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..
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?
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
Today I’d like to tell you about a camera I’m slowly beginning to fall in love with
I think in part due to the fact it reminds me of my time with the Leica M when I first really started to delve deep into film photography but in a much larger format
It’s definitely not a camera that can fit in your pocket, but what you sacrifice you portability, you gain in image quality and resolution
The camera I’m speaking of is the Fuji GW690III, a fixed lens medium format film rangefinder
If you’ve never seen what one looks like, it’s basically a Leica M on steroids with some differences since it was designed by Fuji and not Leica
hello everyone 🙂
For all you film photographers out there, I’m sure you’ve heard the whispers (or loud arguments) of how Lomography film is primarily a “novelty” “not to be taken seriously” or “not to be used professionally”
I know I have..I never really knew why people were saying these things
Whenever I used to pass by the NYC Store to get some 120 film developed/scanned (before I started to do myself) they were pretty nice to me
I admit I never bought the Lomo film while in store…but hey you never know right?
Well one day…I was having a some fun shooting on the streets and after finishing a roll I reached in my bag for more film and discovered I had forgotten to pack more film
I just happened to be near the store so I decided to go for it and purchase some of the Lomo Color Negative 400 ISO film
The 3 rolls right before i developed at home using the Tetenal C41 Kit
I’d like to share these results with you now and give my opinion afterwards
And now for my thoughts…
I honestly wish I would’ve tried out this film sooner.
I think it performed AMAZINGLY and the character of the film really added to the shots that I took
Maybe it’s me and my preference for how the good shot is made and developed…maybe i’m biased because it’s my own work…maybe i just love film photography so much that it’s hard for me to hate ANYTHING about it haha..or maybe this is a really good film with a bad rap..in either case, i’m happy with these shots and had fun experimenting with this film
This just goes to show that you can never take someone Else’s word on something.. go out and try it yourself and come to your own conclusions.
It’s the only way to really know
I don’t think this will be the last time I shoot Lomo film, I hear that their black and white 35mm is very good also!
Be sure to check out Lomography’s great site with some interesting articles and examples of work
Peace and Blessings everyone
Every Leica shooter (or M mount rangefinder shooter) often dreams of getting their hands on one of those Summilux or Noctilux lenses to put on their camera.
They are of the finest craftsmanship and are legendary for performance and durability. People literally spend insane amounts of money to get one, or even a couple!
Like this will all of a sudden put you in the league of Henri Cartier Bresson or Gary Winogrand or any of those Leica greats we often read about and study
I have even found myself trying to justify selling a limb or every thing I cherish to purchase one lol..
Happy New Year Everyone
Hope you had a good 2014, and are looking forward to a productive and successful 2015
These last couple months have been very inspirational for me not only from my own work, in my opinion, getting better but also my friend photographers
We push each other and study, we criticize and we practice, I’m actually thinking of starting a collective in Jersey City, where I’m from..but I’ll save that for another time
This new year I plan on working even harder on my work and hitting the streets as much as possible.
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..
Recently during my studies on film photography and development techniques, i came across the technique of “stand development”
Apparently, doing this allows you to push your film (depending on which you use) much more easily and increases the sharpness and shadow details of the images taken.
So of course, i sought more info on this subject and came across a video done by Chuck Jines who runs a YouTube channel i frequent from time to time called Chuck Jines Photography
He calls his style “Grit Street Photography” and using his stand development technique, he gets the gritty look and feel of his film photography.
I love the type of photographers and photography that instantly make you get up and want to elevate yourself.
To me, this is what it’s all about
Keep seeking the knowledge where you can find it, and put it to practice.
You’ll find your way with hard work and dedication
Heyy Everyone,
Hope all has been well with you
I would like to take a moment to speak on something very near and dear to me: Photography and how it’s been able to assist me get through some tough times (and continues to do so)
As the majority of adults in this world know, life can be hectic. It can really effect you mentally and at times get in the way of any enjoyment that you try to achieve.
Keeping yourself mentally healthy is something we all strive for and without that, the body cannot be used at it’s top form.
Your neighborhood in print since 1822
Fitting digital camera components into an analog rangefinder.
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