A Fan of The Blues In the Middle of Nowhere

You never know what you’re gonna find out there, I mean, I sure wasn’t expecting Lead Belly. But there he was, alright.

Hope you have good light and plenty of shutter time this weekend. Whatever you do, be sure to stay hydrated!

Tasting notes: Leicaflex SL2 film camera, 35 mm Summicron (old version), Ilford Ortho film.

A Question of Balance

The Elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8 (first version) is not the best lens I own, not by a long shot, but it is definitely a favorite of mine, and it gets used quite a bit. The reason is pretty simple: the lens designers were able to find an excellent balance between size and performance, one that aligns well with my preferences, I reckon. I would also say that this little lens appears to have been designed before the obsession with boke came into its own. It is pretty unique in its rendering of the out of focus highlights.

I hope you have good light this weekend, and that you can get by carrying a lens that is 'only' f/2.8. 😀 

Tasting notes: Leicaflex SL2, Elmarit-R 35mm, HP5+, DDX 1+4.

Leica 💪

A composition I like.

Tasting notes: Leicaflex SL2, 35mm f/2.8, HP5+, DDX 1+4.

FIVE OH CRAP

During the early part of the pandemic, I decided that I would document some of the local schools and playgrounds in my neck of the woods. Nothing overly profound as a motivation, just images of empty fields, that kind of thing. The kind of shots many folks would end up making. Mostly, it was a nice chance for me to get out of the house with a camera and a simple goal in mind during an uncertain time. Then, things got a little weird. I noticed that every time I began photographing, the police would drop by to ask me what was going on. The officers I met always just laughed when I told them what was up, so some nutter must have been calling them, and, in a show of good faith, they had to check me out. Now, these images have begun to take on a slightly more sinister meaning for me.

Tasting notes: Leicaflex SL2, 35mm f/2 lens, Lomo Berlin film.

No Silver Bullets

I remember stocking up on a particular brand of film that was described by folks online as inherently 'cinematic'. It sounded amazing, and I was excited to shoot a few rolls. But, in practice, the negatives just never turned out all that great, technically, and the results certainly were not particularly cinematic, even if the images were pleasant enough. This experience surfaced again recently because I've been watching a lot of black and white movies that were filmed from the 1940s through the 1980s. What strikes me about the cinematic aesthetic is that the exposure and lighting were always spot on, in other words, technically well executed. No silver bullets.

Tasting notes: Leicaflex SL2, 35mm f/2 lens (first version).