New Medium Format Camera

Recently purchased an Asahi Pentax 6x7 with the MLU and I got to say, it is a beautiful camera. The 105mm lens lives up to the hype. I have uploaded some photos from the first couple rolls I put through, but I think this is going to be my new primary for a while.

I have been playing with the decision to keep or lose the film border on my scans. I want there to be evidence of the physical process but I understand how simple it would be to fake this border. That being said, I am not sure how else to document the physical in digital spaces. Maybe I begin making prints, and taking photos of the photos? Maybe we shouldn’t have to prove the physical?

Updates: New Job

Did I mention I got a new job?

For the last couple years I have been working as a technical photographer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Most of the photos I produce help the engineers, scientists, and technicians build and test the spacecraft and instruments they are constructing. Most of these images are very technical in nature and by most standards of aesthetics, not interesting to look at. However, working alongside the people and hardware everyday grants me access to some wonderful moments. During this time, my photos have even been published in NASA publications, websites, and even the BBC. Here is just a sample of the photos I have taken over the last couple years. Needless to say I am so very excited to see what comes next!

A new batch

Haven't quite figured out how I want to organize my film photos. The workflow is much different than digital. In the meantime, here are some film scans from my yashica. I will add more to this post as I scan this batch of film. It's quite a process just cleaning up the dust from the negatives.

I would like to make this blog the home for all of my new photos. I will still use instagram, but only for the featured photos.

Portraits of friends

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One of the curses of life post-military experience is that the friendships which remain are often separated by physical distance. Fortunately we still find excuses to come visit even if only for a short period of time. Dan and Hannah both share a love of art and creativity almost as strongly as they love each other and were there for some of the best sitters I could ask for. This impromptu portrait session was created using my Intrepid 4x5 camera and a couple new film holders loaded with ilford hp5 ISO 400. One of the film holders I discovered after development had a light leak, but I think it added a very pleasant flair to the final image.

Also, I cannot get over Hannah's expression in her portrait. After I set up the camera, I asked her to look at her husband, clicking the shutter as soon as the expression formed.

NTID Deaf and Hard of Hearing Athletes

Some of my favorite shots from a photoshoot a few years back where I got to work with a bunch of athletes from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Represented here are swimmers, wrestlers, rowers, basketball players, hockey, cheer and of course we cannot forget Ritchie the Tiger! It was such a fun shoot, and I could not have done it without my fantastic team members.

First batch of film processed at home

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Hello everyone!

I am very excited to share my first batch of negatives processed in my garage. This process was incredible simple to do at home. The biggest challenges to overcome were the question of what to do with the chemicals after the processing, and finding a place to hang/dry the negatives when they come out of the wash.

My solution for the chemicals: I looked up the dates/times my county has home hazardous waste drop off sites, purchased a couple 2.5 gallon jugs to safely store the chems and will drop them off so they are properly disposed of.

The drying the negatives I have not found a good solution for yet… the biggest issue is the negatives started sliding out of the clips I was using. This was weird because the clips themselves are very strong! I did not expect them to slip out. So I've opted to keep them in the reel… as the 4x5 prints don't touch while in the reel. I then place the real in a cardboard box so that the negatives don't get dusty or get my pets hair stuck to them. I think in the future I may try to clear out a cabinet that they can sit in.

Without further Ado here are the first negatives. All were shot on my intrepid 4x5 camera with Nikon 150mm lens.

Getting back into film.

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Goooooooood morning everyone.

Today I am scanning in some 35mm film shot on my Minolta x700. I intend to begin uploading my film here, and maybe… maybe if I feel like it at some future point in time, upload to IG or twitter. I am starting to lose interest in the hustle and bustle of IG, these photographs, the ones I shoot on film are for my own love of photography.

The Kodak portra rolls below were shot back in Rochester, I finally found them in some of the boxes we unpacked since moving out of state. The black and white (Delta 400) film was shot at or around our new home.

So, without further ado, here is the latest batch, some Kodak Portra 160, some Ilford Delta 400.

Color Consistency Plagues Photographers

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Professional photographers spend lots and lots of money in order to not be tricked by simple color illusions such as the one found here. The simple fact is, you can never guess what lighting condition your clients are going to view your photographs in but you can control the color that gets printed. And most phone screens and computer screens come calibrated to srgb pretty accurately now a days. When I am in the editing bay, I am constantly looking at my histograms because I know I can't ever truly trust my own eyes.

