jodys

February 9, 2015

I keep my 4x5 kit around for travel. It fits in my carry-on.

January 27, 2015

Google is one of those companies who will radically break from tradition in ways that make little sense to the casual observer, like why they would invest in Space-X, develop Google Glass, self-driving cars, map the world's surface with ambitions of mapping the world's oceans.

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The simple answer is that the primary application of all of these is military.

January 4, 2015

I don't have anything against Lik. But I am a photographer, and I stood in front of every photo in his Las Vegas gallery, and I was left feeling a little empty. They are decorative pieces, technically perfect, but none of them grab you (me) in the gut and pull you in. They don't tell a story, they don't generate any emotional response, they're just pretty pictures on a wall. As a photographer, I would never be content with that from my own work.

I am absolutely jealous of his business acumen, and I would gladly pump out hundreds of bland, decorative photos if I could make that kind of money off them. I just wouldn't have any personal delusions about what I was doing. For that matter, I'm perfectly happy to make money off wedding and kids photography, when I can. I take pride in my work when I do so. I think Lik takes pride in his, as well. But comparing Lik to Salgado is like comparing apples to oranges. Salgado is driven to make images for the sake of the images themselves. Lik is driven to make images for the sake of making money.

January 3, 2015

I have been fortunate enough to see in person both Peter Lik (in Vegas) and Salgado's Genesis (in Toronto). Salgado's prints are nowhere near as technically perfect as Lik's. That being said, Salgado is a photographer, Lik is a marketing genius. The stories I've read about Lik seem to indicate that he doesn't actually care about his photographs as anything other than a product to sell. Salgado obviously puts the image first, and then chooses to use it for political purposes.

I was rather disappointed with Salgado's prints, they were badly photoshopped in many cases (cartoonishly bad in a few cases), printed far too large, and the selection on display should have been edited down to less than half of what was actually put on a wall. Comparing Salgado (who does not edit or print his own photographs) to a master like Ansel Adams (also seen in Toronto), it is quite clear that Salgado in his current form comes up short.

He used to be a lot better, print-wise. I've also seen some of his older work in a Toronto gallery, from before he went digital, they were more impressive.

Given the choice of putting Lik's best or Salgado's worst on my own wall, however, I would go with Salgado. The image matters more to me than the technical perfection of a large print.

August 31, 2014

When doing landscape, which I enjoy doing at the moment, 'truth' is not an issue. The issue, for me, is making a photograph that faithfully renders what I wish it to render. The elements of the landscape are tools to be used to that effect, just the same as are the camera (and film, in my case, and also photoshop).

In answer to the OP's question on how much 'gardening' I do, I draw the line and climbing trees to reach an offending branch, or wading out into water above the line of my boots. But those are comfort issues, not lines drawn in the sand. I carry a pocketknife and occasionally other tools, I think nothing of trimming branches that I feel distract from the symmetry of a tree, or an offending twig that just happens to be catching the sun at the wrong moment in time. I would rather do this in the field than spend tedious hours with photoshop taking them out later. As for beer cans, I try not to put them down in front of the lens, though I did surprise myself once with a new lens that was a little wider than I thought.

August 30, 2014

It sounds like your Acme shutter was specially made for a situation where they didn't want people to be able to mix up the front and rear cells. I have a couple upstairs, I might have a look at mine to see if that's common?

As for the 48-50tpi conundrum, they are completely interchangeable on a short length of threading such as a lens cell. There is no way you could even measure the difference without some specialized gear. If you hold the front and rear cells side-by-side, you should see a rather pronounced difference in the pitch of the threading, otherwise the cells would risk threading into the barrel/shutter and getting stuck.

August 30, 2014

You can develop in a tank if you like, but I would stick with a paper developer like others say. Also, you normally develop paper to completion, it develops too quickly to do compensating developing. If you want to try compensating developing anyway, I suggest a very dilute developer (say, Dektol at 1:50 of stock solution) so that the developing time is quite long (other wise you will not get even results). With a dilute developer, you can also develop to exhaustion, that is calculate the precise amount of stock developer you need to develop your 'negative' to, say, 60% of it's potential. I use this method with X-Ray film in 8x10, where I've calculated that 0.7 - 1ml of Ilford syrup gives me the negative consistency I want (so dilution and developing time don't really matter anymore). If I have 10 sheets to develop, I mix 7-10ml of syrup with 10x the qtty of liquid needed for my drum (100ml, so 7-10ml into 1L), and can measure a little more/little less of my mix for each sheet if I want to adjust them individually.

