A Day in Kruja / January 11, 2014 by greg brophy

An interesting day in Kruja Albania.

Just Back From Albania / January 10, 2014 by greg brophy

I just got back this week after spending 10 days in Albania with my wife. She is originally from Albania and we went there to celebrate New Years with her family. Over there, New Years is really the holiday they celebrate, not so much Christmas like here in the U.S.

Portrait of an Artist. A photo of me taken by Carl during the workshop.

During the weekend of November 23rd and 24th I took an Into to Platinum Printing class with Carl Weese at The Center for Alternative Photography in NYC. I know Carl's work from the Drive in Movie Theater series he created and the writing he does for The Online Photographer Blog so I was eager to take a class with him.

We started with taking photos on the roof of the building and in the daylight studio. Exposing for the shadows, then developing for the highlights, we set the shadow detail on Zone 3. We then learned how to process 5x7 negatives in PMK pyro in trays. I was afraid to try this in the past but after the demonstration it is much easier than I thought.

After the negatives were dried, we learned how to prepare the sensitizer and paper. The room was a little cold and a little dry these days so we had to add a little humidity. Carl demonstrated how to coat the paper and the correct way to hold the brush, not pushing down too hard, keeping straight up and down. After coating the paper we let it dry until the surface was no longer shiny wet. Then it was dried longer in front of a small fan for about 2 minutes or until it was no longer cold on the back and wet on the front.

Once the print was dry, we put the negative emulsion side down onto the paper, then into a contact print frame. The negatives we made that day did not have a lot of stain from the pyro on it so they only took 3-4 minutes in the UV lightbox. After exposure we put them in a tray and poured the developer on it. It was like magic to see the image instantly appear. It reminded me of the first time I took photography class back in 1995. The biggest problem I had was getting the developer out onto the paper all at once without getting the developer all over the place. After that we washed them through a few washes and hung them to dry.

A photo I printed from a negative taken at another workshop.

The two images below are ones I made from my own 8x10 negatives. They are a little soft because they were developed normally a while ago and did not have the benefit of the stain from the pyro.

Seaside Boardwalk from the "Where the Ocean Meets the Shore" series

Before the workshop I spent a lot of time and money trying to learn myself. After taking the workshop I believe I could develop my own negatives and make my own platinum prints from them. I would highly recommend the class with Carl and I plan on taking more in the future.

The New Impossible Project 8x10 Color Film / October 31, 2013 by greg brophy

Here is the first photo I took using the new color film. I scanned it and edited it to look as close as possible to the actual image. This photo is the first in a series of images about the High Line and how it has affected the businesses and people.

Bergen Community College Exhibition / October 8, 2013 by greg brophy

My work from "Where the Ocean Meets the Shore" will be displayed at a group show in the Bergen Community College from October 1st to December 4th, 2013. Join me at the reception on Tuesday October 15th from 5:30 to 7:30pm. The show is located at:

Bergen Community College
400 Paramus Road
West Hall, Third Floor
Paramus, New Jersey 07652

I am also honored to be part of a panel discussion on Tuesday, October 22, 12:20 to 1:40pm, Room A-104.

Show Invitation - PDF

Where the Ocean Meets the Shore IAF Exhibition / June 26, 2013 by greg brophy

Gutted Like a Fish - Photos from Hurricane Sandy

Two of my pieces are being exhibited at the International Art Fair. "Melting Into the Ocean" and "Gutted Like a Fish". The exhibition will take place from June 26-June28, 2013 at 25CPW gallery at the address: 25 Central Park West, New York, NY

Gallery open to public: June 27 from 12.30pm-10pm June 28 from 12.30pm-8pm

Opening reception on June 27 from 6-9pm.

This is the first exhibition of this work. I have another coming up in October.

Greg

Gutted Like a Fish - Photos from Hurricane Sandy / April 24, 2013 by greg brophy

Here is another photo from the Point Pleasant New Jersey showing the effects of Hurricane Sandy. The house is right on the Manasquan Inlet. I took this photo once before, but I made a mistake in processing it. I was so taken with the devastation in the area that I went back multiple times to get it right.

See more photos here.

Some test photos from my Agfa Isolette III / April 24, 2013 by admin

I recently acquired an Agfa Isolette III with a Apotar 85mm f/3.5 Lens from Ebay.com. I paid around $40.00 for it. The camera is an old fashioned medium format rangefinder from the 60’s. It’s a quirky camera with an uncoupled rangefinder where you peer through the window, focus and then read from the dial on top and then change the lens on the front to match the settings of the rangefinder. Let’s just say it’s not an action type of camera. It also has no light meter either so it really is manual in a lot of ways. The maximum shutter speed is 300th of a second so it can present a problem on really sunny days, but it is a really compact and discreet camera and great for walking around with everyday in NYC. The main problem with these cameras is that the bellows almost always have problems. The lenses usually have problems as well. They usually stick below a 25th of a second. I plan on sending mine to get a new bellows and the lens cleaned by Jurgen from http://www.certo6.com/cameras/agfa-isolette I have not tried him yet, but he has a lot of good information on the cameras. I also found this site: http://www.rolandandcaroline.co.uk/repair.html to be very helpful with repairs.

Below are some photos I took with the camera. I used HP5 and developed them at home with Kodak HC110. They are a little noisy because the lens speeds I think is not accurate, but I plan on testing and fixing that soon. I will also have some color photos as well.

Torn and Tattered - Photos from Hurricane Sandy / April 23, 2013 by admin

In Point Pleasant, a whole street on the Manasquan Inlet was torn apart by Hurricane Sandy. An Oceanside restaurant suffered major damage and is still laying in pieces. The waterline still visible, the awning shredded. The place is just a skeleton of what it used to be. See more photos here.

Ripped Right Through - Photos from Hurricane Sandy / April 22, 2013 by admin

I came across this house in Point Pleasant N.J. right on the Manasquan Inlet. The whole street here had been torn apart. This is one of the many that suffered damage. Six months after Hurricane Sandy, it still remains untouched. The belongings from the occupants laid bare for all to see. See more photos here.

Greg Brophy