joel aron

Marin Film Works, in San Rafael.

b&w in a few hours, and c6 same day. very nice people, and Tom, who use to own 'Pics' moved in, so you now have even more knowledge behind the counter.

yup.. ya under developed.

Also.. i'm sure you know this, but you're going to have grain the size of golf balls.

Fazil,

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I'm a visual effect artist and supervisor for feature films. I learned most of what I know about photography from my times on location, and from my wife, who has 4 years of photography school behind her... that she doesn't even think about any more, and enjoys watching me make mistakes. ;) For the most part, I spend all my daylight hours working on a computer, adding things that were not there on the day they were shot. Here's a list of the <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0036884/">movies</a> I've touched so far.

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Right now.. my day job supports my camera lust... just barely. ;)

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cheers,

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-j

fazil,

i love dealing w/ keh.com, and even more so with some of the people that have been on this forum (rangefinder) for a while. It's where I found my 35mm Summicron f2 ASPH. ..and it was perfect. The cameras I bought local. The Hasselblad from a store, and the M6 from craigslist.

Just know what you're looking for, and ask good questions here. Almost all of my questions were posed here before I bought anything. Some great advice.. but remember, opinions are like asses... everyone has one. That runs even deeper when it comes to cameras ;) ..because everyone likes something different.

Yeah.. i'm in the movie biz, and going back to film made me feel like a newbie as well!

trust your eye.. and search here and flickr for the lens that most appeals to you eye. take it from there!

cheers

-J

Fazil,

My suggestion to you, pick up a working M6, and any lens you can afford (50, or 35). The Hasselblad will follow close behind in your collection. Also, look for a Hasselblad 500c, or 500cm to get started. Almost no difference between them (cm and later c's, you can swap out the focus screen).

I have both M6 and the 500cm. Sometimes I wear both out, hidden under my jacket, one on each shoulder like a hitman.

For accurate detail.. it's all about the lens, not the camera. On a 35 rangefinder, you're not going to get as close as you want to be for that kind of detail, but that's expected w/ a 35. I've had some success w/ detail for abstract and floral w/ my 35, but it can't hold a candle to the clarity of a longer lens.. or a Hasselblad. ;)

Start with anything. That's my advice. grown from there. You may find your path changing as you go along it. I had no idea that I wanted to try 4x5 till I had both M6 and the Hasselblad.

good luck!

hi Mike,

I was right there with ya about a year ago. I tried it all out with a $170 Canon 8600f for scanning, and developing in the kitchen sink.

I was shooting digital only, and then after picking up an old 35 manual camera to test my old skills.. that led to buying a Hasselblad 500cm, followed closely by an M6. When I was not happy with the flatbed scans from the 35mm images..

That led me to buying the Nikon 9000ED a few months ago. It was either that, or a full wet lab.

I am very happy with the Nikon. (beyond words). It will take you on a bit of a learning curve to get scans just the way you want them, but for the most part, quality is very satisfying when it all comes together.

For the last year, I've been printing with my Epson R1800. ..and that's soon to be replaced w/ the Canon pro9500, as I mainly print b&w, and the Epson falls flat in that arena.

I print on either Hahnemuhle photo rag and pearl, or Crown pearl. The prints rival, and in some cases, surpass that of wet prints.

Do add a print and monitor calibrator to your budget! Will save you on ink and paper in the long run!

Good luck with your endeavor!

awesome!

thanks for your help everyone!

I guess it's like a manual flight computer... that needs Viagra.

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Sorry for the hammy subject line.. couldn't resist.

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So, at the local camera store, and fishing around through the camera cases

(because I can't find anything to buy), I stumble on a brown 1950's 2pc. Leica

leather M camera case in pretty good shape! Controlling myself, I ask how

much.. when I pull the case out of the 'cheap old camera case' bin, I notice a

small 2"x1.5" pouch on the strap. At the same time I hear "I dunno, say $30?",

I look in the pouch to find a perfect condition Sekonic manual light meter with

a flip up door.

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sold.

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The meter works, to some degree, but I can't find any information on it. Anyone

have any ideas? It does respond to light, but isn't effected by any ISO

setting. If anything, I have my first vintage shelf wart... with a flip up door.

<p>

...case works great when I don't use the Leicavit winder...

