So Much!

"So Much" seemed to sum up my thoughts.  Not only, Thank You "So Much" for your support, but "So Much" is going on in my little world of photography.  Almost too much, but a lot of little things--experimenting, new technologies, new photographers as friends.  Good things.  But also makes it hard to update here...but I'll give it a try!

I have three photos ready for a group show at the Saratoga Arts Center Gallery in May.  It's an eclectic group of photographers from the Captured Image Guild to which I belong.  I am also submitting an eclectic three photos.  One is a monochrome pinhole image on large format film; the second is a color large format photo taken with a view camera; and the third is a digital image from Monhegan in color.

Recently, I have been taking a lot of pinhole photos in large format, and putting together a kind of collection of "Saratoga" based pinhole photos.  I may add some non-pinhole images in monochrome to the mix.  I am doing this as I will be one artist in a juried show on June 10th during the Saratoga Arts Festival. The images I submitted were all in this genre... now I need to get me a tent!  And a lot of matting and framing to do!

So, the "pinhole" camera that I am using has both "pinhole" and "zone plate" options.  The pinhole is pretty self-explanatory.  A tiny pinhole.  Not as sharp as a good lens, but not bad.  Everything is in focus though.  The zone plate is a tiny version of this kind of pattern:

Just like the size of the pinhole affects the image quality, the number of rings and spacing affect the size.  This zone plate is only really visible under a magnifying glass, so it's pretty small.

The first images here are pinhole images:

And these are zone plate images:

Here's a slideshow of more pinhole photos taken recently:

So, there are other things happening as well, but I'll save those for another post....

Color Slide Film

I don't do it too often, and when I do, I use it sparingly.  Color slide film in 4x5" sheet size that is...

While this one looks even more striking in its glorious color in print than on the screen, this gives you and idea of what Fuji Velvia film is all about.  Big, bold colors.

The difficulty arises in the fact that this film is expensive and costs more than $8 per photo in just film and developing costs.  (Fortunately I don't work in 8x10" format!)

I know I show a lot of black and white, but I thought it was time to share something different.  VERY different from the pinhole camera images in the previous post!!!

Anyway, here are some more examples of photos taken with this lovely film...

By the way, this film isn't particularly good for skin tones. Fuji has its Astia film for that, and its Provia for the middle of the road.

What Can You Fit Through A Pin Hole?

Enough light to make some nice images.  For Christmas, I received a Zero Image 4x5" film pin hole camera.  Pinhole cameras are the oldest photo technology.  No lens, just a tiny pinhole.  Long exposures.

This camera is 25mm for 4x5 inch format (about 8mm in regular photo aperture).  By adding additional frames and deepening the camera, you can add 25mm for each frame.  I have the camera and two additional frames; thereby having 25mm, 50mm and 75mm focal lengths.  One advantage of a pinhole camera is that everything is in focus, near or far.

These photos are four of the first eight exposures taken and developed.  I was nicely surprised at the outcome, and I consider these to be a result of "educated serendipity".  All four were taken at 25mm, very wide angle and very close.  Working with a pinhole camera is going to be fun!

Three of Four Entries Accepted in the Best of 2011 Show at the PhotoCenter in Troy

60 photographers submitted over 200 images for the Best of 2011 show at the PhotoCenter of the Capital District in Troy.  3 of the 4 I submitted this year were accepted.  Here's a slideshow with the images that will be hung at the Photocenter gallery:



The show will run from January 20th through February 19th.  Opening reception from 5:00pm-9:00pm on Friday, January 27th.  The Photocenter is located at 404 River Street in Troy, NY.  I hope to see you at the reception!

Some Forest Photos

I've been busy with a new and exciting project, and I'm hoping to be able to make some announcements on that here in the near future!

In the meantime,  I took a walk through the woods the other afternoon with the old 1937 Weltur 6x6 camera.  Enjoy!

And two digital infrared shots from the same location:

Scenes from Rockland Maine

My son and I visited my brother over Columbus Day weekend.  The traffic was terrible but the weather was absolutely gorgeous.  I just thought I'd share a few photos with you.  Regular, Film and Infrared...(didn't take my large format film camera with me)...

The "Beach"

Owls Head in full color!

Yes, this was the evening dusk colors:

The lighthouse...

Some rocks:

A sail...

and a Rose...

Don't forget to check in at David Aimone Photography...

Martha's Vineyard — On Film

It does take a while to process film and to reveal its mysterious results!  The waiting can make for true disappointments, wonderful surprises and everything in between.  Here are a few of the large format results out of about the two dozen black and white negatives I imaged:

And now to the trusty antique 6x6 Weltur camera...

Have a great week!  Thanks for viewing...