Film
I have had a number of questions and comments from readers lately asking about my film work and wondering why I am not making desktops from it. Its something I have talked about in the past but its been a while since I have brought up the subject so I thought I would make some sort of statement about it. I don?t mind at all when people ask for anything, in fact, I encourage it really. Any time any of you readers have any questions or requests or something you feel like talking about just ask. Im just me, there is a person behind fifty foot shadows and I certainly don?t bite.
So about my film work. When I first started to shoot film again I was getting some shots that I thought would make for great desktops but the scanner I had was just no where near good enough for me and I simply was not satisfied with its ability to scan things at a high enough resolution to make desktops out of. Then as time went on something started to change about the way I looked at my film work and I came to feel something for a lot of the photos I was taking and I started to feel more and more guarded about the photos.
I started to shoot film because I started in photography learning in a darkroom and eventually I found that I really missed shooting this way. After buying my Canonet rangefinder I found I was in love with film all over again. It helps me focus more while I am taking photos and I feel like I am re-discovering the world around me. The photos I am getting with film are wonderful and they feel so alive to me. I have finally found that soul within the photos I am taking that I have been searching so long for.
While some of my film images would lend themselves to make great desktops I find that I am not quite as willing to give them all away at higher resolutions. I have started to see a collection building in my mind and maybe, finally, a chance to bring ideas together to build something from the images I am taking. In order to keep the value of these I feel I need to reserve the way they are distributed for printed methods. As a collection I would be able to present the images not simply as a random assortment of nice looking photos but as more of a work as a whole.
All that said, I still love my readers and so I will pick a few of my film shots commonly requested as desktops and see what I can do. I will do that as soon as I have time to re-scan them with a nicer scanner that I have around now. Sorry if this seems long winded, I would love to talk more about my personal connection to film and my plans for photography in the future but its still forming in my head. So check back soon and again, thanks for the interest and support.
C-41
So before I shot a roll twice through with those double exposures I shot a roll of fuji slide film and processed it as negative film (cross processing). It was a long 36exp roll and like the double exposure roll it was mostly an experiment. I wanted to try and shoot in as many different sorts of light sources as I could to see how the color and contrast would be affected. Knowing this, many of the shots were kind of boring but I did get a few that I really liked a lot and thought I would share a random assortment here. Its another experiment I look forward to messing with more in the future…
Seeing Double
I recently decided to try out some of the classic film tricks and one of the ones I wanted to try was some unpredictable double exposures but rather than just take two photos at a time I ran a whole roll of film through a camera then loaded it back into the cartridge but not all the way so I would be able to pull it back through and shoot it a second time.
The thing I love about this is that I was not the one who shot the roll the second time through. After I shot the photos on the roll I gave the camera to my brother to shoot through the second time. So two different perspectives on the world captured in one place. Its kind of like folding time. I love the abstract and interesting things that happen when shooting like this and I will be doing this again with other people in the future! At any rate, I posted a few on flickr but I thought it would be nice to post them here as well plus a couple extra that did not make it to my flickr stream
Flickr Spotlight
I have decided to start what I hope to become a monthly or perhaps bi-monthly series of posts that feature other photographers. The idea is to increase exposure for the artists featured and give readers a new desktop or two. To start this off I could not think of anyone more perfect for it than long time contributor Fabian Gewheller. Fabian used to give photos to twistedsun.net, my old project, for use as desktops and I was always happy to post them. I have to say that he has come a long way since then and his new images are simply fantastic. Its been great to watch his style develop and grow over time and see him experiment with all sorts of different approaches while still holding a feel of his own.
I am more than happy to present a handful of photos that I have selected and packed up as desktops for everyone. I was lucky and he let me choose a lot of them which I am really happy about because they are all nothing short of wonderful and I’m sure everyone will enjoy them as much as I do. I also encourage you to visit his flickrstream HERE to see more of his beautiful work. Fabian, I am posting this before I ask you but if you have anything you would like to say to the visitors of the site please, let me know and I will add it to the post!