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<center><img src="http://www.joelaron.com/gear/sekonik_meter-4.jpg"></center>

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<center><img src="http://www.joelaron.com/gear/sekonik_meter-3.jpg"></center>

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<center><img src="http://www.joelaron.com/gear/sekonik_meter-2.jpg"></center>

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<center><img src="http://www.joelaron.com/gear/sekonik_meter-1.jpg"></center>

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Thanks for your help!

<center><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1020/637569046_137373852c_o.jpg"></center>

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Leica M6 : 35mm Summicron f2.0 aph

<a href=" title="Photo

Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1067/597834566_f2f5bcd536.jpg"

width="426" height="500" alt="Modern Man" /></a>

<br>

<b>Leica M6 : 35mm Summicron-M f2.0 ASPH : Fuji Pro 400Z</b>

Vic.. brilliant information!

Thank you so much for finding these quotes, I appreciate it very much!

With this information, I'll scrutinize the body a few more times before committing.

Yeah, the desire for an M3 is very strong. It's a little stronger than my desire for a IIIf.

Thanks again!

hmm.. sounding like a second body is the best possible scenario. So many times I wish I could swap backs like my Hasselblad, one w/ color slide, the other b/w. And to have a 50 on one, and a 35 on the other, seems like the best gear to take into battle.

<br><br>

Michael, thanks for your interest! It was the Pacific Sun's Photo Contest, and the image won 'Best of Show', Here is a link to the winning image:

<br><br>

<a

href="http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/onblack.php?id=525918368&size=Large" title="Photo Sharing"> "Silver Peso 'solids win'"

</a>

<br><br>

keep the suggestions coming before my wife finds out! ;)

Stuart... hours... not minutes. ;)

John. Great advice! That 90 does rival a doorstop. I had not thought about a 21 or 24.. great idea! I love wide angle..and miss my 14 sigma asph on my Canon. Should of never given it back to work. ;)

What would you do. Thoughts please. :)

<br><br>

So, I'm infected with a sickness of owning cameras, and using them. I use my M6

more than anything, and shoulder it with me wherever I go. On it, is the 35mm

f2, and in the bag, is always the 50 DR. My thought.. well, you never know when

you could need to slap the 50 on!

<br><br>

So.. just recently, I won a Canon G7 in a photo contest, along w/ $150 cash.

The last thing I need, is another point and shoot, when I have my little Lumix fz5.

Plus, I have a full Canon DSLR rig.

<br><br>

At the shop where the G7 is coming from, is my watering hole for used camera

gear. Right now, they have a ser# 8XXXXX M3 DS, with no dings, and slight rust

around some of the screws. Shutter curtain responds well at all speeds. (wow,

what a great viewfinder those M3's have!) There are asking $650. (suspect!)

<br><br>

They also have a 90 Summicron from Canada. Asking the same.. $650.

<br><br>

Figure, trade the G7, toss in some cash.. and walk away with some more metal.

Would you:

<br><br>

<b>

(A) get the 90 to add to your noses for an M6 in wonderful shape

<br><br>

(B) get another body to keep the 50 DR happy

<br><br>

© sell the G7, live large on some extra cash for a few hours

</b>

<br><br>

thanks for your input!

last one is stunning! can stand on it own for sure.

nice! ...i wish you all would stop making me want an M8.

Lutz, John, Paul and Blake,

thank you so much! And Lutz, thank you suggesting to convert x22 to b&w.. I got stuck in the groove of 'you shot color slide, keep it that way'. And ya know.. he was very comfortable with a small crowd in a tight space. He became one of us in a second. It was amazing.

For the slideshow, I've been addicted to Lightroom, and in the 'Web' function, there are several flash, and html preset slideshows. You can alter all of them to fit what you want as a final look. It's fast, and a true pleasure to use... as it all of Lightroom when you use it for a while. I love it! The best $200 you'll invest in your photography.. for software that is.

I would give anything to go back in time (say, 1974) to photograph Carson. We'll have to dream.

We do have Leno coming through here next week, and rest assure, that I'll be there with my M6. I'm a *huge* motoGP fan, and motorcycle racer, so I'm sure we'll have a good ice breaker if conversation sparks up. Anything to get that good, relaxed candid.

On a cool side note, I managed to get a model release this week from Conan for the image of him and ET!

thanks again for taking the time to have a look!

