Lowell Sun just ran a story about my show

Maxine, the Loading Dock Gallery curator, just told me about this story in today's Lowell Sun, in the "Steppin' Out" section. This definitely ups the anxiety a bit. I actually haven't been anxious that much, but something like this means a lot of people I don't know will pick up the paper, read this story and show up with their critical eye, so there's that voice in me that says "friends will say your work is nice, but strangers can be honest if it's not", so I'm really hoping people enjoy the show. I've been very busy getting ready. And of course the whole crew at the Loading Dock Gallery have been busy as well. I'm pretty excited about tomorrow night. Everyone is invited to the show at 122 Western Avenue in Lowell. The reception is Friday night, from 6-9pm. And I still need to figure out food!

If you're on Facebook, you could put it on your calendar here

The "Impossible" is about to become possible

When Polaroid announced several years ago that it would be hanging up film products for good, the world responded with a resounding "I though you were already dead?" There were a few folks, like myself, who were still using Polaroid and buying up stashes of Polaroid, but most people weren't too alarmed. Those that were alarmed wiped away the tears and immediately jumped online, started blogs, Flickr groups and even companies devoted to satiating Polaroid fanatics.

Sites like "Save Polaroid" led to sites like "Unsaleable.com" where you could buy all those crazy film fantasies in the form of Lomo and Holga cameras, Polaroid films and more.

Then something interesting happened. Unsaleable magically became Polapremium.com. This new Polapremium company specialized in only Polaroid, but not only that, they offered films unavailable and even unknown to the majority of Polaroid fans like myself. "Blue" Type 100 Polaroid film? "Soft focus" Spectra? Even "Chocolate" Polaroid, previously only available to those wealthy enough to afford the 8x10 positives and negatives which ran about $200 a box, but now available for less than $20 a box for your Type 80 or Type 100 camera.

Around the same time, a story came out about some Dutch Polaroid ex-employees who got together to buy up Polaroid's equipment and lease their factory to do what seemed the impossible: bring back Polaroid. This endeavor became known as the Impossible Project, a name coined from a phrase said by Dr. Edwin Land, founder of Polaroid, who said "don't undertake a project unless it is manifestly important and nearly impossible. This group at the Impossible Project decided they were going to make new Polaroid film and even try to make it easier to manufacture since the old Polaroid films used dozens of resources just to make one print. The folks at either company didn't make a big deal about it, but a lot of people noticed that the people with the Impossible Project were connected to Polapremium. Not only that, but Ilford was involved.

Today, we see that this wasn't just talk. Polapremium has changed its name once again, and this time it's "Impossible", a clear connection to The Impossible Project (even the URL gives it away). While much of its stock is depleted, it is clear that Impossible (Project) is serious about an announcement they'll be making in late March, apparently about some new developments they've made for future Polaroid films. 

All I can say is if they announce new large format peel apart film -- especially my beloved Type 55 -- it'll be a great birthday present! Otherwise, I'll be content with some new film for my Onestep.

Other Photographer turns down a model who wants full editing rights

I wrote this in response to someone in the General Industry forum on Model Mayhem.

Depending on the model, I might sign like this (release where the model wants full editing rights, ie. she wants to be able to say yea or ney on whether any of the photos get published). If the model wasn't worth it, you did right by not agreeing. But I could think of situations where it might be worth the risk of the model nixing all your photos. In fact, you hear about this more and more with celebrities or models who know they have leverage with a photographer who really wants to get known. If I were a rising or established celebrity, I may be trying to control my "brand" and how I'm perceived in the media. The successful brand are the ones that are professionally and closely managed. Know what I mean. Your model friend may be trying to do the same. She may want to make sure none of your photos that get released have some expression or whatever that she does not want to make public.

I worked with a model once who asked me to not publish any of the photos that had her in profile. Everything else was OK, but she was really concerned with the ones that had her looking to the left and where we could see that her nose was a bit long. I complied because I respected that she was trying to create a persona and her profile expressed some things that didn't fit into that persona. I can respect that.

I encourage models to really think about what THEY want out of the model release, not just agree to my terms but really think about what they're saying and cross out the things they don't like and add in things they want. Then I read it and do the same.

Most of the time, models just skim it and sign the release.

Models, you DO have power here. You are 50% partner in the endeavor.

Negotiation is an art.

