Larry Clark's Photo & Travel Blog – Capturing Time in Rectangles

A Look Back at a Peace March

Photography, Politics, Technical No Responses »

Aug 292018

Peace March, September 15, 2007, Washington, DC

I’ve been working on my web site lately, converting it from what I started with over a decade ago (using FrontPage and MS Impressions) into WordPress. I spent most of last weekend at Omaha’s Word Camp to get some insight on how to do that. The rebuild is going to involve me manually transferring all my existing content into the new format(s).

Starting the process, I looked at the pages and photos from two events that occurred a week apart in Washington, DC. The first event, on September 9, 2007, was the third “annual” America Supports You Freedom Walk. This is an idea that came out of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s office. The first of these, in 2005, involved online advance registration, free T-shirts, and something that looked like a dog tag. It started at the Pentagon and ended up on the National Mall. It was highly organized and you were strongly urged to wear your T-shirt. The up-front message was “support the troops” but the real message was clear: “If you don’t support the war in Iraq, you don’t support the troops.” Got it.

The second event occurred on September 15, 2007. It was more like the peace marches I shot when I was college student during the early 1970s — sort of. While it was “organized” and had a permit (for far fewer than actually attended), it was a show-up and walk event. But it was different: Looking back at it from 2018, I do see some of the free attitude that was there in the ’70s — but I also see (more clearly now than at the time of the march) the growing elements of tribalism.

No captions (there are stories associated with a couple of the pictures)…Just the pictures.

[Technical: These were shot with a Ricoh Caplio GX100 camera. This was a point & shoot camera that offered full control of exposure. The zoom lens could be set to “step”, so you could change the focal length without looking at the camera: You can toggle the zoom switch all the way in or out, and then tap through the focal lengths. I typically tapped to full wide (24mm equivalent) and then tapped to 35mm, 50mm, and 72mm (the longest focal length). When I brought the camera up to shoot, the focal length was already set. Just using this small camera in the crowd was very discreet.

Images were captured both as DNG and JPEG files. The images were originally converted into grayscale images in PhotoShop. For this round I converted the monochrome images back to color so I could better adjust the white and black points, and then further adjusted some of them using NIK Silver Efex Pro 2.]

Film or Digital? Or is it Size that Matters?

Digital Photography, Film Photography, Photography, Pinhole Photography, Technical No Responses »

Aug 222018

Submitted for your approval, or at least your analysis:

It should go without saying that digital and analog photography methods are each have different genres for which they are more suitable. And there are situations where both can be suitable. However, in the case of pinhole photography, I believe that film is much more suitable primarily because of larger area that allows an optimal aperture (pinhole diameter). When you examine pinhole photos taken on 120 roll film or 4 x 5″ and 8 x 10″ sheet film, the results are much nicer than images coming from “full frame” or APS-C digital cameras. The film image below (which is cropped just a bit from the scanned image) has 42.5 megapixels. The two digital images are from an APS-C camera and have 24 megapixels.

The test shots use a Zeiss Star Chart. This chart is generally used for subjective analysis of resolution/acutance. I was also counting on the background to add some real world features to consider. Shooting in the evening meant much longer exposures for the pinhole camera, but because there was no sun there was less difference in the lighting between the porch and the rest of the neighborhood. Judge the results for yourself. [Click on the images to view them on Flickr.]

Zero Image 69D pinhole camera:

[Kodak TMAX 100 film at ISO 100, 5 minutes at f/222 (it was in the evening).] This picture shows very little vignetting along the sides and corners. The resolution is pretty consistent. And, being from a pinhole camera, you can see that the focus is the same for objects in the far background as they are for objects. This is what you would expect from a well set up commercial pinhole camera.

ZeroImage 69D; TMAX 100, 5 minutes @ f/222

Fujifilm X-T20 with Pinhole Pro 11mm lens:

[ISO 3200; 15 seconds @ f/78 (0.14mm pinhole).] The difference shooting with the digital pinhole setup is obvious. The acutance of the image is significantly lower — compare the clarity of the decoration on the white shed on the far left. Vignetting is obvious. In the lower picture you can see some color shifts on the far left and right. Without getting into technical details, the longer focal lengths required for medium and large format cameras allow selection of a pinhole aperture that produces a better image.

Fujifilm X-T20 with Pinhole Pro 11mm lens. (Color image converted to B&W.)

Fujifilm X-T20 with Pinhole Pro 11mm lens. (Original color image.)

About a Picture – 27

About a Picture, Digital Photography, Photography, Technical No Responses »

Aug 192018

My Most Viewed Photo on Flickr, or,

Digital vs Film; It Isn’t Just “One or The Other”

As of this blog posting, there have been 3200+ views of this photo on Flickr. This has been a bit of a surprise to me, because it was entirely a technical exercise. I’ve always been a fan of the Fujifilm X100 series cameras, having owned the original X100 and the X100S. I skipped the X100T but was able to get my hands on the X100F the first day it was physically possible. And let’s just say that when the camera was officially released for sale, I had this photo ready to post.

I used to take test shots from this upper corner of the Vienna Metro north parking deck because, day or night, it offered a variety of image elements.

Vienna Metro, North Parking. ISO 3200 test of Fujifilm X100F [Click on the photo for a larger view on Flickr.]

If you go into Flickr and view this image in its uploaded 6000 x 4000 pixel version (see Pixel Peeping below), you’ll see that for low-light work digital cameras offer capabilities that mortals can not expect to get from film. The highest ISO color negative film the Kodak offers is Portra 800. Fujifilm offers Fujicolor Superia 1600. With the X100F set at ISO 3200 this image was shot at 1/8 second at f/4 (aperture priority), so I still had a little wiggle room for aperture or shutter speed preferences. With a film camera, perhaps pushed one f-stop, I still would have needed a very good scanner and I doubt the resulting image would have looked this good.

Pixel Peeping…

From the image page on Flickr; on the lower right, click on the Download this photo icon (per yellow pointer below). The box will appear — select View all sizes (per red pointer below).

Above the photo, in the Sizes you’ll have a choice. Select Original (per red pointer below). The image will be big and you may need to use sliders below and on the right to move around in the photo.

Bonus Photo!

I’ll add another photo, also suitable for pixel peeping. I could not have made this on film.

My cat Psotka (Nikon D7200, ISO 6400, Sigma APO 50-150mm F2.8 EX DC OS HSM) [Click on image to go to Flickr.]

Sitting in my recliner, shooting hand-held, with just ambient light (you can see the reflection of my Target floor lamp in her left pupil), with Psotka about four feet away. ISO 6400, 1/100 sec., f/3.5, lens fully zoomed out, noise reduction off, and just a little bit cropped off the sides. If you pixel peep this photo, the floor lamp detail is even more impressive, and you’ll also see the five bulbs in the lamp over the dining table. (The Sigma 50-150 has been discontinued and I found mine (used) purely by luck. It is a bit large and heavy — about the same size and weight as a Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8.)

