The Art of Chris Froelich

"Where is it written that our sensibilities must be sullied by the seamier side of life along with our intellects? We know the world is a vale of tears.Must art pile it on in yet heavier doses? There was a time when the world thought that the artist was chosen, and that they were on a mission not to tell us what we have but what we might have if we'd only get our act together and see beyond the obvious.Art was supposed to transcend life, not imitate it." Raymond Steiner

Walking through the woods with a camera is a form a meditation for me. We've all heard the phrase "it's not the destination, but the journey". Well, I believe that is especially true when it comes to photography. The worth of the final image isn't dependent on the effort expended. Two of the four following pictures were painstakingly composed over hours, and in one case multiple trips over a period of two weeks. The other two were fleeting moments as I drove or walked by.  The scene caught my eye and I decided to take a quick picture. Can you tell which is which? Probably not, but journeys to the final image made a big difference to me.  Perhaps an even better example are the photos that aren't here. Just today I saw one of the most amazing sunrises of my life, but there is no picture of it. I wish you could have seen it, but it was just too windy, wet, and cold for me to capture it on film. But I was there, with a camera I couldn't use, to witness it...

I am fortunate to have amazing photo opportunities close to home. Bonzai Rock and Sand Harbor State Park are particularly convenient and gorgeous. This photogenic location (I hope you like it, because I go here often) is only about a 20 mile, or 30 minute, drive from my house. It's nice because I can experiment and learn - using multiple trips to see how different combinations of tools, technique, and serendipity affect the final image. These two pictures, for example, while at first appearance my appear very different, they are, in fact, quite similar. Varying only in the film used and the exact spot I stood. Both were taken on relatively calm clear mornings with the same subject and basic compositional elements. I've taken a number of predawn trips up to the lake to this same location and used it as kind of a photo "lab". Not the kind of photo lab where you drop off film and then pick up prints an hour later. In this context, I mean "lab" as in "a pla...

There is inertia, and momentum, in everything. I see inertia all around me every day, especially at work. Personal inertia keeps people from picking themselves up, moving forward, improving. It is a natural law that keeps the substance around us from randomly shuffling about. For artists, it can be a debilitating force that prevents the expansion of talents and inventiveness. But there is also momentum. Momentum keeps you moving. Makes it difficult to change course. I feel that right now, there is some momentum pushing me in my photography. I think it started in March when I picked up and headed out with some cameras and, more importantly, some film. When shooting, I always have this sense of excitement and anticipation, but with digital it quickly fades. I shoot, edit, and post - sometimes all in the same day. Each photo and location is a self contained event. But with film, the photography spans over days, weeks, sometimes even months. I make a picture and then wait for developme...

The final day in of my Northern California saunter was spent in two different parks. I started out in China Camp State Park. It is on the site of the oldest continuous fishing operation in California. Chinese immigrants settled here and had a thriving shrimp fishing village here. There isn't a lot here, and the parking fee of $5 keeps it pretty deserted, even on a weekend. I was able to find some nice compositions for pictures before the rangers made me quit photographing. State statutes clearly state that photography for personal use is not only allowed, but encouraged in California's state parks, however, the ranger saw the size of my camera and decided that it was clearly for commercial use and I could not continue since I didn't have a permit.  China Camp Fishing Dock. Mamiya RB67 ProSD, Mamiya Sekor 90mm 3.8 C, Fuji FP4 Plus.  Bonsai Island. China Camp State Park, CA. Mamiya RB67 ProSD, Mamiya Sekor 90mm 3.8 C, Fuji FP4 Plus.  Well, the fuzz ma...

Morning two of my trip found me waking up at 4:00 am to get from my hideout on Point Reyes (officially, there is no camping allowed) down to the Sausalito. I had slept really well with the sound of rain falling on the roof of the Suburban all night. The temperature was perfect for car camping at about 55 degrees, so I was really excited and anxious about my prospects. It is only about 30 miles from where I was sleeping to San Francisco. I am always amazed at how few people get out of the city. I noticed the same thing when Jack and I went to the Everglades. The suburbs of Miami are jammed right up against the boundary of the National Park, and yet on a beautiful March weekend, there was only 3 tents/campers in the entire campground right on the Gulf of Mexico!  As you probably noticed with my last post, and with this post, I am concentrating on a black and white. I am drawn to two kinds of film right now - monochrome and Fuji Velvia 50. This trip was a monochrome trip. To for...

