rossb

I enjoy it more then other camera types that I have owned.

Well they are on solid now so I should be good.

I finally got a chance to use my 10 stop ND filter today. It meters out to be 9 stops which makes me wonder. I took a digital camera with me to use it to help me work my way down the stops to a seemingly decent shutter speed but it only goes to IS0 200 and my film is Delta 100 so that only added to the confusion of it all. Anyway I wound up bracketing from 15 seconds to 2 minutes in 1 stop increments at f22. . I will post up a picture later but I still have 8 frames left so I cannot develop it. I'm probably going to purchase another incident meter. I cannot afford a 1 degree spot meter. The other odd thing is my tripod. On my recent trip to Calaveras State park one of the rubber feet fell off on a bridge over a big creek. It bounced around and came to a rest 1 inch from the edge of the bridge so i was able to retrieve it. When I got home I removed all the rubber feet and put a bit of gorilla glue on them and then tightened them up. Today for my long exposure I could not extend one of the legs because some of the glue got into the works. I wound up shooting with a short tripod which worked out fine. It's sturdier that way. After getting home I wrapped the rubber foot with a piece of leather and gave it a tug with pliers and it popped lose again and all is well and my rubber feet are still tight and glued. I do not know if you can buy new feet for it and would hate to buy a new tripod every time a rubber foot falls off. Manfrotto Bee Free. The 8.8 lb support limit version in aluminum. The weight limit is bunk actually as my 645e weighs 3 lbs and is really to heavy for it using a normal 80mm lens.

Went to the Biker rally today and shot a roll of Street Pan 400 that I have had for a while. Here is the first shot of the roll. The film stock is very thin and curly. I decided to go with my Nikon N80 and a 50mm lens. Mostly because it's quiet and shoots blistering fast in comparison to my other old clunkers.

Jamestown, Calif. We ate breakfast there earlier this week. It's a good place. The decor inside is Black and White stuff. Even the people that work there are wearing B/W clothing. They have an abundance of B/W cows in the place and a sign that say's "Save Black and White Cows".

Another shot at Yosemite. Just a little trail we found that was supposed to take you to El Capitan but it became a dead end trail.

Yosemite with Arista 400.

Our short trip to Yosemite was not a great idea. It was so crowded you could not park your car to go for a hike. You could not park your car to ride the shuttle. We finally found some out of the way places to pull over on the side of the road to hike about a bit. Anyway no waterfall photos on this trip. The next day we went to Calaveras State Park and went hiking there. We hiked the South Grove trail (6.1mi round trip) to see the Agassiv Tree which is the largest redwood in that park they say. I met some park volunteers and they gave us some information on places to go in the area for future trips. Lake Alpine is now on the list of places to see.

Headed to Yosemite tomorrow. I was there on the 8th to hike Half Dome and did not take photos as I did not carry a camera. . I had planned to go back the next day and shoot but due to some blisters on my feet from the 19 mile hike I just went home. However tomorrow my wife and I are going back to Yosemite and on Tuesday maybe Hetch Hetchy or Tuolumne meadows will be the plan. . Hope to have some nice landscapes to share in next weeks thread. I also hope my wife will let me take a couple photos of her. I do not post family photos on photo net but they are my real interest in photography.

Michael Kenna is certainly doing well shooting square. It looks great. I just do not have a camera in that format which is why I do not shoot square.

Nice shots this week.

A shot from Point Lobos state Park a couple days ago. Arista 400 at 1/8th second f22 with my MF camera. I used a 2 stop ND for the water but it did not seem to do anything. I have a 10 stop ND coming in the mail and I am going to have fun trying it out. Unfortunately it arrives on Monday evening and I am going to Yosemite for the day on Monday and it will not be going with me with all that water. My wife and I are going to hike up to Vernal falls as I have been telling her about how great it was from my Half Dome Hike on the 8th. We are also going to hit the usual spots like Bridalveil falls and maybe Glacier point.

El Capitan shot with Delta 100 from my FM2n.

Old truck on the side of the road. Mamiya 645.

One more shot from the roll. The light out there was harsh and the wrong time of the day. Almost like the highlights and shadows were reversed from what I would like but I do not have anything new to post this week. HP5 at 800. The Motel is in San Juan Bautista but it's a pay to walk around attraction and all the rooms are decorated with period appropriate decor. I should go in there with a tripod and shoot some of the rooms. There are some other buildings with the same thing going on. It may be a state park type attraction. Not sure about that actually. I love HP5 with my 35mm camera's but in 120 format it is just not working for me. I am very happy with Arista 400 and I think I will try some Tri-X the next time I order film.. I am going to try some Ektar pretty soon and have my son develop it for me.

