Old Time Cameras

Where I have been and some apologies

2008-03-28T17:48:00.000-07:00

First off I have to apologize for not responding to folks leaving comments here. I have actually been very busy this last year and have not had the time or energy to put into the blog like I have wanted to. I am a more able now to do so.

The other problem I have had has been technical. I have had some problems with my computer and internet access. anyway, after losing most of my software and reinstalling almost everything, I am back up and running except that I need a wireless card for a desktop. That is my next purchase once the tax returns come. The school where I work actually blocks blogspot, even though I use it in the classroom, so I am not able to access my blog there. That leaves the community computer for now.

Please keep looking, commenting and asking questions. I will respond as soon as I am able.

Mike

Kiev 4 and Hell's Canyon

2008-03-28T17:28:00.000-07:00

I sold a few of my cameras a month or so ago and bought a Kiev 4, rangefinder camera from the Former Soviet Union. It is patterned after the Contax line of cameras and is quite a gem. I loaded up a roll and we headed to Hell's Canyon as it was the only place around with less than two feet of snow.

Here is Bubba waiting in my classroom to load up and get going on our trip.

Here he is holding his sister and mother in the palm of his hand. Show-off.

Still life I took before we left to test focus and film.

Ranch on the way. Bear sculptures and around three to four feet of snow. The rest are all Hell's Canyon.

Some Polaroid Pics

2008-03-28T16:41:00.000-07:00

Polaroid is closing its doors for good on its instant film production. It is a bit sad because of all the artistic uses for Polaroid film. Fuji is still producing instant film that can be used in pacfilm cameras so there still is an outlet, albeit a more expensive one. These were taken using polaroid 665 film that produces a black and white photo as well as negative. i took these last summer, but finally got around to scanning them. Polaroid actually stopped production of this film a year ago or so. Great stuff.

My Girl

2007-10-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

This is my girl Alex ready to go watch her brother play football. We adopted her almost two years ago and have been eternally grateful since that time. She is posing for her dad here and loves to have her picture taken.

Little Guy Football

2007-10-16T21:40:00.000-07:00

My son, #27, has been playing football this fall and has a game twice a week. These are some pics of him playing fullback. Taken with my Kodak digital. I know it isn't old or film, but I needed to do something quick, so that I could post.

Me as a little guy!

2006-11-05T19:36:00.000-08:00

My dad gave me a box of 8mm movies to transfer to DVD. They are old family movies of rodeo's, family reunion's, and such. They are a treasure to me, as they contain some video of my grandparents and great grandparents. In the box of goodies, I found a couple of boxes of slides. These are a couple of slides of me as a kid. Yikes!! I will add a couple of my brother in his diaper with a cowboy hat on, my sister in pony tails, and various and assorted others.

Where I live part of the time

2006-10-29T10:27:00.000-08:00

I resigned from my job at the university so that I could teach English and Spanish. I ended up getting offered a job to teach at a small school near Joseph Oregon. The area is spectacularly beautiful, with mountains surrounding the whole area, and wildlife all around.

The school was getting ready to sell off all of the darkroom supplies so I decided to rescue all that good stuff, and started a photography club. I ended up with around 25 members, which is more than I thought we would have. I mentioned the fact that we were meeting for the first time, over at nelsonfoto, and the fine folks there started sending gifts. I got a few 35mm cameras to loan those students that didn't have a camera, chemicals to develop film and paper, 100' of film, and various goodies. The generosity from those folks is amazing.

Hagar in the Land Down Under

2006-10-22T22:49:00.000-07:00

Another participant in the Hagar trip around the world posted a few images and a great travel log and history of his city. For the full write-up, please look here http://nelsonfoto.com/v/showthread.php?t=6305. The quality from all of the participants so far has been fabulous. Thank you all for participating.

Hagar in Germany Part II

2006-10-08T17:36:00.001-07:00

Hagar, the traveling camera had a chance to visit a gay pride parade and get a few photos. These are actually quite good and I am surprised at the ability of my friends to get street shots with this old beast. For a complete rundown of the photos taken at the parade please see nelsonfoto at http://nelsonfoto.com/v/showthread.php?t=5728 (Not Safe For Work).

Friday Night Lights

2006-10-08T17:29:00.000-07:00

Here a couple from a night game our local high school was playing.

