Mamiya M645
Sad, But True
August 18, 2010 - 16:36 Filed in: Equipment
Bargains abound for film cameras these days. On eBay, a Canon AE-1 SLR sold for $6.50 while a classic Canon FTb, with a lens, didn’t get a single bid on its $59 starting price. An EOS-1N, once Canon’s flagship 35mm professional camera, sold for a paltry $77. Nikons fare no better. A Nikon FM was had for $50, an N90s for $80, and an N80 body, with the MB-16 battery holder, sold for just $50. For those of us still using film it’s a buyer’s market but at the same time, sad. These precision machines once sold for hundreds of dollars, even on the used market. Computer controlled shutters, 3D matrix metering systems, and lightning-fast autofocus lenses are marvels of modern engineering. These features are also found on digital cameras so what’s the difference? It’s the type of ‘film’ behind the shutter, of course.
The digital revolution also brought unexpected consequences, even for those of us still in the analog world. The Nikon Pronea S SLR was a Nikon flop because it used the controversial APS film format. Known as the Advanced Photo System, its “advanced” features led to its demise. The APS film cartridge could only be processed professionally using specialized equipment and the developed film cartridges were difficult to store and catalog. The size of the negative was smaller than that of 35mm film, which became obvious when the image was enlarged. There was no traditional monochrome film in the APS format, although black and white film using C-41 color dye technology was available. To Nikon’s credit, the Pronea featured Nikon’s magnificent balanced 3D matrix light meter. I bought one on eBay for $15 for that reason alone. I use it as my primary light meter when I shoot with my meter-less Mamiya C330 and M645 medium format cameras. Since the matrix light meter considers distance and image contrast as well as available light in the exposure calculation, I get perfect images every time.
I’m sure that most digital equipment will meet the same fate as their film ancestors after memory cards, lenses, and other digital camera features show a magnitude of improvement. The Fuji Finepix S2 Pro that I occasionally use today once sold for more than $3,000. You can get one now in good condition for about $200.
It won’t be long before even that will be asking too much.
The digital revolution also brought unexpected consequences, even for those of us still in the analog world. The Nikon Pronea S SLR was a Nikon flop because it used the controversial APS film format. Known as the Advanced Photo System, its “advanced” features led to its demise. The APS film cartridge could only be processed professionally using specialized equipment and the developed film cartridges were difficult to store and catalog. The size of the negative was smaller than that of 35mm film, which became obvious when the image was enlarged. There was no traditional monochrome film in the APS format, although black and white film using C-41 color dye technology was available. To Nikon’s credit, the Pronea featured Nikon’s magnificent balanced 3D matrix light meter. I bought one on eBay for $15 for that reason alone. I use it as my primary light meter when I shoot with my meter-less Mamiya C330 and M645 medium format cameras. Since the matrix light meter considers distance and image contrast as well as available light in the exposure calculation, I get perfect images every time.
I’m sure that most digital equipment will meet the same fate as their film ancestors after memory cards, lenses, and other digital camera features show a magnitude of improvement. The Fuji Finepix S2 Pro that I occasionally use today once sold for more than $3,000. You can get one now in good condition for about $200.
It won’t be long before even that will be asking too much.
Prairie Skies and Red #29
I grew up on the prairies of Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and North Dakota. Each summer, my family would drive to Alberta or Ontario on vacations to see relatives or go camping. Outside of the city, the tallest buildings were grain elevators spaced about ten miles apart from each other along the railroad lines and appeared to be tied together with the telephone lines passing from pole to pole. These icons of the prairie stand in solitude winter and summer, storing the harvest until the commodity markets were just right. Tractors and equipment harvested the grain, the trucks hauled it in, and the elevator would weigh it, store it, and load it into railroad hopper cars.
Traditional grain elevators are becoming extinct since concrete grain terminals have emerged. It won’t be long until they are all torn down or collapse from neglect. They have been around for more than a century standing like signposts for ‘POOL’, ‘PIONEER’,’ UGG’, and a number of independent brokers. America named its towns after water towers and Canada named her towns after grain elevators, or so it seems.
