Historical cyanotype process develops iphone images

I have been creating images with my iphone for a few years now. Late last year I challenged myself to take these images that only existed in my iphone as data and bring them to life here in the physical world as prints, not just any type of print but one using an historical process. A process that would introduce these digital images to their organic roots.

I am currently working on a series, and a book. The cyanotypes will be available for sale very soon.

A Long Road To Walk

Some time has passed since Garrett came out of surgery to have his ankles corrected. With the scary, uncertainty of surgery past, the next step in the process is recovery and physical therapy. Though Garrett knows how to walk, he has to learn how to walk properly, flat on his feet. Prior to the procedure he was walking on the tips of his toes, later digressing to a wheel chair dependency that would aid in the atrophy of his ankle muscles, and tendons. The road that Garrett must now walk is not going to be an easy one. It is a path that requires careful navigation. There are bad habits that must be maneuvered and broken (always wanting to place his leg in the air), many, many hours of physical therapy, and of course the normal, expected, and unexpected physical side affects that EB brings to the mix as well. So begins the next chapter in the life of Garrett, the boy beneath the bandages.

Garrett's Second Procedure To Correct Ankles

Two weeks after his initial visit to the Stanford Children's Hospital for a procedure to release his tendons, Garrett returned to have his casts replaced and have minor adjustments made to the positioning of his ankles. This time I was there not only as a friend of the family, but as a professional with my big workhorse of a camera and the hospital's PR rep, my friend, who has helped me out in the past. I going to take a moment here to update my last "post on gaining access to a hospital." I was immediately treated different once my big camera came out. Even though I had PR there backing me up, nurses were questioning my presence and demanding info and clearance before continuing with their duties. At one point a nurse left the room, returning to say that since a "camera" my big 5D with a 16-35 lens and battery grip, a pro looking camera, was present the charge nurse wanted to know who I was and why I was there. My PR contact, in the room, stepped in, showed his badge and cleared my access. I had received the golden key for the day, my access would go uninhibited throughout the day. The only challenge I had left was to gain access to the operating room to photograph Garrett. That would come without me even knowing it. While we were waiting to enter the pre-op staging area my PR friend left the room. Returning, he told me that the doctor did not mind me being in the OR during the procedure as long as Garrett and his mom didn't mind. The final hurdle was cleared.
Throughout the years of photographing Garrett and his family, I have witnessed some pretty horrible, heart wrenching moments that have pushed my emotions to the edge and beyond. This visit to the hospital would be another one of those days. You'd think that after all of these years I would be use to hearing Garrett in pain, witnessing his tears, fear and anxiety. I have to admit that even 3 years later it's still hard for me to witness this kid in pain. As I write this the tears are welling up in my eyes. EB is a horrible disease. To hear Garrett screaming how he hates his life (captured during frame #7 in the above slide show) is rough. Already anxious, scared, in pain, and deathly afraid of needles, Garrett lost it and broke down. I only experienced him say this a couple of times over the last few years. Those times were moments of extreme pain off the 0-10 pain charts.
Witnessing Garrett's experience has changed for me now that I have a child of my own. I feel more sensitive and connected to the family's strife. As Garrett was wheeled into the OR, sedated, scared, he was crying for his mommy. This was a new experience for me. I had never seen Garrett separated from the care of his mom.
Photographing in the OR would prove to be one of the most challenging environments to photograph in. I had never photographed in this environment before. Even now as I type this I realize an image that I failed to create. But I digress. The procedure was done with about 8 people around Garrett all within a giant blue circle of tiles on the floor. This circle I could not cross for sterility reasons. I was allowed to shoot from any point around that circle. With so many people moving back and forth it was at times difficult to get the right angle or capture the moment. There were many missed opportunities. So is the nature of the beast. But it did give me many opportunities to create many layered, complex frames.

