Mike Sleeper

Jerusalem Dories

2011-04-28T11:06:00.000-07:00

Jerusalem Dories

This image is a good example of why a photographer needs to avoid the pitfalls of tunnel vision from too much pre-planning. Because I still shoot film, I extensively pre-plan exactly what I want to achieve before I set out to shoot (film is less forgiving than digital and it's expensive). Most of my locations are pre-chosen via scouting and I visit these places when I know the tide and sunset (or sunrise) will be aligned along with when the weather is right. I had set out to shoot a beach scene this particular evening and after accomplishing that, decided to head off and get some dinner.

I knew I wouldn't have an opportunity to shoot again because the sun was just about down so I completely packed my gear up and drove off from the first location. Instead of heading straight to the restaurant I took the long route just for purposes of sight seeing when I came upon this scene about a mile down the road. This is where the tunnel vision mentality comes into play. I had it set in my mind that not only would I not have enough light to shoot again but I also hadn't considered shooting anything that didn't show the sky (above the horizon that is). Finally, even when I saw this scene unfolding, I didn't think I would be able to balance the brightness of the reflections of the sky with the ambient light-but that wouldn't be revealed until I got the film back from the lab. I hesitated to shoot, partly because I deemed it a lost cause technically, but also because I didn't foresee how it would look in the end and thus wasn't prepared to consider creating something so different from what I had set out to accomplish.

I literally parked the car in the middle of the road with the hazard lights on (it's a very slow neighborhood there), pulled my backpack out, mounted the camera on the tripod and shot four frames after making a judgement call on the focus and exposure. The dim light died halfway through the 4th exposure.

2011-03-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

Path to the National Seashore, Griffins Island, Wellfleet

When I started shooting on the Cape in the spring, this is one of the first locations I found. I returned here at the end of every trip (dozens-but who's counting) and could never get the proper light. I'm glad I stuck with it. I was lucky once again to have a decent surf so the salt air rising from the beach diffused the light enough to cut the contrast back.

New work from Cape Cod

2011-03-04T15:42:00.001-08:00

Chatham Dory

I think this is the final image I shot last fall. The sky that day was bright and cloudless and I couldn't find any subject matter at all (hard light is normally not my ally). In the car for two hours and not shooting any film is a real let down, but then driving around Chatham trying to find something to shoot, I turned off of the main road to see if I could find a way to the water. Just before sunset I fell upon this fisherman's work boat perched in the sand at Ryder Cove. It seemed as though its owner had lined it up with the sun for me and then walked away. I had about 20 minutes of light so I was able to casually shoot without being pressed for time like I am when the sky is in the scene. I thought the seaweed stuck in the bow looked like a beard.

2010-10-19T09:22:00.000-07:00

Final Light, Truro

I have been shooting in Wellfleet and Truro ( and a bit in Chatham and Orleans) almost every weekend and some weekday evenings since August. It took me quite a while to re-set my "vision" to shoot on Cape Cod because it has a scale of landscape that is much different from what I am accustomed to. I am also thrown off by my own lack of sense of compass direction there. I try and get down to the outer Cape at around noon and once I make the bend in the hook and start heading north towards P-Town and get to either the bay side of the Cape or the ocean side, I have to stop and think where the compass points are so I can calculate the sun's trajectory. I get turned around easily. But now I think I finally have a sense of scale and that will show up in later images that reveal broad landscapes as opposed to the detail image I have posted here.

2010-10-07T19:47:00.000-07:00

Maine Burr Reed #2

My second in a new series of black and white. I have another two or three images I am working on. I find that b&w is much more exacting to produce. I have been working on this project since August and it is only comprised of four images. My last post from August shows how I set up to make this image.

2010-08-13T15:53:00.000-07:00

Maine Burr Reed

Image captured from the precarious ladder perch seen in my last post. I did a series of these. This is my favorite so far.

More Maine location work

2010-08-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

photo by Debbie Granger

Shooting pond florae in Maine. A new friend took a picture of me lost in concentration on the edge of disaster. Debbie is from California and is traveling the USA in a third wheel rig. You can go to her blog and see where she has been traveling. It's quite interesting: http://www.MyTripJournal.com/ForeverHome

Jennifer Aniston?

