Author: Rachael Ashe

Holding his head in his hands

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Holding his head in his hands.

I always crave a creative challenge because it often gets the ideas flowing in new ways. This was taken during an impromptu studio session with friends where we suddenly decided to try out a non-photographic set of lights. I love using props in my people photographs to create a point of interest. The idea of using a mirror isn’t an original one but it is something I’ve wanted to experiment with. It worked to great affect in this shot.

The human element

I rarely do this type of shot where I use a person as a compositional element rather than as the focal point of the photo. I think taking more shots like this is just the thing I need to inject new life into my portraiture. Too often I compose my portraits the exact same way and want to change this.

Red vine

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Vine

An unfortunate, but inevitable, side effect of digital photography is the reduction of film production by companies like Kodak, Fuji and Ilford. There just isn’t as much demand as there once was and so, many films have been discontinued and taken off the market. One such film that I wish was still made is the Fujichrome MS 100/1000. I was given a few expired rolls by Johnny Foto to cross-process and the results were excellent. I really wish this film was still around because I haven’t found anything that compares in term of colour saturation and texture when it comes to cross-processing slide film.

Crumble

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Crumble

Taken in Vancouver’s Chinatown with cross-processed Fujichrome Provia film. This detail is of an old garage that is one of my favorite buildings in this area of the city. I love the way the yellow paint has cracked and is flaking from the walls as the building itself slowly crumbles away.

Lately I’ve been shooting with a new Trash Camera called an Akira that I picked up months ago at Value Village. I really like the look of the results I’ve gotten from it so far, such as the shot above.

Lovely Lillian

The Lovely Lillian - SeriesThe lovely Lillian - Series

Practising portraiture skills can be easy when working with a subject who is very comfortable with themselves. Lillian was one such person I was lucky enough to get in front of my lens. I found a location to photograph her and then spent only about twenty minutes one lunchtime taking one roll of pictures. As we chatted during the shoot I observed her natural movements and had her hold a pose when I caught her in a moment I thought worked well. Often with straight-forward people shooting it’s just a matter of catching the subject being themselves.

Laundry at sunset

Laundry at sunset

Taken with my Holga 120 CFN, using cross-processed expired Fujichrome MS 100/1000. I wish Fuji still manufactured this film because I really liked the results from it.