I recently had an extended weekend (8 days off in a row) that I had hoped to spend in Zion National Park, but when it came time to go, I just didn't feel like it. I ended up spending most of my days off at home doing a whole lot of nothing. I did meander over to Point Reyes National Seashore for a couple of days. I left Thursday afternoon and came home Sunday night, sleeping in my truck each night. It rained almost the entire time, which was fine, but it was also extremely windy. It was a great learning experience and resulted in some fine images. The intent was to focus on monochrome film, which works perfectly for moody skies and dramatic landscapes.  Also exciting, for me at least, is that I have started developing my own black and white film. It was an initial investment of about $100, but now I can process my own film for about $1.50 per roll. It's not so much the money savings, but the closest processing for monochrome film is in Sacramento or Marin, CA.  ...

Cathedral Rock, Sedona AZ March 2012 Cathedral Rock and Oak Canyon Creek. Shen Hao 4x5, Schneider APO Symmar-S 135mm. Hoya 81A filter. Kodak Ektar 100 exposed for 2 seconds and f/16 For some reason I thought I would be battling droves of photographers so I got to this spot (thank you Google) about 3 hours before sunset. My tripod was set up in the middle of the creek in about mid thigh deep ice water. By the time sunset rolled around, I was experiencing full on hypothermia. Luckily, I found a magic crystal in the creek. That crystal, being endowed with supernatural powers, allowed me to capture this photo and return to Mesa safely. Thank you Cosmic Vortex. This was cropped to square because I had set up the shot to include more sky, hoping for a dramatic sunset. It never happened so boring grey clouds were nixed from the image.

After leaving Death Valley, I drove to Mesa, AZ where I stayed with my sister, did some work on my in-laws house, bought an iPhone, and took a few photos. While in AZ, a Shen Hoa 4x5 camera and Calter N 210mm lens found their way to my doorstep. I can tell you, I was excited. After using the Crown Graphic I was surprised by a few things, how ugly but amazingly easy the old Graphic was too use compared to my new Shen Hoa, and how much I instantly loved my new camera. It is a work of art all on its own.  After a few days of anticipation, I finally had a chance to take the camera out. I drove out to Saguaro State Park, AZ and hiked for a few hours, not really knowing what I would find. I came over a little knoll, and was greeted by this view and decided "this is it". It seemed like a good fit for the 210mm Calter. It's a short telephoto on a 4x5. It equates to about a 70mm on a 35mm camera. Weaver's Needle and Saguaro. Shen Hoa 4x5 with Calter N 210mm Lens. Shot...

I know about 12 people read my blog, but if you're one of those few people who wander along and find this post, you should check out this photostream on Flickr. It's a project by an American soldier, William Harris, currently serving overseas. The photo stream is pretty self explanatory, but I want to make sure you notice a little link to donate to his project. It doesn't take a lot of $$ to make a difference. William uses a press kit to develop the film himself for the unit and then digitizes the film. He is paying for everything out of his own pocket. Here is one of the photos in the photo stream This is amazing photography and it is for a good cause. The portraits are for the soldiers and families and help document their deployment. He also has some nice candids on the stream as well. If you have a blog and actually have people read it, you might want to consider posting something as well. In addition to this project, his photo stream has lovely photos. H...

I made a huge mistake. I sold my Olympus 35RC about six months ago just because it had a sticky aperture and the autoexposure didn't work. The lens and rest of the mechanics on my version were flawless. A few months after I sold it and regret was gnawing at my photography psych, I saw another sitting on the shelf in the local camera store as decoration . The shop owner told me it was brought in many years ago by a customer who wanted to get it repaired. When told there was nothing they could do, he never came to pick it back up. So there is sat, collecting dust.  It was missing the shutter speed dial and rewind crank, and I suppose the lack of available parts is why they gave up on it .When I asked him how much he'd want for it, he looked at me kind of odd but said "you've been a good customer for the last couple of years. You can have it." Well, the price was right so I brought it home and put it on my shelf thinking I would use it for parts when I got a nice ...

