paulopires

November 11, 2012

No snarky email Ian. Honest mail. No need to deal with anything and of course it is very obvious I'm not a connoisseur. I will gladly deleted my account.

November 11, 2012

Ian: Your comment really ends this. I mean, we could go on debating the many issues that came up with my post but... bottom line... you said it also "there is nothing that says film in those shots to me either." That is really the point. My pictures don't "say" film and that should be my main concern at the time. Making them to say film. Thank you and I also thank Sarah for leaving her thoughts.

November 9, 2012

Jeff: I agree when you saw "people didn't notice" the change, but for all that matters the people who are not only "spectators" but also photographers can tell the difference. A 100x70cm print from a 35mm negative has very little to do with a print of the same size made from a 35mm or medium format digital camera photograph. Please don't get me wrong on this. It has nothing to do with one system being better than the other, I'm not saying that, the outcome is just different. People will not notice it by looking at 600x400px images on a screen, neither will those who are more aware of these photographic issues. People will not even notice it if they are facing a real print in front of their eyes or a double page spread in a book. But the ones more aware of photographic issues will notice. Does this change the way I feel as a spectator about his images? No! If I like or dislike an image it has nothing to do with anything involved in the creation process but, on the other hand, as I told you, I'm also curious about the process. Is talking about the process and the tools involved to take out value of any kind of creation, like a photograph? I think it does not. I can not agree when you say "... and similarly from most other photographers who have something to say". I've came across photographers that don't want to talk about the process or the tools because they feel the same as you about this, and others who feel differently and are willing to share their thoughts about cameras, lenses and the creative process.

The artistic value of the Sistine Chapel does not come from the time spent in painting it. To me it has as much value as Pollock dripping paint over a canvas for a couple of hours. As a spectator both blow me away but, as a person, I find both creative processes fascinating.

I respect both "sides" and I don't feel that a certain photographer is less or more valid, his words less or more meaningful, if he shares (or not) my opinion about this. The thing that got me started with the interviews about cameras, and the process, was a video on Youtube featuring Daido Moriyama talking about why he uses a compact camera and not any other system.

November 8, 2012

Jeff: As a spectator facing an image hanging on a wall or printed on a book it does not matter at all, I agree. I will not like it more or less because it's film or digital, taken with an Holga (no disrespect) or the most expensive Leica. Tools are just part of the process and when the process is finished all it matters is what's in front of our eyes but I also like the tools part and I want to find out (that's the reason for my little interviews) by the photographers themselves, how do they feel about this specific issue. I'm curious about in what extent the tools are important in the creative process of the photographers I interview.

Doug: I think it adds visual value. Can't help thinking as a designer. When I'm designing the magazine I work for, I want it to be as rich as possible, visually. It's great to work with photographs but also with illustrations or any other visual element that helps creating the best "final product" possible. As such, why not, consider film photography as another visual element that will help to accomplish that final result? The professional photographer that works for us has his own style. We like his style very much, that's why he was chosen for the job. His contribute only makes sense having creative freedom. A while back we talked about including some black and white analog photography in the magazine. My name came up because my boss knows I do it as a hobby. I'm an easy solution. So I was sent on a trial basis. The real reason for this post was wanting to share how happy I am that people are liking the pictures and the possibility, the distant possibility, of being able to grab this motivation and take my passion for photography a little step further.

November 8, 2012

Q.G.: Yes I know. "high quality files that are, at the same time, beautiful and expressive images." Let me replace the quality for resolution. Italian cars? Oh no please, I drive a VW Golf but I do use an Apple :-)

November 7, 2012

Daniel: Let me start by saying that I don't brag. That's not me, that's not my attitude. Not in life and not in here. I don't rub anything in peoples faces. I don't cut if front of photographers or in front of anyone doing their jobs.

If that's how you fell after reading this or any other of my posts I have to accept and respect it. But, respectfully I must answer that you got it wrong. That's really not me. Zach: By the end of the day, those quiet moments developing or printing are worth gold! Thank you and enjoy your 6x6! Ray: I agree and your comment made me smile. It is every designers dream to work with high quality files that are, at the same time, beautiful and expressive images. The creative freedom digital images brought into the world it's unsurpassed.

I work for a company that imports Swiss wrist watches. They are all premium products and they need images that can do justice to their value. I don't even dare going that way but I get, every day, amazingly detailed, clear, beautiful images and on top of that, I'm talking about high quality files of 100, 150, 200MB. That's a whole new level of quality. I'm fortunate to have lunch at a michelin restaurant and dinner in a small town. Thank you.

