the things i love: film

In honor of Valentine's Day, I'm going to celebrate all week with a mini-blog series, "The Things I Love." The first one, of course, is film! But not film as in the movies, I'm talking about the physical celluloid film.

FILM: a thin sheet of cellulose acetate or nitrocellulose coated with a radiation-sensitive emulsion for taking photographs

Although digital photography has come a long way, it still does not compare to the quality of film. You can't get the same subtle variations in the shadows and highlights with a digital camera as you can with a roll of Tri-X or Kodak Kodachrome. Luckily, Kodak still makes and sells Tri-X, and hopefully it won't go away until long after I'm gone. Digital comes close with the capability to shoot RAW images... but you still have to edit the photo afterwards to get anything close to what is already on the film negative.

Another thing I love about film is the process. There is just something about waiting in the darkroom to see what you've got that makes you a better photographer. I love that shooting film is a chemical process and part of the art of photography is the science.

Kelsey - December 2010

the perks of being a wallflower

10th & Baylor - Austin, Texas - 2013

a time and place for everything

A big part of being a photographer is being in the right place at the right time -- and then also being prepared for it. It's like when someone tells you you're lucky -- I've been hearing that a lot since I started my job at the library. Well, luck is a part of it, but I think the bigger part of it is knowing what to do with the luck when it happens. In my case, I didn't just walk in the door and they said here you go, here's this great job. I worked hard to get two degrees in five and a half years, got my ass kicked, and almost had to start all over from scratch. I think this photo is reflective of all of this - my past, present, and future. Yes, it's of a sunset I know, but here is why. This past year I graduated from UT (which is the subject - the Tower), I was hired as the new photographer for the LBJ Presidential Library (which is the location the photo was taken), and the photo was taken with my new Nikon D800 (which is the first piece of quality equipment that I own). But the reason the image even exists on something other than my iPhone is that for whatever reason, I decided to take my personal camera to work today, got off at six, and was almost to my car when I turned around and saw the sunset. It never quite looks like this in Austin -- El Paso maybe, but never here. This moment reminded me of why I should always bring my camera with me. You never know what opportunity will present itself, but when it does, you best be prepared.

[For all those techies out there -- This image is unedited and was taken with a Nikon D800 and manual Nikkor 35mm f/2 lens.]

Sunset - Austin, Texas - 2013

for all you birdwatchers out there

For all you birdwatchers out there -- This lovely hawk landed on the ledge outside of Lady Bird's office on the 10th floor this morning. I'd never seen a hawk up close like this before, with only three feet and a pane of glass between us. She was standing on one leg and looked right me before taking off over the Austin skyline. One of our archivists on the 9th floor thinks it might be a Red Tail Hawk. What do you think?

DIG13456-001, LBJ Library photo by Lauren Gerson

DIG13456-008, DIG13456-013, DIG13456-021, LBJ Library photos by Lauren Gerson

DIG13456-024, LBJ Library photo by Lauren Gerson