The F-Stop

Australia's little corner of Africa

2008-04-27T18:01:00.005+10:00

The Missus wanted to go and have a look at the open Air Zoo at Monarto in South Australia- so all of us went.If you have the chance to visit , go. It certainly is a worthwile experience. So here is just a quick slide show of the day. Pentax K10D, Promaster28-200mm Zoom Lens

Adelaide Lights Up

2008-04-04T21:27:00.004+11:00

Hi,one and all, i'm still alive,contrary to popular belief
so, to kick things off - a SLide show. These are all digital Snaps i took while i was waiting for my Mamiya 120 camera to finish the time exposure.(100 images being scanned as i write this)
Basically in the University Precinct of Adelaide, several of the classic buildings were lit up with industrial size slide projectors...enjoy
And here are is the suppliers that i use for quality Memory cards at a very good Price.They Ship World Wide and even take Paypal. Check'em Out
Memory Suppliers

All quiet...

2007-10-13T17:54:00.000+11:00

Having had a bit of free time to myself over the last week or so, I've come to the realisation that I've done three fifths of stuff all photography. Even my "Pic of the Week" exercise has failed to keep me taking photos. Still, a change is as good as a holiday, apparently, so I'm looking forward to getting out now that the weather is more conducive to not getting wet/frozen/blown away...

Even with having such a long break, I haven't ignored photography completely. I've been working up to getting enough kit to start processing my own black and white film. It's only the lack of a suitable thermometer that's really holding me back. Hmm, maybe it's time I actually got off my butt, and did something about that then... Much like I need to do with actually taking some photos.

Russian Glass.....Bewdifulll

2007-06-05T21:55:00.000+10:00

My Monthly SHot of the Week

Well what can i say..i thought it's about time we had a little technobabble so here it is. I have a new love affair and she is a Russian Beauty... actually i have several russian beauties that i regularly fiddle with....but this particular one i forgot i even had! Some time ago i bought a set of extension bellow and a M42 Lens to go with it; spend around $30.00AUS and never thought much about it until the other day I realised that it was a Helios 44-4 Lens. So i had another close look at it and it's simply a beautiful Lens(for the money i paid for it) So i coupled it with a set of Auto Extension rings and coupled it with my *ist and did some quick Test Shots...I just tidied them up a little in photoshop( i've a little bit of dust on the sensor ) but other than that that the lens is a superb performer. Images were taken in the shade at Auto Exposure and at f16. So this is my SOTW for this month. The white flower is a potato creeper , the flower is about 2cm across and the other shot is of a Aloe Vera Flower stalk. And to my constant surprise the manual lenses are continually outperforming my modern lenses....

PIn hole Mk3 AND my Pic'o'the'Week

2007-04-15T08:03:00.000+10:00

Two for the price of one! I've done some tweaking on my recently build Loch-Lomo(aka Agfa Clack Pinhole conversion) I thought i had the pinhole a wee bit big at about .5ish mm.
Some quick Googling about Focal Lenghts vs Pinhole sizes came up with some interesting answers and programmes to calculate the correct size and another 10 minutes later i had reduced the aperture to around .36mm . In terms of cameras it's still way short of .376mm that is the ideal for the 72mm focal length of the agfa , but it will suffice(i know, i know , i'm german, and we are precise and fastidious and accurate blah blah blah......but if i wanted accurate and really good engineering I would buy a Leica. But then again, the pinhole is designed to be a little soft and gentle; so it would still fall into the above'i'm german etc' category as a precision instrument that does exactly what it is designed to do...quid pro quo, status quo is maintained...ergo: i'm happy!)
For this weeks edition of POTHW I have used one of my test shots from my tweaked pinhole camera 30 second exposure on TMX100, developed in d76(1:3, 15min) scanned and just slightly adjusted curves as the image was just a little too bright and sharpened to compensate for the scanner. all in all an acceptable result for me. next step is a few rolls of colour

Basic Techniques of Photography

2007-04-14T08:29:00.000+10:00

Well, out of all of the books that i have collected the book with the above title is the probably the best that i have come across so far. Easy to understand. At around 380 pages in A4, it's not a lightweight but it was worth every cent. Written by John Schaefer, it is a guide to Ansel Adams(my hero and inspiration). it looks at Ansel's techniques and quotes Ansel's personal approach and thoughts. But it does not focus on Ansel alone, but looks at how others have taken pictures. A relatively easy read, it has explained some of the mysteries surrounding the dark art of Photography. While i'm starting to focus on Black & White , and the book goes into great detail, it does also cover the aspects of Colour.
In my opinion, for the Amateur, this is the book to have and learn from.

The Benefits of Being Prepared...

2007-04-09T16:45:00.000+10:00

Well, I've just spent the last 4 days wandering around in the bush, lugging $Deity knows how much photographic equipment with me. My first day out gave me the ideal opportunity to reflect on how important it is to prepare properly for a photographice trip.

I'd arrived at the the start of the walk, and was waiting for my walking companions to arrive, so I took the opportunity to make sure that everything was in order. I probably should have done that before I left home, as I discovered that while I had printed out 2 extra log sheets, I'd neglected to pack the film to go with them.

