Voigtländer Project
A Whirlwind of Light, Shadows, Self Discovery and the View From Behind the Lens
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Introduction
Losing someone you love is a bizarre experience. No matter how expected it may be, how many times you got to say goodbye, and how close you were when it happened, it will always be a difficult experience. My freshman year of college, I experienced this in my dorm room. I don’t think I will ever forget the phone call I got from my father explaining that his father, my Grandad, had passed away. I knew it was coming, he was in his nineties and had been living in a nursing home for a couple of years, but nonetheless, it was difficult. My Grandad was an incredibly important person in my life. Although he lived an ocean away, in England, he had always believed in me. He had a variety of interests throughout his life apparently including photography, which I did not realize until after he passed. When my Dad returned home after the funeral, he gave me an old camera, which had belonged to my Granddad. In this exchange, I remember feeling like this was a physical connection to him and one that I would cherish forever. That camera is the Voigtländer Brilliant, I learned to use in this experience. This camera was released in 1935 and is a far cry from the experience of modern digital cameras, so there was quite a learning curve coming from only ever using an iPhone camera.
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Topic 1: Basics
This week consisted of reading "The film photography handbook [electronic resource] : rediscovering photography in 35mm, medium, and large format" by Chris Marquardt and Monika Andrae and learning the basics of camera and film operation. There is more to photography than I ever thought and it's SUPER technical. As an engineer, I like the technical aspects of photography but am struggling with the creative aspects. To start this project, I used the Sunny 16 rule to take sunny photos outside. I then used a light meter app. It's hard taking photos without knowing what the final picture will look like. I undeniably had issues with glare, focus, and exposure, but I am also proud of some of the photos I was able to take. As seen by the pictures of my family in front of a window, I learned the importance of lighting from the front/ side unless you want a silhouette. I am excited to continue learning more about the technical aspects of photography and how they play into its creative aspects.
Topic 2: Food and Product Photography
This week consisted of watching "10 FOOD Photography TOPS (From Beginner to advanced)” (https://youtu.be/VUo99XRozoQ) by Nicolas Doretti and “The ONLY Product Photography Tutorial you NEED to watch” (https://youtu.be/f_vF3J1ayww) by Luke Ayers. I played around with lighting for product photography, using a flashlight instead of a flash. I had some success with this and think it would have worked well on a product with less glare/ reflection than the pocket watch. For the food photography I played with composition, taking tips from the video I watched and playing with ingredients in relation to the dish. I think if I was doing this again, I would use a dish that had more textural interest. I struggled with angles and focus as my camera is better suited for farther away shots than more traditional food close ups. I don’t think this will be my preferred type of photography but I am glad I got to see the thinking that goes into advertisements.
Topic 3: Fashion
For this topic, I watched the "Day in the Life | ""Fashion Photographer"" (https://youtu.be/3xzX7niODFs) by StellaPro Lights. I also read “Fashion Photography Tips for Beginners” (https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography/discover/fashion-photography.html) by Adobe and “The Complete Guide to Fashion Photography” (https://www.pixpa.com/blog/fashion-photography-guide) by Gupreet Singh. This topic did not go how I thought it would. I had planned a magazine style fashion shoot and made a mood board with inspiration for Sarah Moon, Olivia Malone, and Luisiana Gonzalez. I ended up connecting with a DAAP fashion student who allowed me to take pictures of their pieces and process. As I was now photographing a designer, it turned into more of a photojournalism style shoot. That being said, I was grateful for this experience as it taught me more about fashion than a magazine style shoot would have. It pushed me to think about how images would work in relation to one another and how I could use elements like texture, framing, and lighting to tell the story of Marissa. It pushed me to try to create pictures that captured the essence of her, her passion for the management side of fashion, and her work. I learned that she is a third year like me, and she involves thrifting in her designs. As someone who is passionate about sustainability, it was cool to see how she incorporated this concept into her pieces and how the uncertainty of thrifted materials worked with her process.
