Server banner image posted by Neutrinissimo in the gallery thread Some EDC Bronica shots
I am your humble host, the_abecedarian, and you can check out my work by clicking that link or checking out Youtuber Dan Mars’ new video featuring a guest roll I sent in!
This week I’ll be bouncing photons off your retinas, stimulating your cortexes, and ultimately causing you to slap your knee and exclaim “hot damn!” This week’s light particles-slash-rays come in the form of an iconic protest moment, a subtle portrait, abstract symmetry, misty nature, and sunny americana. Plus, I’ll shout out a collaboration thread with a shot that has a whole cat in it!
Gallery Gems
Despite the very understated title, Gary Indiana gives us some iconic shots from recent protests in solidarity with the Palestinian people. This shot in particular depicts a perfect moment: the speaker is in a moment of fiery focus; her fellow speakers or supporters in turn look out into the (implied) audience or directly into the camera with a determined gaze; and even the sound grip, holding up the loudspeakers, is clearly in a moment of listening and engagement. The four subjects are marked by their hijabs and keffiyehs, then subtly framed by the truck bed in which they stand, the trees in the background, and the media in the corner.
You might want to view this one indoors, because Taury only allows you juuuuust enough light to see by in this gentle, ethereal portrait. The highlight on the subject’s face is achieved with a soft light, yet one that still produces a bit of shine and three-dimensionality. All the rest is merely sketched out in silhouette, with a hint of detail in the folds of the shirt, leading me to feel as though seeing even this much is a rare privilege.
Okay, okay, look I pulled some strings and got you some more light. NimbleDave uses it to create symmetry and positive/negative inversion to take a simple subject and elevate it. His choice of partially-discolored leaves — are they in the middle of turning red? Merely stained? — and a lightly-textured background keep this image from veering too much into abstraction and pure linework, without breaking the minimalism. The arrangement of the leaves gives the image some dynamism, despite the lack of movement.
Ohhh you wanted the leaves to be outside. So demanding! Well, good thing that Mymmy was here to provide this mist-erious morning shot for us. It feels almost as if we are witnessing a new world being created, starting with the first few trees, the first bit of water and earth, the first gleam of light. Click the gallery link above and the instagram link below for more shots of this new world!
Mist? darkness? what are we doin’ here? — this is photography and we want to see things. Full afternoon sun beats down on an electric (or motorized?) bike carrying a red-shirted, black-helmeted rider in faded jeans on a wide, empty main street. In the background, a kitchy carpet store claims to “beat them all” in gigantic text. It’s a recent shot that feels like an echo of mid-century americana.
Community Collaborations
Alt Process & Wet Plate
Managed by Lithe
The Alt Process & Wet Plate collaboration thread gains another new, talented member in Wolf of 1918. He specializes in tintype portraits, especially of American Civil War reenactors, like this one. Managing a heartfelt portrait on a difficult photographic process and managing to get the cat to look at the camera? Now that is a miracle. Click through to the thread to read the heartfelt note the subject wrote as a thank you for the portrait of him with his best pal.
Have an idea for a great new collaboration?
We’re always taking suggestions!
Make a post in the General Chat and tag in a Curator or Trustee with your idea and join the growing group of curators at One More Stop who keep the community humming along. We look forward to hearing from you!
That’s it for this week! Some parting wisdom: print your images. That hard drive will eventually die, the cloud will eventually glitch out, your phone will eventually be lost. Make books and prints, send some to friends, and put them up in your place. Also, join the discord.