It’s been a hot summer in Toronto, so everywhere you go, water bottles are important. I saw these bottles in a local coffee shop (The Only Cafe), and thought they would look nice with a pictorial treatment.
Water Bottles
Tag: Jupiter 8
Flowers Behind Glass
I was out yesterday morning with my over 60 yr old Jupiter-8 lens (50mm f/2) mounted on my Sony a7ii, and saw this vase of flowers in a store window, painted by the morning light.
I love how this old lens renders flowers!
Patterns
Downtown a few days ago on a morning that became sunny after a brief rain. Plenty of rental bikes, and I like the patterned look they presented.
All images were created with my Sony a7ii body, and an old Soviet-era Jupiter 8 50mm lens, mounted via an adapter.
Two More Lenses From the Shelf
The other day I went out to Riverdale Farm with two more old former Soviet Union lenses that have been sitting on the shelf for ages: my 50mm f/2 Jupiter 8 and 50mm f/3.5 Industar 22. Both delivered better results than I expected!
Mountains
I was lucky enough to be in Banff for meetings this past week, and I had a bit of time for some photography. The views from the Banff Springs Hotel are incredible.
Zorki 4 35mm rangefinder camera, 50mm/2 Jupiter 8 lens
Svema Foto 200 film developed in Ilfotec DD-X
8.5 minutes @ 20 C
At the Extreme
After having recently had success with shooting medium format Tri-X at EI 3200 and stand developing in Rodinal for two hours, I was anxious to see how well it would work with the smaller 35mm negative and the answer is, not bad at all! Not nearly as grainy as expected, and shooting at 3200 (considered pretty extreme for Tri-X) will allow me to handhold in pretty dim light. Rodinal is indeed a magic potion, not bad for a developer first released in the 1890’s!
Voigtlander Bessa R 35mm rangefinder, Russian Jupiter 8 50mm/2 lens
Tri-X @ EI 3200, semi-stand developed for two hours @ 20 C
(Gentle agitation every 30 minutes)
8,7,9
Some numbers came together to make this image: the lens, a Soviet era Jupiter 8 50mm lens, on a Canon 7 rangefinder body. The film was Fomapan 100, developed in Tmax developer at a 9:1 dilution. This combo works for me!
Something Different
Something different this time around — tack sharp and in colour, taken with my Contax IIIa rangefinder 50mm Jupiter 8 lens and some 400 speed Fuji color negative film. I was struck by the colours and geometric patterns, as if I stumbled onto a piece of abstract art. 
Vintage 35mm Portrait #2
Today’s image is the second in my project of portraiture taken using vintage 35mm equipment. This specific image was taken using an early 1950’s Contax IIIa rangefinder, coupled with a Soviet Jupiter-8 normal lens. The inherent sharpness of this lens was just what I wanted for this look, while still keeping a vintage feel.
From Russia With Luck, Part II
On my list of cameras I’ve always wanted, a vintage Contax rangefinder has been near the top. The post-war Contax rangefinders (IIa and IIIa models) are wonderful precision mechanisms, and I was lucky sometime ago to acquire a IIIa body at a reasonable price, but I still needed a lens. I had good luck with the Russian Jupiter 8 on my Leica IIIb, so I rolled the dice again and go the same lens in the Contax mount, very inexpensively. I just got the first roll developed, and I am again very happy with the sharpness of this lens!
My Third Eye 