Category Archives: Inspired By Series

Film Photography Projects, Inspired By Series, Intersections, My Inner Monet, Personal Vision, The Story

Frugal Film Project: Pre-1940 Camera Options

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IFor the 4th Quarter of 2020 I tested the Agfa Billy Clack No. 51, a 645 medium format camera from 1934/. The cost on EBay was $35. The Photos were quite successful, leading me to try my other less than $50 Pre-1940’s cameras:

Pre-1940’s CamerasYearCostFormat
Mom’s Kodak Art Deco 620 Camera1933Free620
Kodak Jiffy Series II SIX 20 Camera1928-32$14620
AGFA Billy Clack 51 6×4.5 German strut folding1934$35120
AGFA Billy Clack 74 6X9 German strut folding1934$40120
AGFA Isolette 6X6 German Strut folding1937$35120

So these are the primary cameras I will be using for The Frugal Film Project.

AGFA Billy Clack 74 6X9 is the January 2021 Camera I will Start with. Using Ektar 100 Film to capture the end of the Holiday Saeson.

The rest of the Cameras givin in no particular use order. I’ll just have to see what the conditions are and what’s going n that’s of Photographic interest. In other wirds, I’ll let the circumstance pick the camera and the film.

AGFA Billy Clack 51 6×4.5 I’ve had a lot of success with. So it may make more than on appearance in the project.

AGFA Isolette 6X6 shows some promise. I will probably reserve it for the faster B&W film, the Tri-X 400.

And now for the Kodak Cameras……….

Mom’s Kodak Art Deco 620 Camera. This camera needs a bit of a work out. It uses 620 format film (similar to 120 film). I’ve only put one roll of film through it. There’s no formal unboxing. M mom simply gave it to me Christmas 2019 in a cloth bag.

NEEDS PHOTO

Kodak Jiffy Series II SIX 20, The non-Art Deco version of Mom’s camera. I have not yet tested this camera. So we shall see…….

There are also some Post-1940 cameras, such as my Grandfather’s Argus Brick, which will likely be a part of this year;s Frugal Film. We’ll introduce those cameras as I apply thm.

Contests, Film Photography Projects, Inspired By Series, Intersections, My Inner Monet, Nature, Personal Vision, The Story

Looking Forward to 2021

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I choose this image to sum up my feeling about the Year 2020:

A Word from My Inner Monet

Check here for my 202 0opes and Dreams.

What am I looking forward to for 2021?

Well, my brain tumor decided to return with a vengeance at the end of 2020, leaving me partially blind and with an uncertain future.

My Hopes? To maintain the stability of the sight that I have and retire on disability. Technically I am legally blind and cannot continue my work. But I can see well enough to continue with my photography. And there is a slim chance of visual improvement.

Right now I am waiting….Patience. As my surgeons try to decide if more surgery will help……

Hopefully Next Year will be better!

So I am going to go ahead and make plans for 2021, including photographic plans:

+Of course, continuing my own Blog

+Working with Pre-194’s cameras for My Inner Monet

+Continuing with the Frugal Film Project

+Continuing the Thursday Doors

+Continuing the Inspired By Series

+Adding more Pinhole work, consistent with My Inner Monet…..

+Occasionally entering contests; although not a high priority.

So I am Looking Forward to a Happy, Healthy and Productive 2021

Contests, Film Photography Projects, Inspired By Series, Intersections, My Inner Monet, Personal Vision, Street Photography, The Story, Urban Landscapes

Summary of the #CameraChallenge from ILFORDPhoto

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I decided to summarize my participation in the @ILFORDPhoto #CameraChallenge on Twitter, and posted on my Long’s Peak Journal.

@ILFORDPhoto and @_JasonAvery sponsor Photo Challenges on Twitter……..

@_JasonAvery

#filmphotography @ILFORDPhoto

#photography

#believeinfilm

#analogphotography

Inspired By Series, Intersections, Landscapes, My Garden, My Inner Monet, Nature, Personal Vision, Portraits, Themes

Through The Glass: Patience

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By the time you read this we will be on our way back to the Phoenix Mayo Clinic for the next 30 days. We made arrangements to stay at the Condos we had used before.

After talking to the second neuro-surgery teleconference it was decided to run some additional tests before scheduling surgery. I will tell you that I had started the steroid therapy and there was some improvement, especially for my left eye. Undoubtably this is the source of my extended testing.

Now I have the results or a preliminary evaluation…..Surgery now or Later? The vote for surgery later (maybe). We are in a wait and see mode hoping to stabilized my vision and move forward. I wii definitely ready to hear that news.

So I am off into the Mountains for a drive today. Still testing ‘old cameras’ and ‘new’ films. Taking it easy for the rest of this year. And can I Say “Hallelujah, Amen”!

Film Photography Projects, Inspired By Series, My Garden, My Inner Monet, The Story

Looking Through Someone Else’s Glass………

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A friend recently sent me a link to a professional photographer, Jay Zukerkorn, who is dealing with the changes in his photography resulting from Parkinson’s Disease. He has tremors to deal with, but decided to work with them instead of against them.

