With the advent of one hour photo processing, it’s my personal opinion that the need for digital is severely diminished. Granted, I might only be saying this out of denial, because I still haven’t purchased a new digital SLR and have little or no choice but to shoot 35mm. But seriously. Film is just so much more interesting! And I know I’ve said it before, so I’ll try not to repeat myself, but I truly believe there’s a greater artistry to it. (There’s also a lot more math. Yuck.)

I did a quick one-roll shoot this morning with Joe Keane, whom I’ve worked with previously. His agent LOVED the shots we did last time, but wanted a few more that were up good and close for his LACasting site. Joe is a character, in every way. So easy to work with; never afraid to look crazy or wacky or even, dare I say, silly. And he does just that! I really hope these photos work for him in whatever capacity he desires.

Smile!
Hillary Campbell

This morning I woke up at 4:30 am to kiss boyfriend goodbye for the day, then fell back to sleep and awoke just in time to get the call that my meeting today was cancelled. Yippee!!

Now… I could spend my day avidly working on projects that are looming overhead: two websites, a lightbox full of stock photographs, the bank and other money related dealings. Or… I could relax. The dilemma is arduous. But, considering the long weekend I had and the 16 hour day I had yesterday, a day off feels both beyond deserved and welcome. A day to be totally free and irresponsible; a day to watch whatever I want on YouTube, drink whatever potions I can creatively blend together, enjoy Sushi and Red Vines, maybe have a nap, and then decide just at dusk whether or not I would like to walk up to Runyon for a post-freedom day ass-kicking. We will see.

I am currently in the process of purchasing a new digital SLR camera. I have already sold my dear old Rebel XTi, which served me very well over the last few years, and I am employing Samy’s rental department for my current photographic needs while I make the very difficult decision to buy. I have a medium budget – less than $1500, more than $800 — and I haven’t yet decided whether or not HD video is important to me. I also realize that more important than the body is the glass, and I have just slightly better than mediocre glass that I am supremely skilled and experienced at getting the most out of. My “more-than-okay” lenses would certainly be enhanced by higher ISO capabilities and faster fps, which has me leaning toward either the 50D or the 7D. This is where trouble walks in. I don’t care about megapixels because I’m not trying to blow up any of my photographs for commercial retail store windows, weather sealing is about as useful to me as a fart in a windstorm here in Los Angeles, and more MP means more noise. But the big problem for me is the difference in price. I can get the 50D for about $800, and the 7D would run me about $1375 for just the body. For an extra $575 I could get the 10-22 mm lens for interiors, or I could take my boyfriend to dinner at Koi FOUR TIMES! (Or I could go by myself 8 times!! Hmm…)

I am especially bad at making these kinds of decisions. Sitting here now in front of the computer, and at the end of my post, I think I know what I’m going to do. Not to be elusive, but I’ll let you know when the camera arrives what I’ve chosen. Until then, check out these headshots I did for Brad:

Smile!
Hillary Campbell

Normally, I love blogging! Lately, however, it’s become a bit of an inconvenience because I’ve been so busy with so many other things. (ie: Web Design, World Cup, Stuff, etc.) And I’m not complaining; I like being busy! I also believe I am one of few who is blessed with so many different passions that touch me almost every day. I guess I am finally realizing that blogging is less of a passion than is the actual work that I am blogging about. With good reason, I think. And I think it’s also a good sign.

Session after session after session… sometimes two in a week, sometimes two in one day. The more, the better! I’m also currently designing two websites, I’m about to finish one that I started over a year ago, just published another (http://www.meetsima.com) that I also took all of the photographs for, and my boyfriend and I are putting the finishing touches on my headshot studio: 8 different backdrops and tons of light!

I’ve never been a person who could juggle passions with the ease and strength of a rodeo clown. I like to give them each an equal amount of energy, diligence and attention, like you would your children. Maybe it’s easy if you only have one, but I got blessed with two, that I know of thus far, and I take them both very seriously. I love them both so much; why would I want to favor one over the other?

