Everyone deserves a second chance

I was going through my scans from the last week or so, and I came back across this one. Before I dismissed it because it looked so busy. But this time around I really enjoyed it.

Me so lazy

I had two rolls of black and white left from my Alaska trip still needing to develop, so I went out and shot more pictures. Makes sense right? I shot slides, black and white, and one roll of black and white that gets developed as if its color. Because I'm lazy. Get over it. Here are some of the results from my walk. I went too early in the day, mostly becuase I got anxious, and so the sun was too bright, causing a lot of contrast. But I was impressed, and some of my better shots are actually purposely overexposed one stop, and I could've done more. And I could be lazy! Woo hoo! Now i have three rolls of black and white to finish up and I've seen that I can be lazy... Don't hold your breathe.

Lots of Color Shots from Alaska

All shots are Kodak E100G slide film. I apologize for refusing to edit digital images, but I shoot film to avoid using photoshop. Enjoy! In case you were super curious, the lettering in the black around the images, its the imprint of my shooting settings put there by my super heavy camera! I'm without my digital camera, and my time with the canon EOS system is coming to an end, so I am really making sure I love the camera I have!

Busy Busy Busy

Motivation

This last week I did nothing. Literally. I sold my digital camera and my favorite lens for the Canon EOS system, but other than that nothing. Oh and bought a motorcycle with a small portion of the money... but thats basically it. So last night I finally started on the 5 rolls of black and white film I'd shot while home in Alaska. I was out of developer, so I had to mix it, and I'm almost out of hypoclearing, so I'm making up all these great excuses not to continue, but I just scanned the first two rolls and it got me excited again. One roll was mostly family pictures around the campfire, and a lot of them didn't turn out too well as it was pretty low lighting. I also realized that sometimes black and white pictures are difficult to show depth, especially when scanning them, as the scanning doesn't have the same contrast effects as printing them, or the dynamic range. Anyways, here are some to start with.

Its the cliche that "you won't know how they turned out for a while" with film, and I think that got me a little down as I was sure none turned out worth a damn. But now I'm excited again and am going to drag my lazy carcass to the darkroom to do some printing! Or maybe I'll develop the remaining rolls... or maybe I'll sit at my desk drinking coffee and wishing the internet wasn't so easy to beat...

Turmoil in Transition

My trip to Alaska showed me a few things that I'd forgotten. First, a halibut charter in heavy rains in the Gulf of Alaska means you get really wet, and I brought my 1Ds because it was supposed to be ok getting wet. It was. I got a lot of pictures in the pouring rain without worrying about the rain and sea spray. However, it was a dark dreary day, and the higher iso speeds and poor lighting mean that normally unnoticable noise has crept up into my images. Noise, in my opinion, looks much worse than apparent grain. Grain is the correct color, just apparent. Noise looks like crap, its the wrong color often, it destroys any hope of a black shadow, and it reminds me of how much money I put into a camera with a bigger sensor to avoid it. Noise was one of the main reasons why I started flirting with film. Also, I don't often get into horrible weather like I was in, and so I rarely need that extra weather proofing. My camera of choice still remains medium format anything, whether its a fully mechanical Hassy or Mamiya, or my fully automated Mamiya. The discontinuation of Kodachrome announced on Tuesday has certainly changed my expectations of film availability a slight bit. Kodachrome hasn't been offered for medium format, which I normally shoot, for some time, and rolls for $9.00 and another $9 for processing means that my budget never offered me the opportunity to shoot it. But for Kodak to lay to rest an icon of the film era means something. I'm still digesting what. The trip also showed me why many people rejoice at not going through an airport with film. Security will still be a hassle, as they remove my lenses and camera bodies from my bag everytime, which is all thats in my bag, and put them through a second time. I am unsure of where the industry is going, and I know that ultimately if it goes too far I will have to follow. And the uncertainty is killing me.

Rundown

I am back at work, after yet another sub-six hours of sleep night. I have I believe 5 rolls of 120 to develop, but that number could be 7, I am not sure. I also shot three rolls of slide film, but dropped them off in Alaska to get developed. The place was waiting on a part to clear customs for their dip and dunk machine, and weren't sure when they would be done, plus they have to ship them to me. Hopefully later today I will have something to show of my trip, even if its maybe digital. Then again maybe I will just sleep instead.

A gift, and a curse

I like being able to show my images easily to many people. The internet makes it very easy to reach a large audience of potential viewers. Because I've moved to almost only shooting film, it is necessary to take my negatives and scan them. However, when I scan my images, they look much different than the prints I make in the darkroom. This is troubling for many reasons, but mostly because the color prints tend to look better. At least to me. Maybe I just need a new scanner, but what I'm currently using is disappointing and I'm not currently able to upgrade.

Busy Bee

I've been rather busy this weekend. Today I finally got back into the darkroom after some time away. The new developer provided by the professer in charge works much better. I can get proper black colors on paper now, and I've learning more about how to control the final prints. I'm also getting ready for my brother's wedding this coming weekend. On top of all that, I'm trying to refine my website so that I really like it. As such, I just now developed the film used while in Chicago to take a total of two pictures. Despite thinking otherwise at the time, it is not possible for me to handhold a four second exposure, even if I really want to. Its a cool image until you zoom in and see all the blurriness.

