charlottesville (once again)

It’s been six years since I moved back to Charlottesville and, in that time, I feel like I’ve photographed practically everything in town. If I’m going to continue taking pictures, I have to force myself to take a different approach. Sometimes, that means revisiting old subjects. I think I have photographed every scene here at least once before. But I keep making pictures, just to see if I can’t find something new.

I used a Yashica-D medium format camera for these pictures. The black and white photos were made with Ilford XP2 Super, and the color photos were made with Kodak Gold.

The “I Love Charlottesville A Lot” mural in Belmont.

Scoreboard at Quarry Park.

Rotting car in a Belmont backyard.

A boat.

And for those of you who went to UVA, here are a few photos that should be familiar sights.

Mincer’s.

Heartwood Books.

Coupe’s.

new orleans

We went to New Orleans a few months ago for a family trip and, as usual, I took a lot of pictures. Also as usual, it took me forever to get them developed, scanned and curated. Here are the results. I used a Yashica-D medium format camera and either Kodak Gold or Ilford XP2 Super film. Let me know what you think.

Half-Moon Bar & Restaurant.

Pralines and Cigarettes.

Euclid Records.

You already know.

Stripes.

Jesus.

joni’s ride and roast

I was in Des Moines, Iowa this past weekend for Senator Joni Ernst’s “Ride and Roast,” an annual event where supporters ride motorcycles and prominent Republican politicians come and speak for the crowd. This year, “the prominent Republican politicians” included virtually everyone running for the Republican presidential nomination. I went to observe, to speak to voters and to take a few pictures. I’m not sure I’ll write about the experience but here, at least, are the pictures.

For those of you who care, I used my Leica M10-D and a Panasonic GX8 mirrorless camera for these photos.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA)

Ron DeSantis with his mouth open.

Ron DeSantis talking awkwardly with a fan.

Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley with a fan.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) talking with admirers.

Mike Pence, his wife, and one of the few people in the room interested in speaking with him.

A typical table.

Coconut Grove

I was in Miami for work earlier this year and brought a camera and a lens in case I had a little time to walk around take photos. It turns out I did, and here are the pictures in question. I used the Leica M10-D and the M-Hexanon 28mm f/2.8 lens. Pretty much everything was taken with the lens stopped down to f/16 or f/11, since a wide lens and a sunny day means you don’t really have to focus if the aperture is narrow.

A house.

A mural.

An abandoned apartment.

Apartment complex I.

Apartment complex II.

A church.

Scenes from O'ahu

Here is a curated selection of photos from the trip I took to Hawaii last December. Let me know what you think.

Honolulu’s Chinatown | Leica M4-P | Fujicolor 200 | M-Hexanon 28mm f/2.8

Byodo-in Temple | Leica M4-P | Fujicolor 200 | M-Hexanon 50mm f/2.0

A beach, somewhere | Leica M4-P | Fujicolor 200 | M-Hexanon 28mm f/2.8

Downtown Honolulu | Leica M4-P | Ilford XP2 Super | M-Hexanon 50mm f/2.0

Waikiki Beach | Leica M4-P | Ilford XP2 Super | M-Hexanon 50mm f/2.0

Sightseeing | Leica M10-D | M-Hexanon 90mm f/2.8

Lighthouse | Leica M10-D | M-Hexanon 90mm f/2.8

“Mauka” | Leica M10-D | M-Hexanon 50mm f/2.0

The Palace | Leica M10-D | M-Hexanon 50mm f/2.0

An unusual VW. | Leica M10-D | M-Hexanon 50mm f/2.0

The Beach | Leica M10-D | M-Hexanon 50mm f/2.0

The City | Leica M10-D | M-Hexanon 90mm f/2.8

Diamond Head | Leica M10-D | M-Hexanon 50mm f/2.0

Diamond Head | Leica M10-D | M-Hexanon 90mm f/2.8

local sights

I took these photos late last year, in and around central Virginia. It’s mostly Charlottesville, but there are shots from Lynchburg and Richmond as well. The square format isn’t an edit; I used my Yashica-D camera which, despite its age, takes to color film very well.

An advertisement in Lynchburg, Va., taken with Kodak Ektar 100.

A Richmond laundromat, taken with Kodak Gold 200.

C&O Restaurant in Charlottesville, Va. Taken with Kodak Gold 200.

Gus’ Custom Tailoring in Charlottesville, Va. Kodak Gold 200.

Fitzgerald Tire in the Belmont neighborhood of Charlottesville. Ilford XP2 Super.

An ice machine. Ilford XP2 Super.

Los Angeles

We went to LA last summer and true to form, it has taken me almost six months to get all the photos edited and developed and edited again. Here is a curated selection of the shots I took there, all made either on film with my Leica M4-P or digitally with my Leica M10-D. I confess to taking some real touristy shots but, listen, I hadn’t spend more than a few days there before this year, so I indulged my most touristy instincts!

Downtown LA | Leica M10-D | M-Hexanon 50mm f/2.0

Downtown LA | Leica M10-D | M-Hexanon 50mm f/2.0

Hollywood | Leica M4-P | Ilford XP2 Super | M-Hexanon 28mm f/2.8

Hollywood | Leica M4-P | Ilford XP2 Super | M-Hexanon 28mm f/2.8

Santa Monica | Leica M4-P | Kodak Pro Image 100 | M-Hexanon 28mm f/2.8

Santa Monica | Leica M4-P | Kodak Pro Image 100 | M-Hexanon 28mm f/2.8

still impressed by this iphone camera

I have the iPhone 14 Pro Max and I’ve been trying to use the camera as much as possible, not as a replacement for my more traditional cameras, but as something for quick snapshots or just to test out a particular kind of shot. I’m not a fan of the software processing, but as far as the output straight from the sensor goes — which you can get by using the “ProRAW” setting and an editor like Lightroom — I am very impressed. You won’t mistake these shots from a large sensor camera or film, but there is still an impressive amount of detail and sharpness and even a little character. Here are some photos from the past week that I took with the iPhone and like quite a bit.

The Lyric Theater in Waycross, Ga.

Abandoned gas station near the North Carolina border.

Oahu

I was in Hawaii for a week on a teaching residency. When I wasn’t occupied with students or with my own work, I did as much exploration as I could. I took photos using proper cameras, but I also used my phone quite a bit. Instead of sharing the phone photos directly, however, I edited them and printed them on instant film using an Instax Wide printer. I then scanned those prints, for an effect that makes the original photo look like it was shot on film. It’s kind of cool I think.