I think this is a crow or raven, soaring out over the Grand Canyon. With the 1 Nikon 70-300mm lens, this was a lucky shot – I saw the bird, but was busy with a film camera – and snatched the V3 and aimed.
Month: July 2017
Tripod or Not?
I rummaged through the pile of camera gear cluttering the studio. And then I discovered a tripod I had bought some time ago: The Manfrotto MKC3-H01. It will fit in my suitcase! And, with small cameras, it should be just fine.
It’s really small and lightweight. I like the lever clamps, instead of twisty ones. It’s got nice features, such as a swivel head, thumb thingies, and can handle up to 3.3 lbs (2.5 kilos) of camera. Given I am bringing only small and light – except when the V3 has the 70-300 on it – it should work out really well.
A tripod is honestly something I have been wanting to bring as I want to get the long exposures you can get with ND filters. The smoothness of water can make for great photographs – and I want to do this with both film and digital. Maybe I will even do a video, just for grins, but they aren’t things I really ever do. So, problem solved, eh? At least, I think it is!! An 18-inch-tall-when-compacted tripod is a pretty cool thing.
A Portrait in UltraMax 400
This is the other half, taken with UltraMax 400 and the Nikon F3HP and scanned on the Pakon 135. A bit of retouch in LR, but overall, there is little difference. The skin tones were important, because he has a rather ruddy complexion (not as bad as mine), and sometimes toning it down removes a lot of other qualities in an image. Above is the “retouched” and below is the untouched.
Photography Decisions for Vacation
Yesterday, I packed up the rest of the choices I’d made for the photographic gear I want to take on our trip. It was a really hard, but choices had to be made.
My first decision was the bag size. I have back packs and over-the-shoulder bags of varying sizes, along with a sling bag. I decided on an over-the-shoulder bag, which is roomy, but not large, and is now carrying the following:
- Nikon V3
- 1 Nikon 70-300mm
- 1 Nikon 10-110mm
- 1 Nikon 6.7-13mm
- 1 Nikon 10mm
- 1 Nikon 18.5mm
- 1 Nikon 32mm
- Olympus OM-1n
- Olympus Zuiko 50mm
- Olympus Zuiko 35-70mm Close Focus
- 49mm yellow, orange, and UV filters
- 55mm ND filters
The OM system and the Nikon 1 system were chosen because they are small and lightweight, but deliver good quality.
I am also bringing 12 rolls of 35mm film, in black and white, and in color, ranging in speed. It’s still a toss-up between the XA4 and the Trip 35, but I am inclined to take the XA4 as it is more diverse, smaller, and has a covered lens. No medium format camera made it to the final mix. I may bring a tripod. I am also packing some art supplies and my Kindle. Some knitting, too. Headphones. Chrome Book. Plugs and cords and a power strip. Yeah, stuff. Clothes, shoes, and a toothbrush!
UltraMax 400 in the Weeds
Initially, I was not especially thrilled with this film, and I hate to say it is most likely because of the packaging is yellow and blue, not colors I like together too much. Agfa Vista 200 has a decidedly more appealing more cheery packaging for me – love the red!
However, now that I have been using it a lot, I am actually rather pleased with it. I can push it in post, I can leave it be, I can mess up the exposures. It’s not too expensive. Neither the UltraMax nor the Vista have the colors of Ektar 100, but when you are using a new-to-you camera, a good length of inexpensive, reliable film for test purposes is necessary.
I admit, I love bright, impressionistic colors and strong contrast. Subtlety is not a strong suit in my preference range, but here, the delicacy of tonality and shading and contrast works to catch that magical time of day when the color fades away . . .
Ink, Yarn & Beer 