Frank Lopez :: Antiquarian Avant-Garde

Frank Lopez is an American, experimental photographer who works across a variety of alternative process methods including pinhole and wet plate collodion.
franklopez.com
Lopez is also a teacher and works with students across a range of photography processes including digital, sabattier, cyanotype, wet plate and silver gelatin.
Lopez has spent extensive time across China, Vietnam and Korea producing street photography and cultural images made with a pinhole camera.
His latest work represents graffiti art and "slap tags". These images are created with a hybrid process of digital and wet plate. The process starts with digital images produced on Lopez's iPhone. These images are edited digitally both on the iPhone and in Photoshop. These images then are projected from an iPad retina screen back on to a wet plate then transferred as ambrotypes or tintypes.
Lopez lives and works in Dallas, Texas.
This video marks the first documentary produced by the Art of Photography. Please share this and "like" it! We want to make more of these!!!
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[@twraia]

Ted Forbes thank you for your consistently good additions to the art of photography series. I really enjoy your channel and have great respect for your work and the complete lack of "me me me tendency" that's ever so common amongst photographers on KZbin.

[@EASTSIDERIDER707]

I think that your content is among the finest on the Web. Better than the corporate productions with their generous budgets. What you have is soul

[@francisbellefeuille1146]

theartofphotography Ted you know I've been following your channel for a while and really enjoy it. I recently got a 4x5 camera and always wanted to do collodion wet plate photography, maybe its simple but to get all the right information out there is quite a challenge. I think an episode on how to do collodion wet plate with frank would be amazing and helpful for a lot of people. The chemicals you need, where to get them, how to mix them you know the same way as you did b/w processing or c41. Anyways I think that would be amazing. I would enjoy it a lot and others as well im sure! looking forward to that

[@AuthenticSound]

A very nice pîcture of Frank Lopez, Ted! Not to critic in any way, but in the set-up of a documentary, I missed your voice to introduce the different 'chapters'. I can imagine his sayings about China and Korea would have gone deeper when I heard you saying in two sentences what his background was. Just to think about, I am not a specialist whatsoever!

[@DrunkDelilahBrewery]

Fabulous Ted - keep them coming please. This is the best photography show out there period.

[@bcomhaire]

Beautifully done, very interesting guy, truly one of your best shows so far!

[@lisaelleartanddesign]

Ted, I'm thrilled you featured him. I took a wet plate workshop with him a year or so ago and learned so much! He is a wonderful teacher and photographer.

[@majopgalli]

wow!! thank you so much for introducing this artist to us! absolutely loved his work!!

[@TomasNilssonFoto]

This is a nice change from the "standard" format! The footage works very well to capture the viewer's interest. Your friend does very intriguing work, combining new and old technology to create something that looks quite unique. The pinhole work looks very different from the pinholes I've seen so far. Very interesting!

[@nlanca1]

Excellent job Ted - many thanks for introducing me to Frank and his work.

[@TimothymakeupsDitzler]

This was a great story! Love the direction you're taking the show! Excellent work!!!

[@neilmacdonaldfilm]

A very interesting and well produced documentary, more please.

[@markhood]

Fantastic video - and that wet-plate development process is just magical!

[@tomaszmichalski51]

Absolutely lovely interview!!! Keep doing so nice interviews!!!

[@Akentrophyta]

Bravo Ted. Bravo. An excellent job and so good to see his unique process. May be your best video yet. thx

[@davidshoukry4065]

What a beautiful film - thank you.

[@1970nikkisixx]

Loved his photographic artwork. It was very inspirational.

[@LaaszloKiss]

Absolutely great documentary of a really interesting artist. The production quality is professional. I even do like your awesome ethereal soundtrack which perfectly underscores the story and keeps the different parts together. Thank you for putting your best efforts to produce these high quality, informative, educational and artistic shows! Keep it up, please!

[@deborahtracymedia]

Fantastic effort Ted! Inspiring me to break out my pinhole camera and make photos. Love the combination of modern and old technology. Love a man that can think outside the box! He is a gifted artist and sounds like a wonderful teacher. Keep up the good work!

[@senior_ranger]

Very nice work. Best I've seen you do so far!!

