gabriel biderman ~ fine art photography

York Chip Yard

2009 is turning out to be a creatively successful year so far and March is packed with some great group shows as well as my first solo exhibit in NYC!

First up, the 11 th Annual International Krappy Kamera Show, which features one of my previously unseen images, opens on Tuesday March 3rd at the Soho Gallery.  This is always a fun exhibit featuring images made from creative artists and their toy cameras.  The Opening is from 6-8pm, with voting on the People’s Choice Award ending at 7:30pm, so get their early, drink some wine, enjoy the images, and vote!

Jill Waterman and Daryl-Ann Saunders curated and brought together some of the best modern nocturnal photographers for two exhibits featuring the fine art of Night Photography that will open on Thursday March 5th at the Farmani and Safe-T-Gallery.  These Galleries are right across from each other in DUMBO Brooklyn, and the opening will be from 6-8pm.  Several of these photographers will also be speaking at B&H’s Event Space on Monday March 9th.

On Friday March 6th a couple more openings:

First, my dear friend and fellow blogger and photoartist, Angelia Lane, will have several of her paintings featured at ArtSlant’s Group Show, World of Imagination.  The opening is from 6-8pm and will run to the end of the month at the APW Gallery’s new location at 48-18 Van Dam Street, Long Island City, NYC.

If you are heading upstate that week, one of my photos will be in a Group show titled Festival of the Visual Arts, at the Morton Library in Rhinecliff.   The Amtrak train drops you off within 3 blocks of the Library and the show is curated by the newly engaged Sandy Bartlett.

Now mark your calendars and plan your trip to NYC accordingly; I’ll be having my first solo show titled “The New York Years” at John Allan’s in Tribeca on Friday March 20th from 8:30-10:30pm!  This exhibit will be touring the four NYC John Allan’s locations throughout the year but you’ll definitely want to come celebrate with me on March 20th!

And finally, on the last day of the month come and test drive the newest Lensbabies at B&H’s Event Space.  David Brommer, Jennifer Diamond, and I will be giving a slideshow presentation on how to get the most out of these creative lenses and then take you on a photo safari as we Lensbabify Times Square!

So shake the winter blahs off and I hope to see you out there this March!

The f295 kickoff last weekend was a huge success!  Thanks to the over 150 people who came out to Saturday night’s 21st Century Photography opening!  The work and vibe must have been reminiscent of Stieglitz‘s old Camera Club openings!  Thanks  also to all that helped put the show together:  the artists who shared their work, The Camera Club of NY who gave their 500 square feet, David, Jennifer, and Amy on the B&H organizational end ~ as well as serving up a record amount of kosher wine!  And finally, Tom Persinger, who brought us all together and had one heck of a time trying to make letters stick on walls.

Wondering what camera to document the gallery opening with, I finally settled on using my trusty Panasonic LX-3, which is an advanced digital point and shoot.  The pioneering Panasonic has a little throwback feature, it has a pinhole scene mode!  See, I told you that pinholes were enjoying a renaissance!  For some reason the pinhole mode is limited to 3MP images while applying a vignette and desaturating the image.   I know it would have been better if the lens could have come off to reveal a real pinhole over the digital sensor but hey, I wasn’t going to get everyone to stand still for 5 hours for the group shot! All the images on the left were taken in this “pinhole mode” while the right hand side shows the packed house for Sunday’s presentation at the B&H Event Space.  For the second straight year over 80 people showed up to listen and learn about new ways to use older technology.

We all struggle with keeping our art and life fresh and new.  For photographers the terms wedding, portrait, landscape, pinhole, or even alt process can all pigeonhole and limit our vision.  Tom Persinger asks us to look beyond these stereotypes and empower the 21st Century Photography:

The 21st Century Photographer remains open to the exploration and use of a variety of processes, techniques, and technologies so long as the chosen method(s) most concisely articulate their creative vision. A net result of this paradigm shift is not only complete artistic freedom but also a palpable sense of empowerment. Historically photography has marched down the long path of process obsolescence – one in which new techniques replace old in a continual cycle of progress. In a 21st Century approach, however, control is wrestled from profit driven agencies -corporations, advertisers, and the marketplace all promoting a consumptive photographic model- and given to the artist/photographer. By virtue of taking the responsibility of control, photographers allow themselves to use a pastiche of tools and materials to make pictures. It is this freedom -which is new for many- that empowers and fuels the 21st Century Photographer.

