First From the Rolleiflex

My first blog post with an image with the new (to me) Rolleiflex. This camera is a work of art! Part of the allure of film photography for me is using classic cameras like this; the experience of image creation is as important as the end result.

Tree in Churchyard

 

Rolleiflex E3, 75mm/3.5 Xenotar lens
Fuji Neopan Acros 100 film, developed in Rodinal 1+50 for 13.5 min @ 20 C

A Quiet Moment

I don’t often get a chance to photograph children, so it was fun recently to get a few images of the younger son of a good photographer friend of mine. He likes to move around a lot, so the manual focus was a challenge!

A few light leaks on the film 😦

Son of a friend

 

Contax IIIa (35mm rangefinder from the 1950’s) 50mm/2 Jupiter 9 lens
Svema 125 Colour Film (C-41)

Friends

I always tended to be a fairly solitary person (especially as a child), so I tend to have a fairly wistful feeling creating pictures of groups of friends, like this image from the Beaches in Toronto a few days ago.

By the water

 

Nikon F4, 75-150mm/3.5 Nikon Series E lens
Svema 125 Colour Negative film

Working the Light

Last Saturday I had a fun time working with frequent collaborator Catavaria in High Park, doing an Asian-themed shoot. for this image I had the flash off camera on a light stand, with a Lightsphere defuser and amber dome. Quite happy with the results!

Fan

 

Nikon D7100, 50mm Nikkor f1.8 D lens

Enjoying the Evening

Back to the Toronto Beaches, but this time in the evening. This man was enjoying his surroundings.

Enjoying the evening

 

Pentax 67 camera, 105mm/2.4 lens
Kodak Tmax 400 film developed in Xtol 1+1 for 9.25 minutes

Reflections

Old architecture reflected by a modern building. I love the distortions.

Window reflection

 

Nikon F4, 80-200mm/4 Nikkor zoom lens
Svema Foto 200 film, developed in Xtol 1+1 12 min @ 20 C

Plus-X

In 1976, when my father let me use my first “good” camera (his Voigtlander Vito B) he sent me to the store to buy film, with the instructions “Ask for Plus-X”. Decades later, here is an image from a test roll of Plus-X I shot yesterday — expired since about 1983, but still perfectly usable!

Fire Station #17

 

Olympus XA, 35mm Olympus lens
Plus-X, developed in Xtol 1+1 for 7.5 minutes

Behind Bars

Photograph from recent Open Streets Day in Toronto. The title “Behind Bars” comes from a question as to whether we are urban prisoners in Toronto, slaves to the gods of endless construction.

Behind Bars

 

Nikon F4, 28mm/2.8 Nikkor AI lens
Svema Foto 200 film developed in Xtol 1+1 for 12 minutes @ 20 C

Holly I: Personality

I had the fun of working with a new model named Holly earlier this week, doing a retro pin-up genre shoot. The key ingredients for pin-up are personality, personality and personality! 🙂 And Holly had all three, a great sense of humour and a true understanding of the pin-up genre on her part made for a fun, productive shoot!

Holly

 

Nikon D7100, 50mm/1.8 D Nikkor lens
Post work with LightRoom and Nik Efex