I have been dreaming of a departure point from photographing architecture and urbanity for some time. In the past I photographed crowds through an abstract layering representation, but I have been interested in exploring other avenues of photography. My sister recently got engaged, so I offered to photograph their engagement photos. I packed along my favourite cameras… my Rolliechord which was loaded with Fuji Velvia 150 colour reversal film, my Holga which was modded to run Ilford Delta 100 35mm film; my Diana F; and my panoramic pinhole camera.
Engaging.
May 10, 2010I’ve been Dreaming of San Francisco
May 10, 2010Its been a long time since I updated this blog… A little too long. My life has changed drastically since I last posted. Unfortunately I am no longer living/working in sunny southern California. I’ve traded in my swim trunks for a Parka and moved to Toronto. I love living in Toronto. Its a wonderful, diverse city with gritty industrial roots. An ideal domicile for the urban explorer. Look for many Toronto posts to come. Unfortunately this is my last post from California…. For now.
The most Iconic image of San Francisco…
The Observers
Eroding History
Connection
Cyclists
Nostalgia
Perhaps the second most iconic image of San Francisco. Alcatraz.
Caged
On Broadway
Parade into the Darkness
Look Out
Watertower I
Watertower II
Freedom
Shades of Grey
The Strand
Repetition
Speeding Through Haight
Haight-Ashbury
Gated Graffiti
some oldies…
August 27, 2009I still had a couple pics from my time in and around San Diego that I never got around to posting.
I have become very fascinated with photographing crowds. This is a passion that has spawned from my Master’s thesis. It is something about capturing transient, fleeting moments and the expressions and motives that surround them. Each image again contains a story, which is interpreted by you the viewer.
Tourists
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Tourists 2.0
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Spectators
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Spectacle
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Corkscrew
Pinholing the Salk
April 26, 2009The Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California is arguably one of the most important pieces of modern architecture. Designed by Louis Kahn the complex is remarkable for its simplicity of form but spatially is intinsically quite complex. I have been to the Salk countless times, but each time a new spatial relationship is revealed, a new quality of light unmasks itself, its beauty ever deeper. It truely is an amazing space to inhabit, I am jeolous of those who get to work there on a daily basis, and am greatful for every minute I have been able to spend there.
Location: Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, California
Experiencing the Salk
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
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© Nathan Dykstra 2009
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© Nathan Dykstra 2009
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In and around the hood
April 25, 2009Since temporarily relocating to Pacific Beach California, I’ve had to deal with not having alot of my stuff such as drawing and art supplies, but also much of my photography equipment. I came here with only two suitcases and had to leave many of my beloved cameras back home. I did bring my holga and pinhole camera though. This is a collection of photos I’ve taken in and around pacific beach since I moved here.
Location: Pacific Beach, California
Beach Day
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Bubble Gum Tree
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Down by the Boardwalk
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Erosion of ______
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Mission Blvd
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Coaster
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
3 cycled carousel
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Carousel
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Prepare for Total Chaos
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Fear and Loathing
April 25, 2009On a recent trip to Las Vegas I took my Holga with me. However, my lack of wanting to carry my equipment around with me led to not taking as many pics as I would have liked, but I did manage to grab a few.
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada and points between
Expedited Energy
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Viva Las Vegas
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Welcome to Baker
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Blurred Landscape
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
When driving through the desert there is no distinction between differentiating landscapes; one blurrs into the next.
Trip to The Barrio
April 24, 2009My friend Nancy and I headed out to the Barrio, a industrial area south of downtown San Diego to explore the city armed with a holga and a pin hole camera.
Location: San Diego, California
Holga Shots:
Post No Bills
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
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Taken by Nancy
Gantry
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
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by Nancy. This was an accidental multiple exposure. Proof that happy accidents exist.
Pinholes:
Shipyards
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Convergence
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
35mm Holgas
April 23, 2009By adding some elastics and pieces of foam to my Holga, I was able to simply mod it to accept 35mm film. What I love about experimenting with this technique is the sprokets of the 35mm film are exposed adding an unpredictable element of the image. My favourite feature of the ultra low tech Holga is the film advance knob which allows you to advance the film as much or as little as you want, I can play with multiple exposures or advance the frame slightly to allow images the bleed into eachother. The results are completely unpredictable.
Tracks
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
City Centre
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
China Shop
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Compression
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Garage Sale Citroen
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Pedestrian Congestion
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Great Glebe Garage Sale
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
This image is a composite of 5 separate shots pieced together in the camera to create a single image. Like all my photography there is no splicing in photoshop, the final outcome is guided but much of the image is left to chance and process.
lomos
April 23, 2009Armed with the Lomography Oktomat camera which is a cheap plastic camera that takes 8 serial images within a 2 second time frame I headed out in the city to experiment with time lapse. The images where cut up from the oktomat’s rigid gridlike structure and re-arranged into sequential order to discover what spatial relationships would develop through the movement of the subject in relationship to the movement of the camera. The lack of quality in the plastic lenses leads to the discolouration and soft focus that in my opinion adds visual interest to the image sequences. Like the multiple exposure technique on film, the final outcomes from these image sequences can’t be predicted at the time that they were shot, the outcome can only be guided. Each sequence tells a 2 second story.
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Cycling Out of Frame
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
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© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Afternoon at Central Park
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
Pedestrian Ballet
© Nathan Dykstra 2009
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© Nathan Dykstra 2009
whats in a name?
April 21, 2009Why Architopia?
A depiction of Thomas More's Utopia by Ambrosius Holstein
Since Thomas More published his book entited Utopia in 1516 depicting a fictional island with a so called perfect socio-political legal system, man has fantasized about the idea of a “place of perfection”. Since the fall of man in the book of Genesis, man has become inherently greedy so we know that in reality no such place can physically exist, however as a literary allegory the idea of such a place has become a fascination; a place that can only exist within the realm of the imagination. As an architectural ideal, utopia becomes an abstract notion of the idea or concept, something birthed in the perfection of the imaginary realm. The name Utopia comes from the Greek words εὖ meaning “good” or “well” and τόπος [topos] for place. Thus by combining the terms architecture and utopia, the name contains connotations of the importance of creating a sense of place that is birthed out of the realm of the imagination.
![The Garden of Earthly Delights [the Garden of Eden] by Hieronymus Bosch](http://architopia.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/hieronymus_bosch_-_the_garden_of_earthly_delights_-_the_earthly_paradise_garden_of_eden1.jpg?w=450 "hieronymus_bosch_-_the_garden_of_earthly_delights")
The Garden of Earthly Delights: the garden of Eden by Hieronymus Bosch
Utopian Flying Machines of the Previous Century, France 1890-1900
I love this image. To me it is an aclaimation of how the idea is most in its utopian state when it is birthed, and through the act of creating and building the idea it comes to belong in the “topia” or present place. If you asked a child today to draw a flying machine, chances are you would get something that fairly closely resembles modern aircraft, but in the days prior to aircraft’s existance there was such fantasy surrounding the idea.