This is all based on the fact that both paper and X-Ray film are extremely high contrast, and it is necessary to compensate your development to tame that contrast. Another technique used with paper is to 'pre-flash' it, that is expose your paper to a bare bulb light (say, 40W at 6ft for 1s), before shooting. This will fill in the highlights and result in an overall lower contrast. I don't think this works very well for landscape, but I've seen great portraits done on paper using pre-flash.

July 11, 2014

<a href="/photodb/user?user_id=106565">Bill Mitchell</a>, Jul 10, 2014; 08:24 p.m.

Both lenses consist of two double cemented elements. What is the difference, and can you describe how they give different appearances?

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No, they do not. The Rapid Rectilinear (and Wide Angle Rectilinear, for that matter), are symmetrical, consisting of identical cemented doublets front and rear. The Petzval has a differently-curved doublet in the front, and an air-spaced pair of lenses in the rear. The RR can be used with the rear element alone, as a soft-ish portrait lens, the Petzval can be used with the front element alone (placed in the rear for better results) in the same manner.

Most of the 'soft' or 'swirly' effects people get with Petzvals result simply from using a lens much too small for the format they're shooting. Petzvals were intended to be used in such a way as to make use of the sharp center only. You can get a similar result (but very different look) by using a too-small Tessar. Or with a Cooke Triplet by reversing the center element, or changing the spacing on the rear element (unscrewing it, if lens construction allows).

June 11, 2014

Our brains are bio-chemical organs, not computers. They are heavily dependent on neurotransmitters and other chemicals for such things as motivation and enjoyment. Your cancer treatments almost certainly caused important changes in levels of many of these. Depression is a big word, that can encompass a lot of things, but in diagnosing depression, biological causes (such as cancer treatments) are supposed to be ruled out before a diagnosis can be given.

That being said, the clinical advice given to people with depression is often geared toward returning these chemicals to a state of balance, and that will work with you as well. Most people get a bump from vigorous exercise, many also from 'spiritual' activities (if they are true believers, 'faking it' doesn't work), and then there's simple things like making your bed every morning that can have surprising effects on motivation and enjoyment. Of course what we eat, the number of hours we sleep, sex, chocolate, you name it. Everything we do, pretty much, affects our biochemistry.

Of course I have had my own, similar issues, and I took a rather disastrous (emotionally) +10 year break where I didn't touch a camera. I found that to come back, I had to take interest in a completely different field of photography, abandoning animal photography in favor of street and finally landscape. I may change again if I find my interest waning. But my photography is my therapy for when I'm feeling crappy, so if I stop completely that means I'm either deliriously happy, or in such a bad place in my head that I've stopped caring.

May 15, 2014

You are not alone...! The question of your sanity is another matter, however.

Most of us hang out at http://www.largeformatphotography.info and http://www.apug.org. Quite a few of us use a hybrid workflow, sheet film (or paper) in camera, scan, and digital 'darkroom' work and printing. From there, some print digital negatives to use with alt processes. But there are quite a few of us who have darkrooms also, even if (IMHO) it's easier to use Photoshop than traditional enlarging techniques.

April 6, 2014

War zone reporters and photographers (the non-'embedded' sort, not the propagandists) are public servants of the highest order. I salute her for her courage and her service to humanity. And, she was truly a great photographer.

February 26, 2014

I still have my first digicam, a Canon D30 from 1999-2000. Still going strong, I personally put ~100,000 clicks on it, and I bought it used.

Wearing out? It's gone wonky a few times, from using in humid conditions. Half the image would turn blue or something. I fixed it by putting it in a 200-degree oven for half an hour, with all the ports open.

But then I still have the 1974 Canon FTb that I learned on, that I carried around in the woods as a pre-teen, that I dropped out of trees while photographing birds' nests and shot dozens of weddings with. I haven't had to put that one in an oven to dry it out. For that matter, I frequently use a wooden camera from 1888, and lenses from the 1870s. There is a real possibility my D30 will still be working in 2130, but I wouldn't bet on it.

February 17, 2014

Depression is a serious illness. Unfortunately: one of the symptoms of depression is 'catastrophizing'. That is, imagining the worst in every possible situation. Your therapist will help you with this.

Your doc says to take a year off. That's easy for him/her to say. Most of us can't afford to take a year off, and we certainly can't afford to sabotage our own business. If you're feeling uncertain, and you think you simply will not be able to deliver images that are up to your professional standards: try bringing a 2nd shooter that you trust. If, on the day, it turns out that you really can't deliver, give your 2nd shooter more leeway to do things their way. You can do this without being too obvious about it to your clients, and you will be assured of having adequate images to deliver. You might find the results are not up to your standards, but that doesn't mean your clients won't love them. And the financial burden of hiring a 2nd is not as bad as simply cancelling your entire season, and hoping you'll still be able to book clients for the next.

