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.

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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.

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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...

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Turning People Down

This is one of the few pictures I was able to get where no one else is in the background, thus image is stronger because the focus is solely on her without any distracting element.

I approached this girl and asked if I could take a picture.  She and her friend started getting ready to pose, but I said in the least possible offensive way "I am sorry, but I meant her alone."  The friend understood and helped this girl prep for the picture by adjusting the bow and flower.

This girl was spectacular and considering that I only can take 12 images on a roll of film I need to be very selective.  I knew what I wanted and made it happen. 

 

I am really curious about her real hair.

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Parasol? and Prints

Sakura Matsuri 2012

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Bronica SQ-A

80mm Zenzanon PS f/2.8

Fuji Velvia 100F

I really dig this image as radiance emanates from this girl's smile.  I am not sure if her accessory is exactly a parasol, but she was using it as a shade from the sun.  

Beautiful kimono as well.

I got great shot after great shot at this Sakura Matsuri and it must have to do with my attitude and demeanor.  A big honest smile and a little banter will go much farther with the subject than creeping about with a camera all clandestine-like.  Get close and let all of the other photographers wait a second to make that extraordinary person feel a little more special.  Sell off your zooms!

The Bronica also helps break the ice, I think - it is a funky, but toothsome camera.

In other news - I just dropped some cash on printing photos that I have always wanted to have printed.

Finally, the bare walls in my office will be spruced up with awesomeness.

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This is Naruto...Leave a Message [Dattebayo]

 

Sakura Matsuri 2012

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Bronica SQ-A

Fuji Velvia 100F

I saw this character use the phone and rushed over to take a picture because I like the idea of a person in elaborate costume doing normally mundane things, thus making the mundane extraordinary.

He got off the phone before I could make a shot and another photographer took a regular shot, but I asked if he could pretend like he was on the phone.

Though a little quizzical, he agreed, and got on the phone and gave an intense pose like he was talking about something super important.  It really added to the image and I thanked him for playing along.

The other photographer mentioned that he was specifically waiting for the guy to get off the phone.

An unrelated story to the image: there were so many photographers at the Sakura Matsuri and naturally, most shot digital.  There were a few film-o-philes on hand shooting 35mm.  One other guy had a medium format camera - perhaps a Mamiya RZ or RB 67 - so I tipped my Bronica to him and the amazing thing is that his face expressed that he completely understood everything I said without saying a word.

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Free Fix to a $100+ Problem and Ancestors

Before Saturday (Sakura Matsuri) I had not used my Bronica SQ-A in months and months because there was a wretched light leak that was for the longest of times unidentifiable.

I took the camera to my hook ups at Lens and Repro to see if they could figure out where it was coming from and come up with a solution for me.  The resident repairman looked and identified the source most likely, but  told me he did not have the necessary parts to fix the camera and it might be best if I were to just buy a new back. 

Surprisingly the 120 back on this model is hard to come by.  And when found the price is moderately staggering: $120-$150.  Disgusting.

A 220 back can be had for $25 cuz 220 is hardly made any mo'. 

So instead of shelling out a fat wad I took matters into my own hands in the truest of true DYI methods: electric tape the bastard.

Taking a page from my Holga modification, all I did was tape over the possible light leaks and voila - problem solved.

Today I present an image that most reminds me of images that might go on the mantle or family shrine in a Japanese home:

Bronica SQ-A

80mm Zenzanon PS f/2.8

Fuji Velvia 100F

From the Sakura Matsuri festival in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden

What I like about this image is the somber, serious, and happy mood it invokes, at least in me.

I know this one picture is bit more serious than the one in my last post, and people will generally not like it as much, but I really enjoy it.

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So Many Photos!

I have so many photos to upload onto flickr from the 2012 Sakura Matsuri festival that went on at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden that there will be no dearth in upcoming entries.

For now, enjoy a small taste of what is to come:

Bronica SQ-A
80mm Zenzanon PS
Fuji Velvia 100F

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Parallel Docking

So you think parallel parking is difficult...



Olympus OM-1
Zuiko 35mm f/2.8
Fuji Superia 400

On St. Thomas
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Important Agendas

Aesthetically, perhaps not the best images, but what I can tell you is that they have content like NO OTHER.



This image was taken in St. Thomas while on my vacation. I think the guy in the background (on the left) is responsible for the signs. He was scraping the corners of the street with some tool to clean the accumulated dirt. A little later he was screaming at the top of his lungs about something.



