The Art of Chris Froelich

Katie, Polly, and I had a beautiful day up in the Sierras on Saturday. We started out with a late lunch an Sorenson's Resort, and then continued up into Carson Pass, exploring US Forest roads. This was a digital day for me, using my Fuji XE2 and a Fuji 10-24mm lens. By all accounts, this lens is one of the finest ultra wide lenses ever made. I have no idea if that is true since I have nothing to compare it to, but so far I am extremely happy with it. I've collected a humongous pile of undeveloped film, so I'm not going to shoot anymore until I get the rolls I already have developed. Since we're moving in a few weeks, nothing is expected to happen in that arena.  The one thing that has really impressed me with the Fuji is the ability to pull highlights and shadows out of the RAW files. The JPEG files had white skies and very little shadow detail. Looking at the LCD screen while I was shooting made me consider shooting multiple exposures and blending them. But I'...

"I am losing precious days, I am degenerating into a machine for making money. I am learning nothing in this trivial world of men. I must break away and get out into the mountains to learn the news" -John Muir I need to get some sun on my face. How sad that this is true, so I am out the door in a moment to go hobble about so Nature can touch my face, but before I go..... These were from an exercise of composition using my Hasselblad and Fuji Astia 100f film. The Hasselblad shoots in a square format and Spooner Lake State Park has a large meadow dotted with clumps of bushes, pines, and willows. It is also crisscrossed with little brooklets and each low spot is a gathering place for cold mountain runoff. There was a lot of texture and layers to be explored in both the earth and the sky! What a glorious sunrise.

I love being in the position of amateur photographer. Sure, I have dreams that someday I'll get to the point where people are clamoring to scoop up my limited edition prints, but  right now I'm free to shoot whatever and however I want. I was talking to a photographer a while back who his own gallery and sells his prints in the $500-$3000 range. He has collectors and followers who buy his work, which is gotta be nice. He mentioned that he produces work with a signature look and when a new print represents that "look" it sells well.  For an ADHD photographer like me, that doesn't sound like as much fun as just shooting whatever I feel like. Two months ago, if you had asked, I would have said "monochrome is for me". I love classic black and white landscape photography. Artist like Barry Goldwater (that's right....BG was a world class photographer), Clyde Butcher, and Michael Kenna produce(d) photos I'd love to have hanging on my wall. I also re...

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 ...