Category Archives: The Story

Film Photography Projects, Intersections, Landscapes, Nature, Personal Vision, Portraits, The Story

Lomo Purple Revisited: Lessons Learned Part II

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PurpleLoveliness4

Lomo Purple is definitely an interesting film.  I had never tried a ‘special effects’ film before.  And surprisingly, I like it.  But there are some caveats that never seem to be mentioned in Lomo Purple posts and promotions,

So this is more of a user’s guide than a film review.  I’ll let you try the film and decide if you like it. FIRST:  the angle of the sun with respect to your image scene is the biggest factor for a successful image.  I’ve discussed in a Lomo Purple is definitely an interesting film.  I had never tried a ‘special effects’ film before.  And surprisingly, I like it.  But there are some caveats that never seem to be mentioned in Lomo Purple posts and promotions, I have touched upon this in previous post and hope to publish a full summary review of my experiences soon.  But note that the ideal sun angle is 90 to 180 degrees from the image scene.  In my most recent Lomo Purple roll shown here, I was careful with the sun angle.

 

I have one more roll of medium format Lomo Purple being developed now.  I also plan on runnig an exposure time test for the RSS Pinhole.  AND in a few weeks I expect an @Emulsivefilm summary article of My Lomo Purple experiences to be published.

Architecture, Film Photography Projects, Intersections, Nature, Portraits, Social Commentary, The Story

Frugal Film Project Roll #4: and the Light Meter Failed……

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I had been debating a camera change for my official membership in the 2020 Frugal Film Project.  But as I worked my way through the August #camerachallenge, the light meter on the Canonet failed, and it’s not worth fixing.  So in a future post I will be proposing three possible camera replacements for Frugal Film 2020, and I’ll have you vote for your favorite in November………

For now, here are six favorites from the #camerachallenge which I shot with the Canonet and planned to use for both projects this month:

 

 

 

Contests, Film Photography Projects, Personal Vision, The Story, Themes

Rethinking the “Now Showing” Page, Does it Really Matter?

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A quote from Linda Ronstadt:

“You do it for the work.  If you are doing it for the prizes, you are in big trouble”

and a Quote from Cole Thompson:

“In the past I’ve considered those accolades as the evidence of my success, but I now think differently. My success is no longer measured by the length of my resume, but rather by how I feel about the art that I create. While I do enjoy exhibiting, seeing my work published and meeting people who appreciate my art, this is an extra benefit of creating, but not success itself.”

I’ve been through this thought process before.  But this time a different twist.  Now showing will be going dark for a while.  I haven’t deleted it.  Just hidden. As I mentioned before, I always get the sam level of award.  They know I’m good enough to deserve some attention, but my personal style and personal vision are obviously NOT in vogue right now.  So do I stick with what I enjoy or literally ‘shoot for the hip and trendy’?

My husband recently found an interesting blog post on this very subject by Ellen Borggreve. From “Photography is not a Competition”:

“Even though there are photographic competitions, photography itself and art in general is not a competition. In the creative process there is no finish line, no competitors, no comparison. All creative endeavours are in their essence subjective, personal and incomparable. Yet the modern digital reality has created this sense of urgency and competition which I feel is hugely detrimental to art.”

Honestly I wouldn’t know how to shoot for the ‘hip and trendy’ because I do photography to make myself happy.  As Comfort and a personal creative outlet.   I find online activities like the recent #camerachallenge add some spice and allow me to interact with more like-minded photographers.  I will be keeping my Publications Page, because that actually does matter.

If I enter a contest I will still post the results here.  But no more “Now Showing”  because I don’t want THAT to be my focus……..And what people on Twitter, Instagram, Blogspot or WordPress find interesting, may not be what’s interesting TO ME.

Botanicals_Datura

Sacred Datura from my Garden; Kodak T-MAX 400; cropped from a Mamiya 645 frame with 80 mm Macro Lens.

 

Architecture, Intersections, Personal Vision, The Story, Urban Landscapes

I. M. Pei’s Mesa Lab Through the Fisheye

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Last week featured the disastrous Lomo Purple pinhole results.  This week a better result with B&W film, a Fisheye lens and the Mamiya 1000S 645 shooting Sunny 16.

Mesa_Entrance2

Famous Architect I.M. Pei (1917-2019) designed the Mesa Lab for the National Center for Atmospheric Science in 1961.  It was his first totally ‘hands on’ project in a number of years and he found inspiration in the natural rock formations, The Flatirons.

My favorite photographic location at the Mesa is the Courtyard:

Mesa_Courtyard

Mesa_Courtyard5

You have to love that Star Sun, totally unexpected!  You just have to accept the lens flares.  They don’t bother me.

Mesa_StarSun

I had toyed with the idea of buying a Mamiya 645 fisheye.  But when I thought about it the price was prohibitive (>$1200) for a lens I would rarely use.  So when I came across a discussion online about the Arsat Zodiak-8 f/3.5 30mm fisheye for and average price less than $200, I started searching for one.  Glad I bought this last Winter, because it seems to have been discovered and the prices have doubled.  The Luminous Landscape has a nice write-up on the lens, so I won’t try to duplicate that here.

Mamiya_1000S_Zodiak_8

The set-up: using my lovely refurbished Mamiya 1000S with the waste level view finder and shooting Sunny 16 with Ilford Delta 400 film.  Check out more Fisheye Fun here.

Architecture, Film Photography Projects, The Story, Urban Landscapes

What I’ve learned about Lomo Purple, Pinholes and ………..

