On Your Mark

[Chris Calohan II]

Seagulls that are used to being in close proximity to people will generally walk away if a human gets within a certain proximity. There are a few who, while not necessarily are going to fly, raise their wings in a flexing motion that I take as both a warning to back off, as well as giving the gull the situational stance of making a quick exit.

In this shot, I was looking to put the emphasis on the tension of possible imminent flight at the wing attachment point.

On Your Mark: Chris Calohan​

 

[Don Cohen]

Love the detail in the feathers, Chris. Reminds of some type of statue showing similar detail. I'm not very art-literate; perhaps Asher will know what I'm thinking of.

You've been busy doing a lot of shooting lately - I'm jealous!

 

[Chris Calohan II]

I try to shoot every day, Don. I don't always succeed, but its my daily goal. When I finish my alternative processes studio, I'll be producing something photographic on a daily basis. Whoohoo, I love being retired.

 

[Asher Kelman]

Seagulls that are used to being in close proximity to people will generally walk away if a human gets within a certain proximity. There are a few who, while not necessarily are going to fly, raise their wings in a flexing motion that I take as both a warning to back off, as well as giving the gull the situational stance of making a quick exit.

In this shot, I was looking to put the emphasis on the tension of possible imminent flight at the wing attachment point.

On Your Mark: Chris Calohan​

Wonderful presence and imaging. Do you think that you might add some more of your idea of "getting going" with a slight motion blur to the rear edge of the wings and tail feathers? The new motion blur tool in Photoshop CC 2014 might be really helpful.

Asher

 

[Don Cohen]

I try to shoot every day, Don. I don't always succeed, but its my daily goal. When I finish my alternative processes studio, I'll be producing something photographic on a daily basis. Whoohoo, I love being retired.

Well, guess I won't learn unless I expose my ignorance: what exactly is an "alternative processes studio"?

 

[Chris Calohan II]

I do old-timey stuff. Salt, Albumen, Van Dyke, Platinum-Palladium, Cyanotype, etc. I have foregone the film negative in favor of digital negatives as I can control the density where I want it and if I screw one up, I just make another. This allows me to use any image I've shot.

Right now I am building frames to hold larger sheets of paper (30x40) so I can do more compositing work. It's fun stuff to do but relatively inexpensive unless I am working in Platinum/Palladium which is quite pricey. 25ml runs near on to $300. I only do Pt/PD on commission.

This is the guy I studied under at Santa Fe a few years ago.

http://www.christopherjames-studio.com/build/thebook.html

 

[Don Cohen]

Thanks - sounds fascinating. We'll have to get together the next time I'm down your ways. Would love to see this in action.

I had come across that book when I did some quick searching before posting here. Very creative!