Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Progress and plans

Almost done with the Kickstarter script. Sam and I went over plans for the video and decided to use "Seeds" as a backdrop, for at least part of it. Wish that parking lot on 16th street wasn't there. Denver parking lots: the bane of my existence since 1974! I'll have to look at the older photos--not sure what was there before. Possibly a gas station.
Organized photos that we are going to repeat. Many of them were done during the summer months last year. Harsh shadows and totally washed-out streets. Streets are important parts of these photos, so they have to be right. Also, the view down Wynkoop street from 16th. We'll be meeting at 7:30 on Friday morning to cover that view. The EPA building should have some nice light; hope it's soft!
I'm also working on my book, "Love Letter to the Railroad Yards," to be published by blurb. The question is, should I have Photocraft make the JPEG's or should I do it at home on my own scanner?

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

First look at the 37 exhibit prints (draft version)

Today I printed out the 2009-2012 prints that correspond to the 37 that were exhibited in 1981. For the most part they look really good. A couple of them could use a re-do because of Denver's harsh summer light. We may (gulp) finally go digital on at least a couple of them, as Chris recommended. Film has proven to be very expensive because we have to digitize the images anyway. Next time, there probably won't be any film anymore the way things are going with Kodak.
I pulled out my old photo gear and I feel like I'm surrounded by Kodak Yellow...sad memories of a wonderful place to work (three summers in college). I learned photography there in the company's darkrooms. Too bad the "Silver Halide Gang" didn't see the digital handwriting on the wall...
This project was done completely with Plus-X. Just as in 1978-79.

Friday, July 6, 2012

Visit to a Wazee building

Today Sam and I had lunch with a friend who owns a building on Wazee St. We  ate at McCormick's in the Oxford Hotel, then walked over to the building, which was designed by Frank Edbrooke about a hundred years ago. (Edbrooke was the architect of both the Brown Palace and the Oxford.) Soon we'll set up a time to go inside and photograph some of the more interesting attributes, like the huge wooden beams, very large windows (for the time) and even the freight elevator. (We like details like that).
Tomorrow I meet with Chris, who is printing the contemporary photographs. He will match those to the two older images, which I printed in 1981 on Portriga Rapid, using a variety of old developers (Amidol, for one--Walker Evans used it. His fingernails turned brown.) It will be interesting to see how Photoshop will handle the match. This time we will probably matte and frame horizontally rather than vertically.
Details, details...my love letter to Denver. (Theme for the Kickstarter campaign.)

Thursday, July 5, 2012

A little rain

Finally we're getting some rain in Denver, but mostly it's wind and thunder. One can only hope that the lightning doesn't spark another fire.
Got the negatives back from that smoky morning I photographed in Denver. The intersection of Wynkoop and 16th is highly frustrating. Once again, the Tattered Cover building is very dark and the EPA building is very light. Sam thinks I should try dawn! We need another cloudy day, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards quite yet. Cloudy, without lightning and rain, obviously.
Tomorrow is a tour of a building on the National Register and a discussion about its original purpose, renovation and great architectural features. Looking forward to it!
I'm making progress on the railroad yards book. I'm searching for a graphic artist now to come up with a good cover.