Tag Archives: analog

Photostock 2013

It’s only 17 days away, and I’m already remembering how much fun I had last year at this awesome event organized by world renound photographer Bill Schwab. I arrived knowing only one person there, fellow FPPer Mat Marash. It was actually Mat who turned me onto Photostock in the first place. Now many people are a little nervous when going to an event for the first time. But let me tell you, you can give those nerves a rest at Photostock, because everyone is really friendly. And I was able to make tonnes of new connections through the event.

Some landscaping work found in downtown Harbor Springs

The event is held in Northern Michigan, the town of Harbor Springs, which the location itself gives photographers of every walk of life subjects to shoot. From towns to ruins, wildlife to landscapes. Don’t let the large format cameras bother you, or the skill and quality that comes out in the portfolios and the print exchange, photographers of every skill level are welcomed. And going may result in your own branching out in the photographic journey. When I went last year, I wasn’t developing my own film, let alone doing any work in the darkroom. I only shot medium format, 35mm, and polaroid. My print for the exchange was a lab developed inkjet print from a slide scan, but the man who got it, loved it.

Historic Fort Michilimackinac in Mackinac City.

Now, a year later I’m going back, comfortable in developing my own B&W film of all types, shooting in 4×5, and starting to develop my own colour film. My print this year is a hand crafted silver print from the darkroom. How cool is that? All because I got off my butt, and went to meet up with other crazy photographers up in Northern Michigan. The sunsets have been calling my name, so has the M119, and the general call of adventure, to go bombing around the backroads looking for anything screaming to be photographed. Plus the amazing people to talk to, interact with, and watch at work.

Lake Michigan Sunset

Best part about the event, it’s free to attend, you do have to get a hotel room, or camp. Interested? Register Here! Believe me, attending will change your photography if you let it.

2012 – What’s Up and Coming for Alex Luyckx | Photography

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Well we’re coming up to the end of 2011, and what a year it has been, with the Project:52 winding down, the the last rolls sitting here on my desk waiting to be taken into the lab on Monday.

2012, big things for this year including 2 special projects. Sorry no Project:52 for 2012 (it may return for 2013), but 2012, big year indeed. The first project is about the War of 1812, 200 years ago between the United States of America and the British Empire. Titled “Everything Changes,” it will cover as much about the war of 1812 as I can possible get for you, my faithful readers. The project will be covered like many of my projects entirely on film, again using multiple cameras and film stocks. I’ll go and visit the various forts around Ontario and up-state New York and even Ohio (if I can). With my involvement with the 60th Royal American Regiment of Foot, I’ll have a front line seat (often fighting) in the reenactment battles such as the Seige of Fort Erie and new for 2012, the Battle of Queenston Heights…even a visit to Washington DC in in the plans for the project.

The Second Project for 2012 is about Doors Open events through Ontario, where I’ll take you on a tour of locations that often are closed to the public, again working with film, mostly medium format to give you a fresh look on places you may have never had a chance to see before!

Onwards we go!

Milton Help-Portrait – Event 2

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This was my second year at the Darling House for Kids in Milton for Help-Portrait. This home in the rural areas of Milton is designed for families with children who have medical conditions as a space for them to be a family. This year I wanted to try something different (in addition to doing the portraits), I wanted to give them something but without using a computer and printer. Something unique, one of a kind, something that they may not have even seen before, or if they had, hadn’t seen in years.

Yep, that’s a Polaroid, an Automatic Land camera from the late 1960s. I loaded it up with some new Fuji FP-100c film and went to town. It was a gimmic, something that would draw their attention and give them that print. Working outside made using it much easier to work with the people and the camera. I would pose the family, shoot the polaroid and give the pack to some of the members to keep warm while we did the digital images, and then I’d ask for it back and peel off the freshly cooked print. Their smiles kept me warm working outside in the slightly chilly air.

Brent (above) put together an awesome video of the event which you can find on Facebook.

Project:52 – Week 31

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Going a little crazy for week 31….

In a recent trip to Toronto’s Lomography store I came across their Fisheye camera, a cheap plastic fisheye lens camera, and compared to other cameras they have so I picked it up, having caught the toy camera bug from my Holga (c/o the FPP). The results were well interesting to say the least, I was literally just shooting from the hip, not bothering with any rules or that nonsense, just going out and photographing for the sake of photographing.