Kevin Kelly's 1000 True Fans: a Method to Success for Creatives?

This is about an older article from The Technium, but it's so good that I just have to talk about just how great it is. Kevin Kelly says people who make things should stop trying so hard to get a few wealthy patrons and also not count on trying to sell a gazillion cheap items. He says what creative people like us should be doing is looking for 1000 true fans. These 1000 true fans are people who are willing to spend a day's wage, once per year, to support your endeavors.

Graphic © Kevin Kelly

Kelly goes on to say that true fans are people who:

...will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can't wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.

I bolded one of his sentences above for a reason. You see, at first some might say that his theory is a pipe dream, and that it's actually quite difficult to get 1000 true fans. In fact, some people like John Scalzi have really pointed out some major obstacles and roadblocks to attaining this goal, and they have a pretty good argument, I have to admit.

However, as I mentioned, I bolded a line above about people watching items in eBay. This is because a young woman is doing exactly what Kevin Kelly talks about, and from what I can tell, she started doing it before Kelly even wrote his article.

Abbey Ryan paints small oil paintings once a day and puts them up on eBay where they are selling for $80 to $250 each. I don't know exactly how successful she is at making a living at doing these paintings, but she is actively engaged in what we're talking about here: getting true fans and she's generating a buzz, so it's definitely working for her in that respect (not to mention that her paintings are actually pretty cool as well). In fact, some of you are going to go to Ryan's site right now and be amazed at what she's doing. You're going to bookmark her page, blog about her, and maybe even jump on eBay... just like Kelly said. This is how it happens, folks.

Back to Kelly's article....

Kelly knows he's making it sound easy. He writes that it does take time and that it is hard. But isn't this exactly what it's all about if you make a living being creative? You work hard to appeal to your true fans. One cannot just take a photo or make a painting, frame it, and expect people to want to buy it. There has to be a reason, an appeal, an affinity, and all creatives have the tools available in this day and age to attain a steadily growing fanbase of supporters by building that affinity, but you have to use the tools and you can't stop. If you want this to be your living you have to make it your living and that means working hard to get those 1000 true fans, because they are out there!

Last batch of Polaroid will be February 2009

CNN's front page Monday night, December 8, 2008 has an story and iReport about Polaroid's sunset coming up in two months. Very sad. They interviewed a few people who run some of the Polaroid enthusiast websites, like Save Polaroid.

I'm just glad I picked up several hundred boxes a while ago! I keep them in a wine cooler I purchased specifically for this occasion. A lot more is in my pantry, mainly the black and white which keeps much longer than color.

The Massachusetts Model Mayhem Meet & Greet Wow That's a Lot of M's

A very large New England contingent of the Model Mayhem community descended upon a picturesque mansion in northern Massachusetts to meet, shoot and network.

The photographers were there from the very beginning, most just milling about eyeing the lone one or two models like vultures to carrion. If we weren't all joking about it, it might have been awkward. However, within an hour or two, at least twenty more people arrived and by the evening the place started looking like a party at the Playboy Mansion. Beautiful people galore.

Viewbook is awesome and free

I've decided to use Viewbook for my non-commercial work. It's a good idea to separate work that disparate channels might see. When you combine your artwork with your commercial work, you tend to dilute, defocus and confuse your viewers. Viewbook doesn't offer unique domains, however I don't think this is necessarily a big problem for me at this point. For now, Viewbook is a great resource, it looks just as good as Livebooks or Foliolink, it has very minimal limitations, and it's easy to use. The only drawback is that there aren't really many templates, but who cares when one third look like this:

$399 for fifteen sheets of Polaroid 809???

I've noticed ever since Polaroid announced they're stopping production of all instant films, people think they can sell their Polaroid and 8x10 stuff for ridiculous prices. I really want to know who is buying this stuff. Honestly, these people on eBay are trying to sell a box of 809 for $399, and the stuff expired in 2001! You know damn well that it's going to be totally washed out colorwise... especially anything that ends in "9" from Polaroid. It's made for emulsion lifting and image transfer. The color isn't pro color and it gets even worse with time. And you also know these people were NOT keeping it cool... the boxes are too big. They sat at room temperature... for years.

I'm seeing people trying to sell a Polaroid 545 sheet holder for $85.

