RIP Nikon 3100

My little Nikon 3100 finally broke for good. Here’s the last shot I took with it:

 

I took this camera with me everywhere, dug sand out of the lens extender with a pen knife on a beach in Mexico, took shots in Detroit neighborhoods where you were a sitting duck if you stood still for over a minute, kids birthday parties and countless other scenarios. The lens only stayed sharp when fully wide angle and now the on-off switch is shot. I’ve had this camera for about eight years and it took a lot of abuse, being my primary street photography camera. I’m really going to miss it, and I’m not sure what to replace it with. Thinking about a Leica C or a Canon S120.

Here are some links to some of the 3100 shots:

http://stefanstudios84.wordpress.com/around-detroit/

http://stefanstudios84.wordpress.com/around-detroit-2/

http://stefanstudios84.wordpress.com/freeway-abstractions/

 

Graphic Novel First Steps Part II

As stated in the last post, I’m experimenting with photographic backgrounds with hand drawn characters to produce a graphic novel. For practice and fun I’m putting a recurring strip up on this blog entitled JUSTICE – DETROIT STYLE. I’ll show the tools I use, the process to produce the panels and I will also post the script so you can see how that works.

Here’s the first panel I’m playing with:

I took the photo earlier this week and used Pixelmator for everything. If you have a Mac, Pixelmator is the way to go. Here’s a post about it here: http://stefanstudios84.wordpress.com/blog/ If you don’t have a Mac, you can use GIMP which is open source and free. GIMP is a great tool for creating graphics and manipulating images. If you have Photoshop then you’re all set.

The main character is Rick Justice who appears like a normal guy but takes extreme justice into his own hands. The first story is worked out which will result in about eleven or twelve panels. After that I’m going to make it up as I go along. I’m working on the characters (bad guys, Rick’s girlfriend, victims, etc.) now for the first story and for future installments.

Graphic Novel First Steps

I started some preliminary work on a graphic novel tonight. I plan on making it little different than the normal graphic novel fare where the backgrounds will be photographs with the characters layered on top. I’m not sure how well this is going to work, but I’ll document the steps here. I’ve been wandering around Detroit taking background shots and started character sketches tonight. Here’s the first one:

The drawing is a candidate male character. Above are a couple of street shots in Detroit. Next to the drawing is a Royal Langnickel pencils set that I came to appreciate in about two minutes. If you want to do any reasonably serious pencil sketches, this is the set to get. I got it for $28.75 on Amazon.

My next post will be the first attempt at scanning a character drawing and layering it into a photograph, probably using Pixelmator.

 

Tough Weather!

It’s been really nasty here in Michigan the last few days. We’ve been hit with tons of snow followed by a dangerous cold snap that’s been characterized as an “Arctic vortex“. If there’s an upside, it looks kind of cool. Here’s s shot taken this morning out a window:

Here’s a couple taken in the back yard.

If you’re engulfed by the Arctic vortex, stay warm!

 

 

 

DIA Photographs

We visited the DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts) this morning and got some shots. What a cultural gem this is. We plan on visiting and photographing what we can while there’s still time.

Check the photographs out here: http://stefanstudios84.wordpress.com/the-detroit-institute-of-arts/

 

Winter is Coming to Detroit

Winter is coming to Detroit. I plan on producing another photo essay book entitled Broken City, Big Hearts. It will be about organizations in Detroit that help people survive, especially during the winter.
The entire essay will be shot in grainy black and white. I took these test location shots today.

 

I’ve begun shooting this month during late fall…

 

…and plan on shooting and developing the narrative throughout the winter.

Heavy shooting will take place during December, January and February where the chances for surviving in the city hits bottom.

 

 

 

Campus Martius Images

I was shooting in downtown Detroit on Friday afternoon in infrared and took this shot of Campus Martius. If you look closely it looks like there are two ghostly figures hovering in the shot. Infrared photography records light that is not visible to the human eye…

Kimball Barber Shop

I got a haircut at Kimball Barber Shop this morning and asked Bert (the owner) if I could come back and take some photos, similar to the ones from the Krausmann’s service station. He said sure. Kimball, in the little strip mall on the corner of 13 Mile and Crooks Road in Royal Oak, Michigan is owned and operated by Bert and Shirley and has been in business as long as I can remember. People stop by to just say hello and shoot the breeze with them. It’s almost like a small social club. It’s as homey, friendly and comfortable as it gets and the walls are lined with everything from antique tools to fishing lures:

Here’s the front wall:

As you can see, it holds just about everything under the sun. Here’s a tighter shot of the chairs. Notice the wall hangings reflected in the mirrors:

Every year Bert sets up a little winter town for the holiday season. I think he told me he starts working on it around the end of October. You can see Bert in the mirror on the left:

Here’s a closer shot of the little winter town:

Old School entrepreneurs Bert and Shirley have built Kimball Barber Shop as truly a labor of love – and it shows.

Greenfield Village

Here are a few photos taken at Greenfield Village  in Dearborn, Michigan last summer. It’s like taking a walk back through time.

This is the small farm that’s near the entrance…

Here’s another:

Here’s the old English cottage:

 

 

NIGHT TRAIN TO CHICAGO

It bugged me that I missed the train passing through the Royal Oak station earlier in the week when I was taking photos. We went back today at 6:00pm and waited for the night train to Chicago. The sun set at a little after 5:00pm so it was completely dark by the time the train arrived.

 

The train stopped for less than five minutes, so there wasn’t a lot of time to set up and get many shots.

The thought of riding the sleek train to Chicago on a cold starry night is appealing…