Rusty shutters #6.

Holga 120N/S.

March, April 2006.

I have both the S and N models. The N is a Holgamods (Randy Smith) hack and the S was a gift from my wife.

I like this camera. Lots. The S has a roll of Ilford Pan F Plus in it right now.

The Holga is essentially a toy. It has 4 focus zones and two aperture sizes, but all of that is really a crap shoot! It’s plastic, including the lens, and light leaks are common.

There’s a hack for getting closer to your subject… focusing past the single person icon by loosening a well hidden screw on the shutter assembly. It’s located in a deep well, and once you spin the screw out you’l be able to focus a bit closer. Great for portraits.

I don’t use either mask. And I spray painted the inside of the film bay flat black to eliminate any reflective glare and I laid a couple of strips of gaffer on either side of the film bay to keep the film from getting scratched as it transports from one spool to the other.

To stop light leaks, I tape the whole thing closed with gaffer. Works fine.

Film type: 120
Masks: 12 or 16 exposures
Shutter Speeds: 1/100 sec – Bulb
Aperture: ƒ/11 – ƒ/8 (sunny/cloudy)
Focal Length: 60mm
Viewfinder: Optical
Focusing: Manual/zone
Dimensions: 5.3in x 3.7in x 6.8in

Will and Lisa

Waiting

Art as art

José

Two boats, two trees, two pots, two crosses

Pail.

… by comparison.

I shot this photo with my Panny GX8 and a Pentax 25mm ƒ/1.4 (m43 50mm equivalent) c-mount CCTV lens, ISO 200, wide-open, using the Dynamic Black and White in-camera filter. A Manfrotto 785B Modo tripod and the camera’s timer set to 2 seconds helped keep things steady. I unscrewed the center bar from the pod to make the camera sit closer to the ground. The camera was just short of 5 feet from the subject.

The only post-processing is simple auto-levels in Photoshop.

I love the swirly bokeh this little lens produces.

The setting is the north side-yard of our home, sitting on a flagstone step, beneath the shade of our neighbor’s Live Oak and you’re looking east here.

A neighbor had set this pail out next to their garbage can for pick-up one Wednesday and I spotted it on my early-morning walk. I made a point of walking back past their house to snag it on the way home.

I store charcoal in it.

I love the swirly bokeh this little lens produces. It’s a great portrait lens, as well – you just have to get up in people’s faces with it!

Rusty shutters #5.

Ricoh GR Digital II

July 2008.

Fun little camera.

Tiny. Killer. Awesome macro.

Love the 1:1 format, the GRD2 was my first digital with that option and boy did I abuse it. This is a couple of years before Instagram launched.

Love the B&W.

Love the 28mm.

Acquired new mid-2008, I’ve even got the little GV-2 add-on viewfinder, the wide-angle adapter and lens, the external cable/switch, and the AC adapter.

Resolution: 10 megapixels
Max image size – 3648 x 2736
Display: 2.7in LCD @ 230,000 pixels
Zoom: 4x digital
ISO: Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600
Shutter Speeds: 180 sec – 1/2000 sec
Aperture: ƒ/2.4
Focal Length: 28mm
Macro: .6in
Metering: Multi-segment, spot
Dimensions: 4.2in x 2.3in x 1.0in
Power: Li-Ion battery
Memory card: SD/SDHC

Camelia

on | off

Claire

Poppy

Nanostructures

Goin’ large.

But not quite 4 x 5. Yet.

I’m fiddlin’ ’round with large format photography again.

I broke out my Shen-Hao 4×5 field camera with the Rodenstock 150mm lens, the Polaroid 405 film back, and an expired pack of Fuji FP100c – 12/2011 vintage.

The Polaroid back comes with a mask, but it’s just a little bit off. I’m drawing one in Illustrator that’ll be more accurate for the Fuji 3.25 x 4.25 size.

The first shot was a success, a straight-on photo of the night stand in the war room, with the front standard tilted forward slightly. The point of focus is the lamp switch. It’s just a little fuzzy, I know. My choice of tripod is the cause.

