light and shade

ORWO slide film

2008-04-23T13:23:00.003+01:00

I was just reminded of this stuff, partly by finding some slides I had forgotten about. I used to use a lot of it, as it was cheap, being East German. Very. UT18 was the one I used most, a 50 ASA (as then was) film of unique colour rendition. It's the only film I know that could give a gold cast to everything, although cyan skies were much more common, as is a general magenta cast. I miss it - time for a digital recreation of the effect.

By 'eck....

2008-04-21T15:36:00.002+01:00

Just how long does it take me to get round to doing anything? Somehow, life always seems to get in the way.

Ah well...

2008-01-11T15:09:00.000Z

"Soon" turns out to be longer than expected. Never mind, we're back on track now.
Tomorrow sees a little trip to London, so there should be something forthcoming...

Coming soon...

2007-06-15T17:23:00.001+01:00

A relaunch - with more commitment!

Whoa! Long break!

2007-03-24T06:53:00.000Z

More coming very soon...

Gig photography with a phonecam

2006-11-26T01:54:00.000Z

It's rubbish, isn't it? But I suppose it's a memory...

Benchmark

2006-11-03T22:53:00.000Z

Odd angle

2006-11-03T22:44:00.000Z

Orange knockers!

2006-11-03T22:39:00.000Z

Italian Traffic

2006-11-03T22:34:00.000Z

Italian Parking 4

2006-11-03T22:25:00.000Z

Italian Parking 3

2006-11-03T22:24:00.000Z

Italian Parking 2

2006-11-03T22:22:00.000Z

Italian Parking

2006-11-03T22:21:00.000Z

For Seymour

2006-11-03T22:17:00.000Z

Misty Valle 3

2006-11-03T22:15:00.000Z

Hoopla!

2006-11-03T21:49:00.000Z

Window 1

2006-11-03T21:37:00.000Z

Misty Valle 2

2006-11-03T21:35:00.000Z

Misty Valle 1

2006-11-03T21:34:00.000Z

OK, I'm not the only photographer in the family....

2006-11-03T21:20:00.000Z

HumbeflowIR

2006-10-06T00:32:00.000+01:00

Approaching Arran

2006-09-19T22:19:00.000+01:00

Blind Parking

2006-08-15T23:15:00.000+01:00

Attempt at faux-IR

2006-07-10T23:36:00.000+01:00

An attempt at an IR-type effect in PS - I'll get there in the end!

Faux-IR

2006-07-06T00:12:00.000+01:00

First attempt with an action designed to give something like an IR effect - I'll have to play with it a lot more, but it looks ppromising.

Bad weather - again

2006-07-06T00:08:00.000+01:00

Should've been shooting the primary school's Country Dancing team on Tuesday - postponed until Wednesday due to a thunderstorm. And then the weather forecast was so bad it was cancelled altogether. Never mind!

The Lard is My Shepherd

2006-06-25T23:52:00.000+01:00

It's quiet....

2006-05-22T00:02:00.000+01:00

Too quiet. No pics, nothing to say - grrrrr!

It's World Pinhole Day today.

2006-04-30T16:18:00.000+01:00

A Glassic?

2006-04-26T22:15:00.000+01:00

Me

2006-04-02T19:53:00.000+01:00

From a theme on the Leica User Group.

Project Darkroom

2006-03-07T23:32:00.000Z

Well, preparatory work continues, so that's at least something!

And not many posts either!

2006-02-21T22:44:00.000Z

Could be I've nothing to say....

No photos in a while...

2006-02-13T01:02:00.000Z

But plans for the darkroom advance. What is happening? ;)

Setting up a darkroom again!

2006-02-07T22:14:00.000Z

Am I barmy? I'm setting up a darkroom again, just for the hell of it....

Aha! At last, a photo post

2006-01-29T00:47:00.000Z

Well, let's see how it works.

A reflection shot from Leamington...

No posts for a few days..

2006-01-26T22:54:00.000Z

And no photos either. Not good, must do something about it!

Time for a photo post...

2006-01-18T22:22:00.000Z

So I'll have to get round to it!

In search of beauty

2006-01-15T15:10:00.000Z

It struck me (whilst out with the camera) that my photography is spent searching out natural beauty, for the most part. Some photographers may make the ugly worth seeing, but it's not for me.