Photos from Field Trip

2006-10-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

The Biology teacher and I took all of the sophomores on a biology/poetry field trip about a week ago. We ended up catching two grouse and banding them, hiking and observing nature, and doing a bit of research on the plants and animals of the region. These are some photos from the trip.

Holga Pics from Florida

2006-09-22T22:03:00.000-07:00

This is a set of photos from our trip to Florida this year. This is how behind I actually am with my blog. I have been overly busy this year and am still trying to finish up a house I have been working on.

This photo was of a way hot girl that my brother wanted a photo of. I didn't want to do it, but...

This is my mom with our new baby.

My extremely sunburnt brother who wanted the photo of the hot girl.

Of course, you have to have a shot of seagulls when you go to the beach.

John Ford's West--Part three

2006-08-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

I was watching a John Wayne movie the other night and recognized the area where the film was shot. Many of the western movies were shot in Utah around where my grandparents were from. These shots are from that same area.

Flowers--again

2006-08-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

Please remember to click on photo to see larger image. Thanks for looking.

Altoids Pinhole and First Color Pinhole

2006-08-07T14:32:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at color pinhole photography. It was made in an Altoids tin that I decided to play with. It is not the best, but gives me a good starting point.

Minolta Himatic Underwater Camera

2006-07-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

My family and I recently took a trip to Florida to visit my mom and to introduce her to her new grandaughter. Sinc eFlorida has sun, sand, and water, I thought that I would take a camera that could handle all three. I chose the Minolta Weathermatic simply because I have had great success with the Himatic line.

These first two pics were from a test roll that I ran, to make sure the camera worked. My only complaint is that it does not have the most sharp focus in the world, being in a waterproof housing.

This is our first pic taken in the water. The pool water was nice and clear which made shooting underwater pretty easy.

This was taken in the ocean from a distance of about 8 inches. The water was pretty murky so underwater shooting was poor.

These next two pics show what the camera was made for, wading out into the water and taking a photo from the level of the water, not above it. This is my son jumping waves and me snapping the picture with part of the camera still in the water. It offers a different perspective.

This is my one shot of a cute girl on the beach. My brother made me take it!!! Honest. My wife didn't believe me either so I have to be extra careful. My only real regret is that the camera was not sharper out of the water and that I was not closer.

Hagar The Viking in Germany

2006-07-18T20:03:00.000-07:00

A gentleman in Germany was the next to receive Hagar the Ansco Viking that I had sent off. He got some fab pics from the old camera. For a better explanation and to see more photos, please got to http://nelsonfoto.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4793 and take a visit.

In his own words: "Hagar safely arrived here in Germany mid-June. So I had the great opportunity to show Hagar around in Frankfurt, which is one of the cities where the FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 soccer championship is being held. While Hagar had missed the wild English soccer fans attending the game England-Paraguay, he got several chances to mingle with the celebrating German fans after two victorious games (none of which was played in Frankfurt) of the German team."

Summer Roses

2006-07-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

John Ford's West #2

2006-07-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

What's Florida without Gators?

2006-07-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

or Flamingos?

Kodak No.1Pocket and Arches

2006-06-29T21:34:00.000-07:00

This is a Kodak No.1 Pocket camera that uses 120 film and produces a 6x9 negative. I went through southern Utah, on my way to a family reunion, and decided to use this camera to help document my trip. The camera was produced until 1926 and uses 120 rollfilm. I used this to try and document the west as seen through the eyes of John Ford, the director. The pictures certainly have a distinct stamp on them and could pass for something actually taken back in the 1920's.

Flowers

2006-06-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

I am in the midst of processing film taken while in Florida. I have been working all kinds of crazy hours lately, so I don't have enough done to post here. I am heading to Colorado andUtah for a family reunion this weekend so I will have more film to process. I think I shot about six rolls of 35mm and three rolls of 120 film while in Florida. I hope to have at least one or two decent shots from those rolls. I should shoot about that many on this trip, so will have plenty of material for the blog, but I am a bit behind on the processing and scanning. Please keep checking back and feel free to leave comments and suggestions. I need suggestions to help continually improve my photography, so help me out.

Here are some flowers taken earlier this spring. I just can't get enough of the macro. The roses are coming on strong now, so I will have some images of those to post. I understand that some may get bored with the same ol' shots, but after a long, gray, and rainy winter and spring, flowers are extra nice for me.

PS. Hagar the Viking is now in Germany. Can't wait to see the images. I will update those as they come in.