A few shots from today from the Mission in San Juan Bautista Calif which is just a few miles down the road. HP5 pushed to 800 and a red filter. It was like 100 degrees out and I was only there because my son wanted to take some photos with his Leica M6. The good news is there is a pretty nice burger place with a shaded patio waiting for us. We talked camera's and about Ben Horne the you tube guy that shoots large format 8x10. . It was fun but just to hot for me.

Well good luck to you all. Photonet has run its course for me. The threads are always the same dozen or so posters and every thread breaks down to insults and name calling. Its a waste of time for me so I will say goodbye and goodluck. I will hang around the classic camera forum for a while as i enjoy the weekly photo sharing from film cameras. Good luck.

I am just a guy taking pictures. My negatives are all scanned and adjusted in LR. Not that different then anyone else. I shoot film because its fun. I do not shoot digital because its boring. Others obviously have an opposite viewpoint. Its all photography and there are many ways to approach it. As far as Ansel goes he might shoot a digital camera or not. He might choose a career with health insurance, or play the piano in a rock and roll band. I would not know what he would do again. I think he is best left in the past and people can appreciate his work or not as they please.

Sorry Fred I did not mean to hurt your feelings. The truth of it is I am not that found of his photos either. I do not really like the red contrast filter look all that much in landscapes.

Ansel was of a different era. He is not going to zoom forward in time and sit around eating pizza and photo shopping up pretty pictures.

Papa Tango i think your coffee table book is a great way to showcase your street shots. Good idea. I have not been shooting medium format for very long but so far not a single person has made a comment or appeared to notice my camera. I did take it to the Santa Cruz Beach boardwalk to take photos of my Grandkids and the size and noise of the camera did not draw any attention. I am not going to take up street photography but if i did i would probably use a faster camera.

Speaking of snakes i came across a rattlesnake (Norther Pacific rattlesnake) eating a chipmonk while hiking at Pinnacles National park today. I am a park volunteer so i stayed with the snake to warn the other hikers of the situation. There was a safe route around the snake. In general the park visitors were excited to see the snake.

Your welcome I guess. I shoot a MF film camera and each frame needs a purpose due to the cost. It's that slowing down thing film shooters talk about. So if I do not have a purpose for the shot or the light, situation is not just perfect I do not snap off the $0.50 a frame picture. However if I go to SF I am going to take some photos of our trip in some way usually. . However many times I do not carry a camera. The adventure also needs to take into consideration the camera itself. . The last time I went to DeYoung some worker got in my grill for carrying a camera. I was not shooting it but just carrying it rather then leave it in the car. Our upcoming trip will be without a camera to avoid being in trouble for owning a camera. I did point out to the guy that every person in the Museum had a camera on their person but he was fixated on mine. I suppose because it's big it was threatening to him in some manner. He was quite upset with me and my camera and kind of went off on me for having the camera.. Anyway I am not taking a camera. Obviously I will have my cell with me like everyone. I will probably take a shot of the building from the outside for Facebook. You are allowed to take photos of some of the exhibits. It depends on who actually owns the Art. So carrying a camera is not against a Museum rule. I was not saying that street photography is without value or it's not artistic. I do not know what I would do with the picture after I print it out. I would rather take photos of stuff that fit my needs is all which is mostly family oriented.

Thank you again. I found the link and that is the exhibit that we are wanting to see. I have a daughter that works at the Museum actually. . She has a Masters of Arts degree. It will be fun attending the exhibit with her. My wife is passionate about quilting and I know some stuff about it because of her. Mostly I understand the different methods of construction but little about the Art of it in regards to design and such. We are going to meet up with my daughter and her husband at their house in Berkeley and then go from there. Maybe on Bart but it's just up to my daughter on how to best get there.

Photography is a secondary activity for me. I take pictures like most people. I do develop my B/W film so I guess I am a slave to it. The labs closed and I had a choice of giving up photography or taking on film development. I do not drink the developer but I do recycle it with paints, other chemicals and whatever I may have for Hazardous Materials day at the local dump. I shoot a Mamiya 645 with Arista and Illford B/W films. Family, cycling, hiking and my home take up most of my time. I hiked Half Dome on the 8th and it was a very difficult hike. Turned out to be 19 miles from the parking lot and I had 5000 feet of ascent. At 69y/o I am proud of that hike. I volunteer at Pinnacles National Park on the Search and Rescue team and will be out there today from about 11AM until 5PM. Eyes and Ears on the trail, I carry water for myself and 3 other people. I carry a first aid kit, I can get Law Enforcement, a trail gurney or Cal Fire to do a Helicopter emergency medical lift with my Park radio. We have repeaters so I have communication from anywhere within the park. I have taken Hoist training, Emergency field medicine and am a Registered Nurse so I actually know stuff to be out there. The gear I carry is heavy so I do not take a camera with me. I am out there as a service to the National Parks and for you the park visitor.