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Luigi Ghirri - 'Kodachrome' and 'The Complete Essays 1973-1991'

Luigi Ghirri – ‘Kodachrome’ and ‘The Complete Essays 1973-1991’

By all rights, these two books should be reviewed separately. Sadly, though, they arrived in the same box and I unboxed them together, so here we are.

Kodachromeis MACK’s 2013 reprint of Ghirri’s 1978 classic. From what I understand, it’s a facsimile of the original, albeit with the inclusion of a pamphlet containing a new essay by Francesco Zanot and translations of the original introductions…

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My Little Game (part 3)

My Little Game (part 3)

Part 3 of theonlinephotographer’s Little Game threw me for a bit of a loop. “You should not only concentrate on your Top Five categories, but also actively avoid the other twenty.” What?

Really, this makes complete sense to me, and my first impulse was to go back and re-order my categories. After all, there are things in the list that I want to do more of, as I expect they’ll lead me…

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Today, I’m thankful for “creeping sharia,” the slow, clandestine spread of Islam throughout this great country. I know that may be frightening to some, but don’t worry: despite it’s spread, Islam and Muslims still form only a tiny fraction of American society (3% or less) and so-called “sharia law” of the type practiced in some oil-producing and war-torn nations halfway around the world is not in any way encroaching on the Constitution or the rule of law here in the U.S.

Islam is here, though, and Muslims are establishing themselves all over the land. Allahu Akbar!

Last week, my darling, adorable wife and I took our annual August holiday. This year, we drove a sort of trapezoid around central and south Texas, and thanks to “creeping sharia,” we were able to find established masajid (plural of “masjid”) to pray in with relative ease.

Now, as narrated by Jabir bin Abdullah, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said

وَجُعِلَتْ لِيَ الأَرْضُ مَسْجِدًا وَطَهُورًا، فَأَيُّمَا رَجُلٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِي أَدْرَكَتْهُ الصَّلاَةُ فَلْيُصَلِّ،

…The earth has been made for me (and for my followers) a place for praying and a thing to perform Tayammum, therefore anyone of my followers can pray wherever the time of a prayer is due….

So, really, we could’ve prayed anywhere, but visiting different mosques is something of a pastime for Hana and me, and we both enjoy finding new little places to worship.

For example, the on the way to San Antonio, we stopped to pray Dhuhr and Asr at a small masjid in San Marcos, TX.

Yes, you read that right, there’s a mosque in San Marcos, Texas… It’s just off the campus of the Texas State University, next to a greek house, and a little bit reminiscent of the Nueces Masjid in Austin, but with better parking.

The house is a classic, small town house, well constructed, with beautiful details and and nice built-ins. I think it’s mostly student-run, with some occasional visits from travelling muslims.

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They have some great signs posted to help remind and encourage visitors.

I really like small masajid like this. One day, maybe we’ll live near one. The big, mega mosques are nice, and offer services that small centers can’t, but little places like this have a character and feel, an intimacy that giant structures can’t match.

May Allah bless the founders and those who keep up the San Marcos masjid, and keep it safe. I hope to visit there again one day, and look forward to finding more small masajid in different parts of the US during future road trips.

Over the next few days, I’ll dribble out some photographs from the vacation, so look forward to that.

Today, I'm grateful for "Creeping Sharia" Today, I'm thankful for "creeping sharia," the slow, clandestine spread of Islam throughout this great country. I know that may be frightening to some, but don't worry: despite it's spread, Islam and Muslims still form only a tiny fraction of American society (3% or less) and so-called "sharia law" of the type practiced in some oil-producing and war-torn nations halfway around the world is not in any way encroaching on the Constitution or the rule of law here in the U.S.

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Photobombed...

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Congratulations to Sania and Sadeq on their nuptials! May Allah bless them with long, healthy, contented lives together, ameen.

Their wedding was perhaps the most lavish and well-choreographed events I’ve had the pleasure of attending, ever. Herding 500ish people through buffet lines, getting everyone seated, and keeping everyone entertained is a monumental effort, and the family did a magnificent job with everything.

