My Style

Well, I went out the other day and experimented with the Rollei as I needed to run it thru the ropes. Beautiful camera I might add. The most tactile analog I own, if that can be had.

Anyhow…..look at the following shots and you can see how these meet my style….. Not for everyone I know as my style is a bit ‘rough and ready’. I purposely have camera settings to match what I feel is my style and I also have a processing method that meets it as well. These were done on the Rocky Steps in Philadelphia as many people traverse the steps ‘up and down’ and usually when they are at the top of the steps they raise their hands in style and jump up and done as if they ‘save the world’….. Anyhow…below. Give me a comment if you find them interesting or boring or nice or okay or whatever. To each their own.

A Tale of Two

It has been stated, said….written in stone or perhaps not; that there is a difference between film and digital images. In fact, a friend of mine who goes out with me will always say, that since I eventually will scan my negatives, that I have digital images. Well, technically I cannot argue since I have scanned the images, but the output is just different. My film, is way different than his digital…..period. Written in Stone.

Case in point. Two images are coming up, one film, the other digital. Now, both were done in Black and White and both were relatively difficult images to capture. These were taken at night with no flash, and the images show a reflection in the window from the opposite side of the street of a few large heads (Linda McCartney, John Dillinger etc) . The image also has, as a reflection, cars moving in the street in front of those large head reflections, as seen below. Now, inside the store/bar…the images will show various things. Take note of the back posters on the wall to the left and any people who might be around those posters, either in the background or foreground. For that differs slightly between these images.

The above image is film ….400 Fomapan taken with a 50mm 1.4 Zuiko lens on an OM1 SLR. Notice the cars and the large heads which are the reflections. Notice the poster “Short Film Night’ …. and the couple seated by the poster. Now compare this to the image below which is the digital.

That was taken with a digital 35mm lens on a Fuji F100 series. You can see roughly the same in the background but the foreground has more people. The lady on the left was not present when the film image was taken but the lady ‘centered’ and talking to the other lady who has her back towards us was present on the film as well.

You can clearly see obvious difference. The Digital is sharper….no grain, the Depth of Field is more intense. The film image has more shadows, deep blacks, more grain and less polished. The people up front, while there….are not visible on the film image.

Why is that? Well….I imagine that it is due to ISO more than much else. The film ISO was set at 400 and I needed to have my camera wide-open at 1.4 while the shutter was near 1/60th…while I know that my friend had his ISO ‘up to’ 6400’ for the evening on his F100 digital. I am not sure what the Iso setting was for this particular image, but I know it was close to 6400. Now with the ISO, he could afford to shift his other settings to accommodate more a field of view. He was using ‘live’ so not sure he really new the settings when he took the image.

Is one image better? Well, that depends on your thinking and what you prefer. For me, the film has character. The digital just looks sharp and not real, not authentic. Film all the way for me baby.

I Make Mistakes

It would seem that after years of photography that I wouldn’t make too many mistakes but hey, I just made a big one and it involved two rolls of film. So….I just move on. No big deal.

I am in Philadelphia and every Saturday is the Italian Market where produce is sold, meats etc…. Actually, like many ‘Italian Market’s the market is now more a hispanic market as the neighborhood has changed but the ‘stalls’ remain. So still veggies….

The market is along a few blocks and is lined with stalls with canopies along one side of the street as people on the sidewalk can walk and still view the veggies. With so much action and frankly, I haven’t been here in awhile so I was pretty excited ….I decided to take my camera ‘off’ spot meter and manual with my Olympus OM2SP and place it into full Program mode. I was also using some Japan Camera Hunter so a new film and I thought by going into ‘Program mode’ that I would make sure I get right exposure so I could judge this new film.

So off to the races as I thoroughly enjoyed my time….3+ hours of walking the Italian Market and in my mind, I ‘nailed it’ ….lots of impromptu images, hands passing money, exchanges ….expressions etc. Perfect….Viola. Then after returning home my first thought was to immediately develop, dry and scan…..this was hot stuff. So I did….. and now the results.

The Program mode in this situation just plain stunk. … no bones about it. The exposure was all off either getting shots out of focus such as this:

Or dark like this….

Needless….. I was a bit depressed as my hopes for the day were so high, and then plummet the minute I saw the negatives come out of the tank. I was about ready to toss them all but decided to go thru and see what I could find out. I know the Program mode works well on my OM2SP as I had other shots, outside of the Italian market that were just fine.

So….what caused it? Well, in Program mode the exposures of F stop and shutter are selected by the camera automatically but based first upon the highlights from what I read. As I grabbed shots of people in the canopy area, it was way to backlit and the shadows became unusable, just too dark.

Next time…and there will be one, I will go in with all manual in this situation. I can expose for the shadows and if the whites are overblown I can always take care of them later on. But once the shadows are lost, they are lost. Thus, two rolls of Japan Camera Hunter was a learning experience. On top of that from what I found from my other ‘good photo’s, JPC is a very high contrasty film naturally so I had a double whammy going for me. I still have three rolls of JPC to shoot so I want to manually over-expose more so than I usually do with other film, allowing the shadows underneath the canopy to lighten.

