Vanishing Point

Kiev 60 Arsat 150mm f2.8 Fujifilm Neopan Acros 100 Caffenol-C-M plus Salt - An eery trip into light and shadow, this track trails off into oblivion. The late afternoon sun casting shadows made this shot for me.

Scanned with an Epson V500 Photo using Epson's OEM software.

Under The Bridge

Kiev 60 Arsat 150mm f2.8 Fujifilm Neopan Acros 100 Caffenol-C-M plus Salt - The supports of the Lynchburg Expressway Bridge that crosses the railroad tracks and the James River. An interesting mix of symmetry and chaos.

Scanned with an Epson V500 Photo using Epson's OEM software.

Textures and Tones

Kiev 60 Arsat 80mm f2.8 Fujifilm Neopan Acros 100 Adox Adonal 1:50 - An interesting mix of textures and tones combine in this image. Nature and Graffiti Artists seem to be battling to see who can cover this building first.

Scanned using an Epson V500 Photo using Epson OEM Software.

RAZA

Kiev 60 Arsat 80mm f2.8 Fujifilm Neopan Acros 100 Adox Adonal 1:50 - A Graffiti Artist and Nature making use of the same canvas.

Scanned using an Epson V500 Photo using Epson OEM Software.

Private Property - Rustotica

Kiev 60 Arsat 80mm f2.8 Fujifilm Neopan Acros 100 Adox Adonal 1:50 - A great old sign in the lower basin in downtown Lynchburg Virginia, rusting to perfect Rustotica.

Scanned using an Epson V500 Photo using Epson OEM Software.

Every Car is out to Kill You

Kiev 60 Arsat 80mm f2.8 Fujifilm Acros 100 Adox Adonal 1:50 - Apparently I did not get the memo on the Car conspiracy, but now I have been warned.

Scanned with and Epson V500 Photo using Epson's OEM software.

Door No. 3

Kiev 60 Arsat 80mm f2.8 Fujifilm Acros 100 Adox Adonal 1:50 - The Lower Basin in downtown Lynchburg Virginia provides almost no end of great subjects. This is the loading door of an old warehouse building. I love the way brick and weathered wood renders in black and white.

Scanned with and Epson V500 Photo using Epson's OEM software.

Kajin Tora....

Fujifilm GA645Zi Fujinon 55-90 f4.5/6.9 Fujifilm Acros 100 Arista 76 1:1 - One of the first shots from my GZ645Zi, our cat Kajin Tora was striking a great pose so I could not pass her up. She has stunning eyes and a killer instinct.

Scanned with an Epson V500 Photo using Epson's OEM software.

The Infamous Texas Inn

Fujifilm GA645Zi Fujinon 55-90 f4.5/6.9 Fujifilm Acros 100 Arista 76 1:1 - A Lynchburg land mark for more years then must people remember, the "T-Room" as it is known, specializes in Chili and Hamburgers and serves up some of the best hang over food in town. Their trademark burger is the Cheesy Western, a cheese burger with Chili topped with a fried egg. The decor is classic 1950's lunch counter, with a sprinkling of greasy spoon, but do not let the rough edges keep you away. The Texas in a classic American Burger joint in the best sense of the genre.

Scanned with an Epson V500 Photo using Epson's OEM Software.

Watch that first step!

Fujifilm GA645Zi Fujinon 55-90 f4.5/6.9 Fujifilm Acros 100 Arista 76 1:1 - A door to nowhere, this one adorns the side of the Academy of Music in downtown Lynchburg VA.. Now a part of Lynchburg Academy of Fine Arts the old theatre has been under active restorations for several years.

Scanned with an Epson V500 Photo using Epson's OEM software.

GMC

Fujifilm GA645Zi Fujinon 55-90 f4.5/6.9 Fujifilm Acros 100 Arista 76 1:1 - An example of why the GA645Zi is my new love. The Fujinon zoom lens, if a bit slow, is absolutely stunning. The sharpness and contrast jumped off the negatives even before I scanned them. There are many reason I still shoot film, habit, nostalgia, the process, the smell of fixer and images like this.

Scanned with and Epson V500 Photo using Epson's OEM software.

