Photography

First, I have to admit that I’m not a fan of Instagram. Viewing tiny little photos on tiny little phones fed to us between advertisements in an order defined by a giant anti-privacy, disinformation-spreading corporation is the worst way to enjoy photography. But, Instagram is where photographers are and I kind of want to be there, too. I want to focus on only photography (rather than socializing with friends and family) so I’ve created a new account to do just that: JackBatyPhoto. So, go ahead and “smash that Follow button” or whatever it is we’re doing now. ...

After a year of buying really nice cameras and lenses, I’ve gotten to a point where I’m feeling the weight of having so much money tied up on photography gear. Some of it has to go. This post is me thinking it through. I hate selling gear. Dealing with buyers and potential buyers isn’t fun. Shipping is a pain. There’s always a risk of damage, loss, or dissatisfaction. But mostly, the problem with selling is that I no longer have the things I’ve sold. Regret sucks. ...

I’m either going to have to shoot this faster or stop drinking Diet Coke.

Leica Leica MP | Leica Summilux-M 50mm ASPH | Portra 400 400 Scanned with Epson V750. Cinestill C-41 Negative Lab Pro v2.2.0 | Color Model: Frontier | Pre-Sat: 3 | Tone Profile: LAB – Standard | WB: Auto-Neutral | LUT: Frontier

Sometimes it’s fun to throw a roll through the little Olympus Stylus Epic. Mostly self-portraits around the house because I was bored.

Now that I have my dream MP, I should probably sell the M6. If I do, this will have been the last roll I shot with it.

Out with the new MP and a roll of HP5+. I think these are all shot with the 50mm Summilux ASPH

Here are a few from the very first roll through the new Leica MP. (Sorry, I lost them)

Tri-X in the Hasselblad 500C/M. This was the only shot on the roll that I liked. Alice (2021). Hasselblad 500C/M. Zeiss 80mm Planar. Tri-X in D-76.

If I knew how to take a good picture, I’d do it all the time Robert Doisneau

I enjoy both film and digital photography, but the pendulum has been swinging toward film recently, and I’ve been having a ball. I’ve finally dialed in a film processing, scanning, and editing workflow that works and that I don’t hate. What’s more, I’ve been studying my recent film photos and I really like them. I like that they’re not so perfect that zooming in to 100% is useful. I like the defects and unpredictability. I like the process. But most of all, I like the cameras. Specifically, I like Leica rangefinders. ...

These are all taken with the Leica M3 on HP5+ and were processed in HC-110 Dilution B. I’m pretty sure I used the Elmarit-M 90mm f2.8 for the entire roll.

A photograph is a universe of dots. The grain, the halide, the little silver things clumped in the emulsion. Once you get inside a dot, you gain access to hidden information, you slide inside the smallest event. This is what technology does. It peels back the shadows and redeems the dazed and rambling past. It makes reality come true. Don Delillo, Underworld

Leica M6, HP5+. HC-110 (dilution B). Scanned on V750 with Silverfast. Processed with Negative Lab Pro

I’m trying to stick with the Adobe suite for processing, editing, and managing photos. I prefer Capture One’s editing process, but Lightroom Classic has everything else going for it, (ecosystem, tooling, ubiquity, etc.) so that’s where I’ve settled for now. But I’d love to take advantage of Lightroom CC on mobile and my laptop. CC and Classic will sync, but if not handled properly the whole enterprise can quickly turn into a mess. What I was doing is to import into Classic, edit, export, then add the “keepers” to a synced catalog (or “all synched photographs”) so that those photos would be available everywhere. The problem is that this takes diligence and consistency. It takes work. I’m not good at consistency, and I end up frustrated and bailing on the whole thing. ...

Yeah, I’d definitely get the black-paint version. The only problem is that kit is around $17,000 as pictured. Still, just look at it.

He’s a good one.

I purchased the Leica Q2 Monochrom (new) from Camera West in February 2021. It’s in like new condition and has fewer than 600 shutter actuations. Price is $5,100 net to me. That’s a savings of $1,000 off the price of a new one. I adore my Leica Q2 Monochrom, so why am I selling it? The Q2M is for sale because I miss the M10-P and can’t have both. I bough the Q because sometimes I just want autofocus, close-focus, macro, and the convenience of an EVF. I found that the SL2-S ticks all those boxes, so the Q2M is really just an extravagant extra. As wonderful as it is, I don’t need it. My loss is your gain. ...

I bought my first Olympus Stylus Epic in 2004 and fell in love. I’ve owned one ever since. That original copy was replaced in 2012 for $10, in the box, from a guy on Craigslist. Those days are gone. These little fellas have grown quite a following and fetch upwards of $300 on eBay. I’m not going to be paying that much once this one dies. Mine has been collecting dust in a drawer for a year or two, which is a shame, so took it out today and loaded it with a roll of HP5+. No sense trying to preserve it, right? ...