Tuesday Artist Spotlight - Urban Junkies Photography

I've said it before in these spotlight posts, but I'm going to say it again. I love travel photography. And I really love well executed travel photography.

This week's spotlight is on Michelle from Urban Junkies photography.



Michelle takes some really incredible pictures. One thing I admire about talented photographers is their ability to make a really great image out of an ordinary situation.

Take for example my favorite image of hers. This was taken in downtown LA and it's of a passing bus. A passing bus wouldn't normally catch my eye, but Michelle's image is striking.



The scene itself with the movement of the bus and the vacant sidewalk combined with the perfect composition and dramatic colors make a great visual impact. My eye first picks up the the following cars, then the bold red color pulls me through the scene along with the bus. Movement can be hard to capture in an image, but Michelle nails it.

Another from her downtown LA series is available on her Etsy store. Take a look at WHOOSH!



Here are two more shots from her California travel photography that show off Michelle's great range when it comes to different subjects:





And here is another shot, this one from NYC, that I admire. The tension in this image is exactly what I've felt before when riding in a cab through Manhattan. You really get the feeling that you are in the scene. This image is untitled, but you can see it on her portfolio site in the New York City gallery:




Michelle is just as talented inside with portraits as she is outside with her travel photography. A very beautiful study of light and shadows can be seen in her Etsy store. The image is titled "Transmutation" and you can read about her inspiration for the image in a post on her blog.



Visit Michelle's portfolio site and her Etsy store to seem more of her incredible work. The examples in this post only scratch the surface when it comes to the number of incredible images Michelle has made.

You can also find find Michelle on her blog - make sure you pop by and leave her a comment!




Michelle's links
Esty Store: http://zuppaartista.etsy.com
Portfolio: http://www.urbanjunkiesphotography.com
Blog: http://urbanjunkiesartistlounge.blogspot.com

Did I tell you I'm running a half marathon?

Last month I posted about how I am signed up to run a half marathon in June with Team in Training. While I'm training I am also raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for cancer research and other cancer related programs. The end goal being to eliminate blood cancers.

So as a way to raise money during my training I decided to donate anything I make from my Etsy store to the LLS from the start of training up until race day. And, since I just listed one of the Holga shots I got in Boston recently I thought I'd post this note up with an update on how things are going.

So far the training has been good, although I am definitely ready for some warm weather to arrive. Yesterday's training run was 7 miles in 36 degrees with a rain. It wasn't pleasant. It was however the longest I have ever run, so even in spite of the weather I felt like I had accomplished something.

The coach and mentors from Team in Training have been great. The chapter I am part of has some long time TNT veterans with a lot of races under their belts, so I am learning a lot. And above all that the money I am raising is going to a really great cause. The Leukemia & Lymphoma society has invested more than $600 million in cancer research, a large part of that amount coming from the money raised by Team in Training participants.

So if you are interested in helping out the cause, and you have a bare spot on your wall that could use a print or two, visit my Etsy shop and place an order. 100% of the profits will be donated.

Visit my Etsy shop!




And for more info on the race and my training up dates, visit this page:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/ma/lkplacid09/mattallen

One week down... two to go

Last week I mailed my roll of phantom 620 film to Film Rescue Int'l to see if they could find any images on the at least 30 year old roll. The turn-around time is typically 3 weeks, so I am nearly at the 1 week down mark with two more to go.



Cool thing about Film Rescue Int'l is that they'll scan your negatives once they are developed and put them on a site where you can preview them and decide if it's worth getting prints or not. Since I do my own scanning I'm going to use the scans to decide whether it's worth it or not to have them mail the negatives back to me.

All in all it's a pretty cheap experiment. It'll cost $17 to get the negatives processed and around $8 to get them shipped back if they turn out worthy. It cost me about $5 to mail the roll out with delivery confirmation so if this whole thing works out I'll be out $30. If the negatives have no images on them, or they're so bad I can't get a decent scan it'll still only have cost me $22. That's way better than the $55 I was quoted at the local lab.

And to top it all off the guy I've been dealing with at Film Rescue (Greg) is a super swell dude. Very nice and easy to work with.

