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Winter in the District

Found some pictures from my visit to DC over the winter. There was no snow on the ground, unfortunately.

This was mostly just travel snaps that I actually quite like.

I feel like some of these are interesting to how I used to take pictures around New York.

It was probably due to the fact that I was bumming around a city again.

Although something I've been thinking about more and more is what my pictures do. Sort of a silly question, but do they spark some aesthetic enjoyment in me? Do they remind me of a time? Do they serve as documentation of a place and time?

The answer, for me so far is sort of unambiguously... no? And honestly, I'm okay with that, but then what am I taking them for?

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Norman, Oklahoma

Some pics from a trip to Norman, Oklahoma.

There doesn't seem to be much to do there except the University of Oklahoma, which honestly, can be very pretty.

I don't feel great about these pictures. I don't think they're interesting or all that much to look at.

I still felt like I was in a bit of a shooting funk. Not inspired to take pictures, not inspired to carry a camera.

I feel like some of these have an idea to them though, even if it isn't one that I'm particularly compelled by.

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Museums

One thing I've had the chance to do semi-recently is visit a few museums.

One of them was the National Portrait Gallery In DC

Another was the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art in Norman, Oklahoma.

Both were good, but very different. Fred Jones felt more like a standalone museum than a university exhibit space the way many of them do.

The National Portrait Gallery was, of course, huge. Some of these remind me a lot of how I used to shoot photos all the time at the Met in New York. I think on that time fondly, and even looking back, like a number of those pics I took.

I feel like Museums are really good reminders for me of what art can make me feel, and kind of the point of it all. Especially since I often feel like what I aim for and what I appreciate are so ephemeral and transient, I love looking at stuff that endures.

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Life, Recently 3

Sorry I haven't posted in a while.

Life has gotten... boring? Maybe it's less that and more so that I've been less able to see the good shots in it.

I feel like as a consequence, I just take fewer of these these days. I don't carry a camera as much as I used to anymore.

Sometimes, when I do, I'm happy with what I get.

Other times, not so much.

I feel like it's a cycle up and down. I try to do too much watch too many videos, then I get burnt out after a bit.

Dunno if anyone else feels the same way.

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Back Where I Started

I recently went to Charleston for a friend's wedding, and had a little bit of time to walk around the city and visit some fun spots.

I was very reluctant to take photos both because we were traveling with some other friends and often feel insecure that taking photos can be intrusive or annoying.

I also feel like I'm burnt out on taking and editing photos after some intense travel last winter. Yes, 10 months ago.

I knew I wanted to bring a camera, but I didn't know which one to bring, because I struggled to imagine how I wanted to shoot.

In the end, I ended up bringing two. I always knew I wanted to bring the Practika point and shoot (I think it was a 1200 AF?) since the idea was to take photos and then give the happy couple the camera at the end.

For the other camera, I decided on the... RX100 M1. Yes, my first and oldest camera.

It was such a weird experience. I'd forgotten how that camera feels in the hand. I'd forgotten how the top plate on the flash was missing, and I had to hold it down with a bent piece of brass stock. I'd forgotten what Sony menus used to look like. I'd forgotten how to time that camera, to power on and wait for the long,

long,

zoom,

to

fully

extend.

When I took these shots, I still wasn't sold on the idea that I wanted to be taking photos again anyway.

It wasn't until I started pulling them and editing that I started liking these shots. Well, some of them at least.

I'm not going to do the meme thing and call this camera "filmic". I will, however, say that I love the way this camera handled light. I think the roll-off is probably my favorite from what I've seen from a digital camera.

I also love the way that the dark tones are pulled dark. I think these effects are due to how Sony handles its .ARW files, as well as the sensor's limited dynamic range due to its age and small sensor. Does this change things for me? Am I more motivated to take photos now? I think so, if only a little bit.

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Sand Again

Over the long weekend, I took a trip to the Padre Island National Shoreline, and figured I'd bring along a camera.

We drove out onto the beach and ended up having about a quarter mile of beach to ourselves. We set up a tent, but I ended up sleeping right under the sand. It was a beautiful full moon.

I decided to go big (both literally and figuratively) and grabbed the Sony A7II. I was about to roll with my usual 40mm since it has weather sealing, but, but at the last moment decided to go with the the Mamiya 645's 80mm f/1.9 and a Kipon focal reducer.The temptation here was definitely to shoot everything wide open and get a crazy small DOF, but I tried to avoid just using that as a default.

As a side note, upon coming back to taking photos, I found out that Capture One Express isn't a thing anymore??? I guess it's time to actually learn how to use Darktable.

