I’ll admit it. As I shuffled around the streets of downtown Frederick, Maryland anticipating the paths of passersby and lifting my little black Leica to my eye, I imagined that this is what it was like for Henry Cartier Bresson before this equipment was legendary, new methods were standard practices and the genre was a […]
Read more "Leitz 5cm f3.5 Elmar: The Meaning of Gestalt"Kodak Tri-X, as a concept, has been around since the 1940’s when it was a 200 ISO b&w sheet film. Because it was their first fast film, when Kodak released the 400 ISO roll film version, the Tri-X name was maintained. Just like Kodak TMAX P3200 revolutionized low light photography in 1989, Tri-X was an […]
Read more "Happy Birthday, Kodak Tri-X"Leica is a funny camera brand. For many reasons. But one of the reasons is the company’s vehement refusal to make significant changes to their products in any conventional amount of time. Often, no matter how much people complain or demand change, Leica model after Leica model remain nearly identical to the previous, sporting only […]
Read more "Leica and the Big Shutter Speed Dial Reversal"I’m not usually one for human interaction. Part of the reason I got into photography was so that I would have something to hide behind at social gatherings. So it’s not often that I meet up with other photographers. But this past Friday night, that’s exactly what I found myself doing when fellow photobloggers Mark […]
Read more "Film Photographers, UNITE!"Choosing Leica mount lenses is always a bit of a struggle for me. I can find things I like and don’t like about them all. And the ones that meet my ideal specs are often out of my price range. So I will end up buying another lens as a reaction to something I did […]
Read more "5 LTM 50’s for $500 or Less"*I originally published the following article on Petapixel on September 11th, 2020, it is reproduced here in honor of the 20th anniversary “With a press pass around his neck and a camera bag over his shoulder, in the middle of a crossfire – Bill was in heaven.” —Wendy Doremus September 11, 2001 was a sunny […]
Read more "The Final Moments of 9/11 Photographer, Bill Biggart"If you’re okay with giving inconceivable amounts and forms of personal information to Big Data, you may as well use your smart voice assistant to help you process your film too! And while there are no consumer AI’s that have hands yet, they are still willing to help film photographers the best that they can. […]
Read more "“Alexa, Process My Film!”"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"
Johnny Martyr 