trevor saylor

The Real Raw

Trevor — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:40:57 +0000

Ken Rockwell is condescending and a know-it-all. He’s also pretty damn full of himself. However, he has some decent things to offer; I know there are a lot of Ken Rockwell-haters out there, but like with anything else, you have to look at things objectively. Anyway, I digress. This is a good point, and a vote for film!

The Real Raw

40th Anniversary of Apollo 11

Trevor — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:16:30 +0000

How does this apply to us today, and more specifically this blog? Well, when the astronauts went up into space and had to shoot pictures of what they did and what they found, what did they use? A secret government digital SLR prototype? No. They took a Hasselblad. Hasselblad has been the official camera used by NASA on space flights since 1962, and that continues today. That’s right, NASA still uses film in space.

“Mama, don’t take my Kodachrome away.”

Trevor — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 20:51:41 +0000

Anyone who still uses Kodachrome had better buy up what they can find…quickly. Kodak has announced it will definitely end the legendary film’s run of production.

The End of Kodachrome.

But wait–isn’t this a bit much for a film that has been on life support for 20 years? We all knew it was inching toward extinction didn’t we?

Erwin Puts says yes, we did. And we killed Kodachrome.

10th Anniversary

Trevor — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 01:54:16 +0000

Wow…it just blows my mind when I think about how new digital imaging is. Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of the introduction of Nikon’s D1, which was the first commercially viable, professional digital SLR. The medium has come pretty far in ten years.

The Rise of Digital imaging and the Fall of the Old Camera industry

Trevor — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:47:28 +0000

An interesting piece that follows the travails of the film photography industry. Sandstrom follows the breakdown of traditional powerhouse brands of photography–in particular Hasselblad, Leica, and Kodak–and their inability to cope with the rise of digital imaging. He paints a bleak picture while tracing their very abrupt near-extinction. Is their any good news left for those of us who choose to shoot film?

Read the article here.

More photos of the abandoned Hasselblad building here.

Yashica Electro 35 GSN

Trevor — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:14:55 +0000

I have added four of these great rangefinders lately, and have been busy testing them and trying to fix them up. I will re-sell them after they are looking and working as good as I can get them. I have been enjoying playing around with them thus far. They are nice little cameras–though not nearly as small as my Olympus 35 RC rangefinder–and have a whisper-quiet shutter. Perfect for street photography!

Here is a good page all about this great little early-70′s rangefinder. It’s a real classic…if you’re looking to pick up a used one, drop me a comment!

Brit’s Pub

Trevor — Sat, 16 May 2009 00:02:33 +0000

Once in a while, I will include a post not about photography. This is one of those times. I am a huge football (soccer to you Yanks) fan, and a proud supporter of Chelsea Football Club.

A good story on the local place to watch English football in the Twin Cities: Brit’s Pub and Eating Establishment. If you’re a football fan, and you live in Minneapolis-St Paul, you most likely know about Brit’s. If you live here and haven’t been there yet, make sure you go. It’s got decent food that is reasonably priced, and for the big matches they have some good atmosphere too.

Read the story here.

“Out of the ordinary”

Trevor — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:39:09 +0000

Most of us, when we go out with a camera in our own country, try to find exotic subject matter to photograph.I am sure you know what I mean: a glorious sunset, a beautiful old building, the picture postcard view. We are also influenced by expectations of what interesting views or photographs should show: the unusual, the unfamiliar as well as the pretty, cute or beautiful. In fact, everyday objects are unusual, but we are not able to see this clearly.

Martin Parr’s piece touches on some of the struggles that I have had recently with my own photography; how do I see things that are worth photographing, when I see them every day, all around me? I think all photographers struggle with this to an extent. It’s easy to get caught up in the fresh sensory experience of a new place when you travel. When you go somewhere new, even the most mundane things–that a native person wouldn’t think twice to even look at, let alone photograph–are alien and interesting to your eye. When I went to Japan in 2007, I had just this feeling. Everything was new and I saw photographic opportunities everywhere I looked. The most rudimentary things fascinated me–it was all so Japanese, so… not American.

As photographers, we have to find the mundane and show it to be interesting. We have to take the daily sights we all see and transform them into something more. This comes back to the fundamental question which I (and I assume many other photographers) have yet to fully answer: what’s the point? Why do I take these photographs? Why would people want to look at things they already see every day? What can I do to make them appear different? Some of these questions I can answer, some I cannot. Others I am sure of sometimes, and unsure of at other times. More thought is needed, but Parr provides a base from which to venture forward in this debate.

Too Much Photoshop?

Trevor — Fri, 15 May 2009 03:38:48 +0000

An interesting article about the changing world of photography. In the digital age, what is photography’s place?

More Bad News

Trevor — Fri, 15 May 2009 05:14:52 +0000

More bad news for those of us who still shoot film!