I have an older Calumet tripod with a 3-way head that I should’ve used. I used a Giotto with a hefty ball head that’s hard to manage with the Shen-Hao sittin’ on top of it.

Not bad for the first shot and the film seems to be okay. I’m saving the negatives for reclaiming later on.

More to come.

Rusty shutters #4.

Polaroid Spectra System AF.

I haven’t used this camera a whole lot. Finding useable film on eBay wasn’t an issue when I first got this camera back in 2006, and I only went through a few packs using this cool shooter.

I’d like to use it again, but the time just isn’t right. Polaroid Originals stopped producing film for this camera for a short while, apparently because of issues with the film jamming at ejection, so I’m reluctant to spend any money on what amounts to an experiment with their pricy film.

First released in 1986 and simple enough to use, a majority of the Spectra AF’s controls are located at the back of the camera. Among them, switches for autofocus off/on, flash off/on, and exposure compensation. The sonar auto focus could be tricky at times.

The viewfinder is positioned at the back of the camera on the left side and the shutter release is located top right, just above the picture counter.

The right side of the camera has an adjustable hand strap that makes it easy and secure to hold the camera and access the shutter release.

I like the images I made with this camera, and although I haven’t used it in quite a while, the Spectra AF is still in my collection.

Image size – 3.6in x 2.8in
Film size – 4in x 4.1in
ISO: 640
Shutter Speeds: 2.8 sec – 1/250 sec
Aperture: ƒ/10
Focal Length: 125mm
Dimensions: 5.3in x 3.7in x 6.8in

 

Bums

Overhead light

Jet

Church

The 5 part

No nouns.

Whirlwind.

I’ve been attending meetings for a different kind of photography club, the Round Rock Image Creators. It’s run by Gary Hook and Bill Ledbetter.

What’s unique about this club is the meeting centers around conversation and friendly critique (instead of a judged competition, like NAPƒS) so folks submit an image or two for the monthly meetings and 10 minutes are devoted to talking about each image chosen. Again, it’s friendly. Helpful suggestion is preferred.

The meetings are well organized and lively. Gary and Bill are really good at making people feel comfortable enough to share their opinions. I’ve learned quite a bit from the meetings I’ve attended thus far.

It’s a young club with a diverse age range and attendance has varied from 8-12 people.

An recent example of useful info learned…

At May’s Monday meeting after looking at about a half-dozen images, Gary brought up titles, or the art of giving photographs titles.

I thought I was pretty good at it, but when he and Bill started talking about how most folks use nouns for titles I found that I was guilty as charged.

It made me rethink at least one of the titles I’d given an image I made for Worldwide Pinhole Photography Day.

Originally titled “Kinetic Sculpture,” I changed the name of the above image to “Whirlwind,” creating a much better visual connection.

You can find the Round Rock Image Creators group on Facebook.

The meetings – FREE – are normally on 2nd Mondays, but for June it’ll be on the 3rd Monday – June 17.

I think it’s important to see things from a different perspective.

 

Rusty shutters #3.

Canon Powershot S3IS.

The Canon Powershot S3IS is a smallish digital point and shoot camera that I added to my collection in late 2006, nearly 13 years ago.

The digital camera is equipped with a substantial, yet comfortable grip, a swing-out/swivel display, and awesome zoom capability. The S3IS has amazing macro, too.

I used the S3IS for a couple of years, in between a bunch of old film cameras that I’ll highlight in weeks to come.

My sister is using this camera now.

Resolution: 6 megapixels
Max image size – 2816 x 2112
Display: 2in LCD @ 115,000 pixels
Zoom: 4x digital
ISO: Auto, 80, 100, 200, 400, 800
Shutter Speeds: 15 sec – 1/3200 sec
Aperture: ƒ/2.7–3.5
Focal Length: 36–432mm
Macro: .39in
Metering: Evaluative, center-weighted average, spot
Dimensions: 4.45in x 3.07in x 2.99in
Weight: 14.5 oz
Power: 4 AA batteries
Memory card: SD/SDHC

 

Peony

Emma

Christmas star

Post No Bills

Blue Corvair

Taking a shot, revisited.

