Shooter's Block

Heat me lazy. Life gets in the way. I work too much. The Dog ate my Neopan and the Cat drank my Rodinal. All valid excuses for the fact my shooting mind looks like the image above. Ok, so the dog and cat think is not true, but the others are dead on. In the end, they are just excuses. I just need to clear my mind and move forward. The Virginia heat has chased me out of my attic studio for the summer, but the sun is shining, my flashes work and the flowers are blooming, so that is still just an excuse...

I think shooter's, as with writer's block, is just a problem with motivation. Ideas come, but are dismissed with little thought. Squelched for being unoriginal, too simplistic or any other number of lame excuses artists and creative types come up with for not doing the work the love. We blame muses, society, the man, anything to cover our lack of motivation. Any excuse not to take the simple, unoriginal idea and turn it into something simple but original, or fail trying.... Failure, the greatest excuse of all. The main reason not to try at all....

Bullshit.

Above image - Agfa Ansco B2 Shur-Shot Regular FujFilm Neopan Acros 100 Caffenol-C-M - What happens when you forget to advance the film on a box camera.

From the Archive - The New American Theatre 1988

Yashica 12 Yashinon 80mm f3.5 Kodak Tri-X Professional HC-110 Dil. B - A place of many great nights and fond memories, the New American Theatre is Phoebus VA., has had a long and varied history. It started life as a Vaudeville Theatre, The American Theatre,  in 1908 and declined over the years to the imfamous Lee Adult Theatre, and X-Rated right of passage for the young man of Hampton and Phoebus VA, in the 70's and early 80's. The picture above shows the the revived New American Theatre of the late 80's. A Movie Theatre/Restaurant, that hosted live bands on weekend nights. I was a frequent guest of the New America Theatre as both a customer and a musician. The building has now been restored resemble its original 1908 incarnation and has reverted back to the original American Theatre name.

From the Archive - Fist with Ring 1987ish

Nikon FE2 Uknown Lens Kodak Tri-X 400 Developer Unknown - Another from the archive, shot on vacation on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I believe the intent was to use this image for a Band Flyer, as that is the lead singer of the band behind the fist. I am not sure if the image ever made it to a flyer, but now the world can see it here... Anyone interested can check out the band here.

From the Archive - Sunset on The Chesapeake 1985

Nikon FE2 Nikkor 35-105 F3.5-45 Kodak Ektachrome 100 - One of my all time favorite shots. Captured during a sailing trip from Hampton VA. to Annapolis MD. in the summer of 1985. The Sun was just beginning to set and the sweet light was in full effect. The FE2 used for this shot met its end during the trip, the victim of a leaking compartment. I still have its salt water damaged hulk to this day.

Backyard Archeology exposures no. 2 and 5

Nikon FE2 Micro-Nikkor 55mm f2.8 Orwo UN54 ISO 100 Arista 76 1:1 - I was digging out an old cooler some previous owner buried in my backyard, and run across this. What I thought was just an old cooler appears to have been the sacred tomb of some small creature. Since the occupy being had long since departed these crumbling bones, I decided not to pass up the interesting subject. Shooting Orwo UN54 ISO 100 again, this time developed in Arista 76 diluted 1:1. This developer film/developer combination has very nice grain and sharpness with nice tonal range.