This week I am on a business trip in Lethbridge, Alberta. It’s a busy week, but I did have a little bit of time for some photography (digital and film) last evening, so I headed down to a park underneath the Lethbridge Viaduct railway bridge, on of the iconic sites in the city. As an icon, it has been extensively photographed, so I tried to avoid the iconic compositions 🙂
I noticed this young photographer on the subway yesterday. He was equipped with a Canon SLR and what appeared to be a manual focus lens, likely a 50mm or 35mm. What I noticed more than the camera and  though was his eyes:  he was looking at everything, noticing everything, and in his mind framing every possible shot. Without ever seeing an image of his, I am quite confident that his photography would be good.
He had the right gear; and I don’t mean his camera, I mean his eyes and awareness which transcend whatever camera he had in his hands.
Over the last few years I’ve noticed more and more “human statues” at Yonge and Dundas in downtown Toronto. I’d say this is a pretty tough way to make a living: it requires a lot of concentration, and I am sure some passersby will do their best to break their pose.
(Nikon F2, 105mm/f2.5, Tri-X developed in Xtol 1:1)
I thought this citizen of Toronto had an interesting look, and the Nikon 105mm/2.5 allowed for just the right degree of isolation in the framing.
One of the reasons I still like shooting film is exemplified by this image of model and dancer Kaitlin taking using my Rolleicord IIIa twin lens reflex camera. The Xenar lens has a unique character, not tack sharp unless you really stop down. It is easy to get a lot of sameness with digital cameras; each of my film cameras has own voice, its own signature, and I have a love affair with each of them.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of doing a photo shoot with Michael James. I first met Michael last year when we were both in The Alexander Showcase Theatre’s production of Man of La Mancha. Michael is a fun guy to work with: a great sense of humour, and also a lot of depth and thoughtfulness. My job as a photographer is to capture that, and I’d like to think I did.
I used the Nikkor 85mm/1.8 lens on my Nikon F2, using Kodak Tri-X film; I can see myself coming back to this combo again, especially for male portraits!
The last few days I have been trying my Nikkor 85/1.8 lens on my Nikon F2 for street shooting, and I am really liking the this focal length; so many images just seem to present themselves, like today’s image of a dog owner coming back to collect his dog. (I was originally trying to get a shot of the dog alone, but the owner came back just as I was about to shoot).
(Nikon F2 with 85mm/1.8 Nikkor lens, Tri-X film at E.I. 400 developed in Xtol 1:1 for 9 minutes)
One thing I like about cameras like a Speed Graphic is how parts can be mixed and matched. I was able to use a Voigtlander Voigtar Anastigmat lens (15mm/f6.3) rescued from a non-working Voigtlander Avus folder from the 1920’s. The roll film holder was from a Mamiya RB67 camera; it mounts perfectly.
I’ve always found this type of bike post  fascinating, like a modern art sculpture. They lend themselves to any number of angles and compositions.
(Canon 7 35mm Rangefinder with 50mm/f2 Jupiter 8 lens,
Fomapan 100 developed in TMax developer 1:9)
Here is another image from the workshop yesterday. I found this workshop great, as I learned  that this kind of lighting is not as hard as I thought: one one side, a beauty dish with honeycomb grid, on the other side, a strip light, also with a grid to control the path of the light. I will be exploring this technique more in the future!
I should also mention the model Kaitlin’s skill as a dancer: her poise and grace came through in every image. 🙂
My Third Eye 