Above, a cropped Mamiya7 image with Portra 400. Giving you a hint of the doors…..
Still figuring out the right distance for my RSS 6X9. I’ll retake these standing a bit closer. But it’s all about learning for My Inner Monet……..Read more about the Center Here.
Above and below, some very distant Doors……….We take our last look at Snow?
These image was actually from January 2020.
Out today with the RSS 6X6, Rss 6X9 and Diana Pinholes.
” The richness I achieve comes from Nature, the Source of my Inspiration” – Claude Monet
Nature and the Outdoors has always been my inspiration. My appreciation of the Natural World started with my childhood Family Road Trips, continued through my Geological Work, and finds me now photographing my leisure travels (but always with a purpose in mind). But I was still relentless in my pursuit of that “Classic Landscape”:
Above: Landscape Panorama Photo Merge in Photoshop (with Tripod).
Above: “Classic Landscape” from a Tripod.
Fuzzy Landscape………Hand Held, but very attractive. So much so that I published an article about it.
Now I am finding myself a bit burned out on the classic perfectly focussed landscape. No, I will not be giving up my Mamiya-7’s. I’ll have it with me so I won’t miss that classic landscape and later regret it. But as above with my hand-held ‘Impressionistic’ 35 mm image, I will be exploring the ‘less well focussed’ with more pinhole photography using both my RSS 6X6F and RSS 6X9F, and my Diana and Holga Pinholes.
So has my Personal Vision Changed? No, I just need a stylistic change to regain my motivation and inspiration. I was very engaged by the recent Monet Exhibit at the Denver Museum of Art:
It reminded me of my love of Impressionistic Abstraction. And how appropriate is “The Truth of Nature”? So in 2020 I intend to bring more of that Abstraction to my Personal Vision while seeking that Truth. Of particular interest to me were The Late Years, the source of his Water Lilies:
Before we move on, What IS Impressionism?
Definition: a style or movement in painting originating in France in the 1860s, characterized by a concern with depicting the visual impression of the moment, especially in terms of the shifting effect of light and color.
And so I will be thinking more about Light (and Color when applicable); taking in the Impression of the Moment……..
I also intend to explore more architecture with my Fisheye lenses:
And do a bit more with Interior Spaces:
So in Summary 2020 will bring more adventure to my work…….This will inevitably spill over into my Frugal Film Project work. With the Rule Change, I can do more with the camera options I’ve decided to work with. And indulge my new found ‘love of the grain’ in Ilford HP5.
Wrapping Up Holga Week at Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
At Cache La Poudre, Colorado
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):
We spent an afternoon at Arcosanti, Paolo Soleri’s Urban Laboratory. They had a wonderful path that allowed me to test the pinhole range and estimate the distance. I wanted to do this because when I tried it before I was way off in my range estimates. I got exactly what I needed, and a nice image of their sign:
I plan on going back for Pinhole Day and capturing some interior photos.
I’ve played around with Holga for years, after being introduced to Plastic Cameras in an Experimental Photography class back in Monterey. And even though I spent 6 months shooting Holga for the 52 Rolls Project back in 2016, I never quite developed a sincere affection for it.
Plastic cameras are fascinating though and I’ve continued to experiment with many types. But something weird happened when I was ‘given’ this 110 format Diana with one of my Lomo purchases:
The 110 roll actually forms the back of the camera. It literally sat in my basement for years. And one day I decided to unpack and try it.
The results were better than expected:
So what is the Pre-Lomo Origin of the Diana Camera? The Diana camera originated in the 1960s, produced by the Great Wall Plastic Co. in Hong Kong. Production continued through the 1970s but ceased sometime thereafter.
Check out some Diana Camera History here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_(camera)
And Here: http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Diana
Fast Forward to 2018 Pinhole Day Preparations; All kinds of items on sale for promoting Pinhole Day. Having had some success with the Holga Panorama Pinhole, I decided to try the Diana Pinhole. After all, that 110 cameras wasn’t a real camera!
I had read an article on Hand Held Pinhole Street Photography, and decided to use the Diana for that. And then I was hooked!
So it was just a matter of time before the Ultimate Diana entered my life:
…………and with inter-changeable lenses. Are you kidding me! Of course a sale attracted my attention, offering the soft focus telephoto as another one of those seductive Lomo ‘Gifts’. So, it was going to be mine, with the addition of Fish Eye and Close-up lenses. Arriving in time for the newly promoted ‘Diana Day’ on August 4th.
Diana F+ Macro
One limitation on the Macro is the suggestion tat you carry a small ruler since the precise focussing range is 6 inches. I just “guestimated”. Not carrying a ruler around with me, and it worked out pretty well.
Diana F+ Fish Eye
And No Fisheye post would be complete without my Feet!
Oh please do not come out with a new Diana Model! I’m not sure I can handle it……..This is getting almost as bad as my Mamiya Addiction, and you don’t want to know how many of those cameras I have!
Are You Ready?
A favorite Holga Pinhole from Pinhole Day 2016
The final and I think best of my hand-held pinholes for Worldwide Pinhole Day:
More hand-held experiments coming soon from Moab………
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