I began to process the monochrome film that I shot in rural Minnesota last month. I experimented with a variety of film-developer combinations and filtration. Most of the film was shot with a red #29 filter, which is slightly darker than the #25. The beauty of using red filters with monochrome film is that they bring out very dark and dramatic skies but leave the tonality of clouds. That is, they filter out the blue wavelengths of light to darken the sky and enhance the billowing or feathery clouds. Red filtration also draws out the texture of the metal siding on buildings to appear more like engraved lithographs than photographs.
The results are in the Rural gallery. Bright clouds contrast the geometric elevators and ribbed grain bins against the sky. I used Fuji Acros monochrome film shot at ISO 100 and developed in Edwal FG-7 at 1:15 dilution for 9 minutes. Edwal recommends agitation every 30 seconds for 5 seconds, but after looking at the negatives I would rather process Acros for about 11 minutes and agitate the tank once every minute for 10 seconds. The negatives were so thin that they were nearly unprintable and I was surprised to see how well the images looked. They bring out the kind of texture that gives monochrome film its character. I also shot Plus-X at ISO 80 and processed it in FG-7 for 8 minutes which was about right. The negatives were denser and provided a bit less contrast. The Versatile 435 tractor images are good examples.
Traditional grain elevators are becoming extinct since concrete grain terminals have emerged. It won’t be long until they are all torn down or collapse from neglect. They have been around for more than a century standing like signposts for ‘POOL’, ‘PIONEER’,’ UGG’, and a number of independent brokers. America named its towns after water towers and Canada named her towns after grain elevators, or so it seems.
I began to process the monochrome film that I shot in rural Minnesota last month. I experimented with a variety of film-developer combinations and filtration. Most of the film was shot with a red #29 filter, which is slightly darker than the #25. The beauty of using red filters with monochrome film is that they bring out very dark and dramatic skies but leave the tonality of clouds. That is, they filter out the blue wavelengths of light to darken the sky and enhance the billowing or feathery clouds. Red filtration also draws out the texture of the metal siding on buildings to appear more like engraved lithographs than photographs.
The results are in the Rural gallery. Bright clouds contrast the geometric elevators and ribbed grain bins against the sky. I used Fuji Acros monochrome film shot at ISO 100 and developed in Edwal FG-7 at 1:15 dilution for 9 minutes. Edwal recommends agitation every 30 seconds for 5 seconds, but after looking at the negatives I would rather process Acros for about 11 minutes and agitate the tank once every minute for 10 seconds. The negatives were so thin that they were nearly unprintable and I was surprised to see how well the images looked. They bring out the kind of texture that gives monochrome film its character. I also shot Plus-X at ISO 80 and processed it in FG-7 for 8 minutes which was about right. The negatives were denser and provided a bit less contrast. The Versatile 435 tractor images are good examples.
Railroads
January 22, 2010 - 06:22 Filed in: Assignments | Monochrome
The Baltimore and Ohio (B&O) Railroad Museum is an amazing place for anyone who loves railroads and railroad memorabilia. From the earliest demonstration locomotive to the great steaming giants, the B&O museum begins with the very spot where the first mile and a half of commercial railroad was built.
I shot a lot of monochrome there because that is how to shoot the Age of Steam. The 20th Century Limited. The Capitol Limited. The Empire Builder. That was the way to travel in style back in ‘the day’. People used to dress up to travel on the rails. Champagne. Smoking cars. You don’t just get to your destination. You arrive.
Today we are reduced to long lines and security checkpoints. Blue jeans full of holes. Tattooed teenagers and young adults also full of holes. United. Continental. Delta. Get in line. Get on the plane. Sit in a space no larger than a typical office chair, but without the leg room. Get off the plane. Stand in line to watch the parade of luggage, praying that yours will be there. So much for the romance of travel.
Take a look in the Railroad gallery. More will be coming.