Sins of Storms Past exposure no. 1

Koni-Omega Rapid 200 Super Omegon 90mm f3.5 Fujifilm Neopan Acros 100 Adonal 1:50 - A shallow rooted tree and high wind led to the destruction of this house. The light leak on my Koni-Omega has been corrected and after a little cleaning, she is a finer shooter. Trying to get back into the swing after a brief hiatus for the Holidays and a case of shooters block.
Scanned using and Epson V500 Photo using Epson's OEM software.

Alternative Energy Revisited

Mamiya Press 23 100mm f2.8 FUJIFILM Neopan Acros 100 Arista 76 Developer 1:1 - Created from a mistake during the shoot from my post Alternative Energy no. 2, this image contains a little more Photoshop work than I normal post here, but I believe interesting enough to share. I broke out my Mamiya Press 23 for the first time in many years and had for gotten that the film advance for this 6x9 rangefinder was a 2 stroke affair. Though I remembered after the 4th exposure, the 1st 4 frames were overlapped. What surprised me was the consistency and position of the overlaps. I used Photoshop to balance the exposure between the different sections of the overlaps, but decided not to blend the edges, as I believe the actually contribute to the feel of the image. I love the final result.

Below is the orginal "un-shopped" scan for comparison.

Scanned with an Epson V500 Using Epson's OEM scanner software.

Disappointing Fruit of Misguided Labor

Kodak Brownie Bull's Eye FujiFilm Neopan Across 100 Arista 76 1:1 - Sometimes things just do not work out. I acquired a Kodak Brownie Bull's Eye Camera sometime ago and have been dying to try it out. Two weeks ago I respooled roll of FujiFilm Acros 100 120 film onto a 620 spool and loaded the camera. That seemed to go smoothly enough, but life got in the way and it was not until this weekend that I actually got out to shoot the roll.

The Bull's Eye has a "guestimation" focusing system. Basically you guess the focus and set the distance. The camera also has a "fixed" focus setting, where the lens locks at 10 ft and everything from 6 ft. to Infinity should be in focus. Being my first time out with this camera I decided to use the "fixed" focus setting, so I set the lens and threw the camera into my bag and headed out. I happily roamed downtown Lynchburg VA. snapping the 8 6x9cm frames.

On returning home and removing the camera from my bag I discovered mistake number one. Sometime while sliding the camera in and out of my bag ,I knocked the lens off of the 10 ft. "fixes" focus point. Worse yet, I moved it to the close side, so the lens was focused at somewhere between 4 to 10 feet,,, CRAP! Oh well, at least some of the shots should come out. When I went to unload the camera I ran across mistake number two. The film hand wound very loosely. The film was not fully shielded by the sides of the 620 take up spool. This was probably caused during the respooling process by my failure to keep enough tension on the film. Making matters worse the take up spool fits snuggly inside the Bull's Eye and the loose wind meant I had to pry the roll of of the camera with a screw drive,,,, crap, Crap, CRAP!

Pushing forward I developed the film. Luckily the loose wind caused nothing more than some minor edge fogging. That is where my luck ran out. Apparently, the focus on the camera was knocked out of position prior to the first shot. All the shots would suffer from a severe case of near sightedness. I proceeded to scan the film and confirmed my worst fears. The image above shows the results. Though image has a great retro look, and the poor focus would not be uncommon for the cameras of the time, I cannot help but imagine it would have been great if correctly focused.

The Post War Dream

Start Twin Lens Reflex Euktar 75mm f4.0 FujiFilm Neopan Acros Arista 76 1:1 - Shot about 3 weeks back on Monument Terrace in Lynchburg Va., this image started the following verse from Pink Floyd's some "The Gunner's Dream" looping in my head.

A place to stay
Enough to eat
Somewhere old heroes shuffle safely down the street
Where you can speak out loud
About your doubts and fears
And what's more no-one ever disappears
You never hear their standard issue kicking in your door.
You can relax on both sides of the tracks
And maniacs don't blow holes in bandsmen by remote control
And everyone has recourse to the law
And no-one kills the children anymore.
And no one kills the children anymore.

