ken_kuzenski

I've said this elsewhere on photo.net but just MHO: do NOT NOT NOT NOT let a client 'see everything.' It is EVIL. No good can come of it. Danger lurks this way. You can show her more finished edited photos than you agreed to supply and discuss which ones she wants, but do NOT let her see everything. It is like wrestling a rabid cobra while dancing on a bed of fire. There is no possible good that can possibly come from it under any conceivable circumstances in this planetary system. Just MHO. But I'm right on this one.

I hate to sound like a pictorialist ;-) but Nick, I think a photo doesn't have to be razor sharp to be beautiful, and your harbor-and-church shot above IS beautiful. And ees for other two comrades, red is perfect color for being FED cover, show support for people's heroic revolution, da? Now keel moose and squirrel! ;-)

Truth! We've watched our fathers bravely decline and we say "Getting old takes guts" many times. I sympathize with "I knew I was going to get old, I just had no idea how quickly it was going to happen." :-) But back on topic: if you love doing it, DO it! If you don't ... rethink. I gave away two enlargers plus a lot of printing gear a dozen years ago and haven't really missed it. I still develop my own B&W, and I love the smell of fixer on my fingers. I scan any negs I want to keep, and any I want to print get edited with GIMP and sent to a large online printing service. Works well for my simple needs. :-) But you have to do what you really deep down want to do. Tell us what you decide to do!

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That's better advice than what I had. I was going to suggest giving the mom a glass of wine with two klonopin tablets crushed up in it. That should keep her relaxed enough that she doesn't annoy you. *Not that (legal disclaimer) I suggest doing that." Many years ago I did a bunch of head shots for actors, but I had it better back in those film days--the actors couldn't insist on chimping each shot. :-)

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/deutsche-borse-photography-2019-scli-intl-gbr/index.html There are a couple of good photos in the story. I REALLY don't know why photography news, or even call it journalism, would be in the "style" section ...

Man, we are seeing some GREAT night photography here! :-) I particularly love Uhooru's shot of the woman waiting outside the lobby, and Ricochet's Washington photo--you're right, too, that 80mm Zeiss is just fantastic, isn't it? I'll throw one more into the mix, although it's just a quick "grab shot," my father-in-law sitting on the porch of my parent's house, Christmas lights reflected in his glasses.

Love it, Luis--thanks! The old Soviet Rangefineders are a HUGE amount of fun for the cost--not unlike my little Yashica Electro 40=some years ago! ;-)

That's a big issue--there are a lot of possibilities there, and it would be easier to do some diagnosis with someone experienced holding the camera. Are there any experienced photographers around you could ask to take a look at it? The good news is that even if it's broken, you can get autofocus point-and-shoot film cameras about as inexpensively as it gets, so you will be able to replace it easily if you need to. Good luck!

I've been scanning photos for many many years--old family slides and negatives, my own film stuff, and my wife's family photos. One thing I'm sure of: get the best scan you can--highest resolution, most bits, whatever. Because 10 years from when you scan it, it will seem painfully small and crude and simple. Never fails. Technology moves so fast that today's "best" is going to be mediocre in 7=10 years. FWIW. MHO.

Bill, I love the Winston LInkstuff also--just amazing work he did. And we are seeing some fantastic photography in this thread! By the way, I was fascinated by your post on the "don't call me Shirley!" thread about quality control--speaking of amazing work. And Ed's Dublin and akocurek's chicago photo--this is just beautiful photography. Since this is "casual conversations" maybe I'll be forgiven for taking this off-topic a bit but akocurek's great Loyola photo reminds me of a trip wifey and I took 20 years ago, chaperoning a bunch of high-school kids on a trip to Chicago (one of the best cities in America to visit!) We had a truly *terrible* tour guide, and ... you certainly know that part of the Manhattan Project took place at U of Chicago, right? Well, we went past Loyola, and the tour guide told us, "This is the University of Chicago, where America built the atomic bomb that we dropped on Tokyo in 1947." I just LOST it laughing, and said to wifey, "1947 Tokoy? That must have been Godzilla!" :-) Here's a 2002 snowfall shot in my back yard, shot with the various back-yard lights and low snow-filled clouds for light. Shot on 35mm, either with a Nikon FE or a Ricoh SLR. I think it may have been C-41 B&W film but it's been so long I don't remember. I apologize for posting mediocre stuff but it's getting everybody else to post GREAT stuff. ;-)

I'm a little surprised to find that I agree with you on something. :-) But yeah, there IS no "moral principle" in big business as a whole. Big business treats consumers the same way farmers treat chickens: extract the maximum possible money from them (us) and when our value to them is gone, PLUCK 'em. :-( Software licenses are three-card-monte games. Open source software is Nirvana.