I shot a lot of monochrome there because that is how to shoot the Age of Steam. The 20th Century Limited. The Capitol Limited. The Empire Builder. That was the way to travel in style back in ‘the day’. People used to dress up to travel on the rails. Champagne. Smoking cars. You don’t just get to your destination. You arrive.
Today we are reduced to long lines and security checkpoints. Blue jeans full of holes. Tattooed teenagers and young adults also full of holes. United. Continental. Delta. Get in line. Get on the plane. Sit in a space no larger than a typical office chair, but without the leg room. Get off the plane. Stand in line to watch the parade of luggage, praying that yours will be there. So much for the romance of travel.
Take a look in the Railroad gallery. More will be coming.
Washington DC
January 18, 2010 - 09:08 Filed in: Gallery
After processing the many rolls of film that have accumulated over the last several months, it became obvious that I would need to create at least one new gallery. Late last year, my day job required that I spend much of 2009 in the Washington DC area. I worked in Annapolis, but I did have time on the weekends to explore the region where our nation grew its roots. Processing film in a hotel room is impractical at best and my scanners wouldn’t fit in my carry-on luggage so I left my darkroom at home. I simply mailed the exposed film back to my understanding wife to throw in the freezer until I could get to it.
Most tourists visiting our nation’s capitol photograph the many museums and monuments and I was no exception. For the night shots, I used both color and monochrome. For shooting structures, I use monochrome film to highlight the tones and lines of the masonry. Color film was best for capturing the red, white, and blue colors that symbolize the United States.
It’s good exercise to walk around DC and Baltimore lugging around a Domke bag full with a Mamiya M645, three lenses, film, and the usual accessories. It keeps my massage therapist in business anyway.
I still have several rolls of film to work through, so more galleries may pop up. It is a work in progress.
Most tourists visiting our nation’s capitol photograph the many museums and monuments and I was no exception. For the night shots, I used both color and monochrome. For shooting structures, I use monochrome film to highlight the tones and lines of the masonry. Color film was best for capturing the red, white, and blue colors that symbolize the United States.
It’s good exercise to walk around DC and Baltimore lugging around a Domke bag full with a Mamiya M645, three lenses, film, and the usual accessories. It keeps my massage therapist in business anyway.
I still have several rolls of film to work through, so more galleries may pop up. It is a work in progress.
Trabant
January 14, 2010 - 22:24 Filed in: Assignments
I happened upon a Trabant convention at the International Spy Museum in our nation’s capitol. This vestige of communist industrialism has become a cult favorite among immigrants of the former East Germany. Two cylinders. Four passengers. Freedom for the oppressed. Babe magnet. Certainly a curiosity, especially in Washington DC.
The owners of these little wonders are a passionate lot. One of them drove his communist conveyance all the way from Indiana to the convention. When I asked him how he found parts to restore his car, he said that he has a cousin in the former East Germany who was more than willing to help out. I wonder how he could handle a road emergency without carrying a trailer full of spark plugs, belts, hoses, and other hardware? Then again, the engine has only 7 moving parts so that may be a moot point.
Even though the Trabant is capable of highway speeds, I don’t think it would be much of a match for a modern SUV vying for its physical space at that speed.
The owners of these little wonders are a passionate lot. One of them drove his communist conveyance all the way from Indiana to the convention. When I asked him how he found parts to restore his car, he said that he has a cousin in the former East Germany who was more than willing to help out. I wonder how he could handle a road emergency without carrying a trailer full of spark plugs, belts, hoses, and other hardware? Then again, the engine has only 7 moving parts so that may be a moot point.
Even though the Trabant is capable of highway speeds, I don’t think it would be much of a match for a modern SUV vying for its physical space at that speed.
Aberdeen Proving Ground
January 10, 2010 - 15:49 Filed in: Assignments | Military
I spent five months on the east coast of the United States last year, and I have finally started to process the film that I have had to keep in the freezer. I am pleased with a few frames that I took at the Army Ordnance Museum at the Aberdeen Proving Ground. You can find “Grim Messenger”,” Leopard Skin”, and ”Study In Grey” in the military gallery. More to come as time permits.