Anyhow, I’ve been great about posting on Facebook lately and terrible about blogging and sharing photos. And the website needs to be updated. So much on the plate besides meat and potatoes, needless to say. I’ll do my best today.

I’m sure there is something and someone I’m forgetting. Oh well. At least this will keep me coming back…

Smile!
Hillary Campbell

I’ll make this one quick because I have 3 kid’s headshot sessions at 3 this afternoon. I was itching to shoot yesterday before my hike, but felt as though I’ve snapped pictures of just about everything I can find in my neighborhood that peaks my interest and draws my eye. That is until I noticed a patch of teeny tiny bright pink flowers growing along the brick wall in the courtyard of my apartment building. Well, I’ll be!

I took advantage of their beauty and vibrance for a little while and on my way back in, I found some bright green leaves that resembled swiss cheese with tons of little holes in them. Very cool. (Don’t know if you can see — depends on your monitor — but there are some beautiful bricks behind those leaves!)

I just love stuff like this. (ie: finding unique and interesting beauty in stuff that exists anywhere and everywhere.) I love that with a camera and lens I can share my perspective of the world, with the world. I’ll update you on my recent sessions soon, I swear.

Smile!
Hillary Campbell

I’ve done tons of shooting this week; in one case, shooting with 3 people in a single day, which means there is plenty of post (ie: resizing, retouching) left to do, on top of all my other projects. I’m also reconfiguring my web portfolio with the aid of some experienced actor friends of mine, their agents and a couple of casting directors. We have lots of catching up to do!

Mothers Day is just around the corner. With as much as I work, I’ve been pretty bad about keeping in touch with my own mom lately. Thankfully, I gave her a call today and we had a nice long chat. There is also good possibility that I will get to see her this weekend! I also got to see one of my favorite people in the entire world, Dann Saxton, this week after a brutal 3 month hiatus. And on his birthday no less! Happy Birthday, Dann, and thank you for spending a few hours of your special day with me.

There’s lots more coming up! I’m good at being elusive, I know. Soon enough…

Smile!
Hillary Campbell

Despite the moody weather outside in Hollywood this week, I’ve been out shooting like a cowboy… only with my precious Canon rather than a shotgun, and for the most part, the subjects (or victims) have been people instead of livestock and fowl.

Had some fun in the rain on Tuesday shooting still life. An entire family of snails was out treading dirt and I snapped a couple of ‘em with my lens. Not that you care to see that. I’ll move along to my headshots for the week.

I was meant to shoot headshots for a young family on Tuesday. Three children, all in elementary school. However, the rain kept us inside, so we rescheduled for next week. Today, though there were tiny raindrops trickling down for about 20 minutes, I shot a six look portfolio for world’s greatest personal trainer/nutritionist, Sima Sorensen. We were shooting headshots for press and some new 3/4 shots for her website, for which I am also in charge of design and development. Looking forward to that and I’ll keep you posted! In the meantime, retouching has already begun so it would only be fair to show you a bit of what we accomplished:

Smile!
Hillary Campbell

One of the girls at work gave me an orchid after we had a discussion about how hard they are to kill. (Don’t ask.) They’re so beautiful and they look so delicate and feminine, but they’re really strong, sturdy little shits! I left the orchid on my windowsill next to my workstation, and today it hit me that I might want to try photographing a flower inside the apartment for a change.

My sessions last week went extremely well, and this week I am full to the brim. No spare minutes! A portrait session with a group of children, a headshot session with a comedian, and another session with a good friend of mine, a personal trainer/nutritionist by the name of Sima. She is, hands down, the best trainer in the city. She’s gonna start kicking my ass again this week, and I’m sure I’ll be in top shape in no time.

