it's nearly that time again ....

november

the wishing tree...

 

ulivetto .....progress report... 21 may 2011

 

there seem to be 5 different themes / series  inside the Ancient Olive project ....

13 old professors

3 bodies in trees

12 weird animals 

12 fairytale creatures trapped

and 13 Enty old tree beards ....

I can't seem to narrow it down any further....

so there is alot of work still to be done

each image is traditionally photographed and printed in the silver gelatin process 

5x4 inch negatives 

  contact printed on 8x10 inch  fibre based paper

(the following are the scans of the printworks so far )

Over the last months I have started in on the "old professors" ... but realise there is still so many more to be printed and each one takes days to get right ... the fibre base paper changes not only contrast but density (light and dark) is entirely different by the time it has dried over a 48 hour period ...so there have been many recalibrations and alot of re-printing ...

nothing is quite what it seems...

days later what was perfect is now dark and flat and not as intended ... so I have started all over over from scratch ... with the long forgotten knowledge of how this paper and silver gelatin process changes over time ....

It is amazing how instant digital technology and impatience has changed our perspective ....

back in the dark......

quakes have died down ...

a bit 

demolishing and renovating is at a balance and I am not "quite" so worried about being trapped in a chemistry full room in the dungeon labyrinth of the old house ....printing my Ancient Olive project .... so I have rebuilt and got my little darkroom up and running ... 

hose through the window for print washing in big post earthquake rainwater tub ....

tiny enlarger on top of fridge in storeroom ... 

read 

"pro photographers darkroom facility in Christchurch New Zealand April in the year 2011"

over 100 more beautiful 5x4 inch negatives to proof before working out the best for limited edition printworks ...

(I did a lot of work in the last month of my artists residence in Italy ) which was not possible to actually develop and see before the shows .... so now half of the project is still coming to light ... 

it's amazing ...

allorra 

today is a top secret code day ... 

the person concerned will know what I mean...

                            and if he doesnt he needs a good dong on the head with a saucepan....

                                       fmjd

                                 22 april 2011

oddness...

odd

beautiful timing (or not)

alot of weirdness right now...

however ...
I have just finished the most beautiful campaign for the wonderous Trelise Cooper of New Zealand and I am so happy with the final works ...

and then ....
my professional photography monumental website and archive of all my work and exhibitions history and its Italian designers have disappeared into the ether ...
and at the same time I am temporarily here in the disaster zone
Christchurch New Zealand and earthquake after earthquake ...... since the Feb 22 2011 disastrous and all my camera gear is munted (as they say here ) and unusable ...
it is quite bizarre and must mean it is time for some dramatic changes ...


I am very particular ...but if you are up for a web design challenge for a fashion photographer/creative director with 25 years professional experience ...visit my agents sites and see my work there
www.internationalrescue.com/#/photographers/francesmelhop/_overview
www.paolasciarretta.com/ 

then let me know your ideas ....
and a quote ...


meanwhile ...latest works ... for Trelise Cooper NZ 

a most FAB designer
 

january... 2011 .......

waiting and waiting .........

for photographic darkroom equipment....  

only one set of multigrade lighting filters still to arrive ...

sigh ...

****************************

I have however, tested my favourite recipe ... 

and now is the time to send out the secret discovered in the depths of the south of the heel of the boot....

it is ... very very good.

but only my project backers will ever know....

tomorrow 22 january 2011 at 11.20pm NZ pacific mean time ... I will let the secret concoction from the Italian Nonnas out ......

........ :)   aaaaaaaaaarrrghhh lovely ...

a very very happy Christmas ...

I just want to wish all my friends, family and supporters of my Ancient Olive tree  project a very beautiful and Happy Christmas ...

and mention the progress to date...

