Today another image captured on 6×7, but the camera I used was my Mamiya RZ67. Compared to the Pentax 67, this large, bulky beast definitely feels like a tripod camera, but is still a joy to use, at a slow, contemplative pace.
(90mm/f3.8 lens, Ilford Delta 100 film developed in Rodinal 1+25 for 9 minutes at 20C)
Today, another image captured yesterday at the Distillery District in Toronto with my Pentax 67. the 6 cm by 7 cm format has been called by some the “ideal format”; one reason is that you can print on 8×10 paper with no cropping to speak of. By contrast, 35mm would required 8×12 paper to do the same.
Despite this, I found a couple of my images worked better when cropped as square (or at least “squarish”), including this image. With the sun still relatively low in the horizon at 10 am on a mid October day I liked the start look of the shadows on the building.
(Taken with 105mm/f2.4 lens, Kodak TMax 400 film developed in TMax developer)
Today’s image was created in Toronto’s Distillery District, using my Pentax 67 medium format camera. Larger sized negatives (such as the 6cm x 7 cm negatives created by this camera) make grain less of an issue so I was able to use Rodinal developer, which emphasizes sharpness rather than fine grain.
Today, another image shot with my Soviet Russia era Helios 44/2 58mm/f2 lens. I took this image with the lens mounted on my Yashica TL-Electro SLR body, using Kodak Cinema XX film at E.I. 200. The occasion was the engagement photo shoot of GIllian and Kari.
The Helios 44/2 lens has achieved cult status in some quarters due to the “swirl” one can achieve in the unfocused parts of the image, when shooting wide-open, and the effect is really evident in this image. Shooting in full shade wide open at 1/60th means the image isn’t tack sharp, but I do love those swirls 🙂
Today;s image was shot recently using the redscale technique. For this technique, you use regular C-41 colour negative film, but wound backwards in the film cassette, so you are shooting through the back of the film. The light hits the red emulsion layer first, resulting in the deep red and orange tones in the resulting images. I love the effect; it makes me feel like I am on Ray Bradbury’s version of Mars.
(Pentax K1000, 28mm/2.8 Pentax lens, C-41 ISO 400 no-name expired colour film, wound backwards)
Today, one of the film images from the session with Jennifer this past Saturday. This shoot marked the first time I used a recently acquired Helios 44/2 lens (58mm, f2). This lens is a Soviet Russian era copy of a Carl Zeiss Biotar, and has quite a cult following in certain circles. The fact that its focal length is slightly longer than normal for a “normal” lens makes it great for portrait work. In this shoot I had it mounted on my Yashica TL-Electro. The lighting was not bright, so I was shooting wide open at 1/60th of a second, on Ilford HP5+, pushed to E.I. 800. I like the gritty, documentary look I got: it is a good match for Jennifer’s intense expression. She is a master at bringing emotion into a shoot!
I had the pleasure of shooting Andrea Gauster playing at the Freetimes Cafe in Toronto this past Saturday night. This talented singer/songwriter does an amazing job of connecting with her audience: just look at all the smiles. 🙂
(Nikon D7100 camera, 18-105mm Nikon lens)
Early evening light through a large picture window, the light of candles, and a soft overhead light.
(Nikon D7100, 18-105mm Nikkor lens, post work done with Color Efex Pro)
Today’s image is part of my ongoing “Portrait of the Artist” series. Ashley has actually appeared in my blog before, but behind the camera, as the make-up/prosthetics artist in the Jennifer Gears Project, here and here. She is holding an airbrush of the kind that she very skilfully used for that shoot, and she is truly an artist in that regard.
While her vocation in a sense is “behind the scenes” she also has the instincts of a performer, and feels at home in front of the camera as well.
(Nikon D7100 DSLR, 18-105mm Nikkor lens, Post-work done using Colour Efex Pro 4)
Lens flare is often seen as a defect in an image, but sometimes it works. Pointing almost directly at the sun I am surprised there wasn’t more!
(Pentax K1000 35m SLR, 28m/f2.8 SMC Pentax lens with yellow filter,
Rollei 80s with yellow filter, developed in Rodinal 1+50, 14 minutes)
My Third Eye 