A Dolly Sods Senior Portait Session

An old pal, that I’ve known most of my life, recently got in touch with me. Her son would be graduating this year, and he needed senior portraits done. They would be traveling from Nashville back to West Virginia, and he had definitely done his homework on locations. I’m not sure if all photographers love this, but I surely do. I love the joy from the clients’ ideas coming into focus and becoming a real thing.

We ventured deep into the Dolly Sods Wilderness and had a dreamy cool time making Ben’s ideas come to life. If you haven’t ever been to Dolly Sods, I highly recommend it. This was late summer, so the leaves hadn’t changed yet, but the mountains are amazing, regardless. The temperature was about 15 degrees lower than it was at home, and the breeze just recharged me. It was a great time, and we got some fun photos.

Thanks Ben and Aimee!

Bryson - A Cinematic Senior Session

We walked around Grafton and got to shoot at some cool historic buildings before we ended up in a very retro 1970s pizza parlor, straight out of Stranger Things. I like doing senior sessions, but I always have to end up making them moody and retro.

Nicole Atkins and Amanda Shires visit a tiny town.

Throughout my years of being a music photographer and journalist, sometimes some cool things happen. I did my normal process of reaching out about obtaining my photo pass, and I got an email from the Nicole Atkins herself. Being a huge David Lynch fan and a Chris Isaak fan and a Roy Orbison fan, I was naturally drawn to Nicole’s dreamy sad crooning. I’ve been a loyal fan since 2008, so this was very surreal to me. Nicole was kind enough to personally see that I got the photo pass, and that I was able to shoot the Amanda Shires show the same night. I only try to photograph artists that I am a fan of, so I ended up with my camera in hand, mouthing the lyrics to myself, in complete awe of how cool this all was. Plus, there was a trippy disco light that added to the look of it all. Anyway, check out the photos if you feel inclined.

Jocilynn's Senior Session

Check out this fun, sunny shoot I did for Jocilynn! Happy graduation!

If you have a senior, are a senior, or will be a senior next year, let’s work together.

Chloe's Senior Session

These sessions were a lot of fun. I wanted to capture Chloe’s sporty side on the tennis court, and then to capture her more artistic side with the parking garage.

Kodak Vision 3 500T Film in my Vintage Nikon

Kodak Vision 500T is a standard for low-light cinema film. Used in films as diverse as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Jackie, Shutter Island, and The Hateful Eight, the film is known for its distinct look and ability to capture a certain “feel” in low-light situations. You can find it cut down into the lengths needed for 35mm and medium format cameras. Typically it comes in 100 and 400 ft rolls. Shooting the film requires either a home development (which I do), or sending it to certain developing shops that specialize in cinema film. There is an extra layer of protection on the back side of the film that requires one more step in the development process - removing the chalky remjet layer which works to protect the film in high-speed movie cameras.

I took a short walk through my town of Clarksburg, WV, last week and used a roll in my 70’s Nikon FE. I didn’t expect the results to be as interesting as they were. It ended up being a really fun hour, and I got to really experiment with light. I had my Helios 44/2 lens slapped onto the Nikon, so that’s you can drink up the lens flare. Enjoy!

Helios 44-2 on a Nikon D700 in a WV State Park

So on the last day of my quarantine from my day job, my wife and I decided to go on a hike. We picked the Holly River State Park almost at random. I had only driven by before, and she hadn’t been. I knew I wanted to take a camera, but a film camera would be a little too heavy and I wouldn’t get enough shots from even a few rolls of film. I picked up my old workhorse D700 and slapped a vintage Helios 44-2M on the front. I hadn’t really used it that much, but I love the bokeh and the warmth it provides. Check out some of the shots I got of us. A beautiful day.

As always, tzmphoto@gmail.com for bookings

Shooting expired film in my Pentax 6x7

I feel like I have found my dream camera. In most situations, people want the latest and “greatest” technology. The newest Sony mirrorless or whatever. I guess I move in reverse. I had two 70’s Mamiyas - a 645 and an RB67 - and I kind of liked them. They ended up taking good photos, but they were as ergonomic as a brick wrapped in tin foil. I sold them both this fall and put the money in on my Pentax 6x7 MLU and a 105mm 2.4 lens. I won’t ever complain about the weight, as I was excited to have a camera that large and heavy. It’s film photography, so it’s almost supposed to be a bit of a task. I don’t do street photography or anything, but if I travel and shoot film I have a few rangefinders and my old Nikon FE. I truly love the camera. I love seeing the photos it produces too.

