An Afternoon With Elizabeth

Last fall I got a chance to do some photos with Elizabeth. We did our shoot on Boulder open space near the Baseline Reservoir.

The Return Of The Studio

(Click on photos to make larger, I'm having a few formatting issues)

Over the past year, my studio lights have been passed around more than they have actually been used. Because I lived in my car for 7 months, I was forced to leave items in friends garages and houses.

I finally got them back last week, and I was itching to use them. Luckily, I had a few models to pose for me. My brother, his girlfriend and Seth came over for a little photo session. We started off in Halloween costumes and moved onto everyday clothes. The first photograph is a photo of my brother dressed up in his Jesus costume. You can't really tell it's Jesus, but I do like his pose.

I convinced Lauren, my brothers girlfriend to pose for me too. She is kinda shy, so I had to have my brother make her laugh, crack jokes, and blow a fan across her face. I think that we came up with a solid photo of her.

This is a picture of Seth with his digital camera and toy lens. He was my test subject, but this test shot turned out to be quite good.

And of course, what photo shoot is complete without a few of the photographer. I had my brother snap a few off of me and my bum beer. I like it when I get a good photograph of myself. I have so many photographs of everyone else, but very few of me. I have a lot of snapshots of myself, but those don't count.

Studio lights aren't just used for portrait photography, they are also used for product photography as well. I don't have much experience in product shooting, so I figured I would give it a shot. The plan is to get a decent sized portfolio of table top and product photographs to sell as stock.

Speaking of which, I have almost been accepted to istockphoto.com. I've taken the tests, and sent a few shots in. Two of the three shots I sent in were accepted. The one that was denied was too much like fine art. I'm glad that it got denied, because it has helped me to focus on what stock photography is. There is a good market in stock photography for product shots. Because my employment is very limited right now, I figure this is a good time to make a new portfolio of images. Hopefully it pays off.

Snowy Day Photos

Twenty two inches and counting! It's been snowing for two days now, and isn't expected to stop until tonight. When all said and done we should be looking at more than 2 feet. Well, I've come to this party prepared. A couple of 40's in the fridge should make for a good couple of days.

I've spent the past couple of days taking quite a few photos. My brother, his girlfriend and I went sledding yesterday. They walked, and I x-country skied to a hill near our house. I forgot how much it sucks to break trail.

I took a few photos of Hank, the 8 ball, and an apple. A few weeks ago, one of my friends and I decided that we would make a photo assignment for critique. It had to be obscure enough that we could each take assignment and put our own style to it. We decided on the fruit basket. Kinda odd, I know. The fruit basket has been painted in still life for hundreds of years. What better subject could you find than a fruit basket. Yesterday, I finally decided to complete the assignment. My style would traditionally follow something a bit more grim than the photos below.

I would generally let the fruit sit and rot for a few weeks and then photograph it. If you have seen my collection of dead and decaying items you would know what I mean. The fruit basket was a spur of the moment thing, and I had nothing dead. So apples in Nambe is what it came down to. I brought out the studio lights and this is what I came up with. It's not really a basket but it is fruit held in a container of sorts. As far as I'm concerned, it qualifies.

Today is another snow day, and who knows what kind of photos it will bring. I'm thinking some minimalist landscapes are in order. Hopefully I am able to get out of the driveway, or find something in the immediate area. We'll see what the day has to bring.

The Moped Gang

Once upon a time I bought a moped. I got it at a junkyard for $50. It was broken, ratty, and far from working. When I finally did get it running, it was quickly returned to what all of my friends called the “Two More Week” status. They called it that because when it broke down, which was often, I would always tell them, “two more weeks and it’ll be running”. And usually it was. If I had a quarter for every time my bike broke down, I would probably have enough money to buy a car. But that’s not the point.

Have you ever driven a moped or a scooter? Not a motorcycle, but a low power 2-stroke vehicle. There is something about seeing the lay of the land pass gently below at a slow 25mph. You can see so much more than if you were in a vehicle. You can smell the flowers, and eat the bugs as wipe the tears from your face. There’s nothing like it. You feel so much more alive.

My addiction to mopeds have progressed from asmall hobby, to a moped gang, to a racing track, and someday a long open road. I have pedaled and walked many miles with my bike, crashed it countless times and spent many hours in a hospital room. I’ve had my bike stolen, and then damn near beat up a kid to get it back. We have been to hell and back. And guess what? I love my bike, and my bike loves me.

I have put about 8000 miles on my bike since 2002. In the summer time I drive my moped up and down the creek (Clear Creek) taking photos of rafters. All of my friends have dubbed me “Paparazzi!” You never know when or where you will see me. But somewhere along that rafting trip you will see me hiding in the bushes with a camera. And when you do, be sure to give me a whistle and an Italian influenced, “Heeeeey! Paparazzzzziiii!” make sure to roll your tongue. I don’t even think many people on the creek even know my real name. And that is fine by me, I kind of like it.

I have been mopeding for about 8 years now. The way I said that kind of makes me sound like it’s an addiction, it kind of is. Until recently I never took too many photos of my mopeds. I have taken a few snapshots here and there but nothing that I ever really tried to compose, until recently. And so I will leave you with a small selection of photographs that I have created in an attempt to capture the culture that surrounds me.