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What I’ve learned is that Lomo Purple does not work well for long exposures or in bright sunlight.  I also think that the high altitude and stronger UV are a problem.  So my attempt to use Lomo Purple in my Diana Pinhole for Diana Day failed miserably.  The Featured image is the best one.  But not sure I’m going to post it on Instagram.

 

By the way, this is a Famous I.M Pei Biuilding in Boulder, Colorado.  Fortunately I was also shooting my 645 Fisheye with B&W film.  Those will post next week…….

So, other than avoiding all the conditions that I live with in Colorado (altitude, bright sunlight, high UV) any suggestions from other High Altitude Lomo Purple Users on getting better results?

I have posts from two more rolls of Lomo Purple coming soon…………

So we’ll end on a positive note with some purple loveliness taken with short exposure times (sun angle ~90 degrees):

PurpleLoveliness1

Intersections, Landscapes, Nature, Personal Vision, Portraits, The Story, Urban Landscapes

Why Fisheye?

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I’ve realized that I had several Fisheye lens/camera set ups.  My First was a Zenitar Fisheye for my 35 mm Minolta Family:

 

 

Minolta Zenitar Redwoods:

Redwoods

Next I acquired a Lomo Fisheye:

PeachesBooks

Then a Fisheye attachment for the Holga.  My First Emulsive Secret Santa Gift:

Holga_Fisheye

Next A Fisheye Lens for My Diana:

Diana_Fisheye2

Wow this is out of control right?  So I thought about “Rewarding” myself with a Mamiya 645 fish eye lens after recovering from a recent illness.  The price though, was daunting  (~$1200) and I thought about how little I actually use any of my other Fisheye Lenses. Then I became aware of the Arsat Zodiak-8 Fisheye, and picked one up for $120.  In fact I bought two cameras and two lenses for the cost of the most expensive M645 Fisheye listing ($1800).

So, now for the first results from the Arsat with comparisons to my 35 mm Fisheye:

Fisheye_ChapelontheRock

Chapel on the Rock: 645 Arsat Fisheye, Peak to Peak Highway

Fisheye_TreeontheRock

Above: I call this one the “Tree on the Rock”  also Peak to Peak Highway.

Now from some side by side comparisons to my 35 mm Zenitar Fisheye )left B&W is 645; right color is 35 mm):  These were taken from the same tripod position.

 

 

 

 

 

If you are old enough to remember, the 1970’s were a Fisheye crazed time.  Even the original Hawaii 5-0 had a fisheye view of a landing plane in its Intro. But, I haven’t answered my question yet:  Why Fisheye?  Well, just for the fun of it!

Post Script:  I haven’t forgotten 9/11, I’m just not going to support the politicization of it.  I will Always Honor those who died.

Film Photography Projects, Nature, Personal Vision, The Story

B&W Flowers from My Garden

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OK, I’m a believer.  Photographers were always raving about Ilford HP5.  But I didn’t share the fascination until this past Spring.  On my Journey to Phoenix I wanted to take 35 mm B&W film.  The only thing I had in the fridge was Ilford HP5.  So I grabbed the 5 rolls and headed out………

And I’ve finally discovered the situations where the ‘GRAIN” works for me.  Here is a summary of my HP5 Best Case (all HP5 except where noted):

 

 

(Note: the datura, upper right is T-MAX)

 

(Note:  Yuca Baccata, upper left, is digital IR)

September on my Other Blog is all about B&W in the Garden.

Film Photography Projects, Intersections, Social Commentary, The Story

Exploring Expired Film

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Recently I’ve had developed some expired film ‘given’ to me by a neighbor.  Here’s the backstory, they were moving and knew that I had an interest in film cameras.  I was given two cameras that contained partially exposed rolls of film:  A Canon Sure Shot point and shoot and a Fujica ST-705.

I told them that I would finish exposing the rolls and have them developed.  To preserve their privacy I will only share the images that I exposed to complete the rolls.  It was also at least 30 year old film not stored under the best conditions. Kudos to Old School Photo Lab for pulling these images out of very dense negatives through scanning.  The images were almost impossible to discern even using the brightest light table.

Interesting results.  First the Canon Sure Shot:  All of the Kodak GC 400 film shifted blue, but many images were salvageable when converted to B&W.  I bumped up the contrast 100-200%:

Below a comparison of the original to the B&W:

 

Next the Fujica ST-705.  Really a neat camera; lightweight and easy to figure out.  This contained some version of Kodacolor film which somewhat maintained it’s color but became very grainy and dark:

 

So where Am I going with Expired film?  It never really interested me before.  I was always in pursuit of the sharp, crisp image.  But lately I’ve drifted into pinholes and a renewed interest in plastic cameras,  which offer very different photographic characteristics.  Also recently a friend gave us a treasure trove of expired films:

Expired_Films

I gave some away to my Emulsive Secret Santa last year, who expressed an interest in expired films.  But I kept the more interesting ones….I was also given a Minox “Spy” Camera with an expired roll that I am shooting now:

Spy_Camera_Gear

In another twist I was reorganizing my 35 mm camera storage and found my Minolta SRT-202 with half a roll of unexposed T-MAX.  When did I last use  THAT camera? 4-5 years ago?  Certainly expired now.  So I have Expired films to play with…….more coming on the horizon.

Film Photography Projects, Social Commentary, Street Photography, The Story, Urban Landscapes

Frugal Film Project: Roll #3

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HearseCon 2019:

 

Sort of a Middle-Aged Goth Experience………..

Instagram censored and blurred out the second image with the pick axe.  Tooo Disturbing?