Mr. Miller Poses for a Good Cause

Penny's four-legged pal hams it up in front of the camera during the 'Portraits for Penny' pet-portrait campaign. He is way too cute huh?!?!?!?

A New Look

Our blog is getting a facelift! There is so much going on at CCforP to keep up with we need more room to bring it to you. More pictures, more links with all the updates and great photographic information you love. Monday June 22, 2009 be sure to check out our new look!


*Note * If you have subscribed to our RSS feed or used the "Follow" button for email updates, your blog feed may be interrupted in the update. Check in on Monday to see our new diggs and to reconnect.

As always, thanks for your support of The Charleston Center for Photography. Enjoy the new blog!

A day of photography fun...

We had a blast at CCforP today hosting a handful of 1st and 2nd graders with the Roper St. Francis Learning Center Day Camp for an afternoon of photography fun. Dan Hale and Amelia Philips Hale took all of the coolest things that you can do with cameras and put them all into one jam packed afternoon. In the end I am not sure who had more fun; the kids or us! Keep scrolling for some pictures of what the kids found!

The kids not only had a great time, they took some amazing photos! Have a look at a few snaps:

Instructor Dan, taken by GraceInstructor Amelia, taken by GraceA picture of something down by RaniaA picture of something up, taken by Mary HopeA picture of someone else, taken by TimothyA picture of a line, taken by LoganA picture of what a bug would see, taken by Lily KA picture of something moving, taken by LaihlaA picture of something moving, taken by JackA picture of a shadow, taken by GraceA picture of something far, taken by George

A picture from up high, taken by Emily

A picture of a reflection, taken by Aaron

Julia Lynn in Style Court

Check out this article in Style Court featuring our very own Julia Lynn... Congrats Julia!

Julia will be teaching a One Day Workshop, June 28 entitled Photographing Your Baby. This workshop is especially for parents and grandparents of little ones that want to learn how to best capture those fleeting moments with their little ones. Great for anyone who loves to scrapbook! Class will go over basic camera settings, use of natural light and a few tips of things that you have a home that you can use to make your home snapshots have a more polished look.

Be sure to sign up early to reserve your spot in this popular workshop! You can sign up by going to www.ccforp.com. See you there!

Teen Summer Camp

Summertime... a time of swimming and suntans, roadtrips and reading lists, mosquitos and CAMP!! This year we are doin' it up CCforP style with our own version of summer camp. Our week long Teen Summer Photo Camp kicks off this July and is open to all teens no matter their photographic level. 'Campers' will be challenged on an individual level and as a group with photographic projects designed to teach them the basics of photography, the digital darkoom and beyond.

They'll be having so much fun developing their creativity they won't even notice that they're learning! 'Camp Counselor' Alice Keeney will lead teens in a variety of fun projects from an image treasure hunt to creating their own blog to document their photographic journey all designed to teach a strong foundation in photography.

At the end of camp they will each have their own featured gallery on the CCforP website to show friends and family their work from the week.

'Camp' runs from July 13th thru 17th / 9:30am - 5:30pm / Lunch provided

Great Photo Stories To Look Over

MPJ 2009 Multi Media Photojournalism Stories

I encourage any photojournalism enthusiasts to go and check out this site. There are several multi media pieces that I believe you will enjoy.

Thanks,

Stacy Pearsall

"The Lost" Interview...

Gary Geboy has been a photographer for over 30 years. In his earlier days he traveled the world working as a cinematographer from Peace Corps documentaries in Kyrgyzstan to a National Gallery of Art exhibit on ancient Mexico. All the while creating environmental portraits. His recent work, shows us how he views his own back yard, the Lowcountry. His work has been seen at the Smithsonian's Rock and Soul Museum in Memphis, TN, the National Park Services visitor center at the Manzanar National Historic Site in California, and the Kings Mountain National Military Park in Blacksburg, South Carolina. His book of images Transfer Of Grace is featured on the international Holga photography website Holga Inspires and is a finalist for ForeWord Magazine’s photography book of the year award.

Our own Tim Pakron had a chance to chat with artist recently. In this interesting interview Geboy makes the point that it's not about the tools, it's all about the artist using the tools. A better camera will not make you a better photographer. Here is a bit of that conversation:

Gary, what type of camera did you use for these images?

For this show I used primarily a Holga. Some of the earlier stuff was off of 35mm point shoot. But mainly I used a Holga.

Now, was this a modified Holga, I know of some that are modified with a glass lens?
No I use a straight Holga that I bought probably 15 years ago. I didn't use it much until about 4 or 5 years ago.

But what about your color photography, that wasn't with a Holga was it?

No, for color it was a point and shoot... I think it was a $59 Olympus.

When you go out shooting...what is your thought process? Why do choose to work with a Holga?
Well to me the negative is just a beginning. It doesn't matter what I shot it with. I don't like the sharp lenses. Mainly because my work isn't geared around being really sharp. I'm not worried about that. I want to spend the least amount of money on the camera. I can manipulate the negative in Photoshop and create a negative the way I want it.

So you're making a new negative in Photoshop? Could you tell me more?