My darling, adorable wife looked amazing, as always, and I wore a new shirt, but didn’t get a haircut, and so looked a bit disheveled standing next to her. I’m glad I didn’t take any selfies, but expect there are some pictures of me out there somewhere…

We got to the venue—the Fort Worth Hilton—a little bit after 7, and found a nice set up waiting for us on the Mezzanine level. We ran into the mother of the bride (our dear neighbor Dr. Sabahat) straight away.

And we wandered around, chatting with neighbors and other guests. I shot a portrait of brother Riaz. (I need to work on my technique some… I’m not a portrait photographer, but could try to learn some skills.)

Snacks were served (chana, lentil salad, samosas) and we enjoyed some more fellowship.

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We discovered a photobooth and had some fun with the props.

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We discovered a guy handing out fruit popsicles. I had a raspberry lemonade one that was delicious.

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And then it was time for Maghrib salat.  We filed upstairs, found the room, and lined up to worship. There’s something interesting about praying in groups in strange places. Muslims all face Mecca to pray. Allah azza wa jall ordained this for us, to help us unify when we worship. Whenever we gather in some strange place, there’s a brief moment where we’re not sure which direction Mecca is. There are compasses, of course, but usually the first person in the room picks the spot, and if that person didn’t check the compass, some confusion can ensue as people line up.

We ended up praying a completely different direction, almost lined up with the beams in the ceiling…

Anyway.

On my way out of the hall, I stopped for a minute to photograph from the landing. I waited and waited, and *bang* got it.

After prayer, it was time to enter the hall. The whole thing was beautiful. I wandered around photographing random people and looking for my seat.

The emcee lady was getting ready, and she looked pretty and there was something to the scene. I stayed for a minute and worked it some.

I found the cake. Sadly, this is as close as I got to it… by the time they cut the cake, it was already 11:30, and well past my bedtime. Oh well.

And then I found my seat. I hoped for a seat nearer the center, where the cameras could see the action. Alas, I was jammed all the way against the wall, just about perpendicular to the stage.

The decorations were lovely, and the other brothers at my table were friendly and more or less engaged.

Brother Sham requested a picture of him and his son, and I obliged. Several times.

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After some time, the wedding party entered and performed the brief nikkah ceremony. I was a long way away, and didn’t think to get up, so I don’t have pictures of that.

A nice dinner was served: curries, biryani, vegetables. It was really delicious, but I don’t have pictures of that either.

After dinner, I wandered around and found the bride and groom at a little private table off the dance floor, meeting and greeting guests and passers-by. I waited for a long time, but the bride never looked my way.

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We had some desert… Brother Sham’s son didn’t want the carrot halwa (a sweet desert dish). It took quite a bit of coaxing and encouragement to get him to try it. I wonder what was going through his head.. Maybe he thought it was vegetables or something? Maybe he’s health conscious? Allahu Alim, and it was cute.

After desert, I walked around a bit. I found my father in law and a kindly neighbor, and was surprised when they happily sat for portraits.

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And I ran across my wife and mother in law. (The 50 f/1.2 is not the easiest to focus…)

Then it was picture time… The bride and groom on the dais, with various family members filing by. I steeled my nerves and forced myself up there. I’m glad I did… got a good couple of pictures of the beautiful bride and handsome groom.

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In one, it almost looks like she’s looking at the camera…

Score.

By the time they finished the parade of pictures, it was past 11, and I was getting tired. They announced the cake cutting, and I rushed up, but didn’t get in very good position. I got better pictures of the crowd than of the actual cake cutting or feeding.

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Oh well. I was mostly out of film, anyway. I finished the roll of Kono Kolorit, and was nearing the end of the HP5+. So I found my wife and we split.

And that was it… the most opulent and well-choreographed wedding event I’ve ever attended. MashaAllah. It was really a great time.

May Allah bless the bride and groom and their families for their generous hospitality, and may He make them the coolness of each other’s eyes, and bless them with believing children, ameen.

For film, I shot the Kono Kolorit! 400 and Ilford HP5+. I have one more roll of the Kolorit!, and I think I’ll rate it at 200 next time. It was well underexposed at 400. I shot the HP5 at 1600, and I think that’ll be my go-to for black & white for awhile, at least for stuff I can just go and buy at the camera shop anytime, and at least for something I can shoot indoors, handheld, without flash. Beautiful. Alhamdulillah.

