Iconic images from our readers

Hassan a.k.a opium from Indonesia, member of Klastic family: “This photo taken for showing my
“Polute no more”. This photo was taken by me to demonstrate my concern towards the environment. In this photo, a model wearing a mask was used to emphasize the scarcity of fresh air in the future if this kind of polution level continues. by seeing this picture, hope it can grow people’s attention to our environment.”

Aline Smithson: I was visiting New York last Thanksgiving and gave myself an afternoon to wander Central Park and the Upper East side with my Diana in tow.  I wanted to capture New York with a noir and nostolgic feel.  I had just seen the wonderful Catherine Opie exhibition at the Guggenheim and turned back to take only one shot of the iconic museum in the late afternoon. I loved how the light shimmered over the entrance, how the structure seems so defined, and the people were just shapes.  It was a magical shot.

Sara Snyder: A couple of years ago I upgraded from digital point and shoots to a DSLR because I couldn’t get ‘good’ pictures of my niece and nephew. Turns out, getting a high volume of decent pics of little kids with a DSLR was equally elusive for me. But I loved getting into ‘real photography.’

Earlier this year I bought a Holga. The last time I used a film camera was the Kodak 110 my parents gave me to take to summer camp and if memory serves, the film came in a little cartridge you just plopped in to the camera. The Holga needs a roll of film? You have to spool it yourself? Uh-boy. However…once the first roll came back from the lab, I was hooked. I love the ability to make double exposures, the light leaks, the occasional seeping through of the film back, the square photos, the whole she-bang.

This photo is of my nephew, Charlie, on a slide at our local park. I love this photo because it is everything I wanted to capture two years ago when I bought a fancy DSLR, but just couldn’t. With the Holga, I’ve found the brush that lets me paint the way I want to create — completely one-of-a-kind photos with whimsy and imperfect perfection.

Ian Pinder: I took these photos on the first roll of film through my holga camera. I bought it just for something as an aside from my studies in filmmaking. I gave up photography some time ago, but this new toy has given me back the naive enjoyment that I once had for it. I think these pictures are beautiful in a messy kind of way, and we are now talking about making a film using images from the camera. The camera is much more than I had hoped for. I’m looking forward to sticking by it for some time.

Sarah Zobrist [Winner of the FourCornersDark.com Iconic Contest] I had never been too interested in photography until I stole one of the black and white film cameras from school, seeing as they were switching to digital photography classes instead of film. I loaded it with some black and white film and shot. I took it to the locally owned camera shop to be developed. Three days later I returned to spend the last $20 I had on picking up the roll which came out wonderful. I thought about how I needed a job, seeing as I had no monies to feed my new found addiction. Three days later I had a job at this locally owned camera shop, it’s called “Harold’s Photo”. Now that I’ve worked there for two years, I have a lot more freedom in film developing. I came across an LC-A (rest in peace), which opened doors for my action sampler, etc… This photograph was taken with my LC-A when it was still working properly, about three months ago. It is of three of my photographer co-workers at a very lush party. The three of them all make a living taking portraits. The lascivious dark haired Alika Hartman is intoxicatingly embraced by her most recent lover and our newest coworker, Adam. As most photographers can (and will) admit, this photograph was an accident. I had intended to take a snapshot of our blonde supervisor, Hillery. The chance embrace of the two lovers along with Hillery’s wistful expression tells you everything about the two women. Hillery hasn’t had a boyfriend in years, Alika has had too many. Who is happier?

Ogam Ananty: This was shot with a Yashica in Jakarta, Indonesia. My friend was moving to a new house but for some reason his parents still stayed at their old one, so, of course, like every other responsible teenagers out there, he used it to full advantage by trying to get as messed up as possible. So I came to his house and while sitting on the poolside I notice my friend was approaching this girl, so I ran to capture it. I really like the bloodshot eye and how she grip my friend’s arm. This shot basically shows my style of photography, raw and spontaneous. Oh, and I honestly do not remember how I got home that night.

Johnny Seale: My buddy Ricky Fandrick is an icon to me. Everytime I point my Holga at him, Ricky is doing something off-handedly regal. Fandrick relishes in the small things life brings; he’s lazy and not afraid to wander aimlessly. Ricky will eventually wind up in the middle of Ordinaryville and make it into a three-ring circus.He’s the Jeffrey Lebowski of my personal society.

This shot came on a cold-yet-sunny day, as we waited for a parade to march down the streets of downtown Dallas. Fandrick was under-dressed for the conditions, which is another staple of his character. So we dug up a crappy wool blanket, and told him to throw that on, and go stand in the sunlight (we were positioned in the afternoon shade, so that we could be close to the parade floats). Ricky immediately looked happier, with his warm, brown Navajo blanket and Solo cup of beer. I noticed behind Ricky that there was an old building with faded painted lettering. You’ll note that it says “HEADLINER LOUNGE” and then ‘CHAMPION LOUNGE” on top. Ricky Fandrick looked like the Champ to me. I ducked low and told Ricky to take a step back. I looked up with the Holga and saw the radio tower stretching high up into the downtown sky. I suppressed a quick giggle, and clicked the shutter release. Ricky Fandrick isn’t everyone’s idea of an icon, but I’m proud to say that he’s mine.