Carry On: Polaroid SX-70

Tough Kids 2005 © Brian Adams

In 2004, when I first started working for photographer Clark James Mishler, one of my first assignments was to scan, tone, and print his SX-70 polaroids for a show he was preparing for later that year. I fell in love with the little square images that he had created and manipulated on location in Mexico. He explained to me that when the SX-70 Polaroids were in temperatures of 80˙ and above, the emulsion was easy to manipulate, which allowed him to create photographs that looked like paintings; the images were slightly distorted with rays of color like brushstrokes. They were beautiful, almost like looking at water.

I bought my first SX-70 camera soon after at a garage sale in Bird Creek, Alaska for $20.00. I felt like I had struck gold, and I didn't even know yet how expensive and hard to find the film was at the time, which it is even more so now.

In 2006, Polaroid discontinued SX-70 film. For a long time, I thought I would never use my SX-70 camera again, but I am happy to say that The Impossible Project has stepped in, and is now manufacturing SX-70 film. I haven't had the chance to try out their film yet (it's on it's way!), but I have enjoyed seeing Luceo's Kendrick Brinson's results, and I'll be sure to share mine. The Polaroid SX-70 is a luxury item but definitely one to Carry On!

Check out Clark's Roids book here!

Carry On: Kodak Portra 400

All Photos 2011 © Brian Adams

In 2006 when I first started working with Getty Images and was preparing my portfolio for Global Assignments, Jamie Penny, an assignment coordinator and photo editor I truly admire, told me to slow down on the black and white and start shooting more color, primarily because color is just a lot easier to sell to the clients. He was right. I started experimenting with color films both positive and negative, and then in 2007 I found Kodak Portra 400NC. 400NC was fast enough for indoor and outdoor shooting, and the skin tones in my images were consistent indoors and outdoors, unlike some positive films I have used that are great for skin tones outdoors but work poorly indoors without the use of a strobe.

This year, Kodak introduced the New Kodak Portra 400. My initial thoughts were ones of hesitation and fear. (Ohh no, what are they going to discontinue?) Kodak discontinued the 400NC (NC=natural color) and 400VC (VC= vivid color) films, which they replaced with the Ektar (for vivid color) and Portra 400 (portraits/skin). I felt like I was loosing a dear old friend and I was going to have to move on, but after testing out the New Portra 400, I realized I gained more than I lost. The Portra 400 has an even finer grain, and I don't know if it's just me, but the skin tones look even more natural. The photos above were all shot using the new Portra 400. The first portrait of author Liz Murray was my biggest test for the film, but the whites came out white and the skin tones were exactly what I wanted! After that shoot all my skepticism went away. I feel blessed that kodak still makes a wonderful product for my needs and I look forward to many more years of their film. Carry on friends!

Sekonic Blog

Check out the Sekonic Blog featuring Brian & Ash with the Sekonic L-308s.

More info on Brian & Ash!!

baphotos.com

2011 © Brian Adams

This year has been one of new things; I married my beautiful wife, moved to a new apartment in a new city, and have made many new friends. So, it seems only right that I also should have a new website, which I am happy to say is now live at baphotos.com thanks to my very good life-long friend Kris Swanson. Thanks for all of your hard work, Kris!

The main concept of the site was clean and simple. To view an image on the old site, you had to click on each individual image, but now, all you have to do is click on a image and it will bring you to the next one without having to move your mouse. AND, da-da-da-da!: Bigger images! (The Hasselblad is happy about that.) We also added two new galleries that the old site didn't have: Coney Island Sundays and the Shishmaref collection of the Disapearing Villages series. Enjoy!

Two Poets

2011 © Brian Adams

On Monday, I had the pleasure of photographing poet Amanda J. Bradley and her fiance Raymond Hammond, who is also a poet and the editor of the literary magazine The New York Quarterly. We began the shoot in their wonderful Brooklyn apartment and then ventured down to a park a few blocks away. The shoot was relaxed and filled with talk of professions, changes in the print industry, and our mutual love of Brooklyn. Be sure to check out the work on their websites above!

Coney Island Sundays

Treasure Hunter #2
2011 © Brian Adams

Coney Island Sundays updated! More on Brian & Ash.

Carry On: Sekonic L-308S

Photos © Brian Adams

The Sekonic L-308S light meter is another wonderful tip handed down to me from my mentor Clark James Mishler. Clark has been photographing professionally in Alaska for 20+ years, so I never take his advice lightly, especially when it comes to choosing the right gear for photographing in Alaska's harsh weather.