Today I pick up my new darkroom equipment found on Trademe NZ , our own version of Ebay...
in the next week the replacement silver gelatin Fibre based photographic paper arrives from the UK, and another piece of equipment from the USA , so hopefully once I rebuild the darkroom I found here, I will be happily printing away the limited edition works on the first day of January !!!!

so looking forward

meanwhile best wishes for Christmas and the New Year to everyone !!!!!

 and lots and lots of presents under the tree for everyone!!!!!

ancient olive project continuing stoooory...

so now the hunting, finding, shooting of the Ancient Olive trees has come to an end and I have returned to New Zealand with the material and am working very hard on the final printwork for all my amazing project supporters...

I am having some problems finding a black and white darkroom to use for the limited edition print run...but I will find a way ...

the colour printwork is what I am working on this week...and the choosing of the best recipe .... 

I did end up having grannies fighting to give me recipes in the supermarket just before I left :) ... and rushing to their houses to get the food so I could try it ... got to love that !

I particularly liked the sagne incannulate ...but there was one risotto that I could eat every day of my life ... hmmmm

at this point I would like to thank another series of backers and supporters...

thank you so very much to

Amy J McCray

Gofenshefer she makes lovely accessories inspired by the natural world

Solvita Danevica who makes sweet jewellery and miniature pinback buttons 

Erica Kremenak

thank you to Inge you can find her here at cri-cricurieux

thank you also to Elsa Dorfman who is a wonderful photographer from the USA who shoots with one of the only 7 giant polaroid rail cameras .... the camera is so huge it needs a few people to move it and she makes giant polaroids 20x24 inches... 

thanks to Vincent Corona-Evans

Marleen De Troyer

Bonnie Jones , another photographer (I particularly like her teapot house picture!!!)

my new lovely sis Lynn Evans and her husband Zeke

and my dear friend Peter Towers ... a genius architecture photographer that I used to assist when I was just a baby photo-kid

the final seven ...

 here they are ...the final seven choices for the first exhibition,

opening today at the Accademia delle Belle Arte Lecce

let the show begin....

one single perfect print...

2 months shooting 
4 days in the darkroom
427 mosquitoe bites

150 sheets of film

4x5" 

and I can now show one single perfect print 

on utterly beautiful fibre-based archival photographic paper,

brought in from the UK as there is none in the whole of the EU that I can find.

I had forgotten how precious this stuff is ...

how much more beautiful the images look than on the regular resin coated plasticised photo paper we are used to.

I had also forgotten how super long it takes to develop , stop bath , rinse, fix and then washing under running water for 45 minutes ...

2  days to dry 
*test proofs take a minimum of 30 minutes before you can turn the lights on and see what it's even looking like..........

then the worry about how to flatten it out after it curls during the drying, not to mention how it darkens up over the course of the 2 days drying ...


tricky

well ...anyway the giant works are hung for the first show 

and 

I have one single beautiful perfect tiny print
laid out to dry, in the darkroom, on a towel in the Accademia delle Belle Arte

Ents .... a meeting

nothing to say ,..... alot of Enty old "tree beards" ....

having a meeting 

creaking and groaning like old boats 

a storm coming in from the Mediterranean heading for the Adriatic ...

1 day to finish as much as possible for the first exhibition... we hang it on friday 19th Nov...

second show on the 27th will be projections of the works on the castle wall here...

I will continue shooting until the last moment before I leave here so I have material enough for a beautiful book
but the light is changing and the shadows are blocking up  so I have been here at exactly the right moment ...in reality

but I need about another 6 months for this project ............... aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrghhhhhhhhh !

no pressure no pressure ...

"la raccolta" ... harvesting olives in Salento

all through the countryside husbands and wives are out in the olive groves collecting and sifting olives and leaves in the first part of the harvest ...

the clean up around the base of each tree before the nets go down

hard back breaking work...

flashes of colour in a giant flower field caught my attention so I went to see what was going on

Marissa said she is very very tired at the end of each day 

Tomaso gave me 3 oranges from their tree that is groaning with fruit

later I found a magic fairy trullo...

and this running screaming skeleton olive tree.... :)