2009-10-25T11:40:00.000-07:00

Does this mean I'm one degree of separation from Jennifer Aniston? From last year's movie "He's just not that into you", my photograph "North River at Blueberry Island" (which has my fathers canoe in it), is seen as set dressing in the background. I still can't believe this was spotted by someone. I had no idea they used it. This is the same canoe from my earlier postings that I paddle around with tons of equipment.

More close-up panoramic imagery

2009-10-25T05:39:00.000-07:00

Maine Ferns

While I continue to look for wide vistas of landscape to shoot, I'm still exploring close-up images of "things" or sections of the landscape that interest me. This was shot at the ultimate focusing limit of the lens, f45 @ 1 second. I can't shoot anything closer than this and still carry any depth of field.

Back to Maine

2009-10-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

Another season of shooting on Moosehead Lake. It seems that no matter how much I explore one 3 or 4 mile section of coastline. I still seem to be able to find something new and stimulating every time.

My Cape Cod Life article is online

2009-01-11T15:49:00.000-08:00

The article they ran on me last summer is published online (unfortunately without the photographs) at: http://www.capecodlife.com/mobile/arts/CCL-ARTS-Guide-Sleeper

Saquish fence

2008-12-16T15:52:00.000-08:00

Saquish fence

Continuing with my new fascination with dune fencing. The shutter in my camera broke after this first exposure. I'll have to move to square imagery until it is repaired.

Fences in the dunes

2008-12-05T18:25:00.000-08:00

Dune fencing is fascinating because it is constantly changing, especially in places where it is doing its job; trying to hold back the sea from eroding the sand. This set of fencing has already been replaced since I shot it in May of this year. As of now it is new and straight, in May of 2009 it will have another interesting twist created by winter storms which I will return to photograph. I saw this set of fencing one overcast afternoon and went back a week later when we had clear skies to provide the high contrast light I needed to bring out the texture in the sand and fencing. I waited until just before sunset so the low light would enhance the ripples in the sand.

More from Maine

2008-12-05T18:12:00.000-08:00

More of my "subdued light" photographs from the edge of Moosehead Lake in Maine last summer. I plan on working on these on and off during the winter before I launch an additional website showing just black and white and sepia toned images.

Another....

2008-11-30T14:08:00.001-08:00

Autumn Dunes #2

Latest image

2008-11-29T16:54:00.001-08:00

Autumn Dunes

Now that the marsh and dune grasses have lost their greens, reds, and oranges, I find shooting in black and white to be quite gratifying (sepia adds some drama). I think I'll pursue this theme until we get some heavy snow which will knock the grass down so that it won't flow with the wind.

2008-11-04T17:21:00.000-08:00

Photo by Laurie and Ben Sleeper

I found some point and shoot pictures while cleaning out my files last month. This picture is of me in the dunes in February of 1999 while I was setting up to shoot the image titled "Rexhame #1" which is below. It was as cold as it looks. I climbed up onto the crest of the dunes and saw there was great potential for a shot but no light. I waited over two hours for the sun to break and then shot about eight exposures, the last few with the lone figure (Laurie) standing in the middle distance to provide scale. About six hours earlier that day I shot "The Road to Trounts Island" which is also on my website. It was a full day as I left the house before dawn looking for snow shots. I had to go home and shovel the driveway for two hours afterwards. No rest for the weary!

Rexhame #1

On location in Maine

2008-09-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

Setting up a shot Photo: John Allessi

Some of the shooting I did in Maine in July was an example of the the extremes I occasionally go to to create what I want. I expect to be up there again next summer looking for the same type subject matter. The only way to get to the locations is by water and there isn't enough water to run a power boat so I ended up using my fathers 18' canoe. It actually is a very stable platform for carrying equipment (not to shoot from) and handles very well with a solo paddler under a full load of around 300 lbs- that is both photo gear and my body weight combined.

