This is off my first roll shot through my 6x6 back for the Mamiya.
Mmmm, that Arista EDU 400.
Why does it look so good?
Dad!
I think I like the square.
The darkroom is coming along. Slowly, trickling. But it'll get there.
23 March 2011
More, More, More
11 March 2011
Cameras, Lenses, and Darkrooms
Beginning, Middle, End.
Easier said than done.
I guess I'll start with the most recent thing on my mind and then move backwards.
A little over a year ago my dad's friend gave me a camera; it belonged to his uncle - a photographer from Buffalo. At first I was unimpressed with the simple nature of the camera. I knew very little about what it was or what it could do. A few days ago I found the camera sitting in its bag on a table in my basement. Surprise! For some reason I instantly had to try it out. I played with the functions, moved the focus (which I had not understood before, but after playing with the Polaroid Electric Eye camera, it all made sense now), and just took in the simplicity. It is a Konica Auto S2 from the mid 1960s. The focus seems spot on and the lens is really great. The only trouble is that the shutter sticks at anything slower than 1/60. I already talked to a gentleman in Nebraska that specializes in cleaning, lubing, and adjusting (CLA) Konica cameras and he said he'd be willing to take a look at it and give me an estimate. Since the battery that they used is no longer made I am going to have him convert the internal settings so that it can accept a contemporary battery. It is going to cost a bit more than I would like, but from the pictures I've seen taken with this model and the way that other photographers talk about it, I don't mind putting a bit of money into it. And the best part about the camera is that inside the case I found a little notebook that described the places the photographer used it (including many countries throughout Europe) and what he photographed. It's a small slice of history. Thanks, Dan Hayes, for this opportunity, even though you don't know that you have handed it to me.
My next piece of good news is that I finally bought a new lens for my Mamiya RZ67. I've been shooting it at 110mm since the day I bought it and I was ready to take a step in a new direction so on a whim I bought a 65mm f/4 lens. The lens stated that it uses a floating lens system, which I'm still not exactly sure what it does. This thing is incredible, though. I was testing the focus range and was able to get something perfectly in focus when it was approximately 3-4 inches in front of the lens. Incredible! With the 110mm it had to be at least a foot or so away. I took a few test shots with it the other night, using a one light setup and a roll of Portra 160NC that expired in 2002. I don't have a picture of the lens yet, but maybe I'll include one next time when I post an image from the roll. Something is beginning to take shape.
The darkroom is still slowly marching forward. I haven't been as into it as I was at the beginning so it is moving a bit slower. Everything is finished aside from the insulation at the ceiling to block out the last remaining light and some sort of smooth surface to cover my table. I looked into laminate but it seems a bit expensive. If I am going to be spooling my own film on the table I want to make sure it is completely smooth (unlike the plywood that is on there now). I am going to be cleaning up and loading most of my supplies into the darkroom this weekend so I can see just how much stuff I have (too much!). I just have to work on a table to place my light box on.
Oh! And I also bought a Seal 210M Dry Mount Press so I can mount my finished prints and mount my paper onto a stronger surface for making gum bichromate prints. So excited.
If anyone has any suggestions on a good material for a tabletop, I would really appreciate it!
I also recently purchased a few new books on art theory and the way that photography as art may be developing in the future. I've been looking at them for some time and now I can finally sit down and look through them.
The idea of an 8x10 camera crossed my mind this past week when a few were being sold on eBay. I regret not buying the one (maybe regret isn't the right word...) but I'll leave that to a future time. I know that I am going to eventually buy one. It isn't even a question. I just have to wait for that time. I think I want to try glass plate negatives and a few other things before I weigh myself down with ULA. I have too many rolls of film sitting in my fridge, and too much film waiting to be spooled. I should get some of that under control before I jump ship to try something new.
If I had any words of advise, they are too lost below a layer of photography to come out now.
