Charlie's

I processed the first negatives out of my little Recesky camera last week during a film developing demo. Today I stopped by the darkroom and made an enlargement of one of the shots to use tomorrow for a contrast filter lesson. I accidentally dropped the negative in the sink and didn't want to wait for it to dry properly, so I just wiped it dry on my shirt. You can see the wipe marks on the print. I actually think they look pretty nice and might use that technique in the future.

Society 6

I've been posting a bunch of photos and collages on Society 6, where you can purchase high quality reproductions for a pretty good price. I'll be adding a lot more over the next few weeks and continuing to do so as I make new work. Here's one of my favorite old photos from a couple of years ago. Get it now for only $25.

Recesky

I put together this little model kit today. It is actually a working twin lens reflex camera that shoots on 35mm film. It doesn't have a lot of controls, however the viewing lens and the shooting lens are linked, so you can actually focus via the viewfinder. It also has a removable aperture plate which allow you to change to a wider aperture if you want shorter depth of field. I'm going to put a roll of film in it right now and then develop it next week during my class's processing demonstration.

If you would like to get a camera like this, there are two possibilities; The Gakkenflex was included with issue 25 of Otona no Kagaku Magazine, a Japanese science publication that always comes with some kind of science kit. The other, cheaper option is to look for a Recesky kit, which is a clone of the Gakken camera. It doesn't come with the magazine (which you probably don't want anyway, unless you can read Japanese)and it has a few minor cosmetic changes. It's pretty much the same camera though. You should be able to find on on ebay for about $20 while the Gakken will probably be $50 or $60.

Hole New World

Last year I sent a few images to be shown in a pinhole photography exhibition in India. Now a book featuring work from that show has been published via Blurb. 191 artists from 41 countries are represented. It looks pretty good.

Proceeds from sales of the book will help to support the Goa Center for Alternative Photography, an art space dedicated solely to the understanding, appreciation, education and promotion of alternative photography in India.

You can preview the entire thing and purchase the book at Blurb.com.