“The times they are a-changin” is a song by Bob Dylan from the 1960’s and today is proof of this as the final production run of Kodachrome will take place. With the special make up of the film it requires a different process to create and even to develop with only one lab left in the country which will handle the processing until the end of 2010.

Since it joined the product line over 70 years ago many photographers have used the various iterations of Kodachrome due to the colors it created in both still and motion picture film. From the Afghan Girl photograph in National Geographic by photographer Steve McCurry to the Zapruder reel in 1963 the film has caught many special times. Kodak has created a special gallery to share some of these images.

So while Kodachrome will no longer be an option for those photographers who shoot film, the images of the past will remain as a reminder and of course so will the words of Paul Simon…

Kodachrome
They give us those nice bright colors
They give us the greens of summers
Makes you think all the world’s a sunny day, Oh yeah
I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don’t take my Kodachrome away

The f/22 profile for this month brings us New York City photographer Caryn Leigh Posnansky. I first met Caryn in Montana a few years ago and have continued to stay in touch with her as we share ideas and help each other out. The following is a brief conversation I had for the f/22 earlier this year.

What was it which first got you interested in photography?
I picked up a camera in high school and I was immediately hooked. I photographed for the my high school yearbook my junior and senior years. I’ve never been a shy person but being behind the camera helped open me up even more. I also love the reactions to my photographs.

Prior to becoming a full-time photographer, you worked as a casting director. With the focus of your photographic work on people, how does this background help you in your photography?
Casting is believing in your eye and believing in your decisions while knowing what your client is wanting. Photography is very similar to this as well. Casting and photography are both so subjective. You can show 20 different people one photograph or one casting candidate and you will get 20 different critiques. While casting, I had to learn to look at the big picture, think about the viewer and the client and trust my gut. While photographing, I have to look at the big picture, take in all the details and then trust my gut. I have found that once you trust yourself and your creativity, others will trust you as well.

Do you have a preference of working in the studio versus being on location for your shoots?
WOW, good question. I like both. I love trying to use natural light when it’s available, even in a studio. The lighting you create in the situation whether it is the natural light or artificial is what will make the photograph.

Some of your work recently was taken on black and white film, versus digital. What is your feeling on the change from film to digital and how this is impacting the photographic world?
I love film, I love printing, I love the work put into making a print. BUT, since we’re living in an “I need it yesterday” world, digital is the way to go especially with my commercial and editorial clients. I will be giving myself a personal assignment using film this year as there’s nothing like the results it provides.

Are there any photographers you follow on a regular basis, and what about their work inspires you?
There are photographers who I love, but I don’t “follow” any on a regular basis. I find new photographers who inspire me daily. Inspiration can come from one photograph that just catches my eye to an entire series. I’m a simple photographer who loves simple photography, but can really be sucked into the complex work of some photographers.

This past year you added some more clients to your portfolio. Being in one of the most competitive areas for photography, do you have any suggestion to the readers and how to grow your business?
Believe in yourself and the power of word of mouth is amazing, and free!!!

That is a great piece of advice especially in today’s fast paced world. By providing high quality results as well as quality customer service the word of mouth advertising is what will grow your business, which is of course free. Thank you Caryn for taking the time to answer the questions and remind us of the importance of caring for your clients.

Image copyright by Caryn Leigh Photography

Image copyright by Caryn Leigh Photography

Image Copyright by Caryn Leigh Photography

Be sure to check out more of Caryn’s work on her website Caryn Leigh Photography.

Thanks again Caryn and stop back next month for another f/22 photographer profile.

Yesterday I was in California to help celebrate my niece’s fifth birthday with a trip to Disneyland.  This was a surprise to her and with her love of the Disney princesses at this time you knew it would be a memorable day for her.  Wanting to capture the day, I had my camera with me during the visit and of course to Disneyland.

Hannah wakes up and thinks about staying in bed for a little more but then the word Disney gets her attention.

She then makes her way to the cards left to open

While waiting for the shuttle Hannah tells me she is now five, or that she wants me to stop with the camera

The first time through Hannah meets Cinderella

Hannah waits in line at Pixie Hallow

Later in the day Hannah hugs Cinderella while wearing her Belle dress which was part of her birthday presents.

On the way out of the park, I came across the brick with Christina Difrancesco’s name on it.  Christina was the wife of a good college friend and at a young age left us as a result of a brain tumor.

As the rain falls here in Denver, I was looking through some images I took in the past month.  It was just over two weeks ago I headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park and Trail Ridge Road prior to it opening for the season.  As I parked at the Forest Canyon Overlook and started walking up the road I photographed along the way.  The plan was to make it as far as I could for sunset, which ended up being just about to Iceberg Pass.  I was treated to an interesting sunset and started back along the road.  Getting close to the car and about an hour after sunset I noticed the city lights of Denver in the distance and grabbed the following photograph.  The brighter colors in the image are due to the light pollution from the city.