Sania & Sadeq's wedding Congratulations to Sania and Sadeq on their nuptials! May Allah bless them with long, healthy, contented lives together, ameen.

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unboxing The New Analog

unboxing Damon Krukowski's 'The New Analog: Listening and Reconnecting in a Digital World'

It’s been awhile since I read a book in two sittings. Even the junk fiction I’ve been gorging myself on lately usually sees me through 4 or 5 nights or more. But Damon Krukowski‘s The New Analog: Listening and Reconnecting in a Digital World went down fast. It may not be a photobook, but it’s a true page turner, engrossing, entertaining, informing and cogently argued.…

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A few months ago, I put put down $18 to help bring Abe Fetig‘s FilmLab app to life, and today, the first beta dropped… Woo!

First off, it’s a beta release and there are still bugs to work out but so far it looks promising, and I’m excited about it! [At time of writing, the Android release is not yet available, but I only have an iPhone 7, so that’s all I’m going to review here. Apologies to any Android users who got fooled.]

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For this test, I chose the first 5 frames from a recent roll of Fuji Superia XTRA 400. They’re some shots from a recently started project, so something of a sneak preview perhaps… I threw the negatives on the light table, and was ready to go.

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It launches into a sort of preview screen, ready to get to work. I noticed some strange, distracting flashing as it flips between positive and negative. I wonder if there’s some meaning to the flashes or not, like maybe it flashes when it’s out of focus or something, but I didn’t really notice a pattern.

From this screen, in theory, you click on a frame and it captures a scan that you can export, or back out and try again.

To export a frame, you click on the export icon in the lower right, and are greeted with the usual export pop-up. This works fairly well, though in landscape mode on an iPhone 7, the text for the bottom row is chopped off, and if you’re unfamiliar with this screen, you might have some difficulty finding what to do.

The resolution is limited in this beta, as mentioned in the release notes, so ignore that. It’s also not very good at getting the frame straight on. It probably doesn’t help that these negatives aren’t completely flat (more on that later), but it sometimes struggles to lock on at all.

It almost refused to lock on to one frame, over and over again, almost insistently.

I’m not sure what the problem there was, but it’s noted in the release notes, and I’m sure it’ll be corrected in future betas and by the time an actual release comes up.

When it captures a frame, it does a great job with color, but overexposes by a stop or two.

  Compare that, with a recent quick dslr scan of the same image.

I don’t expect my iPhone 7 to compare with a dslr scan, and this is a beta, but Abe, if you’re reading this, here’s something to aim for…

To export a frame, you click on the

So, FilmLab is here, almost! I’m very excited to be part of the beta test, and I look forward to following the progress. At the very least, I think it will save me running every frame through the Scan-O-Matic X, and who knows, once resolution and sharpness gets there, and if I Capture One Pro (or, *shudder*, Lightroom) can read iOS RAW files, it may even do for most web-related sharing.

Here are some more scans if you’re curious… the resolution is low, and I’m not sure I got the focus right: there’s not any indication of achieved focus, as far as I can tell, and no way to set or lock focus. If I end up using it long term, I’ll probably build a little shelf or something to set the phone on and make sure focus remains steady for the entire scanning session.

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Edit: just before publishing, I decided to try again, with the negatives in the Digitaliza scanning mask, and (maybe) noticed a bug: it can’t see the frames in the carrier. I think it needs the sprocket holes and all to determine where the frame edges are, and the black edges of the scanning mask confused it. It wouldn’t even flip the curve.

Oh well. It’s a beta release,  after all, so I wasn’t expecting perfection, and this is a great start, to what looks to be an exciting new way to scan negatives! Thanks to Abe for all his hard work on this, and thanks to my fellow Kickstarterers for helping to get this thing going!

I’ll revisit this when the next update comes through, and I knocked this little intro review thing out super quick, so if I missed anything, or if there’s anything you’d like me to check, please let me know!