One swift bout of kicking myself later, I checked how many photos I'd already taken, and discovered that I only had 11 photos for the four days of walking. So, lesson number one, don't leave packing your gear until 5:30 am the morning you head off walking...

I always try and get something positive out of every bad experience, so I thought long and hard about what this lack of film was going to force me to do. Simply, I'd have to restrict how many photos I took each day, and make sure that the photos I did take were going to be worth the effort. This turned out to be a handy piece of forced discipline, as I now declined to take what may well have been several less than spectacular shots.

Now all I need to do is continue that frame of mind to when I do have all the film that I intend to pack, and I'll be set...

pic-o-the-week 04/04/07

2007-04-04T07:57:00.000+10:00

well, here is one i prepared earlier.... i have been fiddling around with a spare agfa clack camera and converted it to a pin hole camera.. very interesting little side project. i have not quite gotten used to the loooong exposure times , but it certainly makes for some interesting imaging.
i will take a few more test pictures as i believe that i can do better, but by the same token i'm in two minds as to redo the pin hole whith a thinner foil or weather to keep the current set up...

Chrome Age Cameras

2007-03-05T21:51:00.000+11:00

i was just surveying some cameras that i picked up , german made of course, in the 1950's and came to realise that they are rather nice pieces of engineering exellence.
One of my favorites is the Praktiflex, complete with waist level finder. They are very sharp cameras! for all the new fandangled innovations , i don't mind using the old chrome clunkers. they are heavy, old ,but still in some situations outperform modern cameras. I must say that most of the 1950 cameras i have are a lot quieter than my Pentax *isd... thanks to the fact they are rangefinders with leaf shutters.
I think i can see a new habit forming....the slow aquisition of dinosaur cameras.....

Zone Focus vs Range Focus

2007-03-04T12:46:00.000+11:00

Well this nifty little thing is not a prop from a recent Star Wars movie but a rangefinder attachment for Zone Focus cameras.. making life a little easier to get the 'correct' focus. The question arises what is correct focus? A lot of people today with their Auto focus this and auto exposure that miss out on this wonderful thing called zone focus.While it's another way of getting your focus right it does presume on a knowledge of how to us depth of field. In days gone by when Zone focus was King, people did it with out thinking; it was part and parcel of how one took pictures. I think as cameras have become more and more advanced , while a lot more people are taking a lot more Photos (as photography has become more and more accessible to more and more people..as we see what has happened to digital photos) and a lot of people are taking stunning images, a purist might argue that the more advanced the cameras become the less creative (en mass) the average photographer has become. True while it's easier to take pictures today and one does not have to think about it too much part of the magic of photography to me is the process of thinking about and setting up the shot. That does not mean that i don't use a digital camera to more or less point and shoot, far from it. Like anything , there are times when you you go say , MacDonalds and have a meal without having to think about things; at other times when you will go to a 5 Star Restaurant and indulge in a passionate Hand made Dinner. The same applies to Photography, except that a roll of film is usually cheaper than a 5 Star Dinner and probably has less calories than anything you'd get from McDonald's.
So Zone Focus needs a little care and thinking about , and in some respects it does give one more margin to play with. It certainly is a more creative approach, I think

Mobile Phone Camera Musings

2007-03-04T09:46:00.000+11:00

I just saw Spud Gun's latest offering and i am impressed. 3.2mpixel mobile phone camera.
Where will all this technology lead us? But seriously folks; when i consider that my olympus that i use at work is only 3.2Mpix, and the School Photographer that took my Son's school photos only was using 3.2Mpix(and the results were more than acceptable) it comes down to the Philosophy that i read somewhere:
You don't need expensive camera's to get great pictures. What you do need is Vision, often a little ingenuity , some foresight , the ability to occasinally take a chance and a Camera. And always remember that a Camera is just a light proof box(except when it's a holga...) that captures light onto a form of Media(digital or film or whatever)
It's the Photographer behind the camera that decides wether or not a moment in time is captured and how.
Considering this one comes to realise that all moment are unique, and i guess by extension that makes all pictures(good, Bad or otherwise) unique.

Photo of the Week, 03/03/2007

2007-03-03T21:41:00.000+11:00

It's been far too long since I posted a photo of the week, it's more like photo of the month, at the rate I'm going. Still, I have managed to find a little curiosity of a photo to post.

This particular photo is of a couple of tiny mushrooms I discovered today, while waiting to play Irish Bagpipes at a wedding. What I like about this particular shot, is the fact that it was taken with my latest camera acquisition, a Sony Ericsson K800i mobile phone. I'm sure that there are some people would would scoff at the idea of taking photos with a mobile phone, and in the past I would have been one of them.

However, I'm continually amazed by the improvements in technology when it comes to cameras integrated with mobile phones. The fact that my phone also happens to have a 3.2 megapixel camera in it is quite nifty. Now, it won't take brilliant photos all the time, in particular it struggles with low light conditions, but it is handy as a back up camera. Indeed, I would have been unable to take this weeks photo if I didn't have it, as I'd left my other cameras at home.