November 7, 2012

Hello Sally. I got a like new 120mm Makro Planar a couple of months ago and due to a short budjet I had to let go of my 80mm. It is indeed an amazing lens. I've never used such a sharp lens and the results are amazing. I'm going to keep it but... I miss the 80mm. The 120mm Makro can be used as an all around lens but there's something about the 80mm that makes it just perfect. IMMO one does not replace the other. So, I will get another 80mm and close my set with the 50, 80 and the 120mm. I love using tubes and they are amazing to use with the Hasseblad. I have the 21mm and the 55mm and one of my favorite combinations is using the 80mm lens with the 21mm tube. It really works very well for a certain kind of portraits. My English is not very good so I'll share some samples. These are just experiments and I didn't make any kind of exposure compensation but I must, specially when using the 55mm tube. Paulo <img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8171/8044883270_7a1c2d290f_z.jpg" alt="" /> Mom, plain and simple 120mm Makro Planar.

<img title="ze moustache" src="http://cookingfilm.files.wordpress.com/2012/08/ze-moustache.jpg?w=545&h=543" alt="" width="545" height="543" /> My Dad, the 120mm Makro Planar with the 21mm extension tube.

<img title="Untitled-16" src="http://cookingfilm.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/untitled-16.jpg?w=545&h=546" alt="" width="545" height="546" /> 21mm extension tube on the 60mm lens

<img title="414136_3987462769668_1373766258_3584429_21585579_o" src="http://cookingfilm.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/414136_3987462769668_1373766258_3584429_21585579_o.jpg?w=545&h=550" alt="" width="545" height="550" /> The 21mm extension tube on the 80mm lens.

<img title="aranha" src="http://cookingfilm.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/aranha.jpg?w=545&h=541" alt="" width="545" height="541" /> The 55mm extension tube on the 80mm

<img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8042/8054743241_2075e7d96a_z.jpg" alt="" width="547" height="552" /> The 55mm extension tube on the 150mm lens.

November 6, 2012

Thank you Jeffrey, Ross and JC. Zach: That's a good point indeed. I use the Hasselblad and also a Contax G2 and a Leica CL. You are right, shooting a DSLR is not much different than say the G2. I mean I have all the electronic I need, automatic film advance, metering, aperture or speed priority, EV compensation… but, speaking for myself, shooting film changes my attitude towards the act of taking a picture. Being a graphic designer and using photoshop for over 15 years I do a lot, and I mean a lot, of post-production work on digital images. When I was taking pictures for myself and using digital cameras the act of taking was the "less" important thing because I knew what I could do with the images afterwards using Lightroom or Photoshop. I was more concerned about capturing a good "base" to work uppon later. And I didn't want that, I wanted to slow down and to enjoy the act of taking a picture. Of course I can also slow down using a digital camera… I can also have manual control over it but film challenges me in so many ways. The choice of film, taking the pictures, getting home and develop my own film, the choice of the developer… it's almost a ritual. And, of couse, on top of that I like film. :) You pointed out the 6x6 format.. well my friend that really changes a LOT the shooting experience. That's a whole new league. I absolute love my dear Hasselblad. All the images I've posted were taken with the Hasselblad for a reason. They were meant to be printed on a magazine and I needed that "extra quality" from the 6x6 negatives or positives. I home scan my images and I do not own a good scanner so… the bigger the negative, the best. A single page image on my magazine is about 38MB (24cm x 30cm). Scanning a 6x6 negative 1:1 at 2400 dpi gives me a file of about 90MB. Please do enjoy your 6x6… who knows… maybe you will end up using a 8x10! :) Q.G: Thank you for taking the time, for more than once you helped me with you amazing knowledge. My photography teacher a long, long time ago, made me start by building a pinhole camera out of a shoe box and all the sudden I realized i knew nothing! I was 20 years old at the time and taking pictures for a couple of years but I knew nothing. Understanding aperture and it's relation with light and shutter speed, depth of field… Developing and printing in the darkroom… Starting from scratch changed everything to me. I kept those teachings with me and life gave me a chance of going "back" to what I love the most: taking pictures and, if it's possible, using film cameras. Jeff: Q.G. answer it better than I ever could. Please trust me because my English is very limited. I respect your comment, of course, and it's my fault. I take pictures as a hobby and I have a little blog called "Cooking Film". On that blog I post my experiments with films, cameras and developers… Basically I share recipes for developing different kinds of films with different developers and I always share the techicals like I did in this post. Camera, lens, film, developer and development time. I understand what you are saying when you talk about that documentary… I know photography is not only the camera, or the film, or the digital sensor… it is much more than that. Specialy when you talk about someone that takes pictures in Juarez… but there's also the other side. Let's say for example Sebastião Salgado… the fact that he uses Leica cameras has nothing to do with the overwhelming quality, depth and intensity of his images… His images transcend the plain "gear factor". But he's a photographer and, as such, he uses cameras and lenses and film or digital cameras… and I also like that part. I also post small interviews on my blog. That means I just annoy people to death and until they agree to answer my questions. The last interview I did was to David Burnett. Of course he's an amazing photojournalist and I admire his work very much but I wanted to know the other side. The gear side, to know more about his tools of the trade. Why does he take an Holga when his going to take pictures of the President of the United States? Why does he takes a Speed Graphics when shooting the Olympics? His first AF camera? The first time he used color film? I think those are simple and valid questions to ask a photographer and mean no disrespect for his work. It's just my hobby Jeff but that does not mean I can't recognize the power of photography as something that transcends all my lame gear questions. And it really has nothing to do with digital versus film. I use both but when given the choice I prefer to use film. Thank you for your comment and please forgive my poor English.

