I took this photograph about one year ago on a walk in the park. It was a crisp winter morning and I was feeling like my batteries had been fully recharged over the holidays. I had not used the word pandemic in a sentence since a term paper I wrote in high school about the Middle Ages. A few years ago, that was. I had no earthly idea what was coming. At any rate, I was naturally attracted to the clouds that day because of the drama they impart to the scene. At the time it seemed like an optimistic view. And you know what, I still think it is. Today, I'm hoping that the clouds are about to part, just a little.
The image was shot on the Leicaflex (original) with the first version of the 50 mm f/2.
A couple of days ago in the late afternoon, the light was looking pretty good around the house. I went to the studio and grabbed the Rolleiflex SL66, the 120 mm macro, and a roll of T-max 100. The light was low in the sky, still intense, but making for nice shadows. The exposure was f/22 for 1 second. The shutter on the old Rollei tends to run a bit slow, it sounds more like two seconds to my ear. I didn't worry about it because I wanted to overexpose the negatives a little bit anyway. How's that for exposure compensation? At this point, I'm just happy the Rollei is still clicking after nearly sixty years of service. Solid camera. I'm always pleased with the photographs it makes. If I'm ever disappointed, it turns out to be the photographer's fault.
One of my resolutions is to shoot with one film stock for a month or so. Just for fun. So, I picked up a half a dozen rolls of Delta 400. Looking forward to getting to know this emulsion a little bit better.
Happy new year!
