duets by Anna Netrebko and Rolando Villazon. This is the second Netrebko album that I’ve double-dipped on. Either I like her enough to subconsciously get two, or I don’t like her enough to even remember having gotten the album in the first place. (I’m not sure which.)
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As most of you probably know, these past few days marked the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock music and arts festival – or, as it’s come to be known as, “Woodstock.” What many of you may also know but some do not is that Woodstock did not take place in or near the town of Woodstock, New York. Rather, the big concert was held 40 years ago in Bethel, New York – which, according to Mapquest, is 66.29 miles and a drive of 96 minutes from Woodstock.
How the concert got the Woodstock name I don’t know – maybe it was to have been held there initially – but I visited the concert site in September 2004 with a friend. As you can see from the photos, there’s a monument marking the event at the bottom of the field where it took place. Unlike 40 years ago, thankfully, there was neither rain nor mud when I was there.
*******************************************************************************Finally, the black & white photos I’m putting up today are Holga photos from last year (though none of them is the one I tried to print). The model is one of my favorite people in the photo/modeling world, Joceline Brooke-Hamilton.
