School is in Session exposure no. 9

Kiev 60 Arsat 250mm f3.5 Kodak Tri-X 400 Professional Adox Adonal 1:50 - Bob's son Greymon schools the slightly younger Felix in the art of feline combat, while a unnamed Kitten Doe looks on. Felix is the great grand son of Hitler, but despite that relation, Hitler seems to have anointed Greymon dominate male status. The "Kitten Doe" is Bob's from her 2nd litter of the year. The clan's size seems to fluctuate between 6 to 10 cats. Some kittens, once old enough, are run off by the older cats to starts adjacent clans, others, unfortunately, will not survive the winter.

BB spawn of Bob exposure no. 4

Kiev 60 Arsat 250mm f3.5 Kodak Tri-X 400 Professional Adox Adonal 1:50 - Bob's leap year daughter BB carefully watches me from behind Hitler's great grand daughter Fluffy. BB has the looks of her mother, with her markings in tan, black and grey, while Fluffy has the Black and White "Orca Felinitis" makings of her great grand mother. BB was born and leap year, so not only does she have 9 lives, but she only ages 1 year for every four that pass.

Another example of why Tri-X has been around so long.

Meet Bob exposure no. 2

Kiev 60 Arsat 250mm f3.5 Kodak Tri-x 400 Professional Adonal 1:50 - Meet "Bob," the co-alpha female of the feral cat clan that rules our street. She reigns with the older, larger "Hitler," named for her white Hitler mustache and dominate demeanor. Their clan makes sure the rodent and snake population in our neighborhood stays in check, and in return they feast on left overs. Bob is a particularly good mole hunter, carefully tracking their underground movements and then, with surgical precision, digging them out of the lawn. She often offers them in trade for a meal better suited to her tastes.

It has probably 20 years since I have shot a roll of Tri-X, an old favorite. I loved it for its grain and contrast, especially when pushed. Now it seems like a perfect match for Adox Adonal (Rodinal). The grain is surprising fine and the tonal range is outstanding. Bob is a light grey cat, with subtle darker grey and white markings, all rendered in great detail.

Hampton Hobby House Polaroid 665 Circa 1985

Polaroid Automatic 100 Polaroid 665 Positive/Negative Film - I was rummaging through my photo drawer and ran across this gem. Yes that is me circa 1985, manning the photo counter at the Hampton Hobby House in Hampton VA.. My first real job and the best job a budding photographer could ever have. I would kill to have access to half the photographic artifacts that were hidden in the drawers and boxes of that wonderful store. This was taken by my co-worker and partner in crime Alan Hilliard. We were playing with an outdated pack of Polaroid Type 665 Positive/Negative film. The print of this image was lost long ago, but I tucked away the washed negative in a plain envelope for safe keeping. Ah, the memories, some of the best days of my life. Polaroid recommended fixing the negatives with a sodium sulfite solution if I remember correctly, but we just washed them in water to remove the black backing. The negative held up pretty well over almost 30 years.

Chateau Elan exposure no. 8

Adox Golf  Cassar 75mm f4.5 Fomapan 400 Adonal (Rodinal) 1:50 - Another shot from Chateau Elan, this time the front of the winery and its fountain. Though a modern facility, the Chateau Elan Winery has a great vintage look and Paddy's Irish Pub right next door serves a great Bloody Mary.

Chateau Elan exposure no. 2

Adox Golf  Cassar 75mm f4.5 Fomapan 400 Adonal (Rodinal) 1:50 - Some places are perfect for an analog camera and black and white film, Chateau Elan, north of Atlanta, Georgia is one of the places. Good Food, Good Wine and Great Company. This was shot looking toward the rear of the Winery through the vineyards. Thanks to the overcast sky there were no light leaks from my Golf.

Of Pin Holes, Electrical Tape and the Big Ass Peach

Adox Golf  Cassar 75mm f4.5 Fomapan 400 Adonal (Rodinal) 1:50 - I love my Adox Golf. The Golf is the perfect medium format snap shot camera. It is simple, compact, has a nice lens and an uncoupled rangefinder. I bought mine off eBay in great conditional, the overall appearance is mint and the original leather case is in perfect condition, exactly the day to day shooter i wanted.... or so I thought. On shooting the first roll a discovered a hidden flaw, a pin hole somewhere in the bellows. No big deal, I have dealt with these before, a half an hour in a dark room with a flash light inserted into the back of the camera and the offending leak was found and patched with electrical tape. Problem solved.... I happily headed back out on an overcast day and shot my 2nd roll and it came out fine, but the key word here is "overcast." A few months pass and I had to do some traveling so decided to pack the Golf, again its size makes to the perfect travel companion along side my Nikon P7000. Most of the trip saw overcast skies, but I did manage to shoot most of a roll of Fomapan 400, saving the last few shots for the trip home.

Those of you that have ever driven through Gaffney, South Carolina on I-85 have seen the "Big Ass Peach," apparently also called "The Peachoid," but I prefer Big Ass Peach, it is more accurate, from the right angle it looks like a Big Ass. My plan was to pull off and get a great analog shot of the peach on my way home. I reached Gaffney and merged off the interstate and headed for my target. I pulled into the parking lot of the Fatz Restaurant conveniently located at the foot of the Big Ass Peach and stepped into the glaring Mid Day Sun to take my shot. Well, as you can see above, I missed a pin hole. I got the same result on my shots of the Possum Trot School, located on the same exit. So out comes the flashlight and electrical tape for another round of pin hole finding... Note to self, Test in direct sunlight....

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.

Distorted Reflection

Pentax Auto 110 50mm f2.8 Lomography Orca 100 Arista 76 1:1 -  The last post from my 1st Pentax Auto 110 outing. I am amazed this is 110 film. Those of you that have ever used a typical 110 Instamatic Camera know what I mean. They made Kodak Brownies look like pro quality gear. I cannot wait to shoot my 1st roll of color... The Lomography Society also has Color Tiger 110 Film, and I have a roll loaded and read to go.

Hollin's Mill Dam, Blackwater Creek Trail. Lynchburg Va.

Pentax Auto 110 18mm f2.8 Lomography Orca 100 Arista 76 1:1 - Another shot for the Pentax Auto 110. The optics and crisp and have perfect contrast. Edge to edge sharpness is flawless.

Hollin's Mill Water Moccasin

Pentax Auto 110 50mm f2.8 Lomography Orca 100 Arista 76 1:1 - Thanks to Lomography Society's new Orca 110 Black and White Film the Pentax Auto 110 has a new life. This was shot at the Hollin's Mill Dam in Lynchburg Virginia's Blackwater Creek Trail. If you look closely you can see a water moccasin hiding among the rocks. A great example of the quality the Pentax Auto 110 was able to achieve from 110 film.