After looking at this image, I decided to make it something which would be available to folks who donate towards my Team in Training fundraising efforts.  At the top level if there is a different image you would like let me know and that can be arranged as well.

Now as it is raining here in Denver, I know at 11,000+ feet at this spot the road is covered once again in snow and closed.

This week the highlighted site for linking the week is Indie Arsenal.  Indie Arsenal is a local group here in Denver with two different chapters for creatives to join to meet like minded individuals as well as to collaborate on projects or other items in which it may be helpful to get the thoughts of others.  The Denver group meets on the second Tuesday of the month while the Boulder group is the first Monday of the month.  In addition to the meetings and other events, there are plenty of online resources to help you out as well as a forum to share resources, ideas and ask some of those troubling questions.

The question “Where did you take this photograph?” is one which I receive quite often at gallery nrc with pieces of work shown during the Denver Art Walk each month.  During First Friday in May one image which received a lot of questions is the following photograph from Rainbow Curve in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Rainbow Curve Clouds - Rocky Mountain National Park

The first question I received was “Were you in an airplane?”, or “How far did you hike to get that image?”.  My response was always, I was at Rainbow Curve just off of Trail Ridge Road instead of a story which I could have made up to stretch the truth.  For those of you not familiar with Rainbow Curve, it is the pull off just above treeline on the eastern side of the park and included at the location are restrooms and enough parking for maybe 20 or 30 cars.  To me the location doesn’t matter, but it is about the story the image tells.  When this image was taken I was heading up the road towards Bear Lake and about 1/3 of the way up decided to backtrack and head to Trail Ridge Road.  Just prior to hitting treeline I popped out of the clouds and was treated with the following scene.  As I chatted with a few people prior to sunrise who stopped as well, I told them to wait 10 minutes or so since sunrise was right about to happen.

I bring up the question of where did you take this image as I was at the Downtown Denver Art Festival this past weekend, and noticed a photograph which looked like a familiar location.  I inquired about the photo of the mountain lion and was told a story which didn’t seem to sound right as the background was in some of the images I have of mountain lions taken at a place in Montana which caters towards video and still photographers.  Using a “game farm” allows the safety of both the photographer as well as the animals since you are not tracking animals in the wild which could put an animal in harms way.  I did some research prior to selecting this place to see the photographers using it and why it makes sense to get photographs in this manner.  So the story I was told by the photographer at the arts festival was that he hired a guide outside of Glacier National Park who knew there was a mountain lion in the area but it still took a great deal of time to get this image.  I could have asked more questions to the photographer about specifics about this but decided to take the high road and let him get back to his booth and his story for other patrons.  Upon getting home I confirmed the location based on past images of mine, in addition to asking another photographer who has been there during the winter.

But I am wondering, does the story he is sharing with people help sell the image?  Would you buy the image based on the story of him being in the wild finding the animal or is it just the image itself which would draw you to purchase the photograph?  If you bought the image based on the story, and later found out the truth how would you feel?  To me deceiving the buyer doesn’t make any sense as a photographer and a business person as the truth will come to light at some point which not only hurts your reputation but those of all photographers.  A photograph tells the story, but maybe in this case the story needs to tell the story to sell the image.

The group hike this past week for the fall season of Team in Training was at Doudy Draw just south of Boulder.  As this was the first hike for the season it is a pretty easy hike, however towards the end we did add in a good short elevation gain for the group bringing a total of over seven miles hiked during the morning.  While hiking I threw my camera over my shoulder and grabbed the following image.

At the lower elevations, the wildflowers are now in their prime.

If you would like to contribute towards my fundraising efforts with Team in Training where I am raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society please visit my information page to find out how you may help out.

Today is Memorial Day in the United States which commerates the men and women who lost their lives while serving in the military.  On this day, I decided to wake up early to photograph at Fort Logan National Cemetery here in Colorado.  Prior to Memorial Day an American Flag is placed at each headstone in the cemetery which brings the meaning of this day to life.

There has been some interesting weather the last couple of days here in Denver as well as on the eastern plains, so sharing the Rainbow Chasers website as the linking the week site is quite timely.  A series of nine videos, the Rainbow Chasers is a spoof on the whole storm chasing as three guys decide to go out and search for rainbows as the number of rainbow sightings in the past few years has been down here in Colorado.  This was a collabrative effort between Ben Jones of Image Brew, the Honest Bros. as well as the Nix Brothers.  Be sure to check out the videos to see how their quest plays out.

When I was living in Missoula during the summer of 2007, I had the pleasure of meeting Marcy James who is a talented photographer with a creative and inspiring vision.  Also during this time, she had her show “No Man’s Land” at Gallery Saintonge which was great to see and experience.  I had the opportunity to ask Marcy some questions about her work and inspiration and have included these below as the f/22 photographer profile for the month of May.