WOW! christmas lights and then Bill's reincarnation of Winston Link! :-) Gorgeous, both of them! Bill, the "running alongside with a handheld flash" reminds me of the couple of rolls of slide film I shot in my yard at night. I put the camera on "bulb," then ran around popping my 285 at myself--winding up with lots of "me" in the front yard and a deep -an understanding of how foolish I looked. ;-) Here's one I may have used before but I love it--a "grab shot" from a christmas tree lot, with the proprietor apparently sound asleep. :-)

gIMP. GIMP. GIMP.

Yes, Bill, I've got that part. This is my third Soviet rangefinder, comrade, from people's heroic Krasnoyarsk Tractor and Optical Factory! ;-) Something else seems to be going on, but since the camera seems excellent in every other way, I'm puzzled, and I tend to doubt it's the camera itself. And one thing I've learned the hard way (on an old Yashica TLR) is not to try to force anything--if a control doesn't move easily. turning it harder is not the right solution. :-) It isn't a big deal--I'd like to have 1/60th as the slowest speed if it has to be limited, but I like the camera, so I'll be OK even if I don't resolve the shutter speed issues. BTW, I was just looking at the W/NW photos you posted this week. That Leica lens is something--those images are sharp enough to cause retinal damage! ;-) And the colors really pop, too. Beautiful stuff!

I didn't know what violets were until a few months ago; my wife explained to me what the tiny beautiful flowers carpeting our yard were. I photographed one, and a dozen after that--what lovely little flowers they are! I've also got a photo of a rhododendron bud I quite like--I believe that's what James Lai has above, though I'm still not very skilled at flower identification. :-)

I've had a couple of Zorkis, and years ago a Yashica electro 35 that had a truly marvelous lens. Recently I found a CLA'd Fed-3 at a good price, and it came yesterday. Controls all smooth, camera is a bit worn but very clean and attractive. One thing: 500th to 125th are fine, but I can't seem to get shutter speeds lower than 125th. I'm familiar with Leicaskis, I've read the manual and know to cock the shutter before changing the shutter speed. But I can't seem to get 1/60th or 1/30th. The camera is in such nice condition that I think the camera is OK but the operator (me) is doing something wrong. Any ideas? TIA! --ken

Here's some casual non-confrontational conversation! :-) When I was an apple-cheeked lad, shooting at night was a wonderful challenge--how to expose enough to get some shadow detail but then how to develop to keep from burning out highlights. It was really tough and a lot of fun. I went on a business trip a few years ago and took a digital SLR; just snapped some pix from my room balcony and I was amazed at the quality--with no work and no calculations and no zones. Amazing! Anyway, easy or hard, I love the look of night photographs.

Bill, thirty years ago I spent a couple of years writing press releases for a large university; the releases went to news outlets all over the state and the south. I had to deal with journalists on a daily basis. And--no offense intended if we have any newspapermen here--a journalist's capacity to take a press release, one you sweated blood over to make clear and understandable, and to misunderstand and then misstate it is beyond belief. :-/ So something like the 'Shirley card' issue is well within the normal range for newspapermen. ;-)

I like the photos--that first one in particular!

Wonderful photo! I'm wondering if they're showing off the 'new' nylon stockings? That, or they've all got shiny legs. BTW, I didn't come along until a bit later, but in my day, "all-natural" could include tissue paper stuffed into a chest's foundation garment. Many a poor lad fell for such chicanery! (Don't ask me how I know, OK?)

So true! I only got 14 years of (fairly light duty) use out of my first 500c/m before it needed repair! ;-) (True, though that body never got as much use as I wanted to find time for.) ;-)