Photography

I hate making fiber-based silver gelatin prints in the darkroom. But I love having them to hold and to hang. Fiber-based papers have this deep, magical sheen, and the surface is smooth yet has a distinct, subtle texture that is missing from resin-coated (RC) papers. Compared to RC papers, fiber-based paper takes twice as long to process. It requires additional washing and optional toning steps. It eats up fixer and takes more trays than I have comfortable room for. It must be washed for up to an hour. And then there’s the curling, so I have to press the prints under heavy books for a few days before I can do anything with them ...

There are things that I dislike about shooting film, but processing isn’t one of them. I actually enjoy it. I shoot a roll or two of film each week and process it in my bathroom darkroom. Developing black and white film is quite simple. I have gotten to a point where the process is muscle memory. I shoot mostly the same type of film (HP5 Plus) and develop it in HC-110. I know the dilutions and I know the time, temperature, and agitation schedule. ...

My dad called me from Florida and said that one of his neighbors had died and left a bunch of camera stuff to be given away or sold. He mentioned there was “some old Kodak” and wondered if I was interested in it. I said “Sure, why not” and he said he’d send me a box with the camera and some other stuff that came in the box. The Retina Way The box arrived yesterday and I was thrilled to find a working Kodak Retina IIIC inside. I didn’t know much about the Retinas except they were around for many years and were very high quality cameras, which isn’t something Kodak is known for. ...

There’s a shutter speed dial with “A” as an option. There’s a numbered ISO dial (so you can see where it’s set even when the camera’s off). There are apertures on a ring around the lens. You focus the camera and the focus stays where you put it until you change it. All you really need. Mike Johnston This is why I love the Leica M so much. Everything is right there, all the time. I never futz with settings or customizing dials or wondering which sub-genre of focus modes I need and how I get them. ...

All too often someone on a forum or blog will claim that the only reason to even have a Leica is to use Leica’s lenses. Hogwash! While certainly a fine reason, it’s nothing close to the only reason. The idea that one should never use non-Leica lenses on their Leica is nonsense. I have a few very nice Leica M lenses. I love them and they are my favorites. But I also have some non-Leica lenses in both LTM and M mounts. They’re fun and interesting and unique. They offer a different look than the Leica lenses. Mine are old, and nowhere near as technically capable as the stuff Voigtlander has been putting out recently. I don’t want those, anyway. I already have all the sharpness and micro-contrast and “pop” I can handle. I put older lenses on my M because it gives the photos a different feel. It can be nostalgic. Sometimes an image works better when it’s a little softer and has a smidge less contrast. ...

I ran a roll of TMAX-100 through the Olympus OM-2n. As always, I had the lovely 85mm Zuiko attached. This time, I also strapped on the flash. Olympus OM-2n with flash. (Leica Q2 Monochrom) It was not a successful roll. Maybe three images were salvageable. Why did it have to be shots like this? Making dinner. (Olympus OM-2n. Zuiko 85mm f/2. TMAX-100.) Or this one of Charlie, which was typically mis-focused. I may need to try a new focusing screen. ...

This roll was mostly me plinking around the house trying to get through a roll in the M6 before the MP is back from Leica. I love the 50mm Summilux very much.

I’ve gone through many photographic workflows. Each time, I’m certain that I’ve figured out what works best for me. Finally! Then a few months later I switch back or come up with something new. I wish I would stop doing this, but I probably never will. So, I have a new workflow ???? There is a part of me that really wants to let Adobe deal with everything. Wouldn’t it be great if I didn’t have to organize, store, back up, or otherwise manage tens of thousands of image files? I could just use Lightroom (desktop) and let the cloud take over the rest. Except I can’t. I have proven myself incapable of giving up control over the files. I have decades of images stored in nicely-organized, dated folders. I know where they are. I know how to back them up. It feels safe forever. ...

I’ve used many wonderful film cameras from many different systems: From Nikon F to Hasselblad V to Linhof, Olympus OM, etc. They are all great in their own ways, but none of them comes close to making me feel the way I feel when picking up a Leica M camera. Sure, every film camera is essentially “a box for holding a lens and some film” but calling a Leica M “just another film camera” is to me like calling Jesus Christ “just another homeless dude”. ...

The Leica SL series of cameras are special, but not unique. I had an original SL and then bought the SL2-S when it was released. It’s a capable, well-built, beautiful camera. But, if I’m being honest, it’s just another mirrorless camera system. And it was very expensive. Purchased today, my kit, consisting of the SL2-S and the Leica APO Summicron 35mm and 75mm lenses would run close to $16,000. Um, who do I think I am? ...

Jess and I had lunch at Booyah’s in Muskegon. I had the Q2 Monochrom with me so I made a few snapshots.

I discovered, while rummaging through a drawer, that my Nikon F-100 was loaded with film; Fujifilm Superia, a color film. I’ve pretty much sworn off color, but what the hell, I threw a little Godox flash on the F-100 and burned through the rest of the roll. I still had some C-41 chemistry mixed, but it was well past its prime. As is often the case with color film, it was a bust. For some reason the Flash, while it seemed to be firing, left most frames wildly under-exposed. There’s no getting away with underexposing color film. The results were mostly horrible. Oh well. It was fun to use the Nikon again. ...

Late last year I printed a couple (black and white) photos, scanned from film negatives, on my Canon Pixma Pro-100 inkjet printer and I loved them. “There! I’ve finally figured it out!”, I said at the time. Today, I thought I’d make a couple more prints, also from black and white film scans. The difference was that I have a new computer and never copied the ICC profiles for my paper. I spent a few minutes installing the profiles, made sure the Canon driver was up to date, fired up Photoshop, loaded the printer with Canson Platine Fibre Rag paper, and hit “Print”. ...

The above photo is a good family photograph. Why? Because it doesn’t just capture members of the family, it captures a family moment. So many family photos are smiling selfies taken at arm’s length. Selfies say, “Here these people are.” but not much more. They’re fine, but ultimately not much more than basic record-keeping. I much prefer photos showing family simply living and interacting in their natural habitat. Here’s another from the same roll: ...

I finished a roll in the MP today by taking a bunch of self-portraits in my basement “studio”. The shots in which you can see both my hands were triggered by stepping on the release bulb. Clever! 🙂 I really like the look of these. They were shot in my basement with a new canvas backdrop. I used two Profoto strobes. One with a softbox (octogon) to camera left, and a second with a reflector at camera right pointing at the backdrop. I’m learning. ...

I was tinkering with the strobes and standing there with the Leica Fotos app triggering the camera and lights, I eventually ran out of normal faces to make so started getting a little silly. So this happened (photos uncropped and unedited from the Leica Q2 Monochrom).

Once it a while, a 50mm lens on the Leica M3 is exactly the right thing. I finished the roll and had a ball doing it. Nothing great came out of it, but sometimes that happens. Gail Steve at Hopcat with gift cards Moccamaster Self-portrait with M3 Alice

I’m trying to see how the Summilux 35mm ASPH feels on the film M. Running around indoors with a moving dog and poor light is either a terrible test or a perfect test. Anyway, here’s Alice. Alice with her toys Alice Alice and “Gordo” Alice and Gordo Alice watching for something to bark at Alice in bed

Leica MP with 35mm Summilux ASPH This is a really nice camera.