Here are two quotes from the article that are especially pertinent to me:

“Has Parkinson’s disease changed your perspective on your art?

Absolutely. In my former career, my photos were hyper-sharp and perfectly retouched. Now I embrace these blurred imperfections.

In what other ways do your photographs speak for you?

My photos represent a new way of walking through life. I’ve had a life-altering diagnosis, which has been humbling, but it hasn’t stopped me from moving forward.”

So I no longer reject the ‘out of focus’.  Especially since I am experimenting with all if these pre-1940 cameras.  In this case My Kodak 1913 Autographic:

Then I found some problems with my right eye; a vitreous detachment. Luckily it won’t cause blindness and will probably even show some improvement. But oddly now each eye has its own specialist…….

So now I am moving in a different way (figuratively and literally) and seeing and experience the world differently. So check out some of My Inner Monet as well…….

Inspired By Series, Intersections, Personal Vision, Portraits, Social Commentary, The Story

For Palm Sunday: Inspired by Alyssa Chiarello

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No Palms for Palm Sunday, but something to think about during our time of social distancing……..I recently read the Alyssa Chiarello article “5 Photo Books for the Quarantine Life“, as recommended by Jim Grey.  Social Distancing does not mean that you never go out unless your goal is to go crazy!

And so I have been inspired by Alyssa to go out and document what life has become under these quarantine conditions.  And as she suggests, look back at those photos in a few years and see what is different.  I decided to start with photos of my current state of being, AND the often called for Masks…….These are leftover from my days as a geochemist when I was processing rock samples for analysis.  Seems like they’ve found a new use.

MAsk1

It is also important to remember that  “stay-at-home” does not mean that you lock yourself up at home.  It means maintain proper social distancing when you do have to go out.  The need to go out includes getting some fresh air at the local parks, or taking a safe ride in the country.

 

 

Inspired By Series, Intersections, Landscapes, My Inner Monet, Nature, The Story

Inspired By: Nathan McCreery

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I finally grasped Film as a Journey at a 2016 B&W Photography Workshop in Condon, Montana with the Photographer’s Formulary Crew, and Nathan McCreery as the instructor. Corrected some lazy mistakes I was making, but learned new things too!.  And I was finally convinced to use a spot meter! (Well, OK I still often use the camera meter).

 

WorkshopResultsPost2

 

VanLakeFog2

 

VanLakeFog1

 

 

Nathan will be the Artist in Residence , September 2020 at the Big Horn National Forest, Montana………..

Tech Info: Mamiya 6X7, Kodak T-Max 400, film developer Formulary’s FA-1027, exposure (spotmeter) f/22 for 2 seconds.

Check out Craig Sheaks on Film as a Journey that can transform you……And another perspective on the Film Photographic Journey.

Architecture, Film Photography Projects, Inspired By Series, Intersections, Landscapes, Personal Vision, Social Commentary, The Story

Inspired By: Bruce Hucko

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Cisco Ghost Town, Near Moab, UT:

Cisco_Gas_Station

Bruce Hucko was the Founder of the Moab Photography Symposium, which ran for 15 years and had its last meeting in 2018.  The results was a wrap up Book containing images from Participants:

MoabBlurbBook

The Featured Image above is one of my book prints.  The others are here below:

 

But more importantly, Bruce worked on local Preservation and Conservation Issues, contributing Photographs and field experiences that were instrumental in the protection of the Bears Ears National Monument, Utah.  This region and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Park are now under threat from Fracking and Mining interests.  This prompted a recent Visit to the Grand Staircase and Capitol Reef Parks this past Fall.  We wanted to see them before they were gone……..We start with some scenes from Ruins of the Ancient Ones in New Mexico and Arizona.

 

Aztec Ruins, NM:

Aztec Ruins, NM

 

Pecos Pueblo, NM:

Pecos_Kiva2

Casa Rinconada at Chaco Canyon:

CasaRinconada

 

Sears-Kay Ruins, AZ:

SearsKayRuins

 

And a view from the Cathedral Trail at Capitol Reef:

BuckButte

 

Please Remember the Absolute Necessity of Preserving our Natural Environment.  Give it Some Love!

Happy Valentine’s Day

Architecture, Inspired By Series, Interior Spaces, Intersections, My Inner Monet, Personal Vision, The Story

Inspired By: Christopher James

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I’ve done a couple of night time workshops with Christopher James in Downtown Denver.  But I think what I have learned the most about myself from working with him is an appreciation of Interior Spaces:

KEJohnson_Convent
The Symbol of My Journey

As I mentioned in My Inner Monet at the start of the year, I’d been aiming at those grand sweeping landscapes and missing the point………My talents were leading me elsewhere.  More towards interiors and intimate landscapes.

So here is a summary of some interior spaces at Christopher’s Old studio (unfortunately now a gentrified condo) and one from the Byers-Evans House:

 

And what about that space ship in the Denver Library:

Library1Library2

Christopher has been busy lately with the care of his elderly parents.  But I hope to see him back at the Colorado Photographic Arts Center offering Workshops Again……..