This lens situation is pretty weird. Sometimes the bokeh is smooth, then sometimes it can look a little jittery. Sometimes it vignettes, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes it's tack-sharp at a given aperture, and sometimes it seems to have a lot of artifacts. I've shot this lens quite a bit on the Mamiya, but mostly with black and white film, and the character is quite different.

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Film and Sand

Last fall, I went to the beach. Specifically, the beach on Saint Croix. I brought several cameras, specifically a digital point and shoot, a fi;m point and shoot, and a gopro. In the end, I didn't use the gopro at all, I used the mirrorless the most, and the film boi when I was getting into the water.

The film camera I brought was the Sea & Sea MX-10 shooting Fuji Superia 400. I was planning on selling it, but thought I'd hold onto it until after the trip.

The camera was what I thought it would be- not the best camera with not the best lens. The camera has a meter but manual controls, but I just used sunny 16 for everything. I'm proud that I've gotten quite good at it!

These shots were struggle to invert and color balance. For one, I've been largely shifting towards editing on iPad, especially when I'm traveling. However, the application I use, lightroom mobile, is not good at flipping shots at all.

Am I happy with these? I'm on the edge. I think I like the way the shots can bring me back to being on that beach or in that water. However, I remember how much of a struggle it was with the camera and editor to get them to this point.

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A Walk in the Woods

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Wider, But Not Necessarily Faster or Better

I bought a new camera. I know, the last thing I need is a new camera, and I definitely agree with that sentiment, but, I found this camera in a hard case, and at worst, I figured I could sell the camera on and keep the hard case.

What camera, you ask?

Yes, and underwater camera! But didn't I have a waterproof, bright-yellow, plastic camera before? Yes, yes I did. If you scroll back on this blog, you'll find some content on the Minolta Weathermatic DL-35.

While this camera similar in many ways, it's different too. This camera is fundamentally a fixed focus, fixed shutter speed camera with manual exposure and an uncoupled meter.

So what's the big idea? Is it usable? Is... I dare even say, good? I've shot some good lenses before, some decent lenses,

Yes, and yes!

The lens itself is actually pretty decent. Definitely better than disposable camera quality, and if you told me that this came out of the Petri Color 35, I wouldn't doubt you. A lot of the sharpness comes from the fact that the camera has a fixed 1/100th of a second shutter speed, so it forces you to stop down in daylight.

The lens is far from clinical, especially since I'm using a lens adapter that changes the 32mm lens into a 21mm lens. It also creates the vignetting and black corners you see in these shots. Check out this bendy telephone pole!

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It's Coarse and Rough and Irritating

I recently took a trip to St. Croix, one of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Remember when I said I wasn't very busy through the summer, but felt busy, well now I am busy, and, to no one's surprise, I feel even busier.

I'm beholden to the academic cycle both as a student and school staff. I'd forgotten how busy things get when there are actually students in the buidlng.

So when my brother-in-law invited us to a destination wedding, I hemmed and hawed for sure, but in the end I'm glad I had the chance to go.

In terms of photography, I've been feeling pretty disillusioned with photography lately. A lot of the time, I feel like there isn't much of a point.

The whole "EDC" finding the moments every day and documenting life, all that is fine, but felt pointless. So waht if something had great light or a great composition, and I was able to train my eyes to see it. If I take a picture of it, so what?

Now, I still have no idea. I don't know what I think or feel about picture-taking. But this trip was a great reminder that there are moments and scenes worth capturing.

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Slowing Down

While this summer wasn't super busy for me on paper, I feel like it's been pretty non-stop for me. I picked up more hours at work, was doing some work at a local non-profit that was part volunteer and part independent research for my school program.

People also like to do things, and travel, and have celebrations, and I've been trying to show up for those as much as I can as well.

While I always firmly feel like I want to and do have a camera with me, It's almost always been the thing that's quickest and easiest on hand, which is more often than not the Fun x70. I know the results I get and really like them.

What falls by the wayside is film. While I really value the deliberate slowness, taking that time is something that's been a bit difficult for me. even having to meter manually, or think about sunny 16 can be enough of a mental barrier to me bringing film somewhere.

Not to mention, as you guys know, the film I rock with is expired. I think it would be one thing if I were loading fresh film in a fully-functioning point and shoot, then taking it to the lab to dev and scan. However, that just isn't the way I like to do film or spend my money. If I wanted that experience, well, I'd just shoot digital.

I still very much like the photos I get. I don't think I'm burnt out on that. I think I'm re-evaluating the process of getting there.

Maybe I take a break from film?