Film and digital...

2006-01-13T23:39:00.000Z

This was first posted to the Rollei List:

I think the biggest problem of digital is the amount
of prejudice flying around from both proponents and
critics...

I have owned a number of digital cameras. My most-used
camera at the moment is an EOS 10D digital SLR. I
still use my Rolleiflexes, Leicas (and C/Vs),
Contaxes, Pentacon 6 and Canon film cameras. All have
advantages and disadvantages, and if I didn't (a)
enjoy using any of them and (b) find that the quality
was sufficient for what I wanted to do with them, I
wouldn't use them.

Digital SLRs have MORE  control over exposure than the
equivalent film camera, because in addition to having
the same shutter speed and aperture range, you can
also vary the "ISO" for each shot. That's probably the
biggest single advantage of digital, IMHO, apart from
vastly reduced running costs. My current digital
compact, the Canon S70, offers an aperture range of
f2.8 to f8, with shutter speeds running from 15
seconds to 1/2000, and it has a zoom lens equivalent
to 28-100mm on 35mm. Covers most eventualities.
Shutter lag isn't really an issue with the SLRs,
although it remains so with digital compacts, but that
can generally be largely overcome with prefocusing,
use of the infinity mode or manual prefocusing,
depending on the model.

I like digital, and I like film. I intend to carry on
using both for ever and a day, and I believe that both
will continue to be around for as long as I could
possibly care. Whatever helps me take pictures is
welcome, and if it happens to be supremely engineered,
have excellent lenses and the F&H label on it that is
an added bonus!

Brighter weather...

2006-01-11T21:50:00.000Z

...but sick, so not much done today. Grrrr!

Grey weather

2006-01-08T22:13:00.000Z

Nothing much worse than deadly grey, dull weather for an outdoor photographer. Rats!

RAW Convertors!

2006-01-07T00:15:00.000Z

I think I've lost count of the number I've tried. Most seem to offer something, but I'm not sure which I like best. I think I feel a comparative test coming on....

The pursuit of sharpness

2006-01-05T21:24:00.000Z

I don't know how much I've spent over the years on getting better quality - and so now my favourite lens is the Lensbaby. Ironic!

New Year's Resolutions

2006-01-04T00:42:00.000Z

My first - get my classic camera review site up and running.
Next, complete a Picture A Week.
Then try to take 10,000 photos this year.
And make some money doing it!

Finally, I want my most important resolution to be 12.8 megapixels....

Oh, and somewhere along the way, I hope this blog is of some use!

The 67 is here....

2006-01-03T22:32:00.000Z

Looks like fun. Should also be a worthwhile tool!

Life and the Lensbaby

2006-01-02T01:28:00.000Z

Not a lot gives me more photographic enjoyment at the moment than the Lensbaby. Yet it never ceases to amaze me how many people just don't get it. But then I never cease to be amazed at the number of people who don't get any photograph that's not a straight representation of a scene. Fair enough, I suppose - the Lensbaby certainly isn't true to life. But it can help get to the essence of a thing in a way that a straight shot can't - and that's what I like.

Leica to be bought by Canon?

2006-01-01T01:28:00.000Z

So the rumours say - not entirely sure what it would mean for the future of Leica.

So much for the snow...

2005-12-30T08:10:00.000Z

What little there was last night was washed away by the rain. No snow photies today!

Thought for the day...

2005-12-30T00:21:00.000Z

Film won't die. At least not before me!

Filters as protection? Pah!

2005-12-29T11:49:00.000Z

Many will encourage you to "protect" your lens with a UV filter. I'm not one of them....in fact, the only lens damage I've ever sufferred was caused BY a UV filter shattering, scratching the glass. I would recommend instead a rigid lens hood, and lens caps when not in use. The only time a filter makes sense for protection is in a very dusty environment, IMHO.

Where's the snow?

2005-12-28T23:12:00.000Z

Never comes when you want it. I've several shots just waiting to be taken, and the snow just ain't there!

Cameras, cameras...

2005-12-28T07:23:00.000Z

SO, just how many cameras could I possibly need? Not any more, that's for sure, but somehow I just can't stop. Latest addition - Pentax 67. This is a camera I always wanted for serious location work, especially landscapes. More when it arrives....