Photography is a toolbox with many means to express your vision.  Some people choose one, others need multiple instruments to complete the vision.  This weekend I saw art that was in jars, painted on, waxed, dyed, and printed on anything from the latest digital technology to handmade emulsions on a variety of surfaces from tin, glass, and paper.  The photograph that I submitted in the show was originally a 6×9 slide.  I was deciding between two basic ways to present my print:
1.  Drop it off at a lab and have them make a negative copy of my positive slide and then a C-print
2.   Scan the slide and print at home on inkjet.
Now, my good friend and constant conscience, David Brommer, stood aghast when I told him that I  I was leaning towards the lab option;  mainly for convenience as I am still not 100% confident in my inkjet printing.  I’m still most at home in the B&W darkroom.  But he reminded me that I had to control the final outcome of my image.

And really, it is all about the process ~ from start to finish.

Now did I enjoy spending close to an hour digitally removing dust from my image?
No.
Is the excitement the same as flipping over the black and white image in the developer under the red light?
Nope.
But, seeing a project from start to finish is still pretty damn fulfilling.

The Lensbaby Composer lens has a unique optical swap system in which you can own one lens yet have 5 different capture methods.  Think of the ball and socket Composer as a chassis to hold multiple visions.  In my last two posts I have shown you images taken with the Zoneplate/Pinhole optic as well as the Plastic uncoated optic.  Both are fun and unusual ways of seeing the world in a whole new way.  Each one of the optics is a bargain for $35 each or I recommend purchasing the whole set for $95.  The set includes the Plastic, Pinhole/Zone plate, and the Single Glass optics.  All the optics are the equivalent to a 50mm lens, or what we would call normal vision.   The Composer and Control Freak lenses come with the Double Glass optic.  Because the double glass optic has multiple coatings it makes it the sharpest lens in Lensbaby Family.  If you want to buy The Muse Lensbaby you have the option of Plastic or Double Glass optic.
I’ve really enjoyed using the plastic and zone/pin optics but last week I made it a point to only shoot with the Double Glass lens and see how sharp it really was.  Let me preface this by saying that all the images I’ve taken in the last 2+ months have been with an APS-C sized digital camera sensor and are usually shot at f/4 or f/2.  If you shoot much beyond f/5.6 you start to lose the vignetting affect.  Also, if I were to shoot with a full frame digital or film camera the vignetting or out of focus area would be even greater.
I arrived Friday, in San Francisco on a night of the full moon.  My resolution this year was to do a night shoot each month during the full moon, so without wasting any time, I set up my camera and tripod on my brother’s second story deck in Glen Park.  I’ve wanted to do a Lensbaby night shoot and the rolling hills of SF lit up by the moon, the rare starry sky and the millions of twinkling lights were just taunting me.
The top image was taken facing the San Bruno Mountains and with a slight bend of the Composer, I focused on the distant radio towers and defocused the house-lit hills.  With the second image, I screwed on the wide-angle adapter to provide a more expansive point of view.  You can click on them to view them larger – which one do you like better?
A lot of people ask me, “Why do I want to use a Lensbaby?  I can do that effect in Photoshop.”  I always tell them that it is way more fun to control the effect while shooting and really interact with your subject in a brand new way; plus the pebbles of light that nightlights turn into is truly UnPhotoshopable!

Our last evening in Brooklyn, before we left for SF, we saw a great concert at a fantastical new venue, Galapagos.  The Galapagos Art Space in Williamsburg recently located to DUMBO.  I feel this new space is more successful visually and spatially. Each banquette is it’s own island amidst a body of welcoming water.  The orchestra level also provides more pleasurable viewing (and photo) opportunities.  Performing that night were two bands from North Carolina and our hometown favorite Balthrop, Alabama.  The Never kicked things off with a pop/blues grass vibe.  I was really impressed with the 11 piece folk orchestra tunes of Lost in the Trees.  In fact, I was so impressed with them that we bought their album – Yes Vinyl!  The three concert shots to the left showcase the creative inspiration that a Lensbaby can add to musical venues.  I was bending the composer pretty extremely to limit the area of focus and add movement to the vibe of the photo.

Back to San Francisco, the main reason for my visit was to see my family.  My nephew Oliver, who has had his Lensbaby portrait taken on this blog previously, was of course the subject to probably 250 of the 300 shots that were taken on this trip.  Lensbaby babies and portraits are just guaranteed fun!  Imagine a world in which the person doesn’t know and is fascinated with this camera-tool that you are using.  I don’t know if that world exists, however with a Lensbaby mounted on your camera the 4th wall is broken and new eyes wait to be captured.  What is that bendable almost posable funky lens doing?  It even makes your camera quite retro!  9 times out of 10 it also makes you shoot in manual mode so it makes you think about your image-capturing even more.  Shooting Oliver on the swing took some practice and there was more misses then hits but when I got it, it was certainly a home run!

