No Connection

After many weeks of studying to finish a degree that does not really seem to fit into my creative work, I now feel relieved. Tomorrow will be the last time I will sit in a row consisting of probably thirty desks, repeated endlessly to form a matrix, filling up an entire hanger-sized hall.  

The great thing about this is that I will have loads more time to photograph, develop and print in the future, which brings me to my next point: A new series in celebration of a great year, with all it's good and bad moments we may or may not know about. This time I will approach architecture using large format film photography. The release date of this new project is possibly February 2015. 

For now, here is an image I simply call "No Connection".

by Karolina Rupp Photography

What is left behind?! Or is it?

Please click on the image for a larger version.

A recent trip to Retro Rabbit in Pierneef street, Pretoria proved to be quite the eye catcher. Here my impressions.

This series "What is left behind?! Or is it?" was inspired by a rather sad event, the passing of my grandmother. She left behind a fully functioning household with loads of crockery and goodies and things. The overwhelming task of sorting through the items and finding a new home for them or bluntly put just throwing some of them away is exhausting. I guess this shoot helped me to see the matter in a more positive light, to find beauty rather than sadness in things that once belonged to someone else. 

The idea is that some things are never left behind, they might only change hands or minds.

 

Moving forward by looking into the past

It's been taking some time to get things sorted and arranged but after many phone calls, browsing tons of classifieds and driving kilometer after kilometer to different places, something that resembles a darkroom can be found in my studio. Here a sneak peak:

I am missing two more items to get started, which hopefully (lately I seem to use this word a lot) will arrive sooner than later.

For now I can only imagine the possibilities and all the things that I want to try which I guess is also something exciting to do while waiting, waiting and waiting to get started.

Stone Quarry

 

Click on the image to see a larger version

Metamorphosis

After being really busy it is just fun to take some time off and play around in Photoshop to create weird and wonderful creatures.

"Metamorphosis" by Karolina Rupp

I am looking forward to completing two series in July of which one is going to be a collaboration with a wonderfully talented illustrator and the other will be shot on medium format film. The first sneak peaks should be available by mid August.

Good Old Film

How many times have I opened the back of a film camera that already had film in it? Countless times and I thought I've learned from every one of these experiences... but obviously I didn't. I did it again today. That feeling is indescribable. It is a mix between stupidity, self-hatred, disappointment but also it questions your ability to be able to ever learn, in fact the trust in yourself thing is a little shaky for a moment. The good thing about it? At least I still shoot film and have not given up on it! And probably never will. Maybe it is exactly because of these risks and the uncertainty of film that keeps me coming back to it over and over again. It is just not that easy if compared to a digital system. I'm not saying I'm against digital cameras, what I'm saying is that don't shoot hundreds and thousands of jpg's or RAW's, keep it within limitations. If I give myself between twenty and thirty images that I can shoot for a specific brief, I end up with better images as I spend more time on them and compose them more carefully than if I would just be shooting away and later have to go through hundreds of files finding 'the one'. This works for me, it might not for you.

Maybe I should buy red tape and every time I load a camera with film tape it closed. Or should I feel that feeling over and over again? It might stop eventually? But am I really willing to loose so many images? No.

Here an image I took on a 35mm Rollei Redbird. Unedited.

By Karolina Rupp Photography

Mixing the Old and New

Taking images with a medium format camera on film is such a different experience within photography than your average point and click. And taking these images into Photoshop just opens up even more options. I decided to go against my usual ethic of keeping 'doctoring' to the minimum and went all out by using a photograph taken on 120 film and editing the . out of it.

Medium Format Photography

An assignment: Medium Format Photography.

And I love it! The colours, the aspect ratio, the detail... I could go on... It is by far the best medium I've used so far to capture images. Just testing it with a black and white Ilford and seeing the results... it opened a little door in my head to a new room... where the light bulb was already on. 

Here an example of a photograph I've taken with the test film which was scanned as a negative:

Isn't the detail incredible? And the contrast... I could go on!

I have realised by seeing the images I've taken with a medium format camera that this is possibly the only medium I know so far which would accurately represent the concepts I have in mind photographing, criticising or cherishing.... essentially sharing. I feel I have reached a breakthrough of epic proportions (isn't the word epic just epic?!) with regards to being inspired. This medium inspires me. And it feels like it won't be a temporary thing... but a choice I've made or rather a choice that happened.

...just a pity that thing is so bulky... *


*you do get smaller awesome medium formats but I don't have access to them yet.