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

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The Avengers Dress-Up

For those of you who have not seen The Avengers (are there any people left who have not seen it?) you are missing a great popcorn flick. While not a great movie, it certainly is a fun film and therein lies its merit. 

I was surprised by how much I liked it - my fear of an unfocused vision was unrealized by the director in a deft display of...direction. 

Hulk stole the show. Captain America and Thor and Loki were really good. Hawkeye was meh. Iron Man felt forced. Black Widow was wooden. 

Anyway, the above shot was taken at Sakura Matsuri 2012 at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden before The Avengers was released. Amazing costume. The unfortunate thing is that the chrome film shifted and thus the yellowish hue of the image. Maybe I will cross process my other roll since they should have expired around the same time. 

Bronica SQ-A 

80mm Zenzanon PS f/2.8 

Lomo X-Pro 

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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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Images From Figment and Bronica SQ-A

I finished up the roll of film housed in the Voigtlander Perkeo I for many many months, finally. These are some shots at Figment (which I talked about in my last entry):



This is one of my favorite shots I have taken of John. He looks very relaxed and I think I caught a great expression.

The colors are a little bit off because the film (Kodak Portra 400VC) used expired a decade ago. They had a bluish cast (the fact that we were under cloudy light did not help either), so I had to warm them up a bit, but still, I was very pleased that I pulled usable images from the roll.

The performance of the camera, the smallest 6x6 I have ever seen, can not be accurately judged because of the film's age. If I was forced to make an assessment of what I saw so far, the lens might have low contrast as it seemed like I had to add a fair amount to every image. I also have to figure out what is going on with the flash sync, as it did not seem to work even though a flash fired off. The good news is that the images look to be exposed fairly correctly, so I probably will not have to break into the shutter and lube it up. There are also no light leaks! These old folding cameras can have a problem with their bellows after so many years, but I may still want to apply some product to keep the leather supple.

In other news, last night I received the Bronica SQ-A outfit I had purchased through the classified section of the Rangefinder Forum. I had been holding out on buying another real camera (ie Leica M2 or Canon P) so that I could afford a medium format slr with all of my requirements. I was not going to purchase one unless it had a built in meter (or came with a metered prism), a couple of lenses, and was 6x6. This one fulfilled all of my needs and the entire system cost less than a well used M2 body alone - beyond a great deal. I will take some shots of it soon with my digital so that you can see what mine looks like, should you be curious. I will absolutely post some images from the roll I have in there once developed.

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