This trip was did not go exactly as planned. In fact, it wasn't planned at all. It happened spontaneously when an unexpected space of three weeks opened up so the chronicles of this trip seem to be going in fits and spurts, and now is going to take a detour altogether. I took a picture, my first large format ever, on the way down to Nevada in SE Washington. I was hoping to get a good picture of Palouse Falls, however, that did not happen. What did happen, was an amazing quality of light that was illuminating a fairly modern and working grain elevator. I was a little reluctant, because how cliche can you get when using an old 4x5 graflex camera with a 70 year old lens. I spent the night near hear, and then headed for  Eagle Cap Wilderness, the Steen Mountains, and the Alvord Dessert. This part of the trip was planned, but there just wasn't a lot of picture taking going on. I also ruined 4 negatives from this part of the trip because loading and unloading, exposing, and storing 4...

Today my goal was to try and get something that was perhaps a little different. Mono Lake is, after all, a widely photographed location with dozens of photography workshops every year and hundreds if not thousands of photographers making their way to this iconic location.  I marvel again and again how blessed I was to be able to spend so much time there, completely alone and with nearly perfect weather.  When I woke up and checked my email, I found out I would be sending off my Nikon F100 to some fortunate soul....that worthy bidder on Ebay would soon have the camera and all 3 lenses. I would have to send it from the post office in Bishop as I made my way to Death Valley. I can say that the Nikon F100 introduced me to what photography should be. Perfect ergonomics, ease of use, an amazing view finder, and the ability to blow through a roll of 36 exposures in 4.5 seconds. Combine that with the insanely affordable manual focus Nikkor lenses out there, and you have a system t...

Still I woke up at 4:30, long before my alarm was set to go off. Unlike previous trips, I didn't have to wake up and go find something to shoot or figure out composition or worry about camera set up, so I didn't set my alarm as early as usual. It would take me about 15 minutes to get to my location, I knew exactly where my tripod would be set up, I knew my aperture, I knew my focal length. The only variable I had left was shutter speed. No I only had to count on mother nature to provide the weather I was counting on. The shot would still be good if it was windy or if there was clouds, but I had something in mind.... I find myself drawn to certain images lately, and have a desire to emulate, but differentiate, from my current inspiration, Michael Kenna. He works with a Hasselblad (square format) using monochrome film and long exposures for a lot of his work. I find, however, that I am not yet good enough for monochrome. It is hard to pre visualize luminosity and I'm ...

Mono Lake and Yosemite  As many of you know, I took another  extended walkabout, this time through the American Southwest including parts of Nevada, California, Arizona, and Utah. I was gone about a month, but that time wasn't all spent photographing natures wonder. I also had a nice time visiting with family in Mesa, AZ and Provo, UT. In fact, even though I drove right through the heart of the canyons of Utah, I didn't take a single picture except of my grandkids. In fact, I only had about 7 days devoted to photography. 2 days in Mono Lake, 3 days in Death Valley and 2 days at the Grand Canyon/Sedona. Death Valley was ruled by the wind. It was so windy that I wasn't able to use the 4x5 camera that I had with me and I already wrote about those experiences and posted 35mm snapshots. I now have the rest of my film back, and most of it is scanned, at least at low resolution (6mb flatbed scans). This gives me plenty of resolution for posting online photos.  I arri...

A Nice Hike in the Peace and Quiet I got to use an iPhone for the first time as a camera. I went out to take some 4x5 black and white photos at the Superstition Museum, but there was some kind of private event going on, so I kept going up into the Superstition Mountains. I exposed one sheet of film, but also took a bunch of photos with the iPhone. It is really quite a nice little camera as long as the light is good. It is moderately wide and takes pictures that are fine for screen and 4x6 prints. I expect that I could even get 8x12 out of these files with some help from photoshop.  These are all right from my phone. I uploaded them right from the desert as I was hiking back to the car. The location is at the Lost Dutchman State Park. From the Needles View Point day area, I hiked about a mile into the desert and found a vantage point that I hope is pleasing for the lens I was using. It is a 210mm (70mm equivalent) and I waited for a few hours for the light to get good. It wa...