Dark Art by Ricky Davis
Dark Art by Ricky Davis -
I wanted to make an announcement here about my dark art work. I started photography way back in 2009. Over the years I’ve done a good bit of different styles of work under “TRD Photography”. There have been times I’ve tried to niche down a little bit to be able to focus on an area, but then I get asked to do other styles I’ve done and it’s become this cycle. TRD Photography means a lot of different types of work to different people.
My dark art and moody travel photography means a lot to me, and it’s an area of art that I want to focus more on, while still doing some of my other work that I love as well. I’ve decided to separate my darker work to where the people that are looking for my dark work can see all that under one brand that isn’t known for other things. I’ve met people recently at shows that have reached out to me because they’ve followed me but are just seeing some of my dark work and then a lot of non-dark work mixed in. So it being an art style that I really want to push, I want to give it it’s own place to grow and see what happens. So if you enjoy that type of work, follow me on my website www.therickydavis.com or on socials at Dark Art by Ricky Davis. Thanks so much guys!
Literary Ink is THIS WEEKEND!!!! Here's a sneak peek of my booth...
Classic Academia Aesthetic - Still Life Photography - Kodak Tri X Film - TRD Photography
Literary Ink is THIS WEEKEND!!! So for those that don’t know, Literary Ink is a tattoo convention that takes place in my hometown of Chattanooga, TN. It’s the baby of my friend Jennifer Edge who owns Main Line Ink. It’s gone through some transitions over the years. It started out as more of a Wizarding World type themed convention and then Covid hit, and interrupted life as we know it. As the show has come back, it’s been amazing to see Edge and her crew behind the convention really explore more and more literary worlds. It’s a tattoo convention, but it’s not like any other tattoo convention I’ve ever been apart of, and it’s not trying to be. One of the beauties of this show is it provides a place for those not generally part of the tattoo crowd to come in and feel at home and get to know some of us that are. One of my booth regulars last year told me that they never thought they’d be planning to go to a tattoo show every year, but here they are…
Dark Academia - Still Life Photography - TRD Photography
My booth has transitioned a lot since I started doing Literary Ink as well! In the beginning I mainly brought some toy photography art that I had done, but I’ve been working more and more with still life photography and dark academia aesthetics the past few years and it’s become my passion, especially when I photograph it on film. I also have been doing a lot of travel work and photographing a lot of film of old buildings, cemeteries, and churches. So that’s definitely going to be highly represented at my booth this year. I’m sharing a few of my newer photographs that will be available as a print at my booth in this blog. But of course, I may have a few things for my long time booth visitors as well.
Dark Academia Still Life Photography - TRD Photography
In conclusion, I think my favorite thing about Literary Ink is the people. It’s been amazing getting to vend the show every year and seeing some of the same faces year after year. It’s one of those shows that I know I’m going to see my friend Amy Kenyon, who is a badass photographer herself. I’m gonna see Edge running around like a chicken with her head cut off. I usually see Rachael, who we always talk about doing a shoot but still haven’t pulled the trigger on. I see people who show my photos of their walls with my photos in frames. That’s always an awesome experience. That people enjoy what I do enough to bring it into their homes. So I’m definitely looking forward to this weekend, and if you can, you should definitely check it out. It’s at the Chattanooga Convention Center Sept. 5-7. Check out www.literaryink.com for details.
Ricky
Dark Academia Gothic Artwork - Still Life Photography - TRD Photography
Basilica of Saint Mary - Minneapolis, MN - Kodak Tri X Film - TRD Photography
Kodak Tri X Test Roll Results... Still Life Work at the Studio
Send in the Clowns…. Kodak Tri X Film - Still Life Studio Photography by TRD Photography
During my last film session at my studio I had a little bit of a lighting issue. So today I wanted to do a test shoot to see if my suspicion of the issue was right. To test the roll, I decided to setup several different still life scenes. My brain gets pretty random when I do still life photography. So I put on Sierra Ferrell on my iphone (I just discovered her music and am loving it.) and then started going through some of my props putting some scenes together. The lighting turned out better than I expected.
I shot a roll of Kodak Tri X 120 film on my Mamiya 645 camera for this. On that roll you can expect to get somewhere between 13-15 shots per roll. When I do still life sets I generally take 1-3 shots per setup from varying angles/lighting movements. Out of 14 shots that came out, 12 of them were good solid usable shots. These were just my favorites of the setups. I’d love to hear what you guys think of these.
Baseball Still Life Photography - Kodak Tri X Film - TRD Photography
Da’ Bears - Football Still Life Photography - Kodak Tri X Film - TRD Photography
Dark Academia Skull Still Life Photography - Kodak Tri X Film - TRD Photography
Eat My Heart Out - Dark Art Still Life Photography - Kodak Tri X Film - TRD Photography