Before 2020

I am not usually a huge fan of cross processed film, but this lone roll of E-6 film was just sitting undeveloped on a shelf staring me in the face, so I impulsively chucked it into the developing tank along with a roll of regular C-41 color film. I was using the venerable Summicron R 35 mm f/2. It is a terrific lens, but flares pretty easily and has just the right amount of distortion. Looking back, the past often seems like a more innocent time. That is frequently down to nostalgia, of course, but for most of us alive today, it's probably an accurate assessment of our experiences prior to 2020.

Los Angeles and Portra, a match made in heaven...

The combination of the light in Southern California and the color palette of Kodak Portra 400 film seems like a match made in heaven to me. And, if on a given visit I could only visit one location, it would definitely be the Getty. I always seem to be able to find interesting subject matter both inside the galleries and outside on the grounds. On this day in January a couple of years ago, I could see clearly from Catalina Island to the snow capped inland mountain ranges. The Leica R8 I was carrying was fitted with the 35mm f/2 Summicron. You can't see it here but the lens has a real tendency to flare when pointed toward the light, and that is really the only thing I don't care for about the lens.

Tasting notes: Leica R8, Summicron-R 35mm (newest version), Portra 400 overexposed by a stop.

Creep

I came across this display in a curio shop we discovered on a day trip about a year ago. I was carrying the Leicaflex SLmot camera from the 1960s with an old version of the 50mm Summicron mounted on the front. It was a cloudy and dim day, and I had a cheap, fast black and white film loaded up. The SLmot sure is one heavy old camera, and I was not quite able to hold still enough when I made this exposure. The motion blur bugged me quite a bit at time I developed the negatives, but I also thought the blurriness suited the creepy subject matter. It was just a question of finding the best treatment in post production -- I had to live with the image a while, I guess. I'm happy enough with this version of the image. There is something about old dolls with their porcelain complexions and black holes for eyes -- very creepy stuff. Right up there with merry-go-round ponies and ventriloquist dummies on the horror scale. Anyway, I like the way the store owner arranged the disembodied legs below the head. The SLmot is quite a lot of fun to shoot, actually, and given its weight, you get a nice calorie burn as well. I've never used it with the motor drive, which would really up the intensity of the workout. The motor drive version of the Leica R cameras have the self timers deleted, which makes them look especially cool, in my view. According to my research, the SLmot is the rarest of all of the Leica R cameras, with only a few thousand having been made.