Tag: film
Window Reflection, SOMA
I bought 10 rolls of expired Fuji Superia Reala 100 from the Lomographic Society. It’s been a while since I shot with Reala, but I can’t see any significant degradation in color. Maybe it’s not that expired, after all?
Zeno Place in SOMA SF, again
Another shot of Zeno Place, an alley in San Francisco fighting against modernization and gentrification.
Jukebox, Canon FTb
I’m continually amazed by the results I get with a good professional film, an old-school mechanical SLR like my Canon FTb and a 50mm prime lens. This was shot pretty close to wide-open, probably F/2.8 at the most…
Produce market LOMO
Projector 2, San Francisco
Projection Room
Bicyclist on Townsend, SOMA SF
Cube Light LOMO
Another quick snap on my lunch hour in SOMA district, San Francisco. I scanned this one from the print instead of using York Photo‘s online scans.
Slow Photography in an instantaneous age
http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/
essay-slow-photography-in-an-instantaneous-age/
Fast is fine, but slow can be much better.
Digital photography and the ascent of the Web have quickened our jobs. Instead of one deadline a day, we now have continual deadlines, bringing exponentially increasing speed to what we do at The Times.
One advantage of using larger formats is that the process is slower. It takes time to set up the camera. It takes time to visualize what you want.
When doing portraits, it enables the photographer to talk and listen to subjects, to observe their behavior. A camera can trap a photographer sometimes. You can look so intently through a viewfinder that you are unaware of the picture in front of you. When I use an 8-by-10 camera for portraits, I will compose the picture and step back. Using a long cable release, I will look at the subject and wait for the moment. It’s very liberating.
[ Fred R. Conrad, via nytimes.com ]
Plates, Jingletown (Oakland) CA – Part II
Here’s a different perspective of the previous post, showing a little more scale of whatever these things are. And, my sense of scale is way off – those pallets in the background are probably 4 feet wide at least.
Kitchen LOMO
No other camera can work with low light as well as a LOMO does. Load a roll of slow film, hand-hold the camera, brace it against a lamp post, hold your breath and shoot…
Film is not dead…
…But it’s not moving around much.
My local film sources are drying up, and I’ve had to resort to buying film on the (gasp!) internet. Wolf/Ritz Cameras used to sell Fuji Superia 100/24 4 packs but the last few stores I checked said they haven’t received ANY FILM in their last few shipments. WAL*MART and Walgreens are closing out their 110 film; I bought WAL*MART out of their Kodak 400 110 a few weeks back. Last year, Walgreens had a run on Kodak HD 400 and Kodak 400, both great films. I bought 9 rolls, in retrospect I should have bought more – HD 400 has wonderful colors and surprisingly small grain. I haven’t been able to find Lucky 100 film in years, I’m down to my last half-dozen rolls dated March 2005.
100 ISO film has been scarce for some time; as people shot with point-and-shoot cameras, they needed the extra 2-3 stops of exposure to make up for slow zoom lenses. The industry stepped up to the plate, and new 400 and 800 ISO films are much less grainy and much more vibrant than old 400s were in 2000.
So, what’s left? The internet is still going strong. B&H, Adorama and Amazon all have stocks of 35mm. Cheap film is getting scarce, but semi-pro and pro film is still going strong, but at more bucks per image. Your Local $.99 Store may surprise you. Often, $.99 200 ISO no-name film is really Fuji, Agfa, or another brand. If you’re shooting film in a $.99 camera, why not try $.99 film?Ditto for expired film. Don’t be afraid to experiment. The Four Corners Dark Store and the Lomographic Society have expired film specials, and most indie camera stores will sell their expired film or “short” film (film due to expire Any Day Now) at a discount
Keep your eyes open for closeouts.
Good Hunting!
Barriers
I do most of my shooting with a collection of junk store plastic cameras and a freezer full of film I’m working through. Digital doesn’t compare to film – not knowing what I’m going to get until I get the roll back is delayed gratification compared to chimping on a LCD display seconds after the shot was taken.
…And what can compare to opening the envelope and seeing the print in your hands with that memory captured seemingly forever? Hold the print just right and you feel like you can reach in… Digital doesn’t do that.
Graffiti in San Francisco
More fun with the Vivitar Ultra Wide and Slim, a cheap fixed-focus, plastic-lensed camera. SOMA/San Francisco, Fuji Superia 400 film.
Greyho
Greyhound Station, San Francisco CA. LOMO LC-A, Kodak HD 400 film
Krappy Kamera Gallery
(I so missed this – that’s what I get for not subscribing to EVERY BLOG OUT THERE… Do check out the link to the 2008 winners…)
Soho Photo Krappy Kamera® Competition
In the upstairs gallery, the Krappy Kollage–all the entries (over 1,400) for 2007’s Krappy Kamera show.
The beginning
Phone Line
Continuing my window study
A window I pass by every day on my way to and from work. This time, with a Colorsplash and Fuji Superia 400 film.
Don’t think, just shoot
This LOMO mantra’s been getting easier for me – since I’ve been growing my hair longer and spring breezes are here, I’m having a hard time looking through the viewfinder without my hair getting in the way of the lens or the viewfinder!
I shot a roll of some generic $.99 cent store ISO 200 film on my way home last night and didn’t look through the viewfinder once. We’ll see how it turns out!
<Obligatory photo posting>
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