The Viking Lands in Wales

2006-06-13T14:44:00.000-07:00

Sandeha, a very nice gentleman and fellow photographer from Wales, took Hagar around to show the Viking the sights. I am increasingly aware of my shortcomings as a photographer with the postings of the participants of the Hagar trip. Using the same camera, these photographers post much better results than I got and Sandeha is no exception to this statement. He actually put some colorthrough the camera which turned out quite nice. For the rest of the photos, please visit http://www.nelsonfoto.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4402 His website http://www.sandehalynch.com/ is also worth a visit. Be sure to click on the photos below for larger views.

Hagar the Viking update

2006-06-09T10:43:00.000-07:00

This is Phillip with Hagar the Ansco Viking camera in Newfoundland. Apparantly, the camera and Phillip got along together just fine, because the images are very good. For more images and information on the trip please visit http://nelsonfoto.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4236

I quote, "The only authenticated Norse (=Viking) archaeological site in North America is at Lance aux Meadows (a.k.a. L'anse aux meadows and known locally as Lancey Meadows) in Northern Newfoundland. A street in St. John's is named for that community: "

A mister Sebastian Toombs took some time to show the Viking around Victoria B.C. for a time and I have posted two of the photos here. Unfortunately, Hagar decided to decapitate a few people and buildings, but I will let Mr Toombs tell the story, because he does it better than I. Please visit http://nelsonfoto.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=4118 for more photos and the running dialogue.

Hagar is now in Wales and is happily snapping away.

Oh, One more thing

2006-06-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

Thought I would try something in Sepia. What think ye?

I will also update Hagar the Ansco Viking's travel next week. He has seen two more stops recently. Cool!!!

Next Week and a weed

2006-06-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

I am trying to do a a series of wildflowers and weeds that grow in our area. This is a weed, but that is quite pretty. The flower is about the size of a pencil eraser, maybe a bit bigger, and lasts for a couple of weeks. This one lasted much less, I mowed it down shortly after snapping the photo.

I am heading out to visit my mother in Florida this week and will be collecting a few shots from that state. Check back to see some updates next week. I am planning on taking my Fuji half-frame camera, the Holga, a Pentax sv, and a surprise camera. I will take some photos, call my Mom "Granny" because she hates that, and try not to get airsick.

My Favorite Flower

2006-06-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

This is my all time favorite flower. It is the one given to more Mom's across the country than any other, is really quite beautiful, and the greens taste good in a salad. "Dandelion Wine" is also one of my favorite books.

Light

2006-05-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

These are some shots I took as an experiment with different lighting. It was fun to do and I learned a few things, which is always good.

I really do like spring

2006-05-23T16:13:00.000-07:00

Wasp

2006-05-23T10:17:00.000-07:00

Spring is here!

2006-05-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

Tulip

2006-05-19T16:24:00.000-07:00

Again, Please click on the image to see the flowers for real.

Edit: This is a non-Photoshopped photo. Fuji film, very bright first year flowers, and a decent lens.

Hagar the Horrible--Update

2006-05-19T16:16:00.000-07:00

One of the next stops for the Ansco Viking camera that is going around the world, was Port Credit Ontario. Gene W. had the camera, and got some great shots from the old beast. For more info, and pics, go to http://nelsonfoto.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3978 Gene's blog is Musing on Photography, linked here, check it out.

A Peak Into Our Mother's Day

2006-05-17T16:02:00.000-07:00

We had a great Mother's Day this year. My wife got what she asked for, a day working in the yard with no complaining from my son, and no advice on how we should do things from me. I am still not sure why she asked for that last part. I chose the Brownie Bull's Eye (pictured above) for the task. It is quite a camera with two shutter speeds, one aperature, and a huge negative.

My wife and her new helper, who actually doesn't help all that much.

The fam on the new swing we put together. The baby is happy!!!

Getting ready for the swing.

Not us in the buggy, but I heard the clopping going by our house and rushed out to get the pic. The Kodak is the perfect camera for this subject as it helps the image look a bit antique.

Proof that I was actually working. My son took this. The camera must be held still because of the slow shutter speed, but I think he did a pretty good job, apart from the unsteady hand. I don't want photos of me being that sharp anyway, they show too many flaws.

