“RNP the Blog”

I am in the midst of starting a couple new projects which I will discuss at greater length as I get further along into the work. How about a couple early frames to wet the appetite?

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I responded recently to a call on Heather Morton’s blog asking for recent promotional images. Five images were going to be discussed and dissected by their photo editors. I decided to send over an image the readers of the blog will be familiar with:

You can see the selection of images that were sent here.

My image was one of the five they featured for discussion on a blog post today. Some nice words about the image itself and some criticism for not branding the image with my contact information. The printed leave behind image I have used at portfolio showings and a recent portfolio showcase in Kansas City do have my contact information printed on the image. I didn’t submit the image with my branding/contact information because I thought it would stand stronger on its’ own on the web. In hindsight I would have submitted the image with my contact information. Yet another lesson learned.

Either way nice to be featured and nice to get some compliments on the image itself. Thanks to the folks at Heather Morton for the opportunity.

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As most of you that read this blog know my father Larry Nicholson was a photographer. I use the word was because he really doesn’t shoot anymore. In fact he really hasn’t shot much since Ronald Regan was in office. Most of my memories of my dad with a camera involve him behind a video camera as he made the move away from still photography and into video production during my childhood.

Over the past few years my dad (with some heavy encouragement from my mom) has passed on some of his still cameras to me. One camera I have always loved but never thought he would part with was his “8 x 10″ Deardorff. Much to my surprise my Dad showed up at my house a couple weeks ago with the Deardorff in tow. Thanks Pop!

I would describe the camera as a beautiful beast. The camera is made out of mahogany wood and it is big. Because of its size It is a camera that challenges you and demands commitment from you which is a good thing. Its’ functionality or lack of it absolutely forces you to slow down and think your way through a photograph. It is the exact opposite of digital in many ways (and in my opinion almost all of these ways are positive). By design you are forced to think in terms of quality of shooting versus quantity. No doubt digital is great for its’ speed, immediate feedback, encouragement of experimentation, but for me at least there is still something about film that feels real.

My dad’s Deardorff hasn’t been used in years, I doubt it has been used in my lifetime (36 years if you are counting at home) and yet I was still able to take it out and capture a quality image with it. I don’t forsee my Nikon DSLR being in the same boat 30 years from now. If was still able to capture an image would any software exist that would allow me to process and print that image?

Despite all the positive aspects to the camera it definitely has it share of negatives. Working with a “8 x 10″ viewfinder is an amazing experience but lugging around the camera and setting it up to make an exposure require a strong back and ample patience. I think my friend Ajay had the best description of working with an “8 x 10″ camera when he said, “It is like dancing with a polar bear.”

I had been looking for an opportunity to dance with my polar bear and my brother Jeffrey (another Nicholson photographer) told me he was heading out to his see one of his assistant’s horses last week.  When he mentioned that the directions included turning right at a sign that says “Fresh Eggs” I thought it might be just the place to take the Deardorff for a test drive.

The property did not disappoint and I was able to make two “quick” exposures during our short time there. Just happened to catch Shawn Nash while we there who has been one of my brother’s best friends for many years. Shawn is the real deal, done stunt work for many movies and television shows and was a great subject for this first dance.

In what amounted to a glorified camera test I have to say I am quite pleased with the results. I plan to get the beast again soon…stay tuned.

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I have been a photographer full time now for seven years. I was thinking to myself recently about how far I have come during that time. Some times it is easy to look at your current situation and only focus on how you still aren’t were you want to be in your career.

The further along you get I think the more your realize what separates your work from those at the highest levels…like everything else it is a process and some stages of it are more enjoyable than others.

If you will excuse the sports analogy…it is kinda like when you start playing golf you can make huge strides in improvement early on, but to get really, really good you have to completely buckle down and dedicate yourself to the game. Lots of people enjoy golf initially until the steps in improvement became greater and require more sacrifice.

You could also make the case that improvements to the equipment in both cases have made things both better and worse at the same time but that is another post for another day.

Finally lots of people are good at golf using completely different styles much like photography. I just need to continue to explore and find what is unique and special about my game. It isn’t going to always be fun or easy. But that is the game…

“There’s always stuff to work on. You’re never there.” Tiger Woods

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