What was it which got you interested in photography?
Hmm. It all started with a yashica mat camera I found at the goodwill. I never thought that i would be able to afford a ‘real’ camera…and the point and shoots….well, they just turned out images generically. They didn’t have enough options. but then I found the yashica and was transfixed by my lack of control and a love for looking down into the waist level finder, and not knowing what was going to come of it. I still have my first image etched into my mind…. I am a meanderer of sorts so the yashica in conjunction with extended time renting videos for a living and thus watching up to four movies a day…well, I guess that somehow sensitized my eyes in a way that made me curious. I found my language in images. I spent so much time trying to express my ideas with words and it just didn’t cut it. Working with images allowed for an open ended conversation, like poetry. No need to be succinct or make logical sense. you can run around in your own logic and others found it to be refreshing.

The name Marcy James is known with the photographic work you have done on Butte, Montana even being mentioned in the book “Butte Trivia“.  What inspired you to concentrate on the town of Butte, especially after growing up in the eastern US and spending time in larger cities?
Oh these are such big questions, Neil. I visited Butte once long ago…I was in search of Evel Kneivel. I didn’t find him that day (that encounter came much later), but I did notice that Butte looked like a place lost in time. Like a museum where time, as I used to say, ‘was left to its own evolution.’ That day remained in my thoughts for years until one afternoon I awoke from a nap with a strong sense that I needed to move there and make a book about that place before it all changed. I knew that it was a time sensitive matter so I moved there within a month. and it has changed. and it continues to inspire me…its resilience, its stark beauty, its authentic and kind people, its land, its buildings, its sad commentary on how American society disposes of important things and places without much consideration. I could photograph that place for a lifetime but I think that I have said all that I need to say there for now. Photography helps me to reflect, process and comment on what it is like for me to live in this time.  I draw from everything around me, the evolution of small towns,  industrious cities, the family farm, the American landscape are all subjects that I connect with and that are in the midst of change that may be irreversible for our history as Americans. It is a big subject and one that I will probably be fascinated with for my lifetime.

With your Butte work you explored some abandoned buildings as well as the city in oft hours. Were there any concerns you had with safety and anything you did before hand to ensure it did not become an issue?
Everything I did in Butte dealt with facing one fear or another. I had a good system though for keeping myself somewhat safe..it was home made but thanks to people who loved me, it worked out really well. and safety did become an issue a few times. I think that the one event that really opened my eyes though, beyond the average dangers that go along with the type of project that I was doing was that the building that I owned and lived in was attacked by arsonists…twice in one week. that really had a lasting impact on me for awhile.

You have done plenty of work with alternative processes.  With darkrooms being phased out at schools and the push more to a digital education as well as from the manufacturers will this impact how you create work in the future?
This does not impact my work in the least. I use whatever tool suits the idea that i am working on…so whether I am using a 4×5 camera, a scanner as a camera, a pinhole camera or my digital video camera…my studio just grows in its potential. I have a wonderfully eclectic tool box. I think that I would be upset if the day came that I was not able to print my own work. I don’t think that I would respond to that well but who knows, lot’s of people have kicked and screamed their way into the digital world…and what a shame it would be to not have access to the immense technology that is available to us now. Personally, I have been wanting to work in 3D for nearly a decade.

I know there is a long list of photographers which you follow.  Could you tell us what photographers inspire you to shoot in your style?
I have been pretty fond of Sarah Moon and Masao Yamamoto lately. I love Annie Leibovitz’s work. Maggie Taylor and Julianne Kost make me want to master compositing. and I think that most of all, the students that I have had the great pleasure of working with throughout the years have been my most active and influential process-oriented inspirations. I love to watch them explore themselves through their work. I miss that and find reasons to continue to work with them even though I don’t teach anymore.

Lastly, do you have a piece of advice you picked up along the way which helped you with your career that you would like to share with our readers who are interested in moving forward in photography.
It’s not my advice, but it has guided me well. “choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Confucius.  In addition…Virginia Woolf taught me that everyone needs to have a room of one’s own. my studio is where my world is wide open…everything is possible there. do you have your own room, Neil?

Excellent question Marcy.  While I do have an area which is somewhat like a room of my own I do think that I need to solidify this location so it is indeed my own room.  This is something which I will be working on in the next couple of months.

The following images are a few which Marcy shared with us…

Image Copyright Marcy James

Image Copyright Marcy James

Image Copyright Marcy James

Image Copyright Marcy James

You may find more of Marcy’s work at the following sites:

• Marcy James
• Marcy James Journal
• Marcy James Facebook Fan Page

Thanks to Marcy for taking the time to be the f/22 profile for May, and look for a new profile in June.