The Pinhole Revisited

Once upon a time I had this darkroom. Actually it was a shed. I inherited it from the old Vietnam vet that lived in my backyard. He was an interesting guy to say the least But that's another story in itself. Anyways, the darkroom. I had 3 pieces of tuperware, a metal bowl, a dark light, my camera flash, and a radio. Hell, I didn't even have a camera. I made my cameras from cardboard boxes, tin cans, anything I could find that I could make light tight. I would piece of photo paper inside and a tiny whole in the box. Take it outside, uncover the hole for a few minutes, dip it in some dangerous chemicals, don't wash it, just dip it in some water, and voila!You made the negative for a photo. To get a positive, put a piece of photo paper on the counter, put the negative on top, flash the flash against the wall on to your right (not the one on your left, or the one in front of you, you'll over expose it). It's magic! That was my first darkroom, kinda ghetto huh?

It wasn't until I went to photo school I learned how to use a real darkroom. While I was in school, I got pretty good with the pinhole. I even had a few photos hanging up in one of the galleries in Missoula. I recently dug out one of my old cameras, Mr Pinhole. I'm not really sure how or why it had a name. But for some reason "Mr Pinhole" has always been written on top of it. It's not my handwriting, so who knows. I did a few modifications to it, and now it has 130 degree angle of view. I took a few photos, nothing really all that exciting, a rabbit head, an old barn.

I was recently thinking about how dirty my old

darkroom was.There were chemicals everywhere. And they weren't your normal household chemicals. In doing some research, I came across a method to develop film with coffee and vitamin C. I also found a recipe for boiled mint leaf developer. I tried the coffee method, and it worked wonderfully. I found some old color film canisters I had laying around, Ihad no idea what was on them. Turns out it was some film from my old 3-D camera. Did I mention that I am also a camera collector. The coffee is a black and white developer, but i used a color film. That's why you get some of the funky colors.

So, that's my recent experiences with my pinhole cameras. I think I'm on to something with this coffee thing. I can't tell you yet though, it's kinda top secret. Maybe just a hint. It has to do with the camera, the developer, and the image all in one package. We'll see how it turns out.

A Tribute To Lost Images

I recently "misplaced" one of my hard drives. I know, how amateur. I'm not exactly sure what happened to it. The last

place I remember seeing it was at my parents house. But, I have been living in my car for the past 7 months, and I have been staying/crashing/camping in a lot of different places. I am confident that it will eventually show up. Nobody in their right mind would discard something so important. It's somewhere, I'm just not sure where.

It turns out I only lost about 6 months of work, give or take a bit. I'm still trying to figure out what is gone. But it really isn't all that bad. It could be a lot worse. I'm trying to think positively about this. It could be worse.

Some of the images I have lost can be taken again. And some of them I just don't give a shit about. But there are a few that really hurt. This is a tribute to some of the images I have recently lost. They will be temporarily missed.

One day last winter, it snowed 25 inches in Montezuma. It was the beginning of the season and everybody was going to hit the slopes. I grabbed my snowshoes and headed to the hills. I knew that it was early enough in the season that the water would still be ice free and would likely have a fog hanging over it. I ended up finding a nice location along the Snake River near Keystone. This river is one of the most polluted and disgusting waterways that you can imagine. The fish have been gone for years, the rocks are stained red, yellow and white, when it rains the water turns white, the herds of elk and deer are nowhere to be seen. Just upstream from this photograph is a Superfund Site, the Pennsylvania Mine. Summit County for a couple of years now. Some of these exposures are a couple of hours long. I photograph them at night for two reasons; I have complete control over the lighting on the subject, and the stars represent time and how it relates to humans and their relics on The Earth.Which brings us to our next photograph. This is the Pennsylvania Mine. This is part of my Summit Historical Project. I have been photographing mines and buildings around

Just down the hill from the Pennsylvania Mine is

the old town of Decatur. There is only one

building left standing. At one point thousands

of men and women inhabited this valley. Now all

that stands is a dilapidated building and a hillside devoid of trees.

I enjoy learning about ruins and the history that accompanies them. I spend a lot of time in the

woods of CO, and the deserts of UT seeking these places. Some are sacred, some are nothing more than an outhouse, some have been there for thousands of years, and some only 50. When I come back to these places I often find changes. Building collapse and walls fall over. Some are human caused, but more are from the test of time.

Some of these buildings are only 100 years old, and are in complete disrepair. I find more piles of logs than I do actual structures. Within another 50 years they will all be gone. For now, I will capture as many images of them as possible, and hope that I can contribute something to history.

Here are a few more images that I lost during my mishap. And like I said earlier, these are only

temporarily lost. I will have them again. And by the way, If you happen to come across a neon

green box with a black My Book hard drive in it, it's mine and I would like it back. I will probably give you a finders fee. I'm not saying what it will be, just saying there is one.

Oct 14, 20009

I am currently

trying to get into the photo stock market. I have spent the past few days trying to put together a portfolio of past work that could sell. Unfortunately, the loss of my hard drive has made it increasingly difficult. I am missing about 20% of my work over the past 8 years. Which really isn't all that bad. It could have been a lot worse.

Anyways, I have found a couple hundred images that I feel would sell well in stock. So, if you and I have done photo work in the past, you may be getting a phone call from me. I need to get model releases for you all. It's actually a pain in the ass. I'm thinking about abandoning old photos, and doing only new shoots. If you have a few hours and would like some photos done of yourself or your family feel free to contact me. Many of these images will be theme or concept based shoots. Or if you have some ideas for a shoot feel free to get a hold of me. I'm looking to take as many photos and work with as many people as possible. I will share a few photos that I am looking to get into the market. Please excuse the formatting on this blog. I am still learning the blogspot tools.

First post on blogspot

It looks like everyone has been using this blogspot thing. So i figure I will jump on the bandwagon with this one. My current blog is at JoshSchutz.com So you can check out all of my previous posts over in that world.

Over the past few months I have been spending time rediscovering places from my youth and exploring new areas. For now I will just post a few photos. Expect to hear from me more often on this blogspot thing.