Over on Mastadon people are using the #ArtAdventCalendar hashtag to share their art, one piece a day, between December 1 and 24. I decided to treat mine as a year in review and share photos taken this year in chronological order. Over here I wanted to discuss the photos shared in a little more detail.

17

A black and white photo of a sculpture of a toad sitting on concrete.
1/500, f2.8, 50mm/1.4, Kentmere 100

Taken along the river front in downtown Minneapolis. There are a bunch of little metal sculptures of amphibians along the path. This one is cropped in a bit because I didn’t have my 50mm Macro with me. I’d like to get back and take some macro shots of these next time we have a sunny and warm-enough day. Also appears in this Kentmere 100 post.

18

A black and white photo of two tree stumps in a shadowed forest area. A strong beam of light partially illuminates the stumps.
1/100, f5.6, 105mm/3.5, Moskva V 105mm

Just a couple of moody tree stumps in an odd little forest near my house. The Moskva’s odd focus is on display here. The background gets swirly, very little is super sharp. Stopping down probably would have helped. Also appears in the JCH Street Pan post.

19

A black and white photo of dried ears of corn, ranging in color from dark red to light yellow.
1/60s, 5.6, 35mm/f3.5, Delta 100

Someone on Mastadon pointed out how un-grainy this image is. Partly due to the 100 speed film, but mostly due (I think) to it being Ilford Delta. It really is quite nice. I should use this film more. I’ve really liked adding the 35mm/3.5 lens to my kit this year. There are more examples in the lens-specific post and the lens-specific tag.

20

A black and white photo of a small metal bell attached to the trunk of a tree. Dangling from the bottom of the bell is a strap attached to the clapper.
1/4, f16, 35mm/3.5, Ilford HP5 (EI 320)

Probably the thing I’m most proud of here is that I held the camera straight. I’m terrible at holding the camera level and usually need to rotate all my scans to make them look like I didn’t take all my photos on a boat being battered by a hurricane. A minor thing, but still happy that this photo ended up straight!

21

A black and white photo of a fiberglass mold of Santa Claus...I think?
1/125, f5.6, 105mm, Ilford HP5

Santa (I think?) in fiberglass mold form. These were fun subjects to shoot and this is one of my favorites from the bunch. There are more in the FAST Fiberglass Mold Graveyard post.

22

A black and white photo of a black and white boxer/pit mix dog. His head is resting on the arm of a couch, though his eyes are open and he's somewhat alert. A sun beam hits his face, illuminating it. But most of the rest of the picture is shadow.
1/500, f4, 105mm/2.8, Catlab Pro 320 (EI 200)

Rumble’s second appearance in the Art Advent Calendar this year. And this one is one of my favorite photos of the entire year. Some of it is accidental. I didn’t expect the background to be so black, but I’m very happy that it is.

23

A black and white photo of a white marble statue of a bearded man. His hands are held out in front of him, arms bent, as if in prayer. The hands are in focus but the head is slightly blurry.
1/60, f2.8, 105mm/2.8, Ilford HP5 (pushed to 800)

From one of my favorites to one with a bunch of problems. Trying to shoot handheld in low light is hard even when you’re pushing film. And the shallow focus I ended up using here is not doing this statue any favors. And there’s a nice water stain on the negative to boot! But I still like the effect and the composition.

24

A black and white photo of a small indoor orchid plant sitting on a coffee table. A faint low sunbeam illuminates the flowers and gives the plant a long shadow
1/1000, 2.8, 105mm/2.8, Ilford HP5 (EI 250)

Wrapping up the year with an attempt to capture the feeling of winter light here in Minnesota. A common refrain in Ansel Adams books is that your photos should try to capture what “you see and what you feel,” and that’s something I’m trying to do with this series of “Winter Light” pictures. I think this one is a good representation visual and the feeling I get from the low, clear-yet-faint light we get here in the winter.

Thanks for reading! It was a lot of fun assembling this tour through my year in photography.

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