Saturday, November 22, 2008

Around Cambridge



American photographer Gary Winogrand once said "I photograph to find out what something will look like photographed. Basically, that's why I photograph, in the simplest language".
After over 20 years of photographing and printing in black and white (there is no other colour of course) I think this is the closest thing I've ever read that begins to make sense of the kind of images that appeal to me.

Along Bray Seafront

Another outing with my Olympus 35RC.
I'd been over to visit a power station in Southern Ireland and on my way back to catch the ferry I stayed overnight in Bray just south of Dun Laoghaire.
The seafront was busy with locals and visitors spending time at the fun fair that had set up shop.
As I wandered away from the throng I saw this beautiful little hut, the light was fast fading and as a man walked into view I made a few exposures.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Strawberry Fair, Cambridge







Sorted out the Olympus 35RC light seals and spent a great day with my family at the Strawberry Fair in Cambridge.
The Strawberry Fair is a free fair/festival run for and by the people of Cambridge. There is an eclectic mix of clothing stalls, herbal stalls, healing tents, ethnic foods, mini-circus tent, Science demos for children, games bus and live music that really begins in earnest later in the afternoon.
All in all a perfect opportunity to try out this small unobtrusive rangefinder. With the focus set in advance and a shutter speed pre-selected to give a reasonable depth of field (the camera is shutter priority so the aperture is set automatically depending on the shutter speed selected) I hopped around in front of the parade, grabbed some candids and generally had a great time with this little camera.
For those interested I used Ilford Delta 400 but had the camera set to 250 and developed the film in Ilford's LC29 film developer for probably 20% less time than recommended. All printed on Ilford MG 1V resin paper.
I have another roll of film with some Strawberry fair shots on so will post some more in due course.




Saturday, May 24, 2008

Olympus 35RC Rangefinder Camera


Being a fan of rangefinder type cameras and old usable classic cameras it all came together recently with an e-bay purchase of the pictured Olympus 35RC for £18.
I am yet to put a film in it as I need to replace the light seals around the door. Like many older cameras these dense foam strips turn black and gummy over the years. A quick browse on the internet told me where to buy new sealshttp://www.cam-spares.com/page5.htm so I have ordered some. Removal of the old gummy stuff can be done with some alcohol and q-tips.
This is a really clever little camera, in auto mode you set the shutter and the camera sets the aperture (shutter priority). Viewfinder information shows the shutter and aperture being used. In manual you have full control but no light meter.
The "flashmatic" setting is really cool - use a small manual flash like the Olympus PS200 and set the flash guide number on the camera barrel and the RC automatically sets the correct aperture for the distance you have focused - how cool is that.
I can''t wait to start taking some pictures with it and I'll post some on the blog.

Violins, Venice August 2008


Towards the end of our 4 day beak in Venice last Summer we were taking a rest in one of the many shady squares (piazzas?) to rest our Venice-weary feet.
The Venice film festival was being advertised and some of the square was being set aside for some outdoor showings.
A small band of musicians were nearby taking a cigarette break and one had placed his violin against the wall.
So, what to do in this situation? - it looked like a good monochrome image and I could visualise the way I wanted it to look in the final print.
In the end I used sign language and asked the players if I could photograph the violin, another violin was quickly produced and propped up against the wall.
I had my Voigtlander R3a with me and made a few exposures.
Inevitably they asked for some money soI gave them 2 Euros.
I have a framed 12X16 fibre print on my wall and it looks great.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

"Around Arsenale", venice, August 2007


Just along from our small guest house off the Riva degli Schiavoni is the area known as Arsenale, nothing to do with the North London team my Son supports (deluded as he is) but refers to what once was the greatest shipyard in the world.
I guess the Venetians who live in these apartments don't have gardens so they have to hang their smalls out for all the world to see. Makes quite a good colour photo but I can't be bothered with such things as colour!
I really grabbed this shot because of the little boy playing with the umbrella underneath the washing line, perhaps he's stopping drips falling on his head.
All for now.

Canal Study, Venice August 2007


I don't seem to get anywhere near enough "printing time", as you can see I'm still working my way through the Venice negs from last year. I particularly like this image which was taken whilst we were strolling around the "Ghetto" area of Venice on a very quiet Sunday afternoon. In the early 16th Century Jews in Venice were confined in this area and the term "Ghetto" was used I believe for the first time.
In my darkroom I made my usual 8X10" print on resin coated paper, I tend to do this to a) see if the image is worth enlarging onto 12x16 fibre (proper) paper and b) with a view to scanning the photo for publishing in the blog.
The rather dreamlike quality was achieved by laying a sheet if tissue paper over the paper on the enlarger easel for about 3/4 of the total exposure time, a brief bath in photographic bleach lightened the highlights somewhat.
I now have a 12X16 version hanging on my wall next to two violins that I will show you soon.