Gonzaga University's Hemmingson Center

August 19, 2015  •  Leave a Comment

Gonzaga's beautiful new John J. Hemmingson Center is a stunning multi-rolled facility featuring everything from a meditation room to a greenhouse as well as a ballroom with an 800-plus capacity.  It features numerous dining options, a 200 seat theater, state-of-the-art rooftop hydroponic greenhouse.  There are dining options on two floors:  an artisan deli with fresh salads and bakery, a Mongolian wok, vegetarian local farm produce, American classics, Mediterranean cuisine, and other international choices.  This place even has a Starbucks, but unfortunately wasn't yet open the day I visited!  The new Hemmingson Center replaces the COG, Center of Gonzaga, which has been a meeting place for almost 60 years.  With ever increasing enrollment, Gonzaga needed a newer larger facility.

Upon entering the building, you will be taken by this stunning atrium space:

Principal firms involved on this project include Opsis Architecture of Portland, Bernardo-Wills Architects of Spokane, MW Consulting Engineers of Spokane, and Hoffman Construction of Portland.

Pictured here is "360 Degrees," the Mongolian wok.

There is an abundance of seating in the common areas.

Outdoor gathering spacings include a fire pit

Gonzaga Hemmingson Building

and terraces with views of the athletic fields.

Organic produce is grown in the state-of-the-art rooftop hydroponic greenhouse/learning lab located on the eastern rooftop:

Gonzaga Hemmingson Building

Group meeting spaces to pray, reflect and share.

The facility also houses University Ministry programs, Center for Community Action and Service Learning (CCASL), Center for Global Engagement/Study Abroad/International, Unity Multicultural Education Center (UMEC), Group work spaces and meeting rooms, Laptop stations, computer labs and learning technologies, Comfortable, private study/work lounges.


The summer heat of southern Spain as expressed through crossprocessed slide film

July 24, 2015  •  Leave a Comment

 Crossprocessing occurs when one develops slide film using C-41 print film chemicals.  The resulting negatives produce prints that exhibit crazy contrast and color balance.    The following is a result of crossprocessing a recently discovered roll of film, Kodak Elitechrome 100, which had been loaded in my camera for a few years.  Unfortunately, this film was discontinued at the end of 2011 - so it doesn't really matter now whether or not I like it.  According to the ebook Film, pretty much the only reason why someone would shoot slide film these days is for the purpose of crossprocessing since no one has slide shows anymore.  When I shipped my Elitechrome off to the lab, I elected to process it this way since this is probably the last time I would be playing with slide film for awhile as it is a bit more pricey.   To my pleasant surprise, the crossprocessing enhanced my memory of this sweat drenched trip to the southern Spanish villages of Moron de la Frontera and Zahara creating a feeling of sun bleached oppressive heat.  I was deployed with the Air Force to Moron Air Base (which interestingly is blurred out on Google Maps) near the city of Seville and these shots were made on one of my days off.  

 


Flying with the fisheye

July 21, 2015  •  Leave a Comment

I broke out my Bowens 8mm fisheye and latched it onto my Fuji X-T1 for my multiple flights between Chicago and LaGuardia and really enjoyed it's results once again.  

This lens was really made for cockpit shots and other such tight spaces.  The Fuji X-T1 has a decent dynamic range allowing me to capture the details of the brighter outside and darker inside.

While sitting at the gate in LaGuardia, I noticed a very interesting sky full of puffy white clouds.  I reached my arm out the window while parked at gate D-3 to get this:

These two seem to be wondering what I'm doing with a fisheye lens:

 


Combat portrait session at 25,000 feet with an F-16C.

July 17, 2015  •  Leave a Comment

I had just finished flying another 10 hour mission in support an overseas contingency operation over somewhat hostile territory and checked the next day's flying schedule before going back to my moldy trailer in the desert.  One of the flying lines had a remark scribbled next to it:  "Bring Camera."  I asked what this meant, and all that was known was that the receiver aircraft needed pictures.  Ok, sign me up!  I had planned another day of watching Breaking Bad, but for this I could push that back.  I tagged along with another crew from my squadron, some good friends of mine.  After 3 hours of preparation and then 4 hours of flying, we were watching the sunrise skimming it's warm rays gently across a puffy cloud deck beneath us.  A flight of F-16s came up to receive our precious fuel before their mission.  Being two weeks before Christmas, it turned out that one of the F-16 pilots simply wanted some pictures for his wife, Bri!  Perfect!  I would make sure Bri got some cool pictures this year - not only did we bring a camera, but we brought me dedicated to shooting.  This mission was not without risks - we were flying a tired 55 year old airplane, we were potentially flying in full view of enemy forces, and once back at our base, we might have been deported to a random country by the host nation's customs officials who actions were notoriously arbitrary and unpredictable.

Dawn PatrolDawn PatrolThis F-16c is seen flying low over the clouds as it approaches it's KC-135 tanker in order to refuel. The sun had just risen and is seen just grazing the cloud tops. The pilot came prepared with both an American flag and card for his love.

Christmas card for BriChristmas card for BriThis pilot on a combat mission in his F-16c over Afghanstan needed a photo for his Christmas card so I was happy to oblige.

Jay, the boom operator, flies the boom by way of hydraulically powered ruddervators into the F-16's receptacle.  Once connected, the KC-135 tanker pilots turn on an air refueling pump to fill the receiver with his scheduled offload of jet fuel.


Saving Pixels - Shooting Film

July 08, 2015  •  Leave a Comment

Film therapy update, day 3.  
I'm up to exposure #17.  When one must pay about a $1 per shot, much more thought is given to composition and whether the image is really even worth making.  I'm practicing much more intentional photography.  The camera I'm using, my 21 year old Nikon N90, is unable to shoot in manual mode or aperture priority with most of my lenses.  Modern Nikon lenses don't have an aperture ring so I'm shooting in shutter priority only - awkward.  I suppose I could use Program mode, but this is all about becoming more intentional, and that wouldn't move me in that direction.  Next week, I'll be using a more modern (1996-2004) Nikon F5 which allows for controlling shutter and aperture settings with dual control wheels - this will allow for manual mode and aperture priority.  I thought about picking up a lens that has an aperture ring on it, but it was way cheaper to pick up a used Nikon F5 since they are now a fraction of the cost of a lens.  I'm currently shooting a roll of Fujicolor PRO 400H - cost is $10.29 for 36 exposures.  The look to the Fuji 400H is somewhat subdued based on examples I've seen.  I just finished a roll of Elite Chrome the other day (slide film) - I plan to have it cross processed for interesting colors.  

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