..and check out Lightroom. Awesome package.

A few weeks after his visit to ILM, where I took

<b><a href=" image

just outside my office, several of us were invited to his show for the day our

boss, George Lucas was on as a guest.

<br><br>

When the show was over, we were all escorted back to George's vacant dressing

room (man, he was out of there fast). After a few minutes of consuming George's

abandoned drinks, and snacks, Conan walked in.

<br><br>

What a damn nice guy! He accepted the image of mine with a very sincere 'thank

you!', as I don't think he was expecting a full photo rag print in a frame! We

also gave him a thank you card, done up by our art department, with a rendition

of Conan in his motion-capture suit. A suit he will not soon forget.

<br><br>

He hung out with us for about 30 minutes, and when I wasn't laughing, I was

shooting. I was the last person to say good buy to him, and the parting words

were all about his new Leica Dlux 3.

<br><br>

Here are a few images of that evening.. hope you enjoy them!

(of course I plan to edit them down, I just wanted to share them with all of you

in the rangefinder forum first) :)

<br><br>

<b><a href="http://www.joelaron.com/ConanBackStage/">Conan Backstage in San

Francisco</a>

</b>

Ahh... well, if only the 2am club were within drunk walk distance. ;)

So, seriously, Neopan 1600 is ISO rated at 640!? That's wild. I'll have to try 400, and see what I get.

I was going to try D-76.. but was concerned about losing detail. The 1:1 dilution helps that I guess? I'll go grab a gallon and try it out this weekend. Thanks for the tips!

..and Clive, thank you! I am being *very* critical in my choices so far for the series.

Well, I'm now a regular.

<br><br>

I do fear, however, that one night may end with me missing a tooth, and my M6 in

several wrinkled, and fractured shapes.

<br><br>

With the bartenders on my side, I shot all night last Saturday. I'm putting the

series together, along with my images from my last visit. These new images have

a more relaxed tone to them, as I was not shy with the camera, and had it either

around my neck in the open, or always in one hand ready to shoot. It shows

with the images.

<br><br>

This time around, shooting only Fuji Neopan 1600, pulled one stop, and developed

in a softer mix of Microdol-x, going 1:1 for nearly 14 min, and softly agitating

every min.

<br><br>

I'll post the full series later this month when my day job frees me up a bit.

<br><br>

<a href=" title="Photo

Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1071/525918368_a0bf86f4a0.jpg"

width="500" height="331" alt="Silver Peso 'solids win'" /></a>

Ya know... I thought the same thing. so glad you voiced the question.

I tend to walk around w/ my camera where ever I go, and w/ my 35 'cron asph, I stopped using the rubber cap, and keep it in my pocket.

I guess my thought to keep my hand over the lens in direct sun to protect the cloth shutter was a good thought. After all, you can probably fry ants with the lens under direct sun.

A method for carrying my m6 around, has been to keep it's strap on one shoulder under my jacket. To a cop, it looks like I'm strappin (and made for an interesting situation I got into in Moscow a few months ago). ...but it's a great way, I found at least, to keep the camera covered / sans cap, and ready to shoot in an instant.

love the tone from the grain in the high rez version (first link).

very nice.

Hi Tommy,

The slideshow does not do audio, sadly, but the slideshow is from Adobe Lightroom (the best tool that I've found to catalog and quick edit all of my images). All of their default slideshows are editable! :)

thanks for the comments!

Ha! yes Thomas.. all it took was a friend letting me use his Leica MP for a weekend, and I was hooked.

I sold a very rare motorcycle, a dirtbike, and telescope just to afford my Leica, two lenses, the Nikon 9000 scanner, and a new 24" iMac.

But the rangefinder.. does have a *very* steep learning curve that will have you flat on your face in some cases. It was a work out at a wedding, I tell ya. I highly suggest using one, but spend 50 rolls of film learning how to focus, and that DOF correct! ..I still feel like a new-be when it comes to it... but it's by my side wherever I go!

...drives my wife nuts...

Look at KEH.com or here in the Rangefinder forum for a used M6. Expect to pay $1k for the body, and at least that for the lens. But then you'll have the ultimate tool that you can hand down through your family like a nice watch! :)

cheers, and thanks for the comments! I appreciate them very much!

-j