I'm heading south of the border for Dia de los Muertos. Let's make the most of this. Hit me up to shoot! DM @CoreyDeshon
Opening Night at the Exchange Room Gallery
This past Saturday my Basquiat-inspired bodypaint portrait series Obnoxious Liberals debuted at the Exchange Room Gallery of Il Tramezzino UCLA. Check out some highlights from the night below:
All photos courtesy of ERG's own Antonio Renoj.
View the Obnoxious Liberals series online here, and visit the Print Store to pickup your copy today!
A few months back I shared a little insight into the creative process of developing the concept that would soon become my first ever solo photography exhibit, a collection of abstract bodyscape portraits inspired by the neo-expressionist paintings of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Now after five months of shooting, Obnoxious Liberals: A Bodypaint Tribute To Jean-Michel Basquiat will open on October 15th, 2016 at the Exchange Room Gallery of Il Tramezzino UCLA!
Come enjoy the Opening Night Reception on October 15th at 7pm, featuring live art and entertainment with music from DJ Santana of TruthSeekers Radio 90.7 KPFK, a live bodypainting session, guest photographic work from Sahmia Ase, and live spoken word performances, with free food and drinks courtesy of Il Tramezzino Italian Restaurant and free beer courtesy of Golden Road Brewing!
Attendance is FREE for all ages! (Must be 21+ to drink). RSVP on Facebook and visit ExchangeRoomGallery.com for more info!
The Exchange Room Gallery is located at 110 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, California 90095
See below for parking details:
Parking Structure 4 is located at: 221 Westwood Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095
Luckily for me I routinely shop for things I can't afford in my fleeting spare time, as a way of keeping an ear to the ground for the general trend of fluctuating prices. So like with the printer rebate, when I see a good deal, I know a good deal.
A few weeks back I happened to come across a Plustek OpticFilm 7200i film scanner for $8. Yes, $8. Eight dollars. Gotta love Goodwill. Now, this scanner is by no means the latest and greatest technology, in fact it's pretty outdated as far as film scanners go. I think it may have actually been the first scanner in the Plustek OpticFilm line, and the first to be able to scan at 7200dpi, hence the name. That would put it over ten years old. But for that matter, that would make it about 30 years newer than the $65 worth of 1970s camera equipment I shoot 90% of my work on, so who gives a shit. Works don't it?
When the 7200i was new, it only ran for about $250, which is still the very bottom of the food chain as far as film scanners go. But when it comes to film scanning, considering how costly it gets to scan in print-worthy resolution, this was yet another no-brainer. Photographers these days seem to have a habit of thinking more expensive = better. The ability to self scan every 35mm negative I want to print cost me less than scanning one negative at a lab. Yeah, I'll take it. With this new (read: old) scanner at my side, I'll be able to offer a much wider range of prints in the store now, so look out for future updates there.
On a final note about the film scanners, I should point out that nothing in the roughly affordable price range for the average starving artist will be capable of scanning anything beyond 35mm. A lot of people do have varying results with flatbed scanners however, and some even recommend them, but the size and workflow of those didn't exactly fit my (ridiculously busy and ridiculously cramped) lifestyle. And even cheaper dedicated film scanners like the Plusteks are able to scan better quality high resolution negatives that the most expensive of flatbed scanners. I knew a dedicated film scanner would be the right choice for me, and I'd just need to continue getting lab scans of my medium format work for the time being. Any dedicated film scanners capable of medium format seem to run in the $1,200+ range. And uh... That's rent.
Because Why Not Print More While Spending Less?
A typical development & low-res scan package from a photo lab ranges anywhere from about $10 to $25 per roll depending on where you go. I'd typically spend about $13 at my lab. Add that to the cost of a roll of film, like my personal favorite Portra 800, and it's safe to say it cost me roughly $25 every time I wanted to shoot a roll of film to share with the world. Now mind you, the scans included in this cost only provided enough resolution to display on the web. For a truly high resolution scan needed for printing large formats, I'd be looking at anywhere between $5 to $25 PER NEGATIVE depending on just how much enlarging I'd need.
All that covers is just getting my photos ready to make prints, never mind the printing itself. At a fine art photo lab I'd be looking at anywhere from $50 to $100 per final print, never mind the costs of testing color profiles and paper stocks. When it's all said and done I'd easily be looking at a few thousand in expenses to print enough work for my upcoming solo exhibit. Now don't get me wrong, quality prints from a fine art lab are certainly worth it, but until people start shelling out thousands of dollars for my prints (give it time), these costs just weren't gonna cut it. I am a starving artist after all, I barely clear a few thousand in annual income...
So as I've moved into the printing era of my photographic endeavors, and now working on my third (and possibly also forth) gallery exhibit of the year, it became clear that it was time I took printing into my own hands. And with the successful test run of my digital printing method and print sale, I've decided to do just that. Thanks to an impeccably-timed rebate, I've recently invested in a large format digital printer from Canon (full review coming soon).
This seemed to make the most sense from a business perspective as well. As much as people tell me they like my photos, it's hard to like something enough to spend upwards of $200 a piece on it (lookin' at you, Tinder dates, hope you like Ramen), so I'll be the first to admit that the darkroom pricing options currently in my Print Store just aren't for everybody. And since I've officially reached the limit of how many pieces of furniture and/or photographic equipment I can reasonably fit into a studio apartment, my home darkroom project is going to have to wait a few years.