November 6, 2012

Thank you all for the kind words. You are most kind.

Sarah: I'm just a passionate amateur and this has nothing to do with film versus digital. I never said that these images could not be taken with a digital camera. I just said that, it only makes sense to me, personally, to keep on doing photography the way that I like to do it and that's using film. That's an advantage of being amateur, it's graphic design that pays my bills :) I use a Sinar P3 to photograph wrist watches, a Phase One for numerous situations, digital has nothing but advantages but for my own pleasure I prefer film. Stephen: by added value, and please forgive me if it's not the right expression, I mean having the choice of using both digital and film images. I like that choice when I'm designing my magazine and I know that some editors like to have different kinds of images to chose from. It makes my magazine richer visually. Usually when I'm sent for a job the magazine's official photographer always goes along, of course. I'm just the "let's see what this guy comes up with" :)

Like you said: "The unusual wins out over the usual." Film has become unusual, and that alone is sufficient for some to want to use it." Thank you again for taking the time to comment.

November 5, 2012

I’ve stated many times that I’m not a photographer and it would offensive to any real photographer calling what I do photography. I’m a graphic designer and I work for a magazine for a living.

1 – A couple of months ago my boss challenged me to take some “film photographs” of a Portuguese artist, Julião Sarmento. The official photographer was sent and I was sent along to help him, to take a few shots and not stepping in the way.

A Swiss watch company made a limited series for Julião Sarmento and we were there to take pictures of the first piece being delivered.

One of my lame pictures was chosen to be the cover of a brochure and also for the website promoting the watch. A grainy, bad exposed, no detail analog photograph was chosen to promote a beautiful, detailed, micro mechanics work of art wrist watch… <img src="http://cookingfilm.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/untitled-7.jpg?w=545&h=545" alt="" width="545" height="545" />

Both of the above images: Hasselblad 500CM, Zeiss Planar 80mm/2.8. Kodak Trix 400 @ 3200, Xtol, stock, 11 min.

2 – A friend asked if I could work on his new album by taking some pictures and making the design for it and also to take some promotion shots.

Once again and despite all the risks someone made the decision of using analog photography to add value to his work. This project also made me use color film which I almost never do and not certainly for a serious pourpose such as this. Using the Hasselblad and a hand held meter to capture kids running around… trust me, not an easy thing to do.

They run around all the time and very fast, going from shady to sunny spots and me… trying to keep up with fairly accurate light readings, manual focusing and trying not to be very intrusive. Using 160 ISO film and setting up the meter for 400 ISO by mistake.

<img src="http://cookingfilm.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/original.jpg?w=545&h=545" alt="" width="545" height="545" /> Original shot for the CD cover: Hasselblad 500CM, Zeiss 120mm Makro Planar. Kodak Portra VC 160 @ 400 (set the meter by mistake)

<img title="mestra" src="http://cookingfilm.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/mestra.jpg?w=545&h=545" alt="" width="545" height="545" /> I duplicated the original layer and made it black and white. Then using the opacity slider I reduced the opacity of the black and white image.

<img src="http://cookingfilm.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/capa.jpg?w=545&h=490" alt="" width="545" height="490" /> Final artwork for the cover.

<img src="http://cookingfilm.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/algodacc83o-1-baixa.jpg?w=545&h=549" alt="" width="545" height="549" /> First promotion shot to be released.