[@hajmanek]

Ted - again great job, it was a pleasure to watch this documentary

[@vamp07]

I absolutely love this interview. It's great to see somebody trying to do something different and open to experimentation.

[@ArturdeSousaRocha]

That was very well done and interesting. I like that you did something that is outside your usual topic and style. There is also a lesson to be learned from this: There is no such thing as a photographic workflow that is too complex or too convoluted.

[@zergox]

Love looking at some current photographers in addition to the old 'masters'..

[@atamola]

It's really good to see how you are moving forward doing what you love. Not only your content is excellent your example is quite inspiring as well. Keep it up, and enjoy the ride.

[@waldemarkrysiak4211]

The pinhole part of the video & his analog photos are really interesting. Thanks for this short film!

[@Masimba]

First the feature on Mr Salgado and now this. Ted you may be spoiling us. Thank you very much!!

[@petergunndetective]

Really nice work. I really love the feel of the video and the production level.

[@JamesNader]

Really enjoy your interview work - Well done.

[@DavidMeyerPhoto]

Beautiful work.

[@chipfreundnc]

Ted, I very much enjoyed the piece. I would have liked to have seen a bit of Frank using his pinhole camera. You captured the iPad-Wet Plate process well, so seeing Frank doing his craft with pin hole felt missing. The production we good. It felt quite different from your other videos, but still have your signature on the style. Keep it going!

[@MonoahMono]

Awesome, awesome, awesome. Thanks Ted.

[@freshgruts]

Very interesting. Gave me plenty to think about. Thank you. My one criticism: I found the background music a little distracting-especially since Lopez is so quietly spoken.

[@aideecepeda4217]

Superb job, Ted! Looking forward to more of these films :)

[@PaulHodgson]

I echo the comments here, a good insight with only one 'but'. For me the music was too intrusive during the first part of the film - I struggled to hear clearly what Frank was saying. Other than that, thumbs up for me

[@thomashewitt2597]

Best photography information on the web

[@PhilHobgen]

It's a great video Ted. I think it's a great direction to go in for some of your videos and the amount of work and effort shows through. An intro would have been nice (perhaps something simple like the intro you gave in your last vid). But it does stand really well on its own. I certainly don't think the lack of fame takes away from it. It's an interesting person talking about what, how, and why they do what they do. He's clearly fascinated by mixing different crafts, analogue and digital. to show the world as he sees it I find that refreshing. Keep going Ted. You're providing a different kind of content that I for one am grateful for.

[@MaxLamdin]

this was truly amazing, absolutely loved it and so well made, should definatly do more of these when you have the chance! also I recently saw a royal photographic society exhibition with a mass of wonderful photographers and I felt so happy to have seen a print of moon rise in the flesh (fibre)

[@RobertMoran215]

This video was inspiring. Thank you.

[@SparkyArkee]

I really enjoyed this it was extremely well made. Thanks Ted!

[@lawrencewatts1838]

Really great work, loved it!

[@ka_ru_pi]

I know this may sound a bit stupid.. but not showing his name the first time we see him bugs me more than it perhaps should.. ;-)

[@rosejade990]

Loved it!

[@marcosunder_de]

Great how the content and your music blend together! I like the digital2analog process as it brings about uniqueness of the final product in the digital age - and demonstrates that the iPad can finally be used to making great photographs. Thank you, and please make more of this sort of movies :)

[@chrissearle23]

Superb and inspiring

[@FaitCeQueVeut]

Nice practice shot. Interesting character. We both here faithfully follow your channel and enjoy it greatly. It would be a good idea to pay more attention to specular reflections. There were some in his glasses which were quite distracting. You do that also when you show photos from a book which make it impossible for us to see much of anything. Otherwise, the lighting was generally very pleasant.

[@mcol3]

Absolutely excellent production and very interesting documentary! To nitpick: 1. Add a few more pauses in the interview since there's only one voice, 2. Frank's name at the beginning was in what looked like a weak or non-serious font, 3. The music could be dialled down just a bit when there's a voice speaking. I hope you take this as a constructive suggestion, and feel free to ignore it if you disagree! :)

[@lukasprochazkaprod]

wow, accual constructiv ctitique, not wheeping and hating on any mistake. Good points.