As with all the images I post here, these are not for commercial use! The terms state that they are to be used for your own personal use only and because this is a guest here lets be extra courteous please. 
To Download an image simply click or right click the image and save the zip file wherever you want to save it or click/right click here to download a zip of all eight desktops. Enjoy and please leave a comment if you like the images or if you like the idea of these spoghtlights!
Catching Up
As I mentioned in my last post I have been sitting on a lot of desktops that I have been trying to get posted since my return from Germany. I have decided to put them all into one big post stuffed full of new desktop options for everyone. All of these are from my trip to Munich, Germany and hopefully there is something for everyone here. If not just keep checking back because, as always it seems, I hope to get desktops posted on a more regular basis.
So leave a comment and let me know what you think and speaking of which, due to a lot of spam I have had to switch to a moderated comment scheme for now so if your comment does not appear immediately you know why. I hope to get some more spam blocking in place soon but until then its the best I can do.
To download an image just click or right click and save attached file. All desktops are in zip files and include my terms of use which reminds you that these images are not for commercial use! Please, just send me a mail and let me know if you want to use them for anything else. Enjoy!
Munich Transport
I have been sitting on these desktops for a while now and have a few more as well of other things from my trip to Germany. I thought I would get things started with this pack of photos from the public transport in Munich that I thought would make nice desktops. Some of you may recognize a couple of these from flickr. I am releasing these all in one pack because of the similar theme and to get that pack simply click here.
Remember that these are for personal use only and not to be used for any comercial use. thanks and enjoy!
Simply..
A friend pointed this site out, I believe, a long while ago and I recently re-discovered it and found a great performance by Bon Iver. You will also find performances from other artists as well, but not simply concerts but also special performances like this one from Bon Iver (click the image above to go to that one btw). There are some great videos and moments to be found there so take a few minutes and browse through. I suppose I should note that the site is written in French but sometimes the articles can be found in English as well.
All Things
So apparently this is somehow the story of my life. Most likely its also the story of many others lives depending on how you want to stretch the lyrics into metaphors. a bootleg recording of a song sang live by Sufjan Stevens and used in a home made video for the song which you can find here if you are curious. Otherwise, click below to hear it. Its been one of those songs that has managed to find its way on to infinite repeat. Maybe I’m being a bit personal here in this post but why not from time to time right?
I’m curious what different people would get from hearing this song because once you hear it you may be looking for what about it makes me believe its somehow the story of my life. I would prefer you just listen to it like I didn’t just say that. Otherwise, new desktops soon, I have a bunch ready to go, just have not gotten them posted just yet but soon, I promise.
(well, I tried to get a handy flash player here but cant make it work without messing with things so just click here to hear it or just watch the video. I would have just posted the video but its not really representative of the feeling I got from the song and thought it would be distracting to my point which after all this rambling seems rather dull)
Moth
I have another suggestion for your ears today. An album I recently found that has been available for a while now it seems. I have been a fan of this musician for a long time without even realizing it. Mick Turner is a guitarist that has worked with all sorts of various big names in the indie music world. Most directly and obviously is his involvement with the group The Dirty Three.
At any rate, I will skip the history as its already been written a million other places more accurately and with a more professional gloss than what I can manage anyhow. This is a beautiful album full of slow, calm, rambling guitar along with the occasional other instrumentation. Almost ambient in the end but in a smooth, relaxing sort of a way. A great album for times when your mind needs a break which mine often seems to need so I love coming across such albums as this.
So take a moment and listen on iTunes or Amazon or wherever you prefer… surely your mind could use such a calm moment as well..
Through the Flowers
Another day, another set of desktops for everyone. The images here were shot while I was in Munich and they are so similar I just figured I should release them in a pack together to make it simple and this way you get them all at once and can choose by trying. My trip was a great one and I have other photos I would like to share here soon and I’m coming up with a good way of doing that. But for now enjoy these and I will check back soon. Im feeling a music post coming..
Please use these only for your desktop wallpaper and nothing more. No commercial use is allowed! Thanks and enjoy! Download the pack by clicking the link HERE.
