This Posterous Blog is Shutting Down
Unfortunately, this Posterous blog is gone, come April 31. I will be posting directly to my Wordpress blog from now on. You can find it at kestersonn.wordpress.com.
The Photography of Neil KestersonPhotos, comments, information, and anything to do with photographyThis Posterous Blog is Shutting Down
Unfortunately, this Posterous blog is gone, come April 31. I will be posting directly to my Wordpress blog from now on. You can find it at kestersonn.wordpress.com.
Re-skinned Russian Rangefinder
I recently bought a new iPhone, so I was looking for a case. I ran across a website called www.skinslove.com in the Netherlands. I saw this red leather-like replacement skin for the Fed 3b camera. Coincidentally the leatherette was beginning to peel off my 1970s – era Soviet union rangefinder camera. I couldn't resist a tip of the hat to the Red Army. I would be willing to bet that many conscripts carried this model when on leave. My Fed works quite well for such a shoddy approach to manufacturing. The Industar lens is actually pretty sharp if you can control flare. I've got an old roll of consumer color film in it right now. The skin, by the way, is really a specialty printable plastic from Avery. It has a nice grip to it. It was perfectly cut for my camera and was a breeze to put on. The only thing I had to do was punch holes for the screws. The only negative to the skin is its thinness. On roughly-manufactured cameras like this one, you can't hide the uneven places on the body. Overall a fun upgrade.
20th year pictureMara and I have been coming to this same tree every summer for 20 years now! This is at the beautiful Lexington Cemetery in the back, beside the mausoleum. There used to be a park bench in front of this tree for years. One year, it had been moved to the side. So I moved it back for the picture, forgetting to replace it. The next year it was chained down! I guess they don't want their furniture moved. The area behind Mara and Daisy used to contain an apple orchard. It's now an extension, with a boring and ugly pond containing a very loud fountain. Bronica ETRS, Kodak Portra 400 Autumn at Camp NelsonI'm simply amazed at how many different personalities this place has. I've been taking my dog here to run for about 15 months now. It changes dramatically with each season. There is a variety of subjects, though I confess I have to look a little harder each time. The last batch from here had me looking for circles and squares. This time I was was trying to convey Autumn, though a windy storm earlier in the week blew away most of the leaves. I still found some interesting shots, though. The barn was an aside, and it was on a private farm next to the park. I thought it conveyed the country life pretty well. Bronica ETRS, Kodak Portra 400
Maple LeavesThe "Orton Effect" is not an episode from Star Trek, but it sounds like it could be a really cool one with cheesy effects and big-brained green aliens. Instead, it's an "analog" effect created by Michael Orton in the darkroom. The simplest version of this is to have one negative of normal exposure/focusing, sandwiched with another negative that's over-exposed and out of focus. You can simulate this with a double exposure in-camera as well. This was admittedly done in Photoshop with an "action," or a series of Photoshop procedures that are saved in a macro. It's a great effect that can save an otherwise run-of-the-mill photo. I did intentionally de-focus the background leaves during exposure, but it just lacked that dreamy effect I was looking for. Nikon Fm2n, Fuji 200 (self-developed Digibase C-41) Fall ContrailWhen I was a boy, someone told me that the Strategic Air Command had a jet in the air all times, covering all the U.S. I of course had seen Jimmy Stewart's "Strategic Air Command" movie, so I knew they used high flying jets to protect us from Commies. So every contrail I saw, I thought it was SAC. I remember getting worried one day when I say a bunch of the vapor trails criss-crossing the sky like a tic-tac-toe game. Taken one morning in my driveway before leaving for work. Nikon Fm2n, polarizer, Fuji 200 (self-developed Digibase C-41) The Sears Tower
Sears rebadged a lot of goods over the years, including cameras. The Tower brand came from a mix of manufacturers, including respected ones like Olympus. They also rebadged some average cameras. This Sears Tower No.1 camera is one of those. I don't know who made it in 1955, but I suspect it's Chinese or Japanese in origin. It's classic bakelite with a plastic lens and hard-to-see viewfinder more common in pre-war cameras like the Kodak Brownie. It takes 120 medium format film, still available today. It does have some unusual features, however. The best, outside of its great styling, is the film advance knob. As you rotate it, it cocks the shutter and then stops precisely on the next frame. No need to look in the tiny red hole trying to see the frame number on the backing paper. And look at those lines. Just like cars from the 50's there's a lot of wasted space on corners, curves and bulk. I bet if it came out in '57, it would have had two big fins. Mine has a fully intact rubber strap. Some of the bakelite was cracked, so I taped it up just in case. It has a regular one-speed shutter, as well as a setting for "Bulb" mode. It also has a fixed aperture. It's basically a box camera with style. And I have to admit, the pictures aren't bad. It has that dreamy blurred vignetting and lack of great detail that plastic lenses give you. But the surprise to me was the contrast. I shot with a roll of Ilford FP4 (ISO 125), a fine grained film. I also developed in Ilford Perceptol (their version of Microdol-X). That may have played a little role in the contrast, but not much. Overall, a pretty nice little casual camera for the casual shooter in 1955, especially if you want to look good carrying it.
Adventures in Color ProcessingWell, I did it. I finally processed my first rolls of color negative film. It was definitely easier than I thought it would be. My results were mixed. Although the negs came out exposed properly, I had issues with either the chemistry, or the handling. There were streaks and black spots all along the length of both rolls of film I processed. I reviewed the process on line, and it may come down to washing. My C41 Digibase kit doesn't mention washing at all. Nor does any official process I can find. However, some amateur users online like to wash between every step. It's also possible I had chemicals that weren't fully mixed, as this is my first time doing this. It may also be the lack of enough Stabilizer (see "CONS" below) Okay, the pros and the cons of the Digibase kit: PROS
CONS
Fortunately I chose consumer film to experiment with. The Fuji color is okay, but a little grainy. It also lacks color depth compared to Portra and Ektar. But I'm comparing a Chevy to a Porsche, which isn't always fair. Will I process color again? You bet. I still have a bunch of stock solution for about 8 more rolls. Significantly cheaper than mail out to a lab. If I work out the chemistry problems, I might order the Digibase again. But, I think I'll try another kit first and see if the instructions are better. In fact, I'll probably try E-6 (slide film) processing this winter. There's only an extra step more than C41 (which itself has an extra step or two over B&W). For those of you that have a history with B&W that are wanting to try color, go for it! If you're pretty meticulous in the darkroom already; you understand simple temperature control using coolers or trays of water; and you've experimented with different developers; you're ready. Also, if there are no good labs left in town that you trust with your color, then go bust through some cheap film and try a kit. The biggest difference I saw was the hotter temperatures. Mixing the chemicals posed some challenges, as I had to boil water to get my distilled water up to mixing temperature. Once there, it was all pretty easy. The other slight difference was how fast the developer worked - 3:15. It was over before I knew it started. After that, it took about as long as B&W to get to the drying stage. Oh, and the drying time is extremely short compared to B&W. I think you could probably scan an hour later. These shots were taken on a Canon T-90 and Minolta SRT-202. I had some scanning issues, so these are not quality scans. For some reason, my Plustek OpticFilm 7500i with Silverfast hates Fuji Extra film. I could not get any dynamic range or consistent color. I know my developing was good, as I've had this problem before. Sometimes a film and scanner don't like each other.
Balanced Rocks
Auxier Ridge, Red River Gorge, Kentucky Bronica ETRS (Kodak Portra 400)
Beauty Among the Ugly
The flowers growing among the wheels of the cannon are as if they are trying to hold it back from advancing. Bronica ETRS (Kodak Portra 400)
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