Website is UP!

The last few days I've been busy designing and programming my website to my likings. It is now live, but will still need some more work, and definitely more images. Between going to Chicago for my brother's bachelor party and his upcoming wedding, I've spent little to no time in the darkroom, so I still haven't gotten my paper development to the level I would like. Hopefully this weekend I will have some time to work on it.

Go visit it! Total Emulsion

In other news, and to those of you who know me, it won't be news at all, I am currently in the process of selling some camera gear. I find myself rarely using some of my more expensive tools, and so am trying to reclaim some of the investment. If I can, I will be selling my digital SLR, meaning I will be film only for almost all of my work, at least for a few days until I convince myself otherwise.

Website

I've been rolling the idea of a website over in my mind for a very long time. Yesterday I finally spent some time on it, and it is underway. As soon as its ready for viewing, I will link to it here.

Lawn day

My new camera records the shutter speed and aperature right on the film!

All shots Delta 100 developed at 68 degrees for 11 minutes

Mamiya 645AF 80mm f/2.8

1/700th f/2.8

Mamiya 645AF 80mm f/2.8

1/500th f/2.8

Mamiya 645AF 80mm f/2.8

1/700th f/2.8

I'm also getting to know the camera better and not having issues with bumping the easily bumpable switches to Continous focus. The autofocus doesn't compare to 35mm autofocus but it sure is nice at times.

Medium Format

Medium format cameras are often completely mechanical, have no metering, shutterspeeds much slower than my 35mm cameras, are heavier, and are less diversified. Somehow, through these shortcomings, I've come to love them. There is something great about looking through a waist level finder, looking at huge negatives, or even looking through any medium format finder. Everything just looks 3D. Medium format has almost all but taken over my photography as I find myself rarely using my Canon digital or 35mm camera. Because its taken me some time to figure out what it is I wanted from my photography, and what medium would take me there, I've been juggling cameras quite often for the last year. Here is a short list of the cameras I've owned in the last year. They are in chronological order, but not dated.

Canon XTi

Canon 20D

Canon 50D

Canon 1VHS (Still have)

Mamiya RB67 Pro-S

Bronica GS-1

Canon 20D (Second one)

Canon Canonet QL17 G-III

Leica CL

Mamiya 645E (Still have, will be selling shortly)

Nikon F100

Canon Canonet QL17 G-III (Second one)

Hasselblad 500C/M (Still have)

Mamiya 645AF (Still have)

You'll note that I started with digital and then mostly went back to film. I tried selling my medium format cameras because Bronica is gone, or in the case of the RB67, it wasn't a currently manufactored item and had been replaced some time ago, meaning repairs would become difficult. I'm not selling the 645E because it has been upgraded, and the lenses work on the new camera. Here is a picture of my medium format cameras. My newest one, the 645AF is heavy, about 5 pounds, and is pretty feature packed. It has autofocus, motorized film advance and shutter/mirror recocking, spot and zone metering, and feels like a huge digital SLR. After taking it to Chicago, and taking only two pictures, I realized that sometimes it would be nice not to skimp on extra clothing for the sake of a giant camera, but otherwise I'm very happy with it. I'm finally realizing what it is I want from my photography and hopefully I can make that obvious with my work.

They're square

This is a shot from the test roll I put through the camera to make sure it operated properly.

Getting my feet wet with the big names

Certain names carry certain weight when it comes to their products. Leica and Hasselblad are two camera names that carry with them a lot of hype. I recently tried my hand with rangefinders. I got a Canon Canonet QL17 G-III. It was a little fixed lens rangefinder with a 40mm lens. I enjoyed its size and the volume of operation. So I decided to give a Leica a try. I got a Leica CL and a M mount lens, and found myself not using them as much. I then stumbled upon a second Canonet in an antique store in great condition with a flash. But rangefinders just aren't for me, I've found, despite the Leica name. So I sold my Leica CL, two Canonets, my Nikon F100, my Leica Tele-Elmarit 2,8/90 lens. I find myself constantly looking at my medium format negatives and enjoying them more, and so I took the money and got a Hasselblad 500C/M instead. It arrived today, mismatched and showing signs of use. It's my second try with a medium format camera with no metering and just a waist level finder, and I'm happy to have one again.  Since last having one, I've learned the sunny sixteen rule and used it for all of the rangefinders.  I just love waist level viewfinders because  you can see the whole image with such clarity and can have a built in magnifier for focusing. So I've joined the Hassy owner cult, and we'll see what I think after some use.

More Ektar 100 shots (35mm)

Darkrooms and color film

I went to talk to the school's photography professer because my enlarger couldn't manage 6x7 at all, and since 6x4.5 did decent I was surprised ( I shouldn't have been).  He ended up offering to loan me a lens more suitable, or letting me pay the normal lab fee and using the darkroom at the school for the whole summer, chemicals included.  I chose the latter.  After my first weekend in the darkroom, I realized the developer was toast (leftovers from the semester).  Not expecting much, I went to the professer again and was handed a cube of polymax and a bottle of fixer, further reinforcing why I love my school: the people just are good people.  I also finally got the color film I shot memorial day weekend developed and am happy with a couple of them.