The point of this post is to recognize that film photography and digital photography both have their place. Digital is not too cold and technical. Analog (film) is not strictly a medium for the past — or those who can’t adjust to the present.

Wandering Back to Film (Part 6 of 6)

Film Photography, Photography, Technical 3 Responses »

Aug 162018

Putting Things Together, For Now

I’m going to wrap up this series of posts by talking about what I’m doing these days in film photography. I’m limited to pinhole photography until the Minox GT-E gets back from being overhauled — which gives me an excuse to spend more time with the pinhole genre.

First, a pinhole picture I’m satisfied with:

Union Pacific “Big Boy” 4023, perched over Interstate 80 in Kenefick Park, Omaha, NE, shot with the ZeroImage 69D.

UP Big Boy 4023, Omaha, NE (Click on the picture for a larger view)

The perspective/field of view is about the same as a 17mm lens on a full frame 35mm film/digital camera, or an 11mm lens on an APS-C digital camera. The detail is sufficient for you to tell what this picture is about, and has greater detail in the center of the frame than the corners. You can see a little perspective distortion in the light colored bearing cover in the lower right. This photo was a bit of a technical exercise for me so that I could better understand how much detail to expect, using a subject and setting with enough visual things going on.

Film…

Currently I’m only shooting Kodak T-MAX 100 (ISO 100, labeled 100 TMAX) and T-MAX 400 (ISO 400, labeled 400 TMAX) black and white film, which was introduced in 1986. T-MAX film has tabular grain crystals which, along with concurrent film technology improvements, results in finer grain and provides much improved reciprocity characteristics over previous B&W emulations such as Plus-X (ISO 125, introduced as motion picture film in 1938 and now discontinued) and Tri-X (originally introduced around 1940, still available as ISO 400 roll film labeled 400TX). Example: A pinhole exposure of 8 seconds with T-MAX 400 would be 24 seconds with TRI-X.

Shooting Aids…

A few things I consider essential:

All: Sturdy tripod with a spirit level on the either the main casting or the center column’s platform/top, and a tripod bag with a shoulder strap. (Try to buy these in person.)
All: Good quality cable release. It should operate freely when made into an open overhand knot.
All: Combination incident/reflected light meter. For the field I use the Sekonic L-308X-U.
Pinhole: Kitchen timer on a lanyard.
Pinhole: “Pinhole Camera Calculator” app for Android. There are also apps available for iPhones.
Pinhole: Table for converting light meter readings to pinhole camera shutter speeds, with reciprocity compensation added. I build these in MS Word and convert them: .doc → .pdf → .tiff → .jpg. I paste the JPEG file into a label template and the label gets printed and pasted into my log book.

ZeroImage 69 Exposure Table

Processing…

This summarizes my current black and white processing.

I use Rodinal developer, the oldest photographic product still available, patented in 1891. It comes as a concentrated liquid that you mix at the time of processing to make a one-shot developer. The most common dilutions are 1:25, 1:50, and 1:100 — I use 1:50. Rodinal is a high acutance developer because it contains no silver solvent to “soften” the film’s grain. (Because it is DOT ORM-D, it must be shipped by ground transportation.) Other liquid developers to consider are Kodak TMAX and HC-110.
I use Kodak Indicator Stop Bath (changes color when it becomes exhausted), Kodafix fixer, and Photoflo 200 wetting agent.
I’m using Patterson developing tanks and two types of reel. The standard Patterson reels can be used for 35mm, 127, and 120/220 film. You feed the film into the reel, gently wiggling the two coil flanges back and forth which pushes the film along the reel’s spiral track. These work well for 35mm film, but there are Patterson-compatible (Omega or Rokunar branded) reels that have a wider lip and make it easier to load the wider, thinner 120 film. Plastic reels must be completely dry when you load your film, since a little bit of water can cause the film to hang up.
To get the film onto the reels and into the light-proof tank you need a room or closet that can be completely darkened, or a large changing bag. You want it large so you’ll have enough elbow room inside.
You also want a waterproof digital thermometer that you can calibrate.
A great app for developing film is Massive Dev Chart Timer. It has a “massive” database of films and chemistry and you can create and save preset file/developer/temperature combinations. The app walks you through each step, reminding you when to agitate. It pauses at the end of each step to allow you to pour out one chemical, pour in the next, and then proceed.

Scanning…

Hardware: The Canon CanoScan 9000F MKII and the Epson Perfection V600 are probably the two most popular low priced flat bed scanners capable of scanning 35mm and medium format film. Their dynamic range is limited, and the resolution claims are inflated (or intentionally confusing). I picked the Canon because it apparently has greater depth of field and because it has slightly better resolution. With either, scanning at resolution higher than 2400 dpi won’t produce any more detail from the film. The next step in flatbed scanners is the Epson Perfection V700/V750/V800/V850 family — about 4 times more expensive than the V600. These offer greater dynamic range and higher native resolution than the low-priced flatbed scanners.
Software: I tried both VueScan and SilverFast scanning software and decided on VueScan. For me, the SilverFast user interface is non-intuitive — a complaint that has been made by users for years. Is also points you towards doing more post processing inside SilverFast, while I just want a good image file that I can work on in PhotoShop. A SilverFast license is good for only one scanner. VueScan offers lifetime updates, and allows you to use it with different scanners. I scan 120 negatives, black and white or color, at 2400 dpi, 24 bit RGB. Scanning the B&W negatives in color helps in post processing (see next).

Post Processing…

Post processing is done in PhotoShop CS6 — the last non-subscription PhotoShop version. I also have a license for Corel PaintShop Pro. Corel appears not heading towards the subscription software approach that Adobe and Microsoft have adopted.
In PhotoShop I use several third party plug-ins. For black and white work, I use NIK Silver Efex Pro 2. Silver Efex is intended to convert color images to B&W, but that means is contains a good tool set most useful for any B&W work. It has tools and generic presets, as well as presets for simulating a collection of traditional film emulsions. However, to open the NIK plugins your image file must be RGB, which is why I scan B&W negatives as if they are color.

In Conclusion…

These six posts range from thinking about it, to doing it, and then to offering a glimpse of where I might go with film photography. Pinhole photography is a new twist for me, and although I haven’t always known exactly what I was doing, I’ve been around long enough to recognize results that weren’t what they should have been, and figure out how to make corrections. And I’ll still be shooting digital, where digital is the best medium.

More to come.

Wandering Back to Film (Part 5 of 6)

Film Photography, Photography, Technical No Responses »

Aug 152018

Changing the Pinhole Camera Lineup

Back in Part 2 of this series I hinted that “There is one little thing that bugged me” about one of the first shots I made with the ZeroImage 612D Camera. Actually there were three issues that bugged me a little:

If you go back to that post and look at the house picture, the car at the lower right corner appears stretched. That’s perspective distortion caused by the image being projected onto the film at a flat angle. Wide angle glass lenses can be corrected for this, but with a pinhole camera, you get a very basic, uncorrected image. This is an aesthetic choice.
There is noticeable light falloff at the left and right ends of the frame…A product of using a pinhole instead of a lens and also the inverse square rule.
The resolution/acutance of this particular camera was a little less than I expected. I’m not looking for Zeiss or Leica levels of resolution, but I prefer to not give away too much quality at the time that I capture the image. There is plenty of opportunity for visual effects later on.