FilmLab 0.1.1 (2) - beta test notes: tl;dr - it's a beta, for sure, but shows great promise! A few months ago, I put put down $18 to help bring Abe Fetig's FilmLab…

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Unboxing 'Highway Kind'

Highway Kind collects images from Justine Kurland’s 2007 -2014 travels around the United States in a customized Astro Van, first with with her young son, Casper, then alone. Interspersed throughout are 8 very short stories by Lynn Tillman, character sketches, mostly, that add a bit flavor. The photographs were culled from a couple of bodies of work—This Train is Bound for Glory, and Sincere Auto…

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unboxing some Matt Perry postcards for the July edition of @CraftyMoni's postcard exchange! For the July edition of @CraftyMoni's postcard exchange, I was fortunate to draw Mr. Matt Perry, of Wiltshire, UK.

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Unboxing 'The Americans'

Robert Frank’s The Americans is one of those seminal photobooks that really needs no introduction, so please enjoy this unboxing… (more…)

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the ShootFilmCo Summer Print Exchange unboxing

the ShootFilmCo Summer Print Exchange unboxing...

For the Summer 2017 edition of the ShootFilmCo Print Exchange, I traded prints with Isadora Mustata—I think she’s on Twitter and Instagram, maybe—somewhere in California. She got 3 4×6 prints of rather random stuff; I got 2 Instax Wide photos and a Spectra-size Impossible shot. I think I got the better end of the deal.  

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Alfonso: my first street portrait

I usually stay away from people when I shoot. If I catch someone’s eye, maybe I smile, but I usually try avoid eye contact, if I can help it, and I almost never think to ask for a portrait on the rare occasions that I interact with strangers on the street. (more…)

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Porta 160 at 320, outdoors and in

I’m not sure what it was I read, maybe this post on the MastinLabs blog, but I decided to shoot a roll of Porta 160 at 320… I’m not sure I see a huge amount of difference between 160 and 320, and I didn’t a/b it or anything, and I haven’t shot a huge amount of Porta 160, but I think I prefer it pushed a stop. This isn’t an in-depth post or anything: just a couple of random shots. Sorry in advance…

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The July 2017 edition of the #summerfilmparty comes to a colorful, patriotic, end with a nice roll of FPP RetroChrome 320.

I went to the parade with an extra roll of slide film in my pocket, intending to feed it to the first camera to go empty. Well, the FE, and 35mm f/2 D, was the recipient, and it did a nice job, overall.

It came out a bit grainy… I really need to re-up my E6 chemicals. I think time has caught up with them, and I did manage to get 10 rolls through this batch, mixed on 8/1/2016. I developed this roll, and the roll from the Sprocket Rocket, on 7/14, so they “lasted” a year… but were really probably done back in November or December.

After my disappointment on Expired Film Day, and further testing during the first #summerfilmparty, I decided to try something with these: after the blix step, instead of going straight to wash, I rinsed and then ran the film through some Ilford Fixer (which probably also needs refreshing, but that’s another story) for 8 minutes. I think it tamed the grain a little bit, but this roll of RetroChrome is a good bit grainier than my first roll. Oh well. I have 4 rolls of slide film in the fridge: another RetroChrome and three rolls of FPP Infrachrome, one of which might get shot for the August edition of the #summerfilmparty, though only Allah knows for sure.

The parade wound down, as all parades do, and Hana and I walked up to Heritage Park, where the City provided some watermelon for everyone, and a country/blues/eh band was starting up. We ate a bit of watermelon and spat seeds on the ground with some fellow residents, and then started back to the car.

Sadly, I was too busy munching watermelon to shoot anything, so here’s a picture of some fellow citizens at the parade.

On the way back, we found the flag-lined sidewalk pictured at the top of the page, and I took what I hoped would be a good picture of my darling, adorable wife. Sadly, between the grain and the dynamic range in the scene, she came out less than clear.

I have to believe that fresh chemicals would led to a cleaner result. Oh well. Let this be a lesson to me: use E6 chemicals quickly and if a roll is important, send it off to one of the small mail order film developers.

I grabbed a hip shot of a mother and son, and took a few random shots on the way back to the car, and that was it for the 4th.

I like his glasses.

And I like the color in this… the grain is too much, though.

