Salvation Mountain

Here is another place I visited while in the Salton Sea area. I've put a link above for a YouTube video about this folk art painted hill and the man who created it, Leonard Knight.

Bombay Beach

I was working in California recently and had heard about this place. It's located on the Salton Sea which is actually a lake located in the Colorado Desert in Southern California. Link for the Salton Sea wikipedia page is above. Not quite what I expected, although I new it was rundown. The place was crowded with about 25 people with cameras and a film crew making a music video. The beach itself was covered with dead fish and a few dead birds so didn't spend much time there. Needless to say it's a pretty interesting area.

1970 Nikon F

This photo making monster is a Nikon F from 1970. It has a non metered eye level prism and the funky thing attached to the camera is a Nikon F36 motor drive. This baby is old school and one of my favorites. Yep, I still shoot a bit of film, mostly black and white and mostly images like this . http://hovis.photoshelter.com/portfolio/G0000ewb720qYdkY. Just so you know, these images were made with a lens I modified to fit the Nikon and give me the in and out of focus look, so that's why they look the way they do. This is part of a project I'm working on and I'll get back to it when I don't feel like I'll burst into flames when I go outside. Geez, it's been to damn hot to shoot outdoors for any period of time. I'm really looking forward to fall or winter is fine too.

County Fair

Took this image at a County Fair a while back. Everything at this fair looked brand new except the racing pigs, which were a hoot.
Nikon F3, Tri X and modified lens.

HOOPS

Hoops on the farm, NC/SC border. Taken with a Nikon F3 on Kodak Tri X and a modified lens. (I just want to mention that the image was not made with a Lensbaby and the focus effect was not made in Photoshop). Straight image with Photoshop used for density, contrast and color. I'm thrilled to be shooting film again, and plan on doing a lot more of it, even for some commercial assignments. I still think digital has a place in my shooting process, and sometimes it might be the best option, but compared to film and film cameras, digital lacks soul. Just my 2 cents.

Anderson's Restaurant

Anderson's Restaurant in Charlotte, NC closed it's doors after 60 years in business. I worked on this project a few years back. A designer I work with thought it might be a good idea to document the final days, possibly to publish a book about the restaurant and the people that work and eat there. This was a really great project to work on. Free reign to photograph what I wanted. The one thing I could not do for about 90% of the images, was to pose the people I photographed or add any lighting. The dining area and kitchen were totally slammed, and really no room for lights. The images were made in two 1/2 day shoots and I did get an opportunity to shoot a few lit portraits later on. The images can be viewed by clicking this link http://hovis.photoshelter.com/portfolio/G0000O4Jq2_Di09E

Juke Joints

I got a chance to make these images while doing some editorial work in Wilmington, NC a while back. I was told by one of the locals that these were Juke Joints or Lounges back in the day. One, the J&R Lounge looked as if it might still be in business, although there was a "No Trespassing" sign on the front. I would loved to have had the chance to make some photographs when these places were hopping.

Click on the title to go to the wikipedia juke joint page.