Considering Issue #1

The issue stems from the wide, flat film plane. The farther from the optical axis of the pinhole the image is projected onto the film plane, the greater the “distortion”

Perspective Distortion

However, if your camera’s film plane is curved, all the points left-to-right along the center of your film can be the same distance from the pinhole. If you tilt the camera you may need to deal with “Punch Bowl” and “End of the World” effects, so there is a trade-off determined in part by your shooting style.

Considering Issue #2

This is mostly an aesthetic issue that only showed up on my wide 6x12cm photos. It is even more pronounced on 6x17cm flat film plane cameras. The most obvious solution is, again, a curved film plane camera. In some wide angle cameras with lenses, like my Hasselblad XPan (Part 4), this is addressed by a “center” filter — a neutral density filter that is clear at the edges and darker towards the center. (Recent sales on eBay for used Hasselblad center filters range from about $220 to $400.)

Considering Issue #3

To sidestep Issues #1 and #2, I shot a roll of film using the ZeroImage 612D, but with the internal dividers set for 6x9cm. I wasn’t satisfied, and a look at ZeroImage camera specs gave me a hint. My 612D had a focal length of 40mm, with a 0.25mm pinhole (f/160). The similar (but not as wide) ZeroImage 69D also has a 40mm focal length, but a 0.18mm pinhole (f/222). With pinhole cameras, resolution generally increases as the size of the pinhole gets smaller — up to the point where diffraction comes into play. There is a sweet spot and the diameter of the pinhole increases as the film size increases, which is expressed as the f-stop. Another factor is the quality of the pinhole: The “roundness” of the hole, the thickness of the pinhole’s material, and how clean the edges of the hole are.

Solutions

Since much of my pinhole shooting will be in a conventional aspect ratio, after a couple days of thinking I “solved” issue #3 by ordering a ZeroImage 69D and selling the 612D on eBay. When I got the new camera I tested it at two venues where I had previously shot with the 612D. The results were that step better I was looking for.

ZeroImage 69D (with filter)

[Images from ZeroImage cameras can be found in Flickr’s ZeroImage Group.]

To find a more satisfactory panoramic pinhole camera, I spent some more time on Flickr looking at different curved film plane cameras. While my first solution (issue #3) was a technical one, the search for a 6x12cm panoramic depended seeing what the camera was actually capable of in the real world — although the skill of the photographer is a variable. Those photographers who indicated their camera model on their Flickr pages were a great help. Based on those postings, I decided on the RealitySoSubtle 6×12. These are nicely designed and engineered cameras produced by James Guerin, an Irishman living in France. The only thing I wanted different from the stock RSS 6×12 would be a modification to allow filters to be mounted on the camera — a feature offered on the RSS 6x17F, but not on the 6×12. Fortunately, James has agreed to build one in his next batch of RSS 6x12s.

This is a picture of the front and open interior of a regular RSS 6×12. The curved film plane is a nice piece of work.

RealitySoSubtle 6×12 (Click on photo for Flickr link)

This shows the front of the RSS 6x17F with the 77mm filter mount. The 6x12F will be similar, but camera body will not be as wide.

RealitySoSubtle 6x17F with new shutter (Click on photo to see it in action)

[RealitySoSubtle photographs used by permission. On Flickr check out the RealitySoSubtle Group and James Guerin’s Albums, which include camera-specific albums.]

Now: How do I plan to put this all together?

Wandering Back to Film (Part 4 of 6)

Film Photography, Photography No Responses »

Aug 132018

I Was Already Working On It

To be honest, I was already getting things going in the direction of shooting film, though not with any particular goal in mind.

After I built up my digital camera systems, I hung onto some film photography gear, including a Leica M6 with a nice assortment of Leica, Zeiss, and Cosina/Voigtlander lenses. The Leica, with a 35mm lens, would still be my “Desert Island” camera — as long as the desert island had a darkroom or a mini-lab.

Within the past few years I also acquired:

A Hasselblad XPan panoramic 35mm camera. These were built by FujiFilm for Swedish camera maker Hasselblad, but Fuji was allowed to label them as FujiFilm cameras for the Japanese market. The panoramic format is 24 x 65mm (2.7:1 ratio), but you can switch in mid-roll to the normal 24 x 36mm format.

For you photographers…The XPan is unusual in that when you load the film and close the door, all the film unwinds onto the take-up spool. As you shoot the frames, the film then winds back into the film cartridge so you won’t zap the roll if the back happens to open. The normal lens is 45mm, which gives you a horizontal filed of view about the same as a 24mm lens on a regular 35mm camera. There is a 30mm lens available which, including the necessary viewfinder, costs close to $3,000 — used. I don’t have one of those. [Hasselblad XPan Group on Flickr.]

(The other camera in the picture is a FujiFilm X-Pro1, and the family resemblance is there. Introduction dates were 1998 for the XPAN, and 2012 for its cousin, the X-Pro1.)

A Century Graphic Press Camera that uses 120 roll film to produce either 6 x 7cm or 6 x 9cm images. This is the same model camera that I learned to shoot at Lindsay High School starting in early 1966, so it is a bit of a trip down memory lane. I hadn’t touched one in decades, but as soon as I pulled it out of the box, the muscle memory was still there. Scary. [Century Graphic Group on Flickr.]

A Minox GT-E, one of the smallest full frame 35mm cameras ever built (3.9″w x 1.3″d x 2.4″h — 7 oz. empty). It has a 35mm lens, which is highly regarded. I have two of these — one in storage. I recently spotted the one pictured below on eBay in Germany listed as “for parts”. It was VERY clean and may have sat unused for a decade or more, sticking the shutter and aperture blades. It showed signs of life after a couple hours cycling the shutter. An overhaul will cost $85 with $15 for return shipping. [Minox 35 Group on Flickr.]

A pair of Mamiya Universal Press cameras. These pretty much represent the apex of 120 roll film press cameras, just before 35mm cameras took over the market. I have two bodies, one which I got cheap because the viewfinder/rangefinder was messed up. I had that one chopped of to make a “point & shoot” press camera. Universals take both Mamiya roll film holders and Graflex film holders. It is a bit of a beast. This picture of the camera below (from its eBay listing) is the better of the pair and remains intact. (The other body got cropped just below the white window.) I have one each 100mm (shown), 65mm, and 50mm lens. [Mamiya Universal Group on Flickr.]

So what about those pinholes?

