Category Archives: Film

Los Angeles, California – 1969

Posted on July 28, 2014 by John Durant

                                                         Burned Fender Stratocaster – Shrine Auditorium,  Los Angeles, 1969 1969 was an … Continue reading →

Posted in B&W negative film, California, Color negative film, color negatives, color transparencies, Film, Fuji RDP3, Jimi Hendrix, Kodak, Kodak P3200, Kodak Plus-X, Kodak T-Max, Kodak TMY, Kodak Tri-X, Los Angeles | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Panteón de Santa Rosalillita – Baja California

Posted on May 12, 2014 by John Durant

Something about Mexico is best left unspoken. It’s clear, almost obvious. To an American traveling south looking into death’s steady gaze can be unsettling. Best not to linger too long while the winter sun drops below the coastal range. Ray … Continue reading →

Posted in American Photographic Artists, B&W negative film, Baja California, Cabo San Lucas, Catavina, f/64, Film, John Durant Photography, Kodak P3200, Kodak Plus-X, Kodak T-Max, Kodak TMY, Kodak Tri-X, Mexico, Photography, Volcano | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

How to Make Something Beautiful (part two)

Posted on November 26, 2013 by John Durant

                  Japanese woodblock: my vintage Canon F-1n (20mm f/2.8) Start with something completely familiar – like an analog single lens reflex. Find a chunk of clear Douglas fir and sketch directly to … Continue reading →

Posted in American Photographic Artists, B&W negative film, Baja California, Canon F-1, color negatives, color transparencies, f/64, Film, Fuji RDP3, Fujichrome, Ilford Delta 400, Ilford FP4, Japanese block printing, John Durant Photography, Kodak P3200, Kodak Plus-X, Kodak T-Max, Kodak TMY, Kodak Tri-X, Photography, Rolleiflex, San Diego, Vintage cameras, Wood block printing, woodblock | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why I Shoot Film – Part One

Posted on October 24, 2013 by John Durant

Roadside Gas Station (retired), National City California Film has built-in limitations – but it’s honest. It has reciprocity problems and grain, but it’s film grain – not noise. You can’t shoot a 16 bit digital frame and desaturate it to … Continue reading →

Posted in American Photographic Artists, B&W negative film, California, Color negative film, color negatives, f/64, Film, Fuji RDP3, Fujichrome, Ilford Delta 400, Ilford FP4, Kodak Plus-X, Kodak T-Max, Kodak TMY, Kodak Tri-X, National City, San Diego, Vintage cameras | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Land That God Forgot – Part Two

Posted on October 17, 2013 by John Durant

 El Progresso, Northern Baja California – December 1998 Driving through Mexico in the winter is something I’ve done all my life. Traveling on highway D-1 brings to mind the classic topics of life, death, creation and eternity – mainly because … Continue reading →

Posted in American Photographic Artists, Cabo San Lucas, Catavina, Color negative film, color negatives, desert, f/64, Film, Fuji RDP3, Fujichrome, Ilford Delta 400, Ilford FP4, Kodak P3200, Kodak Plus-X, Kodak T-Max, Kodak TMY, Kodak Tri-X, Mexico, Mojave, Philipp Rittermann, Photography, Vintage cameras, Volcano | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Tough Times in California

Posted on October 8, 2013 by John Durant

                                Santa Barbara Chapel, Randsburg California The first time I caught a glimpse of Randsburg California was in Paul Sample’s depression era painting Celebration. The … Continue reading →

Posted in American Photographic Artists, Architectural Photography, B&W negative film, f/64, Film, Kodak P3200, Kodak Plus-X, Kodak T-Max, Kodak TMY, Kodak Tri-X, Mojave, Randsburg, Sierra | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On the Windward Side of San Simeon Point

Posted on September 3, 2013 by John Durant

Three frames of Kodak TMY 400 Inside the cove at San Simeon Point the wind is blocked by a headland planted with groves of eucalyptus and cypress. The ocean is calm and the air is still. Glassy waves rifle up … Continue reading →

Posted in American Photographic Artists, B&W negative film, California, Central Coast, color negatives, color transparencies, f/64, Film, Kodak T-Max, Kodak TMY, Kodak Tri-X, Photography, San Simeon, Vintage cameras | 3 Comments

The Salt Mines

Posted on July 12, 2013 by John Durant

Western Salt Works, Chula Vista California In November of 1996 while driving around California on a magazine assignment I came across the Western Salt Works at the southern end of San Diego Bay. From the beginning I’d been interested in … Continue reading →

Posted in American Photographic Artists, Architectural Photography, B&W negative film, Chula Vista, Color negative film, color transparencies, desert, f/64, Film, Ilford FP4, John Durant Photography, Kodak P3200, Kodak Plus-X, Kodak T-Max, Kodak Tri-X, Salton Sea, San Diego, Uncategorized, Vintage cameras, Western Salt Works | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How To Make Something Beautiful (part one)

Posted on May 29, 2013 by John Durant

Wood-block print: Rolleiflex f/3.5 with rare reversed D. Start with something you love. It has to be the kind of thing you can’t leave alone, something with a pleasing heft, well made and beautiful. Like an old Rollei. Find a … Continue reading →

Posted in 6:19 Format, American Photographic Artists, B&W negative film, Canon F-1, color negatives, color transparencies, f/64, Film, Fuji RDP3, Fujichrome, Ilford FP4, Japanese block printing, Kodak P3200, Kodak Plus-X, Kodak T-Max, Kodak Tri-X, Photography, Rolleiflex, Vintage cameras, Wood block printing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Ocean Waves

Posted on March 12, 2013 by John Durant

In 1937 Ansel Adams said: a great photograph is one that fully expresses what one feels, in the deepest sense, about what is being photographed. Continue reading →

Posted in American Photographic Artists, Baja California, California, Color negative film, color transparencies, Film, Fuji RDP3, Fujichrome, Mission Beach, ocean waves, Photography, San Diego, Santa Monica, Southwest, surfboards, surfing, Torrey Pines | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment