Another shot from my extended photo walk last Saturday. The man was selling something (some kind of spirituality perhaps), and actually had gotten someone to stop and listen.
(Nikon F, 105mm f2.5 lens, Tri-X developed in Xtol 1:1)
Category: Analog Film
Nina Among the Cherry Blossoms
Every year at around this time, people flock to High Park in Toronto to see the blooming of the Cherry blossoms. Delicate and lovely, they only last a few days at most. I thought it would be a nice setting for a portrait session with Nina Mason, a teacher and actress with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with in a few Alexander Showcase Theatre productions. In contrast to the newness of the blossoms, I used some decidedly old technology: a 1950’s era Rolleicord III twin lens reflex camera, loaded with Fuji Reala colour negative film. I like shooting this camera with the Xenar lens fairly open, as I like the way the background and corners blur.
There is no new, there is no old; only timeless.
Frozen Orca’s
On King Street, east of Dufferin is the remnant of a rail line, likely a spur to service a factory. All that is left now is what you see below. To me, it seemed like a pair of killer whales, frozen in time.
(Nikon F2, 105mm f2.5 Nikkor lens Tri-x film, developed in xTol 1:1 for 9 minutes)
Finally, back to film!
It’s been a while, but I finally have a traditional film-based image 🙂
I was out shooting yesterday, with a Nikon F and F2 in downtown Toronto. I’m a sucker for these geometric-based compositions!
In the Moment
I had a lot of fun (except for balky flash triggers!) yesterday in a photo shoot with Kira Hall, a talented Toronto actress. She did an amazing job with hair, make-up and wardrobe, and as an actress, she was able to provide great expressions!
Dream
Another product of the bybrid workflow today: this image was captured last weekend with a Nikon F2 body, 24mm f2.8 lens, on Fomapan 100 developed in TMax developer. I then scanned the negative, and added some glow using Nik software in post. The look I was going for was being in a dream.
Railroad Tracks
Another view of railroad tracks at the base of Pottery Road in Toronto, this time with a wider angle lens, and me crouching closer to the tracks.
Hybrid Approach
Here is one more image from Michigan: I found I had three more instant film negatives to scan, and I decided to do some extensive post-processing on this one, adding some glow and toning. I love being able to mix the best of old and new photographic technologies together!
Dog-Tired
It’s been a chilly weekend (by Toronto standards) by that hasn’t gotten in the way of doing some street photography. I saw this man carry a fair sized dog, and managed to pop off a quick image.
(Nikon F2, 50mm f.14 lens, Tri-X at box speed developed in Xtol 1:1 , 9 minutes)
Polypan, Rodinal and Minolta
I was recently gifted with a vintage Minolta SRT 101 35mm SLR camera by my friend Nina. A beautiful camera, in very good working condition: while you can’t get the original batteries anymore because they contained mercury, I used a C.R.I.S. MR-9 adapter to allow the use of a silver 386 battery. For a test roll I used PolyPan F, exposed at E.I. 25, developed in Rodinal 1:50 for 11 minutes @ 20/68 degrees. I am still dialing in the film/developer combination  but the two images below hint a what can be done with this fine camera. Thanks again Nina!
My Third Eye 