Wandering Back to Film (Part 3 of 6)

Film Photography, Photography No Responses »

Aug 122018

Shooting, Processing, and Scanning Film

There are several approaches to managing images captured on film. Some of them are traditional and will be undertaken entirely in the darkroom to develop film and produce a print or transparency. For many photographers, the answer will be some combination of analog and digital processes. These can be conducted entirely at home, entirely through commercial services, or a combination of the two.

Shooting Film

The skills required in everyday digital and analog photography are similar, but pinhole photography demands understanding and executing reciprocity compensation. By design and formulation film has a pretty straightforward relationship with light for the most common shooting situations: If you cut the light on the subject in half, you need to double the light available to the film by either adjusting the aperture of the lens or the shutter speed. But at some point, cutting the light to the subject in half might require you to quadruple the light available to the film. With pinhole photography you only have one aperture so, once the film is loaded into the camera, you can only adjust the time that the shutter is open.

During daylight hours, with ISO 100 film, a pinhole camera can require a shutter speed of anywhere from 1 second to 11 seconds (looking at my logs). With the ZeroHorizon 612 (f/160) the following times are examples of exposure increased required to compensate for reciprocity failure with Kodak TMax 100 film (a modern film with a very flat compensation curve). The first time is based on a light meter reading, and the second compensates for reciprocity failure:

3s → 4s | 6s → 9s | 26s → 43s | 51s → 1m:33s | 3m:25s → 7m:35s | 27m:18s → 1h:23m

Processing Film

You can send the film out, or you can do it yourself.

Send it out: A few years ago, thousands of film mini-labs began vanishing from drug stores, many camera stores, warehouse stores, and big retailers like Walmart. Digital photography, especially through smart phones had so much taken over that all these retailers dropped film processing and concentrated on making prints and albums. Around the Omaha area, a local camera retailer processes film, but it takes a full calendar week to get it back. A business in Kansas City has one-day turnaround, but there is shipping time (or a long drive) involved.

There are several well established online photo labs. These can be costly (if you are using 120 roll film you’ve already spent $6+): One charges the same price to just develop the film as they do for developing and making prints. If I had them do develop and scanning film from my 6 x 12 pinhole camera, it would cost between $20 and $30 a roll.

Even if you have them develop the film and get their cheapest scanning option to use as proofs, you’ll have to sent the selected frames back to the lab for higher resolution scanning. Consider that if are deciding whether or not to do your own scanning (next topic).

Do it yourself. There are kits to develop color film, but you should be pretty confident with black and white processing before you try color. The most common color negative chemistry, C-41, is demanding. For example, you must keep the developer at 37.8°C ± 0.15°C, and the rest of the chemistry at 24 – 42°C. Oh.

Developing black and white is more manageable. The typical chemical temperatures are 68°F, which you can maintained in the kitchen sink.

You need some stuff: The chemistry can be ordered online, though some is classified by DOT as ORM-D (no air shipment). You’ll also need a developing tank with one or more reels (click on the photo above), a large changing bag, funnels, graduated pitchers, a thermometer, a closet garment bag for drying film (keeps the dust off wet film), etc., etc. You can get an app for your smart phone/tablet that times each step of the developing process. If you haven’t developed film before, see if there are film photography or darkroom classes at your local continuing education center or community college.

The Massive Dev Chart is a section of the DigitalTruth web site and has exhaustive information on B&W film and chemistry.

I decided to stick to B&W film for now and do my own developing. It had been over 20 years since I had “souped” and film (and the last time for 120 film was probably 1977), but everything came back to me with the first roll.

Scanning Film

This presents a more difficult choice. I was going to let the local camera store scan my film, but they pointed over to the scanner they use for 120 film and it was a Canon 9000F MKII flat-bed scanner — $165 on Amazon. It doesn’t take a math genius…and I already had a license for better scanning software. (I have a much better Epson flat-bed and a dedicated 35mm film scanner in storage with my household goods, but didn’t want to wait six to eight months.) A dedicated medium film scanner (to take both 35mm and 120 film) will cost between $1,800 and $2,000. A 35mm film scanner might cost between $350 and $500. Because the performance claims of the manufacturers are a bit opaque, serious research will be required.

Film scanning is not plug-and-play. The Canon 9000F is just barely adequate for the 120 B&W scans, but it gets the job done. I had to make many scans of the same negatives to come up with satisfactory settings. And I’m still working my way up the learning curve.

But (you might ask) is there a little more back story on my wandering into film?

We’ll get to that next…

Wandering Back to Film (Part 2 of 6)

Film Photography, Photography No Responses »

Aug 112018

Picking a camera

After doing a bit of general research, making price comparison, reading forums, and looking at photos, I finally decided to purchase the ZeroImage 612D. The “612” indicates that it will produce 6cm x 12cm images on 120 roll film — which is considered panoramic. The 612 has a set of dividers inside that also allow 6 x 4.5cm, 6 x 6cm, 6 x 7cm, and 6 x 9cm images. The “D” indicates the deluxe version with the bubble level, brass corner guards, and the cable release adapter. I also specified the filter holder. The focal length of the camera is 40mm — which gives it a vertical angle of view of about the same as a 17mm lens on a full frame 35mm/digital camera. The pinhole diameter is 0.25mm, which yields an aperture of f/160. Note that there is no viewfinder.

My first effort with the new camera was another shot of the house I’m living in.

This is a much more satisfactory result than with the digital version from the previous post, with much better detail (click on the photo to see it on Flickr). There is one little thing that bugged me, but we’ll get to that in a later post.

And I haven’t explained what happened behind the scenes: I went from a 100% digital workflow for the house photo in Part 1 to a mixed (analog and digital) workflow with this photo.

To be continued…

Wandering Back to Film (Part 1 of 6)

Film Photography, Photography No Responses »

Aug 102018

I had to stop and think about how I ended up working with film again; an activity that has ramped up during my “Speed Bump in Omaha” period. The next several posts will look back a little, and look forward a little. The trajectories may be a little vague, but hopefully, everything will end up in the right place.

This digital pinhole thing isn’t what they said it would be…

With time on my hands, I had a chance to try out a modern pinhole “lens” on one of my Fujifilm X digital bodies. This was the “Pinhole Pro” lens; a product of a Kickstarter campaign. I made a few test runs and was underwhelmed with the build quality of that lens and the quality of the results. Once I settled down in Omaha, I tried a newer wide-angle version of the Pinhole Pro. It was a little better than the first pinhole lens…

…but still not what I was looking for. There is something unique about the pinhole aesthetic. You don’t expect razor-sharp resolution with pinhole cameras. On the other hand, whatever focus you get is consistent from the camera to infinity. Pinhole photography is an old-fashioned approach that lends itself to form and composition rather than detail — part of this because exposure times could range between a few seconds to several hours. It also means using film; preferably 120 roll film or larger sheet film. 35mm film, full frame digital (24 x 36mm), or APS-C (typically 15.6 x 23.6mm) all lose too much detail, in my opinion. I could see that I needed to do some research.

Google has a lot of leads to places you can learn from. To just see pinhole photography, Flickr is a good place to start. There is a Pinhole Photography group on Photorio.com.

