Tough Decisions Towards Better Photography

Good morning, afternoon and evening everyone!

Hope all is well with you all

I have a very interesting circumstance to speak to you about

The first couple of months of this year have been a bit hectic for me

My birthday passed, i took a break from shooting film, i finally got settled in at my new home, moved some stuff around at job and worked on some things with family

And also….sold off all my digital photography gear..

Caffenol CL vs. Kodak HC110 😵

Hello Everyone,

My apologies on the time between posts lately as I’ve just moved to a new place and also got a quick mini-vaca in recently (more on that later) from work

As mentioned in my previous post, I’ve been developing ALL my black and white film with Caffenol (specifically Caffenol CL) in place of all the chemicals I used to use

I mostly shoot Kodak Tri-X, ilford HP5 and also the Lomo Earl Gray films these days. All have been developed in Caffenol mixtures

I was very serious about being happy (also a bit shocked) about the results I was seeing

But is it really as good as I’ve been viewing it or has the romance between this developer and I finally ended?

Finally! Caffenol CL

Ladies and Gentlemen and all readers of this blog, I finally decided to do it

You’ve probably already read a previous post where I mention this very dedicated group of individuals who use Coffee to develop film (more accurately Coffee, Vitamin C and Washing Soda)

If you’d like to catch up by reading that previous post, here is the LINK

After some searching on the inter webs, I located the holy grail for all things Caffenol, http://www.caffenol-cookbook.com/index.php

It’s chock full of recipes, tips, and other great resources

My Trip to New Orleans with the Holga 120, Leica M2 and M8

Hello everyone!

Not long ago I was fortunate enough to have saved enough $$$ for something I’ve been planning on doing for a long while.

A trip down to the “Big Easy” New Orleans, Louisiana!!

Once I felt comfortable with funds 🙂 I went forward and made reservations for the flight and hotel stay

Now, this trip was not just for vacation, but also to spend some time solely dedicated to photography.

During my planning for the trip, a couple things went through my mind..

Purchasing Expired Film: Hit or Miss?

If you’re anything like me, you do a daily Ebay hunt to get those super deals from unsuspecting sellers who may not know how much the item they are selling is really worth.

From time to time, i truly strike GOLD and come across things I’ve been searching for for a long while AT CRAZY PRICES.

One of my most frequent searches is film, either 35mm or 120, since this is primarily what I shoot.

Recently, I came across not just one but TWO deals on film..my luck was on fire..or at least i was thinking this when i purchased the items.

There was only one catch with both films, they were both expired…

Should I Go Out in Crappy Weather?

I think we’ve all been there..

You wake up with a special bounce out of bed ready to hit the streets and put in WORK

As you prepare your camera, your film (and/or batteries and SD cards) and your clothing, you look out the window and you see something that will even make some professional photographers sigh in disbelief..BAD WEATHER

Whether it’s snow, rain, hail, etc..

This can suck the wind out of your sails as far as wanting to exit the house

I mean it can also depend on if your equipment has weather sealing as well!

This is exactly what happened to me today

The Kodak / Pakon F135 Scanner

Hello Everybody, hope all is well

I’ve been busy and studying hard as always (all the while juggling work and life) but it’s great to get back to the blog

As many of you know, i do a lot of film photography work (i prefer it even though i do work with Digital photography as well) and i develop 99% of it at home, mostly 35mm.

After i develop my 35mm rolls, i would always scan them using the Plustek 8200i film scanner and use the Silverfast or Vuescan software to convert them into JPG/Tiff format

This would take a very long time (even though i loved the results!) especially when developing 3-4 rolls at the end of the day, which is often

I began to think about how there may be a faster way of doing this without spending a lot of money on labs or much more expensive scanners..

Street Photography Documentary by Chris Weeks

Now i must admit, i haven’t heard of Chris Weeks before or actually seen any of his work (besides the photos shown in this documentary) but after watching this i see he definitely has the spirit of a Street Photographer.

I’m not sure how i missed this documentary actually, it looks like it came out a while back.

With all of my searching for info of Street Photography on the net, i would think i would’ve found this sooner.

Developing Film with Coffee?…

Yes you read right

Well actually it takes more than just coffee to develop the film 🙂

There’s also Vitamin C and Washing Soda..which actually kind of makes it even less believable in my opinion lol..but I assure you it’s true, although traditional Fixer is still needed to fully develop the photos.

It’s called Caffenol, and it’s seemed to have gotten a large number of people back into film photography.

Checking out the Voigtlander VC Meter II with Leica M2

Hi Everyone,

Lately i’ve been reading the back and forth conversations (arguments?) between street photographers and the light meters that they prefer (or if they use one at all!)

Particularly those conversations between people who work almost exclusively with Rangefinders cameras, like the Leica M or Canon 7 for example.

My experience with my Leica M2 (as i have mentioned before) has always been without the use of a light meter.

I guess i just like making things more difficult for myself or i just truly didn’t think i was a real “Leica Shooter” if i didn’t know how to meter in my head when i first purchased.

In a way, i still do feel this way..but i’m not against the use of a Light Meter if one chooses to use one.