And before I end this post, I just wanted to share that I have been working on a bit of a poem/short story. It is a bit of a project I've been contemplating for a while and a few standout lines popped into my mind the other day so I finally began writing. Wish me luck.
"The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box." - Henri Cartier-Bresson
Easier said than done.
I guess I'll start with the most recent thing on my mind and then move backwards.
A little over a year ago my dad's friend gave me a camera; it belonged to his uncle - a photographer from Buffalo. At first I was unimpressed with the simple nature of the camera. I knew very little about what it was or what it could do. A few days ago I found the camera sitting in its bag on a table in my basement. Surprise! For some reason I instantly had to try it out. I played with the functions, moved the focus (which I had not understood before, but after playing with the Polaroid Electric Eye camera, it all made sense now), and just took in the simplicity. It is a Konica Auto S2 from the mid 1960s. The focus seems spot on and the lens is really great. The only trouble is that the shutter sticks at anything slower than 1/60. I already talked to a gentleman in Nebraska that specializes in cleaning, lubing, and adjusting (CLA) Konica cameras and he said he'd be willing to take a look at it and give me an estimate. Since the battery that they used is no longer made I am going to have him convert the internal settings so that it can accept a contemporary battery. It is going to cost a bit more than I would like, but from the pictures I've seen taken with this model and the way that other photographers talk about it, I don't mind putting a bit of money into it. And the best part about the camera is that inside the case I found a little notebook that described the places the photographer used it (including many countries throughout Europe) and what he photographed. It's a small slice of history. Thanks, Dan Hayes, for this opportunity, even though you don't know that you have handed it to me.
My next piece of good news is that I finally bought a new lens for my Mamiya RZ67. I've been shooting it at 110mm since the day I bought it and I was ready to take a step in a new direction so on a whim I bought a 65mm f/4 lens. The lens stated that it uses a floating lens system, which I'm still not exactly sure what it does. This thing is incredible, though. I was testing the focus range and was able to get something perfectly in focus when it was approximately 3-4 inches in front of the lens. Incredible! With the 110mm it had to be at least a foot or so away. I took a few test shots with it the other night, using a one light setup and a roll of Portra 160NC that expired in 2002. I don't have a picture of the lens yet, but maybe I'll include one next time when I post an image from the roll. Something is beginning to take shape.The darkroom is still slowly marching forward. I haven't been as into it as I was at the beginning so it is moving a bit slower. Everything is finished aside from the insulation at the ceiling to block out the last remaining light and some sort of smooth surface to cover my table. I looked into laminate but it seems a bit expensive. If I am going to be spooling my own film on the table I want to make sure it is completely smooth (unlike the plywood that is on there now). I am going to be cleaning up and loading most of my supplies into the darkroom this weekend so I can see just how much stuff I have (too much!). I just have to work on a table to place my light box on.
Oh! And I also bought a Seal 210M Dry Mount Press so I can mount my finished prints and mount my paper onto a stronger surface for making gum bichromate prints. So excited.
If anyone has any suggestions on a good material for a tabletop, I would really appreciate it!
I also recently purchased a few new books on art theory and the way that photography as art may be developing in the future. I've been looking at them for some time and now I can finally sit down and look through them.
The idea of an 8x10 camera crossed my mind this past week when a few were being sold on eBay. I regret not buying the one (maybe regret isn't the right word...) but I'll leave that to a future time. I know that I am going to eventually buy one. It isn't even a question. I just have to wait for that time. I think I want to try glass plate negatives and a few other things before I weigh myself down with ULA. I have too many rolls of film sitting in my fridge, and too much film waiting to be spooled. I should get some of that under control before I jump ship to try something new.
If I had any words of advise, they are too lost below a layer of photography to come out now.
And before I end this post, I just wanted to share that I have been working on a bit of a poem/short story. It is a bit of a project I've been contemplating for a while and a few standout lines popped into my mind the other day so I finally began writing. Wish me luck.
"The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box." - Henri Cartier-Bresson
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