© Pink Floyd from The Album The Final Cut

As the Politicians, Spin Doctor, PACs and Talking Heads squabble, prattle and lie to accomplish nothing more than the status quo on either side, I cannot help but think we fail to honor the memory of those who gave some much to insure that we, as a society, would not live in tyranny.

Herco Imperial 620 Snap Shot Camera

Herco Imperial 620 Snap Shot Camera FujiFilm Neopan Acros 100 Caffenol-C-M -  A failed experiment of sorts, but with some interesting results. The Herco Imperial is designed to use 620 film. Those of you who have ever done it, know the re-spooling a 120 roll onto a 620 spool can be tricky and time consuming. I always seem to have issues getting the anchor tape to reattach, or worse, tear the paper backing when peeling the tape in the 1st place. The Kodak Brownie Hawkeye will use 120 film without issue as long as you use a 620 take up spool. I was hoping the same would be true for this little box camera.

The 120 feed spool, did fit, it was a little tight but seemed to be ok. I was able to mount the back and advance the film to the 1st frame. The advance knob seemed tight and there were some concerning "crinkling" noise coming from inside the camera, but what the hell, at this point, I am committed. I managed to get 4 shots off and give myself a blister on my thumb trying to turn the tight advance knob, before the film would go no further. I had to unload the film in the dark and roll it the rests of the way onto the take up spool by hand. More cause for concern came while loading the film onto the reel for developing, the edges of the portion of the film that was exposed, felt very similar to the edges of a lasagna noodle. I was able to get the roll loaded, but not without a little more force that I normally like to exert on a roll of film.

I developed the roll and proceeded to scan the negatives. Two samples of which you can see above. The stress on the film causes it to ripple on the film plane causing some interesting distortion. If you look closely you can see the fountain rim around the Dough Boy Monument looks like it caves in on the right side and the stairs on the second image seem to have a wave in them. Not a complete disaster, but next time I will make the effort to re-spool.

Another Caffeinated Box Camera

Ansco Shur Shot FujiFilm Neopan Acros 100 Caffenol-C-M - Caffenol and Box cameras are a match made in heaven. This is the view from Monument Terrace looking down towards the the James River in Lynchburg Virginia. Remove the modern cars and your could almost believe this was 1950 not 2012...

"The Dough Boy" Monument Terrace, Lynchburg, Va.

Start Twin Lens Reflex Euktar 75mm f4.0 FujiFilm Neopan Acros Arista 76 1:1 - A little in town site seeing, The Dough Boy guards the landing of Lynchburg Virginia's Monument Terrace. Shot with my Start Twin Lens Reflex, the upper right had corner shows a focusing issue with the camera, I believe, I have now corrected. We will see on the next roll I shoot.

Shooter's Block

Heat me lazy. Life gets in the way. I work too much. The Dog ate my Neopan and the Cat drank my Rodinal. All valid excuses for the fact my shooting mind looks like the image above. Ok, so the dog and cat think is not true, but the others are dead on. In the end, they are just excuses. I just need to clear my mind and move forward. The Virginia heat has chased me out of my attic studio for the summer, but the sun is shining, my flashes work and the flowers are blooming, so that is still just an excuse...

I think shooter's, as with writer's block, is just a problem with motivation. Ideas come, but are dismissed with little thought. Squelched for being unoriginal, too simplistic or any other number of lame excuses artists and creative types come up with for not doing the work the love. We blame muses, society, the man, anything to cover our lack of motivation. Any excuse not to take the simple, unoriginal idea and turn it into something simple but original, or fail trying.... Failure, the greatest excuse of all. The main reason not to try at all....

Bullshit.

Above image - Agfa Ansco B2 Shur-Shot Regular FujFilm Neopan Acros 100 Caffenol-C-M - What happens when you forget to advance the film on a box camera.

Caffeinated Box Camera exposure no. 6

Agfa Ansco B2 Shur-Shot Regular FujFilm Neopan Acros 100 Caffenol-C-M - Something about caffenol and vintage cameras just works. Shot with the Shur-Shot discussed in my previous post and developed with caffenol-c-m, this a a repeat of a previous subject with a different feel.