Category: Series

PressPan

I am working on a series about the prairie landscape. I really wanted to use the the panorama format to fully capture the vastness of the western prairies. I considered a few different cameras, the Xpan, the Widelux and the Horizon. For various reasons, none of them fit the bill. I discovered the PressPan panorama cameras made by Trastic. I was fortunate enough to find a used one online.

It is a beast of a camera. I absolutely in love with the images I am getting from this camera.

PressPan example
PressPan example
PressPan example
PressPan example
PressPan example

Double Exposure Part 2

I am continuing to make double exposures using film, but was curious to see what kind of images could be made by different people sharing the camera.

I purchased a simple point and shoot film camera that would be easy to use by someone not familiar with shooting film.

Harman point and shoot film camera.

This Harman reusable camera fit the bill and as a bonus, came with two rolls of film. I loaded the camera and gave it to my two daughters. After they had finished the roll, I rewound the film and re-exposed the film.

Here are some of the results:

Multiple exposure 1
Multiple exposure 2
Multiple exposure 3
Multiple exposure 4
Multiple exposure 5

Double Exposure

I have started making double exposures the old school way with a film camera. Load the film, shoot the entire roll, rewind the film to the beginning and shoot the roll again. I really enjoy the element of chance that comes into play. Not every image is a success, but every roll produces a least a couple of gems.

Double Exposure
Double Exposure
Double Exposure
Double Exposure

Double Exposure
Double Exposure

Small Journeys

I was interested in exploring the world by sending pinhole cameras through the mail, and having them record their small journeys.

I built pinhole cameras and loaded them with photo paper. I took them to various post offices in the area, opened the shutter and then mailed them to myself. They would generally arrive back within 2 to 10 days.

After the camera returned home, I developed the photo paper to reveal a record of the camera’s journey. I then rewrapped the camera with brown paper, and then sent it out on another journey. The camera pictured below, was reused 9 times.

I conceived of this project before the pandemic, but as things progressed, the idea of sending something out to explore the world, became more relevant.

The pinhole camera. The pinhole is in the “eye” on the shipping label.
The images from the small journeys.

Aqua Oculus

I first became interested in how elements of the environment could participate in the image making process during the “Beneath” project. For “Beneath” I was using a modified film development tank as a pinhole camera. As I was filling the tank with water in order to make the photograph, I realized that the water became an active component in the image making process.

I was interested in seeing how the water collected from the environment where the image was being made, could contribute to the final image. The clarity and quality of the water all had an effect on the final image.

I constructed the camera around a 4×5 film holder and a salvaged shutter from a discarded Nettar camera. I created a compartment in the front of the camera to hold a plastic sphere that I could fill with water. I filled the sphere with water that I collected on location, placed it in the compartment and taped it shut to make it light tight. The light entered through the shutter and the water filled sphere became the lens to form the image.

I made the exposures onto photo paper that I had loaded into the film holder. Most of the images had exposure times of 1/25 of a second.

Aqua Oculus Camera
Water collected to form the lens
The lens chamber
Bow River
Bow River – Elbow River confluence
Fish Creek
Kananakis River
Nose Creek
Nose Creek Bow River Confluence
Sylvan Lake
Weasel Head
West Nose Creek