There are several pinhole camera manufacturer’s web sites. An incomplete list:

ZeroImage offers beautiful teak and brass pinhole cameras in Hong Kong made by Zernike Au.
RealitySoSubtle cameras are made in France by Irishman James Guerin.
ONDU cameras are wooden, and come from the Alps of Slovenia.
Kurt Mottweiler produces some very nice, high-end cameras in Portland, OR.
Vermeer Cameras are built by Cezary Bartczak in Poland.

Other Resources:

Pinhole Resource has information and merchandise.
Nancy Breslin is a Washington, DC based photographer.
Mr. Pinhole offers pinhole resources.

Since I arrived in Ohmaha I have purchased one pinhole camera, replaced that one, and have special-ordered another.

More — in postings to come…

[BTW: I ended up tossing the first Pinhole Pro lens into the trash.]

Hmmm. Four Year Hiatus.

General No Responses »

Aug 052018

I need to fix that.

I have some ideas…

“KEEEEEEP!!!!”

Photography, Sports No Responses »

Jun 212014

Every now and then a sports photographer will notice that a lot of the game hinges on one player.

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Let’s set the stage: June 21, 2014. The Washington Spirit Reserves (in red) are playing the New York Magic (in white) for the second time this season. The last time these teams met, Washington trounced the Magic 7:0. Today’s score: 0:0

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Washington is now leading the United Soccer Leagues (USL) W-League Northeastern Conference — after nine games they have won seven and tied two (both tie games were 0:0) having a record of 22 goals for and 2 goals against.

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I shoot for the Spirit Reserves so my photography is a bit biased. And some of you know that I don’t try to shoot the goals, preferring to shoot the match instead (there is a difference). But looking through the almost-400 images from today’s game I realized that I was seeing a lot of this fluorescent green jersey in the pictures: Goalkeeper Caitlin Hoffer.

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The goalkeeper is supposed to be the loneliest player on the pitch — when things are going well for his/her team. Not today. Washington managed to consistently keep the ball on the New York side of the line. New York was able to get the ball back fairly often, but wasn’t able to complete. On the other hand, Washington was unable to make a single goal, despite a LOT of shots-on-goal.

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I may have shot 1/3 of her saves…or perhaps not even that many.

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These shots are in the order they occurred — each shot a single event.

Punch!!!

It takes a different kind a person to be a goalkeeper. The stress is high. A penalty kick is like a gun fight on the streets of Dodge City — the opponents looking each other in the eye and trying anticipate the “move”. If you fail, blame is quick. Still…

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…It’s a great part of the “Beautiful Game”, and one that’s fun to see close up.

About a Picture – 26

About a Picture, Art, Fujifilm X-Series, Photography, Technical, USA No Responses »

May 032014

At the museum, from above…And opinions

I posted this picture (taken from the blog posting that precedes this one) on an online forum — mostly to give the members a look at what a couple of new lenses could to. More of a semi-technical posting than an art statement.

Click Image to Enlarge

Of course this invites comments on the aesthetics from both the well-intentioned and the clueless alike…Which is why I rarely post photos on forums.

I got this one: “I like the perspective on the 4th indoor shot, but I would tighten it up quite a lot. I’d crop away everything except mom, baby and the girder. I wouldn’t crop much from the bottom, don’t want to lose any of the stroller’s shadow. The round things at the ends of the girder would go though, as would the shadow coming in from the top.”

A follow-up post from the same person was a backtrack that decided not to backtrack: “I didn’t say you had to tighten up the shot, I said ‘I would tighten up the shot.’ I just don’t see how the extra elements add anything to the sense of time or place. For me, the photograph is all about the baby and the mother. Everything else is a distraction.” His would look something like this:

Click Image to Enlarge

And from a very superficial point of view he is correct: It is about the woman and the baby. But his framing leaves us with little else, and certainly not a hint of context. To me, it ends up almost as a gimmick shot.

His concerns about not showing a “sense of time or place” should really be about his suggested cropping. In my wider cropping you get a sense that this is probably a large public space. His gives you non of that. The sense of time is not absolute, but subjective or relative. In the context of that larger public space, the connection between the woman and the child is even more apparent — a personal moment in the larger world.

The girder has an interesting look, but in his cropping it becomes a visual barrier: There is nothing beyond. There are some interesting shadows, but nothing that provides any context to the venue. The girder constrains rather than expands. Pretty much “Here it is”. In the tradition of faux photojournalism.

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I like the looser cropping of my original post. For me, it works for two groups of viewers.

For people familiar with the venue (granted, far less than 1% of the viewers), it illustrates the space. You know what the shadows represent, at least in a general way. And you also know how precious these moments are at a busy museum…In a minute or two, thirty people can be standing at this very spot.
For those just looking at the photo afresh, there is a little more mystery. Leaving the angle on the girder (to the left) gives the viewer a “way out”. With the area left above the girder, the girder is no longer a visual barrier, but begins to define the “beyond”. All of the area surrounding the woman and the baby becomes potential subject for speculation.

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I often come across situations where I want to acknowledge people in my photos, but don’t want the viewer dwelling on the details. There is room for debate on whether this is an effective approach, but it does reduce the emphasis on individual people — a sort of ephemeral objectification of the humans.

Lincoln Memorial

The Louvre

Auschwitz

But one last note on cropping the original image…Perhaps I could have cropped out a wee bit of the distracting stuff along the right edge…

Click Image to Enlarge

Fujifilm Cameras and Lenses

Fujifilm X-Series, General, Photography, Technical No Responses »

Apr 272014

Fujifilm X-Series Cameras

Normally I try not to focus too much on the nuts, bolts, and gear head aspects of photography. But over the past year I’ve been transitioning into the Fujifilm X-series cameras. The Fuji interchangeable lens bodies are “mirrorless”, which means that the sensor the captures the final image is also drives the electronic viewfinder and/or LCD display. These bodies were designed from the ground up to use APS-C sensors (23.6 x 15.6 mm for Fuji) . That’s not unique — Many digital single lens reflex cameras also use the APS-C sensor. However, since almost all of them come from companies with legacies in 35mm photography (24 x 36mm) they have to accommodate larger lenses and a fairly large mirror box (behind the lens and containing a mirror for the optical viewfinder light path that swings up out of the way every time a picture is snapped).

Being designed from the start for APS-C, using an electronic viewfinder path (no mirror box), and not having to worry about decades of legacy 35mm full frame lenses, Fujifilm was free to start with a fairly clean slate.

Notes: (1)The blog software downsamples the images in a way that reduces the sharpness. To see the photos more clearly click the image once with your mouse to fit it to the screen and a second time to bring it up to 100%. (2)All images were processed from in-camera JPEG files — which I normally don’t do but wanted to try out for this session. The final images were “saved for web” to 50% of their original size in Photoshop.