The model above is my second Sekonic light meter. The first one I had was the Sekonic L308, which served me well for over five years until it finally just stopped working. By the time my L-308 died, the L-308S was introduced to the market with some nice new features. The L-308S is an incident and reflective light meter, and you can easily switch between incident or reflective with its sliding system without ever having to remove the dome, so you never have to worry about loosing anything. It only weighs 3 ounces, so it doesn't drag your pocket down, and if you're like me, it's always in your pocket. In short, it's a wonderful, simple, light, accurate light meter that I couldn't shoot without.

The photos above are just a few good examples of the benefits of using a handheld light meter. The photo of Ash in the middle was taken using the incident light; it was a nice overcast day, so the exposure was solid on the foreground and background. The second photo is of my friend Marian Call, and on this paricular shoot, I forgot my digital camera, which I usually use when shooting film so that I can double check my exposures for the film. For this photo, I used three flashes, and I adjusted the flashes until the exposure was even on the foreground and Marian. I was proud of this image when the film came back, knowing I used three flashes and no digital camera to back me up. It just goes to show you how important a handheld light meter is when shooting film; the light meter is never wrong.

Carry On, Carry On.

Iditarod - John Baker Takes The Lead

Photos 2009 © Brian Adams

Kotzebue native John Baker is currently leading the 2011 Iditarod Sled Dog Race! Baker is being trailed by Ramey Smyth of Willow, Alaska, and 4-time Iditarod Champion Lance Mackey is behind in 11th, claiming that "this is somebody else's year." Baker and Smyth have about 200 miles to go until the end of the race, so it is still anyone's race, but we, like Mackey, are rooting for Baker.

Above are some photos I took of John and his wife, Iva, at their home in Kotzebue, Alaska in 2009. They were both very welcoming and charming, and I could really tell how much they love the Iditarod, their dogs. I can't wait to see how this year's race ends! But whatever the end results, I am very proud of John Baker and grateful that I've had the chance to meet him.

March to March

All Photos © Brian Adams

Yesterday was my birthday! To read more about the festivites check out Brian & Ash!

Above are 25 photos celebrating my 26th year of being alive! All the photos were taken between March 11, 2010 and March 11, 2011. A good year. Here's to more to come!

Carry On: Gitzo G1297

Tom Yeager of Girdwood, Alaska for Newsweek
2008 © Brian Adams

I hated using tripods until I bought the Gitzo G1297 in 2007. I always thought of tripods as heavy, awkward, and in the way; for the most part, I would use my Slik tripod only out of guilt for having bought it. The Gitzo G1297 changed that; after I bought it, I found myself looking for more ways to use it, and carried it with me to every shoot. The Gitzo G1297 is made of the volcanic rock basalt, which makes it 20% lighter than an aluminum tripod like my old Slik. It's a three-section tripod, standing at 5" when fully extended, so it's actually usually more than what I need with my Hasselblad set-up, and the legs are retracted with the classic Gitzo twist system. (I find with this system it is easier to retract and bring the legs back up with one hand.)

For the tripod head, I use a Bogen ball head (Product 468MGRC2), which is a nice basic head with tension control, which really helps with heavier cameras. Other than that, the Bogen ball head is nothing to scream about, but I'd recommend to anyone especially for a first tripod set-up.

Carry on, carry on.

Coney Island Sundays

2011 © Brian Adams

Check out more photos from last weeks trip to Coney Island on Brian & Ash!

Carry On: Vivitar 283

2011 © Brian Adams

This tasty old recipe was handed down to me from my dear friend and mentor Clark James Mishler. Clark once told me a story when he was working at National Geographic in which he and his colleagues gathered all of the top flashes and tested them for recycling time and consistency. The Vivitar 283 came out on top, and he has been shooting with it ever since.

The Vivitar 283 was first introduced in 1970. It was the #1 flash for photographers from 1970 to 1973, in which time Vivitar sold over 3,000,000 of the flashes. Even though the flash is now discontinued, you can still easily find the flash and it's accessories online.

The photograph above is of my modified Vivitar 283's. The flash on the left has had its hot shoe removed and replaced with a Flash Foot One Household PC plug-in, which makes it easy to plug in household PC cords and radio slaves. On both of the flashes, the original Vari Powers were replaced with VP-1 Vari Powers. The VP-1 Vari Power is much easier to control and a lot more accurate when dialing in the amount of power you want.

In short, the Vivitar 283 is a tried and true flash unit, and I look forward to many more years and shoots with it. It's light and easy to carry, so:

Carry on, carry on...