Early Morning at Inwood Park

Left my apartment at around 5 this morning in order to watch the sun come up in Inwood Park up around 214th street, the northernmost part of Manhattan.  It was very cold but I was able to set up my tripod and get some images on film. Pictured below is just a simply stitching of several cell phone images and below that is a Bing Maps image of the section of Inwood Park I was in.

Take care,

-S.

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Bing Maps - 2011

Returning to the City

These are the images I took with Agfa Digibase CR200 while waiting for the train at the Auberndale LIRR station.  Hope you enjoy (even though the scans are terrible).

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011             This is an alternative shot selection

All in all I've got to say that even with these less than desirable scans the color rendition of this film is impressive.  I find that the colors are rich without being over saturated. They're very true to what my memory recalls.  Especially with outdoor daytime lighting.  In the previous posts the images contained mixed lighting and as long as you know what color temperature the lights are the images make sense. With the portrait of my friend Anthony, the image was shot in very low lighting and under-exposed by either one or one half stop and the film still performed exceptionally well and presents the very mood of the lighting and the situation accurately. All in all even with these poor reproductions I feel that I've found a new favorite color film –step aside Fuji (at least 35mm films).

Sincerely,


-S.

Slides from a Recent Roll

As I mentioned earlier I recently purchased and shot my way through a roll of Agfa Digibase CR200 slide film and here are some of the images. Forgive the poor scans, my scanner is seriously on it's last few weeks.
There will be soon to follow a short photo-narrative...whatever you want to call it. It's just a small compiling of the last frames on the roll I shot. It focuses on a single train station in Auberndale, Queens.

Hope you enjoy,


-S.

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

©Steve Shilling II - 2011

Portrait of a Screenwriter

I purchased some Agfa Digibase CR 200 Pro 35mm film and loaded it into my rangefinder and tho I've never been one to attempt portraiture here's a snapshot I took of my friend and screenwriter Anthony.
If anyone looking at this site is in need of a screenwriter, or assistance in the field give him a holler: AnthonyL1991@Gmail.com.

Sincerely,


-S.
P.S. The reason the focus is fuzzy is either because the cardboard frame of the slide is holding the film too far away from the glass and thus preventing a sharp scan...OR...the more likely option is that my scanner is in need of some maintenance and a little more TLC from me.

Return to Carl Schurz Park

There's something alluring about Carl Schurz park and I can't seem to put my finger on it.  I recently returned to my favorite park up on 86th street with a 4x5 press camera and some slide film. Having looked at my results using 6x6 negative film I decided that they insufficiently captured the 'essence' of the spaces to be found within the park.  Now, in my absent mindedness I found myself approaching the park under post-rain circumstances having neglected to bring a tripod with me.  If I shoot in color (4x5) I shoot ISO 50 speed film. I favored the clouds because the diffusion of light they provide allows the true feeling of the environment to come through and be transferred onto the film. We even get this sensation when we walk about just before or after a storm. There are no deep black shadows and no blaring highlights, the world has this extra-dimensional flatness to it which somehow manifests itself in our minds as a sort of expanded depth.  It's as if the already wide dynamic range (range of light values that can be recorded) of our eyes has been increased and the entirety of what's in front of us can be seen for what it truly is and what it truly holds.
My ONLY reservation with these clouds is that since I shoot ISO 50 on slide film a tripod is almost always necessary. In it's stead I wad to fabricate several on location tripods out of trashcans and other objects I was able to find while I was there. The only photograph to be shot 'handheld' is the photograph of the Triborough bridge in the background.

Enjoy.

Sincerely,


-S.

©SteveShilling 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©SteveShilling 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©SteveShilling 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

©SteveShilling 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Sneak Peak

Here is a sneak peak of an upcoming art installation/body of work I've started on.