I've seen the Light (meter)...

2007-03-02T14:05:00.000+11:00

Since purchasing my medium format camera last year, I've been coming to grips with using a light meter. Given my limited budget, I've had to make do with a small Sekonic L-8 meter which, while it does the job, has a few limitations.

The main problems with this particular meter are that it is purely an averaging meter, and does not have the ability to take spot readings. It also tends to be a bit inaccurate at low light levels, as a number of under exposed photos can attest to. As a result, I've been on the lookout for a new light meter.

I finally found what I was after this week, and today I took delivery of the light meter shown in the photo above. It's a Pentax digital spot meter, as used by the likes of Ansell Adams. I was a bit worried about how easy it would be to use, but as it turns out, I worried needlessly.

Despite that fact that the meter did not come with a manual or any instructions, I had figured out how to use it within a few seconds. I'm now looking forward to getting out and using it, and hopefully I'll have fewer issues with incorrect light meter readings in future.

The FIne Art of Optical Printing

2007-02-26T22:07:00.000+11:00

As i was talking to the Gentleman from my local Ciba Chrome lab he mentioned a very valid point.
Hardly any does optical printing anymore... and consequently those skills are disappearing.
I mean you take your film into your local 1 hour shop, it gets developed, scanned and printed. while the results are consistent there is no control or though... all values are evened out for an optimum result . Certainly this works for the mass consumer but sometimes i don't want the image razor sharp, or fully colour corrected etc etc. I really do believe that despite the advent of Digital mass produced consumerism , Black and white will survive not just as an artistic medium but as a way of exercising full control over an image to be able to demonstrate a form of self expression that just is not available with using a computer. A computer generated image is optimal and can be reproduced time and again...quality is only dependent on the the final print process and printers used etc. but by and large this is predictable. A Handmade print is unique as the operator is not perfect and even with following every step to the letter there will be minute variances. Can they be considered faults? well one can argue, but it's these little imperfections that make a print unique and one of a kind, so in light of that no, i would not call them 'imperfections' but rather 'fingerprints', as it were, or simply unique markers.

Well... now i've gon an' done it

2007-02-25T13:52:00.000+11:00

I found an LPL enlarger on ebay(luv me e-bay).. put a bid in and won. picked up yesterday .
Wow.. it's a monster. 4 foot post to carry the enlarger... that makes for a pretty big enlargement or fairly close detail.
came with a Cibachrome control unit. However i 'm only using it for B&W so it will be more than adequate for my needs. now i've just got to set up me Darkroom.....

Why Would You Make it Black and White?

2007-02-24T23:05:00.000+11:00

This is a question that was posed to me recently, in a critique of my work. The photo in question (seen in this blog post) is one I have for sale on a stock photography site, which allows photos to be rated by other photographers. My initial reaction to the question was "Umm, because it was shot on black and white film, that's why".

The fact that the question was even asked at all got me thinking about the changes that have occured in photography over the years. I started to question whether I should be surprised that someone might not realise that a photo was taken using black and white film, given that using film at all seems to be unusual in itself. A quick browse of 10 random photos on the stock photography site was enlightening, not one of them had been taken using film.

It's been about 15 or 16 years since I first got really interested in photography, and it's interesting to think of those things which were normal back when I started, and which are now nothing more than the realm of professional photographers, or crazy hobbyist shutterbugs...

For example:
• Fifteen years ago, I'd never even heard of a digital camera, yet someone buying a camera today would not be able to buy a film camera new (assuming a consumer range camera).
• Fifteen years ago, it took a week to get a black and white film developed in my home town, these days, you can take your memory stick into your camera shop of choice, and get your prints straight away.
• Fifteen years ago, to be able to manipulate the photos you took meant you had to have access to a dark room. These days even the most basic, freely available graphics programs will let you play around with your photos to some extent.

Maybe it's not so surprising that people don't know about black and white film any more...

pic of the week 18/2/06

2007-02-18T22:08:00.000+11:00

Well here is this weeks contribution .Iwas down at the Port today and i found an old barnacle encrusted timber support. This is one of the macro shots of a worm encrusting a Barnacle encrusting a Timber.
I will be going and revisiting the site as i think Black and White will work well.
Techy Details:
Pentax ist, AV Mode, F 16 under natural Light Diffused by heavy cloud cover.

Astral Travel....and other esoterics

2007-02-12T15:52:00.000+11:00

One of the things that has occurred with the recent arrival and subsequent departure of Comet McNaught is that a friend of mine has stirred my interest in astrophotography. That in itself presents a challenge as the the light and movement of the earth are to be considered. The technical aspects can be quite daunting , ie specialised mounts,and film and patitience and good weather .. the list goes on.
however i managed to get attachd image with my Pentax *ist. 30 sec exposure at F4, at iso 400. And then tweaked a little in Photoshop to up the levels and ad reduce some of the noise.
Well.. i happen to find a second hand equatorial mount , attached to a 900 mm telescop(that was a bonus) and a motor drive will soon be attached so, long nights await yours truly.