I've seen trends come and go with Polaroid stuff. You used to be able to get an old Polaroid 110b camera modified to shoot 6xx for about $225. About a year or two ago, prices went up people are trying to sell them for $500+. More insanity. Now these people that bought them for $500 six to 18 months ago are trying to dump their cameras on eBay with the Polaroid news and they're trying to get even more.

Craziness.

Don't be a sucker. This stuff is perishable. It's not like Polaroid film lasts forever. Don't get crazy on the equipment either. It will be dumped on the market eventually because nobody is going to buy these things at these prices except the absolutely desperate.

Erik Hansen's photos of brilliance and wonder

As the crowd was thinning out and leaving the opening reception of Ballad of Life, I noticed a lone gentleman studying my photos. Naveed, our curator, asked me to speak to him and so I went over and introduced myself. We got to talking about photography and our own goals and ideals in the medium. Turns out, we had a lot in common. We exchanged cards and I promised I'd take a look at his work.

You gotta check this guy's work out.

I-Scape 12 "The Wolf Grows Up in the Woods" by Erik Hansen

It's really stunning. He creates these landscapes that seem to capture time and space with a masterful control of light and composition. However, this technical description betrays the actual aesthetic of his work. His compositions evoke something within me, a sense of wonder and curiosity. I feel like I'm looking at how children or Zen monks view the world.

Erik calls his artwork "I-Scapes". Says Erik:

I-Scapes (IMAGINARY TIMESCAPES) represent mysterious places and states of mind that exist somewhere beyond the ordinary conscious world. Humans, animals, or their spirits may have recently passed within their borders.

This might be one of the reasons why Erik and I have a similar aesthetic appreciation. It's clear to me that we have a similar need to express some of these concepts in our work.

He also does a lot of prep work for his photos. Keep in mind, none of his photos are digitally altered.

I sculpt pieces and paint props and backgrounds. I also gather and reassemble found objects. The hands-on, tactile part of the process is particularly satisfying.

I couldn't agree more. While I have nothing against working in Photoshop to alter and manipulate images, it is my opinion that there is something special about being able to create the world you are trying to capture in the camera frame itself. It's a great sense of accomplishment, and it does translate to your audience.

http://www.erikhansenphotography.com/

Photo © Erik Hansen

Ballad of Life, Opening Reception

The opening reception was amazing. I couldn't have imagined a larger turnout. This isn't about bragging, this is about my bewilderment and being absolutely grateful for the fact that between 200 and 300 people were interested in checking out our work between 2 and 4 pm last Sunday. In reality, there were already about 50 people in the gallery at 1:45.

In case you didn't know, I am in a group exhibition right now called The Ballad of Life. It closes February 29th. You can check it out on the third floor Contemporary Art Gallery located at, of all places, the Armenian Library & Museum of America in Watertown, MA.

360º VR Panospin™ of me talking to Erik Hansen in front of my work
Photo © 2008 Carlton SooHoo

I have six pieces in the show from an ongoing series I call Personal Mythology. However, for this show, I call this initial group of photos "What I Remember". The work is related to dreams and memories from childhood up to recent time. My focus is primarily on how we tend to romanticize and dramatize events, and sometimes treat dreams as real events as well. This mixture of dreams and events become real concepts to us and become a part of our personal lexicon, but more importantly personal mythology.

The name of our group is PhotoEmerge. It was founded by our curator Naveed Nour and officially began in early 2007 as a workshop in the business of photography. I'm proud to say I'm a member of the "first class" so-to-speak, as PhotoEmerge will continue as a group collaborative with old members leaving and new members renewing its existence.

Other members that also showed were Kate Russell-Jones, George Libbares, Jason Jedrusiak, Melanie Thornton and Marcus Stern.

Gamble Mansion All-day Shoot-a-thon

I'm still exhausted and the shoot was last week.

We spent all day photographing a bunch of models – men and women alike – at the Gamble Mansion on Marlborough in Boston. The shoot was again for Asian Boston Magazine (we just shot Frances Rivera from Channel 7 for the front cover over a week ago), which my friend Carlton has been helping get off the ground. I came along as an assistant but also managed to get a few photos myself.

It was a full on operation... we had makeup, hair and wardrobe. The models were wearing local designers. And the Mansion was amazing... I can totally see why people like to have their weddings there.

My favorite model of the day was Julie Pham, an actress and writer whom I had met a few days ago at her interview with Frances Rivera. She's got a great look and could probably get some Lucy Liu stand-in gigs easily!