Just my $0.02. The medication will work, it is made for this. And, your situation is temporary. Your business is not.

January 28, 2014

I'm pretty sure I could put together a photo to rival this... Starting with my recently-restored H3v and Sv, through multiple Spotmatics (and an SP500), then with the ME, MV, MEF and Program Plus...

January 28, 2014

<a href="/photodb/user?user_id=442690">Dan Fromm</a> , Jan 25, 2014; 07:03 p.m. See <a href="http://www.cameraeccentric.com/html/info/oscar_1.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://www.cameraeccentric.com/html/info/oscar_1.html</a> . The last page says explicitly that the Plasticca has two groups. It sounds rather like a periscop.

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I have at hand 1/2 of a Voigtlander Steinheil's Periskop (long story, I'm a sucker for 'mystery' auctions on fleabay). What I've seen of Plasticca lenses, again on fleabay, are nothing like the curvature of my Periskop.

I do agree that they are fantastically over-priced for what appears to be a simple plano-convex or positive meniscus lens in a fancy brass mount. I looked at the link, but what it says about the lens does not match what the photographs show on fleabay. I do also own a Spiratone Portragon in T-mount, which I use from time-to-time, and does an excellent job as a portrait/soft-focus lens on my dSLRs. The Portragon seems much closer, design-wise, to the Plasticca than my Periskop.

January 28, 2014

I have the exact same lens, with the retaining ring (somewhere? not sure where exactly I put the d* thing). It's a wonderful lens, you could not do better with any modern lens unless you wanted to scan your negs with an electron microscope. If you require a more precise measurement, please PM me and I'll find it, and take whatever readings I can with my digital caliper.

I no longer have a lathe, unfortunately I was forced to sell it when I sold my country home a few years back. But if I may comment on the process: some people have said that they can't tell the difference between different thread gauges, because of their failing eyesight; well, your lathe can't tell the difference either. It's easy enough, for a flange, to measure the TPI with whatever gauge you have at hand, then keep cutting on the lathe until the lens fits. It doesn't have to be perfect; it just has to hold the lens firmly when screwed all the way in.

January 28, 2014

I'm going to go against the grain and side with Zimmerman on this one. And only with regards his (terrible!) paintings, obviously not on the subject of domestic violence or vigilantism. I am no Zimmerman fan, I honestly believe he should be in prison because he is a dangerous man, a menace to the public.

It seems to me like the 'painting' is an original piece, not mechanically reproduced or traced from the AP photo; if we are to accept the AP's version, then 99.99% of the photos posted on this website would also be copyright violations. Because no matter what we photograph, or from what angle, someone has done it before. It seems to me that the lawsuit is abusive, bordering on a SLAPP (strategic lawsuit against public participation), a strategic move meant to scare the recipient into abandoning a course of action for fear of incurring legal costs, rather than based on the merits of his position or his legal standing.

January 28, 2014

1d 10h 45m

Something I really didn't need, but the price was too good to pass up. Sigh. At least my wife is out of town, and hopefully won't be home when the parcel is delivered.

January 27, 2014

<a href="/photodb/user?user_id=7179352">Stephen Conkie</a> <a href="/member-status-icons"><img title="Frequent poster" src="/v3graphics/member-status-icons/1roll.gif" alt="" /></a>, Jan 26, 2014; 09:18 a.m. (...) Fake is the new Real. Spoilt b*tch is the new talented. Ask Kim Kardashian. Then you come to Asia and see truly beautiful, naturally-slim and healthy girls all over the place, with nary a dye-job between them and it all becomes so clearly a crime.

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<a href="http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/plastic-surgeon-builds-glass-jawbone-tower-filled-with-patients-removed-jaws/story-fneuz9ev-1226809081700">Looks-obsessed South Korea is famed for its vast plastic surgery industry that incorporates radical procedures including double-jaw surgery for purely cosmetic reasons</a>

(Warning: link is a little gross)

January 26, 2014

HCB was a huge influence on my early photography. My own tribute to this photo is <a href="/photo/12298411">here</a>.

I grew up in a French town in Quebec, before the 'internet'. I didn't have a lot of influences, there was no museum or art gallery, the library had nothing except Antoine Desilet's book on darkroom technique, and the newstands had the usual gearhead mags and little else. The only magazine on the newstand with actual photographs (besides National Geographic) was the French mag <a href="http://www.photo.fr/magazine.html">Photo</a>. It was there that I discovered HCB, Doisneau, Helmut Newton, Weston, Mapplethorpe, and David Hamilton (I still have the Cokin soft filter I bought afteer seeing his images...). Did I mention I was a lonely teenager with a camera?