AGFA Clack Oh how simple......yeah Right!!!!

2007-01-29T19:28:00.000+11:00

Actually The clacks are simple. Point. Shoot.Develop.
As the cameras were designed to work around iso50 (and that appears to be getting harde/more expensive to get) i have been working with different film speeds. Most notably ISO100. one of the other problems/bonus i have in South Australia is Light. We have an inordinate amount of clar sunny days and sometimes there just is too much brightness(i know i know..can't please everyone) but what i have done is uploaded these three Shots all taken within seconds of each other. The Day was exceptionally bright almost no clouds. They were shot on Fuji Astia iso100 film. the filters used as follows
1. ND.8
2.ND.4
3.Skylight
It would appear that on most days i would have to use at a minimum the ND.8 filter to cope with the usual lighting conditions encountered.What should have(note to self. remember for future reference) I should have written down the readings of my Gossen Lightmeter......live and learn.

Japanese Garden Orchid

2007-01-09T18:46:00.000+11:00

Well it's my turn for a pic of the week; trhe weekly photo may be a weekly or monthly or fortnitely post...i'll see how i feel.
This Orchid i found sitting in the local Japanese Gaeden. just a little fill flash. I liked the way the colours contrasted between the flower and the rock behind it.

Pic of the Week, 08/01/2007

2007-01-08T21:31:00.000+11:00

Well, it's time for my second "Pic of the Week", and it's another photo from my last bushwalk. I was hoping to be able to post one of the photos that I'd taken with my M645, but unfortunately I'm still waiting for the film to be processed (a long story...).

The photo I've picked is still from that bushwalk, just taken with my digital camera.

This particular photo is a detail of a Cushion Plant, a kind of grassy plant found in alpine areas of Tasmania. They get their name because they look exactly like large green cushions. Despite the fact that they look quite sturdy, Cushion plants are in fact very sensitive to damage, and simply stepping on one is often enough to damage it.

The thing that caught my eye here was the lighter coloured plants sprinkled throughout this particular cushion plant. It's not uncommon for different species of cushion plant to grow together, but I've never seen any quite like this before.

A New Year Beckons...

2007-01-01T21:08:00.000+11:00

Well, I've just seen in the new year in the best way I can imagine, 4 days of bushwalking, and taking photos. One of the many things I've decided I am going to do more of this year is get out and take photos. The last few days have been a very good start, having taken about 80 photos between my digital and medium format cameras.

It's been pointed out that for a blog about photography there are very few photos being posted here. In an attempt to rectify this situation, and to encourage me to take more photos in the first place, I've decided to post a "Photo of the Week". I'll be posting (or at least trying to post) one of my photos here each week.

To get things rolling, I'll start with a photo taken only 2 days ago while bushwalking. This is one of those photos which just happened by accident. I'd camped near some small pools of water, and I happened to notice that the nearby pencil pines had shed their needles into the lakes, and had created some interesting patterns.

Unfortunately the reflection of the sun was causing problems, and in order to see the detail I needed a polarising filter to cut out the reflections from the water, something which I did not have. Purely by accident, I noticed that one of the pencil pines was shading the water in such a way that the patterns and colours were clearly visible in its shadow. So, purely by chance, I ended up with the photo I wanted, being the detail of the pine needles in the water, with the added bonus of an interesting reflection from the pine tree itself. If only all photos were as easy to come by as this...

Lets bring some Colour to these Monochromatic Proceedings

2007-01-01T17:47:00.000+11:00

I've been thinking of uploading this image for some time now but never had the excuse to do so... but here it is
My roses were infected with Aphids and so i took the opportunity to try out my new Intensifier filter that arrived funnily enough that very morning(Hoya 58mm Dydimium Filter---great filter, should be in every kit)
yhe image is only slightly tweaked in photoshop ie sharpened and levels balanced. the rich reds/yellowsbrowns are intensifed by use of aforesaid filter
I've come to the conclusion that the use of filters should be judicious and applied selectively(in the case of the effects filter) as one can end up trapping one self in cliche pictures.
My Current philosophy on filters (with exception of UV/C-PL/Intesifying and other necessary filter 81a,80a etcetc) they should used like Pesticides- as often as is necessary but as little as possible

Splendiferous images

2006-12-18T21:43:00.000+11:00

I friendly reader kindly Pointed out that , seeing this a Photography Blog there is a distinct lack of , well, Photos!
This is something we shall remedy in future postings..so in the words of Tom Lehrer; Be Prepared...!

Depth of Field

2006-12-17T21:57:00.000+11:00

One of the more challenging concepts to get right in my own mind were the principles of depth of field.
as far as light fitting the film is concerned it's swings and roundabouts.
I.e. a given large aperture and fast speed is the equivalent of a given small aperture and slow speed, as long as the same amount of light hits the film it will be exposed to the same degre(more or less)
DoF is a concept that i read and read about but did not grasp until i did a test shoot
and then things all fell into place
I guess it's something that one has to see and and get a feel for in a hands on approach otherwise all the theory becomes just words on paper
Once i develop the B&W studies that i did today i think i will a have a clearer and simpler comprehension of DoF

I've got the Clack...

