Beau in PA

#rodinal
#abandoned
#rustbelt
#monochrome

The people we met around town were all quite friendly and warm. The city isn’t dead, despite the hard blows it’s taken. I think a lot of us are going to have to find that cheerfulness in the face of hard times in the near future. We shall see.

#mckeesport
#filmphotography
#holga
#kentmere400

Black and white image of a tall and narrow old house that is covered in vines.

Sunday was spent poking around different industrial ruins with some friends. We biked out to McKeesport which is one of the hardest hit cities in PA. Once a bustling city full of life, it’s now half deserted and full of houses like this being slowly taken back by the land.

#kentmere400
#rodinal
#pittsburgh
#abandoned
#monochrome

So many places in America are on the knife’s edge of survival, and right now everything feels a bit precarious. I look at places like this, once full of dreams and promise, and remind myself that none of us are immune from the whims of circumstance.

#filmphotography
#holga
#mediumformat

This one and its neighbor are just particularly suited for pictures, especially from the vantage point of the decaying staircase I was perched on for this.

I usually don’t focus on decay in my work, but these modern times have changed my mood a bit.

Fineview, Pittsburgh, PA.

Fineview isn’t the only neighborhood in PGH with some dilapidated houses. The city is home to many, in almost every neighborhood. Casualties of the collapse of the steel industry.

That’s their district in the state

Two people biking down a muddy trail in a desolate landscape of barren trees and overcast skies

Navigating the muck in one of the nooks and crannies of Akron, OH.

#filmphotography
#holga120
#fomaortho400
#rodinal
#rustbelt
#akron
#ohio

Two shopping carts abandoned in a desolate area. One in the foreground has a bag of trash in it, one in the background is empty. They are next to a small pond.

This is from a route we call the “CRAP Trail” which is riding parallel to the GAP Trail but with way more bullshit. This is from the CRAP Trail and this was taken miles from any grocery store.

#holga
#shootfilm
#filmphotography
#blackandwhitephotography
#monochrome
#craptrail
#shoppingspree

An old jet engine and a section of wing abandoned in an empty lot. They’re in front of a weathered fence with a mostly cloudy sky above and overgrown weeds in the foreground.

Dreams of flight

#filmohotography
#blackandwhitephotography
#kentmere400
#canon620
#rodinal

Black and white photo of a single poppy, with a background made of darker growth that is pleasantly out of focus.

Poppy in the garden

#filmohotography
#blackandwhitephotography
#poppy
#kentmere400
#canon620
#rodinal

Pinhole shenanigans. The Holga 120 WPC is light enough to attach pretty much anywhere, so that’s handy.

#filmphotography
#pinholephotography
#pinhole
#blackandwhitephotography
#holga120wpc
#fomapan200
#rodinal
#shootfilm
#rideabike

#filmphotography
#blackandwhitephotography
#lomolca
#kentmere400
#rodinal
#homewood
#pittsburgh
#pgh
#urbandlandscape

Black and white image showing the back of a dilapidated row house is in the background of an overgrown field and a large unkempt shrub obscures the other houses that are shorter than the one on the end.

I leave pretty early most mornings and often end up rambling the Homewood and Wilkinsburg areas. I’ve come to really appreciate the beauty of those neighborhoods. There are areas of sparseness and wild growth that really speak to me. It’s like a new landscape that constantly in flux.

#rodinal
#pittsburgh

Monochrome image of a dark tunnel with brightly lit stairs leading up at the end. Tunnel is square concrete with graffiti on both walls.

Picked up a replacement Lomo LC-A for the one I broke a while back. It wasn’t in the best condition but a little internal cleaning and it seemed ok. Finally processed the test roll and thankfully no light leaks. Exposures are all good and I’m glad to have one in my bag again.

#lomolca
#kentmere400

Monochrome image of a group of trees in late afternoon sun.

I shot this while trying to finish up a roll of film. Wasn’t sure I’d get anything memorable, but I do keep coming back to this one.

#filmphotography
#blackandwhitephotography
#ferraniap30
#canon620
#40mmpancake
#rodinal

#cronenberg
#clivebarker
#pittsburgh
#pgh

The movie Nightbreed is a cult classic for many reasons and its conceit of an underground freak city beneath a cemetery is only one of its many joys. The finest onscreen performance by David Cronenberg is another.

#filmphotography
#blackandwhitephotography
#pinholephotography
#pinhole
#nightbreed

A tomb in a cemetery flanked by trees. Image is black and white, shot with a pinhole camera.

Shooting in a cemetery seems like such a cliche, but I do love this particular tomb. It has stairs inside that go down to a lower level. Let’s not pretend that isn’t cool
As hell and very spooky.

It’s a collaboration, and sometimes a duel, with physical absolutes. My kind of fun.

#blackandwhitephotography
#filmphotography
#pinholephotography
#pinhole
#tmax100
#expiredfilm
#rodinal
#landscapw
#scape
#pittsburgh
#pgh

Shooting pictures without a viewfinder is definitely a learning process. I’m into it though. I firmly believe that constraints make good art, you just have to figure out the right approach. I prefer cameras, film, and processing that leaves its mark on your images.

Black and white photo of a marsh scene shot with a wide angle pinhole camera. There is leafy ground cover in the foreground and a felled tree spanning a pool in the background.

Marsh area down in Nine Mile Run. Shot with my Holga WPC pinhole. I really like the leaves in the foreground, and the felled tree arching through the mid ground is nice too. Probably a little too much bright space in the upper middle, but,hey, I’m still figuring this out.

#rodinal
#bridge
#pittsburgh
#pgh

Monochrome image of a bridge taken from the lower unused level, looking up at the underside of the train tracks. Image is a wide angle shot showing both sides of the bridge structure.

Pittsburgh is full of bridges. This looks unused but trains still travel on the upper level.

Shot on a Holga WPC panoramic pinhole camera with expired TMax 100. Stand developed in Rodinal.

#filmphotography
#blackandwhitephotography
#pinholephotography
#pinhole
#holgawpc
#plasticcamera
#tmax100

Thanks! Getting there!

Thanks! I’m actually considering using the smaller mask in the WPC because the vignette on the sides is a lot even for me, and I love a camera that does it for me.

Holga 120 WPC panoramic pinhole
Kodak TMax 100 (expired)
Rodinal

#pinhole
#pinholecamera
#pinholephotography
#blackandwhitephotography
#mediumformat
#shootfilm
#monochrome

Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day was April 27th. This is from a roll I shot with my Holga WPC panoramic pinhole. I’m still working on mastering the pinhole, but I think this one works for the most part. I’m still getting the hang of using it to its fullest potential.