Highlights

At the zoo, and looking for something a little more interesting to shoot instead of just a animal that looks miserable or bored in its enclosure suffering in the sweltering heat and glare of the sun, I just happened to look across the table where I was sitting, and noticed the light was perfect for a quick shot of Donna.  Always being such a wonderful subject to shoot, and ready to show a winning smile, she makes a perfect model.
Sometimes I ask too much of her, but it's what I do!
But when I happen to catch a moment like there where she is relaxed, and feeling perfectly natural and in the moment, it's just perfect photo bliss!

Looking For Frogs

Saturday, May 26, 2012, I spent, with the family, up in Niagara Falls.  Although it is south of us, it is at a higher elevation, considering that the Mighty Niagara river drains into Lake Ontario.  Before leaving I had stopped at my friend John's place to drop off a Waist Level Finder for the Exakta I had borrowed from him.  Well, he let me borrow a couple of cameras. One, a 35mm half-frame camera, known as a Universal Mercury II, and the other a Detrola Model K 127 camera.  The Detrola is a fun camera to use, and like the Mercury II, is a zone-focusing viewfinder camera.  Although it isn't as easy to use as a rangefinder, it is a very nice camera.

But the Mercury II, well, that's a different animal entirely!  The half-frames = 24 frame roll film (45 exposures) roughly, and a 36 frame roll film (65 exposures) roughly..  Talk about a shot fest!  It'll be nice when I go away to Port Colbourne and have some antique vintage cars to photograph.

Well, I had it loaded with a roll of Polypan F 50, and it was, apparently, an extremely short roll.  With a total of 10 frames of 35mm film, I managed to squeeze out about 20 frames.

This just happened to be one of those frames.  Talk about impressive!  I wasn't expecting much from this old camera, but it performed beyond my wildest expectations!

This image will soon be hanging in my living room as a wet-print that I plan on doing in my darkroom.

A nice 8x10 wet-print!  Really looking forward to it!

Through The Finder

One thing I like to do is shoot through the viewfinder of another camera.  Not like those TTV images that they do with Kodak Duaflex cameras, or other ones similar, but set up a shot with a camera, like the Exakta with WLF (Waist Level Finder) and snap the photo how it would look through the finder.
Of course, I make sure the image in the WLF is in focus, otherwise it won't work.  The big difference is that the image you see in the WLF is almost exactly what you will get when you snap the image.  I have done it before using my Cell phone and AE-1, and even a couple of times with my Cellphone and Rolleicord V, but this is the first time I actually used a film camera for it, and I really like how it turned out.
It's a rather silly concept, but it is a shot showing a bit of fun!

Cabin In The Woods

May 5th, 2012;

Bronica ETRs - Zenzanon 75mm ƒ/2.8 PE - Ilford PAN F+ 50 - Ilfosol 3

I was driving past this location on the previous Friday (May 4th), and say a cabin that was pretty much completely fallen down.  The instant I saw it I just knew I had to go back and take a few photos of it.
Well, I loaded up my bag with a couple of cameras, such as my Rolleicord, Bronica ETRs, Nikkormat FT2, and my lowly little Kodak Signet.  I must have shot more than 2 dozen photos of this location, simply because of it's rustic and age-old charm.  Not sure what it is about these old buildings, but the charm of them is unmistakable! 
I remember last summer shooting an old falling down home as well.  What a wonderful little building that was.  The charm was just incredible!  It had such a great feeling to it that I literally blew a good half-roll just shooting that house.  The windows were broken, except for a couple of them, the floors were mostly collapsed, the roof had caved in in places. 
Just a fantastic location, and will be probably visiting there again this year!
The best thing about this cabin depicted in these photos here, is that it's not actually in the woods.  This cabin is actually located within a 20 minute drive from my apartment, and is located in an industrial area not too far away at all.  It just so happens that it is surrounded by undeveloped land, and for some reason, has never been cleared. 
I am sure that one day, it will be gone, but until that day comes.  It will be here, and I intend on going back.  Perhaps this time, with some IR film instead!

Nikon Nikkormat FT2 - Tokina 28mm ƒ/2.8 AI Lens - Polypan F 50 - Ilfosol 3

A New Addition

Recently I received, in the mail, an Exakta Bellows.  Got a really decent price on it, and it's in perfect condition, minus the missing front sticker.  The bellows is light tight, and moves in and out flawlessly.  What a fantastic system this is going to be!

I really can't wait for the time to try it out, but that'll have to wait for the time being.

As I haven't had the right moment to try this out, I'm sure that I will get a chance to try it out soon enough, especially with Summer just gearing up and getting close to that time to start using more film!

