FPP Midwest Meet Up / Mat Marrash Gallery Show

I've referred to a specific podcast that I began listening to in a few of my previous blog posts.  For those of you that don't know, it's called the Film Photography Podcast (FPP).  The podcast was founded in 2009 by Michael Raso and has been going strong ever since.  The podcast has spread to a website, Flickr group, store and an eBay auction site.  In addition, it's become a massive community of film shooters and film lovers around the world. 

In 2011, the FPP community organized a few meet ups.  The first one took place on April 16, in New York City.  A smaller meet up was organized later in the month at Toronto and in June, FPP founder Michael Raso and co-host John Fedele travelled across the pond to London for a UK meet up.  With all of these meet ups taking place, I was a bit jealous that I couldn't join in all of the fun.  The newest co-host of FPP, Mat Marrash, lives in Findlay, Ohio.  He had mentioned on the show that he was going to have his first gallery exhibit in July and I immediately planned on attending; especially since Findlay is only an hour an a half away from Troy.  I was absolutely elated when I found out that in conjunction with the gallery opening, an official FPP meet-up was being planned.  It was going to be attended by founder Michael Raso, FPP video man Joey, FPP Deputy Dan Domme, FPP frequent guest Lauren Bagley and of course, FPP co-host Mat Marrash.  So, I took the day off from work and headed to Findlay the morning of July 15.

I arrived shortly before 11 a.m. and was greeted by Lauren and her dog, Strudel.  After the rest of the attendees arrived, Michael taped a short beginning segment and we took off on a photo walk of downtown Findlay.  The first stop was Leslie Lazenby Hunsberger's Imagine That! store.  Leslie is a photographic technologist, specializing in photo restoration.  On top of that, she has an amazing collection of cameras and has a wealth of knowledge on all things photography and film.  It wouldn't be hard to waste hours talking to her about film stock, film cameras, techniques, etc.  She's also an astounding artist herself, which I found out after viewing a few of her Polaroid manipulations.  She was very friendly and welcomed us with opened arms and even treated us to a "grab box" of expired Kodak and Polaroid films.  I grabbed an expired pack of Polaroid 108 film and can't wait to see what type of results I get.  After Leslie's store, we stopped into The Baker's Cafe for a coffee break.  I got to chat with a few other FPPer's who attended; Dave Mihaly from Columbus, OH and Tom Schaefer and Chris Fecio of Buffalo, NY.  After our coffee break, we continued walking through downtown Findlay, shooting the new Kodak Portra that Kodak provided FPP with.  I shot Portra 400 with my Canon AE-1P with my 28mm wide angle lens.  Unfortunately, I had a small rewind issue and some of my film was exposed to the light, which produced a bit of fogging on some of the roll.  Other than that, I enjoyed the roll and if I have something I'm happy with, I'll display it in a subsequent post. 

After our walk of Findlay, we headed back to the Findlay Inn and Conference Center for pizza and Polaroid fun.  We had a few hours before Mat's gallery show, so I headed back downtown and shot a roll of medium format with my Hasselblad 500 c/m.  This was just the second roll I've run through this camera.  After I get the results back from the lab, I'll post a few images and give my overall impression of the 500 c/m thus far.  After my second round of shooting, I headed to Mat's gallery show.  He had a number of amazing portraits that he shot all on film.  He used a Hasselblad 500c and his Eastman Commercial 8x10 large format camera.  His work is absolutely stunning and will continue to be on display at the Lea Gallery until mid August.  I highly recommend checking it out.  Additionally, we also ventured upstairs to view Lauren Bagley's paintings, prints and illustrations.  They were also amazing and it's highly likely you'll see her illustrations gracing a children's book very soon.  After the exhibit, we headed to The George, a great book/coffee shop for a night cap.

Overall, the meet up was a great time.  Everyone was friendly and just as enthusiastic about film as I am, if not more so.  The FPP community is filled with a great group of individuals, and it's astounding that all of these individuals, some that have never met before, can get together, hang out, take photographs and generally enjoy each other's company.  It doesn't matter the skill level or the type of camera that you shoot; we all love film and we all love photography and that allows us to form a bond regardless of where we're from, where we live and what we do for a living.  Ideas are formed, tips are traded and work is exchanged and viewed.  This community is helping take artistic photography to a whole new level, while keeping film alive.  This is what a photographic community should be; I'm grateful that I'm part of something like this.  The Film Photography Podcast has helped me grow as a photographer and has helped inspire me throughout 2011.  I feel as if FPP has the potential to spur a further renewed interest in traditional film photography and I look forward to what the FPP future has to offer.  For those interested, I highly recommend checking out the podcast and all of the amazing work produced by the FPP community.