Cameras and Lenses

This photo shows the X-T1 (the latest camera in the line, emulating in appearance a classic SLR and with direct physical control of major functions) with the new 10-24mm f/4 mounted, the X-Pro1 (the flagship model which was a groundbreaking* entry into the mirrorless camera world) with the 35mm f/1.4 lens mounted (one of the original three Fujifilm XF lenses), and the new 56mm f/1.2 lens. I’ve had the X-Pro1 for a little over a year but the X-T1, 10-24mm, and 56mm are all very recent purchases. To get a feel for the new equipment I made one of my Sunday morning trips to the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy facility at Dulles airport. To round out the kit, I also took the 35mm.

Fujifilm X-T1 with 10-24mm f/4; Fujifilm X-Pro1 with 35mm f/1.4; and 56mm f/1.2 lens.

(* The groundbreaking X-Pro1 feature is the selectable optical/electronic viewfinder in addition to the LCD display.)

To The Museum…10-24mm f/4 Lens…

This was shot for Robert, a moderator on the Fuji-X Forum. The camera is just a few inches away from the panel so the background just won’t make it into focus (see last photo in this post). Lighting is difficult since the walkway runs east-west (we’re facing west) so almost as soon as the sun is up, the panels on the left are in shadow:

10-24mm lens @ 10mm; 1/1600 sec. @ f/8; ISO 400

View from the observation tower facing north (right side of the tower in the photo above). Extreme depth of field:

10-24mm @ 10mm | 1/170 sec. @ f/8.0 | ISO 400

From the walkway along the east wall of the museum:

10-24mm @ 14.5mm | 1/40 sec. @ f/5.6 | ISO 1600

Under the east walkway/ramp…A gallery of engines that were never able to be displayed before this facility was built:

10-24mm @ 10mm | 1/15 sec. @ f/8.0 | ISO 1600

From a point just to the left of the previous photo, looking across the facility:

10-24mm @ 13.2 mm | 1/10 sec. @ f/8.0 | ISO 1600

From the floor of the museum with the Boeing 307 Stratoliner as centerpiece:

10-24mm @ 10mm | 1/30 sec. @ f/6.4 | ISO 1600

So the trick is to get the entire Concorde into a single frame:

10-24mm @ 10mm | 1/13 sec. @ f/5.6 | ISO 800

An array of small satellites in the space hangar:

10-24mm @ 13.8mm | 1/18 sec. @ f/f/4.0 | ISO 1600

…56mm f/1.2 Lens…

Shallow depth of field for the jet engine in the “under walkway” shot above:

56mm | 1/90 sec. @ f/1.4 | ISO 800

Detail of the Curtiss Helldiver (newly on the floor) using shallow depth of field for “subject isolation” — blurring the background:

56mm | 1/80 sec. @ f/2.0 | ISO 800

The tailhook of the Helldiver. You can see how narrow the in-focus zone is at this f-stop and distance:

56mm | 1/140 sec. @ f/1.4 | ISO 400

…the Venerable 35mm f/1.4 Lens…

An overhead shot of a P-47:

35mm | 1/105 sec. @ f/2.0 | ISO 1600

Museum visitors:

35mm | 1/160 sec. @ f/2.0 | ISO 1600

The Helldiver from across the museum (cropped a little):

35mm | 1/105 sec. @ f/2.0 | ISO 800

…And the Nokia Smart Phone…

The setup for the first of the museum photos. That’s a Benbo Mini-Trekker tripod — perfect for odd shots like this:

Nokia Windows Phone | 1/1050 sec. @ f/2.2 | ISO 100

Old School Photography

Photography, Technical No Responses »

Mar 222014

This camera, a Century Graphic, is quite literally “old school” for me — the same model I used when I started learning “serious” photography back at Lindsay (California) High School in early 1966.

Century Graphic Camera

It takes 120 roll film and depending on the film holder you use, will produce either a 6 x 7 cm (2 1/4″ x 2 3/4″) image (10 per roll) or a 6 x 9 cm (2 1/4″ x 3 1/4″) image (8 per roll). This particular lens is a Schneider 80 mm f/2.8. I also have a Schneider 100 mm f/3.5.

Everything about this camera is manual. Focus is with the rangefinder on the side, through the ground glass on the back, or by estimated distance. Shutter speed and aperture are set manually. If you use the ground glass you can frame the shot accurately — otherwise you do the best you can with the viewfinder. Not very fast — but I did manage to shoot high school football and basketball with one of these.

I’ve seen Century Graphics at used camera shows over the years. If I picked one up I was always surprised at how much of the “muscle memory” I still had — learned when I was a freshman. And so a few months ago I saw one for sale online (as it turns out, from a guy who really had a difficult time getting his act together*) and decided to buy it. This particular camera is a little older than the one I used in school — it has a red bellows and a gray body while my school’s camera had the later black bellows and body.

These days you have to send 120 off to get it processed…And I’m not yet certain how I’ll scan the negatives.

[* Over a period two weeks after I sent him the funds via PayPal, he couldn’t seem to find a box to ship it in, even though the camera had been listed for over a year. I finally ended up droving down to Raleigh, NC to pick it up and to put this sale out of its misery.]

Getting Closer (to the Subject) – Fujinon XF 55-200mm Lens

Fujifilm X-Pro1, Photography, Technical, Travel, USA No Responses »

Nov 102013

What you have attached to the front of your camera does alter your point of view

I’m building out my Fujifilm X-Pro1 kit and I was on the fence about the Fujifilm XF 55-200mm F3.5-4.8 R LM OIS. When shooting for myself or traveling I rarely find a need for a lens longer than 90mm (in 35mm full frame equivalent field of view (FOV)). The FOV on this lens is 82.5mm to 300mm — that far end not being a place I spend a lot of time. Also, I’m not a fan of lenses that change aperture while they zoom. Aperture, in most shooting, is the control that has the most impact on the “look” of the picture and many photographers prefer to have all the exposure controls stay the same over the zoom range, especially if they are using a hand-held light meter or are using flash units.

Space Shuttle Enterprise. (100mm; 1/25 sec @ f/6.4; freestanding)

(Notes: (1) Click on the images to see them more clearly — it makes a big difference. The pictures in the blog body were automatically downsampled to lower resolution to fit the column width. (2) All the larger images you see after the “click” were down-sampled in PhotoShop to 50% of original cropped size in order to save loading time. (3) All the photos were shot with the Fujifilm X-Pro1 — all at ISO 3200 with the exception of the Boeing 307, which was shot at ISO 6400.)

Engine cowl detail of Dornier Do 335 A-1 Pfeil. (172mm; 1/20 sec. @ f/6.4; freestanding)

On the other hand, constant aperture lenses are heavier and more costly. The engineering is more complex, lens elements are usually larger, and that means that the lens, overall, needs to be beefier. My Nikon AF-S Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8G ED VR II lens weighs 1,540 grams (3.40 lb). The Fujifilm, on the other hand, comes in at only 580 grams (1.28 lb). The Fuji is physically smaller, so hauling it around isn’t that much of a chore. Both lens have optical image stabilization.

