Author name: Billy Sanford

I live in Birmingham, Alabama and like to take pictures.

Project Cameras

A Year of Projects and Community Events (#TwentyTwentyDo) – by Billy Sanford

By / / Philosophy & Reflections, Photos & Projects / 2 Comments

It was episode 272 of the Sunny 16 podcast entitled “Blue Magic Tree” that kicked off 2022 and on which Graeme Jago proclaimed the year to be “Twenty Twenty Do”. The spirit of the proclamation was to do with inspiring us all to rise from the ashes of a pandemic and be creative. To help with the inspiration, the hosts suggested monthly themes that everyone could use to keep their creative momentum going throughout the year. “Blue”, “Magic” and “Tree” were three of those themes and so as you might be able to tell, the themes included opportunities for both literal and abstract interpretation. I decided to participate and to try and keep it going for the whole year.

Viewing a concert through a cell phone screen

Trying Concert Photography on Film – By Billy Sanford

By / / Learning Journeys, Photos & Projects / 12 Comments

I’ve been making photographs for most of my life. The first three decades on film, but it was always the traditional usage – family trips, memories with friends, special occasions. I bought a digital SLR when they came out, but it wasn’t until 2010 that I began to try and learn the basics of photography and to take pictures as an activity in and of itself. Coincidentally at that time I had several friends who were in bands. Those bands would play in local clubs on the weekends, and I would go to support them and bring along my camera. I thought it would be a great way to learn some of the basic skills as it relates to all the elements of the exposure triangle. And it was. As a result, those are times I’ve looked back on. Not just for the fun of seeing my friends performing on stage for a crowd. But for how those moments helped my own growth.

Canon EOS 3 and Analogue Wonderbox items

Analogue Wonderland Wonderbox Subscription – A 5 Frame Review – by Billy Sanford

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One might wonder why a resident of Birmingham Alabama in the United States would sign up for a film subscription service run out of the United Kingdom. It’s a fair question. After all, while my own city has very limited options for purchasing film over the counter, certainly there are plenty of online options for ordering films. For what it is worth, I also try to support those retailers. In the end, it comes down to that idea of backing those people and ideas that you want to see be successful. In the case of the Wonderbox subscription from Analogue Wonderland, it also addressed a particular weakness in my own photographic experiences – being open to experiment with emulsions that I would otherwise likely not try.

Window reflections of murals in downtown Birmingham

Better Together – A City with a Complicated Past – By Billy Stanford

By / / Photos & Projects / 14 Comments

I walk. And sometimes whilst walking I take pictures. Not professionally. No, professionally I act as an intermediary of sorts between technical and non-technical people. I explain to non-technical people what went wrong when something breaks and I explain to technical people new features in their work that would add some sort of value to the business. Or at least that is my goal. It’s not as though I am a disinterested third party. Quite the contrary. I am dependent on everyone else in order for my own work to be successful. Individually we all have our strength and purpose, but we are better together.

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