A Roll In A Day/A Day In A Roll - Take 3

May 19, 2012, a Saturday like the rest, has marked the 3rd installment of the tradition of shooting a day in a roll.
For those that are unfamiliar with this idea, it is simple.  What you do is take any film camera in your arsenal, and some only have one or two, load it with a fresh (or expired) roll of film, and spend the day shooting that roll, from sunup to sundown, if you can.  Now, I'm not saying it's hard, but it's far from easy.  See, shooting an entire roll in a day is really easy for some, and not for others, but the key to this is to get it to represent how you spent your day.
For me, again, it meant work, then a bit of time afterward.  I should have used a 36exposure roll, but I didn't.  Instead I had a 24 frame roll, and after #25 I was done.  Yes, 25.  Just because you have 24 total frames doesn't mean you can't get 25, 26, or even 27, frames on one roll.

There were more participants this time around then that last two.  As word spreads, more and more shooters get into it!
Whether you're an amateur, new film shooter, new in general, or full, all out pro, anyone can take part!

Originally I wasn't thinking of taking part in this, but I decided, why not?
So I picked up my Canon EOS 750, which was loaded with a roll of Kodak Ultramax 400, from who knows when, and coupled a Helios 44-2 58mm ƒ/2 M42 lens to it. Sure, the M42 needed to be adapted to the camera, but it is a fantastic lens.  Know for its great contrast and colour rendition, plus the swirly bokeh that it can produce, it is a remarkable lens.
Regardless of the camera/lens/film combination, it all comes down to one final thing.  How you use the equipment to create the images that you would like to share.  I do hope that I managed to give everyone something enjoyable to see.

For more information please check out the Flickr group, and if you want to see more of the photos I took, please check out the rest of the set right here

Until next time,

Keep those shutters firing!

Colonial Dwelling

Ricoh Mirai 35-135 Zoom Bridge SLR - Polypan F 50ISO - Ilfosol 3 1:14 - 9:30

There's really no way to describe the look.  It's just an awesome home.. I cannot actually get over the tonality of this shot, and will have to revisit this place soon..  Not to mention, I'm going to have to get a wet-print done of this in the Darkroom, it's just perfect!  There is no reay way to say it, but this is just an incredible house.  The stucture is so well maintained, it has been kept in the exact styling of an original Colonial home from when it was built, and I just can't really see this house ever being torn down.  In fact, I'd be very sad to see it go.
There really aren't many homes built like this anymore, in fact there aren't any homes built like this that will look as good or work as well, considering that they would be more tacky than tasteful.
I think I should revisit this with my Bronica with some EFKE IR... I can't imagine how that will look!

Glad I shot this, and I am even more happy at how it turned out.. 

Considering the amount of newer homes in the area, these old homes really do stand out.

Until next time....

The Hyena

I once read something about Wildlife images being in colour, and just not working properly in B&W.  No matter how hard I have tried to understand the reasoning behind this, I just can't.
Sure, you can get some great impact with the colours of the animals, such as Tropical birds, or the great colours of the Baboons, and even the way the Lions blend in with the grasses upon their hunt.  But to say that they won't work in B&W just doesn't sit well with me.
So to prove a point, I took an image of a Hyena, which was shot in full Colour on Fuji Reala 100 film, and decided to change the image to a B&W LITH type of image.

To the left is the image I took, in full detailed B&W toned in Photoshop CS5 and using Exposure 4 to get the Kodalith layer. 
I really enjoyed how it brought out so much more contrast to the image.  This, in fact, worked out quite well.

Perhaps I am interpreting the phrasing incorrectly about B&W not working with Wild-life, as I see many B&W Wildlife images, and some are just brilliant.  Perhaps it's more about tradition, and that with animals, colour is just the more accepted.

I guess, like many, I just can't stand to be part of an old tradition, and if B&W didn't work with wildlife, what about old National Geographic magazines?  I have a horde of those from the early 1900's and the photos are almost entirely in B&W.

Christmas Portraits

So last year, shortly before Christmas, I did some portraits of my sister's kids. 
I used some Rollei Retro 80s, as well as some Digital shots and Kodak Ektar 100.  The studio session went as I expected, but I wanted to try some Fuji NPS 160, and shoot off a few frames in my Praktica L2.
Studio setup was fairly simple, with a keylamp (SunPAK Auto 622 Pro) AC Slave bounced in an umbrella, Fill Lamp (Canon 199A) and a secondary slave b/g lamp.

Attached to my Praktica L2 is a lens that I no longer have, my Yashica Yashinon-DX Auto 50mm ƒ/2.  Fantastic little sleeper lens it is, as it is a chrome-nosed little lens from the mid-60s.  It's an older design, not the best looking lens, but it serves its purpose quite well.
When I took this, I was actually just testing out the camera and wanted to see how this camera performed in a studio setting.
Sure enough, it looks like it performed rather well!

