rob and the mom cam, again.

I limited images at my disposal here so I'm really getting the most out of this mom-cam roll. Fortunately I have plenty I like.

Here is rob again. Laughing, imagine that.

Oh, ps, thats my head on the bottom. I was doing a non-look, shooting-behind-me sort of thing.

Also, I have so much work I'm proud of from earlier this year I just still can't post it. Soon, I hope.

waaaaay behind.

So I'm about 9,000 shots and 4 days into an 8 day shoot...I don't have a ton of time for blog stuffs. I did grab some scans from RIchard Photo Lab, aka asskickers, and will try to post a couple of shots. Above is Rob in the office photographed with a total mom-camera i got at the thrift store for 3 bucks because it had a roll of film in it (and I'm nosey).

More from that roll to come.

Rob, looking Completely ridiculous.

Another 8x10 sheet of Rob. I really need to work on my developing process for 8x10, for sure. This one had strange stuff going on so I made it weirder. Took more frames yesterday, as did Jason (his first!). I took some of jason and caleb. He shot me, caleb, and paul. I'll develop those soon no doubt. Wanting to shoot more 4x5. Got out and shot some cheesy crap in the snow today with Rob. Why not right?

Rob, first "proper" 8x10 scan

This is the first semi okay scan of the 8x10 I shot. It's still a couple of stops under exposed (there will likely only be one (of bob) possibly properly exposed) but the detail is still amazing. I can't wait to run a perfect negative through. Anyway, I'm tired.

If you're curious what the [dirty] scan looks like a little bigger, click here. It's pretty big.

Day 334

So, yesterday Rob and I started a new personal project. Neither of us know exactly what it will become, but so far, I think I could say we both enjoyed it.

Yesterday I photographed random fans for both teams of the Iron Bowl, this year down in Auburn. The Iron Bowl, for those of you who don't know, is a long-time football rivalry between the University of Alabama and Auburn University. It. Is. Intense.

More importantly to me it brings out weird parts of people you may not normally see. People use the team catch-phrases with strangers like greetings to long lost friends. A simple yelling of "war eagle" can be, at once, intimate and anonymous, individualizing and unifying.


It's weird.

It's interesting.

Anyway, the above photo is rob helping me test the light. It is a polaroid-style shot (technically fuji 100C45, which, yes, is color. I converted it...) just trying to get a feel for how things would look. Note that Rob and I both wore clothes that let us appear totally neutral. (In reality, Rob likes Auburn, I think, and I don't care. I did route for Auburn this time because they were such a massive underdog.)

I'll note here two things:

1) Yes, I did my best to rip off Avedon. I proudly walk in his shadow and will unabashedly steal his idea. This stuff won't be anything nearly as moving as his American West series, but I enjoy shooting these people on white for the sake of stripping everything down to just THE PERSON...who they are with no context.

2) I also chose to shoot everything on black and white film to further strip away the rivalry and draw lines between their collective humanity. I KNOW that a lot of a team's identity lies with their choice of colors, and GOD there were some crazy looking people. But, I couldn't care much less about the teams. I care about the people. I want to see the side of them thats present in such a weird environment.

More to come, though part of me wants to keep it all a secret (for now). Tremendous success or tremendous failure; I can only hope for those two things. I have no interest in anything in between.

Day 294

Rob dropped by the other day for a quick shot. Few things to post but I still can't post them as they haven't run yet.

Day 128

I want to make a joke about this but I am tired. And bored.

Day 127

I was playing around a bit in the studio this afternoon goofing off with Kevin and Rob shooting with lights (!) which is so very rare. I recently added a DIY grid spot to my ghetto arsenal and managed to tag team it with my DIY beauty dish and came out with this shot of Rob.


I'd also like to mention that I launched a new section on my website thats all about the work I did in Uganda. I am still very thankful for the chance to go and more than that the ability to use my work to help people.

Please, CHECK IT OUT. Feel free to leave positive or negative feedback or questions here.

Day 098

Ladies and gentlemen, Robert Culpepper.


It is still DJ Skullpepper week over at poptpop.com!

Day 096

So I am not a huge fan of lighting. Part of that is that I have not made a point of acquiring much gear as I very much prefer finding light, you know? So...I guess I won't ever like it more unless I try more things with manufacturing it. To this end, we went down to the basement of the studio and shot around a little bit. Nothing spectacular. Also, I hate vapor lights. The shot was 75% vapor and the color looked like crap so I went with my comfort zone of black and white. Why am I telling you three people this?

I've got to make a push. I just need to figure out what I'm pushing, and who is on the other side of whatever it is I am pushing with. That, my friends, was a really shitty metaphor. Or, at the least, a bad sentence.


So, there is Rob. I post him also to the end of promoting ROB CULPEPPER WEEK over at poptpop.com.


p.s. I'm sure Rob won't be too happy I posted one of him not looking more like a badass. Oh well. All I can say is sorry, boss.

Day 083

Rob scouting out some contact sheets.

Day 344

Day 342

random test shot of rob with the beauty dish i made

Day 262

BOOYEAH

Day 251

rob again. i know..its amazing.


[ed]

this is a post i made from my main site. i'm blatantly cross posting it here (so some of the things i say may not apply in context of electric lion)

Alright! So it has obviously been a while since I have posted here (as I note on every occasional blog here, most of my "blog" time (is there blog time? does that exist? is that a thing?) is spent of at my daily photo blog electric lion) but I have random travel news. I'll be headed to Eastern Europe for three weeks with John and Garrett and I am VERY excited. Our currently city/country list is roughly as follows:

Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, and Croatia, with a possible slide through on Bosnia. (see a google map here.

If you or anyone you know either lives in these areas or need photographs taken in these areas, lemme know! I'm 100% down to take on an assignment (provided it doesn't totally tank our plans).


Part of me is scared a war is going to start while we're gone..and if that happens, we'll have to see if I return.

Anyway. I have been aching to get out of the country for a while now. India was my last jaunt, and as fresh as that memory is, a two year old memory doesn't cut it.

I'll be gone from Tuesday through the end of the month. I'll come back with a metric tonne of film though. Who would like to volunteer to finance the processing and developing?

A random note:

I also recently started another fully self-indulgent photo blog called Poptpop. Or PoptpoP. or PopTpoP, or however your palindrome fancy sways. I absolutely love palindromes so it was especially exciting to me to have an incidental idea that worked out to be the same backwards and forwards...or at least the acronym is anyway. PoPtPoP stands for Pictures of People Taking Pictures of People and as you might have guessed that is all that is on the site. For now the images are all mine, collected from various trips / life, though I have tinkered with the idea of post others' work in a separate catergory. It will probably stay as only my work as I am not a huge fan of co-opting other peoples work, even if its a snap shot.

LINK: poptpop.com (how awesome would it be to have www.poptpop.www)

Day 205

it was inevitable. i was bound--destined even, perhaps-- to post a photo of rob flexing.


(test shot for new equipment)



[ED]

so rob said to me after i posted this that i have taken more interesting shots for electric lion, and i certainly concede that. the point of posting this is its Really stupid. stupid often, and in this case, is fun. (weird wording, eh?)

Day 184

rob looking like a badass

Day 172