Topic 4: Landscape Photography
For this topic, I read "The Art, Science, and Craft of Great Landscape Photography" by Glenn Randall. I found that I really enjoyed this topic. As someone who is passionate about the environment, it was fun getting to see it in a different light. I also was with my mom and dad taking these pictures and it was cool to see them engaged with it. I experimented with framing, waiting for the right moment, and angles. I think the image below of the hill with figures, encapsulates all three of these factors.
Topic 5: Street Photography
For this topic, I read "Street Photography" by Gordon Lewis. I worked with Jon Hughes, a retired photographer with a background in Cincinnati street photography. He helped me find interesting picture spots and work my light meter. It was exciting to see what and how he likes to photograph in real time. We also developed and scanned these photos ourselves! When planning this project, I wanted to experience film development but figured it would be too complicated to be incorporated. John was very eager to help and made sure I had some experience with this process. This process is much longer and laborious than I thought, so we only developed a couple of the pictures we were most excited to see. I loved getting to see the pictures come to life!
Topic 6: Portraits
For this topic, I watched the "How to Shoot Portraits for Beginners” by Bach Photography (https://youtu.be/rzjtAKwX7zc) YouTube video. This video talks about posing and photo editing for portraits. I was particularly nervous for this category. I am not very good at asking other people for things and especially struggle with talking to strangers. That is why, the environmental portraits I took for this topic were not true portraits. My mentor Sean suggested I take portraits of Dominic, who owns the store Spun Bicycles and is a former BMX pro. He and his wife were so welcoming, but I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt their workday wholly by posing them for shots. Maybe some day I’ll go back and push myself to go fully through with these environmental portraits, but I think these pictures still turned out cool and I wanted to include them. This was the only topic I did in color, and I couldn’t have picked a better place to try out color photography. Walking into the fluorescent bike shop, I was confronted with a store unlike anything I’d ever seen before. There were mannequins, boas, clowns, and bright lights galore. The wide array of décor was coupled with funky music and a homey feel that pulled me in in a way that I’ve never felt before. This shop was so cool, and the people were so nice, I hope I encapsulated some of its ambiance in these pictures.
Photography Events
As part of this project, I wanted to learn more about the photography community. I accomplished this by going to art galleries and attending a museum talk at the Taft for a photography exhibit. Going to photography exhibits gave me something to aspire to, taught me about different artists, showed me what the compositions were meant to mean, and provided me with ideas on what kinds of photography speak to me. One of these collections I found entrancing was by Gilberto Güiza - Rojas, where Rojas placed photos of manual labor against isolated urban backdrops. The juxtaposition created discomfort for me and really made me think about why these scenes were placed together. I also really enjoyed a piece I saw by David Hilliard called Lucky Coin. This is a multi-paneled photograph that has a panel for the sky view, looking down the alley, and the ground view of the same situation. This pulls the viewer into the picture and gives you a continuous long snapshot from angles you don't normally see all at once. The Taft Museum talk I went to was for the Moment in Time exhibit. The presentation went through the history of photography from the earliest photographs to present day. I was surprised at the connection between science and photography. When photography started out, it was originally scientific with the goal of precision, not art. There was also mention of how Nancy Newhall wrote about environmentalism and photography and Ansel Adams ties to Sierra Club and photography.
To showcase my improvements throughout this experience, the people I met, and the sentimental importance of cameras to their photographers, I decided to create a series of portraits of photographers and cameras that are significant to them.
Portfolio Portraits - Sean and Jon Hughes
Sean Hughes: Sean has been my mentor throughout this entire project and it would be impossible to overstate his impact on my experience. He has been instrumental in my understanding of photography and access to the photography community I sought to learn more about. He is a Professor for the Journalism department at UC and specializes in photojournalism. He is a great teacher and an amazing photojournalist. He has an aura that makes you excited about what he’s talking about, and you can tell that he loves photography. He has completed past projects that involve environmental justice, namely climate change documentaries with his Dad, John Hughes. This shared passion and his familial connection to black-and-white film photography through his dad, made him the perfect person to teach me about photography. For his portraits, he chose the Nikon fp3 Press/ Professional camera. This camera is a classic and has a signature crisp click that sounds “like a barn door”. He chose it due to its nostalgic click and the fact that it was his first professional camera.
