Bermuda!

Plain and simple, Bermuda is beautiful.

I was there for part of my vacation a couple of weeks ago and I still look back on the time spent.

This picture was taken near Tobacco Bay in St. Georges - a spot that a local had tipped me off.  Every place I went to I chatted with some of the people from the area because, of course, if they think something is worth checking out, then surely it is worth checking out.

Hamilton, the capital of Bermuda, is nice, but is just a city, so I recommend St. Georges.  St. Georges has more breathing space and is less off the beaten path, so that is the place to go if you want to get away from other vacationers.

One thing that bugs me about this picture is that there has to be a tiny light leak in the bellows which caused that magenta shift in the upper right hand corner.  Despite the leak, the Perkeo I is still one of my favorite cameras.  Great lens.  Light weight.  Small.  Medium format.  Pair it up with some Portra 400 or Tri-X and you are good to go.

Voigtlander Perkeo I
Color-Skopar 80mm f/3.5
Kodak Portra 400

flickr photos

Instead of Drinking

I was out and about on a Saturday and happened upon a street fair - not an uncommon occurrence here in NYC - where I caught this guy doing some break-dancing, not particularly great break-dancing either.  I did, however, think he was most awesome for doing it because he wanted to do it and had to capture the image.  I busted out the Polaroid Land 100 loaded up with some awesome Fuji FP-3000B, focused, and took the shot.

+1 for street photography with large cumbersome cameras!

It is most unfortunate that the negative was damaged over the course of the day and use it for the scan.  The scan of the positive print is not bad, but I definitely prefer the look of grindy borders and the greater latitude of the original negative.

So, the title of the post really does not have anything to do with photography, it has more to do with a question I just asked a very good friend of mine concerning Friday night:

"Instead of drinking, would you be interested in a puppet show?"

I picked the image above because the man reminds me of a marionette.

flickr photos

Practice in the Park

I am not sure if this man was practicing Buddhism meditation or some form of Yoga, but he was doing it in Union Square Park.  Whatever he is doing there definitely seems to be a sense of order to the entire scene - everything is set up precisely and he seems to be unaffected by his surroundings. 

I find it a little odd that he would choose to do this in the middle of a very public park, but perhaps he is making a statement, or a demonstration to onlookers.

He definitely exuded a sense of peace.  It was pretty easy to take a picture of him.

I took the image with an Ansco Memar (from the 50s), one on which I performed a minor diy restoration by bringing the shutter and focus back to life from being stuck.  The lens is all hazy which gives the images an really flarey look.

Ansco Memar
45mm Apotar f/3.5
Kodak Tri-X

flickr photos

Jazz in Washington Square Park

Washington Square Park is one of my favorite places.  So many artists gather to play all this great music that has really helped me expand my musical horizons beyond hard rock and heavy metal.

I seem to be leaning particularly towards the jazz.  Just five years ago I would say something like "jazz ain't my bag, man", but tastes change over time and here I am.

There is one jazz band (who is quite excellent) that regularly plays the park, but this saxophonist:



Only occasionally plays with the group, but when he does, he breathes a new sense of excitement and life into the music.

To say the least, this sax player really cooks.

I took the image with an Ansco Memar (from the 50s), one on which I performed a minor diy restoration by bringing the shutter and focus back to life from being stuck.  The lens is all hazy which gives the images an really flarey look.

Ansco Memar
45mm Apotar f/3.5
Kodak Tri-X

flickr photos

What the Eff?!

Michael Raso from the Film Photography Project giving his "what the eff'?!" pose.

Also, Edwin Land is photobombing. 

Mike really makes this image sing with personality and humor, which is one of the reasons I love it so much.

Same technical jazz as the posting a couple of days ago:

I used the Polaroid Land 100 with the Portrait Lens Kit and Fuji FP-3000B film.  The grindy borders are the result of the negative being scanned.

flickr photos

For Whatever Reason

This is one of the most viewed images on my flickr stream:



Do you get it?  Please explain to me if so.

It is a street shot from the NYC FPP meetup 2012 taken with the MIGHTY Bronica.

Bronica SQ-A
80mm Zenzanon PS f/2.8
Expired Kodak E100SW

flickr photos

Let's Get the Camera Rolling

Has it really been three (3) months since I last made a post?   A lot has been happening in my personal life, but not so much in my photographic; I have not been making as many images as I should and perhaps my eye has dulled as a result.

I have taken a few photos this summer so I will try to start posting more regularly again.

So let's get the posts rolling with this portrait:



This photo features Dane of The Smoove Sailors and was taken at the Impossible Project during the NYC Film Photography Project meetup 2012.

Later, Dane smooved it up with an awesome mini set with the rest of the band.

I used the Polaroid Land 100 with the Portrait Lens Kit and Fuji FP-3000B film.  The grindy borders are the result of the negative being scanned.

Yes, you can scan the negative image!  I think the effect rocks and looks much better than a scan of the positive print.  You will definitely have to tweak the contrast levels, but that is about the only adjustment you will have to make.  Just make sure the negative is dry before you scan. 

I also highly recommend the portrait kit because you get get much tighter shots of folks with this accessory instead of being limited to a close focus range of a seemingly infinite 5 feet.  Be mindful of the adjustment you will have to make to your composition due to getting closer to your subject.  Parallax is a mother...

flickr photos