Portrait made in the 500 San Marcos Studio. Big light, slow film.

©Kirk Tuck

Hand printed on the premises.

A Portrait Made with Agfapan 25 and a Big Light.

Anna-Marie in the 902 Studio.

All that matters is what the audience sees.

Primary Packaging. New York.  "A Chanel Press Sheet".

The pendulum swings.  We revered available light.  Then everything got lit with big softboxes.  Then we revered available light.  Then we lit things with lots of small flashes.  Now were heading back to our reverence for available light.  When I went on this job in NYC I took a few lights and some umbrellas with which to modify them.  But the entire factory was lit by white, translucent windows that ran the whole length of the building.  You can see the windows in the background.  The rest of the plant was suffused with a mix of skylights and florescent lights.  The light had a direction and texture that was so rich you could reach out and taste it.

We carted the lighting stuff around but we only used it for a few images done in conventional offices on a different floor.  On the press floor it was all about the unguent, luscious light.  It was a job that changed my point of view about lighting.  For the first time I realized how important it could be not to light.  And I loved that.  That's when I discovered my abiding love for tripods.  That's next.

These are copies of prints we made on DW fiber paper (Oriental Seagull) for the agency and client.  No exif as they were on film.  Hasselblad 501cm,  top image:  80mm.  Bottom image:  120 Makro Planar.  Film:  All Tri-X.

Go to this website http://cantineaustin.com scroll to the bottom and watch the video again.

I'm happy with the video with did for this Austin restaurant.

I did this with James Webb (he and I shot together and then he edited) last year and I put it aside after we launched it for the restaurant. I just watched it again today (making some dinner reservations) and I forgot that James had done such a nice job with the edit. Sometimes it's great for people who make stuff to circle back and see what they were doing in the past to inform them about what they might do next.

Click through to the website; It's my friend, Emmett Fox's wonderful restaurant. cantineaustin.com (The video is embedded at the bottom of their page).

And what was I writing about in 2009? A bit of light reading for the holidays. Or, "Damn, a re-run."

http://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/2009/03/fifty-millimeters-glorious-optics-of.html

Looking for Independence on a walk around Austin.

One of the many things I like about Austin is the willingness of people here to come outside in all kinds of weather. It was hot today. The "heat index" hovered around 106 or 107. The air was still and moist, but people still came out. There was a crowd down near the Convention Center and, at the other end of downtown, the Graffiti Wall was packed with people posing and spraying. 

I walked for a long time today, looking for fun stuff to see and photograph. I thought I would see lots more evidence of Americana given the big holiday tomorrow, but no. I usually make my passagio a non-stop circuit but it was so hot today that I stopped at LaVazza Cafe on Congress Ave. for a glass of hibiscus mint iced tea, a prosciutto and brie panini, and a really fine cappuccino. It was a good midpoint on a three hour tour. I wore a hat, applied my sunscreen and wore a long sleeve, tech fabric shirt that blocks UV while wicking away moisture to facilitate evaporative cooling. But one must drink enough fluid to fuel the evaporation... 

At the "Wall" I was looking for scenes that fit into the constraints of the lens I'd brought. Nothing too wildly wide and nothing too surreptitiously long. Just 28-85mm. I was also on a search for images that were layered. By layered I mean that you can see things on multiple planes. I'm practicing trying to see those situations quickly enough so that I can capture them before they dissolve...

I am currently being mystified by the food truck culture of Austin. I get that it's a bootstrap way to start a food service business around a new concept or new foods but I don't understand the economics of paying the same amount for food off a truck as one would in a restaurant. If the food is equivalent you are giving up a nicely air conditioned environment, bath rooms and, in some cases, good atmosphere for the privilege of eating food with your dirty hands while squatting on a rock wall or drain pipe on one of the muggiest and most uncomfortable days I can imagine on which to eat anything. But then I also came across two of my good friends having lunch at an outdoor table at a downtown restaurant. What the heck? 105 degrees and fifteen feet from a busy street. Did they imagine they were on the Via Veneto in the Spring? At least this truck is product logical. Cold drinks for a hot day. And at least the product is actually meant to be portable.

When I finally got back to the house I was sweaty and parched. Now that I've had some Gatorade, another glass of iced tea, some water and a IPA beer I am most happy and comfortable to be sitting in front of the computer looking at images and having fun writing about photography. Hope your day is also interesting and satisfying. We are officially deep into Summer in Austin.

Painted patriotism at the Graffiti Wall. Just in time for the 4th of July!

Flag at the Graffiti Wall. Austin, Texas. July 3rd. 2016

Camera: Sony A7ii

Lens: Contax 28-85mm

©2016 Kirk Tuck