A small post just to let you know that I’m still beavering away ,here are a couple of recent 8×10 portraits:
© Ben Anderson
© Ben Anderson
© Ben Anderson
© Ben Anderson
© Ben Anderson
© Ben Anderson
Some of my photos have been included in recent monthly shows over at la pura vida gallery:
© Ben Anderson
© Ben Anderson
© Ben Anderson
© Ben Anderson
I recently noticed that my photography had become less dynamic. I think this is mainly because I’ve been concentrating on shooting medium and large format cameras. The cost of film & processing, the bulk and considered nature of shooting heavier equipment, had subconsciously altered how and when I chose to pull the trigger.
Predominantly this manifested itself in a shift away from recording life moments as they happen toward planned excursions with a camera. This has been both good and bad, some of the photos I’ve taken on MF/LF are without doubt my best work, but at the same time this has caused me to lose some of the spark I enjoyed about photography.
What I needed was to keep a foot in both camps so in an effort to address this I recently picked up a camera that provides is the exact opposite of the studied moment, an Olympus MJU II, a fully automatic point and shoot 35mm film camera. More photos to follow.
I have a print available for purchase through Nova Gallery.
The print is taken from my work in progress series 30 Something.
Here’s some of my recent 8×10 portraiture:
© Ben Anderson
© Ben Anderson
© Ben Anderson
© Ben Anderson
I primarily shoot using a Mamiya 7II 6×7 rangefinder, it’s a wonderfully simple camera to shoot with. The camera has a couple of viewfinder idiosyncrasies to overcome when you first start out with it*, but once you know what to expect from the framing it is really rather liberating to use. It is quiet, relatively compact, and above all incredibly portable.
The fact that it is a rangefinder means the camera is very easy to hand hold, removing the necessity for a tripod in all but the most extreme situations. This means you can shoot quickly and inconspicuously in many more situations than when carrying a cumbersome tripod. The upshot of this is that this camera has become almost like an extension of my body, it is with me almost all of the time. So it is particularly wrenching when the camera breaks. And it has done it twice now.
I don’t get much time to shoot which means I plan what I’m going to do – I like to take random meanderings from what are normally A-B routes, this way I find new rat runs for commutes whilst also reccying new locations to shoot. I also spend a fair amount of time using google maps satellite view to explore possible locations (as I know others do). Turning up at one of these locations to have my camera freeze after frame 1 is disappointing to say the least. The most recent time this happened I wasted 2 rolls by reloading to check if it was just some bizarre jam. Alas No – another day wasted, another month and a bit away for repair: 3 out of 11 months without the camera to date.
With the camera now safely back in hand I’m shortly heading out to run a roll through, hopefully this time 7 will once again be my lucky number.
* with a 65mm lens, parallax issues mean the frame lines crop peoples feet for full length close up portraits, and images at infinity are approx 20% larger than the frame lines.
© Ben Anderson
I got the first set of negatives back from the lab (Peak Imaging in the UK – use them, they are superb), and here is my first ever 8×10 photograph. The ‘model’ is my friend griffleriff (aka Stephen Griffin), the inverted quotes signify a bit of an in joke 
© Stephen Griffin
I’ve finally completed putting together my 8×10 gear. The last bits required to complete the puzzle were a Sinar Pan/Tilt head, a heavy duty Slik Professional 4 tripod, and a big laptop bag (TechAir 5504 – it’s superb), I use the bag for the film holders and general shooting paraphernalia.
© Stephen Griffin
So, with the gear all now being in place I’ve been able to get out and shoot on 8×10 film. Careful packing has allowed me to get all the parts of the P2 into my smallish rolling peli case, this has made it so much easier to get the camera to location than when I was lugging the huge peli 1650 about – no more of that!
I recruited my friend Griffleriff (Stephen Griffin) to come along as an assistant/Sherpa but he decided to take these photos of me using the P2 instead – no wages for Griff!
© Stephen Griffin
What I hadn’t counted on is how much of a dork I’d look whilst I was shooting with this thing Or perhaps I’m just kidding myself and I don’t require the camera to look dorky….
© Stephen Griffin
First scan from my 5×4 practice shots – ignore the net curtains!
© Ben Anderson
The girl’s name Maia is of Greek origin, and its meaning is “great; mother”. Also (Maori) “brave warrior”. Greek mythology: Maia was a beautiful nymph and the mother of Hermes, the messenger god. In Roman tradition, she is an earth goddess of springtime. The month of May was named in her honor.
© Ben Anderson