Solo Show Announced!

So, here is the big announcement that I was eluding to in my last few posts.  My first solo exhibit / gallery show will be taking place next month!  I finalized the details in January, but I didn't want to publicize it until the date was fast approaching.

At the beginning of the year, I posted a few photo resolutions.  One of those resolutions was to create my best work yet.  Well, in preparing for this show, I can tell you that I think I have achieved that goal and I'm only half way through the year.  I'm still not where I want to be and I know that I have so much to learn and I have more room for growth.  This show is not an ending point; it's merely the beginning of my photographic journeys.  There are so many things I want to photograph that I haven't, so many projects that I want to create, so many cameras and film that I want to experiment with and processes that I want to try.  This is why the theme for my show is "An Introduction."  It's a way of introducing myself as a photographer to all of you and the general public.  It's meant to show you how I view the world; it's my story, created by my eyes and my cameras.  This show is also meant to display my progression as a photographer and an artist.  My early point and shoot work is how I started; my DSLR work displays my progression and film is where I'm at now.

So, without further ado, here are the details of the show:

Show:
Dates:  The show is being hung on Monday, August 1 and will be on display from Tuesday, August 2 - Wednesday, August 31.
Location:  Amos Memorial Public Library, 230 E. North Street, Sidney, OH 45365

Opening Reception:
Thursday, August 4, 2011
6-8 p.m.
Amos Memorial Public Library, 230 E. North Street, Sidney, OH 45365
Light refreshments will be served.

Some of the images that are featured on this blog will be on display, but I have a few pieces that I'm "unveiling" at the event, including a few that I hinted at from my Mansfield Reformatory shoot.  So, feel free to drop by, check out my work, chat and enjoy some food.  I hope to see you all there!

Mansfield Reformatory Images...Second Teaser

Here are just a few more images to wet your appetite for the announcement that's coming soon.  Enjoy!

Mansfield Reformatory Images

Here are a few images from my Mansfield Reformatory shoot.  However, these are only meant as a teaser.  For those wanting to see more, you'll have to see them in person.  More on that to come later, so stay tuned.  In the meantime, enjoy!

Mansfield Reformatory

I've been anxiously awaiting this blog post.  This experience was easily one of my photographic highlights of this year, if not of all time.  For those of you that don't know, the Mansfield Reformatory (also known as the Ohio State Reformatory), was the featured prison in the movie The Shawshank Redemption.  The cornerstone for the reformatory was laid on November 4, 1886 and it remained as a working prison for 94 years until it was eventually shut down in 1990. A staggering 154,000 inmates passed through the reformatory over its' years of operation. 

Many inmates have discussed the conditions of the prison, but perhaps the most dreaded and well known aspect of the reformatory was "The Hole."  "The Hole" was the area of solitary confinement cells that contained only a toilet and a bunk.  At least one murder occurred in "The Hole" and numerous other violent acts took place on the grounds.

The Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society took control of the site in 1995 and have opened it up to the public.  Outside of the guided and self tours, they also host ghost hunter events and have a reception space for other events.  The reformatory is truly a site to see and I highly recommend it.

In my previous post, I briefly mentioned this experience.  Due to the Mansfield Reformatory Preservation Society not allowing tripods or professional photo equipment on the self or guided tours, I paid the money for the photo tour.  I was allowed to bring a tripod and all of my photography gear and I was able to tour the grounds for four hours without any other tourists.  It was the most amazing experience.  This structure is absolutely amazing and the experience of photographing it by myself was the only way to shoot it.  I can't really describe it. 

During the four hours, I left my digital camera in the car and shot strictly film using my Canon AE-1P and a few of my Polaroid cameras.  Calming solitude are the perfect words for this experience.  I took my time wandering the winding hallways and never ending staircases.  I took only the shots that I viewed in my mind and I set it up to get the best possible exposure.  I didn't have to worry about time and I didn't have to worry about anyone getting into my shot.  I shot about a roll and 3/4 of a roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 35mm film and I took approximately 10 Polaroids.  I couldn't wait to see the results!  I received them this week and I was very happy.  I actually want to go back and shoot the reformatory multiple times and I would love doing a future series on old prisons.  If anyone has the chance to visit the Mansfield Reformatory, I would highly recommend it. 

