My Weekend with Marilyn...

TruckMasters (Marilyn Monroe), Phoenix AZ, 2009 © Richard M. Coda

OK, there's a new movie out immortalizing Marilyn Monroe. Did you know that Marilyn Monroe is immortalized right here in Phoenix, AZ?

For those of you who don't get out much, there is a huge mural painted on the side of the TruckMasters building at 20th St. and Indian School Rd. in Phoenix. It was painted by Timothy Medina in 2002. The mural is more than 30 feet long and is almost super-realist in style.

I photographed it early one Sunday morning in 2009 in black & white with my 8x10" camera. I deliberately chose Sunday so there would be no vehicles parked in front of it. Although I do tire quickly of Marilyn Monroe, I never tire looking at this beautiful contact print.

2012: Out with the new and in with the old?

Happy New Year!

Cascade Mountain, Alberta, Canada, 1990 © Richard M. Coda

I'm thinking 2012 will be a breakthrough year for me, photographically. The past three years have been tough on everyone, and especially artists. Many of my photography friends have experienced reduced output and enthusiasm, myself included. The causes are multiple: disappearance of materials, reduced income, dissatisfaction with leadership, etc.

2012 brings with it an opportunity for hope and change (not that dopey hope and change from 2008). Business seems to have rebounded and things are going to change in my life this year. Our daughter, Lindsay, will be going away to college in August. As parents, Michele and I have devoted our lives to our daughter, sacrificing so she could "have better than we had". There are still four years of financial sacrifice ahead, but the amount of time that will be gained is amazing. In 2012 I hope to attempt to use some of that time to "get back into photography". I can't tell you how many times I have heard a photographer utter those words. For some reason photography is one of those avocations that is shuffled aside to take care of life.

Another "back to the future" hope is to do more landscapes this year. I have mentioned several times on this blog about my yearning to do landscapes again as I have gotten older. The desert landscape is too sparse for me personally, but I hope to have the time to do some landscapes with trees and water in them. In addition, I have 30 years worth of negatives, many of which have never seen the light of day, and many of them these types of landscapes that I yearn.

One project that I would like to do this year is my "Honeymoon Suite" portfolio. This is a portfolio of 8x10" images made from 4x5" negatives I made while on my honeymoon in 1990 in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada. I have only printed a few of the images way back in 1991, but have enough that I am going to select 10 and print a limited edition portfolio. The image above, Cascade Mountain, is one I have selected. I printed this for the first time a few days ago. It still needs some tweaks but I am excited to work on this project.

Other projects I hope to start this year include several botanical series from items I have been collecting for the past couple of years; two portfolios on Phoenix (one black & white and one color) along with a book from my extensive work in the city from the past three years; and a small portfolio from my work on Ellis Island in 1984.

As this is my 30th year in photography I also plan on having a 30% discount on all sales this entire year, and a special selection of vintage prints from the 1980s at fire sale prices. I will also be marketing a series of "Special Edition" prints from selected negatives for $30 plus S/H. Ansel Adams made the "special edition" print popular by offering some of his most popular images available for a very reasonable price. Today these prints are made by his last assistant, Alan Ross. My special editions will be pigmented ink prints available in only one size (7" on the long side) on 8.5x11" paper, open edition, and signed electronically. These are basically mini-posters meant to introduce my work to a broader market of beginning collectors. The purchase price of these prints can be applied toward a "Collector's Edition" photographic (darkroom) print at any point if the purchaser wishes to upgrade to a real print.

So stay tuned in 2012 for all of these announcements.

I wish you all a healthy and prosperous New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from the Codas – Rich, Michele and Lindsay!

Click on the image for an animated version.

Vdara Hotel, Las Vegas, NV © 2010 Richard M. Coda

Inspirations #29: Henry Gilpin, 1922-2011

Highway 1, 1963 © Henry Gilpin

Henry Gilpin is a familiar name on the Monterey Peninsula in California. He was an educator, a photographer, a citizen, but most of all, a gentleman.

He was a contemporary of Ansel Adams, Brett Weston and Morley Baer, all of the "West Coast School" of photography, made popular by Edward Weston, Ansel Adams and others years earlier. He took his duty as a citizen so seriously that he joined the Monterey County Sherrif's Department in 1952. He taught photography at Monterey Peninsula Community College for 37 years. It is hard to put a number on the photographers that he has taught or influenced. He definitely influenced me.

I remember my first trip to the Peninsula in 1984... a journey to walk in the footsteps of the masters who had preceded me. Henry's most famous image (above) was one of the images that made me want, excuse me, NEED, to visit this beautiful place to see if I could make photographs worthy of it. My first attempt was "Sea Lion Cove" that year. One thing I see now, looking back at that first trip, was how overwhelming it is "your first time". Your senses are bombarded by the beauty of nature at every turn. I think I exposed just over 80 4x5" negatives in just 4 days.