Jon Hughes: I met Jon Hughes first at his house. Sean had been talking about his dad since I’d met him, which was months ago at this point. As I walked up to a bright yellow house at the end of a cute neighborhood, a smiley man walking his dog called to me. Jon always seems to have a smile on his face and his dog at his side. He has a big bushy, white beard and mustache with black circular glasses. We started by talking about his photography process and journey. He began by writing for newspapers. It was here he learned the importance of photographers as combining pictures with writing was what took an editorial from an article to a front-page piece. He recognized the mutual respect between writers and photographers and that photographs were able to show the details written word couldn’t express. It was at this point he made the goal to be accepted as a photographer within five years. He did a lot of international work including photography in Cuba where his real introduction to photography took place. He spoke of a particular picture that captured his fascination in the artform, that still hangs in his house to this day. When I asked about the photographer community, he described the community as onery, quirky, and a bunch of characters in their own little world. He explained the photographers at the paper would go into their dark room and no one knew what they were doing in there- if you weren’t a part of the group, it was a mystery. He is very passionate about black and white photography and explained it is all about the lights and shadows. He also expressed that in color works, the color becomes the composition versus the thought and substance behind the piece. Looking through his black-and-white photobooks made this point obvious. He showed me a lot of pictures that had a crisp bright focus and were otherwise dark. This created an affect where the pictures appeared to fall off the page. He chose his current favorite camera, a Jon Leica Model M10 Monochrome 50 mm camera for his portraits.
Watching Sean and Jon reminisce on the cameras they remembered from their shared past and the way that photography allowed them to work together, was heartwarming. It was obvious from their interactions that the lines between their shared love of photography and their love for each other were blurred. This makes sense to me as this project was never really about the camera and photography, but more about my connection to my Grandad. However, through this process, I felt my own love for him and the art form swell.
Portfolio Portraits - Michael Wilson
Michael is a kind and down-to-Earth person. He has a white goatie and thin metal glasses. He originally fell into photography via his interest in music. His friend who worked on a newspaper got him interested in photography, but he originally thought photography was only for newspapers. He worked for a textbook publisher for a period and felt his interest in photography fading. Then he decided to send his photos into Warner Brothers. He started working freelance and working on records. He learned how to insulate his work from what he thought of the artists he was working with and was motivated by his desire to do well and get a good picture. He explained how he used the music subconsciously to guide his pictures and the process it took for an album to come together. He treats his pictures with love and care that is fueled by his extreme interest in the subject. He also described how important the photography community is for him. He explained that the work of others gives him something to aspire to. For most things done out of passion, he expressed that you often reach a point where you wonder “who cares?” and being around people who care is sustaining. This gave a new depth to my understanding of the photography community. It is often seen as exclusive, but it is full of people who are putting their souls into their work and need others who understand the weight that has. He also explained that he used a lot of black and white photography as color was unforgiving to process yourself and was rarely worth the trouble, but on a deeper level, it is one step away from how we see the world and that gives a different feeling to the images. He chose an old Rolleiflex camera for his portraits.
Portfolio Portraits - Cameron Knight
Cameron covers crime at the Cincinnati Enquirer. He is a very compassionate person and has a demeanor that commands a room. He got into photography initially because he was inspired by his dad. His dad was a photographer and always had a camera on him. This inspired him to join his high school’s newspaper club. After he graduated from college and decided to pursue photography full-time, he got a job at City Beat. He then went to the Enquirer, but there were no openings in photography at the time, so he went into crime reporting. We discussed how AI was impacting the industry and how crime reporting has evolved to include more of the context surrounding events. For his portraits, he brought a Speed Graphic Camera. This camera was a wedding present from his wife and is physically huge. He showed me how it loads film and explained it’s the same kind of camera that the Hindenburg was shot on. I found this very impressive as they were able to reload and take pictures with speed that I can’t even fathom given the camera’s setup.
