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John Kasaian
8-Jan-2011, 17:08
Less and less people are available to sit for portraits. With our shrinking population (hey this is science) pretty soon there won't be anyone to sit, much less set an f-stop, soup film or make prints.
Going digital is not the answer, obviously. How will we get batteries and flash cards if there are no people around to make them?:eek: Besides I don't think digital people are all that attractive, at least not my "style" I'm more into gritty realism.
I figure film availability should be the least of anyone's worries---less sitters= less film! Sort of like nature taking care of its self.
I am going to start hording sitters. If film keeps in the freezer I'd bet sitters will too. I figure I need a freezer about the size an ice cream delivery truck to freeze enough sitters for the rest of my life. Stacked like cordwood I'm certain I could squeeze quite a few in there.
But first I need some answers:
Will freezing "suspend" aging? If so I'll need an assortment of infants, kids, teens, young adults, middle age and seniors to cover all my bases
Are there zip lock bags big enough to hold sitters? I know there are body bags, but will these work when frozen? Also body bags aren't transparent like zip locks so imagine the drudgery of having to open up every single one inorder to find the tatooed college co-ed, or the steel spectacled accountant (for that corporate report)
But back to my questions:
How long can I expect a sitter to remain frozen and still be "good?" I've heard people in Azerbajan live a long time. Will they alo hold up better frozen? Who has the best pricing on Azerbajanis? I'd call Badger Graphic but I think this is one time the savings on shipping from Frestyle might trump the savings on sales tax from Badger Graphic. Should I call B + H and see what kind of beal they can give me?
Please let me know as soon as you can. I want to start hording before other LF photographers catch on and drive up the pricing.
TIA
:D

matthew klos
8-Jan-2011, 20:46
wtf is this?

Vaughn
8-Jan-2011, 20:51
I thought it was going to be about zombie baby-sitters...

msk2193
8-Jan-2011, 20:53
Let's safe this thread and safekeep it for police when there is a slue of people who go missing int the SJ Valley.

Nathan Potter
8-Jan-2011, 21:23
John, let me know what you have been drinking so I can make sense of your concerns.

Nate Potter, Austin TX.

cdholden
8-Jan-2011, 21:41
I am going to start hording sitters. If film keeps in the freezer I'd bet sitters will too. I figure I need a freezer about the size an ice cream delivery truck to freeze enough sitters for the rest of my life. Stacked like cordwood I'm certain I could squeeze quite a few in there.
But first I need some answers:
Will freezing "suspend" aging? If so I'll need an assortment of infants, kids, teens, young adults, middle age and seniors to cover all my bases
Are there zip lock bags big enough to hold sitters? I know there are body bags, but will these work when frozen? Also body bags aren't transparent like zip locks so imagine the drudgery of having to open up every single one inorder to find the tatooed college co-ed, or the steel spectacled accountant (for that corporate report)
But back to my questions:
How long can I expect a sitter to remain frozen and still be "good?"

John,
I've got some coworkers here I'd like to offer for your collection. Shipping would be prohibitively expensive. Local pickup only.

Chris

Roger Thoms
8-Jan-2011, 22:00
John, the only real problem I can see is freezer burn. Maybe vacuum pack them before freezing.

Roger

Thebes
8-Jan-2011, 22:27
Ironically, I just watched some youtube videos about Hiroshi Sugimoto.
Just carve them in wax and you can photograph them after they are gone.

Ross Chambers
9-Jan-2011, 00:25
wtf is this?

They (the rest of the world) believe that irony is one of those things Americans just don't get.

I was unconvinced, bur I'm given pause.

There was quite a lot of portraiture in Victorian days of recently deceased folk for remembrance by the relatives, perhaps that's an option?

dsphotog
9-Jan-2011, 00:41
Well..... They'd hold still while you compose / focus / load / time exposure / etc.

Gary L. Quay
9-Jan-2011, 00:48
wtf is this?

It's a joke. You know: a form of irony where the normal is juxtaposed with the unexpected or uncongruous, ususlly in the form of a punchline or clever witicism. For instance: Take my Wista... Please.

Nyuck, nyuck,
--Gary

Heroique
9-Jan-2011, 01:04
How long can I expect a sitter to remain frozen and still be “good?”

Refrigerated or frozen subjects, of any kind, are never any good.

For example, macro shooters often try refrigerating insects to better control them as subjects. It never works well. Haven’t you read John Shaw’s classic book, Closeups in Nature? In a critical passage that I hope will discourage your plans before it’s too late, he says:

“A good naturalist can spot pictures of refrigerated subjects every time. Imagine refrigerating your kids until they could not move and then photographing them – surely you could tell that they didn’t look right in the resulting photo.”

jnantz
9-Jan-2011, 05:51
they are gonna get freezer burn, and it won't be pretty

make sure they sign "the waiver"

bigdog
9-Jan-2011, 08:15
I wouldn't worry about it. True, the big guys aren't making as many babies as they used to, but there will always be a small niche market, and babies will come from some unexpected places. Also, a lot of people will work on older methods to make their own at home.