I like spiders more and more

2006-05-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

Spring Bird Series

2006-05-12T13:07:00.000-07:00

This is a series of pics that I took about two weeks ago. They were taken with my Canon Elan 7 or the Pentax Spotmatic and super Takumar lens. I got up, on a Saturday, before any sane person should be up on the weekend and went out to a local Marsh to try and get a photo or two. I ended up taking seven rolls of film before the day was through. Some of the slide film is still being processed. Later in the morning, my family and I went on a fun tour with some local birders and the colleges Biology department. We ended up getting photo captures of some nice species. I missed a huge owl that day, but had a great time and won a bat house at a raffle after all was over. Please click the pictures to see the large version, you can actually see the birds!

Spring Bird Series--More

2006-05-12T11:21:00.000-07:00

Spring Bird Series--More

2006-05-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

Two More reflections

2006-05-05T12:30:00.000-07:00

Flowers

2006-05-05T12:17:00.000-07:00

Wet Spring

2006-05-03T09:59:00.000-07:00

These were taken alongside the road I travel to work every morning. I am quite lucky that way. Please click on the photos to see the larger sizes. Feel free to comment. Many of these reflections take on an almost "painterly" quality, especially in a slight breeze.

Another Kiev 4 Test shot

2006-04-27T12:13:00.000-07:00

Pinholes from the 8x10 camera

2006-04-27T12:06:00.000-07:00

More Spring

2006-04-24T12:15:00.000-07:00

Nature is a constant fascination to me and is always unfolding right before our eyes. The varieties are truly amazing. From subtle pastels to brilliant, vibrant colors, change is before us constantly. Is it any wonder I am drawn to photography?

Crown Graphic Shot

2006-04-24T12:06:00.000-07:00

Please click on images to see larger size.

The Crown Graphics are the cameras used in lots of old detective films that the reporters used, with the huge flash bulbs on the side. I will try and post a picture of the camera soon. I meant to do that, but didn't quite get to it.

Kiev 4

2006-04-20T07:05:00.000-07:00

These were taken with a camera from the Former Soviet Union, called the Zorki 4. This camera has the brightest rangefinder of all the Leica III copies I have handled and the Jupiter 8 lens is also one of the best. I was on my way to work and it was very foggy, but the sun had just topped the mountains and lit up the trees and grasses. The fog, and the opportunity were gone after about ten minutes. It doesn't hurt to be lucky.

Click on images to see the big pics!

Easter Eggs

2006-04-19T10:02:00.000-07:00

Pinhole Eggs

This shot was taken by my son. He is going to be a famous photog someday. These are actually the colored eggs.

B&W Spring

2006-04-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

Hagar the Traveling Viking--Update

2006-04-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

The Ansco Viking that is making a tour around parts of the world, is almost ready to leave Canada. There have been four participants in Canada so far, and there will be one more before heading off to the UK.

Nancy B is the latest to have the camera and all of the following shots were taken by her. For a more complete writeup and more photos, please follow this thread: http://nelsonfoto.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3243 After the project is done, I think we will put a book together with travel dialogue and photos, and publish it. I don't know how much interest it will garner, but my mom will probably buy a copy anyway.

Wild Macro

2006-04-13T14:59:00.000-07:00

Willow buds

2006-04-13T14:58:00.000-07:00

More Spring--Birds

2006-04-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

More Spring--Animals

2006-04-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

More Spring--Flowers

2006-04-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

To the Far Blue Mountains

2006-04-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

These are the Elkhorn Mountains is Eastern Oregon, an amazingly beautiful place.

Or B&W?

Colored B&W

2006-04-07T15:24:00.000-07:00

Spring Willows=Burning Bush

2006-04-06T15:34:00.000-07:00

Please click on picture to see larger image.

Bald Eagle Series

2006-04-06T15:28:00.000-07:00

My only regret with these pictures is the lack of color. Part of this is due to the film used and part is due to the overcast and drab spring weather. Still love the eagles though.

Spring Macro

2006-04-06T14:11:00.000-07:00

Latest Pinhole

2006-04-04T19:32:00.000-07:00

Spring Crocus

Caution: Fairly large file for Dial-up

Nephew

2006-04-04T14:17:00.000-07:00

This is the first portrait shot I took with a large format camera. It was an older Crown Graphic and 135mm lens. It uses sheet film 4"x5" in size. These negatives can be blown up to quite a large size.
Click on the link to see the larger size.

