Saturday in Pictures

We got into the darkroom on Saturday and contact printed the Faces Project contact sheets, and some work prints just for a look. Was great to get back in the dark again, it’s been a while!

– Rory

More Faces

A few more scans from the Faces Project. Saturday sees us in the darkroom printing. Can’t wait!

– Rory

Faces Project – first scans

The Faces Project is a project we started last summer. The idea was to photograph people as they arrived for gigs at the Marquee in Cork during the summer. We stood near the entrance gate to the marquee, and grabbed people as they approached. Most people were happy to stand for us. Some would step out in front of moving traffic just to avoid us! But in general people were out for the night, and up for a laugh.

Just this evening I received the negatives in the post – processed by Gunns in Dublin – my favourite camera shop by far! The negs look beautiful – developed well, no water marks, dust free. Dust in these scans was probably on the scanner. My scanner is like a Holga of scanners, but without the charm. It’s crap. But does the job to see a few photos and put them on the web.

Next step is to start making contact sheets, get the loupes out, and start printing. Hopefully we’ll get an exhibition up at some stage this year (anyone like to host us? Drop a comment below). Watch this space!

The project was shot very democratically. Most evenings three or four of us met. Two would load cameras up, and two would grab people walking by and ask them to stop. We didn’t mark who shot what film – it all went into a bag as it got used. We didn’t mark which films were shot at which gigs either, but you can make a fair guess on how people are dressed for the evening.

We had some hitches with backdrops, weather, and the concert promoters. One particular night some representative of the promoters asked us what we were doing, and said we had no permission to take photographs outside the event. We were right outside the main gate, so we just crossed the road. No problems after that. The Gardai paid us no real attention. A good learning experience! Maybe if we do it again this year we’ll write to the promoters and ask for permission to get inside the gates. Surely it can only be good for them?

So these are piss poor scans, but there’s some great photos in there (16+ rolls, mostly 35mm, a couple of 6*6 medium format). Thanks to all who took part. And if you know any of these people, let us know!

– Rory

Goodbye’s and Hello’s

Kodachrome

I’ve never been a huge user of slide film, but you can’t dispute the joy of looking at a perfectly exposed slide. The colours can have a magic that we don’t often see in prints. The demise of Kodachrome has been well documented this year. Produced since 1935, it was an icon of photography in its own right and beloved of millions of photographers. Paul Simon put it in his own words –

Kodachrome

They give us those nice bright colors

They give us the greens of summers

Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, Oh yeah

I got a Nikon camera

I love to take a photograph

So mama don’t take my Kodachrome away
If you took all the girls I knewWhen I was single

And brought them all together for one night

I know they’d never matchmy sweet imagination

everything looks WORSE in black and white

 

Some of the photographers we said goodbye to in 2010 were

Henry Miller (c) Peter Gowland

Peter Gowland, March 17th 2010

 

Demonstrators huddled in a doorway, seeking shelter from high-pressure fire hoses, in Birmingham, Ala., in 1963. (c) Charles Moore

Charles Moore, March 13th 2010

 

(c) Jim Marshall

Jim Marshall, March 24th 2010

 

Paul Newman, 1964 © Dennis Hopper

Dennis Hopper, May 29th 2010

 

John Lennon (c) Brian Duffy

Duffy, May 31st, 2010

 

Kate Moss (c) Corinne Day

Corinne Day, August 27th 2010

 

So, with goodbye’s to some of the greats, lets look forward to 2011. Cork Analogue Photographers are welcoming new members (interested? leave a comment below). We are planning on printing and exhibiting the Faces Project, a portraiture project we shot during the Cork Live at the Marquee concerts. We will also hold a version of the Disposable Camera Day – probably along the lines of a Crappy Camera Day (crap camera? check. roll of film? check. day out? check!). So we’ll be out and about

All the best to everyone for 2011, have a happy and healthy New Year. I’m off for a drink now 🙂

– Rory

The Faces Project

I dropped a couple of hints in earlier posts, but our latest escapade, code named “The Faces Project”, is currently ongoing. We were at Megadeath last week, and at Kenny Rogers last night, stopping fans for a quick portrait on their way in. Watch out for us at some more gigs (the friendly man from Aitken promotions will be delighted to see us again, no doubt) and around town during the Midsummer festival.

With The Faces Project we want to capture the spirit of Cork during the summer festival season by photographing the people we meet on the street. In this time where digital cameras are everywhere & people are used to being photographed constantly, film photography demands a different response from both the subject and photographer. It has a slower, more purposeful pace and requires people to take a few minutes out of their day to pause for the camera and interact with the photographer. We hope you enjoy the experience.

Projects like The Faces Project have been undertaken in other cities throughout the world: London, Barcelona, Edinburgh and New York.  Now it’s Cork’s turn!

7ft high and 3ft wide, on the street

Coming soon to Cork streets

Another hint! It’s long! It’s wide! It’s on the street or near a concert venue! Look out for us in Cork …

– Rory

Happening soon. Soon Happening.

Warning! Digital Photograph!

We’ve been planning planning planning. We’ve no money and we nearly balked. But yesterday evening we ran a trial run for an upcoming project (using a digital camera – shh!), and then ducked into a café before a monstrous down pour. Photographed is CorkAP member Goli on a familiar Cork St. He’s looking pretty sharp too 🙂 Watch this space …

– Rory