Rolleiflex - Colours of the Ontario Countryside

<b><a

href="http://www3.sympatico.ca/mskovacs/pv/Rolleiflex/2/Rolleiflex2.html">Rolleiflex

2.8E</a></b>

<p>Please be patient if you are bandwidth limited. I think you will

find it worth the wait :)

Simply wonderful. There's just not much else to say.

Thank you so much Mike. The smog in Toronto was as bad as I've ever seen it; I took great relief in "losing myself" in the first picture. I guess you're not really lost if you don't want to leave!

I had to take some time with these. You certainly live in a beautiful place. I guess my favorite would be the fencepost for some reason, think it must be the colors. Great saturation but still pleasant to look at. And the shot of your daughter is surely one you will keep for a lifetime.

these shots are makin me think I need some damn elboroom.

Thanks Mike. I like the Irises and the last one. Beautiful colors in them all. And the pink sky... I've never been to Ontario, being a true Westerner in love with the mountains, but your photos are making me think seriously about traveling East.

They're all beautiful! Great colors from the Xenotar.

Mike,

Those color shots are superb, love them all. The one of Emily is enchanting in its simplicity and purity. The long shot has so much subtle detail. The one with irises has a strong design that in its own way reminds me of Van Gogh's. Nothing to do with the compositions or degree of detail, which are totally different; it's the spirit captured in both of them. Bravo! Color and nature are your strong suits. Plus there are your fine portraits,too.

 

In an earlier thread with your self portrait with your Nikon outfit, that I thought was outstanding, I forgot to mention I also liked the one of your daughter very much.

 

Keep surprising us!

Simply beautiful pictures!

Incredible! Now, if I could just walk through my monitor and into those photos... hmm.

Simply Superb - beauty and peace all around. Now I know why the French settled in Canada - they had never been able to conquer England, and there they found a river Thames, fields of yellow Rape Seed Oil, Phlox in the woods as blue as our Bluebells, and they must have thought "So here is our own England" ........

Got sidetracked trying to respond to this one last night - wonderful clarity, Mike. Worried a good Rolleiflex might be way out of my league $$-wise at this point, but would certainly love to use one.

 

I think my local shop has one on the shelves, back door has a nasty ding, not sure of the lens type. Will try to get by there today. Price is only around $150 or so.

Rollei versus the rest ... just being contentious here, but I'd imagine that unless you're getting a Planar or Xenotar in a Rollei, for the TLR experience you might as well pick up a really ancient 'Flex' from a binbox (thinking of Sam Liu) or a much more recent YashicaMat with a Yashinon. The long-running Rolleiflex T (which would be very nice) seems a tad overpriced on the Bay in comparison. <p>So shoot me!~

Beautiful pictures Mike, especially the one of Emily. The expression on her face is priceless, exactly the kind you want on children, not posed. She obviously enjoys being out with dad. The one of the field of Yellow Rape and the farm is very reminiscent of the fields of the Burgundy region of France. I'm sorry you didn't get the deer, but the irises more than make up for it. I've lived all my life in Southern Ontario, but never seem to get out of Toronto. I'm going to have to change that, and take a trip out your way one of these days!

Sandeha - My idea of a Rolleiflex would be the Xenotar, hence, out of my $$-league for the time being. I doubt the one for sale near me is a Xenotar. I've owned Ciroflexes and still own a Reflekta, so TLR is part of my toolkit. Im still mighty partial to my Kowa 6.

Thanks all - I will definitely be trying some NPS in this camera again. Scanning print film is more problematic but the scanner does a better job extracting shadow detail than with colour transparencies.

 

My advice to anyone travelling through this region with time to spare is to get off the stinking 401 motorway and drive some backroads.

 

I have shot a few different Rolleis with different lenses for extended periods of time. While they are all good, the Xenotar is worth saving up for IMO. For $150, if it has a Xenotar/Planar jump on it unless the lens has been resurfaced with sandpaper. The back door ding is something to be concerned about but not at that price. Look carefully for dings in the front. That's where you can get into trouble.

Nancy: Mennonite country alone could keep you busy shooting for years! I'm really in the process of rediscovering rural Southern Ontario, which is evaporating in the Toronto region at an alarming rate.

 

I'm sorry he hasn't responded, but Mr Gene M's work has really given me an awakening of what is going on with urbanisation, which is also gobbling-up his native Massachusetts. I don't like the idea of our country driving farmers into bankrupsy and us onto dependence of foreign countries for cheap food. Who will they take the most care of in case of a crisis? NOT US! (and why should they)

Actually, I did take a drive out to Mennonite country last year, but since I was with my mom and daughter, it was kinda difficult to keep stopping and jumping out of the car over and over. I think I'll be taking a day with a photographer girlfriend of mine soon, and I think we'll be going out that way. Any ideas for places to visit? I agree that the urbanisation of the country is getting out of hand, especially just to build stupid rows of cookie-cutter houses! Makes me angry and sad to see acres and acres of what was once rich farm land being turned into housing developments. This kind of thing is really prevalent up the 400 and I'm assuming along the 401 as well. This Saturday I'm going to my family reunion near Alliston, so I'm hoping to escape and do some shooting.

Mike, the strangest thing just happened. Right after I answered your posting about Mennonite country, a Mennonite family walked right by my office here at the hospital. Weird!

Not wierd at all here as our hospitals have a catchment area from Tobermory to Windsor. Lots of Mennonites in the hallways all the time.

Maybe, but not so common here in Toronto! But I have seen them lining up to get into the U.S. Consulate.

Wonderful stuff. I also have a 2.8 e model rollei, and it is without compare. I have lots of cameras, but it is in a league of its own.

Mike, those are great pictures. We certainly live in a beautiful province. Last fall we saw some absolutely gorgeous landscapes in Prince Edward County (south of Belleville). In about a month we are going on vacation -- staying in Southampton (on Lake Huron, about an hour south of Tobermory) I haven't spent any time in that part of Ontario and am looking forward to it.

 

Did you use a tripod for these pictures? What are you using for scanning?

Shots #2 and #3 were handheld, the rest on a tripod because of low light and small apertures. All of the shots on the previous page (B&W) were handheld except for the self portrait.

 

TLRs work very well as handheld shooting platforms if you use a strap and pull it down taut.

These are beautiful, Mike. I love the natural colors and the peaceful feeling here. The tree is great, and of course your daughter is beautiful. Even with my 28.8 dialup-worth it.