Self Portrait from Boeing 307 Stratoliner…I’m the shape reflected in the propeller dome with the light at my feet. Note the dust and lint. (141mm; 1/40 sec @ f/8; freestanding)

Pondering the purchase, my research showed the Fuji lens was getting good reviews. The image stabilization was reported to be very effective and the optics across most of the zoom range performed well. Optical performance degrades a bit at the long end of the zoom, but that’s not as much of an issue for me.

Vought F4U-1D Corsair. (149mm; 1/70 sec. @ f/5.6; freestanding)

So I wrote out a check (the advantage of shopping locally — PhotoCraft in Burke, VA) and the next day I visited the National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy facility near Dulles International Airport. As some of you know, this is my lens and camera test venue. The displays inside don’t change that much, but the lighting can be a real challenge….Fairly dim inside combined with the mixed-source lighting, so the photographer is presented with ample opportunities to really blow shots. The longer and slower the lens — the more those opportunities present themselves. (There are some photos from this session that will never see the light of your monitor.)

Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star cockpit. (90mm; 1/17 sec @ f/5.0; supported by handrail)

So…Pictures close up.

Globe Swift GC-1A cockpit. (200mm; 1/30 sec. @ f/6.4; supported by handrail)

Ryan PT-22A Recruit. (156mm; 1/50 sec. @ f/4.5; freestanding)

Nieuport 28C-1 rotary engine & cowl. Note the dust on the propeller. (67mm; 1/15 sec. @ f/6.4; supported by column)

Tail Gunner position on the B-29 “Enola Gay”. (200mm; 1/40 sec. @ f/4.8; supported by handrail. This is pretty much the extreme shot: slow shutter speed, lens fully zoomed and wide open. But the rivet and hinge detail still holds up well.)

Post Processing (PP): Raw conversion by PictureCode’s Photo Ninja running inside Adobe Photoshop CS6 — includes Noise Ninja and some adjustment for detail and highlights. Continued PP in Photoshop including conversion to a PSD file, curves (for a black point and, if available, a white point), cropping, color balance, etc. A final pass with NIK Viveza 2, which gives you a last chance to see how the image looks and adjust lightness, saturation, shadows, etc. Then saving for Web JPEG in PhotoShop.

Checking Out Another Lens – Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 R

Fujifilm X-Pro1, Photography, Travel, USA No Responses »

Nov 032013

A Lens Test at a Familiar Venue

The Fujinon XF 23mm f/1.4 lens was eagerly anticipated by many Fujifilm X-Camera users. Fuji has paid more attention than is typical in developing a line of prime (non-zoom) lenses for this line of mirrorless cameras. With a wide aperture of f/1.4 photographers will have more options with regard to depth of field — which is a good thing. This is a very nice lens.

Walkway leading to the entrance of the National Air and Space Museum Udvar-Hazy Center — Near Dulles International Airport. (1/600 sec. @ f/5.6; ISO 200)

(Notes: (1) Click on the images to see them more clearly — it makes a big difference. The pictures in the blog body were automatically downsampled to lower resolution to fit the column width. (2) All the larger images you see after the “click” were down-sampled in PhotoShop to 50% of original cropped size in order to save loading time. (3) All the photos were shot with the fujinon 23mm f/1.4 lens on a Fujifilm X-Pro1 at the ISO values given in the picture information.)

NASM Udvar-Hazy observation tower viewed from the museum entrance. (1/800 sec. @ f/5.6; ISO 200)

Vought F4U-1D Corsair near entrance. (1/20 sec. @ f/5.6; ISO 1600)

Republic P-47D Thunderbolt. (1/25 sec. @ f/5.6; ISO 3200)

Concorde front landing gear detail. (1/80 @ f/2.8; ISO 1600)

Floor of the museum near the entrance with Japanese Nakajima J1N1-S Gekko “Irving”. (1/20 sec. @ f/4.0. ISO 1600)

Curtiss 1A “Gulfhawk”. Notice the blue ceiling — the result of the differences in lighting, and my selecting a black point and white point (the pin striping) on the plane itself (warm light) which let the background go much cooler. (1/25 sec. @ f/4.0; ISO 1600)

Walkway as airplanes land at Dulles. (1/300 sec. @ f/8.0; ISO 200)

Post Processing (PP): Raw conversion by PictureCode’s Photo Ninja running inside Adobe Photoshop CS6 — includes Noise Ninja and some adjustment for detail and highlights. Continued PP in Photoshop including conversion to a PSD file, curves (for a black point and, if available, a white point), cropping, color balance, etc. A final pass with NIK Viveza 2, which gives you a last chance to see how the image looks and adjust lightness, color, saturation, shadows, etc. Then saving for Web JPEG in PhotoShop.

London 2013: Wrapping Up (& Links)

Photography, Travel, UK No Responses »

Oct 202013

Some last comments…

Air Transportation

British Air: The Dulles to Heathrow leg. If you ever book a flight on a BA 777-200, DON’T get seat 27A (and probably 27K). Under the seat in front of you is something I think could be a combination of the cabinet for the in-flight entertainment and the in-armrest tray tables (row 26 is an exit row) that takes up most of the floor space. I don’t think there was enough room to put package of copier paper under the seat. I had to put my left foot between the cabin wall and the seat support, and my right kinda at an angle sticking a bit into my neighbors foot area. Cabin crew was pretty good — reset my entertainment console.

Air France: Return was London to Paris to Dulles. That’s what happens when you use award travel. Air France has a different take on baggage restrictions. Your checked bag has the normal 23Kg limit. But they have a weight limit for your two carry-ons — 12 Kg. I had to repack my checked bag (made it 22.9 Kg), and wore my coat with pockets stuffed. As soon as I passed through security, I moved the coat and all the stuff in the pockets back into my carry-on duffel.

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

If you lived in London, you’d be crazy not to have a membership: http://www.kew.org/

The Palm House at Kew Gardens. (Click image to enlarge)

Stonehenge/Salisbury/Avebury Tour

Avebury (Click image to enlarge)

Well worth it to spend the extra money for the mini-bus tour instead of the large motor coach tour. David was a personable, knowledgeable guy and the small group means you have a little more flexibility. His company is Stone Circle Tours:

http://stonecircletours.com/

Booking was through International Friends:

http://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/london-international-friends.html
http://www.internationalfriends.co.uk/stonehenge-salisbury-avebury-the-mysteries-of-ancient-britain.html

Around London

Transportation: The easiest way to get around London is by the Underground (the Tube). I recommend getting an “Oyster”, which is a smart card you preload and touch to the yellow circle on the fare gates when you enter or exit a Tube station, or when you get on a bus. You can buy them at each of Heathrow’s terminals. The card costs £5 (which can be refunded if you turn the card in when you fly home). I loaded my card with £25 — and had 70 pence on it after my last Tube trip.