Kinda feels sad to say. I have a number of film cameras at this point that I love to use. I have a good bit of film at my disposal. I've also been getting more and more consistent results with these cameras.

But maybe that's the way the pendulum swings. Maybe it'll come back around again. Maybe I'll sell everything off. Who knows.

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San Antonio

Recently took a trip to San Antonio. We were just there for a weekend, so we didn't get to see a lot.

I was trying a new recipe for this, one adapted from Velvia

This was unusual for me, since Velvia, for a long time, has been my worst enemy. While I was caught up in the "film" trend, especially overexposed color negative film, I wanted pastel colors and low contrast.

Most of the shots were not my favorite. I didn't hate them, they just weren't my favorite.

Conversely, Velvia is a simulation of slide film, and is known for its high saturation and high contrast.

However, you can sometimes overcome that by turning the color down in the settings and using the EV comp. Some of these shots look... much less crazy.

And also, Velvia is kickass for some things that I'd never realized. Look at how amazing this chicken biscuit looks!

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Life, Recently, Again

Here are a couple snapshots from my life recently!

That's all! Just some moments, all in those Jpeg Squares I know and love

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Must.... Reduce... Focus...

I got a piece of equipment I've been wanting for a while: The Mamiya 645 to Sony Focal Reducer. My Ebay alert told me that Kipon was having a HUGE sale, and even though it was still pricey, I decided to bite the bullet.

What this adapter does is squeeze the lens' 645 image projection closer to the full frame sensor size, so instead of the crop factor being 1, it is 0.7. Which means my 80mm lens is 56mm, and my f/1.9 is an f/1.3.

When I got it, I was super excited. After all, shooting medium format digital was something I'd heard all the hype about and was excited for, having shot a lot of medium format film as well as digital.

One thing that was unexpected for me though was how many bad shots I ended up with.

Yes, you heard that correctly. Bad.

But doesn't shallow DOF cure all? Isn't that the cheat code all the "real photographers" chastise beginners for over-relying on?

Well, it turns out, no. Or at least, not for me.

Take this shot , for instance. I was excited for this shot. I think it's a neat composition. framing the angel with the hedges. Foreground has a distance to the angel too, so I can really lean on that DOF to hopefully de-emphasize the white truck in the foreground.

But it just doesn't work. I kinda hate this shot. The out of focus parts are more distracting than they are helpful.

So in conclusion, this focal reducer is not a magic bullet. In fact, I think composing with super shallow DOF is more difficult than composing without it. It can sure do some cool things, but it's another lens I'm going to have to learn.

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Smoke'em If You Got'em 2

The pop-up itself was amazing as well! Obviously, the star of the show is the food, which was a knock out of the park.

Not only was the meat great, the trimmings and sides were incredible as well.

A whole gaggle of friends rolled up to support him, and it was a great chance to catch up with people that I haven't seen in a while.

Another photographer was shooting with a wide-angle lens, so I decided to stick with the 80mm. Our shots ended up looking VERY different, but hopefully these aren't too shabby!

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Smoke'em If You Got'em 1

A close friend of mine is a killer pitmaster, and has been working on launching his small business. Last night, he had his first pop-up, and it was an absolute success!

He asked me to go take some pictures of both the prep work and the pop-up so that he could put them on his website and social media, and I was more than happy to oblige. Slapped on the M645 80mm f/1.9 on the Sony, since I needed the lens speed and full frame's low light.

I'd been around the barbecue process before, but it always asountds me every time. Days before, he plans out when things go into pickle, when sauces get made, and of course, when meat gets prepped and goes on.

I hung out with him for about two hours the night before, watching him wrap briskets after the initial smoke and also season and tie the pulled pork to go on the smoker.

As late as I was with him, he was tending the fire every 30 min through the night, and could only sleep in blinks and snatches.

Truly a labor of Love!

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I feel like every once in a while, I get asked or I volunteer to take pictures for an actual purpose. This time it was Grad photos for some of my friends.

Overall, I think these turned out pretty well. But I think to some extent it's more the equipment doing the work than me. I slap on the 80mm f/1.9 from the Mamiya 645 system on my Sony A7ii. I set my exposure comp to -1, and then make sure I nail focus.

Then in post, I straighten, dial brightness back in, set black point, warm the image just a touch, and put in contrast as I need it.

Bang. I get acceptable and decent looking pictures. I'm glad to be able to do these for my friends, and I'm glad that these are pictures that they'll be able to have to commemorate a big event in their life.

Do I like these pictures? Sure, but only because I like my friends. If I were presented with randomly I'd probably walk right by these photos and not give them a second thought, at least form a creative standpoint.