It’s what we call a photograph that appears to be made with little consideration for the tenants of imaging and principles of design. Voigtländer has a lens named after it. It’s usually proceeded by the word “quick.” What is really meant when we call something a “snapshot?” I started thinking about this because, when I […]
Read more "What is a Snapshot?"It’s a question that I think many photographers, film and digital alike, dismiss before even considering it: Do professional film photographers still exist? Most people would say, no. But I think there’s an inaccurate narrative about film’s place in modern photography. And it might stem from the lack of noise that pro film shooters make […]
Read more "Do Professional Film Photographers Still Exist?"Are you interested in shooting black and white and want to know what film to start with? Do you you use a lab to process your work, or do C41 at home? I highly recommend giving Ilford XP2 a spin. Ilford XP2 400 Super is a unique stock because it’s a chromogenic (color) film that […]
Read more "Ilford XP2 – A Smart Go-To B&W Film"In early 2019, the film community was pretty stressed out, and with good reason. The nearly two century old chemical manufacturer, Tetenal appeared close to shutting down. Many photographers have probably never even heard of this company, but Tetenal has been “the man behind the curtain” for many of Kodak’s products for decades. The product […]
Read more "These Photos Were Processed In Kodak’s New HC110 In Spite of The Product’s Single Flaw"There’s a lot that I don’t know about Papermoon Diner in Baltimore, Maryland. And what I think I know, I may not even remember correctly. Sometimes, I’m not even sure how to get there. I bet that with the quickest bit of Googling, I could easily find the basic information; when it opened, who the […]
Read more "Time Traveling with Papermoon Diner"Mailing out cameras and lenses for maintenance can a harrowing experience. On one hand, I’m excited to get equipment back to 100% but on the other, I get so nervous about loss or damage in the mail. Or just plain bad news from the repairer. And then, of course, I can’t keep using the camera […]
Read more "Mailing out the M6"Most prime lens SLR kits are a 28-50-85 or 135. Most rangefinder kits are a 28 or 35-50-90. 75mm is an odd focal length. I don’t think it’s even available for SLR’s and most rangefinder shooters fall on the side of either 50 or 90 – the distinction between normal and portrait focal lengths. 75. […]
Read more "An Odd Length; Voigtländer 75mm 2.5 Heliar"I touched on this topic a little bit in a previous blog about hoods for various LTM lenses entitled Throwing Shade, but I wanted to drill down on lens hood options for the Leitz 50mm f2 Summitar. As previously stated, I think that earlier Leitz lenses require a hood in many circumstances to perform their […]
Read more "Lens Hoods for the Leica Summitar"If your New Year’s resolution is to start processing your own b&w film at home, or you’re just interested in comparing notes, I thought it would be handy for me to share my darkroom grocery list. Disclaimer – I am not a chemist! I’m just a photographer who has found some products and methods that […]
Read more "Johnny Martyr’s B&W Darkroom Grocery List"It bears repeating: International Center of Photography shooter James Mignogna once told me that a good photographer matches their light, lens, film and developer. Nowhere do I think these decisions are more critical than portraits in dim lighting. That was the intro I used in my previous entry: Rating + Processing for Available Light Portraits […]
Read more "Rating + Processing for Available Light Portraits – EI 3200 ISO"