Blog
The Local Wildlife
Nikon FE on Lomography Color Negative 800
You just never know what you’re going to find roaming the streets of town around here. I know the government released coyotes in the 70s. But I didn’t realize there’s a flourishing t-rex population keeping it pretty low key.
It’s fun to wonder around on sleepy afternoons when everyone else is home or at work. Finding those golden times is the only way to find these gems unoccupied. The t-rex and cow were taken with a Nikon FE through a Nikkor 35mm AIS lens on Lomo Color 800. The bird was taken with a Petri Racer rangefinder that has a 45mm lens on Kodak Portra 400.
Just keep an eye out for the local wildlife.
Nikon FE on Lomography Color Negative 800
Petri Racer Rangefinder on Kodak Portra 400
Industrial Remnants
Mamiya 645 1000s on Illford HP5+
Mamiya 645 1000s on Illford HP5+
I’ve passed by this place a handful of times on the way to another spot I like to check out often. But the light was always too harsh, or the weather wasn’t good. So when a minimally overcast day came along and I was riding around with a couple cameras, it lined to to grab a few shots.
These types of structures are easy to ignore while still maintained and operational. Once vacant and run down, the personalities emerge. Taking time to stop and poke around often yields some cool results.
The black and white photos were taken with a Mamiya 645 1000s on Illford HP5+. The 35mm color shots were taken with a Nikon EM on Lomochrome Metropolis. This was my first time both using HP5 on medium format and shooting on Lomo Metropolis at all. I’m pleased with how everything turned out with capturing the vibe of the environment of this abandoned place.
Nikon EM on Lomochrome Metropolis
Nikon EM on Lomochrome Metropolis
Nikon EM on Lomochrome Metropolis
Just Walk In
Nikon D750 with 50mm f1.4
This building catches my eye each time I drive past. It used to be tucked in a little better with a bank previously sitting on the lot next door. As other structures are pulled down, this spot keeps on keeping on. So on a rainy weekend day, I thought I’d check it out and snap a few photos. I also had a roll of Lomochrome Metropolis on hand for this. But that’s for another time…when I develop the film.
Nikon D750 with 50mm f1.4
Nikon D750 with 50mm f1.4
Nikon D750 with 50mm f1.4
Nikon D750 with 50mm f1.4
Lowgap Tree Farm
Nikon FM 35mm on Lomography Color 800
While it’s always a good time to get to drive up to the Eclectic School of Herbal Medicine up at Wellspring Mountain, fall is especially enjoyable. At the foot of the mountain is a sleepy tree farm with all sorts of things reaching up to the sun. On the way out, we pulled off the the side of the road to snap a few photos. About the time I was packing it up to leave, the farmer cruises by on his Polaris Ranger. He stops to say hello and make sure weren’t broke down. Once it was out that I was snapping a few photos, he started listing off more spots to check into. Good people.
Nikon FM 35mm on Lomography Color 800
Nikon FM 35mm on Lomography Color 800
This last one is from the first roll I put thru the Mamiya 645. While I was getting used to a new setup, I still think this one is kinda cool. So it’s going to take up a few kilobytes of server space for your moderate viewing pleasure.
Mamiya 645 1000s Medium Format 120 on Kodak Gold 200
Building A
Nikon FM 35mm on Lomography Color 400
I’ve always enjoyed riding past this building. For decades it has caught my eye. As it turns out, I like mid-century government buildings. And I like taking photos of them too. Go figure. So when I had the opportunity to stop one cold December day, I took it.
Nikon FM 35mm on Lomography Color 400
I’ve almost always have a Nikon 35mm SLR with me. But on this day, I had a new (to me) Lubitel 166b to try out. Not bad for a try with my first waist level camera.
Lubitel 166b Medium Format 120 on Kodak Gold 200
Jubilee. Ford, not Marshall.
Nikon FM 35mm on Fomapan 100 Classic pushed +1
Took a walk around the barn to see the Jubilee. It’s been on the farm for decades, and was perfect to playground with a pushed roll of black and white film in my Nikon FM.
Nikon FM 35mm on Fomapan 100 Classic pushed +1
Nikon FM 35mm on Fomapan 100 Classic pushed +1
Blue Skies & Sportsball
Nikon FM 35mm on Lomography Color 400
I’ve never really been into sports. Most times have ended with a mild concussion and bloody nose. But an empty court or field on a sunny afternoon still hits with a bit of nostalgia. The boredom of growing up.