2006-12-02T19:15:00.000+11:00

No, I don't have some exotic disease, but I do have a rather peculiar addiction to the latest addition to my collection of cameras, an Agfa Clack (see this post about the Clack). To look at, the Clack's not a very sophisticated camera, it's got a fixed shutter speed, a choice of 2 apertures or a close up lens. It's also about 40-50 years old. But for all that, it's a neat little camera to use.

I'm just in the process of scanning in the first roll of film I took with it. All in all, it hasn't turned out too bad. I've had some issues with getting exposures right, as the Clack was designed to be used with 50 iso film, and I only have 100 iso. In theory a neutral density filter would fix that problem up, but the filter I've experimented with is apparently a 2 stop filter, where I need a 1 stop filter. Still, there are ways around that, too...

..and a camera for all occasions

2006-11-20T17:55:00.000+11:00

hmm ... yes i fing it a little heavy as well, carrying all the gear around that one seems to accumulate and one deems necessary.I guess there is a thing as too much choice. Now , i also have incluided in my gear that i normally carry also a nifty little rangefinder Retina II camera, which in itself is an antique but one that still shoots images of good quality. so all in all i still enjoy woking with the different media( 120,35mm, digital) but as the dear lady wife said'yer going to have to get a bigger bag.....or carry less gear...! wise words, methinks

A camera for all seasons...

2006-11-13T20:49:00.000+11:00

Last week I went bushwalking, and as I am wont to do, I took my camera along. This was my first bushwalk carrying my medium format camera and my Manfrotto 190V tripod. I also took along my little point-and-shoot digital camera, and boy am I glad I did.

Now, the Mamiya 645 is a wonderful camera, and the Manfrotto 190 is a great tripod, but together, they're bloody heavy, and somewhat slow to set up. Which means they're not suited to grabbing a quick photo while walking along. The digital is another story, though.

Kept in a little waterproof bag hanging from my pack straps, the camera was always handy, and didn't require me to take my pack off if I wanted to grab a photo. So, my conclusion: The combination of medium format camera for taking photos in the morning or evening, and the digital for taking photos while walking was ideal. All I need to do now is get fitter so my pack doesn't seem so damn heavy...

Filters and the Mothrs of Invention

2006-11-01T22:09:00.000+11:00

Well Frank Zappa has not joined the ranks of happy snappers but in an effort to modify equipment i guess imagination is the only limiting factor.
Ihave been trying to rig some filters for my Agfa Clack but as there is nothing really readily available one has to modify and invent as one goes along.
But i guess that is the fun thing about Photografy : it's dynamic nature as people explore differen techniques and approaches to achieve a goal.
It's no different to what happened in the early Days only the technology has improved.So in a sense exploration and building on the ideas of other is a valid and good thing,it can only lead to improve ones own style

Simple German Engineering

2006-10-15T02:32:00.000+11:00

Well the above statement is a bit of an enigma... in as much what appears to be simple at first glance turns out to have a GREAT deal of thought behind it.That's why it's deceptively simple. On the other hand there are complex solution and in this instance i thought i mention German cameras from the early part of last century..yes anything before 1961!
I own a Clack..Made by Agfa and as far as a shutter camera as far as i am concerned i don't believe there is anything simpler.
On the other side of the Spectrum there is the Kodak Retina, of wich i happen to stumble upon in a second hand store. The more i look at it the more i am amazed at the complexities of the thing. It's a rangefinder, with a light meter, timer,viable shutter and aperture,leaf shutter lens basically everything you would find in a decent SLR. Everything is interlocked and codependant. In 1959 this was around 300 Deutsche Marks.
considering the average monthly wage back then was only about 600 marks this makes it a very expensive camera. That would make it in todays terms somewhere in the order of 2000-3000 Marks....and it's only for the amateur market. While it's not a Leica or Rollei it does have some brilliant design work and the engineering is to die for. I was going to sell it...but i think i'll hang on to it for a while and experiment whith it. it is actually quite a NICE CAMERA TO USE once you figured out HOW to use and then its an absolut dream

I'm Singing in the Grain, just singing in the Grain...

2006-10-01T17:40:00.000+11:00

Well it's interesting theSpudguns Images were ...well ...Grained . I was considering up until then to submit photos meself. I usually scan my images at what i had considered a High Resolution up until i started using on of the labs here locally to develop and scan my pictures. I get my pictures scanned at 'hi' definition and that gets me an image size in terms of MB at around 15MB per image. It would take me Hours to do that on me home scanner. But the results speak for themselves, i guess. Plus as a Value added service the Images are Optimised for Printing. Well Back to the drawing board and reconsider this whole Grain vs quality vs time & effort

Grain? What Grain?