Transport for London: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/

The London Eye: http://www.londoneye.com/

The Shard: http://the-shard.com/

National Gallery: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/

Courtauld Gallery: http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/gallery/

Covent Garden: http://www.coventgardenlondonuk.com/

London Transport Museum: http://www.ltmuseum.co.uk/

British Museum: http://www.britishmuseum.org/

Victoria and Albert Museum: http://www.vam.ac.uk/

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time (Apollo Theatre):

http://www.apollotheatrelondon.co.uk/the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time

London 2013: Day 5

Fujifilm X-Pro1, Photography, Travel, UK No Responses »

Oct 192013

The British Museum, Victoria and Albert, and Mozart’s Requiem at Southbank Centre

The British Museum

The British Museum is the quintessential historical/cultural museum. It combines an enormous collection of physical objects with unparalleled research facilities. Some of the collection was gathered up during the height of the British Empire in locales where the indigenous leadership (if any) had little interest in saving historical artifacts — or was unable to stop the collection activities. Some of those areas, now modern nation states, would now like their stuff back. There is an overarching question as to whether or not the objects would still exist if they hadn’t been collected and shipped to England.

1. The British Museum’s Great Court. This was covered over in 2000, and now is the focal point for most of the museum’s supporting activities. The central structure used to be the museum’s Reading Room.
(Click image to enlarge)

2. The Rosetta Stone…And a constant stream of viewers.
(Click image to enlarge)

3. Grecian Marbles. (Click image to enlarge)

4. Grecian Temple. (Click image to enlarge)

4. Greek Temple. (Click image to enlarge)

5. Assyrian lion hunting. (Click image to enlarge)

5. Assyrian lion hunting — a sport for kings which also symbolized him protecting his people. (Click image to enlarge)

6. Egyptian sculpture. (Click image to enlarge)

The Victoria and Albert Museum

An eclectic collection of modern and old. Contemporary fashion and fabrics to ancient marble statues — and reproductions. A huge collection.

7. A tiny part of the collection, in just one gallery. (Click image to enlarge)

8. Medieval oak sculpture. (Click image to enlarge)

9. Detail of a monument to Sir Moyle Finch and his wife Elizabeth. He died in 1614 — she in 1634. His eyes closed — hers open.
(Click image to enlarge)

10. Moonrise over the Thames, from the Hungerford Bridge. The white dome of St Paul’s to the left, and the Shard on the far right above Royal Festival Hall.
(Click image to enlarge)

Photo Notes:

Because of the way the blog software downsamples the in-column images, you need to click the images to see them more clearly.

Fujifilm X-Pro1 | Zeiss 12mm | ISO 800 | 1/50 | f/5.6
Fujifilm X-Pro1 | Zeiss 12mm | ISO 3200 | 1/20 | f/4
Fujifilm X-Pro1 | Zeiss 12mm | ISO 3200 | 1/60 | f/5.6
Fujifilm X-Pro1 | Fuji 18-55mm @ 18mm | ISO 3200 | 1/35 | f/4.5
Fujifilm X-Pro1 | Fuji 14mm | ISO 1600 | 1/45 | f/4
Fujifilm X-Pro1 | Fuji 18-55mm @ 30.2mm | ISO 3200 | 1/18 | f/6.4
Fujifilm X-Pro1 | Zeiss 12mm | ISO 1600 | 1/60 | f/7.1
Fujifilm X-Pro1 | Fuji 18-55mm @ 55mm | ISO 800 | 1/25 | f/7.1
Fujifilm X-Pro1 | Fuji 18-55mm @ 55mm | ISO 3200 | 1/20 | f/11
Fujifilm X20 | 11.3mm | ISO 1600 | 1/9 | f/2.8

London 2013: Day 4

Art, Fujifilm X-Pro1, Photography, Travel, UK No Responses »

Oct 182013

The Courtauld Gallery, Paul McCartney at Covent Garden, the Fourth Plinth, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Courtauld Gallery

The Courtauld Gallery is a smaller museum with collections of Post-Impressionist, Impressionist, 18th Century, Baroque, Renaissance, and Medieval works. It is located in Somerset House, where the Royal Academy was once located.

1. Paintings displayed in smaller rooms in what was once the main exhibition area of the Royal Academy.
(Click image to enlarge)

Joshua Reynold's "Cupid and Psyche" overlooks some of the Courtauld's silver. (Click image to enlarge)

2. Joshua Reynold’s “Cupid and Psyche” over the mantle and some of the Courtauld’s silver.
(Click image to enlarge)

3. Courtauld staircase. (Click image to enlarge)

Paul McCartney at Covent Garden

…So I was walking towards Covent Garden and noticed several news crews heading that direction. And then, in front of St. Paul’s, the crowd. I had no idea what was happening. It turns out he was promoting his new album.

4. The crowd for a short performance by Paul McCartney — from the back of the black truck on the right.
(Click image to enlarge)

5. That tiny little head on the right: Sir Paul.
(Click image to enlarge)

The Fourth Plinth.

The Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square never got the statue intended for it. It is now hosts regular temporary installations.

6. The Fourth Plinth: This is a BIG blue rooster. The National Gallery behind, and St. Martin’s in the Fields to the right (with spire). (Click image to enlarge)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

A brilliant play at the Apollo Theater in the West End. See it if you visit London.

7. Brilliant Play. (Click image to enlarge)

Photo Notes:

Because of the way the blog software downsamples the in-column images, you need to click the images to see them more clearly.

Fujifilm X-Pro1 | Zeiss 12mm | ISO 3200 | 1/90 | f/4
Fujifilm X-Pro1 | Zeiss 12mm | ISO 1600 | 1/30 | f/5.6
Fujifilm X-Pro1 | Zeiss 12mm | ISO 1600 | 1/20 | f/5.6
Fujifilm X-Pro1 | Zeiss 12mm | ISO 400 | 1/150 | f/6.4
Fujifilm X-Pro1 | Fuji 18-55mm @ 55mm | ISO 400 | 1/40 | f/6.4
Fujifilm X-Pro1 | Fuji 18-55mm @ 19.6mm | ISO 400 | 1/340 | f/7.1
Fujifilm X100S | Fuji 23mm | ISO 3200 | 1/50 | f/5.6

London 2013: Day 3

Fujifilm X-Pro1, Photography, Travel, UK No Responses »

Oct 172013

The London Eye and “The Shard”

London Eye

This is a repeat visit to the Eye, but it’s a great view and worth looking for new images to capture.

1. Through the London Eye logo. (Click image to enlarge)

2. Using one of the pods as a set for a standup shoot. (Click image to enlarge)

3. The “studio” pod reaches the peak during a break in the clouds. (Click image to enlarge)

4. Looking down as our flight concludes — County Hall on the right.
(Click image to enlarge)

The Shard

The Shard is a multi-use building down the Thames from the London Eye in the London Bridge Quarter. The tower has 87 stories and is 1,004 feet high — the tallest building in the European Union. Working down from the observation levels are residence floors, a hotel, restaurants, and office space. A visit to the observation decks is not inexpensive…But it is totally unique.