alexluyckx.com | blog

Kodak announced on June 22nd, it will be ceasing production of the iconic Kodachrome line of slide film after 74 years. Kodachrome was first introduced in 1935 and quickly gained popularity and earned an iconic status in the photography world. Especally after the haunting Afghan Girl portrait was published on the cover of National Geographic in 1985. The haunting image was captured by professional photographer Steve McCurry on Kodachrome. In addition to that Paul Simon wrote a song about the film, titled “Kodachrome.”

I would never think that a song would be written about a particular film. But then again, I’ve never used the stock, and at this point probably never will. It is hard to come by and even harder to get developed, as it has to be sent to Kansas, the only remaining K-14 lab (K-14 being the name of the process for developing Kodachrome).

For more details:
Official Kodak Press Release
A Tribute to Kodachrome

The art of candid street photography is a fine subtle one. First thing you need to get over is knowing where it is OK to do it and where NOT to do it. First off, it is perfectly legal to photograph people when their in public space, this includes streets, squares, and municipal spaces. For example, if there was a massive street party happening, you can go around photograph people and post their images on the Internet without fear of legal repercussions. Canadian Photography Laws allow this. (This even includes children!). If it’s a private event on private property, then permission must be obtained (preferable in writing) from the venue owner. Often Malls can be picky about photographers taking photos inside the mall. If approached by an agent of the mall (This includes Security) be open and honest and if asked to leave do so without complaint.

Nikon D300 ~ AI Nikkor 135mm 1:2.8

Now it becomes a question of gear, as in what to bring along? Again it all depends on the situation. Back in Febuary I went over to a local sledding hill on a warm day (warm by winter standards, so zero degrees Celsius). The lenses I brought along, my 50mm 1.8 and 10-20mm. Both strange lenses for such an activity. Sure I could have taken my telephoto lens and stood off at a distance out of harms way. But then I would’ve looked to be up to no good. Hence the ultra wide and very low profile 50mm. The reason? Simple, I could get in close, I interacted with the kids and the parents. By the end of the ‘trip’ I had three email addresses to send the photos to.

Nikon D300 ~ Sigma DC 10-20mm 1:4-5.6 EX HSM

Out on the street is a different story. But again, the trick is to be able to catch life, without you influencing it. That’s the key to catching people unawares. Most people when they see a camera will either shy away or strike a pose or something between the two. This is where the telephoto helps, either a huge zoom or a short mid-range telephoto.

Nikon D300 ~ AI Nikkor 135mm 1:2.8

Nikon D300 ~ AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm 1:2.8G VR

Sometimes both serve their purpose, the 70-200 will get you noticed more as I found out when I ventured into Union Station with the big lens still attached to my camera and was called over by Security. Yeah, they really wanted to know what I was doing. But even with street photography the small unassuming lenses like a 50 or 35mm will get you the results you are looking for. For technique, open the aperture, shoot at f/4 or straight up wide open (my fastest lens is the AI-s Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 lens, but that has a very low depth of field so I’d usually shoot at f/2 where possible on lenses faster than f/2.8) So that the subject is in focus, everything else is blurred around them. The idea is to catch them!

Nikon D300 ~ AF Nikkor 35mm 1:2D

The question that was posed to me this afternoon standing outside an abandoned building.

I was framing up my shot when I notice a woman walking past me, then a tap on my shoulder, the woman whom I had really paid no mind to had returned.

“Are you good with cameras?” she asked.

Obviously my D300 with grip and 17-55mm lens made some form of impression on her. She proceeded to say she was on her way to pickup a video camera “camcorder” and wanted to know if she was getting a good one then handed me a sheet of paper about said camera. I read over the specs while she said it was a gift for her husband for father’s day, and for video taping the grandkids and putting the videos online. She was getting it from Henry’s a name, that I trust (I explained that all of my equipment even the bag and film was from Henry’s). I handed her the paper back and said she was getting a good camera and was in excellent hands. She thanked me and left.

I proceeded into the building.

I reserve the right to refuse jobs that go against my moral and philosophical views

That is my disclaimer, but what happens when you’re asked by a friend to do a shoot that falls outside of your own morals? In this particular case, I did it, with some things put into place to protect myself. I speak of course of my latest PVC shoot. I’m happy to say that my conditions were well met and the shoot was a success. So as a photographer stick to your morals, if a shoot disturbs you, or makes you feel uncomfortable, don’t do it. Or insist that things be put into place that allows you to feel comfortable and stay with your moral leanings.

More can be found here: PVC Shoot on Flickr

As many have noticed, I don’t have a main front page. I’ve been drawing, designing, and coding for a new site design that will be coming up in the near future, I hope.

We’re working on it, have to keep the site dynamic.

What is coming up photography wise for alex luyckx | photography for the month of June? So far I have two jobs booked.

June 6th - PVC Photoshoot (Kitchener)
June 13th - Wedding Job (Toronto)

In a recent contest, Bridgeport Health, the owner of the Old Don Jail building, opened it’s doors to Photographers for a contest. I entered, along with 49 other photographers, submitting a total of 250 photos (5 per photographer). One of my submitted images was selected along with three others as secondary prize winners from the panel of judges. The image selected is below.

Other details, and the other winners can be found at: http://www.thedonjail.com/photoContest.asp

I figured it would be best to do a blog about myself here on my site, a way to stream news about myself, the site, and upcoming jobs I’ll be working on, or anything worthy of sharing with the world.