That being said, film is expensive. Also, a lot of great film stocks are no longer made. I happen to love 220, but it doesn’t exist anymore. With the 6x7, you can get 20 shots out of a roll of 220. That’s heaven to me. So how do you shoot expired film? I didn’t really used to know much about this. I would have dark, underexposed shots or entire rolls that just didn’t turn out. There is a certain rule of thumb for expired film.

Know your expiration date. It’s printed on the film box. For every decade past expiration, the general thought is to shoot one stop higher. This gets kind of difficult and weird with, say, a roll of Fuji Velvia 50 that expired in the 90’s. You might need a really bright day or a tripod to get anything out of that film. It can be really fun and rewarding though. I take lots of photos of abandoned buildings, and of my dog and cats. I have also started processing a lot of film at home. After a little practice, you can get really good results.

If you are getting married or interested in discussing your photo needs, send me an email - tzmphoto@gmail.com

An Abandoned Hospital in a Residential Pennsylvania Town

This fall, I took a little solo Sunday drive to a small town in Pennsylvania so I could check out this old abandoned hospital I’d been wanting to explore. It was pretty decayed and some spots were pretty dangerous. I like to refrain from giving the exact locations of places, due to the wrong people finding them. This place is pretty well-known in the area though.

The Lonely Old Farmhouse

There isn’t much that I know on this place. The neighbor lady told me that her late husband grew up here. It brings to mind the dust bowl or the Rocky Mountains or something of that nature. I imagine what it would be like to wake up here and see the sun rising over those hills.

The Town House Motel

Bridgeport flattened the Town House Motel. Shockingly, it made it to Spring of 2019. At least the got the giant blacksnake mascot out safely.

Hotel Morgan (Morgantown, WV) - "All They Got Inside Is Vacancy"

The Hotel Morgan is no more. Not in this form anyway. The huge, historic hotel has closed to undergo what is described as a “refurbishing.” A large sale was held, emptying out the halls and rooms. I couldn’t help but go inside and walk through those empty hallways and take one last peek at the 1980’s decor and cherry wood dressers. There are also rumors. Rumors of ghosts. I’m not sure if I felt an actual ghostly presence, or just the sadness of a once-thriving building. I feel the same thing at most abandoned hotels. We can only wait and see what happens to the building. Hopefully it will be updated and become a boutique hotel that attracts hip travelers.

Middletown Mall - The Last Day

I think most people my age grew up partially raised by shopping malls. It was where we played arcade games, met up with our friends, watched movies, and spent our allowance on whatever toys we swore we needed. Our local mall (Meadowbrook Mall) was being filled pretty quick when I was a kid, but Middletown Mall in Fairmont was still going very strong at that point. When we wanted to visit other stores, we’d take the short drive to Fairmont and explore the Sears, Gee Bee, Stone and Thomas, Chess King, Orange Julius, and McCrory stores a town over. The whole mall smelled like a pizza parlor, and arcade next door to this pizza parlor was the best. Even in my teen years, they had a kickass record store, and the mall STILL smelled like the long-gone pizza parlor. Once again, I rediscovered the mall in my twenties. This time it was for the really awesome Goodwill store which lived in the former Fashion Bug space. There wasn’t much left at this point. Basically just the Goodwill and some stores added onto the outside of the mall. I had been keeping an eye on what was going on with the mall, and I knew there was a really small thrift store, a Dickie’s barbecue, and a Regis salon inside. The thrift store closed, the Dickie’s shut down (as they all do), and the Regis was closing the following day when I visited. I snuck my Nikon inside and shot for a bit. I had a feeling it would be my last time here. I ended up dragging myself back the following day to shoot again, but at this point, things were being removed. All of the long-locked store gates had been opened. It was like a dead mall heaven. I wanted to share it with you. Enjoy, and look forward to the Middletown Commons, I guess.

Happy Summer! It's Senior Session Time Again!

Adam "Glider" Bonnett headshots

My good friend Adam happens to be a paranormal investigator and a living example that being in a wheelchair doesn't limit anyone in any way at all. He regularly speaks at conventions, hobnobs with celebrities, and investigates all things spooky and scary. We recently did some updated headshots for his website. I think they turned out pretty cool!

Spooky Season

I’m a little late writing this, because I suck as a blogger. I always think “man, I need to update this blog!,” but I don’t. So here is a post from a few months back. I promise that it’s very cool and fun. I feel like a weirdo such as myself thrives during the fall months. I would love to be able to photograph Halloween-ish shoots all year.

Let's get married!

As the snow continues to land on our shoulders, and Valentine's Day comes and goes, I know tons of romance is in the air. Being cooped up inside can do that to us. I am always on the lookout for interesting couples to photograph. Alright, I don't want to actually MARRY you. But I want to document the day for you. Call me, any, anytime. Call me. Well, I prefer email... or text.