2006-10-01T09:21:00.000+11:00

A little while back, Mad Owl and I were discussing the possibilities of turning what was a hobby for both of us (i.e. photography), into something a little more serious. Mad Owl had the bright idea that, seeing as we both have a bunch of photos, and are taking more all the time, we should submit them to some of the stock photography sites on the 'Net. The theory was that we could earn a bit of money from what we both do for fun.

So, with that idea in mind, I found a few stock photography websites around, and looked at how they operated. The majority of them charge nothing for you to sign up and submit photos, but they do screen submitted photos, and reject ones which don't meet their rather strict standards. Having read through the guidelines, I felt that I was fairly certain to have a few images which would be accepted.

Well, you could have knocked me down with a feather, when every single photo I submitted was rejected. Why? Too much noise or grain in the photos. But, I thought, film has grain, it's one of those facts of life, and surely there are times when grain in a photo can actually enhance it? That may be the case, but the stock photography sites don't see it that way.

It didn't help that most sites have a minimum size for submitted photos, and that I was having to scan my little 35mm negatives at a fairly high resolution to match that size. Having switched to medium format, I have been very pleasantly surprised at how little grain is noticeable in the first roll of transparency film I've shot. So now it's time to resubmit some photos, and the way I see it, if I get knocked back again, it's not going to be because there was too much grain in the photo...

LARGE Format....... ARRRRHARRRAHAHAHAHARR

2006-09-20T18:36:00.000+10:00

Well having dealt with MF for i while i decided to go the full Hog and go to Large Format....well actually just big medium format. So did i spend Thousands of Brasillian Zemolions getting out fitted with a Linhof, or Schneider field Camera , i hear you ask
Well, No!
i have spend around $20.00 and picked an AGFA Clack. built ithe mid 1950's in Munich.
Actually for what they are i think a lot of people turn theis nose up at them probably because they are so simple. The various agfa models came 4x4, 6x6 and 6x9 and this is just from some superficial research that i have done. Well the camera that i have aquired is a 6x9, fised shutter speed and 2 F stop settings. Thats it. the only thing more basic would be a pinhole camera. And you would be shooting film at around iso 50 or 100.
But it's a dirt cheap way to explore the possibilities of what one can do. you would really have to work for your photo in terms of forethought. Execution is rather simple.
I guess it's the Zen approach to capturing images........OhmmmmmCLACK.......OhmmmmmCLACK

FIlter Theory

2006-09-19T08:22:00.000+10:00

So....what FIlters do i Really need? It's a question i have been pondering for some time. WHile there is a plethora of filters out there which ones are the most practical and usefull? COnsidering the variety of Film Stock that i have(B&W, Tungsten,Daylight,Slide) and the different situations that i' using them in, Ihave come up with a list tha will suit me. This of course is a fluid and Dynamic list as each Photografer has his or her own opinion and rightly so, however i think i'm pretty close to the mark i feel in what is overal most usefull. There are a lot of 'Trick' or novelty filters out there and they have their applications and whith all the filters that i have collected over the Years i find that the trick type filter need a certain degree of planning ie you'll be going out deliberatly to use a particular filter to achieve a particular effect. Whereas other Filter are just commom tools of the trade. I also find that i don't mind usin filters larger than the lens i'm using in part to avoid vignetting, in part as it's personal preference and in part that's what i was able to get me hands on at that time. So here 'tis a list of must have's
UV or UV Haze
Polarizer (i did read a C-PL can be used on every Camera, an L-PL only for Manual Focus type. I carry both types as i have both camera types, but if C-pl can used instead of L-PL's than thats a couple of FIlters less i'm carrying)
80A
85B
NDx2,x4,x8
Fl-D
Fl-W
Center Filter (heliopan x2 type) - haven't got one yet but i'm working on it
And now for the should/could have
A set of colour FIlters(R,O,G,Y,B)
Soft DIffuser
I also use a Set of Varicolours (R,B,Y,G)
and a set of Graduated Colours(R,B,G,Y,O,Pink,Tobacco,Gray/.2 ND)
There are a few others but i won't list them as they fall into the Trick category IMHO.
There more the may need to be included, there may be some that i don't really need in that list. it's not set in concrete but they come in handy with the wide variety of lighting conditions that one is face with.
Thing to keep in in Mind is As Many as is is practical, but but as few as possible.
And when you are on a shoot, i you haven't got with you, there 's no sense pining for it(Lief Ericksenn)

The Best Laid Plans...

2006-09-17T11:29:00.000+10:00

Something that I'm coming to discover, is that to consistently get good photos you need to plan ahead. Sure, if you keep a camera on you at all times, if you do see something worthwhile, you can get a photo, often quite a good one. But your chances of success are going to be so much better if you do your research, and, as per one of my earlier posts, you're in the right place at the right time.

How much planning do you need to do? Well, that depends... Often, just knowing where the sun will be at a particular time will be enough (there's no point trying to get a photo of the sun setting over a nice stretch of water if the sun sets in the opposite direction), but it's possible to go into a lot more detail if you want.

