Category: Medium Format

Don’t Let Them See You Sweat

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Yet another image in my Women and Cameras series, but with an interesting story. When I got to the shoot and pulled out my trusty Mamiya, I realized I had brought the wrong finder (the part you look through; the Mamiya is a modular camera and has a number of options). Instead of bringing the eye-level finder I had brought the so-called waist -level finder, that you look down into. The biggest trick with the waist level finder is that the image you focus on is laterally inverted (backwards like a mirror) and this takes some getting use to; when you move to the left, in the finder it looks like you are moving to the right and vice-versa. Also, doing portrait orientation shots is very difficult; turn the camera on its side. and the image you see becomes upside down. I don’t use the waist level finder much, but I got through it somehow, and was very happy with the results I got of model Erikka, holding the Voigtlander Vito B, my father’s old camera, and the first “good” camera I got to learn on.

erikka021

Kodak Retina IIa

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Today’s image is the latest shot from my women and cameras series. The model Bonnie (who was great to work with!) is posing with a Kodak Retina IIa 35 mm camera, built between 1951 to 1954. Built as high-quality precision mechanisms (partly in response to the German Leica’s), the Retina’s chief claim to fame was that it introduced the 135 35mm film cassette, which rapidly became the start format for 35mm film, continuing up to the present day.

This image, like all the others in this series to day, was shot using my Mamiya M645, on Ilford Delta 400 film. This film is definitely becoming my new best friend!! 🙂

Kodak Retina IIa

Not Quite What It Seems?

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If you’ve been on the Queen Elizabeth Expressway (Q.E.W.) , around exit 57 you have probably noticed this shipwreck. It is not quite what it seems. Quite a few years ago, some entrepreneurs took a non-descript boat, and started adding bits and pieces to make it appear like a tall ship of sorts. In the process, the ship was made completely unseaworthy, but that was not as issue; it was meant to be a restaurant/attraction. But then disaster struck in the form of a fire, and for many years the hulk has sat close to shore, an eyesore to some, a landmark to others, but regardless, not quite what it seems. This image is not completely what it seems either; although shot on film, it was heavily post processed with Silver Efex Pro. Given the history of the subject matter, I find this quite ironic.

Shipwreck, Sort of

Hybrid Rocks!

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In the hustle and bustle of Dundas Square, I took  this picture of model Stacy, who is holding an old Zeiss 120 folder. I am continuing to find the analog/digital hybrid approach  quite effective; the Sliver Efex Pro plug-in allows me to get the last bit of tonality I’m looking for from the scanned negative.

Zeiss Folder 2

Mirror to the Soul

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Here’s an image from the latest shoot for my Women and Cameras project. My model Amy is holding my Argus A, a 35mm camera from the mid-1930’s, and very important in the history of 35mm photography. What really grabs me about this image though is the eyes: they dominate the picture, and the mood.

Argus A

Boat for Sale

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One of the interesting things we saw on the photo walk in Hamilton Harbour was a large freighter/tanker ship. Apparently, the boat was for sale. I didn’t buy it; it would cut into my camera Gear Acquisition Syndrome budget! It did make for some interesting shots though!

Stern

HMCS Haida

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The HMCS Haida is an old Canadian Warship, no longer in service, but located in Hamilton Harbour as an open museum/tourist attraction. While she is being maintained, I still found a sense of age and decay in various details of the ship, painted over time and time again. Still, a fascinating place to take pictures; more to follow.

Old Plugs

A Fun Day In Hamilton

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Don’t get me wrong, I loved being in My Fair Lady, but it was eating into my photography time. With the show now just a very pleasant memory, time to get back to my first love, so this past Saturday I was able to join up with a few other film lovers/APUG members for a photo-walk in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The image below was captured using my trusty Mamiya M645J medium format camera, on Ilford Delta 400 film, processed in Xtol 1:1.

Gazebo and Deck, Hamilton Harbour

An Interesting Comment

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Here is an image from my latest photo session for the classic cameras project. Sara was a great model to work with, and she did have one interesting comment, when she said “It’s refreshing to do a photo shoot with my clothes on.” I have never been one to have been objectified based on my physical appearance, but I could understand where she was coming from. The line between “art nude” and soft core porn is indistinct, and every time I think I might try my hand at the art nude genre I have to stop and think; what kind of image would I be making, and would it have anything to say? And can an art nude still recognize the subject as a person, and not just a body?

Universal Mercury

When Worlds Collide

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Here is another shot from the Voigtlander/Kathleen session. Shot on film, but then enhanced using the Nik SilverFX Pro 2 plug-in. This plug-in is meant for making digital pictures look like vintage black and white film, but I find that it is also useful for working with scans of pictures shot with real black and white film. Purists may scoff, but at the end of the day, I got the image I was looking for.

Voigtlander 2