The designs were by Nirva, a local Boston designer who makes wonderful silk fashions with a cosmopolitan ethnic flair.

Frances Rivera photo shoot at the Boston Design Center

My friend and business colleague, Carlton, invited me to assist and take photos with him during an all day shoot for Asian Boston Magazine. The subject: Frances Rivera. Frances is a prime time anchor for Channel 7 WHDH in Boston. Asian Boston plan to do a cover and feature story of her in their upcoming issue.

We shot strictly in the "Strobist" method. We brought no big lights. Just strobes with pocket wizards. Add some stands and umbrellas and you can pretty much reproduce studio lighting on location, and it weighs a lot less!

The location was a dream come true: The Boston Design Center. The BDC is basically a mall for interior designers and decorators, so we had virtually any kind of environment or background we could want.

The shoot lasted for about 6 hours on location, and then we zipped on over to Channel 7 for an in-studio shoot.

And that's where I got the picture I'm proud of. We were up on the 2nd level overlooking the news room and Frances was standing against the railing with this cool lit up 3D computer generated Boston city scene in the background. Immediately I asked Carlton to hold my strobe, attached a snoot to it, and while he aimed it at Frances, I shot a couple. And that's what you see... 1 simple snooted strobe aimed at her from about 20 feet away. There's a lot of space at the top because I shot it in anticipation that it might be used for the cover. Haha!

Trash the Dress

What are ten models all made up and in in wedding gowns standing on a beach in Rhode Island doing? They're being photographed by twenty photographers from the Worcester Photography Meetup in an event called "Trash the Dress". It's become a popular photographic phenomenon and it's fun as heck.

I brought my regular digital camera equipment but also decided to shoot some film, including medium format and large format. I managed to get a couple good shots with my Speed Graphic and Type 55, although I got some "happy mistakes" when I didn't remove the packet correctly from the Polaroid 545 holder. The result is a funky picture of Gina, a great model, laying down in the water, but seemingly melting into the composition. You can see it and other photos at the link below.





Gina joined us for Trash the Dress in July. She was a blast. I shot some Polaroid Type 55 but some of it got wet and leaked before I could process it. I thought the effect was kind of interesting, even if I lost the picture.
... See my Tabblo>

Valley of Fires

Along Route 380 in New Mexico, just 9 miles northwest of the US 54 crossroads in the dustswept town of Carrizozo, is a place known as the Valley of Fires. 2000 years ago, several cauldrons of fire opened up across 45 miles and poured out lava 150 feet thick in some parts. When it cooled, the area was black with igneous rock. However, now it is lush with plant-life.

These are photos of the Valley of Fires shot with 3.34mp Nikon Coolpix 995 digital camera modified to capture near-Infrared light, that is, IR light reflected by plants, clouds and objects, and generated by IR sources like the Sun.
... See my Tabblo>

Photo not of a Swedish Starlet

© 2006 Jeffrey Engel

Something about this photo says “’70s Swedish Actress who starred in many Ingmar Bergman films”. Shot this at 6B Lounge on Beacon Hill using the “Available Light” setting on my Fuji F11. I kind of like it. It basically liberates the ISO to shoot at what it needs. Yes, there’s a lot of grain (and noise)... but perhaps that’s what makes a lot of Fuji digital photos look like film. And frankly, that’s what I like about them. This doesn’t look like a typical digital photo with limited dynamic range. This is like one of those ‘70s high-contrast shots. I love this little camera.

Photo in the old Boston Public Library

It's Lonely at the Top © 2006 Jeffrey Engel

I took a break from helping with the setup of the group show at Roscoe & Luigi's on Newbury Street. I decided to check out the old Boston Public Library. It kind of has the atmosphere of the famous New York Public Library. It's very grandiose with marble, lion statues, ornate bannisters, huge paintings and lots and lots of wood. This is not to be confused with the new library next door, which is very modern and efficient but lacks that grandiosity of the former. As I was milling about on the second floor, I found this huge, empty (save for plush leather seats) room ornately decorated. There were lots of pedestals perfectly suited to replace the need for a tripod, so I set the timer on my Fuji F11 point-and-shoot and got this shot. I like to think I'll have a living room like this some day. And in all honesty, I even romanticize the notion that I'll be jaded and lonely— a tortured, misunderstood man. And that's when I realize I'm already halfway there.