On the Flip Side

The other two rolls, however, yielded far more difficult images to work with. While the three shots previously posted were straight from the developer, these two had to be adjusted so you could see anything at all. As I mentioned before, the rolls were foreign, and expired, so who knows what they've been through before I got them in my hands. I believe the Nikon F5 saw them as ISO 400, but I do not remember exactly. The contrast for each has been increased and some other histogram levels were modified, but the colours (such as they are) were left untouched.

When I first looked through the images, I was disappointed nothing turned out, but then I had to remind myself this is what you get when dealing with film of unknown quality. If I had wanted magazine-worthy shots, I should have used the D2x.

But I did want to be different this time, hoping the age of the film would work to my advantage. The top shot reminds me of the old 60s slide images our parents showed us that had been taken with disposable cameras, while the bottom shot reminds me of the poster for the original version of "Night of the Living Dead" 

So perhaps not all has been lost after all. Fortunately, those were my only two rolls of the foreign film, so I hope to have a little more control in the future.

There is a zombie obstacle course/5k fun run coming up in a few weeks, I'm debating whether I should continue with the film path, or revert to digital for the event.

What say you my readers? Would you like to see more uneven surprises?

Halloween Experimentation

 So it's that time of year again, when the zombies come out to play. I always enjoy the effort people put into their outfits and love to photograph large gatherings. A local venue has a zombie walk every year with hundreds of zombies gathering for the thirty minute walk/run/shamble. I've photographed it many times before and this time I felt I should do something different. Expand my horizons so to speak.

So, I gathered three rolls of expired film, my mint condition Nikon F5, my rather battered and abused 80-200mm f/2.8, and went to town. Given the expiration dates were unknown, I really had little idea of what I was going to get. One roll was Kodak 100 Gold, which even in the best of times produces muted flat colours, and the other two rolls had no english on them whatsoever. As near as I could tell, they were from India, or possibly Pakistan. The three shots to the left are from the Kodak roll. Note that even though this was rated as ISO 100, you can see the emulsion starting to break down, and the grain become visible and rendering the already shallow DoF (all shot at 2.8 to isolate the subject from the rather cluttered background) become even

more indistinct. Of all the images I have taken throughout the years, from Colorado, to Canada, Belize and beyond, the first shot is my absolute favourite to date. The grain hit just right to add to her makeup, the colours uneven and wrong, in short, everything typical about shooting with expired film and it all came together perfectly for that one shot. 

Forsaken Fashion Doll

"Forsaken fashion dolls
will follow you forever
white eyes of sheer despite will dog you 'till you die
Forsaken fashion dolls
You're meant to be together
just cry your silent scream tonite" - Lordi

Some people it's obvious they dressed up for the zombie walk, others, like this girl, I'm pretty certain it's not a costume, but the way she looks normally, well possibly sans the blood makeup.

Wish I had gotten better shots of her, but she was on the wrong side of the crowd to catch anything but a fleeting glimpse.

Heceta

"Deep under sea
Their watery grave's giving in
They seek relief
A lighthouse to haunt from within

Doesn't matter how long it'll take
'Cause they have found a new home
They will shatter, wreak havoc and break
The gray lady must go" - Yup, Lordi

One of the things I love about photographing the annual zombie walk, is the imaginative outfits people come up with. This, for example, is a Mermaid. One of the few shots where I wished I'd brought a wider angle lens so I could have gotten in her legs as well (done in Little Mermaid style) but it would have been difficult to isolate her from the surrounding masses.

Intense

"Flashlights from authorities
Lanterns brighten up the scene
Familiar faces of the long dead

The mad butcher goes bump in the night
And loneliness
It makes nights endless" - Lordi

Lordi are an endless source of great lyrics that fit in well with the zombie walk pictures. Super catchy Heavy Metal with a strong emphasis on all things supernatural.

