Lily Yasuda

Lily is a friend I first met when she was a manager for a local artist grant company, then got to meet a bit more through some mutuals. A few weeks ago she made an announcement that she was going to be leaving Boise and I asked if it would be possible to take her portrait one last time.

We met downtown Boise around golden hour and we just went light hunting for some spots to have some nice soft lighting but also play with some more harsh lighting. I’ve been enjoying the idea of playing in more harsh light because in photography, especially with portraits soft lighting is key. However at times that can get boring. Knowing that I would be putting Lily into some really high key sun, I’ve always wanted to have a diffusion filter to play with. Luckily the filters came in the mail hours before meeting up, but I used a 1/4 strength Neewer diffusion filter this entire shoot. Now if you have no idea what the hell a diffusion filter is, the main idea behind it is to diffuse highlights. Essentially, soften that harsh lighting. Digital photography has a real crisp edge and when things are sharp it’s very easy to notice. I didn’t want my digital photos to be so sharp, so this softens things and kinda gives a “dreamy” or “film” look.

I enjoyed getting out and taking Lily’s portrait. She is off to Chicago in a few months so I was happy she had time to meet up for a bit and be creative with me! Best of luck with your future plans Lily!

Ellen On Film

A few months ago I purchased a 1970's era Yashica Mat-124G. I had been really, really wanting a square format (6x6) so the right deal came up and I picked one up. Now this camera was a TLR (twin lens reflex), the same sort of camera that Vivan Maier used to create her street photography, portraits, self portraits etc. 

Now usually when I get a new camera, lens or whatever I have a few people I will ask to create some work with the new equipment. And in this gear test, it was my red headed friend Ellen. Now it was early December so it was freezing cold and Ellen told me she had this amazing window light in her living room. The rest was history. Now I did shoot some digital but I'm more interested in shooting more film this year, especially since I obtained my own chemistry to develop at home. (Real quick I'll tell those photo nerds who are curious. I shot with TriX 400, metered at 1600. Developed with Kodak HC-110)

As excited as I was to use this camera. I SOLD IT. 


Why? You'll see on my next blog post when I develop, scan the next roll of film!