January 22, 2014

Of all the kids I've photographed over the last 30 years, I've only ever had 2 mothers who appreciated photos where their kids were not sitting up or standing, looking straight at the camera. They might ooh and aah seeing the photos when I showed them, but the ones they shared on the 'net or put in a frame on the wall were always the boring, staring at the camera kind.

January 22, 2014

<a href="/photodb/user?user_id=499395">Allen Herbert</a> , Jan 21, 2014; 05:53 p.m.

"The photo of a drunken on the floor, the homeless carrying all his belonging in a supermarket cart, and so on."

They are part of life why hide it.

To exploited them for personnel satisfaction or financial gain is pretty disgusting.

But "a truth" revealed should never be hidden.

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I have been struggling with this, because the statements Allen is responding to show certain assumptions about homelessness that are no longer valid (if they ever were). The vast majority of homeless persons, in 2014, are not homeless because they're drunks or mentally ill. There are tens of thousands, perhaps millions, of persons (and families) who are couch-surfing, sleeping in cars or cheap motels when they can scrape the cash together or living in tent cities, for purely economic reasons. They have lost their jobs & their houses, they used to be middle class, and now they're homeless. In some areas, 10% of school children are homeless. And their story needs to be told. They should not be brushed out of photos or out of the public consciousness. Photographing them is part of telling their story, not exploitation.

In a sense though, the traditional (and exploitative) photo of the homeless pushing a shopping cart or drunk in the street serves to reinforce stereotypes about the homeless, contributes to the active dismissal of this new class of homeless persons.

January 14, 2014

<a href="/photodb/user?user_id=2361079">Fred G.</a> <a href="/member-status-icons"><img title="Subscriber" src="/v3graphics/member-status-icons/sub7.gif" alt="" /><img title="Frequent poster" src="/v3graphics/member-status-icons/3rolls.gif" alt="" /><img title="Current POW Recipient" src="/v3graphics/member-status-icons/trophy.gif" alt="" /></a>, Jan 14, 2014; 04:21 p.m.

"It's also interesting that no one is apparently coming to his defense."

Probably because his project "boobs around town" isn't worth anyone's defending . . .

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Hasn't photography long been recognized as a 1st amendment (protected speech) issue in the USA?

I will defend his right to take cliched photos of topless girls in the rain if that's how he wants to express himself. He may have violated the terms (I hate to use the word 'contract') printed on the back of the ticket that got him up to the observation deck, but almost certainly only on the grounds that what he is doing is 'commercial' photography. If anyone else wanted to do this, as a personal project with no plans to publish, I don't think the Empire State Building would have any grounds to do much of anything except ask them to leave. In fact, if I were in New York, if I knew any girls who would pose topless, and if my wife would allow it, I might be inclined to replicate it myself...

January 12, 2014

<a href="/photodb/user?user_id=172915">Lex Jenkins</a> <a href="/member-status-icons"><img title="Moderator" src="/v3graphics/member-status-icons/mod.gif" alt="" /><img title="Subscriber" src="/v3graphics/member-status-icons/sub10plus.gif" alt="" /><img title="Frequent poster" src="/v3graphics/member-status-icons/3rolls.gif" alt="" /></a>, Jan 08, 2014; 10:34 p.m.

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Based on a keyword analysis of the original post and its predicted effect on the autonomic response systems of human participants this thread will <a href="

rel="nofollow" target="_blank">go 100% failure within 72 hours</a>.

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You know who used to use 'full manual' mode to take pictures? Hitler.

January 10, 2014

Although I was too young to know what I was doing, my first 'real' camera that I bought with my own money, circa 1982 or so when I was but a wee lad of 16 or 17 years, was a Rolleicord with that same Tessar lens (used of course, for $100). Or maybe the Triotar lens. I don't remember, it wasn't important at the time. I would wander the local camera stores, stare at the Mamiyas and Bronicas, well out of my budget since they were professional cameras and I was but a teenager. I bought the best I could afford, relying on the advice of the salesman. A used Rolleicord.

I carried that camera thousands of miles, across 4 countries in Africa, through hundreds of miles of canoe-camping in the Canadian back country. I sold it 10 years later, after it had developed a serious fungus in the lens, and lost half it's leather. For $100.

There is something about these cameras, a mystique, an ephemeral quality that causes one to pause while shooting, and think about what you're doing. Or maybe it's just another classic manual camera. I don't know, but I will always have a soft spot in my heart for these. I've owned several since, always the cheaper models with the f3.5 Tessar or Triotar. While I've moved on to 4x5 and 8x10, I will always keep these in mind should I ever decide to return to medium format. Congrats on the New Year's camera, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did mine.

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