Disengagement via Shaping Light

January 14, 2020 By Thomas Hooper in 2020, Art, Photography, Tattooing. Tags: film photography, Inspiration, life, space, tattooing, Tattoos, thomas hooper, thomashooper Leave a comment

A rose from my garden, Hasselblad 500cm Ilford sfx 200.

The beginning of this year has been one of creativity introspection, I made a rash decision on the 1st of January to not post any tattoos on my main Instagram ( I may have started a new one that’s private for now as I attempt to do one abstract painting a day for the whole year…… more on that later) and try my best to disengage from any interaction on the platform for a while, instead turning that time into drawing and reading.

Creativity is the Key to surviving 2020!

The Secret Life of a Rock, Hasselblad 500cm Ilford sfx 200.

My good friend David Hines recommended this book towards the end of last year and it is providing a wonderful insight into the way I look at pictures, wether it is something I am photographing or a drawing/painting I am creating.

I now find myself wanting to capture more of my tattooing on film, below are some images from the last few months, thank you for reading through and taking a look at the photographs.

A portrait of Carl Brunson, an inspiring and talented painter I am very fortunate to tattoo.

Carl Brunson Koni Omega Rapid M Fuji POrtra 800-1

A visit from an old friend and client.

Emmanuel, tattooed at Saved Brooklyn 2009-2012. Hassleblad 500cm on Fuji Portra 800 pushes one stop.

Stepped back into the ring with an old friend.

Kyle Hasselblad 500cm january 2019 sfx 200 Thomas hooper

Getting close to the finish line with a wonderful client.

hasselblad tattoo pics dec 19 Thomas Hooper

Hasselblad 500cm with Fuji Portra pushed 1 stop.

Joel Miller has been a client since 2005 and I’m honored we get to continue this journey here in ATX as he now lives local!

Joel 35mm in 120mm tattoo pics dec 2019 Thomas Hooper

Joel 35mm with 120mm spool adapters in Hasselblad Super Wide C on Ilford Delta 400 pushed 2 stops, shot full Negative to cover sprockets holes.

A recurring favorite Michael waters with the start of his legs.

Michael Waters Hasselblad super wide c Thomas Hooper

Starting Michael Waters legs, Hasselblad Super Wide C on Ilford 3200.

Michae’s healed back, Hasselblad Super Wide C on Ilford 3200.

Daniel 4 x 5 large format photo Thomas Hooper Tattooing

Daniel, the day after we finished his back.

Justin Timid Steps Thomas Hooper Tattooing

Justin, Crown Graphic 4×5 Ilford 100 Delta.

And as a little foot note, today my good friend Dennis Mcnett AKA @Wolfbat dropped by the studio today and gifted me this set of woodblock printing tools and materials as he will be teaching me some of his amazing craft, more info on that as it progresses!

Thank you Dennis and thank YOU for taking the time to look at my work.

X Thomas.

Michael Waters on Film

December 14, 2019 By Thomas Hooper in Photography, Tattooing., Thomas Hooper Tags: 4 x 5 camera, analogue photography, back piece tattoo, crown graphic, fuji provia 100f, rock of ages tattoo, skull tattoo, tattoooing, thomas hooper Leave a comment

Last year I purchased a Pacemaker Crown Graphic 4 x 5 press camera, this camera was made in the early 1950’s so it has been a steep learning curve getting to know how to use this machine and not waste the expensive film! One main intention when picking up this camera was to use it to photograph large tattoos in an interesting, archival and non digital format.

With the constant need for tattoos to be digitally photographed and posted on the Internet within seconds of them being finished, I wanted to use a medium that slowed my actions and the entire process down to a crawl, removing the instant validation and disposable nature that the modern day smart phone photographs have created through social media.

Having had an interest in photography since my mother gave me my first 35mm Pentax ME SLR camera in 1997, learning to use this old and very mechanical camera has been a challenge and a lot of fun, I couldn’t have done it with out the invaluable guidance of Sandy Carson, an amazing photographer and friend. – http://www.sandycarson.com

Michael Waters has been getting Tattooed at Rock of Ages for the last 10 + years, its been an honor getting to work on his body suit, adding to a collection of only Tony Hundahl, Steve Byrne and myself’s work, his back is by me and his arms and front torso ( in progress) are by Steve and Tony. These images where shot using the above camera on Fuji Provia 100f slide film, there is something about these sheets of file that seems almost magical to look at, almost like a little part of the tattoo has been captured on the sheet of film and recorded in a tangible way.

Thank you for looking !

Waters 4 x 5 -1 Waters 4 x 5 -3 Waters 4 x 5 -4

Thomas

A Rose is A Rose, is A Rose.

October 12, 2017 By Thomas Hooper in Photography, Tattooing 2017 Tags: flowers, macro, Photography, roses, thomas hooper

During the summer I spent five weeks in the UK, mostly staying with my mother in Hastings. She has a beautiful garden and across the street from her home is a beautiful rose garden in Alexandra Park. I love to tattoo flowers and during my stay there I took a lot of photographs of both the gardens for my own personal reference, I have been going back and fourth about sharing a few of these images which ones etc, so I decided to share nearly all of them, feel free to use these for drawing, tattoo reference and to generally just enjoy. Thank you!

Roses and Flowers Hastings East Sussex 2017 July 09, 2017 IMG_9510