The gear

Underway to the location

Perfect morning, 2 miles to go

Maine Woods

2008-09-16T15:35:00.000-07:00

Moosehead Lake #4

I spent another week with the family at Moosehead Lake in Maine in July and managed to shoot quite a few images (quite a few for me is 5 or 6 pictures in a weeks time). This year I changed tactics a bit and decided to shoot completely in indirect light or on overcast days and let the natural saturation of the film carry the image. I also shot a fair amount of black and white film. I scoured a two mile coastal section of the lake everyday while we were there, scouting for images of deadwood and driftwood, which is my latest interest. It's nice to break away from the sweeping panoramas once in a while and concentrate on details in the landscape.

Adrift

2008-09-12T14:43:00.000-07:00

Humarock Seaweed

I've always enjoyed photographing objects on the beach. Sometimes after a storm I find patterns in the sand which act as a nice backdrop for stones or sea creatures or seaweed. I took the kids down to Humarock Beach for a swim last weekend and spotted this seaweed while talking with a friend. I shot this with an iPhone......I'm not going digital however!

First B&W roll

2008-09-07T07:21:00.001-07:00

Fishing at Thompson's Pond

This photograph is from the first roll of black and white film I ever shot. I believe it was around 1977 so I was almost thirteen. I didn't know where to get it developed back then and it sat in my old bedroom in my parents house where it was forgotten until sometime around 1996. I developed it and the film had not degraded at all (never throw out an undeveloped roll of film)! Most of the other images were of neighborhood kids riding around on bikes or playing street hockey. It was a nice time capsule to discover.

Summer images

2008-09-02T17:55:00.000-07:00

"South River View from Humarock"

"Ferry Hill"

Finally, I have some images to show from the turbulent weather we had back in the beginning of August. I find that just after a heavy thunderstorm passes through, if the sun breaks out, we have a chance to see some decent cloud formations. Also, when the air is heavy with moisture, it filters the light in unpredictable ways, as in these images from the South River area in Marshfield, just near my house.
For a landscape photographer, getting out when the weather is bad and hoping for a break just before sunset can be very rewarding. Most of the time I end up with nothing but a chance to watch clouds race by. I shot these two images facing in opposite directions within 15 minutes of each other, just turning the camera on the tripod head. When you are witnessing scenes such as these in real time, you see the continuity of the light and sky, but when you shoot two tiny pieces out of a 360 degree view it is amazing to see the difference in the light in opposite directions. It is difficult for me to change direction and shoot disparate images virtually simultaneously. I spent about 45 minutes waiting and watching the light for the image with the sailboats. Turning and spending 5 minutes in the middle of that to shoot the "Ferry Hill" image was distracting. I actually need to concentrate extremely hard to get what I want on film. I made about 20 exposures on the sailboat image over the course of that time and the second to last was the one I used. The Ferry Hill image was 4 exposures-one roll of film with my panoramic camera.

These two photographs will be part of the "arts On!" celebration at the North River Arts Society in Marshfield Hills. (www.northriverarts.org). There is an opening on Friday Sept. 5th from 7-11 at G.A.R. Hall, 157 Old Main Street, Marshfield Hills from 7-10. Come by for a Mojito!

My profile in Cape Cod Life magazine

2008-08-05T02:38:00.000-07:00

Now that we have passed August 1st, summer is on the wane, and I approach the time of year when I make about 90% of my images. I find that the late summer storms we have "clean up" the atmosphere a bit and add some drama to the sky. Later, dry fall days will provide brilliant light to the landscape, and the reduced humidity will allow for better definition of the clouds. Also, the marsh grasses will begin to change color, evolving daily, providing a new palette every evening for us.
This past weekend I shot a bunch of film after some violent storms had passed through. I will post those as soon as possible, however because I am a film based photographer, it takes a few days or weeks to get my images to the point where I can post them. Once I have them up, I hope to explain how I made them, leaving out most of the technical (boring) details that I can. In the future, I will wait until I have the images in hand before I write about them.
Also with August 1st, we have the Cape Cod Life special Arts Edition on the newsstand. I have a profile on page 90 (page 88 has fellow Marshfield artist Ted Polomis with his brilliant oil paintings). An image of the cover is below, (it won't be available long as my mother is buying them all up).

The writer of my profile, Jennifer Sperry, was great to work with, and was able to wade through my rambling explanations of my work and produce a perfectly accurate piece. Thanks Jen!