California has been a destination for many a lost soul looking for meaning.  And one of the most wonderful things you can do in your life, whether your soul is lost or found, is to witness a sunset along the California coast.   The unusually warm day brought a stellar sunset to the many people who had ventured out to Ocean Beach.  And there we stood, at the end of the world, watching the colors slowly fade to night.
Click.

Happy Halloween Everyone! I hope you all spend some time living out a fantasy, eating candy, or at least watching a scary movie tonight!Nancy and I just watched Session 9, which is thrill/horror movie that just gets under your skin. It tells the story of the haunting of the Danvers State Hospital, which was built in 1878. At the time it was a beautiful 70,000 square foot Gothic spired building that from high above looked like a giant bat. It was the model for humane treatment at the turn of the century but we know how that worked out in the lobotomy happy 50′s. The fortress-like castle was closed in 1992 and Brad Anderson filmed Session 9 there in 2001. The movie, to some extent, foretold the future of Danvers State Insane Asylum as it was renovated in 2006 by Avalon Communities. Only 1/3 o the hospital remains but for as little as $1175 a month you can rent 775 sq ft in a former “Haunted Insane Asylum.” Of course, a fire broke out in April of 2007 and destroyed 3 unfinished buildings that were to house 147 apartments. The cause of the blaze was “officially undetermined”Check out urban explorer extraordinaire, Mr Motts, who has some amazing photographs of the pre-renovation Danvers State Hospital. His website Opacity is probably one of the best for historic ruins. I don’t know how he gets into all these places but when he does he truly captures the essence of the space. His site not only showcases some amazing photography but also features the rich history of these abandoned buildings.

In other news, I’m still recovering from the Eddie Adams Workshop up in the Catskills of New York, where I volunteered during the Columbus Day Weekend. This was the 21st annual EAW and the 4th that I have attended. It is the premier workshop for young photojournalists; thousands apply via portfolio but only 100 are chosen. Those 100 students are divided into 10 teams of 10 and then assigned a famous professional photographer, editor, and producer to their team. The workshop takes place at Eddie and Alyssa’s Barn in Jeffersonville, New York. The students are given 2 days to complete their assigned shoots, while the rest of the team work around the clock to edit and put together multimedia slide shows for the final presentation on Monday. The 100+ Industry heavies that come up and volunteer their time and share their stories make this an amazing community event in an industry that is not always the most communal. I usually average about 8 hours of sleep, total, for the whole weekend. But of course there is always a little mandatory after hours relaxation going on! I’m part of the Black Team, who runs all the behind the scenes activities like AV, IT, Security, Transportation, Hospitality etc. A really humorous movie about “Black Team Love” and what really happens behind the scenes was made by my man Andre Costantini and can be viewed here.

I’m also continuing my beta testing for Lensbaby who sent me an updated Composer with the Plastic and Pinhole/Zone Plate Optic kits. As mentioned in my previous blog, the new Lensbaby Composer is actually a unique housing for several types of Optical Elements that Lensbaby calls their Optical Swap System. Essentially you can own one Lensbaby but have up to 4 different optical effects! I was very excited to try the Plastic Optic as it is a single plastic lens that is suppose to have the image quality similar to the very popular Holga toy cameras. I really have to say that it actually looks better! The two shots above were taken with the Composer Plastic Optic and the first one has an extraordinary glow from the shiny students arriving at the barn! The second image in the more subdued light combines the best of the Lensbaby selective focus and Holga plastic perfect imperfection. It is a picture of Philip Andrews, who coincidentally won the top prize at the workshop…a 10k scholarship from Nikon to continue his studies. Congrats Phillip!

The next weekend after the EAW I continued my travels with the Lensbaby Composer to the Kancamagus Highway in New Hampshire. It was peak foliage time, and I had a blast just driving around with my family and stopping for Composer Inspiration! Yes, big thanks to my Mom, Sister, and stepfather who patiently waited for me as I shot and stopped every 5 minutes! The first two shots were taken with the Zone Plate Optic and have that great zone plate glow. The next two shots were taken with the Plastic Optic and interpret the foliage in more Lensbabified way. I had a blast shooting with them both. If you shoot with any Plastic Toy cameras like the Holga, Diana, etc then getting the Plastic Optic for your new Lensbaby is a must! I also noticed that dirt and dust do show up in your image more frequently when using the Zone/Pinhole Optic. This is not a fault of the lens but a reality of using a lens with a small aperture. Remember the Zone plate is f/19 and the Pinhole f/177. If your Digital SLR has a dusty sensor and you shoot with an aperature of f/2.8 and then f/22 the dust WILL be more prevalent in the image you shot at f/22. That’s just the facts. So be careful when swapping your lensbaby optics and lenses on your DSLR and always have a little rocket blower in your bag.