Hey….live and learn…. Slow down…think….get settings right, regardless of the hoopla surrounding the location and people and event. If I miss that, well, I miss it all.

Key Notes

When I do these blogs….many times I do these for ‘myself’ as opposed for others. I use these blogs as one approach to note taking. What am I doing right or wrong or why isn’t something working etc.

For instance….I was working on a recent book/zone project where I was going thru some of my past images and attempting to make a narrative from them…a visual form of an essay. But it wasn’t working. I was telling Deb just this morning that ‘it isn’t working’….and then I proceeded to create a list of 5-6 things as to why it wasn’t working. Then I mulled around with it once more thinking I could make the project work and no, it didn’t. Then I mulled a bit more and finally it occurred to me why it wasn’t working. And yes, it goes back to the way I shoot, the look I want…what and how I shot yesterday compared to today etc….

This is what I came up with. In order for my images to work and my overall workflow to be successful I need to make sure I hit upon ‘my basics’…or the thing that motivates me. Not what I hear from You Tube or know from other great photographer, but from me. What do I require.

First….when I go out shooting….I go out with a purpose now. No longer just shooting but a purpose in mind. So that really curtails the number of shots I take (film usually but digital is okay). I have a purpose and I seek to find that within my images. That is essential as I enjoy putting together zines and books that represent the central theme.

Second….I want the following in my images. I want movement. But, what is movement? I had to define that. Movement to me can be actual movement as in someone walking or running. But movement can also be action within what that person is seen as doing or represented as doing. So…take a look at these two images below.

Is this movement in the traditional sense? No…but what action is being presented here is movement. It shows this lady who is reflecting upon an image and caught within two separate images, not quite mirror of each other since I stepped back and shot in a refocus. But, the movement or action here is represented in her ‘reflecting’ and wondering to herself about this painting. Movement. Now take a look at the second image below.

This one is shot from behind the person as they walk down a narrow alley. Traditionally this might be thought of as movement but not in my eyes. The act of moving is caught by having his head turn back to me and look at me. That is movement. He is responding…acting….reflecting on ‘what I am doing’ as I take a shot of his movement. That is movement

In goes on and on….as to what qualifies but it has to have my definition of movement. A question that comes up after the fact about the image just taken.

Third…I want visual impact. If I take a nano-second to look at an image…does it create an impact within the viewer that stirs them? Does it make them go Wow?…If not….I don’t have a good picture. This impact can be done in several ways but many times, if not all it is accomplished by the shadows, light….and most of all geometry of the two as they play against each other. Okay, take a look below. What do you see initially? Do you like it?

Look at this one time and do so quickly. Like it or not? I think you will. Then look at it more thoroughly. Look at the shadows below…the harsh light above as it masks whatever he is pointing to (movement) on the table as the other guy looks on wondering (movement). Look at the angle of the table….the pole above the shoulders of the waiter etc… All off center. Angles….angles…. together with shadows and light. A great visual image from the start.

So….that is what I finally came down to today. What works…what doesn’t and why and why isn’t my current project not working? Because it lacks all three components to a degree. Theme, movement and impact.

Redirection

The other day I went out with my Olympus OM2sp + 50mm F1.4 Zuiko and Fomapan 400….but prior to leaving I ‘redirected’ a few things. It helps to think, experiment….try things out and see what comes of it.

The first thing I did was to adjust how I might shoot….I purposely over-exposed by a few stops as I shot BW film. I did this to make sure that I didn’t lose the shadows and sometimes I feel my shadows get a bit lost, as in ‘faces’ etc…. Although I ‘spot meter’….and expose for a particular area, as opposed to center metering or having the entire image metered; by hitting my light exposure in the middle….just wasn’t what I wanted here.

The middle exposure setting is just that; the middle….and all told, and in theory it works…..and I could always lighten up in software after the fact; it was something I didn’t want to do. I wanted to get exposure ‘right’ the first time around. Thus, I overexposed on purpose but certainly not ‘blown out’.

The second thing I did was on the opposite end. The image was already taken and now I am in the dark room developing my film. My plan was to expose in the developer an extra 30%….so my regular 12 minutes with Fomapan turned into 15-16 minutes in the tank.

You see…the first half of development, or even the first 5 minutes is for the shadows and the second part is for the highlights. By keeping my negatives in the tank an extra 30%, my highlights will be that much whiter.

Then….when I get into my scanning process, I can expose with additional contrast; bringing in the shadows to make them deep where I want to,….OR…..I can just scan regularly and while in some software I can lasso different aspects and layer in additional contrast where I want. Either way, I think it worked. See the image below….. thoughts? Some might think I am ‘overexposed’ in the face…but. to me, this was the look I was going for. Highlighted and not dark and certainly not perfect.

Film Noir

I really enjoy film noir…. a few months ago I watched a movie called Curtiz… it was a Netflix movie produced in Hungary. A fantastic movie as Curtiz was the producer of Casablanca (Bogie and Bergman) and the movie follows the tumultuous filming of these academy award winner actors . During WW11, Hollywood was under great pressure to put forth their share of propaganda and this film strikes that accordingly. if you watch, I recommend you view both the original Casablanca and this film Curtiz, back to back…a double header.

