Jake Rohde | Valo Photography

This weeks photo of the week comes from a disposable camera. I have been having a lot of fun using low-fi camera such as disposables, Holgas, Dianas, Pinholes, and others. It is a lot of fun. What I think it does for me is lets me focus more on content and really push myself to try and make a good image with not much to work with. Sometimes it is very frustrating, because there is that lack of control, since there really is not a lot you can control… Pop some film in, you are stuck to that speed, there is no exposure control, so you kind of have to look for light that will fit with what you have… etc… It is a challenge and it is a lot of fun. I think it also shows that you can make nice and unique images with not a lot of equipment. Nice equipment is nice, and I love all the gear that I have, but sometimes it is so nice to reject it all, grab a lo-fi camera and go for a walk and just have fun…

This photo is from Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin. My wife took me there last weekend for a little birthday getaway. I brought a couple disposable cameras with me, and shot through two of them. This was one of my favorite images from the walk. The camera I used I received free from a friend, who had a bunch of leftovers from her company, so really it cost me next to nothing, since I didn’t even have to pay for the camera…

More images from disposable cameras can be found in my Flickr set Disposable.

“Bob 35″
Stugeon Bay, Door County, Wisconsin
Jake Rohde
Valo Photography

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This is my favorite tree. I have taken many photographs of this tree and they are all very different. My most popular is probably “Tree with Yellow Line” which was lucky enough to grace the cover of the “Cue” section of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. This photo is another version of my favorite tree. Enjoy.

“Northpoint Tree”
Milwaukee Wisconsin

No Comments | In: Fine Art, Photo of the Week, Photography | tags: film, Jake, Jake Rohde, Mamiya, Mamiya 645, Milwaukee, Northpoint, Photography, Rohde, Valo, Valo Photography, WI, Wisconsin. | #

So I am a film and digital shooter, and I am always conflicted. When I go out to shoot, I need to decide, am I going to shoot film today, or maybe digital, or do I bring both? I love so many things about both mediums. I love the color, organic feel, the size from medium format, the focal length of lenses on a Medium format, the physical act of developing black and white, the grain in a high speed piece of film, and the overall process of film. But I also love the instant gratification of digital, the speed at which I can get a photo from camera into the clients hands or on the wall if it is a fine art print, the low cost of shooting a ton, the ease of editing, as well as many more. So I am eternally conflicted. I don’t think I really need to pick one or the other, it just seems like I go through cycles… There are some days when I want to ditch film all together and other days when I hate that damn LCD on the back of my digital camera. So I guess I will just keep shooting both, until they stop making film all together (which I hope won’t be for a long time). Right now I am in a film loving mode, black and white and color. I am hooked on Kodak Portra 400NC and Arista Premium 400.

So what are your thoughts on film vs digital?

“DriftScape”
Bradford Beach, Milwaukee, WI.
Mamiya m645 – 80mm f/2.8 Sekor C
Kodak Portra 400NC

5 Comments | In: Photography | tags: Beachscape, Bradford Beach, digital, Driftscape, film, Jake, Jake Rohde, Landscape, Milwaukee, Photography, Rohde, Valo, Valo Photography, WI, Wisconsin. | #