As an example, I've just started planning a bushwalk I want to do in a couple of months. I've got some ideas of what I want to photograph, in particular I want photos from a particular lake around sunset and sunrise. So, in order to get those photos, I'm going to need to camp fairly close by, to save getting lost in the dark, seeing as there's no tracks in this particular area. Knowing that I want to get photos with the surrounding mountains bathed in light will determine which sides of this particular lake will offer me the best vantage points.

All of this thinking has been done with the aid of a map, and a basic knowledge of where the sun will be rising/setting. Of course, the chances are that my preconceived notions aren't going to be spot on, but the theory is that with the majority of the thinking already done, I'll be better prepared to change my plans according to the conditions when I'm taking photos. We'll see in a couple of months whether or not I'm right, I guess...

Mamiya C22 - Amazing Piece of Camera Engineering

2006-09-16T15:20:00.000+10:00

I guesswith Cameras the KISS Principle also holds true. Take the Mamiya C Series TLR Cameras. Relatively Speaking it's a SImple Camera. The only Real complex Thing would be the Shutter Mechanism. Now I have had a few roll through my 645 as well as my TLR and it astounds me that the TLR can out perform the 645 again and again. I guess it's what you get used to but while the TLR needs aset procedure to follow(no fancy interlocks to stop DOuble exposing etc etc, it has to date produced some of my favorite shots.
The Picture is of the Japanese Garden in Adelaide, bright Sunny Day, a few clouds in the sky. Again i forgot to take the setting down but it was shot with a UV & PL Filter in place, with a relatively small Aperture. sometimes you just nail it on the head.

What goes around, comes around

2006-09-11T00:02:00.000+10:00

I was just reading Spud Gun's first post and it reminded me of how i got into Photografy nearly 30 years ago. Mum & Dad finally bought me a 35mm fixed Lense Compact Camera when i was about 9 or so Years old. For some reason which i don't quite understand to this day my mother insisted that I only shoot slides.(i still don't quite see the logic in her reasoning as she never offered an explanation as to why and any questions with 'why' in them were usually met with a slap around the head and a "i'm your parent, do not question me,because I know better!) But i digress....when i think back to those days I had no auto exposure, no light meter it was basically point and shoot. Come to think of it the film was a cassette type (35mm cassette). The shutter was fixed and you used a cube Flash (4 Flashes/cube).I then graduated to Mum's Spy Camera... well thats what it looked like only it was about 2.5x the size that James Bond Uses.The Whole Camera is about 13mm thick and again it used a Cassette Magazine. Why did they Buy one of thoses.. Hey, it was the Seventies and it was Cool to have one of those Kodak Cameras. I still have the camera here at home i just don't know Where. And then there was a variant that used a Disk with 12 Exposures (from memory) The Disk was a bit like the disks that you got with the 3D Magic viewers that where all the rage(anyone remember those?) Having said that with by todays Standard Basic Equipment you could and did produce some absolutely Stunning Photografs. Pop the cassette in, wind on, point , hold steady, shoot. And that was about it. You just had to take your chance whith the light. But it was an awfully big Adventure for a 9 year old, and a lot of fun, even when you made mistakes. The excitement was almost unbearable when you took your pictures in to get developed and you were waiting for slides/prints to be returned so you could see what you had achieved. That Magic has been lost to some extend with Digital, but as long as we have Medium format around i think one can recapture some of that Mystique.

Learning through making mistakes

2006-09-08T20:59:00.000+10:00

I picked up the first film that I took with my new Mamiya M645 from being developed today, and I got quite a surprise. Out of the 15 photos that were on the roll, 4 or 5 were of quite a good standard. While that doesn't seem particularly successful, I'm happy with the results for a number of reasons.

To start with, I've never used a medium format camera before, and I've certainly never used a camera with a waist level finder. Add to that the fact that I've gone from having a camera with an exposure meter in the viewfinder, to having to use an old hand held light meter, and it's a surprise I got any successful images at all. One thing that has been brought home to me is that while the hand held meter is going to give me a start to my exposure, I'm going to have to compensate for things like uneven brightness, overly bright or dark scenes, and so on.

Out of all the photos I took, I was most surprised to see that the first photo I took with the camera came out very well. It's just a shame that the subsequent ones were not to the same standard! Even though the rest were not all as successful as the first, having kept notes on what my exposures were, and knowing that in all cases I was using an exposure suggested by the light meter, I'll be able to adjust in the future, and hopefully have a much better success rate.

6x6 mamiya tlr fantasy

2006-09-08T12:42:00.000+10:00

Well... of all the cameras i have my mamiya C22 is probably the simplest, yet the most intriguing. I guess it is becouse of it's simplicity . the 6x6 Neg/slides are really something else when compared to 35mm. And the other thing is one has to be methodical beccause so easy to double expose. Focus,Wind,Cock,Shoot is the mantra. In any case it is a great camera to work with one gets into the habit of doing always the aforementioned steps. I got my first roll back a few days ago and although most of the pictures were testers of some sort this is probably the best of them. I took a series of Sunset Pictures and in an earlier post blog i posted one of the images but after having the images re scanned by a lab i thought i put this one up as well as it is a better quality image and deos the mamiya more justice.

What's the opposite of Inadvertent?