Yes, I'm creating a negative in Photoshop. Then I print the new negative onto a Mylar plastic. For me its a combination of combining old technology with new technology. I'm not gonna go out with a 5 by 7 camera at this point. Maybe some day. But at this point, what really works well is what I'm doing. My negative is just a start. I'll add things or subtract things. I don't do things that are obvious. Really, the idea behind the book was to not create photographs of an exact place but I wanted the photograph to be a perception of what the area that we call the low country is- not a reality. The whole technology thing sprung off of that. I needed to do that to change the environment I was looking at. When I go out I know exactly what I want to see. Or I find something close to that.

So, when you go out an shoot you kind of pick and choose what you like and then combine the pieces together like a puzzle- creating the overall image you want?

Yes. And it is funny because I'll have people tell me, "I've seen that exact view!" and I know they didn't because it doesn't really exist.

But that means you succeeded right? Would you say you wanted these images to trigger a memory, even if it is not from an exact reality?

Yes. And I didn't want to put any place names- it was really difficult for me. I didn't even write down where I was when I was photographing. I just stopped when I liked a place. But it posed a problem when I needed to name a place! But for the most part I got it.

So, what's in your gear bag?

I have a Holga, a tripod, and lots of bug spray!

Can you tell me about your experience with printing platinum palladium prints?

I learned it 35 years ago while I was in school. I never really used it much until about 5 years ago. I got away from doing silver prints because I became annoyed. I would find a paper that I liked once I would get comfortable with it the manufacturer would discontinue it. I got fed up so I decided I was going to go back to platinum. It's expensive but you know you can control it. Nothing is going to change.

Is there a downside to this process?

Well, the platinum metals are expensive. A 10 ml vile is $260. it depends on how lucky you are with how many prints you can get. It is a really finicky sort or thing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. You only need 10 to 12 drops, but it still adds up.

So how long did it take you to get comfortable with this technique?

It took me a about a year to get comfortable with it. And I wasn't doing it every day. It really doesn't take that long to get used to. Ultimately, it s a really simple process. You mix up a couple of different chemicals, put on paper and expose it. What becomes difficult about it is it changes with the environmental conditions. If its warm out, it comes out different than when it does in the winter. Depending on the paper it can work good butt if you get a different batch it might not work so well. It is very susceptible to changes in the environment. That's what takes time to get used to. You just have to give up when it doesn't work and com back to work on it tomorrow. But I love it. It creates ethereal sort of image.

How many print editions do you do? They can't all be the same [because of the nature of the process] then, can they?

Correct, they would all be different. No print is exactly like the next one. Although the pigment prints [reproductions] are all the same. I do an edition of 25 for those. The platinum prints I usually do 5 or 10. It is rare when I only do 1 or 2.

It looks as though you are using infrared film in some of your work?

No, I'm not. Most of the book was done over the course over a couple of summers. I wanted to create a sense of heat to these places. I didn't want any long shadows. I didn't want any skies with fluffy white clouds like you get in winter. I wanted blank skies or a storm cloud. I didn't want anybody to know when and where the sun was. So I chose to do it all over the course of summer. People think it is infrared but it's really not. I think I've created a sense of heat by over-exposing. If the whites are going to blow out then I let them blow out.

So what type of film do you use?

Whatever I can get cheap! I process everything in the darkroom straight away. With a Holga, you begin with a disadvantage- so it's sort of a flat image. You gotta do something [with the image]. Marrying that technology with Photoshop works well for me.

What are your thoughts on digital photography?

I think it's great. If I were a commercial guy, I would be doing that myself. The problems I have with it are the same problems I had with video switching to digital. I remember from when I was a cinematographer. Things started to swithch over and then budgets started to get reduced. You also lost a chunk of that image going to video tape and then transfering to digital. You can get it back but you have to do it with post processing. There is a lot more post work with digital. Not to say that there wasn't before... but it is what it is.

Ultimately, it comes down to what that final image is. I don't care what or how you got it. But if I say [wow] and it really knocks my socks off then it doesn't matter what you took it with. Also, digital is relatively expensive- but its cheap to do. With digital if you take 500 shots in the afternoon there's a chance that 1 or 2 are going to be good. But there is a loss of the concept when you approach the work this way. Whereas when you shoot film you shoot 60 or 50 frames and the odds of getting something are less [without skill and a strong concept]. It is unnecessary to take the 500 shots of a subject the way that people do when they have a digital camera. But they do it because they think it costs them nothing but time.

How do you feel about colleagues closing their darkroom and completely switching to digital?

Its a shame but that's the way of the world. it would be nice if everyone had the darkroom but that's not the way commerce and business works. There are still a lot of pros working in film- but there are the same or more working in digital. It depends on what the market is. The way the world now is digital. It's sad because its nice to have appreciation from where it came from. But that's just the way business is going these days.

What advice would you give to beginning photographers/recent graduates?

Shoot, shoot, shoot, and then shoot. Shoot anything that moves or interests you. That's the only way you learn anything. You've got to shoot.

And the other thing- look at what has come before you. I think that what is great about the internet is you can go on flickr or type in any name of a photographer and all these websites come up. You can see what people are doing. You can see what was done 20, 30, or 100 years ago. I think that is an incredible way to learn.

Thank you Gary for taking the time to talk with me.

Tim

To see more of Gary's work you can go to:

flickr

~OR~

websiteAll images © Gary Geboy 2009

Copies of Gary's book Transfer of Grace will be available for sale at CCforP. Pick yours up when you come to see the exhibit June 26th - July31st in the CCforP gallery, located at 654 King St suite D Charleston, SC 29403. See you there!