ESSENTIAL IMAGERY, Philadelphia photographer » randomshoots

JEANETTE LEBLANC

Kristen — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 12:47:38 +0000

It’s always a nerve-racking honor to be asked to photograph another artist. Particularly another photographer. But I was brave. And it was worth it. Jeanette took me to a junkyard in Phoenix (private property, don’t bother asking where) and we had a blast getting to know one another better and posing like mad. These were shot on film (double bonus brave points!) with a 35mm f/2 , Fuji 400H, and my Nikon F5. I wish we had scheduled at least three more hours together to wander about and explore.

At least we found a few under-loved mid-century modern pieces and a sweet broke-down bus!

Photographers — that one on the left? I call that light Jose Villa light. If you’re in Phoenix, look her up! Better yet, hire her to shoot your family or your fashion. She’s funny. She’s feisty. You’ll love her.

PHOENIX

Kristen — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:25:34 +0000

I really had to work to find some quality desert scenery in Phoenix. I just figured I’d drive a few miles out of the city, and voila! There would be tumbleweed and cracked, dry ground. The movies only perpetuate this epic cacti myth, so don’t hold it against me…

There’s been record rainfall in Phoenix lately, so everything is a bit green. The natives are amazed by how green the mountains are at the moment!

I drove into the middle of nowhere and found these dogs guarding an intersection. School kids had just gotten on the bus, and they were well protected. See the green popping up between the cracks?

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

Kristen — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:42:59 +0000

Shot with Nikon F5, 35mm f/2 lens. In the yard, Ambler.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY PHOTOGRAPHER | ARTSY FILES

Kristen — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 14:00:57 +0000

Every now and again, I get to shoot for the pure joy of shooting…I’m inspired by abandoned stuff. Abandoned houses, shopping centers, parking lots, items. The stories they aren’t giving up draw me to them again and again.

Why steal only the upper right bit of the rooster? Or did this happen organically? The color of that pipe…killer! Loved the angles here…the way the eye can go around and around…I’m looking through a streetlight toward the ceiling. As for the right — that color gets me. Ultimate question: why knock down an entire building, but leave three walls standing?

Better yet, why paint rainbow stripes only halfway down a wall?

POLAROID AND POETRY

Kristen — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:40:27 +0000

in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little
lame balloonman
whistles far and wee
and eddieandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it’s
spring
when the world is puddle-wonderful
the queer
old balloonman whistles
far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing
from hop-scotch and jump-rope and
it’s
spring
and
the
goat-footed
balloonMan whistles
far
and
wee: e.e. cummings

LONG LIVE POLAROID – main line child photographer

Kristen — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 10:00:37 +0000

I’m the most impatient person I know when it comes to everything but kids. A baby can take three hours to give me three minutes of cuteness, and I truly don’t mind. But waiting to see images, if they’re on film, or being processed? TORTURE!

Thus, it is with great joy that I announce: I have a new buddy. I call her Pola. She is beautiful, and makes images like this:

Best of all, Pola produces these images INSTANTLY AND MAGICALLY, with a special sauce that makes pretty pictures appear from mere gray nothingness. There were grabbed at the Ambler Asbestos Factory, which has long been abandoned and which first sparked my interest in photography.

So, I was trespassing quietly and softly, then “EEP!”ing with delight every time I hit the shutter button. There is such joy in this process! One more for you…the vines, the romantic quality, the light, the delicious-ly-awesome-Pola!

Finally, you know I *HAD* to bring my new toy to yesterday’s newborn session. And then I learned that Autofocus on a 30-year-old camera = back up. Back up some more, or it’s blurry.

But this is blurry in the prettiest possible way, don’t you think?

THE WEEK IN REVIEW – philadelphia polaroid photography

Kristen — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:15:23 +0000

It’s been a blur of waiting and trains.

Waiting. Urgent messages.

Such surprises.

Patches of yellow, mystery in the darkness, magic in the light.

The world bends. We do not.

SYRACUSE POLAROIDS – syracuse photographer

Kristen — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 10:23:39 +0000

I was in Syracuse shooting & wedding-ing this weekend — it’s a four hour drive, theoretically. In practice, the drive there was 5.5 hours, and the drive home was 6.75 hours. Let’s just say that my personal hell would have a merge point located every 3 miles and no evidence of construction in sight.

These iPhone photos are my way of turning a frown (not moving, stuck on a highway) upside down (iPhone polaroid montage!) — wedding images later in the week, peeps! Happy Monday!

PORTRAIT V. PURSE III – green photography

Kristen — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 10:00:03 +0000

Yes, it’s time for another installment of low-quality video entertainment from Haunani and myself! This installment tackles the topic of green — the eco-friendly kind. I left the thumbnail as is because it’s just *so* awful that it might make your life look more awesome.

FILM HAS MY HEART – nikon 35mm photography

Kristen — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 10:43:16 +0000

Things I know for certain: I will always love ice cream. Even when I am old & withered & lose my appetite for everything else.

I will never let my business take away my love of images. Once you find your passion, holding it close and nurturing your love of it is more important than making money from it.

One of these days, I’ll be courageous enough to put digital down and never pick it up again. Yes yes yes, I can get it to look just the way I want it. Yes yes yes. But that doesn’t leave enough room for magic and serendipity.

And I will always, always leave room for magic and serendipity.