Ink, Yarn & Beer

Gonna Keep It! (or, The Beast Can Stay)

Awhile ago I decided to move more into the medium format world of film photography. I have a Yashica D TLR (6×6) and a number of 6×6 folders from varying years, a 1930s 6×9 Voigtlander folding rangefinder, and now have a Mamiya 645 (6×4.5) and, the latest, a Pentax 6×7 beast with a 135mm f4 macro lens. This last one is the subject of today’s commentary. You can google it, as well as read about it here on Wikipedia. It’s not something to take lightly – it’s quite the weapon!

Okay! First, as the name implies, it takes a 6×7 size negative, which is big, big, big. Not as big as a 6×9, but still bigger than a 35mm by a lot. Here is a good article on the size comparisons, complete with images.

I would imagine that, as with digital, the larger the negative, the more important the quality of the image – focus, sharpness, and so on. Of course, film is not digital and has its own personality, but it still needs to meet certain criteria, I am sure.

The first roll of film I ran through the camera was basically a disaster. 3 out of 10 images were there, and all were under-exposed. For Portra 400 film, they were trash. This made me wonder about the camera – does it work, are there problems? Having read about the camera and the trickiness of loading the roll of film, I gave it another try with two more rolls. The first three photos below are the first roll.

The one above was worked on in post, just to see if anything could be done with it. Not much could be to save it from its ugly self. The ones below are SOOS (scanner), and they are really awful, too.

To make the decision to keep or return the camera meant I needed to do some photography in a very controlled environment. I needed to check the aperture and exposure factors. Out came the tripod and the light meter. Bracketing and moving things around. I took about 20 pictures in about that much time – maybe longer – and documented what I did. In doing so, I learned a bit more about the camera and the lens, as well as had a rather scientific bit of testing.

The effort was worth it, and I think that this beastie is going to be fun, and a challenge to my normal scatter gun approach to things. Below are the results, taken using Lomography 100 Color Negative film (120), with some cropping and touching up in post. I didn’t check for spots, come to think of it, so I may need to do that, too. I did clean the negatives before scanning, and used Digital Ice in the scanner . . .

Altogether, very pleased with this camera and the lens. Lomo 100 did a fine job. It’s doing quite well for a camera that dates from ca. 1969 (older than my husband!). I think I want to get a waist-level view finder for it and probably some shorter lenses. The Yashica TLR is a waist-level viewfinder camera, and I really enjoy that; hence, a waist-level viewfinder for the Pentax, and perhaps the Mamiya. Unlike all my other medium format cameras, the Mamiya and the Pentax allow for lens changes and other bits that the Yashica and the folding cameras do not have. That is for the future, though, as I think this camera has a lot to teach me in the meantime.

The Edge of the Wood

More work with wet-in-wet, this time accompanied by using frisket to keep the areas of the birch trees white, and to keep a few other bits white, too. First step was to paint the sky across the trees, then the orange bracken and other foliage. From there – just a few details, some negative painting, and so on. I think there could be more contrast on the birch trees, but stopped to keep myself from overworking it.

Late Afternoon

I’ve been really into doing wet-in-wet watercolors this month, and think it may become a theme for the month of January. So many areas of watercolor benefit from it. Skies seem to lend themselves to it, but so do fog and reflections.

Here, a winter landscape, partly from memories of those lovely, cold afternoons in upstate New York or rural Illinois, when the clouds were low and dark, snow was on the ground, but somehow, the sun made it through, casting shadows and a bit of color on the vast swaths of white.

Timed Studies

As I am planning on running out to meet up with a friend in a short bit, I decided to do some quick studies in watercolor.

The one below was done in 15 minutes, some pencil lines to give it some direction.

The colors were really fun and I made them really strong compared to what I was inclined to do. The results were pleasing (colors) and interesting. Even when you do a quick study, you have to think about what is wet when you paint over it.

The next one, below, I allotted 30 minutes for with the lessons of painting onto too-wet paper too soon.

I think the second one was more successful. I also did not use any pencil lines but used the white of the snow as a shape to paint around. That was a challenge in itself!

Quick studies are quite satisfying – no masterpieces expected!

So, Wuzzup?

Wuzzup?

I have been following my New Year’s resolution pretty steadily. Painting, photography, study, socializing, reading, and doing things I enjoy. Somewhat scheduled, somewhat not. I kept a record for about a week of what I did in the morning and afternoon – in between which was lunch and a nap usually – and thought about how I felt about my day. In general, I found I enjoyed each day a great deal more. I didn’t do the same things every day (other than the usual boring daily routines), but found I did enough to find satisfaction.

Doing some watercolors was satisfying. I hope to do some later this morning before heading out to meet up with a friend. I haven’t done any gouache this year, but that is also on the agenda. Here are some of the paintings.

I also read some fiction – a favorite novel from the 1940s – and started some nonfiction, a book about photography I received as a Christmas present, Behind the Camera. It’s nice to sit outdoors with a book and a cup of coffee or tea, put my feet up, and read. The weather has varied from chilly to warmish, and so have I!

Add to that, I have been learning about a camera which I recently bought: a used Pentax (Honeywell Asahi) non-MLU (mirror lock-up) 6×7 camera. It has been frustrating and fascinating. First, the thing weighs in about 5 lbs. Lugging it around is amusing. I pulled out a tripod. It takes 120 film, and you get ten 6×7 images out of it – supposedly. Out of the 10 exposures I made, only 3 came out, and all came out under-exposed. No idea why.

As a result of these mishaps, I loaded up more film, and logged every picture I took. And did it with a second roll, too. I bracketed my images as well as varied exposure factors to get the same picture exposures (i.e. 8 @ 1/30 then 5.6 @ 1/60) using Lomo Color Negative 100 film. I took the two rolls yesterday morning, and dropped them off around noon.

Here are the three images from the first roll, which is Portra 400 – what a waste!

Pentax 6×7 Kodak Portra 400

Yashica D – Fuji Pro 400 H

I am really curious as to what comes back from the photo lab – hopefully fairly soon. If these are also dismal failures, back the camera goes to the vendor!

So, nothing exciting in my life, like flying to Paris for lunch on a whim. But, some satisfaction, and some frustration, just like real life!