Although I didn't get a chance to use this camera for the portaits at all, I did get the chance to see how it performed in a studio session, and will use it again should I get the chance.  I no longer have this lens, as I traded it to a friend of mine for his Exakta VXIIa, which I thoroughly love, and have to get it into a studio session soon!

But unfortunately I ended up shooting with my Bronica ETRs and my Canon EOS 40D only, and really wish I could have had the chance to use my Praktica for more than just some test shots.  I guess I'll have to get the chance in the future, but for now it'll have to be delegated for some outdoor time and see what I can do with it that way. 

I had a fair bit of fun doing these shots, and my sister was more than pleased with them.  She doesn't have a lot of photos of her kids, so getting a full set of portraits, three 8x10s (one of each of her kids) plus an 11x14 of all three, and I think she really enjoyed her Christmas gift last year.

Hopefully I can do something far better this year, and get some more portraits for her.  Plus, I think I'll be doing some of my parents' this year, and my brother and his wife.  Time to crack out the 4x5 for some serious work!

The Final Results...

Well, I have decided that this Pentacon 50mm ƒ/1.8 lens is going to be the last M42 50mm lens I ever buy.  I don't even see the need to get a 50mm ƒ/1.4, because this lens is that good.  Originally called a Meyer Optic Oreston 50mm, you can get the idea that it is a damn good lens.  Some have said it's far too clinical, cold, and unyielding.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  This is probably one of the best lenses I have ever used next to a Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm ƒ/2.8.  The Sharpness of a Tessar is fantastic, and probably, albeit barely, one of the sharpest lenses you can ever buy.  There's a reason why Hassleblad only uses Zeiss glass.
But at the same time, the Meyer/Pentacon lens is similar to the Pancolor lens, at least in design. 
I've put this lens through it paces, from shooting B&W film, digital, and now colour consumer film, I must say that it has performed beyond my expectations.  Without knowing how well it would work, I didn't have very high hopes for it, and bought it to actually increase the value of a Praktica camera I was intending on selling.  I was even more dismayed when the lens arrived, in pieces.  The centre stack was separated from the barrel, the glass was full of haze, and fungus.  I was quite upset, and let the seller know that the lens arrived in far worse shape than they said it would.  Thankfully I was able to put the lens back together, and got it to focus at infinity and close focusing as well.  Needless to say, after the harsh email I sent to the seller, they refunded the entire purchase, allowing me to keep the lens.  I was still very far from impressed, but at least I got the lens for nothing.. monetarily..  Mind  you, had I had to send this lens out for repair, I probably would have spent far more on the repair than on the amount I spent to buy it! 
Well I took the final steps and took the lens apart. Element by element... and cleaned it fully.  From a simple purchase, that would have cost roughly $40.00 (including shipping) to a near full lens refurbishing, that probably would cost near $200.00 at a repair shop.  It was NOT a cheap purchase, but thankfully by doing the repair and cleaning myself, it has flipped the lens and made it a very worth while purchase.
Above image of the street was taken on this lens prior to the cleaning of the elements, and honestly, I was not impressed with it after I took that image.  It left me rather saddened to think I picked this lens up, and that it was producing some mediocre results, at best.  Image to the left, well, that's the image quality after the cleaning and full refurbishing of this lens.  Just incredible!  My first image was in B&W of an Emu that I took early in April, which the sharpness of the image just blew me away.
On that note I would highly encourage anyone with the chance to pick up one of these phenomenal lenses.

Keep those shutters firing!

Cheers

A Roll In A Day/A Day In A Roll - TAKE 2 (update)

So I'm working on scanning the images from the RIAD/DIAR #2 and really liking how the shots are coming out.
The part that is really surprising me is that I'm seeing the majority of shots that came out are the ones that I metered by eye when I finished the day in High-Park.  This is quite good, because I wasn't sure if they were going to come out or not, considering that I didn't have a meter, the lighting was crappy, and I was shooting at 1/100s ƒ/5.6 (and any variable that would go along with this)..  The images aren't under, or over, exposed.  But quite balanced, which is good, considering I was using EKTAR 100, which is a rather unforgiving, for a negative print, film.  It's constantly toted as a "negative slide film" for it's slightly more limited latitude, but has incredibly fine grain, and an exceptional colour bias.

Lunch Is Served

I do pray that Kodak keeps this film going for a long long time, especially considering that it's available in 35mm to sheet film, and Fuji Reala is only available in 120.  I couldn't imagine how good it would have been in 4x5, but I don't think it was ever available that big..

Constant Construction

Pylons

Cherry Blossoms