Japanese Hasselblad?

I have read on teh interwebs that some Bronica cameras have been dubbed as the Japanese Hasselblad due to their looks and the results you can pull from their lenses. I have not had the chance to work with medium format Zeiss slr lenses, but can only imagine they are great. The camera make, however, has no bearing on the ability of the photographer. If you are a good photographer you can pull great results out of any camera, but after a certain point you might feel limited by your equipment.

Within the first year of my journey into the world of photography I dabbled in medium format under the Holga banner; I was hooked. Granted, the camera is incredibly low-fidelity, but I loved those big negatives (2.25"x2.25") and the dreamy look that camera can produce. Next was a much more sophisticated old, old, old rangefinder called the Certo Six that revealed the possible power of the 6x6 with its beautifully bipolar Zeiss Tessar lens. Stopped down it was sharp, but wider open the images were soft and acceptable focus was hard to achieve. Unfortunately that camera is somewhat out of commission now with a busted rangefinder (damn that Halloween party!). I then picked up a couple of other medium format folding cameras that also gave some great results like the Ansco Titan and the Voigtlander Perkeo I. I was even given a Rolleiflex Automat, but still have not seen what it can do (it also has a Tessar): due to my ineptitude I failed my first attempt with that camera while trying off-camera lighting.

As you can imagine those cameras do not have meters; a fact that can be slightly frustrating. Also not being able to focus as exactly as I would like inhibited some of my creative desires. As I mentioned in my last post, I was determined not to pick up another medium format camera unless it had metering and a couple of interchangeable lenses. It also needed to be an SLR so that I could easily achieve great focus. Then along came this Bronica SQ-A on the Rangefinder Forum classified section and I decided to take the plunge. It covered all of my prerequisites AND had a price that would not break the bank.

I recently finished a roll of the faux black and white film that I am so fond of called Kodak BW400CN. I was not quite sure what I could expect, but I did not expect to be blown away.



I took advantage of the great soft lighting coming from the window.

Does the quality of this image make you interested in trying medium format over 35mm? If so, then that is awesome. Help keep the format alive!

I have to wonder when I will take the plunge into large format photography.

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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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Figment

This weekend (June 11, 12, and 13) there is a free event going on at Governors Island (NYC) called Figment that is a celebration of the arts where the visitors get to participate and can become part of many projects!

This event lends itself incredibly well to photographs and was a whole lot of fun the last time I went.

Here are a couple photos I took with my Holga 120N last year:





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Thought of the Night

flickr is an amazing website. Everyone has heard of it, but do they really know that the gamut of talent ranges from novice to master? If you click on enough links and search, you will eventually find some photographers whose images define art. Yes. Big claim, but truth, it is. Favorite those photographers and tell them you love their work, for we are insecure artists.

Check out flickr. I mean really check it out and get inspired.

My photos pale in comparison to a countless many, but take a look if you want.

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New Camera

I acquired a new camera yesterday, but I have not realized its potential yet. It is a digital camera; a camera-phone. For a long time I had been meaning to replace my old cell which was incapable of holding a charge while talking for more than 15-20 minutes. Really unacceptable. It would also turn off on its own volition without alerting me. The phone had served me pretty well over a number of years - I would estimate it's lifespan exceeded that of 2 phones.

I am not too technically savvy, so I will have to play around with it for a while, but so far I am pleased with the basic abilities; fancy features are unneeded.

This reminds me of a project I want to do: make a pinhole camera out of an old rotary phone. I will have to rip out its guts, bore an aperture, add a shutter curtain, make it light-tight, add a tripod socket, and have a chamber for film with a film advance. Would be a lot of work, but could definitely be a fun side project. Besides, how awesome would it be to say I made a camera, a phone-camera at that.

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Slide Film

Here are the results from some beautiful slide film called X-Pro from Lomography, though most likely re-badged Agfa CT Precisa film. The results from normal processing (E6 chemistry) versus Lomography's recommended cross processing (slide film developed in C41 chemistry) are astounding. Colors are rendered with a gentleness that I would not call muted because they pack a punch when needed and skin tones are spot on with a touch of warmth that give the impression of vitality and health. If you have not tried a slide film, I highly recommend it; on the downside, prices can be expensive, though you may forget all of that when receiving the film back from the developer.

I am having some serious trouble formatting tonight, so I will talk about the images a little down here:

1) An abstract of my living room lamp to test out the bokeh of my Nikon 70-210 f/4 af lens. The camera moved during the picture, but the outcome is quite pleasant.

2) I am not used to thinking in color because I use black and white film most of the time, but I could not help to notice this sight. Nikon 50 f/1.8 afd

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In Gear

I finished a roll of chrome film yesterday which was taking me forever to shoot. I think part of it was the 100 ASA. With such speed I am limited pretty much to outdoor use or studio use if I have continuous hot lights (which I do not possess). Flash photography would be a failure as previous attempts have (thus far) instructed me.

It has been a while since my last post; no excuses. I really should keep this more regular as it would be a good exercise to continue my writing. I feel that it has digressed to a simplistic communication on a surface level while using painfully boring sentence structures.

I should not let only my pictures express my thoughts and feelings, I need to spread well into other mediums. How will I be able to finish the novel my friend and I have been writing for about two years or so to my satisfaction? I need to get moving - in general. Too many things are undone. This blog is an easy step in the right direction.

Anyway, I will drop off the film tomorrow and possibly even pick it up and scan the same day. I am pretty excited about receiving the slides back - I will see instantly how well my craft is progressing in regards to vision and technicality. There is no wiggle room for mistakes with slide as you are allowed with negative. A big benefit to these slides is that they will scan a whole lot faster because slides are the recording of the colors in a similar way that we see the world. Negatives slow up the computer because of all the inverse calculational programs that need to run. I will also need to see if they will knock off a few bucks if I ask them to process only. I do not need the lab to mount each an every one of the strips of film.

I also need to finish up a roll that has been sitting in my tiny Perkeo I. What a great little camera that can give me a medium format image. I still need to see what kind of results I can obtain from it as no pictures have been developed yet. I hope excellent.

Look for pictures in the near future.

Peace.

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