I know this sounds like a commercial for the service, and it sort of is, but rest assured that I'm not getting any special treatment for advertising these guys. I'm not a fan of blogs that post up positive reviews of services or products when they're benefiting from the company that provides them. It's very disingenuous. So let me repeat that I'm not getting any special treatment here - just giving some info on a company that so far has been great to work with.

2 more weeks and I'll write a post on whether this experiment produced anything of interest.

It'll be here before you know it.

arts and crafts

I've been neglecting my digital equipment. I've also been neglecting my Yashica Mat. Only the Holga has been getting use lately. Well, that is about to change I think.

Here's a shot I took the other day with the Yashica Mat. I love the look I get out of this camera. Why oh why does it have to be so expensive to shoot 120?



I think the Yashica Mat is going to be joining me to work once a week from now on.

Tuesday artist spotlight - Monica Shulman, Ciao, Chessa!

99% of the photos people take while on vacation are taken just for them. Because of that it can be hard to look at someone else's travel photos and really get a sense of what it was like to be there. But, when a photographer travels it usually means that the photographs they take are taken not just for themselves, but for others. When a really good photographer travels and makes images, the photos stand out because of the way they pull you to the location, the way they bring you there even if you've never been there. A good photographer can make you think you've been to a place you've never visited.



It was Monica's travel photography that first struck me. She's a very gifted photographer on a variety of subjects, but her travel photography in particular has an inspiring ability to tell a story and make you feel like you were there.





Take a spin through her online portfolio and you'll see images from France, Italy, Argentina, Mexico, Cambodia, Thailand and beyond, not to mention locations around the US. She captures incredible street scenes, beautiful landscapes and everything in between with a fantastic eye for detail and timing.







Monica also has a great eye for what makes a great image. Everyday objects are made interesting through her craft.






Monica lives in NYC, and if you're in the area she's got a show going on in Brooklyn right now until at least late spring. Swing by Le Chandelier Salon to see some of her work in living color (or black and white).

If you're not in NYC or Brooklyn you can find Monica at her Etsy shop, on her blog, and even on her portfolio site.

Make sure you stop by and say hello!

the start of something?

fire alarm control center, originally uploaded by mattallenphotography.

With my holga in hand I went out to brave the cold and get some lunch. I spied a door in an alley from the counter at the sandwich place so I decided to take a photo of it after I was done.

I noticed another door further down the alley so I took a shot of that too, then another on the way back. I think I have my theme for the photo book. I'm going to see how this next batch turns out, and if it's good I'll plan on using the doors in the alleys as my theme for the SoFoBoMo project I'm signed up for.

old buildings, you're being overtaken by new buildings. sorry.

old buildings, you're being overtaken by new buildings. sorry., originally uploaded by mattallenphotography.

Another from my "walking around Boston with my Holga" series. Today is a bright sunny day, so I'll make another trip around the city at lunch and see what I can get with the plastic beast.

smoke on the asphalt (steam really...)

smoke on the asphalt (steam really...), originally uploaded by mattallenphotography.

Walking into work last week I couldn't help but stop and get some shots of the steam venting out of this manhole. I had to play in the street while the traffic was stopped so I was a little worried about getting run over.

I wish I had the focus closer to the steam itself, but with the Holga it's pretty much a guessing game... and when you're dodging traffic and trying to estimate the distance between you and what you're shooting and then trying to translate that to the focusing dial on the holga well, you basically just take a stab at it and hope for the best.

walking to the lab, one frame left, what to shoot?

walking to the lab, one frame left, what to shoot?, originally uploaded by mattallenphotography.

guess the bridge (hint: it's rusty)

guess the bridge (hint: it's rusty), originally uploaded by mattallenphotography.

It's like christmas morning every time I get some film back. Sometimes I scan in an image and it's like I just opened the G.I. Joe aircraft carrier. Other times I scan it in and it's like opening a pack of tube socks. I feel like I get one decent frame out of a roll of 12 from the Holga. I really have a lot of learning to do on this camera.

Here's this was one image that wasn't complete garbage. I'll post more up either later today, or maybe tomorrow.

I've got two more rolls in the bucket ready to go out, and another roll halfway through in the Holga and the Yashica. I really really really need to get a tank and some chemistry to do the B&W at home... these film costs are getting a bit rich.