I’m going through some old files in preparation for meeting another Schlachet tomorrow. I found this picture of my father, taken at Tan Son Nhat AFB, Viet Nam.

I have a large cache of memories from his files, including some of his report cards, postcards he sent to his parents, papers from his marriage to my future mother.

I think this meeting tomorrow is going to inspire me to scan some of these items.

Last weekend I was in downtown with my Crown Graphic. The area was moderately busy but nothing too interesting was going on. I was headed down Powell street, when this guy stops me on the sidewalk. He asked if I could take a picture of him and mail him the photos. Sure, I said, why not.

As I readied the shutter and stepped back, he fell into this pose with his arms crossed with a very serious look. I tripped the shutter. We did one more for good measure, but it wasn’t as intense as this one.

He introduced himself to me as Vonn Arthur Tatum and wrote down his mailing address in my notebook. Born and raised in San Francisco, he told me. We chatted for just a minute before we parted ways. A quick search of his unique named turns up this iTunes Page, showing a single reggae style music album.

San Francisco never disappoints me, introducing me to so many interesting people.

I will be mailing him some prints of this photo this week. I hope he likes them.

I absolutely love looking at blueprints. They are an interesting mix of art and measure. A building plan shows character from its architect, yet follows strict guidelines. The print itself has some artistic qualities to it, yet the lines are so precisely drawn to scale. I took a class in highschool on architectural drawing and it was one of my most favorite classes all throughout school.

This is a sketch of me done by Anna Conti using her iPad during a party last night. Looking at it reminds me that when you make a portrait of someone it’s a lot more than just capturing their likeness. It’s trying to convey how you see someone — what features get your attention the most and how you interpret how they carry themselves. I think people tend to discount these subtleties in photographic portraiture. It’s just a camera and just a lens, per se, but they can be used a myriad of ways when capturing the likeness of someone. The interaction between subject and artist also contribute their own variation to the experience. In drawing this all more evident as everyone has their own style of drawing. In any case, while taking a break from photographing people, it was fun to be on the other side of a portrait. Thanks, Anna!

We haven’t seen Tom and Clare since they got married last year. It was so nice spending time with my brother and getting to know my sister-in-law a bit more. They had a fairly mixed visit with touristy stuff, family, driving around on their own. On their last full day with us I asked them to pose for me for a few photos.

Ilford HP5+ developed in Rodinal 1+50. Shot with a Speed Graphic at 1/50 through an Aero Ektar 178/2,5 lens. I am not used to more than one subject with a lens like this, it’s quite difficult to get right with a curved focal plane.

This was my first time using the new incarnation of Rodinal, Adox Adonal. I used it at 1+50 just like the old Agfa Rodinal with good results.

“Hughs Smallwood Franco” was the hand-written note for this Kodakchrome slide my dad shot in Viet Nam. I just noticed the can of Coke with its red and white checkered pattern.

In this box of slides, the shots went from poolside views in Sydney, to Dau Tieng, to views from a helicopter flying over rice paddies.

Happy Veterans Day.

My name is Jason Schlachet, and I am a homosexual.

Today, October 11th, is National Coming Out Day. It is a globally recognized day to bring awareness to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) issues.

I decided to write and do the following after reading about Asher Brown, a 13 year old kid from Texas. He was bullied at school not only for his size and clothes, but also for his sexuality. His parents went to the school to complain about the harassment, but the school officials denied they were confronted about the ongoing bullying. After suffering from years of pain, Asher came out to his parents one morning and that afternoon, took his own life with a gun.

Stories like this have been becoming more visible lately, and it makes me so sad that kids like Asher would end their life before they had the chance to see that life does get better over time. Normal childhood bullying is one thing, but to be harassed over something as personal and natural as this and seemingly inconsequential to others is a damned shame. LGBT youth have it especially rough, sometimes feeling like they are completely alone in this struggle or worse, rejected and betrayed by their own friends and family. These kids are up to four times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. Sadly, many schools can’t even provide a supportive enough environment, a place where their own students can feel safe.

“You feel so helpless, and day in and day out you’re being called something, and they’re telling you the same message: ‘Your life is worthless.’ And you start to believe it.” — Joey Kemmerling, who came out in eighth grade, in an interview on CNN.

I was one of the lucky ones. I grew up with an understanding and accepting family. When I came to terms with my own sexuality, I became withdrawn and very private about my life, even at home. As many kids do, I took it upon myself to learn what it meant to be gay, and made a few friends who were going through something similar. I remember one frightening phone call from a friend who was on the brink of suicide and told me how he wanted to kill himself. I was lucky in the fact that I didn’t suffer from harassment or bullying because of my sexuality. I was able to deal with things own my own time and largely in private, and I eventually came out to my family and friends. I opened my life back up to those close to me, which put an end to  hiding who I was, who my friends where, and who I was dating. Life only got better after that. Given the time and place, had I been overtly gay in school things might have been different for me.