Nikon FM 35mm on Lomography Color 400
Nikon FM 35mm on Lomography Color 400
Nikon FM 35mm on Lomography Color 400
Quality Trap Inn
Nikon FM 35mm on Expired Kodak Gold 200 Pushed +1
I miss the days of the motels without the internal, sterilized corridors where people pass with averted eyes. Let’s step right outside the door to the room to have a smoke and catch that thick Georgia air. The cherry on top would be the sounds of kids playing chicken in the pool, while their parents make good use of that discount on the double queen room.
Places of nostalgia tend to draw me in. As a kid, I was excited to stay at one of the places during those summer trips to see family. There was always some sort of movement or activity. All I needed was a pool to break up those monotonous days in the car playing the license plate with my cousins because there was nothing else to do. If my grandfather had his way, we’d be at a Holiday Inn and I knew I’d be set with freedom…I mean pool.
Nikon FM 35mm on Expired Kodak Gold 200 Pushed +1
I remember the glory days of this Quality Inn. After church on Sundays, the buffet would be packed. Over the decades, this spot has changed hands plenty of times. So it was fun to randomly stop one day and walk around with an expired roll of Kodak Gold in my camera. The place is run down and has plenty of weird characters hanging around. Kinda like 20 year old film pushed a bit more than it should be. I dipped out pretty quickly once the owner’s dog started barking and growling at me through one of the windows. It was good times.
Nikon FM 35mm on Expired Kodak Gold 200 Pushed +1
I wasn’t sure how things would turn out pushing an expired roll of film that hadn’t been stored well. So I metered all the shots to be a bit on the overexposed side of things. I’m happy with having no expectations from shooting old film from eBay. Now to figure out what the other 11 expired rolls will be used for. Until then, enjoy your stay at the Quality Trap Inn.
Nikon FM 35mm on Expired Kodak Gold 200 Pushed +1
Private Parking…Fuck Off Please
Nikon D750 with a Nikkor 35mm AIS f2.
Private parking garage street photography by Kyle Troop. Taken with a Nikon D750 on a moody cloudy day around downtown Cartersville. The storefronts of downtown are nice. But the spots out back are where to find the coolest views.
Country Club Views
Nikon FM 35mm on Kodak Professional Tri-X 400
It’s hard to beat these country club views. Lounging on the back patio with a roll of Tri-X 400 and a strong drink. If only others could aspire to this level of exclusivity. Shoot for the stars, kids.
Lowkey Light Show
Nikon D750 with a Nikkor 35mm AIS f2.
Death By Fluorescents
Nikon D750 with Nikkor 35mm AIS f2.
Blud Buzz on ABC’s The Rookie
I recently had a song featured in ABC’s The Rookie. It’s off the Blud Buzz EP I did with my bud Evan a while back. This was a fun one to see out in the wild on TV. Check out the clip below.
Tragic Magic Rules So Hard
Tragic Magic Rules So Hard
Evan and I tracked all the instrumentals at my place. And then Tim did the vocals over at Evan’s spot. I mixed it. Evan mastered it.
Track Happy Studios
Track Happy Studios
Let’s take a look at how the website turned out…
Astro Studios Atlanta
Astro Studios Atlanta
This spring Astro Studios and I worked together on getting their website designed and ready to help bring in new business to the studio. Astro Studios is a fantastic place to make music. On top of getting to work on a fun website, the entire Astro Studios crew are really great people that want to provide a handful of great spaces for artists, musicians, and producers to create with access to so much great gear. So of course, I’m way stoked that I was able to design something rad for them!
The focus of the website is to showcase the facilities and make it easy for clients to book any of the studios. We really made sure that the vibe of each room is presented in a way that gives the potential client an accurate feel for what the room can offer. With the various types of projects happening, Astro Studios really has everything covered from podcast and vocal sessions all the way to full record production and in depth mixing.
The Heretics Record
The Heretics Record
We dug into some cool tones using a few combinations of gear. On the recording side, a mix of Daking, HHB, API, and Rupert Neve pres and DBX, ART, and Lindell compressors were used on the way into an Apollo 16. The mic selection was kept simple. Various Audix dynamic mics, some SM57’s, Nuemann TLM103, a pair of Audio-Technica AT4040’s, and a few others did most of the work. Once it hit the computer, I used some of the UA and FabFilter plugins. But I kept that light. The tones were the way we wanted them on the way in. No need to get in the way of the rock & roll.