<img src="http://cookingfilm.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/untitled-161.jpg?w=545&h=545" alt="" width="545" height="545" /> The original: Hasselblad 500CM, Zeiss 120mm Makro Planar. Fuji Provia 100 F.

Last month I was sent again as a backup photographer/assistant to take some photographs of Cristiano Ronaldo and Franck Muller. Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the world’s best football players and Franck Muller is a brilliant master watch maker. Once again some of my images were selected…

What I’m trying to say is that this is not about me. This is about how film photography presents a different aestethic choice. It adds value to the printed or online media. The questions is not film being better than digital, that’s rather silly, but for a magazine editor the choice of having two different visual languages is, again, added value.

There’s room for analog photography in the printed media industry. Many editors don’t even consider it for being a slow and not error free process. However there’s so many amazing and talented analog photographers out there. Young people that only need a chance to put their talent at work.

Film photography is not dead, it is just “gourmet”.

<img src="http://cookingfilm.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/untitled-28a.jpg?w=545&h=541" alt="" width="545" height="541" /> Both of the above: Hasselblad 500CM, Zeiss 120mm Makro Planar. Kodak Trix 400@1600, Xtol, 1+1, 12 min.

Please excuse my poor English and the long post. Many of you guys are pros and I'm just an amateur but having the chance to put some of my images out there, in the real world, feels great. Thank you.

September 3, 2012

I know it's not TMax but I do use Microphen a lot with TriX even at box speed. <a href="http://cookingfilm.wordpress.com/category/microphen/">http://cookingfilm.wordpress.com/category/microphen/</a>

The TMax Dev is a great all around developer. I usually use it on films up to 400 ISO, if I push the film I usually go for Microphen or ID11. <a href="http://cookingfilm.wordpress.com/category/tmax-dev/">http://cookingfilm.wordpress.com/category/tmax-dev/</a> (Please forgive my poor English)

September 3, 2012

Yes Steve you are right and another one is on the way. Thank you. Koray: I got another 90mm so I think I will try opening up this one. I think I will learn something... maybe I will learn not to mess with things I know very little of :) You gave me a great help thank you.

September 1, 2012

Thank you Alex and Chuk. My experience is less than zero in opening up lenses and probably I would/will mess it all up. On one hand Alex advice is very wise, on the other hand I'm glad it's the 90mm with the problem. It's a great lens but it's also the least expensive of the set... so... I might follow the links and give it a go. :) Thank you both. Paulo

August 31, 2012

Hello good people. My poor Zeiss G 90mm has some fungus inside. Does anyone have any experience in opening up the G lenses? Is it something I can do myself? If so, can someone please tell me how to do it? Thank you and please forgive my poor English. <a title="01 by is that an apple?, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/82926606@N07/7902340692/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8311/7902340692_8d17cc3e40.jpg" alt="01" width="500" height="500" /></a> <a title="02 by is that an apple?, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/82926606@N07/7902342070/"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8180/7902342070_e0f3b544ed.jpg" alt="02" width="500" height="500" /></a>

August 14, 2012

Thank you Larry, that is most kind my friend.

August 14, 2012

You will get very different results using different developers. Some will go harder on the grain and increase contrast like Rodinal or Adonal, as they call it now. Some will go easier on the grain and give you a wider greyscale range. I agree with Larry, ID-11 is my favorite developer and I use it a lot with both Ilford and Kodak films, specially when developing pushed film to 1600 or 3200. D-76 is also a great developer. Another one of my favorites is Kodak Xtol, I like using it with Delta 400 and TriX 400.

Kodak TMax Dev. is a very good all around developer even with Ilford films. I use it from ISO 25 to ISO 400. Above ISO 400 I always go for ID-11 or Xtol depending on the "hardness" I want for the images. Any of the developers will work just fine with Ilford and Kodak films. I use Ilford Rapid Fixer for 5 minutes and water as stop bath. Be careful with temperature it does influence a lot, stick to the standard 20C and you'll be fine. Some of the developers mentioned above are sold as powder. You will have to mix it with water to make the "stock" solution. I think this is the bible for times and dilutions: http://www.digitaltruth.com/devchart.php This is my blog with some recipes and sample images. http://cookingfilm.wordpress.com/ PS: please forgive my poor English.

August 14, 2012

Thank you Bill. I'm going to return it. I was not expecting something as big and bright as my Mamiya 7ii or the Zeiss Ikon, but I was hoping for a better rangefinder. Thank you again.