Rayt
9-Jan-2011, 08:25
OK I give up. I have decided to dump all my 4x5 gear, move to England and start fresh with 5x4.

Bruce Watson
9-Jan-2011, 08:26
With our shrinking population...

I wish. The planet can't sustain the number of humans already here. Shrinking the population can only be a good thing for all of us, and the environment we live in.

As for the lack of sitters, have you ever thought of smiling more? You know, make a joke or two. Loosen up a little! Might make the potential sitters feel more comfortable around you and therefore more agreeable to sit for you, IDK.

Vaughn
9-Jan-2011, 09:01
Refrigerated or frozen subjects, of any kind, are never any good....

I thought that was the preferred way to photograph snakes, especially poisonous ones (flash being better than hot lights)...:)

John Kasaian
9-Jan-2011, 09:17
Well..... They'd hold still while you compose / focus / load / time exposure / etc.

This calls for strobes, of course! I couldn't use hot lights;)

lecarp
9-Jan-2011, 09:20
So, instead of "say cheese" will it now be "say frozen yogurt"?

John Kasaian
9-Jan-2011, 09:23
Refrigerated or frozen subjects, of any kind, are never any good.

For example, macro shooters often try refrigerating insects to better control them as subjects. It never works well. Haven’t you read John Shaw’s classic book, Closeups in Nature? In a critical passage that I hope will discourage your plans before it’s too late, he says:

“A good naturalist can spot pictures of refrigerated subjects every time. Imagine refrigerating your kids until they could not move and then photographing them – surely you could tell that they didn’t look right in the resulting photo.”

Glaciers look pretty good, and they're frozen.:)
This might take some testing with frozen succotash at portrait distances to really nail down all the variables. I'll use roll film so's to conserve my apocalyptical TMY.

lecarp
9-Jan-2011, 09:24
OH! One more question, will the lower sitter temperatures (below freezing) mean we can no longer use a DSLR as a light meter?

CG
9-Jan-2011, 10:44
Best thread here in a long time. Bravo!!!!!

redrockcoulee
9-Jan-2011, 11:21
With Mexico being the third North American nation to declare an obesity epidemic I really do not see what you mean by a shrinking population. At work we have some super cold freezers, so wondering if that is where one should keep their prospective clients?

I have been told that rats and cockroaches will survive anything so you always can specialize in their portraits. I cannot as we do not have rats in Alberta outside of authorized labs.

msk2193
9-Jan-2011, 11:24
we do not have rats in Alberta outside of authorized labs.


What food processor do your work for? :D :D

dsphotog
9-Jan-2011, 11:57
Two words..... Nuclear Winter.

Drew Wiley
9-Jan-2011, 16:14
Just visit any civil service office like the Post Office or DMV. Municipal Public Works
employees are also immobile, and there's generally at least two dozen of them always standing around at the same spot. Or in a couple of the tough cities up here you could visit the emergency 911 phone operators. They don't move to pick up the phones, if they're in the office at all. Plenty of good "sitters" around for free.

redrockcoulee
9-Jan-2011, 16:54
What food processor do your work for? :D :D

No I am serious we do not have them, they are even illegal as pets. Find a rat in your house or farmyard and government workers will come and stay until they are all dead. The rats that is. Look up Alberta Rat Patrol.

Rats in food is simply gross, and besides gophers (Richardson ground squirrels) are plumb, common and easy to catch.

rco3
9-Jan-2011, 16:56
John, the only real problem I can see is freezer burn. Maybe vacuum pack them before freezing.

Roger

I suggest a thin layer of petroleum jelly to prevent surface cracking. Much like cosmoline on a stored weapon.

John Kasaian
9-Jan-2011, 19:31
I suggest a thin layer of petroleum jelly to prevent surface cracking. Much like cosmoline on a stored weapon.

I'd be concerned about discoloration, but then there's that darn freezer burn to worry about too---:confused:

cdholden
9-Jan-2011, 22:16
<snip>
we do not have rats in Alberta outside of authorized labs.

Sure you do. You're just not looking in the right place.
Check the phone book, under "Legal Services".

Scott Davis
10-Jan-2011, 07:46
Well..... They'd hold still while you compose / focus / load / time exposure / etc.

And de-compose too..

John Kasaian
10-Jan-2011, 08:56
A portrait AND a still life! Double the mileage for my sheet film! I'm liking this! :D

lecarp
10-Jan-2011, 16:12
Maybe someone will come up with an app for thaw rates based watt seconds or hot lights.

Drew Wiley
11-Jan-2011, 16:19
I think everyone has this backwards. With hot lights the principle is mummification.
You don't even need to freeze them first.

winterclock
12-Jan-2011, 17:44
I suggest a thin layer of petroleum jelly to prevent surface cracking. Much like cosmoline on a stored weapon.

Does this method help with soft focus for hard subjects?:confused:

gevalia
16-Jan-2011, 13:51
John,

What's the deal? You hitting that insufferable Johnny Walker Red again? Stick to Ardbeg my man.

Ron