Sure, this weekend is Mother's Day, but before all the gifts and visits begin tomorrow I thought I would finish up this restoration project for my dad. He looks good in his Air Force uniform, even better now without the cracks and water damage. Looking forward to making a nice print from this one.
Spent a short time this morning making portraits at UNCG. Here is a sampling of both creative and more traditional takes on business portraits.
©2012 John Rash
It has been nearly 10 years since the last time I ran a roll of film through a camera. Welcome to the digital revolution, where you adapt to new technology and never look back. Somehow, I still managed to collect a few unique and interesting film cameras over the past decade, all of which I had never used. Call them ornimentation, decoration, or pieces in my personal camera museum. I suppose I was just too preoccuiped with Lightroom and Photoshop.
Last weekend I finally decided to dust off a Chinese twin lens camera (MU DAN) which I picked up from a street vendor in Hong Kong nearly five years ago. Not knowing exactly how far to wind the film after each exposure, or if the camera would work at all, I decided to play around with double and triple exposures. Not being certain that any of the images would actually emerge, it was an exercise in experimentation. I realized how much I miss the "blindness" or mystery of not seeing the image immediatly on a digital LCD... I felt transported back to my first black and white photo classes in college. Of course, now that I know the camera works I'm excited to try some rolls of color film next....
Below are a few of my favorite images from the weekend.
(c)2012 John Rash UNCG around noon last Friday overlaying plants, buildings, and pedestrians.
(c)2012 John Rash My sister standing outside my grandmother's house with an overlayed shot of the sunset dipping into the forest on Saturday evening.
(c)2012 John Rash A little Photoshop just to add color.
(c)2012 John Rash A plain simple snapshot portrait of my dad.
南京
总统府
Nanjing is my home away from home... or more simply put: my hometown in China. I was lucky enough to live in Nanjing from March-August 2010, as a student at Nanjing Normal University studying Mandarain Chinese and Chinese culture. Each time I have returned to China I am drawn back to Nanjing, and each time I return to Nanjing it is an emotional homecoming.
The Nanjing Massacre Museum and Presidential Palace are both fantastic representations of Nanjing's history, and China's relationship with it's own past. Our photo group had but 48 hours to tour this historically rich city, which is barely enouch to scratch the surface.
The photos here were all captured at the Presidential Palace on a chilly December day in 2011.
©2011 John Rash
茶店南京
Shop girls prepare and serve tea as part of their sales duties in a small tea shop at Confucius Temple, Nanjing, China.
©2011 JOHN RASH
北京
For several years now I have been organizing trips to China for college students who study photography and video production. Each year we visit several cities in a whirlwind 2 week trek across China's eastern seaboard trying to absorb the culture, make new friends, and capture portfolio worthy images. This year's trip began in Beijing, with only a few days in China's massive capitol we only managed to visit a few choice locations before heading south. Here are a few of my best images from our few days in Beijing, with future posts from other cities soon to follow.
Mu Tian Yu Great Wall 慕田峪长城:
FORBIDDEN CITY 故宫:
Tian An Men Square 天安门广场： 
All images ©2011 John Rash
First Luchadoras Mexican-style female wrestling even at Motorco Music Hall in Durham, NC. Only three matches for this first-time event, but well organized and more than worth the $5 ticket price.
In early September I was lucky enough to attend Photoshop World in Las Vegas. Having one extra day to spend before returing to North Carolina I decided to escape the lights and crowds of the strip and to hike around Red Rock Canyon. Spending the day hiking through a thunderstorm the clouds finally parted in the afternoon and gave an incredible light to the landscape. I captured some fantastic photos of the mountains, including the panoramic seen below.
©2011 John Rash
Coincidentially, I was also invited to exhibit work in this year's Randolph Art's Guild annual invitational in October, so this image became the obvious choice for the show. It's not usual that an image gets to be shown so soon after it's initial creation. Below is an image of myself with Art's Guild Executive Director Derrick Sides during the exhibit opening reception on October 4th, 2011.
Visiting Qingdao for the first time I was overwhelmed by some of the unique qualities of this city compared to others in Mainland China. European style architecture influenced by the 1898-1914 German occupation, as well as a large population of Korean and Japanese immigrants give this seaside city with a flavor all of its own. Strolling through the scenic locations it's hard to avoid engagement and bridal photo shoots in every corner of Qingdao, with many spots flooded with photographers, make up artists and of course brides, grooms, and wedding parties all dressed in white. Amazingly everyone courtesly worked around each other, and managed to find a space to do each photoshoot without arguement or discussion. In America I could just imagine the turf wars that might emerge if photo locations were even half as crowded. These images give a glimpse into the Qingdao bridal photo world, which is thriving day in and out all year round. (J)