August 14, 2012

Hello good people

I just got a wonderful Leica CL with the Summicron 40mm/f2. I've been testing this little gem and I'm not new to rangefinders but my question is: Is there any Leica magnifier that would fit the CL? Will the magnifiers for the M system fit on the CL? Any opinions about this?

Thank you.

August 13, 2012

First of all please forgive my poor English. I've used and owned a lot of medium format cameras, from the Mamiyas 645, Mamiya 6mf and 7ii, to the Contax 645, Bronica SQ AM, Rolleiflex 6006, Yashica 12 and finally the Hasselblad 500 CM.

Apart from the Rolleiflex 6000 series, the Hasselblad is my absolute favorite. So simple to use and the results and simply amazing. Zeiss lenses for the Hasselblad, even the classic CT* models are great lenses. With a 500CM body and a Zeiss Planar 80mm you'll get a very compact lightweight kit delivering stunning results. You cannot go wrong with a 500CM body and a 80mm Planar lens. If you are not sure about the Hasselblad you can always aim at the Bronicas, either in 645 or even in 6x6. Very good cameras, going out of a bargain, and you can also check how you do using a WLF or a prism finder as the Bronicas have both options at a fair price.

July 16, 2012

:) As usual Q.G., absolutely amazing. Thank you so much.

July 16, 2012

Hello good people I was searching for a straight answer but couldn't find one so I'm sure you guys will give me one. :) I just got a new, in box, 120mm CF Makro-Planar, for 200 euros, which was the deal of the year for me. I know it's a Bay 60 lens, so the UV, or whatever filter must be Bay 60, but what about the hood? I want to get an Hasselblad hood but I don't know which one. I've seen some "Bay 60 hood 100-250mm". Does this means it fits on Bay 60 lenses from 100mm up to 250mm? Can someone please help? Thank you Paulo

June 6, 2012

Thank you Lex, you are most kind my friend. It seems that all the sudden my passionate hobby can turn into something even more motivating and challenging at another level. Thank you again for all the support.

June 6, 2012

Hello good people. Please forgive my poor English and please forgive the "about me" post. I'm a graphic designer and I'm an amateur photographer with a passion for film. I design a magazine about Swiss wrist watches or as they say "haute-horlogerie". A couple of months ago I was assisting the "official" photographer for the magazine, as I do so many times, trying to learn as much as I can about photography, and I toke my Hasselblad 500CM with me. We were given the assignement to take pictures of a Portuguese painter called Julião Sarmento. Between helping him and trying not to get in his way I managed to take a couple of rolls, just for me, my personal pleasure. Black and white, Trix, pushed to 3200 and aperture always between 2.8 and 4 handheld. Most of the images came out very hard, really hard contrast. Even at 3200 ISO I was not expecting that. But the guy is a painter, an artist and I liked the dramatic feel of my images. I felt they suited him well. He made a drawing for a wrist watch and the pictures were for the public presentation. The official photographer did some nice digital shots, very professional work of course. Anyway I ended up showing my images at work, just for fun, and they were chosen to feature on the brochure and website about the that wrist watch. The Swiss watch industry is a multi-billion dollars business used to deal with the top of the top's when it comes to photography. After all we can easily find wrist watches above 50.000, 100.000, a million or even 2 million dollars. Lot's of 3D, lot's of amazing commercial photography too. This time a major brand is using amateur film photography to promote a 25.000 USD wrist watch. All this led me to an invitation to go, as a photographer, on an exclusive visit to one of the top Swiss watches brand in the world, Patek Phillipe. Fear not my friends, between digital Canon's and Nikon's an Hasselblad will stand tall. ;) Thank you More images and film recipe here: http://cookingfilm.wordpress.com/2012/05/04/hasselblad-500cm-kodak-trix-400-3200-in-xtol/ <a title="Untitled by up up and away, on Flickr" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pirex/6922616612/"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5279/6922616612_e5b60e0c32_z.jpg" alt="Untitled" width="640" height="640" /></a>

May 31, 2012

Thank you so much Q.G. and Ulrik. It is indeed the A16 back and as such it has a problem. I know a good repair man in Lisboa, mr. Coelho da Silva. I'll take it there and see what he says. Thank you again Q.G., you are precious and thank you Ulrik for your kind offer. Paulo

May 30, 2012

Hello good people I just got an A16 back for my Hasselblad and I have a problem. The back won't lock on the first frame. It just keeps on winding the film for as long as I wind it. Does someone have a similar experience? Is it something I can fix myself? Thank you and please forgive my poor English. Paulo

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