Mansfield, OH Images

Richland Carrousel

Camera:  Diana F+ Pinhole 1.5 minute exposure

Film:  Lomography 100 color negative

Downtown Mansfield

Camera:  Holga 120N

Film:  Rollei Retro 80s

Haunted Bissman Building

Camera:  Holga 120N

Film:  Rollei Retro 80s

A Painter's Workshop

Camera:  Diana F+

Film:  Lomography 100 color negative

Statue from afar

Camera:  Diana F+

Film:  Lomography 100 color negative

Reflections

Camera:  Holga 120N with red filter

Film:  Ilford SFX 200 Extra Red Sensitivity

Entrance way

Camera:  Holga 120N with red filter

Film:  Ilford SFX 200 Extra Red Sensitivity

Lilly Pad

Camera: Polaroid SX-70 Sonar One Step w/ ND filter

Film:  Impossible Project PX680 Color Shade First Flush

Kingwood Center Gardens

Camera:  Diana F+

Film:  Lomography 100 color negative

Pine Forest Pinhole

Camera:  Diana F+ Pinhole 3 min. exposure

Film:  Lomography 100 color negative

Building

Camera:  Tripod mounted Canon AE-1P 28mm lens f/8 @ 1/500 sec.

Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

Downtown Urban Decay

Camera:  Tripod mounted Canon AE-1P 28mm lens f/16 @ 1/125 sec.

Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

Towering Trees at Mohican State Park

Camera:  Tripod mounted Canon AE-1P 28mm lens f/16 @ 1/60 sec.

Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

"Stop"

Camera:  Holga 120N

Film:  Rollei Retro 80s

Mansfield, Ohio

On the weekend of June 3-5, the Edison Photo Society planned a weekend photo shoot in Mansfield, Ohio.  Mansfield is located approximately 1 hour north of Columbus.  Mansfield was founded in 1808 and is a hilly region surrounded by a massive amount of farmland.  The county seat of Richland County, Mansfield became a bustling manufacturing town with numerous rail lines traveling in and out of the city.  Like other areas in the state and around the nation, manufacturing declined; businesses closed and Mansfield is left with a great deal of urban decay.  They've tried to diversify their economy to other areas, but Mansfield is simply a shell of what it used to be.  The area has a very high crime rate and some areas look as if time merely forgot them.  These factors helped to make Mansfield the perfect place for me to shoot film.

I arrived in Mansfield around 7 a.m.  on Friday, June 3.  I decided to take the photo tour of the Mansfield Reformatory and my appointment was at 8 a.m.  On this tour, I was going to have the reformatory to myself, for four hours without any other tourists.  I was able to bring a tripod along with all of my photo gear.  So, I was really looking forward to this part of the trip.  The Mansfield Reformatory is such an amazing structure, so I will cover that particular shoot (along with pictures) in a separate blog post.  After my photo tour of the reformatory, I checked into my hotel in nearby Ontario, relaxed and grabbed a bite to eat before meeting up with one of my fellow EPS members, Chris Mitsch (check out his amazing work), to shoot downtown.

We headed downtown and shot the historic Richland Carrousel Park.  This carousel features 52 hand carved figures that were all created in Mansfield.  In addition to that, it opened in 1991 as the first new hand carved carousel to be built in the U.S. since the 1930s.  After that short stop, we shot some other buildings and a lot of urban decay.  It was a warm day, but a great day of shooting made up for it.  Afterwards, we went back to the hotel and had a little downtime before grabbing dinner with the other EPS members at the Athens Greek Restaurant.

Saturday was a day where everyone did their own thing.  Chris and I headed out to Kingwood Center Gardens.  Kingwood Center Gardens is a 47 acre estate that was built in 1926.  It opened as a public garden in 1953 and hosts a number of gardens and plants.  While plants and flowers aren't my favorite thing to photography, I tried out a host of cameras and took a number of shots.  It was a nice change of pace from Friday and I enjoyed it.  After a few hours there, we grabbed a quick bite to eat and headed out towards the small area of Loudonville, OH and Perrysville, OH.  The main draw in this area was Mohican State Park.  We stopped at a trail and took a few images of the grandiose pine forests.  After taking a quick drive to check out the covered bridge and the dam, we headed back to Mansfield.  We shot a few more things in downtown and called it a day.

Afterwards, I headed to Columbus to meet up with my wife for gallery hop in the Short North.  After a nice dinner and a comfortable stay in a hotel, we headed back to Troy Sunday morning.  Overall, the shoot was a success.  I know I haven't covered it yet, but the Mansfield Reformatory was worth every penny and was the single draw for me going to Mansfield.  Everything else was icing on the cake.  So, while Mansfield wasn't necessarily the most ideal spot for a photo shoot weekend, I had a great time and I was able to successfully shoot film the entire weekend without removing my digital camera from the bag once.  I took some amazing images and it was just another reason to go out and photograph; something I love to do.

Stay tuned, the next post will feature images!