For now, here are a couple shots from last week’s sessions:

Smile!
Hillary Campbell

It’s the end of the week for most people; “TGIF!”, they say. But Friday always marks the beginning of the work week for me. Tonight, tomorrow night and Sunday afternoon I get customers sufficiently intoxicated. Tomorrow before work, I have a headshot session and a portrait session, back-to-back. I’m not dreading it, of course, but it is a busy next few days for me, so I’m glad I had a little time alone with my camera today. I also managed to get a hike and a shower in. (Ask my boyfriend, that is quite a feat for me.)

As you can see, there is a garden of white calla lilies flourishing in the courtyard of my apartment building. I would always walk by and think it looks so cool from a distance, because it kind of appears to keep going and going into infinity. I’ve been meaning to photograph it for about a month now. I’m just glad there are still plenty of flowers growing out there! Especially since Spring in Los Angeles is a silly, sometimes meaningless thing.

Updates after the weekend is over!

Smile!
Hillary Campbell

Some of you know I have been experimenting with 35mm film again lately and tossing around the idea of exclusively redirecting my headshot business toward film, as I am quite enjoying both the experience and the results. I realize that film negatives are slightly more time consuming, notably more expensive, and way more sensitive, but in my opinion, the color, the contrast, and the overall quality are far superior, if the photographer knows what he/she is doing. (I should also note that my extensive collection of 35mm camera bodies and compatible lenses, passed down from my father, is absolutely stunning and completely trumps my digital collection in terms of quantity and flexibility.)

My father never switched to digital. He always shot film, and his camera body of preference was the Nikon FM-2, which has quickly become my favorite as well. It’s so user-friendly, and the arsenal of lenses that accompany it in his collection make it just as versatile as, if not more than, any digital body I have ever owned.

One of my favorite things about shooting film is that it is inherently raw and authentic in nature. ie: it’s tough to tamper with a negative image, for the most part. What you see is what you get. If you fuck up the shot, you can’t go back and Photoshop it — or worse, delete it –before anyone sees it. At the least, you and the person developing the film will know, if no one else. It also takes a substantial amount of work to crop and retouch a negative. Unless you transfer your negatives to a digital CD, which is of course, cheating. But I digress.

Because of these things, I believe it sort of forces the photographer to get in touch with their subject; to connect with them on a deeper level and to develop lost social art forms such as rapport and trust. It also forces the photographer to get right with his/herself. Before you snap that shot, you must be 100% sure it is the shot you want. You must ensure that your composition is on, that you are shooting with the proper speed of film for the lighting condition, that your ISO and ASA are set in accordance with both the light and the film speed, and you must also focus your lens properly to get the sharpest picture possible. And then of course you have to make sure your subject isn’t funky or fidgety or emotionless. But when all of that becomes second nature to the degree that you can make it happen in a matter of seconds, you can call yourself not only a photographer, but a magician, because pure magic happens.

Smile!
Hillary Campbell

Absent again. I now realize I often spend so much time working on other people’s projects (ie: websites, retouching, co-writing a book, etc.) that I tend to neglect my own. I’m not a martyr though, believe me. I just have to make a living like the rest of the population.

I’m definitely not neglecting my music. My band and I rehearse once a week now and we’re gearing up to record an EP within the next month or so. I’ve got a boatload of songs and ideas, and we’ve got just a few more rehearsals to go!

And then there’s love…. One thing I have made sure not to neglect is my relationship. Ever since my boyfriend and I moved in together, I spend less and less time on the computer. (It’s probably a good thing if you know how much time I used to spend on the computer.) I’ve not had many successful or meaningful relationships with men in the past, my brother aside, so investing the time and energy to experience a happy and fulfilling love life has definitely become an unexpected, albeit welcome, priority. Moreso now that we’re “bunking together”, as they say. And thus far it’s been extremely blissful and rewarding.

My cousin, Beth, drove down from Lincoln the weekend after my birthday and we did a little exploring. I took both her and my camera up to Outpost to look out over Hollywood. It’s still one of my favorite places in LA.

Enjoy the view, and until we meet again…

Smile!
Hillary Campbell