I tend to not do a lot of night photography, and I really have to change that! It is a real gap in my work. I did do a night shoot the other evening with fellow photographer friend Bill Smith: I love the night time look of the Murphy’s Law pub in Toronto at Queen St / Kingston Road. We set up our cameras on tripods across the street an shot during gaps in the traffic.
Hasselblad 500C/M, 80mm/2.8 Planar lens
Lomography 400 C-41 film
After a fun Nikkormat – themed photowalk with my friend Bill Smith, we ducked into a pub for a beer. From our table facing the front of the restaurant I couldn’t help but notice a couple who seemed oblivious to each other, and were glued to their phones. I couldn’t resist the image, so I picked up the Nikkormat with a 105mm/2.5 lens, and shot a few frames wide open at 1/60th of a second, guessing on the exposure (since the camera did not have a functioning meter) and hoping I could get one frame of Tri-X sufficiently sharp. I got lucky.
Last weekend I had a photoshoot with my good friend (and very talented musician and composer) Jo-Anne. While I was using my Hasselblad kit for most of the work I did take some 35mm images using my Nikon N90s and 50mm/1.4 Nikkor lens. I used Rollei RPX 400, pushed to EI 1600 using Tmax developer. I was very happy with the expression I was able to catch.
I guess I’m an old softie at heart: one of my favourite love songs is “Longer” by Dan Fogelberg. As I was out yesterday morning in High Park in the forest path near Keele Station, the dim light from the morning overcast and the silence reminded me of a line from the song:
“Deeper than any forest primeval, I am in love with you.”
The forest did feel very deep and moody yesterday, and these three images for me capture the mood. All were created using my Nikon N90s 35mm SLR, 17mm/3.5 Tamron Ultra-wide angle lens, shot on Rollei RPX400 film, developed in Perceptol.
While in Hamilton recently I revisited the Art Deco period GO transit bus terminal, with my Rolleiflex 3.5E3 and some Tri-X film.
Two more images from Doors Open at the R.C. Harris plant, this time in colour. Porta 800 was the ideal film to shoot colour handheld with the Hasselblad and 50mm/4 Distagon lens at a fast enough shutter speed to not need a tripod.
I had the pleasure of hanging out with my good friend Ken Bole last weekend, in his “basement bar” which contains his extensive and eclectic collection of objects, souvenirs and books. What I found fascinating about the collection was that each object represented a story and a memory, and to me at least the stories and memories are what are truly memorable. The objects themselves are receipts in a sense; evidence of a life richly led.
Hasselblad 500C/M, 50mm/4 Distagon
Tri-X film developed in Ilfosol 3
Toned in post
Inside one of the art structures on the Beaches. This image (taken with my Kodak Medalist I on respooled Tri-X) was not easy to focus!
I had a fun portrait session this past Saturday with fellow Toronto-area photographer Philip Elliot. There is just something about shooting portraits with a Rolleiflex, and the square format. (Film used was Kodak Tri-X, developed in Xtol 1+1 for 9 minutes @ 20 C)
I met up with my friend Jennifer yesterday at a Starbucks here in Toronto, and it marked the first time I have done a portrait shoot inside a busy downtown coffee shop. I was shooting with my Kodak Medalist which does not have the closest focusing lens (but otherwise a great piece of glass). Shooting wide open at f3.5 on Kodak Tmax 400 film, developed in Xtol and post work with Nik Efex.
My Third Eye 