Month: April 2014

Film shots coming… let there be light.

Film, Inspiration, Teaching point

I’ve been busy developing Tri-X, shot with my Mamiya RZ67 and Leica M3, using my process for developing B&W film.

The moments captured reflect what I cherish the most:  Life’s Little Moments.

Unfortunately, we’ve been thrust into darkness again, as winter doesn’t seem to want to go.  If I was photographing with a digital camera, my output over the last few days would have been zero.  But somehow, with a shutter speed of 1/15 (or less!) and a few rolls of Kodak, I’ve produced a few images worth keeping.

I’ll be posting some of them, starting tomorrow.

In the meantime… I wait for good light.

—Peter.

Mamiya RZ67 + 110/2.8 + Kodak Tri-X 400 = Art.

Inspiration, Life's Little Moments, Teaching point

I shot a roll of 120 film today, using the equipment in the title above.

10 shots for the roll, 6 of them were keepers… I wish my yield with digital approached that ratio.

I’ll be posting some of the images later this week.

What I love about this set-up is that the output makes everyday life look like art.  Or, maybe I should say that it reveals the art of everyday life.

—Peter.

 

Leica T.

Q&A, Teaching point

Leica T - Photographs by Peter

↑Photo courtesy Leica.

 

No, I wasn’t given the newly-released Leica T Type 701 to review.  And no, I haven’t tried it.

But I’m getting emails asking me about it, so I’ll make a few comments.

The sensor is excellent (they’re using a tried-and-tested sensor), and the new lenses (only two have been announced so far) will perform in the typical Leica fashion — wonderfully.  And, of course, they released an M adapter for M lenses.  Nice.

I’m too biased towards optical viewfinders and larger sensors to be tempted by it.

However, I’m quite impressed with Leica‘s execution on this release.  They got the marketing right, and the design (minimalistic — read: excellent).  They even got the right reviewers on board, and were careful to educate them on the product beforehand.

Most impressively, they out-Appled Apple with the interface.

I like what they’ve done.

—Peter.

 

Eyes – Test Shot Portrait (Mamiya Tilt/Shift).

2014, Favourite, Film, Inspiration, Kodak Tri-X 400, Mamiya RZ 180mm F/4.5 Short Barrel, Mamiya RZ67 Professional Pro II, Mamiya Tilt/Shift Adapter, Portrait, Q&A, Scanner - Plustek 120, Teaching point

My first portrait using the Mamiya 180mm f/4.5 Short Barrel lens with the Mamiya Tilt/Shift Adapter.

I really should be supporting this heavy and unwieldy gear with a tripod, but I’ve avoided tripods all my life (ahhh the undisciplined life of a candid photographer).

Not bad though.  I see great potential with this set-up.

—Peter.

Eyes - Mamiya Tilt:Shift Adapter Test Shot

Springtime in Toronto, Part 2.

Film, Inspiration, Kodak Tri-X 400, Mamiya RZ 110mm F/2.8, Mamiya RZ67 Professional Pro II, Portrait, Q&A, Scanner - Plustek 120, Teaching point

You have to love this city and its weather 😉 .

This image was taken using the Mamiya 110/2.8 at its near focus limit; even at f/4 (the aperture used for this shot), the depth of field is quite thin — perhaps too thin for this portrait, since only the near eye is in focus.

Still, I like it.

The look of the Tri-X film and the bigger 6 x 7 “sensor” of medium format is quite remarkable.  Notice the true-to-life rendering of his face, texture of his hat, etc.  Currently, high-end 35mm digital cameras may be able to out-resolve this antiquated gear (at least using the scanner I’m using), but they cannot duplicate the look of this image.

—Peter.

Springtime in Toronto, Part 2