Sea Lion Cove, Pt. Lobos, CA, 1984 © Richard M. Coda

If you have ever been on Highway 1 in Big Sur or just south of San Francisco, you know that every turn can "kill you". The road, built in the 1920s-30s, hugs the coast and has wicked hairpin turns, often just inches from a 300 foot fall to your death. The first time I took my wife on the road (1989) from San Francisco to Carmel, she almost became ill.

My next trip in 1986 produced this image, an 8x10" negative.

Garrapata, CA, 1986 © Richard M. Coda

On a trip in 1987 I made the image below. You can see Highway 1 in the top left of the frame.

Big Sur Coast, CA, 1987 © Richard M. Coda

The photographic community is saddened at the news of Henry's passing on December 13, but he leaves behind a legacy of photographs to inspire future generations of photographers. I am very proud to have Henry's "Highway 1" hanging in my living room. It is an image I will always treasure.

Eclipse... 1982 style

Total Lunar Eclipse, July 6, 1982, Pompton Lakes, NJ © Richard M. Coda

July 6, 1982 to be exact. That could only mean Tri-X on the 4x5.

I had no idea what I was doing or how to properly meter and expose the moon. So I just set up my 4x5" camera in my parents driveway and left the shutter open with the lens cap on. I removed the cap every 10 minutes and I honestly cannot remember how long I left the cap off. Judging from the negative and flare I would say I over-exposed it by at least a stop, maybe two.

Anyway, I missed the eclipse just a few days ago... it occurred in the early morning and I needed some sleep. Hopefully I will be ready for one of the next eclipses visible in North America during my lifetime.

One of these days I am going to photograph the Milky Way on my 8x10" camera... the night skies in my backyard are incredible.

Third Place - 2011 Black Mountain Photography Contest

Sunset and Thunderstorm over Black Mountain, Scottsdale, AZ © Richard M. Coda

I am very pleased to announce that one of my photographs was awarded Third Place in the 2011 Black Mountain Photography Contest sponsored by the Desert Foothills Land Trust here in Arizona.

Black Mountain is the signature peak in the far north Valley, situated in Cave Creek, AZ.

To celebrate this award I am offering pigmented ink prints on Epson Ultra Premium Glossy paper for $30.00, shipped via USPS Priority Mail (USA only). The prints are on 8.5x11" paper and the image is 10" wide. The prints are signed by me and are an open edition (not numbered).

To order a print, please click on the button below, where you may pay securely via PayPal account or your credit card.

Inspirations #28: Bill Fuller - Urban Architecture

Chicago Athletic Association, 1981 © William W. Fuller

As I have mentioned in the past, I used to photograph landscapes when I started in photography. Over the years I have been drawn to more urban subjects, especially abstracting modern architecture.

San Francisco, CA, 1987 © William W. Fuller

I recently met and befriended Bill Fuller through INFOCUS at the Phoenix Art Museum. Bill is a very interesting guy, a well-educated and self-taught photographer who has several large bodies of work, including "The City - A Formalist View of American Urban Architecture". I first became aware of his work a few years ago when I saw it in Lenswork and B&W Magazine. I loved the way to brought order to chaos in the city by reducing the scene to basic components of shape, line and tone. I noticed a similarity in the way we both photographed urban architecture, but also some significant differences.

Seattle, Washington, 2008 © William W. Fuller

Bill generally shoots from a distance and his subjects are very large. Although there are angles in his work he prefers straight on and he rarely includes the street or street view.

First Presbyterian Church of Phoenix, AZ, 2011 © Richard M. Coda

I, on the other hand, prefer to get in closer and almost always include a diagonal line in the composition. I often include reflections as the main focal point, as well. My subjects are smaller and a fair amount of the time I include the street or street view. See this blog post for some 2008 images from Phoenix.

From Chase Plaza, Phoenix, AZ © 2011 Richard M. Coda

Dodge Building Reflections, Phoenix, AZ © 2011 Richard M. Coda

But there are times when we have a very similar approach to our images.

Embarcadero, San Francisco, 2000 © William W. Fuller (left);
Phoenix Skyscrapers, AZ, 2011 © Richard M. Coda (right)

Tempe, AZ, 2008 © William W. Fuller (left);
14850, Scottsdale, AZ, 2008 © Richard M. Coda (right)

Long Beach, CA, 1999 © William W. Fuller (left);
Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, 2011 © Richard M. Coda (right)

Yerba Buena Center, San Francisco, CA, 2003 © William W. Fuller (left);
Downtown, Phoenix, AZ, 2008 © Richard M. Coda (right)

Chicago, IL, 1987 © William W. Fuller (left);
Chrysler Building, NY, 2005 © Richard M. Coda (right)

All of my images made before 2011 are purely coincidence, or an instance of great minds thinking alike. My images from 2011 were inspired by Bill.

I recently designed a website for Bill at www.williamwfuller.com. Please visit it to see his wonderful body of images.