Cell phone cameras being put to good use. for once.

Have a cell phone with a camera on it? Make good use of it! You can download a barcode scanner that will read barcodes into your cell phone. You can get website links, contact information, text message commands, all in a picture that can be photographed and interpreted. Its genius!

Feeling nerdy?

I've started a second blog about some of my nerdier works. This blog is all about my computer work, and what I'm doing for fun in my free time. Its The Unix Blog. Don't be surprised or disappointed if it reads like Greek, it might be a good thing.

Failure on a small scale

I tried to do some macro shots with the new camera because it has built in bellows, but my depth of field was too shallow and the bees weren't cooperative.

The Girthy Beast

No really, its huge. Really huge.

So maybe I lied

The color shots weren't quite as fanastic, but I still liked them. While fighting with the camera to get it back into regular fighting mode I sat in my car and tried to get it to release. Here is one apparent issue with switching between black and white and color (orange filter). And fine, okay, I can and did hand hold the camera. In one of the shots you can clearly see the tripod and me and then use your imagination to put the camera in my hands. I had to fire it, have the remote wrapped around it and fire that with my other hand all while hoping I didn't move too much.

Putting the slow back in film

I know I say stupid things like "yea it makes me slow down and think about my picture more" as I shoot my camera that can hit up to 10 frames a second, handheld, sometimes with autobracketing. I like medium format because it is a little more difficult to chug through film like that, but its still not difficult. Well, the medium format cameras I have don't make it very difficult. At least until now. I started with a 6x7 medium format camera. 6x7 being the size of the negative. I sold it. I just got a new camera that again is a 6x7. This beast weighs something like 6-7 pounds and the first trip out with it I couldn't figure out how to make it take a picture without a release cable. Really makes you slow down. So I had my tripod, a really heavy camera I couldn't hand hold, and to top it all off I would have to hit the shutter to bring up the mirror, and then use the cable to take the actual picture (mirror-up photography). Really slowed me down needless to say. I love the thing though!

Color film to the rescue!

You'd think since I wasn't developing it, I couldn't be lazy about color film. You'd be wrong. But its developed now and it has also been scanned! I was surprised too. These are all shot on Kodak Ektar 100, but some are 35mm and some are 120. Its my first time out with real film and my extension tube, hence why there are some close ups. Also, I am trying to shoot up what 35mm Ektar I have left because while I love the film, I'm intending to sell my Canon 1v-HS. Anyways, hopefully by now you've gotten over the stress of shock because I finally posted pictures, and can enjoy these.

Special Effects!

Ilford makes film called SFX 200. I've tried it before, in 35mm, and I felt like the effect it was supposed to have was missing... Its supposed to be a near infrared film, meaning that blues are dark and reds are super light. I'm not sure that it worked then, or now... but I do like the compositions here a bit more, and some of the skies are extra dark. Comments needed! Solve the mystery. A dark red (25A) filter was used because I do not have a infrared filter, and perhaps I've been misled but was told that the 25A gets the job done.

"Home"

I think that this is the second to last roll of film shot while home for my brother's wedding. The last roll is a roll of Delta 100, though, and I have two others that need to be developed so I'm not sure which it is. I've not been shooting lately, so the to do pile hasn't grown, but I've not done anything really so it hasn't shrunk. Anyways, here are some more shots from home.

The weekend

I finally got into the darkroom and printed a little bit. I am happy with how some of them turned out, but I didn't stay for long enough to do more than a couple of images and my contact prints. To say the weekend was a lazy one is an understatement. One day I looked like I hadn't showered but got dressed, another I showered but didn't bother getting dressed and in fact didn't leave the house. I did finish the roll of film left in my Hasselblad since I got it, and now have 4 rolls needing developed that I just can't get myself to do. We'll see, maybe tonight I'll get motivated.

Polaroid!

So two things arrived in the mail today. The first was a polaroid back for my Mamiya! Instant gratification! The second was an extension tube. Heres my test shot i took with both new items to make sure they worked. The reason why the image looks so small is because the polaroid film is larger film than my camera can use.