In print, once again.

My photo “Mushroom” was published in the Spring 2019 issue of Shots Magazine – Ordinary Magic / no. 143

I’m very happy about that.

Creativity.

Ideas, influence, and inspiration.

The co-founder of The North Austin Pfotographic Society, Josh Baker, gave a super-animated prezzy on creativity at last night’s monthly meeting.

There were a lot of great take-aways, from his use of storyboards and sketches, knowing and breaking rules, to taking advantage of spontaneous situations. Josh’s work is large-scale, and he talked about all the planning that kind of photography demands.

At a couple of points in the presentation, he spoke briefly about inspiration, which I think could be the subject of a whole ‘nutha meeting.

It was an excellent talk!

I do think we’re all influenced by our surroundings, and by filling my life with things I love, the work I do is a direct reflection of my interests.

Plus, my interest in photography is more out of curiosity and experimentation – not business – so I tend to look at things on a much smaller scale. I’m not saying big is bad, I just don’t have the budget, the gear, or the network a working professional has.

But small scale doesn’t mean you can’t be creative.

In September of 2005, I enjoyed an exhibition at San Jose Museum of Art titled “Caja de Visiones/Box of Visions: Manuel Álvarez Bravo.” It was wonderful. The show included about 50 black-and-white photographs.

There were a couple of Álvarez Bravo’s images that I found to be so totally different from the the rest of the exhibit, almost out of place, but demonstrated a playful side. They were pictures of paper, folded and bent.

I was excited to try something similar using a Lensbaby 2 that I’d added to my kit. I’d done a series of macros of a plastic rainbow Slinky earlier that Summer and was happy with the results.

One evening I ventured out to the garage with my camera, the Lensbaby, a small LED flashlight, and this idea.

Working on top of our wash machine, I cut a 3/8″ x 14″ piece of layout bond and curled it tightly around an exacto knife handle, let it fall on a piece of black construction paper and made some slight adjustments to the arrangement.

I then pointed an LED flashlight from various angles at the resulting composition and pulled the Lensbaby away from the camera body to get a closer crop.

The experiment was a success.

Of the eleven images made, I had three of them printed, matted, and framed.

Rusty shutters #2.

Pentax *ist D.

The Pentax *ist D was my first digital SLR. We’re talking 2006, some 13 years ago.

I’d looked at all available options at the time and concluded that the bodies of the Nikon and Canon offerings were just way too big.

The *ist D weighs less, is easier to hold, and compact in comparison. That was enough to sell me on going down the Pentax path.

I still use this camera today, mostly for TtV. It’s been well taken care of. Seriously. Except for the smallish rubber cover for the cable release socket falling off, this camera looks brand new.

The *ist D is powered by four rechargeable AA nickel metal hydride batteries, and I’m using an original speedy Lexar 80x 2GB Compact Flash card.

The menu system and camera controls are easy to use and the viewfinder works just fine. The small LCD display is only functional for the menu system and playback, not for framing up a shot. It was 2006, remember?

I have a decent collection of lenses for this camera, both Pentax and Sigma, but Sigma’s 28-135mm 3.5-5.6 macro gets the most use. The SMC Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 is a close second.

I also have a few different K-mount Lensbaby lenses, the most recent being their Composer Pro with mainly the Sweet 35 optic.

Red earring, Princess Ally, Yellow, Pink tutus, Spring Clean.

Resolution: 6.1 megapixels
Max image size – 3008 x 12008
Display: 1.8in LCD @ 118,000 pixels
ISO: 200, 400, 800, 1600
Shutter Speeds: 30 sec – 1/4000 sec
Metering: Multi-segment, center-weighted, spot
Dimensions: 5in x 3.7in x 2.3in
Weight: 18 oz
Power: 4 AA batteries
Memory card: CompactFlash

Red earring

Princess Ally

Yellow

Pink tutus

Spring clean