Preston Is My Paris Photo Books

March 31, 2010 | Filed Under Personal Project, Photo Book | Leave a Comment 

I’ve been enjoying the proliferation of independent photos books being produced by a variety of photographers and promoted by sites like The Independent Photo Book and Little Brown Mushroom.

One series of books that I’ve been ordering and enjoying are those produced by Adam Murray and Robert Parkinson, the two English photographers behind Preston Is My Paris. I really like their idea that you need to take your inspiration from wherever it is you live. Each book is different in style and design and they all have little touches that really make them unique, like the see through sleeve on Your Negatives or wrap around band on I am…  Their newest book is the one shown first, You could be in London, You could be in Vegas, But you’re in Brierfield. It’s funny but so true for most of us. You can order their books through their publishing site here. They are sold out right now but will have more publications coming. Just so you know, Preston is in Lancashire, north of Manchester ( I admit, I googled it) An article on the pair and their projects here.

UPDATE ______They have a new book out Tokyo, check their site and see photo below.

Wilf Schmidt and The Little Photo Shop – Photographers’ Work Spaces and Studios

March 29, 2010 | Filed Under Gallery & Workshop, Interview, Photo Studios and Work Spaces | 6 Comments 

I was in Kamloops this past weekend, the first time I’ve spent anytime there in at least three years.  One of the last times I was there I’d come across this gallery/store on 3rd Avenue run by photographer Wilf Schmidt and I was curious to see if  he was still there, and he was. Schmidt calls his place The Little Photo Shop and claims it’s “The World’s Smallest Photography Supply Store’. The former high school photography teacher sells prints of his own work but also stocks black and white film, Holga cameras and has a group of pinhole cameras in the back of the shop as well as other photo odds and ends. It’s a very cool space and it’s tiny which just adds to the charm. The shop is currently a little more crowded than usual as he is selling off his darkroom equipment and has the boxes stacked there. Hidden behind him is an antique safe, part of the original furnishings in the heritage building his store is located in.

Wilf  in the  ‘office’ section of his shop.

Wilf shows off a tiny camera that actually works. It originally came with rolls of film.

A few of Wilf’s photographs

Photo Work Spaces – Jenna & Tristan and Stefan’s

March 24, 2010 | Filed Under Photo Studios and Work Spaces | Leave a Comment 

Here’s a couple  of photos of photographer’s work spaces. First up is Tristan and Jenna’s space in Victoria and then Stefan’s in Whistler.

The calendar was bought with the idea that we would have a quick reference for checking the date.  It’s a 2009 calendar which I maybe looked at twice.  We like the illustrations so it keeps hanging.
Other wise the entire space behind our monitors is a white brick wall.  We have talked about putting up some images but honestly editing photos with a beautiful white brick wall as the back drop keeps the edit process focused.  Also after a final edit on a wedding or photo series, sitting back and watching a full screen slideshow with the blank wall is completely enjoyable.  The drawing of the two kissing faces to the right is an illustration waiting to be framed from a painter I worked with.

The first image is of editing Olympic Bobsled imagery at our temporary office in Whistler Village. Bridge CS4 runs on the 17″ Macbook Pro while race information is referenced on the second. Both are running off of 1-3 external hard drives with images from two separate photographers being edited, captioned, batched through Photoshop and uploaded. Works pretty smoothly. The second image is of the same setup but at home.

Cherry Blossoms and Residential Parking Only

March 21, 2010 | Filed Under Personal Project | Leave a Comment 

Spring is here with cherry trees in full bloom and boats still parked in yards and not out on the water.

What Does Your Photo Space Look Like?

March 17, 2010 | Filed Under Photo Studios and Work Spaces | 1 Comment 

This quote, by Magnum photographer Josef Koudelka, is probably my favourite quote that relates to photography which is why I keep it taped to my computer at work. I  should stick a copy to the back of my cameras so I’d see it everytime I went to take a photograph. And yes, I know Joseph is spelled wrong on the quote, but hey I just printed it out.

I was looking at it today and thinking about the different ways we , for lack of a better word, decorate our workspaces. Mine is pretty basic. I have the quote taped to my computer and I have a couple of bulletin boards with various photo related items, press passes, promos for photo shows, photographs stuck to it. It all serves as a bit of an inspiration I guess and brightens my area up a bit.

I often have a take out coffee cup on my desk too, usually filled with coffee of course, but this one, from Street Level Espresso on Fort Street is more entertaining than most featuring Gareth Gaudin’s Perogy Cat and an amusing but appropriate saying. Street Level’s owner Ken Gordon is an accomplished photographer as well and his shop features displays of his photographs.

So, I was wondering how does  everyone else decorate their workspace? Send me a photo ( 600 pixels on the longest side at 72 dpi) of your photo desk/area/studio and  I’ll try and post it here. Send a little info as to what we’re looking at as well.  dd (at) dondenton.ca That would be you, right now, send me a photo.

Looking At Vancouver

March 15, 2010 | Filed Under Photography, Street photography | Leave a Comment 

I really need to get back to Vancouver and just spend a few days wandering around capturing images not just snapping pix on a quick stroll back to other work, although that was fun too.

Olys All Over

March 4, 2010 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment 

Arnold Lim, A. P. Hovasse and myself before the closing ceremonies at BC Place Stadium

Well, it’s all over and it was quite a ride. The early bus rides and wet wet weather are fading memories and I’m left with a vague depression now that it’s all over. I’m sure a few others are feeling the same.

The closing ceremonies were, I thought, pretty cool although they dragged out at the end. A lot of people didn’t enjoy the Canadian Icon production but I thought it was great.

Now it’s back to the real world but I’ll post a couple of last images. A crash,  jubilation and dejection.