One, if not….the best thing about the movie was the film noir feel… All Black and White and filmed I believe on original film stock….with ‘oh so delicious ‘ shadows and the video-graphy is simply superb with high contrast shots….dark backgrounds etc.

If you have any familiarity with my shooting style….you have pieced together my strong propensity of a preference that includes high contrast and noise, film grit, darkness etc…

Now where am I going with this? Well recently I received a small package for Czechia and it arrived. This package cost me $100 but well worth it. It is chalked full of expired 2007 Fomapan 35mm film in BW. Oh my…. did I just get to heaven? 20 rolls….yeah….20 rolls of 36 count equals over 700 upcoming shots. Expired film is one of a kind. In fact each roll, each 35mm negative is unique or can be. That is what I am counting on.

A bit of blur or messiness….grit….noise above normal dust…scratches, light leaks….mmmmmmm. Better than **X you say…well, could be. Imperfect bred to perfection.

Now I just have to decide on what ‘upcoming’ project to offer this film stock to? I have several…which one best fits and which lens, which camera…. I love it….

Jan 18th 2023 Pima Air and Space

First blog of 2023….New Year!

Today I am going into Pima Air and Space in Tucson, Arizona to do a shoot. I was going to go with the wife as she could shoot her Canon AE-1 ( which she has had since it was brand new) and I with my Leica MA. We could have a competition of 50mm. But she banked out, so…..I will be able to most likely get in the ‘zone’ a bit easier now.

But I am looking forward to the angles, the sun….shadows…odd views, both inside and outside. I have a few rolls of 400 Fomapan and my MA….

UPDATE: January 23rd, 2023. I spent 4 hours at the museum and went thru 3 rolls of film. You can view my images on my project pages under Air Space.

I came in to this project wanting images that were unique, and not the everyday Plane snapshots that offer little creativity. My images were taken with “Geometry’ in Mind….’Shadows’….”Pieces of Planes’…. I wanted something that offered a perspective where I could document uniqueness.

This first attempt underexposed my indoor shots. I shall return and re-capture those.

The outside images were taken on a day were most were shot in the F8 and F11 @ 1000. I liked the result in which they present themselves. My lens was a 35mm Voigtlander instead of the 50 Summicron I had initially planned. I am happy with that decision as a 35mm allowed me a bit of expanse in the images. If I would have used a 28 or 24 I felt I might have cropped too much. A 50 would have allowed for little ‘expanse’.

The film I used was 400 Fomapan where it “illicits” a noisy…rough….gritty feel to it. Again, my style…my intent. I enjoy creating Zines and I can see where this project will eventually turn into a Zine.

Why Black and White

Why Black and White….. Why only grays and contrast….and white and starkness and shadows and mist, or paleness ….Why Black and white?

Number one….it is the essence of who we are when all is taken away. Leave yourself one day and just scan the world as if in a BW film or image. See what comes thru. Raw emotion, if one looks at faces. Impact, if one looks at objects. Take a photo that has both, and you have eaten away at the outer layers of flesh and have forced the abstract upon all else.

That is what Black and White is…..purity. The bottom line, openness ….. vulnerability. Put color in, and your images become like a frolic down the park…. In fact I might argue, you have a circus with color. You have a playground or a game within an arena.

Number two….Black and white not only is abstractness in the end result, but Black and White makes you, you the photographer; think in a different manner. It isn’t just grabbing a gay shot and then taking it back to your computer to enhance the colors beyond fairness. No sir…..not in Black and White. But there you force yourself to look into a world not normal, for you in your eyes, your human lens…..only see colors. So by forcing yourself to think in Black and White, you begin to change your thought, your view…. You are not just looking at a shot, but you are looking at ‘behind the shot’. What makes that shot, a shot and not just a shot to shoot.

Number three….Sharpness. Yes, I hear you……Black and White can be pencil thin sharp too but no….don’t go down that road. Your eyes are not perfect so why should your images be. Look for blur and I don’t imply bokeh. Look for blur and roughness in the subject or focus. Look for blur because it is natural and abstract at the same time. A good Black and White photo is a stunning representation of reality when not in focus. It is your mind, deep in sleep, or perhaps even barely cognitive. It hasn’t quite put forth the image yet and yet, there it lays.

Number four….Black and White leaves an impression upon others…..a color image just plays with their minds,….teases them. It is peripheral in nature as it never quite is lasting. But now think, please think. Take some of the best photographs you have in your memory. Go back as far as you want….. They have left an impression upon you that nothing in color can equate with.

Number Five….black and white is challenging while color is just ….okay, fun photo….now what? Cameras are set up for color and people just think in color, so why not take it in color. But a challenge is black and white. It isn’t just the focal point you need to be aware of but the entire surroundings. What blends….? what doesn’t…. You should be able to walk down the streets and instinctively be aware of what will work and what won’t. You don’t need that with color. In fact instinct doesn’t even come into the picture in many cases. But with Black and White, without instinct….you have cheap shot….

So there….five reasons….there are more and yes, I will talk more to that. But here are five to represent or to ‘start’ the game….