This one tops the other on the gibberish chart.

Wow. Just, wow.

Olympus OM-1
Zuiko 35mm f/2.8
Fuji Superia 400
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Stolen Shot

I am not sure what type of photography this image would fall into. Street? Landscape? Travel? Street landscape?

I made my way out onto the rocks in order to obtain a good composition for another one of my photos and a couple of folks saw me out on the rocks, so the guy started making his way out too and gave the camera to his lady to take a picture of him with the ocean scenery as a backdrop. A precious vacation memory, I am sure.

I was still on the rocks and liked the idea of getting a picture of him posing for his own photo, but without having the other photographer in the picture. Was this an impromptu forced image?

Whatever it is, I think it is just fun.

Also, the horizon is not slanted; I just caught the curvature of the earth.

Olympus OM-1
Zuiko 35mm f/2.8 (single-coated )
Fuji Superia 400

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St. Maarten

 

St. Maarten was the first destination of the cruise and I got to walking around the streets beyond the shopping district.  I got pretty close in this picture and the featured dog did not stir one bit, so I am not completely convinced of the validity of the bold sign.

I did not like the feel of the island too much, but I believe they have the best deals based on the liquor prices alone.

St. Thomas

I went on a cruise mid-November to the Caribbean and had the most relaxing time of my life. The unfortunate thing is that we were only docked for 4-9 hours at a time, so I could not really explore the destinations, but I did the best I could with the time allotted.

Here are a couple of shots:



View from a bay in St. Thomas.

Vikings

A couple of weeks ago I went to the annual Viking Fest held at Owl's Head Park in Brooklyn, NY, with the goal of using the Bronica SQ-A on the go. I suppose this is one of my photographic goals this year - I mean, this is the best (and most complete) camera system that I have, so I should definitely use it more.

With that in mind, I toted my camera with the normal lens (80mm) to Bay Ridge on a two hour trip to visit my uncle:



We headed out to check the festival, which was despairingly small. I still had a good time talking to some of the folks about the ancient gambling, strategy games, and other things viking. A conversation with this awesome lady:



was struck up about photography and she was delighted to see my Bronica. Unfortunately there is a little camera shake in the image.

There were also some knightly performances to combat and I chatted with this amiable fellow about armor and the combat:



I ate some thick beef stew that I can not remember the proper name of and had some waffles that tasted just like the ones my grandmother used to make. The flavor and texture transported me back some 20 years, sitting at the big dining table passing around the home-made food at a big Sunday afternoon dinner.

I should look into trying to make those waffles.

All in all I am not too happy with the images from the day - mostly because I am not fond of the film (Fuji Provia 400F) because of the colors and heavy grain (for medium format).

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Niagara Falls (Part 2)

I was most surprised by the insane commercialism of the area. On this one street there were about 4 wax museums, ice cream shops on every block, and almost every type of fast food place you can think of. Outside of the immediate area the place was somewhat depressed and dilapidated:



Taken with an Olympus OM-1 Zuiko 35mm f/2.8

The night before the last day in Canada, John and I ventured to the falls to take some night time pictures (around 11pm) while spotlights shone on the water:





On the last morning of the trip my friend and I woke up at 5am and walked down to again and took a number of pictures and here are the best ones (spare the image from the last entry):





All of these were taken with the Bronica SQ-A with a Zenzanon 80mm f/2.8 PS lens

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Street Shots

Street photography is not an aspect of photography that I have explored too much; it always seems kind of unusual (and uncomfortable) to point a camera at someone who may not necessarily be a willing subject, but it is something that I am going to try to overcome. I really do love the idea of the commando style and want to practice it more.

Here are some of my favorite street shots from a recent roll of Superia X-Tra, which I feel has some really decent results for being such a cheapo film. Shot with a Nikon FE and 50mm f/1.8 or 20mm f/2.8



This kid set down his boom-box in the middle of a subway car and started dancing to some Michael Jackson. I love the blur here achieved with a 1/15th shutter speed.



A blurry portrait with an ethereal look.



The kid stopped just long enough for me to capture this still.



I set the 20mm to a hyperfocal distance and took this shot at waist level. I think the shadows are interesting and I really like the solar flare (flair).



I waited for someone to walk into this frame featuring the skyscraper and luckily (ironically) caught this girl looking up at something.

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