Our Chicken Outing

2006-04-01T09:27:00.000-08:00

Inspired by Mark over on randomphotoblog and Mike Connealy on nelsonfoto, I decided to bust out a point and shoot plastic camera to get some photos of our first trip picking up some chickens. I loaded the beast with some B&W and snapped a couple. I love the sharp centers and out-of focus edges, they remind me of a 35mm Holga. The color pics were taken by a little different camera.

me

2006-03-31T19:55:00.000-08:00

Crown Graphic Shots

2006-03-30T11:19:00.000-08:00

These are the first two images I made with the Crown Graphic that I got from the lady selling her father's photography gear. This camera came in the same shape as the other cameras, almost perfect. I did a little cleaning and finally got around to shooting some film. Since spring is here, I thought some flowers would be good subjects. These are difficult to shoot in black and white, but they turned out pretty good. The large negative size is amazing to work with.

Sister's Holga Shots

2006-03-30T09:58:00.000-08:00

My sister and her husband came to stay for the weekend and we all went for a hike behind the house. I was telling her about the Holgak and, since she hadn't shot medium format before, we decided she should shoot some pics on our hike. These are a few from that roll.

Kitchen Window

2006-03-30T09:57:00.000-08:00

Two More Minolta

2006-03-28T10:52:00.000-08:00

Minolta Himatic 7s--Multnomah falls trip

2006-03-28T09:23:00.000-08:00

Same place as the Holga shots, but with a rangefinder. The light was pretty harsh in a couple of shots, so metering was difficult.

This is a little cave that my son found and hid in. He just loves to scare his mom, so he hid there and jumped out at her when she passed by. She about jumped off the cliff with the baby in the carrier. She almost karate chopped him out of self defense. It is a good thing I don't scare easily. The truth is I almost had a heart attack and was reaching for my glycerin pills, but I am not about to show my fear or it will be a daily occurance that he jumps out at me.

Quad Cam

2006-03-28T09:14:00.000-08:00

While we were in Portland a couple of weekends ago, I picked up a brand new Quad Cam in a bookstore. I already had one, but it was an Eddy Bauer edition, and this one was new, green, and came with instructions. It is exactly the same camera, but this one came with it very own light leak. Cool! It needs a bit faster shutter, and larger aperture. It is supposed to capture a series of action shots on one frame of film. It turns out that it needs to be slow action. Fun camera despite its shortcomings.

Fuji Half Frame color shots

2006-03-24T13:32:00.000-08:00

I tried some color film in the Fuji Half-Frame camera that I got earlier this month. It turns out that, if I guess the distance correctly for focusing, the camera does a pretty good job with color. I just need to remember to let the processing place know that this is half frame. They messed up some scans and I need to rescan some negatives. The only problem is that my son used the camera on our trip to Portland and loved it. Now I can't get it from him. If it will get him interested in photography, great!

Holga and Multnomah Falls

2006-03-23T09:22:00.000-08:00

My little family and I just spent some time in Portland. My wife went to a scrapbooking convention and I ended up at a photography seminar all day Saturday. On the way back, we stopped at Mutnomah falls which is off the freeway going into Portland. Before we left, I decided to take the Holga and Minolta 7s on this trip. I was hoping to get some street shots with the Holga, but it didn't happen because of our three month old daughter and my need to hold her every minute on this trip. Upset babies don't make for the best photography trip. On the way back, we decided to stop and hike the falls. It is one mile to the top of the falls. The falls lie in the Columbia River Gorge which is a true marvel of beauty. The Holga turned out to be perfect for this hike.

Viking update 2

2006-03-21T11:23:00.000-08:00

The Ansco Viking that is travelling around the world has completed its first stop. It was rough stop for the camera and my friend Mike Kovacs. I was not aware just how poor the bellows were on the old beast, but they had quite a few light leaks. I ended up buying a second camera and sending it to Mike so that he could use it instead. The only problem was that the second had a problem with the film plate and would not hold the film flat. Mike did heroic work and did a bellows transplant from the second camera to the first. I shudder to think what I would have done without Mike to kick things off right. These are the first pics the camera produced after having a bit of servicing. These are a few of Mike's series done with the camera. For more photos and pics of the camera, please got to http://www.nelsonfoto.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2500 The camera is now in the hands of the third participant up in the snowy white north. Please click on pics to see larger images, you will not be disappointed.