It’s getting over this hump when kids are the most vulnerable and when it’s most important to have visible role models and support. I feel that National Coming Out Day is important because it gives hope that you can rise above this adversity despite your sexuality. These kids are not alone in their struggles. Many have gone through the same struggles and have made it through. It’s important for them to understand that life will get better, and that what they’re going through now is perfectly normal and not something to be ashamed of or embarrassed by. If they are being ridiculed or harassed, they need to find constructive help and allies to help them through the rough times.

So, today I am coming out via this blog post, to show that a nerdy introverted kid from Plainfield, Indiana can come to terms with being gay and continue on to become a happy, fulfilled, productive member of society. If I could pass my own circumstances and resources to other kids in Plainfield, or anywhere else, I would in a heartbeat. If nothing else, I want to be part of an open and accepting society that shows there is nothing wrong with being gay. Now as an adult, I can say with authority that there are far worse things to be than a homosexual.

In light of all the sad stories about gay kids lately, I feel inspired to make a significant mark of my own on this Coming Out Day. To this end, today I have become a Circle of Hope member of the Trevor Project.

The Trevor Project is a non-profit organization created by writer James Lecesne, director Peggy Rajski, and producer Randy Stone. They created an Academy Award winning short film named Trevor, a story about a gay teen who after being rejected by his friends because of his sexuality, attempts to take his own life. As their film was about to debut on HBO, they realized there was no national lifeline for the young viewers the film would reach. Thus they formed The Trevor Project, the first national 24/7 suicide prevention hot-line for LGBT youth. The Trevor Project has since been supported financially by the likes of Daniel Radcliffe, Sacha Baron Cohen, Anne Hathaway, Neil Patrick Harris, and many others.

Organizations like this can sometimes be the only reason kids choose life over death, so they need our help and support. The Trevor Lifeline can be reached at any time at 866-4-U-TREVOR (866-488-7386).

You can learn more about their organization at their website, TheTrevorProject.org.

As is everybody else who is taking this day as an opportunity to come out of the closet, I hope that our world takes a small step towards acceptance of everybody regardless of their sexuality. Being gay is just one facet of one’s life and I want everybody to understand that people who are gay are also many more things. They are still your sons and daughters, your brother and sisters, your cousins, your classmates, your neighbors, your coworkers, and your friends.

Yours Truly,

Jason Schlachet

The more I shoot, develop, and print large format portraits the more I enjoy doing them. I still have requested portraits to schedule, which I am pretty much ready to do now. My experience of photographing strangers in Dolores Park has also fueled my desire to do this more. The idea is further compounded to be “that guy.”

For example, “that guy doing all the 8×10 work in SF.”

It is similar to and inspired by the idea behind Mike Johnston’s very inspiring “Leica Year” proposal. You take your hobby and/or passion and distill it down into something very simple and limiting, and then you do it all the time for an entire year. Mike proposed one Leica camera with one lens, one black and white film, and every day use. The simplicity of the camera helps you focus on the image, it’s subtlety brings you closer to your subjects . The single focal length will help you on framing, composure, adapting to different scenarios. The single film will teach you how to control it, how to take advantage of its exposure curve. It’s quite a genius idea and Mike purports this way of shooting will teach you more in a one year than taking classes for three.

Thinking about the Leica Year makes me look at my own work and how few cameras and lenses I am touching these days. As much as I love exploring film cameras of varying formats and functions, I do find my range of active equipment narrowing down over time. Most of the film I’ve been shooting lately has been in the Rolleicord (on the street, general walking around) and the Burke & James (portraits). I am about to finish building another Graflex hand held camera (intended for street fairs).

To me, consolidation in the face of increased work is a great sign. It makes me feel like I am more focused in my work, spending more of my time on actual image creation.. spending more time in the darkroom, which I completely love.

So I intend to focus more on Large Format going forward. When the weather worsens I will continue my vacuum tube series work. I want to publish more images and have my work shown again. And hopefully, one day in the future someone will see me and say something like, “hey, it’s that guy.”

(photo credit: Yve Fontilea)

it’s nice to use cameras i haven’t touched in a while. i’ve been carrying around the rolleicord for a while now, outfitted with a thin domke camera strap. it’s a little difficult to get sharp focus on it, since there is no split screen and the view is a bit dark. regardless, it is fun to use and has a great lens.

rolleicord, xenar 1:3.5/75. film is kodak tri-x developed in rodinal 1:50

i want to share a gift from my parents with you. this is a picture my dad took of me sleeping on the floor. it was taken in october of 1976, so i was a year and a half old. today i turn thirty-five.