I had a great time yesterday shooting with Rebecca again; I used a variety of cameras, including my Nikon D7100 and LensBaby Spark lens. The Spark is an interesting lens: it is a doublet (only two elements), and you focus by squeezing it like an accordion for a focus point, surrounded by blur; it can be a trick to control, but it is fun to use!
Last week I made the following statement on Twitter:
“The human face is the landscape of life, and is infinitely more incredible than any geography on Earth”
I think this image I took of model Jennifer Santos Bettencourt last evening serves as a good illustration of what I was saying. What sets Jennifer apart from so many other models is the depth and subtle intensity of the facial expressions she creates. truly a landscape of life.
(Rolleicord IIIa Twin lens Reflex, 75mm/f3.5 Xenar lens, Tri-X developed in Xtol 1:1 for minutes)
With the ubiquity of cell phones, we are seeing fewer and fewer pay phones; they are increasingly seen as obsolete, and the ones that are still around tend to be in pretty rough shape. These two outside the Bathurst subway station seem different; they are both in decent condition, and seem determined to maintain dignity and a sense of purpose. In a sense, they remind me of an old married couple: not flashy, but dedicated and devoted.
(Canon 7 35mm rangefinder, 50mm/f2 Jupiter 8 lens,
Fomapan 100 film,
developed in Tmax developer for 9 minute)
This past weekend I had a shoot on Saturday at Sunnyside Pavilion in Toronto. While waiting for the couple to arrive (and more on them in a future post), I did some shooting of my own. This location has become a bit of a wedding photography factory, so I mainly skulked around the edges and did detail images.
(Canon 7 Rangefinder camera, circa 1961, Soviet Jupiter 8 50mm/f2 lens,
Fomapan 100 film developed in Tmax developer 1:9 for 9 minutes)
As I’ve said before, I am not a film-only purist, and there are times when digital technology s what is needed to get the shot. Last night was one of those occasions. I was shooting Angela Saini at the Free Times Cafe here in Toronto. A great location to hear great music, but the stage is very dimly lit. I had to crank up the ISO on my Nikon D7100 to 6400, just to get a decent shot in available light. 6400 is a speed that takes drastic chemical steps to achieve in a film camera, and I wold likely have ended up with golf-ball sized grain. I like this look better.
Here is another image from Lethbridge: the large trestle bridge in the background, the humble pedestrian bridge in the foreground. I found the juxtaposition interesting.
(Mamiya 645 Pro TL, 80mm/2.8 lens, shot on Tri-X @ E.I. 1000 developed in Diafine 3+3)
This week I am on a business trip in Lethbridge, Alberta. It’s a busy week, but I did have a little bit of time for some photography (digital and film) last evening, so I headed down to a park underneath the Lethbridge Viaduct railway bridge, on of the iconic sites in the city. As an icon, it has been extensively photographed, so I tried to avoid the iconic compositions 🙂
I noticed this young photographer on the subway yesterday. He was equipped with a Canon SLR and what appeared to be a manual focus lens, likely a 50mm or 35mm. What I noticed more than the camera and though was his eyes: he was looking at everything, noticing everything, and in his mind framing every possible shot. Without ever seeing an image of his, I am quite confident that his photography would be good.
He had the right gear; and I don’t mean his camera, I mean his eyes and awareness which transcend whatever camera he had in his hands.
Over the last few years I’ve noticed more and more “human statues” at Yonge and Dundas in downtown Toronto. I’d say this is a pretty tough way to make a living: it requires a lot of concentration, and I am sure some passersby will do their best to break their pose.
(Nikon F2, 105mm/f2.5, Tri-X developed in Xtol 1:1)
I thought this citizen of Toronto had an interesting look, and the Nikon 105mm/2.5 allowed for just the right degree of isolation in the framing.
My Third Eye 