And then it was back to work, back to the usual. I grabbed one quick shot out the window at work…

but otherwise didn’t pull the camera out again until late on the last day, when I drug my darling, adorable wife out for a quick walk.

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The light was great, and the bit of brown cast typical of the RetroChrome works well at Golden Hour (to be said with the Tina Turner drawl.

And that, as they say, was the end of round two of the #summerfilmparty. Overall, it was good fun, and if you’re a film shooter, have a read through the rules, get connected on Twitter, and get ready for the last #summerfilmparty shoot week, August 7-13.

I’m already looking in my stashes to see what I have that qualifies…

#summerfilmparty, pt. 3: RetroChrome! The July 2017 edition of the #summerfilmparty comes to a colorful, patriotic, end with a nice roll of…

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#summerfilmparty! - pt. 2: SPROCKETS!

The Sprocket Rocket loves light. I mentioned this before. So Labeauratoire [kromiəm] 500 plus bright sunshine (and bright color) at the 4th of July parade should be just about perfect… And it was! (more…)

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Mr. Brown, ISO 6… There are slower black & white films out there, but not in my fridge. I shot a roll a few months back with good results. It’s July in TX, so there should be plenty of sun, and the 4th of July means a little small town-type parade in Irving…

Sounds perfect for the second installment of the #summerfilmparty, right?

Eh.I’m not sure if the metering was off, or if Mr. Brown just doesn’t like Standing around…

I was feeling a bit lazy on Development Day. I had a roll of HP5+ and this roll of Mr. Brown, plus two rolls of E6 (also for the #summerfilmparty), and had some chores and other things to do, and couldn’t be bothered to run two single rolls of black & white. If I had some Diafine on hand, that would’ve sufficed: with that, everything is 6 minutes, regardless of ISO. Alas. So I went with a good old Rodinal stand.

The first problem I encountered was the heat. It was about 80℉ in my kitchen, thanks to an undiagnosed, at that time, malfunctioning A/C unit. I loaded the HP5 first, and it went in fine, but the movement got my hands sweating a bit, and the Mr. Brown, with its super thin, very floppy, film just didn’t want to go on the reels. It would go on a third of the way, then stick. and I kept trying having to rip it off the reel and start over again, frustration mounting.

If you didn’t know, Mr. Brown is an extremely fragile film, more fragile than anything else I’ve shot, by far, and the violence in the darkbag caused it some pain.

And then, I think I didn’t do the stand correctly… The HP5+ had a bunch of black dots embedded in the negatives (they came out white when inverted), and I think it was from hard water… Here’s an example:

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Selfy, HP5+, Rodinal 1:100 stand, 1 hour.

I’m not positive on that, though: the Mr. Brown had no such specks in it. Instead, it has splotches, completely blocked up shadows, blown highlights, flattened midtones. I saw no such issues with D76 1+1 in my first roll review.

Let this be a lesson to me: Film Photography takes patience. When I get lazy, errors happen.

So the first #summerfilmparty roll was a failure, partly or mostly or entirely of my own design. It’s a shame too, because the parade was really fun. I hadn’t been to one in decades, and my wife had only been to BIG parades, like the Puerto Rican Day parades in NY and NJ, or the Bastille Day parades in Paris, nothing like this. Nothing like the new mayor riding in a convertible Corvette waving and tossing candy…

…that you can’t make out, much, thanks to the hosed development/exposure/whatever. I do like the scratch coming off the left rear tire like a just-married streamer, and I’m thankful for errors that help me remember, help to remind me, help me to learn.

And Alhamdulillah for the two rolls of slide film I also shot, otherwise, I’d only have this failure to talk about.

It's time for the July edition of the #summerfilmparty! - pt. 1: ISO 6 at the 4th Parade... Mr. Brown, ISO 6... There are slower black & white films out there, but not in my fridge.

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Unboxing Photoscouting

I don’t remember where I came across PhotoCorps and PhotoScouting. PhotoCorps is a grant funded community photography workshop/training/community thing, started by Chris Glass, and based in Cincinnati, and PhotoScouting is a sort of workshop: “21 exercises to make more intentional photographs, explore neighborhoods and connect with people.” Now, even though I’m ~1000 miles away, I probably need…