Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Analog vs Digital Printing
After having my first two films developed by my local Professional lab i was pleasantly surprised (actuaLLY I WAS SORT OF EXPECTING THIS) that my lab no longer uses Analog (the best way to describe it) equipment to print a customer's Pictures. GOne are the days of the enlargers and baths of reeking chemicals. The lab wil develop your film, scan aan digitize it and then print your pictures out( albeit at a quality superior to trhat of your local Kmart or Photo kiosk) Their Darkrooms now are in Cyberspace. But the results speak for themselves. At the moment i cannot afford or justify a Scanner that will take 120 film and this Lab will long roll scan and make any adjustments required ready for printing. Almost takes some of the joy out of it but the losses are offset by the economic gains. And there i was going to start developing my own Black and Whites......
New Vs Old
As I mentioned in my first post, I've recently purchased a Mamiya M645, which is replacing a Canon 35mm SLR. The Canon was a fantastic camera, but having used both of them this last weekend, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed shooting with the M645 the most. I originally bought the Canon camera because it offered me more functionality than my first SLR, which was fully manual.
Somehow, though, the bells and whistles of the Canon didn't really end up being that useful. Sure, it had a bunch of different shooting modes, allowing me to control everything myself, or to let the camera have some or all of the control. Maybe I'm just lazy, but I found that I'd got into the habit of selecting the auto mode most of the time, which didn't always give me the results I was looking for. I also felt that I'd stopped thinking about what I was doing, and ended up using the thing like an expensive point and shoot camera.
The M645 is a different kettle of fish entirely, it's all manual, and doesn't even have a built in light meter. In order to use the camera effectively, I'm going to have to be thinking about what I want to achieve with each shot. Which is not a bad thing really, as I find it's far too easy to stop thinking about such things if you have the option of not having to. I'm expecting to have quite a few dud shots to start with (particularly as I'll also be shooting with colour transparency film for the first time), but I'm also expecting my photography to improve, as I start forcing myself to think about what I'm doing.
So, all in all, was the Canon a bad camera? I don't think so, it certainly did the job well, but it didn't really suit what I was trying to do with it. The 645 should fit the bill rather nicely, and I'm looking forward to seeing the results of the first film I put throught it.
Somehow, though, the bells and whistles of the Canon didn't really end up being that useful. Sure, it had a bunch of different shooting modes, allowing me to control everything myself, or to let the camera have some or all of the control. Maybe I'm just lazy, but I found that I'd got into the habit of selecting the auto mode most of the time, which didn't always give me the results I was looking for. I also felt that I'd stopped thinking about what I was doing, and ended up using the thing like an expensive point and shoot camera.
The M645 is a different kettle of fish entirely, it's all manual, and doesn't even have a built in light meter. In order to use the camera effectively, I'm going to have to be thinking about what I want to achieve with each shot. Which is not a bad thing really, as I find it's far too easy to stop thinking about such things if you have the option of not having to. I'm expecting to have quite a few dud shots to start with (particularly as I'll also be shooting with colour transparency film for the first time), but I'm also expecting my photography to improve, as I start forcing myself to think about what I'm doing.
So, all in all, was the Canon a bad camera? I don't think so, it certainly did the job well, but it didn't really suit what I was trying to do with it. The 645 should fit the bill rather nicely, and I'm looking forward to seeing the results of the first film I put throught it.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
The shutterbug's bitten me too
Actually this is is a nice layout for the blog let me start ofd bysaying(a touch of Yoda)
But yes , MF is somethig i fell into by bad management of a set of fortuoitous circumstances, having started of with a Mamiya TLR and whithin a short period of Time gotten hold of 4 more Mamiya 645's. Well a man';s gotta do what a Mans gotta do. After testing the surplus equipment it will be duly redistributed to deserving ones.
One thing i've got to start doing is to keep a journal of what has been shot at what setting. I found that flying by seat of your pants works for 35mm but Medium Format needs a little more finesse. Specially when one is using Transparency Film.
I had my first 2 films returned to me with mixed results. Long is the road and endless the Journey, so says Tathaka Bhudda, but you have to start somewhere.
But yes , MF is somethig i fell into by bad management of a set of fortuoitous circumstances, having started of with a Mamiya TLR and whithin a short period of Time gotten hold of 4 more Mamiya 645's. Well a man';s gotta do what a Mans gotta do. After testing the surplus equipment it will be duly redistributed to deserving ones.
One thing i've got to start doing is to keep a journal of what has been shot at what setting. I found that flying by seat of your pants works for 35mm but Medium Format needs a little more finesse. Specially when one is using Transparency Film.
I had my first 2 films returned to me with mixed results. Long is the road and endless the Journey, so says Tathaka Bhudda, but you have to start somewhere.
Monday, August 28, 2006
New Blog, New Toys...
Having taken a break from photography for the last couple of months, the shutterbug has bitten again. I normally keep a journal of my thoughts on each film I shoot, plus whatever thoughts are going through my mind at the time. This time I thought I'd share my photos and thoughts on a blog.
What better way of starting a new blog than talking about my new toy(s). This week I made a decision to move away from shooting 35mm to Medium Format. It's been something I've thought about for a while, but I've never really been game enough to fork out so much money for something, which, when it comes down to it, is a bit of an experiment. Fortunately for me, a friend pointed out a fantastic Mamiya M645 going cheap on eBay, which I am now the proud owner of.
Having taken it out on the weekend for the first time, I can say I'm looking forward to taking a lot of photos with this camera. There's a certain amount of discipline required with the Mamiya, where I could cut corners with my previous camera (a Canon EOS300, which has been sold to pay for the Mamiya). This in turn has forced me to think more about what it is that I'm doing, which can only be a good thing.
Of course, a medium format camera is a lot heavier than a 35mm one, and as a result, I've also invested in a new tripod, a Manfrotto 190V, which I'm eagerly waiting for in the mail. All I need now is a heap of free time and good weather, so that I can get out and go walking (hmm, might need to increase my fitness, so that I'm able to carry all the extra gear...)
What better way of starting a new blog than talking about my new toy(s). This week I made a decision to move away from shooting 35mm to Medium Format. It's been something I've thought about for a while, but I've never really been game enough to fork out so much money for something, which, when it comes down to it, is a bit of an experiment. Fortunately for me, a friend pointed out a fantastic Mamiya M645 going cheap on eBay, which I am now the proud owner of.
Having taken it out on the weekend for the first time, I can say I'm looking forward to taking a lot of photos with this camera. There's a certain amount of discipline required with the Mamiya, where I could cut corners with my previous camera (a Canon EOS300, which has been sold to pay for the Mamiya). This in turn has forced me to think more about what it is that I'm doing, which can only be a good thing.
Of course, a medium format camera is a lot heavier than a 35mm one, and as a result, I've also invested in a new tripod, a Manfrotto 190V, which I'm eagerly waiting for in the mail. All I need now is a heap of free time and good weather, so that I can get out and go walking (hmm, might need to increase my fitness, so that I'm able to carry all the extra gear...)
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