2006-09-05T19:25:00.000+10:00

I'd like to muse for a moment, on the opposite of the inadvertent shot. This is the kind of shot where you walk around, look for interesting angles, maybe set up your tripod, look through the view finder, adjust as necessary, until you're finally happy with the composition... And it goes on, deciding on whether you need a small aperture for a large depth of field, or a large one to put the emphasis on the subject of the photo. Then you have to decide if you need a long shutter speed, to show motion, or a short one to freeze the motion... And then you decide if you can balance the depth of field for the length of exposure... And once you've done all of that, you finally take the photo.

For me, I get a lot of enjoyment from both types of shot, but in very different ways. I'm always thrilled when I see that a photo "works", even if I wasn't planning it to, and it was just an accident. But there's a different sense of enjoyment from a well planned photo, where you've taken to time to make sure everything is right, and you know (well, you hope you do) that you've got a good shot. I get a lovely feeling of satisfaction from such photos, especially if I've had to work hard to get them

This photo is a particular favourite of mine, for a number of reasons. For starters, it's not a shot any one could have got by parking their car, and snapping away. I had to work for it. The falls in question have had a massive log in the main fall for a number of years, and any photo from the track is going to be overwhelmed by the log. How do you get around that? Easy, you hop from rock to rock across the river...

Having done all that, all I needed to do was find a spot on the opposite bank where I could set up my tripod, hopefully keep my feet dry, frame the shot without the log if possible, or if not, frame it so that the log doesn't dominate the shot anymore. If you're lucky, that'll be on a nice patch of firm, level ground, but in reallity, it's more likely to be on a wet, slippery rock.

Having framed the shot nicely, all I needed to do was decide on the exposure. It's at this point I'm forced to digress, and ponder the tendency for photographers to _always_ use a long shutter speed when photographing moving water. Sure, it looks nice, but so do the million other photos with similar exposures. In this case, I decided to hold back a bit, and limited myself to 1/2 a second, which allowed some blur, but not an excessive amount. Of course, this is all personal preference, and other people may feel differently.

Getting back on track, once all of that is decided, it's time to actually take the photo, a process which is infinitesimally tiny, compared to all that has gone before it. Hopefully all the planning which has gone into the shot will have paid off, and you end up with a great shot. If course, life being what it is, this doesn't always happen, and you bump the tripod just as you take the shot, and it ends up a blurry mess... As they say, "Shit happens"... There's always next time...

Inadvertend Shooting.....

2006-09-03T17:35:00.000+10:00

Isn't it funny how often the shots that you don't plan or the times you accidentally push the shutter become somewhat remarkable. I guess in Zen Terms one is freed from the constraints of the concious and all preconceived Ideas and convention is gone. For that moment the camera is free and captures a moment in Time and Space that is unique to itself and has not been pidgeon holed by the Photografer.
I was testing the Zoom/Macro Function on a Lens i had acquired and as i was Zooming( i cannot remember which way) i hit the shutter . The attached Image is unedited save for some mild sharpening. Other than that it's as i shot it. (Pentax ist D, 200mm Zoom Lens, Camera all Auto Settings....)

Sunsets are soooo romantic......Hrumpf!

2006-09-02T15:07:00.000+10:00

Well Spud Gun.. Talk about being in the right Place at the Right Time... actuall i was waiting for the above shot i had been itching to try some graduated filters , and this axample uses Grad Blue and Red. It's the first time i have used filters like this and in combination. The Image really was a tester but it worked somehow and showed me the potenttial filters have (image shot with a pentax ist D, 80mm Aspherical Lense, all settings automatic)

The Right Time and The Right Place

2006-09-01T18:17:00.000+10:00

I've come to the conclusion that a large part of photography comes down to luck. This was driven home to me tonight as I was walking to my car after work. The weather wasn't brilliant, it had just finished raining, and as I crossed a road, I turned to look for cars, and saw the most stunning sight. The sunset was brilliant, the sun had just sunk below the horizon, and the last of the light was painting the clouds in brilliant shades of pink and orange.

As luck would have it, I was able to get a great view further along the road, and I had my camera with me, so I snapped off a couple of shots. By the time I'd walked the last 20 metres to my car, the light show had faded. I was truly lucky to be in a position to take those couple of photos while the light was at its best.

Often, the difference between a good photo and a fantastic photo is down to being at the right place, at just the right time. It's certainly possible to plan photos, but you're still at the mercy of nature. Sometimes, despite all the planning in the world, the light just doesn't happen, and then when you least expect it, you're treated to an amazing display.

It's for that reason that I'm rarely without a camera of some sort these days, whether it's my MF or 35mm SLRs, or my little point and shoot digital (used to take the photo in this post). It's impossible to take a photo with the camera you don't have...

Analog vs Digital Printing

2006-08-30T20:53:00.000+10:00

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

2006-08-30T13:20:00.000+10:00

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.

The shutterbug's bitten me too

2006-08-29T21:23:00.000+10:00

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.

New Blog, New Toys...

2006-08-28T22:47:00.000+10:00

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...)