Three Color Canon Photos

2006-03-20T14:19:00.000-08:00

Macro--My life in small

2006-03-20T14:08:00.000-08:00

Mamas don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys

2006-03-15T21:42:00.000-08:00

B&W

or Color?

Explanation

2006-03-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

I feel that I might need to give a bit of an explanation for the photos that I recently posted. Not that anyone really cares, but a few might be interested. This reflects, a bit, my philosophy of the blog and photography. I don't know if I would call myself a photographer, artist, repair person, perfectionist, or any of those things that would qualify me as a good photographer. I have thought recently of putting together a blog using rss feeds and only posting my best work as many have done, but, quite frankly I am not as interested in that sort of blog. I could, I feel, take my most modern camera, get good film, and produce a blog full of sharp, nice photos with artistic qualities. Aren't there enough doing that already? At the expense of not being added to as many "favorites" lists on photoblogs.org, I think I will stick to this type of photoblog and call myself, not photographer, but experimentor.

Why do I say this in regards to the recent posts? These pictures are mostly just family snapshots. No pretense at art here. You won't see them on anyones building in downtown New York or in an art studio. I am fine with that. They do represent different periods in my life and as such "mean" something to me. They are periods in my life that made me happy and bring up memories that keep the past alive. These are things that are precious to me, meaning they are my treasures. Also, I like the look of some of the photographs produced by the old cameras. These are of great interest to me. Besides, I love the pants my younger brother, by 12 years, is wearing in the fish photo. That is a classic photo.

Please forgive the overly long explanation, we will now get back to programming as usual.

Doritos are deer food!

2006-03-15T10:20:00.000-08:00

Kid Brother

2006-03-15T10:19:00.000-08:00

Es goood Gauronteee!

2006-03-13T09:09:00.000-08:00

Zorro!

2006-03-13T09:08:00.000-08:00

Pouting

2006-03-13T09:07:00.000-08:00

Pinhole

2006-03-08T19:06:00.000-08:00

This was taken with the pinhole camera I made, but this time I used all three pinholes at once. If you click on this, the image is quite large but needs to be viewed this way to sort all of it out. To give you an idea of size that one can get out of 8x10, most images on the blog here are reduced to around 600x400, most 35mm images scanned at Walmart are 1000x1500, and this scan, after cropping, scanned in at over 11,000x?. There is only one flagpole and one MIA-POW stone, in reality, but pinholes aren't always supposed to represent reality. Photographs don't always do that either. Click on the photo and take a look.

Welta 9x12 Plate Camera--Edited and updated

2006-03-07T14:11:00.000-08:00

Previously I hadn't put any pictures of the camera here. These were taken with the Holga to give a bit of old time feel.

These are a the first few test shots I took with a Welta 9x12 plate camera. I bought this a while ago with eight kodak film holders. 9x12 size film is almost as large as 4x5 film used in many cameras today. This camera uses sheet film that is loaded into a holder. You get one shot per holder so don't want to waste the shot. You set up the camera, put the dark cloth over your head, check the ground glass screen where the image is upside down, focus the image, remove the ground glass, put in the film holder, set the lens aperature and shutter speed, remove the slide, take the picture, replace the slide, replace the focusing screen, and you are ready to set up the next shot. Needless to say, this is not a fast camera to use. It takes deliberate set up and should, over time make for better photographs. It came in a nice leather case made in Nurnburg and the whole set-up weighs a ton, but I can't wait for better weather to take it on some hikes.

Crop from above. The negative above, when scanned and left at original size, are pretty sharp and would easily print quite large.

Back of the house. One of my favorite spots.

Another poart of the house. This old weathered wood is quite photogenic. The silver dollar plants are quite nice as well. The only problem was that the wind started blowing about the time I wanted to take a picture. I waited and waited for it to stop, but it never did. Finally, the wind hit a semi-lull and I snapped the photo. Again the net doesn't do the photo justice. It is not the best, but looks much better full size.

Crop from above. The movement of the plants gave an almost translucent quality to leaves.

Tower Type III--Updated

2006-03-06T10:09:00.000-08:00

I finally got around to getting a picture of the Zorki 6 and Tower Type III cameras. The green is the Zorki, for those uninitiated in the FSU rangefinders.