Drums. Everyone loves drums. And everyone loves Jake Dwiggins. Jake can play the hell out of a drum kit. His meter and controlled chaos makes everything else come together in just the right way. We used an SJC Drums 60’s kit. After checking out a handful of different snares from Ludwig, Pork Pie, OCDP, and SJC, we landed on an SJC 7×14, 6 ply maple snare drum. It had the blend of body and cut that the songs needed. We were left with some really awesome sounding drum tracks to build the record from.
Bass next. Tiffany throws down her unique playing style into the rhythm of the song giving it a texture that locks in, but stands out on it’s own. We used Tiffany’s Japanese Jazz Bass into an Orange AD200 and then onto an Ampeg 6×10. The tone was kept fairly dirty with a fuzz pedal handy to push it over the top, when needed. These fuzzed bass sounds put with the punch and thud of the drums really set the foundation up right.
Then comes my guitars. With drums being my primary instrument, I really love playing rhythm guitar. My setup with pretty straight forward. I used my Gibson Les Paul Jr and Mario Guitar Jazzmaster on just about every song. The Orange A30 combo and Rocker 30 amps handled all of my guitar tones perfectly. The Oler Audio Boost and Yellowcake Furry Burrito pedals were used here and there. These are some of my favorite guitar tones ever.
Time for face melting leads. Dean is the coolest of the cool. His thought for structure, harmonies and texture ideas for expanding the vibe of a song absolutely blows my mind. A Gibson Les Paul Goldtop is the weapon of choice here. He pulled out the Dr. Z Carmen Ghia and a Fender Pro Jr to get a nice range of sonics. The Teletronix Mullholland Drive and Ibanez TS808 were used to sculpt tone and get way nasty, when needed.
For vocals, I set up a Neumann TLM103 and threw some blankets over mic stands to create a controlled area within a larger room. My vocals aren’t crisp or precise. Pretty much yelling. So I end up running them through a compressor or two and that’s all I care to do, for this record. Dean’s vocals were done the same way. Any doubled vocals were tracked twice. It all feels and sounds real.
This record came together perfectly. It packs a punch and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it.
The Local Wildlife
You just never know what you're going to find roaming the streets of town around here. I know the government released coyotes in the 70s. But I didn't realize there's a flourishing t-rex population keeping it pretty low key. It's fun to wonder around on sleepy...
Industrial Remnants
They're almost like ancient giants hiding in plain sight. Just about anywhere you go, there they are. Keeping watch from the forgotten and overlooked places where nature has reclaimed. But the gate was open. And now the abandoned space let its presence be known. I've...
Just Walk In
This building catches my eye each time I drive past. It used to be tucked in a little better with a bank previously sitting on the lot next door. As other structures are pulled down, this spot keeps on keeping on. So on a rainy weekend day, I thought I'd check it out...
Lowgap Tree Farm
While it's always a good time to get to drive up to the Eclectic School of Herbal Medicine up at Wellspring Mountain, fall is especially enjoyable. At the foot of the mountain is a sleepy tree farm with all sorts of things reaching up to the sun. On the way out, we...
Building A
I've always enjoyed riding past this building. For decades it has caught my eye. As it turns out, I like mid-century government buildings. And I like taking photos of them too. Go figure. So when I had the opportunity to stop one cold December day, I took it. I've...
Jubilee. Ford, not Marshall.
Took a walk around the barn to see the Jubilee. It's been on the farm for decades, and was perfect to playground with a pushed roll of black and white film in my Nikon FM.
Blue Skies & Sportsball
I've never really been into sports. Most times have ended with a mild concussion and bloody nose. But an empty court or field on a sunny afternoon still hits with a bit of nostalgia. The boredom of growing up.
Quality Trap Inn
I miss the days of the motels without the internal, sterilized corridors where people pass with averted eyes. Let's step right outside the door to the room to have a smoke and catch that thick Georgia air. The cherry on top would be the sounds of kids playing chicken...
Private Parking…Fuck Off Please
Private parking garage street photography by Kyle Troop. Taken with a Nikon D750 on a moody cloudy day around downtown Cartersville. The storefronts of downtown are nice. But the spots out back are where to find the coolest views.
Country Club Views
It's hard to beat these country club views. Lounging on the back patio with a roll of Tri-X 400 and a strong drink. If only others could aspire to this level of exclusivity. Shoot for the stars, kids.