James Godman's Blog
I'm an artist living and working in Brooklyn, New York
Joshua Cody Pictures
Its always fun to photograph Josh! If you haven’t read his book yet, you should! Check it out here. We did the top picture in Joshua’s apartment, at his desk where he writes. The bottom image was made in my place in Brooklyn.
New York Group Show
111123 43" x 53" Mixed Media on Panel by James Godman
The New York Group Show, Rebellion and Empowerment in Contemporary Art, was a roaring success, and I was happy to participate by hanging this new painting. Many thanks to Kianga Ellis for organizing the show. The piece on the left is by Brian Dupont.
Andrew Rogers
Two old spreads from my friend’s doodlesbook! Check him out at Joslin Lake Design. © Andrew Rogers
Everest
The talented band Everest was in Chicago performing at various venues throughout July, and I was lucky enough to be asked to hang out for the last few gigs. I didn’t get to do the photo shoot I wanted, but I did snap this Polaroid while we were messing around on the field at U.S. Cellular prior to a Sox game on July 25th. I rather like it! Great guys, huge talent. Details »
The Amber Inn
A friend of mine was recently in Chicago for a project we worked on together, and he stayed at this fine establishment. A few days after he left, I shot this Polaroid and sent it to him so he would always be reminded of the Amber Inn.
Homemade Photo Gear
About a month ago Dirk Fletcher asked me to speak to his Modern Alternative Processes photo class at Harrington College of Design in Chicago. I taught there as an adjunct for five years, and the comfort of familiar surroundings was balanced by the excitement of seeing a bunch of new faces eager to learn. Below is what I shared and tried to impart, along with an explanation of the Scheimpflug Principle.
For the most part, everyone willing to invest a little bit of capital has access to the same gear, which tends to create a proliferation of similar images. Thus, the distinguishing factor from one photographer to the next is of course the way they see and use their brain, but also perhaps the equipment they use. So why would anyone want to use the same gear that everyone else uses? Ever since I saw Keith Carter’s funky lens on his Hasselblad, I’ve been inspired to hack together my own gear including lenses, lights, and cameras, all with the goal of trying to make unique images. Others have inspired me as well, including Mark Tucker and his Plunger Cam, Frank Ockenfels, John Huet, and Jack Spencer. And a brief visit with a few other students to Matt Mahurin’s New York City penthouse studio was particularly inspiring. I’ll never forget the things he was drawing, scanning, photographing, and manipulating in Photoshop.
Which brings me to another point. The goal is of course to make compelling images, and not to use visual gimmicks to lure in the casual viewer, although what constitutes a gimmick is certainly debatable. For example, one might say the use of color itself is a gimmick, or the Scheimpflug Principle (I could go on and on). Basically, just trust your instincts, and this is what will set you apart and make you and your images unique.
Some images I’ve made incorporating at least one hacked together piece of gear:
Some of the gear:
Lights from Ikea with 5000K fluorescent tubes
Dog Bowl Ring Flash inspired by Greg Shapps
Old lens glued to thin plexi and mounted on body cap
Lens made from a loupe and some stuff from Home Depot
Kodak lens cut from an old Brownie and painted with liquid rubber
Polaroid 150 Rangefinder Land Camera 4x5 conversion with an office clip and rubber band
Ikea light fixture attached to Profoto speed ring
Flash Duration
Back when I taught college photography classes, I would force my students to do some practical flash duration comparisons. Why? Because its a very important thing to consider when choosing the right lights to make images. If the assignment requires moving fashion models, jumping athletes, or any other action, then the best choice for capturing sharp images are units that have short flash duration. Simply put, flash duration is the amount of time that the flash is on, typically between 1/200th and 1/3,000th of a second, but these vary widely with the amount of power output and type of flash unit. So please compare the flash durations at full power when shopping for or renting strobes. Shorter flash duration is the best choice for freezing motion.
The image below was lit with some old Elinchroms, one 250R (flash duration at 250 watt seconds = 1/6200th) and one 500r (flash duration at 500 ws = 1/4000th). Its nice and sharp! Here is another action shot I shared in a prior post: Pizza Guy.