View From a Damaged House

A number of years ago, some friends of ours lived in a pretty fabulous home designed by a well known local architect and situated on a wooded multi-acre lot just outside of town. The home had not been well cared for or maintained over the years, but the beauty of the place won out over all the leaks and creaks. Once these folks relocated, though, the property was bought up by a local developer. The old place was what they call a tear down, and we knew we had to act quickly, so one cold morning, my wife and I spent a couple of hours photographing there.

Tasting notes: Nikon D200 digital camera.  

What Lenses are You Bringing On Your Final Photowalk?

Whether film or digital, CCD or CMOS, Foveon or X-Trans, the recording medium in photography helps impart the flatness of the image, one of the defining characteristics of a photograph. Together with the lens, it also sets the field of view. And the color response of the sensor or film can literally set the tone of an image. The lens projects an image onto the sensor, and, crucially, also defines a unique plane of focus. In reality, the factors that characterize a photographic image are pretty difficult to cleanly disentangle. Yet, when you shoot with a great lens, it is hard not to come to the conclusion that the glass is the most important aspect of photographic imaging. So much so that I already have a few of my faves set aside for my final photowalk.

Tasting notes: Canon 5D, Canon 135mm f/2 L lens. 

Welcome to the Funhouse

I love me a good greenhouse. Always have. There used to be a nursery in our area where a photographically inclined person could wander around at length taking pictures with no hassles. The owner really didn't care as long as you bought a couple of plants before you drove off. Being married to a gardener, that was what the folks in suits would call a win-win. The old place is long gone and the new generation of nurseries are typically surrounded by chain link fences. While I generally make a conscious effort to line up my shots, in the heat of the moment, part of the fence can sometimes creep into the composition. Kind of like how your finger can wander into a cell phone shot, if ya dig. These days, it is pretty easy to photoshop those kinds of distractions out of the shot and end up with something useable in spite of your, er, sloppiness.

Tasting notes: Leica Q.

Sometimes You *Can* Get Some Satisfaction

I am not quite sure what to make of the plethora of boutique films that are available these days. Of course, it is a great 'problem' to have. On the one hand, although quite fun to experiment with, many of these emulsions are not what I would want to shoot everyday. And on the other hand, if a special film is useful for a particular application, I seem never to have it with me at the appropriate time. Oh well. What I tend to do is grab a roll of the unique film du jour and go out shooting for fun. Recently, I reached for some Washi Z film. Due to its near IR sensitivity I needed to shoot with a red filter on the lens, and the only lens I have that would accommodate the single red filter in my possession was was the old Canon FD 35 mm f/2.8 TSE. So, I mounted it onto the Canon EF and hit the road. Overall, I was very pleased with the results, even though the red filter cost 3 stops of light (EI = 50). Owing to the contrast of the light on that day, I tended to prefer the look of the images with a split tone treatment applied. 

Good light, NIR or visible, this weekend.

Tasting notes: Canon EF camera, Canon FD 35mm f/2.8 TSE lens, Washi Z film, toned in Ps.

Window to the Soul

I made this photograph in 2019, which, in hindsight, seems like an entirely different era from the one we are living through now. Were we looking out at the world with unseeing, statue eyes? Actually, I think we were just going about our lives, but in hindsight… we always think we should have seen it coming.

Tasting notes: Sony digital camera, Zeiss 35 mm f/2.8 lens.

Super Slow Nature Photography with a 60 Year Old Film Camera

When I first saw this negative, I was just a little disappointed that part of the mantis was slightly out of focus due to the shallow depth of field on medium format film. On the other hand, I was also pretty pleased with the image, considering I was hand holding a sixty year old Rolleiflex SL66 to get the shot. Luckily, I had a modern digital camera at hand to capture a tack sharp image of the scene. At the end of the day, though, the film image was my favorite photograph. You just can't beat the pentagonal bokeh of the old Rollei lenses.

Tasting notes: Rolleiflex SL66, Zeiss 120 mm f/5.6 S-Planar lens, Tri-X. 

Two's Day, Ha Ha

 

A pair of of photographs showing a pair of leeks and a pair of artichokes for this Tuesday :).

Tasting notes: Rolleiflex SL66, Rollei 120 mm f/5.6, Washi Z film.