[@StephenThorley]

Those pinhole photos seem to be a relatively fast exposure (for a pinhole). Does he make his own pinhole cameras or are they off the shelf ones and what format?

[@FrankLopez-rh8bg]

I use a 6x12 cm panoramic pinhole camera made by ZeroImage. I shoot Tri-X and Ilford HP5 and don't carry a light meter when shooting. Film is fast and I choose a my images depending upon subject and then quality of light. Longest exposures for portraits is app 20 seconds. Landscapes and still lifes can go much longer. Know your materials and the technique becomes routine, leaving the decisions to the concept of the image. BTW, I have made my own cameras and use them from time to time. When traveling overseas, I rely on the zero image 6x12 format - I don't need to reinvent the wheel. I certainly appreciate those who do! All the best.

[@StephenThorley]

Thanks for the reply, you are doing some very interesting things with your photography.

[@arpsi3882]

Really great great work! Keep it up!

[@affhfhhj8513]

🐕🐶🐐 🐕XT @

[@geography1951]

I was inspired and educated. Mission accomplished.

[@weedrunkglasgowman]

Love his wet plate process with the immediacy of iphone photography.

[@EmilyGallagher]

It's a great film, I really enjoyed it. Great work Ted. Does Frank have a site or somewhere we can look at more of his images. Thank you.

[@TF2TheSandvich]

Wonderful!

[@EMOCLEW.109]

Please tell me the name of the musical composition

[@Buzzregog]

Very nice - keep 'em coming :)

[@AManWhoWasntThere]

This is absolutely fantastic. Everything in this documentary just works perfectly together, from the lighting to the music and the editing of the film. Truly professional and captivating from beginning to end. I'd love to see more of this format.

[@TRamone01]

Fascinating.

[@Kleinbiology]

What an artist! Great film Ted I hope that you make more of these.

[@kaid3566]

Fantastic video! What is the music?

[@objectionableconform]

Magnificent

[@johnballantrae001]

Dear Ted: I got bored with the video quite quickly and I think it's because you didn't provide a context or a reason for watching. When it's Michael Kenna, I know I can watch and learn just because he is who he is. I can ideally discover something I can apply to my own efforts. Frank is different, however, since he's not a big name, but I didn't see how I could benefit from his experiences. I would have liked more input from you, adding a backstory or an underlying reason for the video beyond the here-is-Frank-and-his-story.

[@frame199]

I have to agree. Plus, I can't really understand the mix of iPhone and colloidal processing. Kind of like taking a motorcycle and then turning it into a penny-fathing. But still, art is art.

[@atamola]

I also think the film would benefit from Ted's commentary. Part of the reasons are in a previous video, but I have to agree that Ted's views, insights, and commentary would certainly add to the video.

[@ohmyggg]

John Ballantrae, there's some background in this video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIGtmqSibpV4d8U

[@johnballantrae001]

Simos Xenakis Thanks for the link. I had already seen Ted's preview video, so I knew something about Frank's story - but my comment was more about future videos by Ted and how he goes about them, and I think they need a structure and a context, and a clear picture of who the viewer is, as well as the old faithful: tell me what you're going to do; do it; tell me what you've done.

[@atamola]

Good to see constructive suggestions. The only thing I can add is that I hope Ted keeps exploring different artistic ways to express his passion for photography.

[@ForestRoute]

Nice.

[@kob_e]

excellent

[@FrankLopez-rh8bg]

Thank you Ted. Absolutely beautiful. For those who wish to see more: www.franklopez.com.

[@maxxweber4336]

More graphic artist than photographer

[@rbruce63]

Maxx Weber Not unlike Daido Moriyama!

[@igfarm]

Great film, however could do without the music, the film does not need it.

[@IainHC1]

Although I do like this chaps work........... I do feel as though he's using lots of other people's work to produce his own!! Can he call that work 'his?'

[@jp498]

Nice photos and story but the music adds nothing beneficial.

[@connielopez1537]

i know him

[@TomyvindHogstad]

I wan't mooooore! :-)

[@GilFeliciano]

Fascinating short film on photographer Frank Lopez by Ted Forbes ! Especially loved how Lopez married very new technology with very old. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJDckpJri5KFoNE

[@saalikreynolds3064]

It's not depossession.... It's exorcism..