Shopping Spree

"Girls go chopping in the town
Female madness all around
Beauties on a killing spree
Dames of death walk on high heels

Evil women, psycho chicks
Blood like lipstick on their lips
Mad, fericious, feminine
Such curvaceous mean machines" - Lordi

As usual for portrait photography, I was using my 50mm f/1.8, shot wide open (i.e. 1.8) to isolate the subject from the hordes of onlookers, other photographers, and of course the zombie mob.

As usual, none of these are photoshopped, or even colour corrected, as the even light from the cloudy day did a great job evening out the colours for me.

Doctor

"Doctor, doctor, give me the news
I've got a bad case of lovin' you
No pill's gonna cure my ill
I've got a bad case of lovin' you

A pretty face don't make no pretty heart
I learned that, buddy, from the start
You think I'm cute, a little bit shy
Momma, I ain't that kind of guy" - Robert Palmer

There were a lot of female zombies this time around, or perhaps, being a guy, I just noticed them. One of the challenges this time around, was getting the walkers not to smile, as that tends to break the illusion.

Monsters

"My monsters keep me company
And I'll never be lonely
They will keep me safe
Protected from harm
Monsters keep me company
Until I will set them free" - Lordi

This year's zombie walk, was somewhat hampered by the threat of an impending hurricane, bearing down on the coast. The weather was delightfully warm (well, for October) and overcast. A few years ago, I would have been dreading the overcast skies for photography, but I have since learned that the overcast creates the perfect lighting situation, allowing all the details to shine through, such as the subtle shading around this zombie's eyes.

The Look

"Heavenly bound
Cause heaven's got a number
When she's spinning me around
Kissing is a color
Her loving is a wild dog
She's got the look" - Roxette

The next series of pics I post will obviously be from the zombie walk. I'll post more concert band pics after I work through them. 

Remembrance

An outstanding likeness from the best movie ever made. Since Halloween is upcoming, a local outdoor mall area sponsored a zombie walk, and what should show up, midst all the standard (though imaginative) zombie fair, but a spitting image of The Crow.

Very well done. Brandon Lee, you are sorely missed.

I know her

I recall her from the last Zombie Walk, when the weather was much nicer. She was in a different outfit as well, but I never forget a face.

Names, on the other hand, are another story.

She likes me for my Brains

More Hatian Voodoo Master than zombie, but very well done and nicely posed in character.

No One is Immune

Even superheros get bitten once in a while. A nicely done villian (at least I think she's a villian) of Poison Ivy.

He's Got The Look

A pose, but in character, thank you Mr Zombie businessman, wherever you are.

Candid

I love this shot because she didn't pose for me. I have several shots that are very good, but the people posed, which I'm of two minds about, but in this case the candid nature of the shot makes the pic.

I'm in the Band

Her jacket reminds me of the ones used in the Beatle's "Yellow Submarine"

Pretty sure she wasn't in the film tho.

Did I mention...

As has been my luck lately, I was running with a half-charged battery and the wrong lens. At least this time I made sure to get the settings right in the camera.

I shot with a 50mm dedicated Macro lens, which has a razor-thin depth of field but offsets this with razor sharp clarity. May have to practice more people with this lens.

Paint the Devil on the Wall

Hands down, the best costume for a Zombie Hunter there. And the most beautiful woman there in costume as well. She was taking donations for cancer research and I chipped in some cash. She was very kind of let me take far too many photographs of her.

Black Friday

Offical Zombie Walk in town. As usual, it was drizzling, freezing and of course overcast. And despite all this, there was a huge turnout of zombies and the pics came out great. Many thanks for all those who put up with me getting in their way with a camera. Of course the brains I had in my pocket for a scooby-snack didnt' seem to hurt either.

Too pretty to be dead

Insider shot at a local movie theatre. She was the capture of a zombie hunter and stayed in character the entire time. She was nice enough to stop shuffling and pose for me on multiple occasions.

Wish I could find her again and photograph her without the makeup.