What is color constancy and how does it trick our brain into seeing colors that aren't really there? WIRED's Robbie Gonzalez and neuroscientist David Eagleman use ambiguous photographs and giant props to explain light, color and the science of illusions. Want to try switching the colors you see on the shoe illusion?

Winter Wedding at the Marietta House: Kristen and Cody

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In February, I got to photograph my cousins wedding. The light in the winter months is fleeting, but for the short amount of time it is up, it is always beautifully low in the sky. It was a seasonally warm and sunny day at the Marietta House which is located just south of Syracuse NY.

When I found out Cody was getting married to Kristen, I was so excited to meet her! These two met in Tennessee where they are both living but decided to have their wedding in the cold tundra that is upstate NY. Fortunately their wedding day was full of sunshine, family and friends! I was very excited to find out that Kristen is a dog mama, and a Harry potter fan because I know how much of a nerd Cody secretly is! They have already started to build their own wonderful life & family back down south.

My favorite part of their wedding was definitely those Star Wars themed socks each of the groomsmen wore check them out along with all the fun below!

August Wedding at Lakeview Events Center, Laurens New York: Heather and Eric

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Forgive such a late post but It is currently snowing and I am looking back at a wedding I photographed last summer.


Heather and Eric are nothing short of a bad ass couple. They threw one of the most fun weddings I have ever been to and they certainly know how to beat the heat of a summer party outdoors. Their venue was on a hill overlooking a small lake and they packed a very large tent to the brim with friends and family. There was dancing, laughing, and plenty of happy tears. So many great memories to chose from, below are some of my favorite moments!

Catching up

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Okay, It has been quite a while since my last blog post! I wanted to update you all on everything I haven’t written about yet!

I am coming out of the fog otherwise known as my second to last semester of grad school. I have pretty much been knee deep in my Thesis project (which I will explain a little further later on.) So to explain the .gif above, I feel like I just returned to reality now that the semester is over.

I also managed to shoot two weddings towards the end of the summer!

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I have a couple more booked for 2019 already and I also have shot an engagement session this past fall. The images came out stunning because sunset at Canandaigua Lake is just beautiful.

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If this beautiful couple and their puppers look familiar, it is because I photographed them all a year or so ago! Seamus and Shooz were so happy to be walking around the lake!

Speaking of returning clients, I had another one contact me again for more photos. Kate at Crescent Trail Pilates Opened up a new Pilates studio in Fairport, NY. The new space is beautiful and she has a new instructor helping out with their clients.

Did I mention I began taking Ambrotypes and Tintypes?!

I took a wet plate collodion class this semester and it was truly the highlight of my week.

Pretty much all of this was happening while I was trying to develop a body of fine art photography for my thesis project.

For this work, I am interested in visually describing the military veteran experience. I found it curious that veterans who camouflaged themselves with their uniform or face paint in order to protect themselves became exposed when taken outside of the context of the military.

In the Garden, Mike Guinto. 2018, Inkjet print, 13x19”.

In the Garden, Mike Guinto. 2018, Inkjet print, 13x19”.

Brick and Mortars, Mike Guinto, 2018, Inkjet Print 13x19”

Brick and Mortars, Mike Guinto, 2018, Inkjet Print 13x19”

These photos may become a different series, however I think some of the other work I have created since works a little better.

I also tried photographing veterans hiding in plain sight, being able to disappear into a landscape.

One of the problems I had with this is I felt like I was generalizing or speaking on behalf of all veterans (which is just impossible to do.) So I decided to let the veterans experiences speak for themselves, and allow the audience to interpret how they wish. So I started cutting my old work prints.

One of the things they tell you before you go to boot camp is that they “break you down, so they can build you back up.”

I wanted to ask the question of what happens to those pieces when the service member transitions into a veteran. Unless you have a well crafted plan, it is easier to flounder, for the first time in many veterans lives they begin to live without a support network, they often move to a new city or go back home where everyone has either left or learned to live without the veteran. My project is attempting to reassemble the veteran.

Brenan, Mike Guinto, Inkjet Print Collage, 8x10”

Brenan, Mike Guinto, Inkjet Print Collage, 8x10”

For this I began taking photos from the veterans personal archive and layering them on top of each other. The shapes I cut out are direct reference to camouflage patterns from uniform items the veteran has worn.

Over winter break I am going to be equally as busy writing my Thesis paper, continuing to develop this body of work, and also, the holidays!

So take this holiday card from us to you and I hope you all get some r&r this winter break!

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