Somewhere Else In California

I have a new photo series in progress. I've been working on this collection of California's Sacramento Delta region since 2009. My plan is to publish a book and possibly exhibit the work when finished. More images to come soon.

http://www.andrehermannphoto.com/#a=0&at=0&mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=0&p=1

On Gaining Access To A Hospital

A few weeks ago I followed Garrett and his family to the Children's hospital at Stanford University. Garrett was going in for a procedure that would release his achilles tendons, correcting his ankles, allowing him to walk on his feet again. In order to gain access to the hospital and to follow Garrett through the procedure I had to contact the hospital's PR department for approval.
    I have been photographing Garrett and his family since early 2007. Over the years I have befriended many people at the hospital, the EB community, who work with Garrett directly and indirectly. Some of these people have included the PR department at Stanford University's hospital, doctors, nurses, and other staff. I have needed access in the past to follow Garrett through clinic visits, and other procedures. The path leading to hospital access is challenging and at times frustrating but it is there for a reason. Once you meet and gain the trust of the PR department it becomes easier each time. Hospitals don't want us just walking in with our big cameras shooting away for a number of reasons. More often than not there are going to be other patients who's privacy needs to be honored. They may not want to be photographed for any number of reasons. Even though I am taking great care to compose each frame to avoid strangers, or let them fallout into a blurred background, they do not know what I am doing. In an already stressful environment, the last thing I want to do is stress anyone further. Another reason is the staff. They are working to help the children through their procedures. They have jobs to do and we do not know the affect the camera might have on them, distracting them, or making them feel nervous during procedures such as setting an I.V. where they must remain focused. Lastly, in an age of lawsuits, no one knows who you are or how you may be using the images.

    You can now see why gaining access to a hospital is so tricky. This is where the PR department comes into play. They will talk with the doctors and all of the staff involved to make sure everyone involved is aware of you and your intent to create images. The day of your appointment a PR representative will meet with you and stay close by acting as damage control to any staff or other patients who are concerned with your presence. This has helped me out in the past with Garrett and helped gain even more access than I ever thought possible. I didn't think I would ever be able to gain access to Garrett during the procedure in the operating room. And, legally, photographers are not allowed in the operating room without the hospital's PR there, and, the approval from the doctor. I had all of this due to my long standing friendship with the hospital's PR department.
    But what happens when your access is denied due to a very minor technicality, your PR rep is on vacation, and there is no one else available to give you that legal access to a procedure that must be documented? You grab your small unintimidating point-and-shoot camera, have a conversation beforehand with your subject and their family regarding your presence at the hospital as a friend of the family who they want there for emotional support, and to take photos for them. This is a loop hole I discovered with the help of a hospital PR friend.

     This allowed me to follow Garrett through most of his procedure day. I hung out, stayed out of the way and created my images. I used a Canon G10. The camera is small as a deck of cards, and has the option of a silent shutter. I have never been happy with the image quality of this camera at high ISOs but there are many little tricks and special apps these days that address the sensor noise, wasn't much of a problem, allowed me to focus on the moments.
    One of my old mentors, Jim Nachtwey, once told me you will know immediately if someone wants you photographing them or not. As I photographed Garrett being prepared for surgery I could feel the energy the nurses were radiating in my direction. They did not want me there. I don't think they could understand why I was there creating images of this boy's visit to the hospital, his pain and suffering. Nor was I given the opportunity to explain. They never asked me to leave, just gave me looks that could burn through steel. At one point I heard a nurse ask another who I was and why I was there, in which the response, "I don't know, the family just wants him here" was given. After the procedure I was not allowed access to Garrett. One of the nurses who was troubled by my presence denied me access, even though I was a friend of the family. They told me that only two people were allowed back in the same room I had just been in earlier. Garrett's dad offered to let me go in his place. I could not let him do that. Garrett needed his dad at the moment more than he needed me making images.
    In the end I got my access because of a loophole, and a little creativity. Sometimes that's just what it takes. I wasn't about to miss that opportunity to document another chapter in Garrett's life with EB.

