Rangefinder - June 2017

fancy film cameras, lenses and lighting gear.

We develop black-and-white film on site, scan it and have a large-format printer for all of the campers to use to print their project on the final day, which turns into a gallery to show off everyone’s work. Camp counselors are also on site to help everyone with creative blocks, technical assistance and dating advice.

It has given us relationships with fellow photographers that have even joined our Chellise Michael Photography team, and we get what everyone else gets out of it: a break from clients and our work brains. This is the time to hit the reset button and remember why we picked up our cameras in the first place.

—Chellise Michael and Michael Busse

î Quyn Duong: One night, I heard a low rumble coming from the other side of the house. Like a war cry, a group of campers were chanting, “The developers are developing!” as they rushed through the house shaking their film tanks. We all ended up smushed at the end of the long hallway, crammed in a tiny bathroom as they dumped out their chemicals and unrolled their freshly processed film.

For some, it was their first time shooting film, but even for the seasoned shooters, it was invigorating to hold their negatives in the light and see the photos come to life.

î Eileen Meny: When I realized what I was trying to do with my project, I immediately didn’t want to do it. Then the “if you’re afraid of it, you have to do it” instinct kicked in.

Camp Go Away happened in November, which was the end of my wedding season and a week after the U.S. presidential election. I mostly photograph weddings and children. I

am 31 and single, but yes, I would like to get married and also have kids. While I do love my job and business, spending all my time at weddings and photographing children can make me feel incredibly lonely, and in dark moments, a complete failure. The results of the election made me double down on these feelings. I ended up making a self-portrait of how I felt as a woman that week.

î Eleanor Dobbins: I came into Camp Go Away with an idea to create minimalistic black-and-white self portraits. The first day was torture; I realized that I wasn’t alone after taking a break to talk with other campers. We were all struggling through the creative process together. It was amazing to watch everyone hit their low points before having their breakthrough. Perseverance really was the only way through. I just kept on shooting despite wanting to give up. It worked.

î Jillian McGrath: I’m that person who throws
themselves fully into their business, and as
much as I want to create
a personal project and
complete it, it always
gets put on the back
burner. I had no idea how
I was going to be able
to create something that
really came from my heart
in such a short amount
of time, but he moment I
stepped away and took in the creative energy
that was in the space, that was when things
really started to click.

î Autumn Adams: I was inspired by the work of Jeff Newsom for my project. I had an idea how to make it happen but had never even come close to trying anything like this; I had never used a Pixelstick before. Daniel Orren, Camp Go Away’s lighting master, was there to give me a tutorial on how to use it, which blew my mind once I saw the test shots in camera. I had the help of three other campers (including my model) to create my project, all of which were more than happy to do so. For the 2016 group photo, everyone was asked to wear a completely white outfit. We walked down to the old tennis court on the property, laid down in a big circle, joining hands so that from overhead we would look like a circle of paper doll cut-outs. We goofed around as a group after that, taking more photos of all of us, probably looking like a cult, but who cares. I drank all the Kool-Aid.