Eleven collodion wet plate portraits made with color anodized aluminum mounted in a carefully spaced overlapping pattern standing off the black velvet background in a 18.5″ x 22.5″ frame
Eleven collodion wet plate portraits made with color anodized aluminum. The strobe light was so bright I didn’t want to photograph innocent subjects who might not be careful enough to avoid looking at the 5000 watt seconds of lights when they flashed. So I used the only subject who I trusted - my assistant Nick.
Thirty 3"x3" collodion wet-plate self-portrait photographs on color anodized trophy aluminum spaced 1/4" apart and standing 3/4" off the black background in a 21" x 24" frame.
Thirty collodion wet plate self portraits made with color anodized aluminum. The strobe light was so bright I didn't want to photograph innocent subjects who might not be careful enough to avoid looking at the 5000 watt seconds of lights when they flashed. So I used the only subject who is patient enough to sit for 30 portraits. The process required 3 days to complete all 30 plates.
4.25"x5.5" Collodion Wet-Plate on Glass and Aluminum, 8"x10" Silver-Gelatin prints, Digital Prints
MOMENTO is a collection of human experiences and the technological dreams triggered by our cameras. The cameras capture our experience in mere fractions of seconds, but the cameras themselves endure to reflect the technology and aspirations of their eras. The memories we connect to the cameras are significant, sentimental and cherished.
Original digital photos are available as limited edition digital pigment prints
If you could have a world named after you - what would it look like?
The Billiad is about what one man discovers when the dream becomes a reality. When this guy from New Jersey via Cincinnati, Schenectady, Aspen, and New York City does find his own world, locates his slice of heaven, that place with his very own name, what will the reality be? “Careful what you wish for.” If it really is MY world, would I want it to be like Westheimer Road in Houston, Texas?
The Billiad was my trip to that special place.
Original photographs are 35mm color negatives and all images have been scanned at high resolution and available as enlarged limited edition digital prints.
The MANUAL PROJECT will be on view at Richmond Virginia’s artspace gallery Friday February 25 until Sunday March 20th, 2011. The opening reception is Friday February 25, 7:00 – 10:00 pm. artspace is located in Plant Zero, Zero East Fourth Street, Richmond, VA 23224. I will be showing 20 prints from the Manual Project plus …
Shadow Catchers: Camera-less Photography is a fascinating and beautiful book about 5 artists who make photograms. Written by Martin Barnes the book features work by Floris Neusüss, Pierre Cordier, Susan Derges, Garry Fabian Miller, and Adam Fuss. The book is more than just beautiful reproductions of their pictures there is ample reading about each artist’s …
At the Metropolitan Museum the exhibit of early 20th Century photography by Stieglitz Steichen and Strand will remind us how we got to where we are today in art photography. These three guys, more than any other photographers, have influenced how we photograph and what we photograph. Always experimenting with their style, their equipment and …
I was looking forward to seeing the new work by Hiroshi Sugimoto – photograms created using giant sparks of electricity. I was shocked when I saw how little energy the work actually has. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist the puns.) Pace Gallery and Sugimoto should get an A+ for presentation, but the works themselves fail to …
See the Video “Moving Stills” (1978) by Behnam Attar Remember photojournalism? Kodachrome? big hair? cowboys? This great video from 1978 by Behnam Attar about Contact Press Images and David Burnett’s story on the last cattle drive in America reveals how magazine photo-j used to be. Big spreads, lots of pages, artists’ chasing stories for fame …
This may the best show of the decade…. Man Ray at the Jewish Museum With photographs, paintings, drawings, films, sculptures, books and of course Ray-o-grams it gives great insight into the man and his work. There is even a photo of Emmanuel Radnitzky at his bar-mitzvah. Run, don’t walk to the Jewish Museum 1109 5th …
ODDYSSEY – The Billiad by Bill Westheimer Oddyssey is a quirky photo journal of one man’s trip around the world – without leaving Ohio. With humor and style the traveler visits towns from Moscow to Mesopotamia, Congo to Calcutta, Aberdeen to York by way of Utopia and scores of other unlikely places all found in …
MOMENTO is a collection of human experiences and technological dreams triggered by our cameras. With each camera is a story told by its owner. The cameras were photographed using a19th century glass plate negatives, emphasizing how quickly the technology of past image-making has been made antique. The cameras capture our experience in mere fractions of …
A brush with the great Irving Penn At the risk of making this blog seem like a bunch of obits, the death of Irving Penn reminded me of my brief interaction with him back in the mid 1980’s when I moved to New York and was looking for work as a photo assistant. Mr. Penn …
Artist, Photographer, Activist, and Educator Jerry Burchfield died on September 11, 2009 from Colon Cancer. We’ll remember Jerry as an incredibly imaginative and creative artist, a generous and insightful mentor and educator, and a dedicated activist who took action to make his Southern California community a better place. The LA Times obituary provides a good …