"With a Little Luck, And a Watchful Eye" at Apple Store, SF

Created using an iphone 4, this candid image
depicting San Francisco homeless, was quickly
created, processed and shared on the web without
any trouble.

Thursday August 5, I, along with 4 other presenters, will be showing images that I created using the iphone. Starting with an iphone 3G, armed with a small camera that was went everywhere with me I used the iphone to redefine the "snap shot" in my everyday life. I took pictures of everything. It quickly became prolific in nature. I was posting my images to facebook as fast as I was taking them. My iphone image gallery became a digital shoe box of snapshots, good and bad images. But I must admit, and others noticed it as well, the 3G camera had horrible quality. And then I discovered the camera app "hipstamatic" and I became addicted, and renewed my love for the square. As I became more prolific with my iphone I began receiving criticism from my peers, "do you use a real camera anymore?" "These images are nice but, they aren't as nice as images mad with real cameras and film." "But iphone is a real camera" I though. Why should I carry around my big heavy camera all the time when I have a camera in my pocket? I understood their argument, and continued to feel the frustration of the crappy quality. It would never match the quality of my 5D. But, hey, I had to remind myself that these were snapshots, not funded assignments. It was novel and I was happy with it. Then I bought an iphone 4. I was a late comer. Yes, I held on to the 3G until I just could not stand it anymore. The 4's camera blew my mind. The quality was awesome the new apps available were awesome. I was hearing stories of people shooting professional quality work with the iphone, and I knew that my purchase well worth it. The quality of the images spoke for itself. I began using the iphone camera even more, shooting video, using apps. After a conversation with a friend I discovered a little trick. I loaded all of my old, worthwhile 3G images onto my iphone 4 and moved them thru multiple apps/filters to enhance what was there and transform them into something new. Yes, I know, novel. But it did seem to work. Some of the new apps like camera+ and blendcam, scratchcam, instagram really helped. I no longer really needed hipstamatic anymore. The app, though fun and novel, was extremely limiting compared to the others. One of the biggest issues was that images created using hipstamatic were permanently in that style, whereas the other programs allowed you to create "raw" images so to speak and then modify them without affecting the original. Awesome! Now adays hipstamatic is still on my iphone4. My iphone workflow now consists of running images thru multiple apps and sharing them across the web.
The iphone 4's improved image quality and size has really helped me to redefine what photography can be, and where I can go with it. It is a storytelling tool that should not be brushed off, but should be embraced. Some photographers may feel threatened by it, "now everyone is photographer,or a photojournalist." If you find yourself thinking this, let me remind you of something, it still is only a tool. Anyone can take a picture, but when paired with a trained eye beautiful images are created that speak volumes.

If you're interested to see what people are doing with their iphones click the link below and come see for yourself.

https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=200769123305853

Releasing The Tendons

Garrett Spaulding, 14, born with EB went to the hospital at Stanford University to have a procedure done to release his achilles tendons. Due to the nature of his disease, disuse of his feet due to blistering and pain, resulting in a reliance on a wheel chair, his achilles tendons froze locking his feet in a "ballerina toe" type of position. The procedure was an outpatient procedure. Lasting no longer than 30 minutes the doctor made very small incisions in his ankle where small notches were cut into his tendons in an alternating pattern. This would allow the doctor to bend Garrett's feet back into a normal position. His legs were then rewrapped and casted to allow the tendons to heal in the proper position. EB, a skin disease that results in constant blistering and breaking down of the skin, in Garrett's case, requires his bandages be changes every few days. One of the challenges that faced the doctor and Garrett and was how long to leave the casts on before having to reapply new bandages. The casts were to remain on for two weeks, bandages would be changed and casts reapplied. The casts have to remain on for 6 weeks. After the casts are removed Garrett faces the long process of physical therapy to get him walking again.