Framed

It took us three hours to get into the city and we were over an hour late for our assigned time, but thankfully, the guards still let us in to the museum. It was a bit over crowded inside for my tastes, so I spent a good deal of time leaning on the perimeter wall and looking out at the expansive view of Washington, DC. Kind of like staring out to sea, the existential gaze. 

Tasting notes: Contax T, Ilford FP4+.

Pocketable

On a recent stay in Washington DC, I decided to take my Contax T camera and some Ilford FP4+. As fate would have it, the temperature plummeted and the battery-dependent little camera struggled a bit. It took a little coaxing to get any outdoor shots at all. It was quite windy down at the Tidal Basin and I enjoyed photographing there, as I don’t visit often. I’m always pleased with the results I am able to get with the tiny T. It would be amazing to see a digital version of the T.

Early Blooms

 

I thought the forty mph gusts of wind would keep the tourists at home, but no such luck. The city was overrun with them. Where we did get lucky, tough, is spotting a few early cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin. In a few days, it will be a madhouse down there.

Far Out, Yet So Close

From my school days in Texas a few decades ago, I have memories of driving past the old Austin Motel on South Congress Avenue. That's the place with the phallic neon sign that still reads, 'So Close, Yet So Far Out'. Whatever that means. Truth be told, I really rather enjoyed the cosmic hippie side of old Austin, with its groovy vibe that seemed so out of place in the middle of Texas. At any rate, all this came to mind on a recent walk through Algonkian Memorial Park near Washington, DC the other day. There we were, out in the nearly pristine landscape, or as close to it as one can get these days, yet we were also just a stone's throw away from a golf course owned by a former president of the United States.

Not a subterranean creature

We decided to walk down to the Metro Center station rather than hopping on the train at Dupont Circle. In my opinion, it is always a good idea to stay above ground as long as possible. The experience of the endless escalator decent into the Dupont Circle Metro station is a bit like being swallowed by a whale. At any rate, it was nice to see the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on our walk. More and more folks are venturing out these days, but I would still characterize the crowds as pretty small. I am not complaining, mind you! It was very pleasant to experience the city this way. The Fuji X30 was in my bag and I also really enjoyed using the Black/White film simulation and trusting the camera to process the files well.

In need of repair

I was walking near Dupont Circle among the various embassies, when I came upon this scene. Half of the building appeared to be in pretty good shape while the other half languished in very poor repair. I guess that can happen when the embassy of a smallish country is housed in a somewhat large building. The wooden members near the roof line appear to be rotting out. Nevertheless, it is a wonderful structure that I hope gets the attention it deserves. It has been enjoyable walking around with the Fuji X30 shooting in the monochrome film simulation mode. The tonalities are handled very nicely and there is basically no post production required. In a pinch, the jpeg files have more latitude than I would have thought.

That Leica feeling

At some point on your photographic journey, you're going to want to shoot with a Leica. You're going to want to see for yourself what the Leica hardware brings to your images. You're going to be at least tempted to do it, and you'll give it some serious thought. I've been there, but I never really wanted to lay out the cash required to get into the M-system. I turned my attention instead to the Leica reflex cameras and they've kept me pretty busy ever since. As with all film cameras, they are not being made anymore, but they definitely had a good run (1964-2009). The penultimate Leica R camera was the R8, which is unique looking, let's put it that way. A few years ago they were practically giving them away, and the lenses were pretty affordable, too, at least the non-exotic ones. That is not so much the case anymore as folks have discovered these remarkable photographic tools. The first lens I bought was a 35mm f/2. Believe it or not, the camera and lens together cost about $600 -- it will be at least double that these days, unfortunately. At any rate, I took this set-up with me on a trip to Washington, DC, and spent about an hour photographing near the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture. I had a roll of Ilford HP5+ in the camera and I shot the entire roll there. Here's one of my favorites from that shoot. I like the contrast in this photograph between the new architecture and the reflection of the classic architecture in the windows. I was at f/8 to test the sharpness of the lens. It did pretty well in that regard, I'd say. (Click to see the image larger.) These lens designs are all pretty long in the tooth by now and it is worth noting that they can't really compete with more modern lens designs on the technical side. I'm willing to carry that burden.