Wanderlust Finds Rest

I wrote my last post with so much excitement and anticipation and then just let it drop. I'm truly sorry. Those emotions and more were true, and they continued to play through me over the next week as I got to open up a padded manila envelope full of film and applicable notes and then load each roll into my camera, shoot over it, and send it to the photo center while anxiously drumming my fingertips against the closest surface.



I received one roll that had been shot on in Hawaii, New Zealand, and Seattle. The other three were single-exposed rolls that I turned into interplays between me and each individual person. (I almost used the word "conversation" here, but "interplay" seems to work a lot better. If this process were to be simulated into a conversation it would be unpredictable and inconsiderate as voices continually overlapped each other. I'm glad these photos didn't take on such an abrasive attitude.)

Here are a couple results between my dad in Hawaii, my friends in New Zealand, my aunt in Seattle, and me in Texas:







These are between Hawaii and Texas:





New Zealand and Texas:



Seattle and Texas:







There are many more results on Flickr, if you are interested.

Here's for Hoping

Yesterday I received the news that two Hawaii-born rolls of film completed their first journey. They are safe and sound at the home of Peter and Helen in New Plymouth, NZ.

The next step, then, is for Peter and Helen to reload this film into their camera (they're only going to use one) and take 24 shots. I'm not giving them set rules on locations or subjects, so it will be a surprise when this all comes together.

I want this to be about their voices, not just me orchestrating a complicated project in locations I hold dear that I can control from afar. It's a glimpse at journey and time and place, integral parts of the human experience.

Having said that, I am still bombarding the two of them with emails about the finer details of analog/film photography and the lost concepts of aperture, shutter speed, etc. that average Joe's digital point-and-shoot doesn't address. I've said before that it is essential in this project that the negative is underexposed with each shot. Because the camera my dad was using in Hawaii did not have much manual control of settings, I'm a little nervous that by the time the film gets to me the negative will have been too exposed. To increase likelihood that something display-worthy will come out of this project, I'm asking Peter and Helen to pick up another roll of film and shoot over one of my dad's and then on the new one. That way, if the Hawaii film doesn't work, we'll at least have a story of New Zealand, Bellingham, and Abilene.

At least I'm hoping.

More Than Just Alright

Before I get started with my day, I have to sit down here briefly and show you some of my pictures from my trial roll. Out of the 24 developed, only 6 or so were keepers (i.e. the kind that get me really excited about this project).

I got some great lighting in the four below that makes me wonder if the combination of indoor and outdoor do this. If I were already planning on putting together a series, these four would be it. For more, go take a look at my flickr site.

I'm breathing a sigh of relief as I realize this might work out more than just alright.