Still, it makes sense to offer a more economical solution for people who truly enjoy my work and would like to own a piece of it. Especially considering that the majority of my audience are other film photographers, and we all know how broke we are. But with that out of the way, there's still the other elephant in the room, in that scanning high res is fcking expensive. How do we solve this problem? Well, that's a good question for another time. (Hint: I'm bought a scanner too). For now, I've got some learning to do, as digital printing opens up a whole new science of photography that I have only just begun to scratch the surface of.
To celebrate finally reaching 10,000 followers on Instagram, I'll be offering 25% off ALL print orders for the rest of the month! Just use the coupon code 10K2016 at checkout!
I have also added new and affordable printing options to all prints in the store, as well as any custom orders. Use the Commission A Print option to have prints made of any image on this site or on my Instagram @CoreyDeshon for as little as $25.
For one last added bonus, anyone who spends $75 or more in the print store will be added into a drawing to win a Canon Pixma Pro-100 Photo Printer at the end of next month! (Additional details on the drawing coming soon).
Only a limited number of each photo will be printed, so visit the Print Store today to place your orders!
You may or may not have noticed I happen to be particularly fond of film. The whole civil rights thing aside, I think I would have really enjoyed growing up in the golden years of film photography rather than trying to play catch up to the past like I am today. With the recent discontinuation of Fuji Pack Film, another piece of the art form seems to be meeting its extinction. Unless Impossible Project picks it up, this will soon mean the end of the line for Polaroid Type 100 cameras altogether.
It reminds me of when I was first getting into film photography myself, only to come to the realization that I had missed the opportunity to ever use Kodachrome by several years. For me, the film vs. digital argument was never one about which was better or more cost effective. It's always been a creative choice. If film disappears, you're not just losing a less convenient way of doing the same thing a digital camera can do much quicker and easier, you're losing an entire medium of artistic expression. "Why shoot film when you can just use VSCO?" is like saying, "Why bother with oil paints when you've got Adobe Illustrator and 3D printers?" One medium of art doesn't simply replace the other just because the end product of each might be similar or one more cost effective in the long run. They are two completely different types of artistic expression.
However, this doesn't mean that any new or similar innovations that take the place of dying technologies are any less of an art form, or should be viewed with any lesser regard than what came before them. Which brings me to Fuji Instax. Anytime you hear somebody say they're shooting "Polaroid cameras" today, what they're probably talking about is Fujifilm's line of Instax cameras. While they're not actually Polaroid cameras (Polaroid was a brand, not a technology, think Kleenex), they are the most consistent, reliable, and cost-effective method of shooting instant film today.
Developed in the early 90s under an agreement with Polaroid, they took over the instant film market share when Kodak ceased production on instant film cameras and Polaroid went under. Today, they're one of two companies (along with Impossible) still producing and innovating instant cameras and film. When I started shooting instant film, I went with early Polaroid 100 series cameras (and FP-100C / 3000B film) and a Polaroid SX-70, mainly because I really wanted to experience the classic technology the way someone would have if they were growing up in the film era. Now, with the rising costs and eventual extinction of the leftover pack film due to its discontinuation, it's finally time for me to switch to Instax.
Truthfully, I'm kind of excited about it. I've had my eye on some Instax cameras for quite some time, and have been eager for a more reliable and sustainable instant film solution when shooting in various lighting conditions. So for me, it's time to embrace this evolved art form, and likely confuse the hell out of everyone when I insist on calling the cameras Instax and not Polaroid. After all, if you wipe your nose on a paper towel, you may have accomplished the same goal, but you haven't used a Kleenex. So I'll be happily joining the ranks of Instax users in the near future once I, you know, get a job...
Speaking of, have you visited the Print Store lately?
Time certainly flies. As Memorial Day Weekend has once again come and gone, I've just realized that it's also been exactly one year since the production of To Police, the short film I wrote and directed that went on to win awards at three different film festivals.
In honor of the one year anniversary, I'm going to be allowing online viewing of the film for the first time ever, and only to subscribers of CoreyDeshon.com! (Signup here if you are not yet a subscriber!)
On the set of To Police!
Given the subject matter of the film, and the current trend of discourse among online videos, I decided at the time of premiere that I would never publicly release To Police in full online. I didn't want something that I'd created to be an introspective discussion piece on modern society to just become more fuel for the fire of racial prejudice in this country. I decided the public was better off without it, and only those within the environment of a film festival would have the opportunity to view it, as an in-depth discussion of the film and its message would always follow.
However, since I am no longer entering the film into festivals, I thought it would be nice to share it with those of you who have truly supported my creative endeavors from day one, yet have not had the opportunity to view the film yourselves. So at the end of this week, I will be sending all subscribers a private link and password to view the film in the comfort of your own homes. I hope you all truly enjoy it, and would love to hear your feedback either way.
For those who may not be familiar with the film, check out the preview below and remember to Subscribe before Sunday, June 5th in order to get the link. Thank you all for your support, and happy Memorial Day!
Part Two: Time For Bed
Let your imagination flourish...
