I tend to stay out of politics as a general rule. I am firmly on the left, but often feel like an outsider around most people on the left because I grew up in a different time and place than most of my friends and hence have different opinions on some issues, but the systematic dismantling of Roe, and with it the erosion of all personal freedoms isn’t about politics, it is about a minority having control over the majority. It is another step toward society where we all have fewer personal freedoms. It is another step toward a less secular society, which is a certain type of hell for some of us, one worse than the one we’ve lived these last two years. 

Adding insult to this, we’ve just spent two years with a vocal part of the Republican minority crying about how their personal freedoms were under attack because we asked them to think of other people. Those voices are conspicuously absent now that we are facing the biggest roll back of individual rights this nation has ever seen.

I’ve always said that the fall of Roe would cause me to strongly consider immigrating to a more forward thinking country. I know that’s not a real solution, but I don’t want to live under a theocracy, and shouldn’t want to either. 

robert grunau

I was in American Music just goofing off and wasting time playing instruments I had no interest in buying, it’s just good to stop by a guitar shop and pick a bit. Anyhow, this guy came in and started slaying it, making $500 dollar guitars sound like $5000 guitars . I was too shy to ask him if I could take a couple photos, but I saw this one as I was getting ready to leave and I couldn’t help myself. 

Ariel Posen at the Sunset Tavern, Seattle Wa April 2022

HP5 pushed to 3200
Leica M6 
Voigtlander 35mm Nokton

Seattle April 2022

Leica M6
HP5 + 1
Home dev and scanned 

I like this photo because she looks like a Buddha with the way her hand is near a mudra. The forehead tat pulls the whole look together. 

Leica M6 
HP5 + 1
28mm f5.6
Home dev and scan

I don't do many street portraits, mostly out of fear, so when someone asks, I kindly oblige. 

This guy stopped me as I was walking toward Pike Place Market. "Hey! Take my picture". "Sure I replied" He was patient as I took a light reading with my meter and made sure I nailed the focus. 

Leica M6
Kodak Portra 800
TTArtisans 28mm f5.6

University of Washington 2022

This came from my first solo home developed roll (my friend helped me with the last two rolls) I struggled to get the negatives on the reels and some of the frames got really scratched. I also didn't set myself up for success by getting everything together before I started. Lesson learned. That said, I'm excited to do more of this. 

I've also been working on relying on the in camera meter less, and I used an incident meter to expose this scene. After a couple weeks of this I'm getting better at reading the light. 

View this on web app if you can.
I'm pretty proud of this frame. 

Details: 
film: HP5 pushed to 800
Leica M6
 

 University of Washington — March 2022

Kodak Tri-X pushed to 800
Voigtlander Bessa R2
TT Artisans 28mm 5.6

Developed and scanned at home. 

Cherry Blossom Fest — University of Washington 

Leica M6 
TT Artisans 28mm 5.6
Kodak Portra 400

Voigtlander Bessa R2
TT Artisans 28mm 5.6
Ilford HP5 + Pushed to 800

Posted this yesterday, but the scan of the print was too dark. Here’s the negative scan with some post in SilverEfex Pro

Voigtlander Bessa R2
TT Artisans 28mm 5.6
Ilford HP5 + Pushed to 800

This set up rules. Bessa R2 with TT Artisans 28mm f5.6 HP5 Plus pushed to 800 Dev and scan by my friend Ryder. Print made from the scanned negative on 8.5 x 11 Moab Juniper Baryta paper

Seems crazy to be getting into film photography right now, but I think I can keep the costs down if I dev at home

Not sure how someone can look this put out after they just copped some Gucci, but telling him I liked his style pacified him. 

Happy’s Strumming Hand — Seattle Wa March 2022

Pike Place Market — Seattle Wa March 2022

Pike Place Market — Seattle Wa February 2022

I don’t go inside the Market that often. I'm still working up the courage to use a flash, so my options are limited. 

Processed in LR and SilverEfex Pro. 

Bob Catlin’s Banjo — Ballard, Seattle WA February 2022

I struggled with posting this one. It’s unconventional, but I like it quite a bit, and that should be what matters. There are a millions of conventional photos out there, and that’s amazing and some of those photos are amazing and I’m not even sure I’ve ever taken an amazing photo… at least not one that fits the convention of a “good photograph”.  I should maybe work on that first, but I like what I likes I guess and I like this photo with its out focus mandolin obscuring the subject’s face, and casting the instrument as subject. 

I also took this while sitting on stage with my own guitar so there’s that as well. 

One last music photo. From the bluegrass jam I went to last night. 

Went to my first show in over two years last night. Concert photography is a whole other beast and I forgot how hard it it. Had to cheat my guidelines a bit to get these.

Processed in LR and SilverEfex Pro 4

Went to my first show in over two years last night. Concert photography is a whole other beast and I forgot how hard it it. Had to cheat my guidelines a bit to get these.

Processed in LR and SilverEfex Pro

Went to my first show in over two years last night. Concert photography is a whole other beast and I forgot how hard it it. Had to cheat my guidelines a bit to get these.

Processed in LR and ColorEfex Pro 4

Pashastin Wa February 2022

Processed in ColorEfex Pro 4

 Northgate — Seattle Wa February 2022



Something different 

Yesterday I was walking down to the Post Office and happened across a free box that had a Fuji Instax Wide camera in it. I picked it up, got some batteries and film and I’m off to the races. 

If it was good enough for Robert Frank and Walker Evans, we’ll then it is good enough for me. 

Family photos are my favorite photos 

Processed using LR and ColorEfex Pro

For the last several months I have been interested in signs, specifically ones that express political views (public affirmations of religious views are inherently political in my opinion), and so I have been trying to capture them while out shooting. 

This started as a project only documenting public professions of faith, but I live in a city that is predominantly secular, and you typically see the same people preaching on the street again and again. So I expanded my view. 

I made a small print of this one to put in my journal, but I think it is ready for a bigger sheet. 

Pike Place Market — Seattle Wa January 2022

Spent a day shooting at 200 ISO. I needed to rely on the light meter a bit (I usually shoot at 1600) but I’m pretty happy with the results, even if it meant letting a little motion blur in. 

3rd and Pine — Seattle Wa January 2022

Spent a day shooting at 200 ISO. I needed to rely on the light meter a bit (I usually shoot at 1600) but I’m pretty happy with the results, even if it meant letting a little motion blur in. 