I just got my camera back from The Former Soviet Rupublic where I had a very nice gentleman repair the camera. This was a Tower Type III that my grandfather owned and bought shortly after WWII. It is a Leica III copy that, I am assured is quite accurate to the original. My grandfather probably bought the camera while in the Navy and stationed at either San Diego or while in Hawaii. He has since passed away, but I have this and a couple of Mate gourds from Argentina to help me remember him. The camera needed new shutter curtains and a cleaning. Apparently, time near the ocean caused some rust, but Oleg cleaned it all up and the camera works beautifullly now. Oleg repairs Soviet Union Leica copies and most other types of Leica or Contax cameras including the originals. His business can be found at www.okvintagecamera.com I highly recommend him for repair work. I had him repair this camera and a Zorki 6 which is another Leica type camera. I will post photos taken with that camera later.

This is a crop of the above pic. I thought it fitting to take a photo of a memorial of the men and women who served in WWII.

This is a picture of my house that my son took. We live across the street from the park. He just started getting interested in photography and is eight.

Not that great of a picture, but it was the first one I took with the camera.

Hallway

2006-03-01T17:27:00.000-08:00

Leads to my office. Need I say more. I have a good job that I enjoy most of the time, but I would much rather be out making photos and playing outdoors. Maybe one of these days. Do you think that, "Dead Man Walking," is a bit too melodramatic?

Only From the mind of Minolta

2006-03-01T16:52:00.000-08:00

I took some time researching cameras that might possibly be of interest to folks, and that very few people would have. I found one that I thought was pretty funky looking and was certainly a rarity. Along with this, the camera has a Rokkor lens of which I have become a convert very quickly. I got on e-bay, paid too much, and picked up a good example of the camera. I took a roll of test shots and took the film to the developer. It took three weeks to process the film and, in the meantime, someone at Nelsonfoto.com already posted about the camera, thereby stealing my thunder.

The camera is.....thunder roll please.....feel the suspense building.....

The Minolta 110 zoom with the oddest looking SLR body of all time.

I took a roll of film but had some difficult times with composition and such. The camera is not natural for me to hold and I don't think I will be using it again any time soon. I might try a few more rolls of film that came with the camera, but will probably just sell it. The camera is fine, but I can't get past the way it feels in my hands. My fingers are a bit long anyway, so that might have something to do with it.

Pinhole Update

2006-03-01T14:58:00.000-08:00

I took some time to rework my pinhole camera named The Vulture. I decided to add two more pinholes in the beast to add creative effect. I also added a 1 1/2 " strip of wood around the outside to effectively add a type of light trap and I added about two inches to the length to make the camer less of a wide angle. I then spent some time making matching pinholes in old Coke cans. After about 5 pinholes, I had three that would match closely enough. After the thing was assembled and the insides were painted black, I thought I would paint the outside a nice color that wouldn't attract too much attention. I think I hit on the perfect color, plus, being a Vulture, it needed some pizzaz.

This is the image I took using the outside two pinholes. There is actually only one set of three skulls but the camera takes a duplicate image of everything for every pinhole used. If you look closely, you can see an overlay of stone and wood. Skulls are the ultimate subject for a Vulture.

This is an image taken with the Merlin pinhole from earlier. Both exposures were for about 12 minutes.

Pinholes

2006-02-23T08:54:00.000-08:00

The first picture here was taken with The Vulture. It is the 8x10 camera I made. I reworked the camera a bit and this picture was the first I took since the remodel of the beast. I used 8x10 photo paper and exposed for one hour and fifteen minutes.

These next two pictures were taken with a Merlin pinhole camera. This is a camera that is made form a paint can. I bought the quart size camera. This was taken on 4x5 photo paper and was exposed for one hour and 30 minutes as this paper is much slower than the 8x10. It could have used another 30 minutes.

This is the "negative" of the previous pic. I scanned this in then inverted in photoshop. I kind of like the look of this as much as the image.

Canon Elan 7--My most modern camera

2006-02-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

Please click on links to see larger image.

Crop of the above pic. Very sharp even enlarged.

Yashica images2

2006-02-21T21:00:00.000-08:00

Please click on these to see the larger images. I left them a bit larger so that you can see the detail in them. The first one has snowdrops that just came up through the snow, and you can see the white flowers against the white snow. In the original scan, you can see amazing details. The medium format negative size is quite wonderful.

Canon Pics

2006-02-21T20:45:00.000-08:00

Yashicamat EM

2006-02-21T09:43:00.000-08:00

These were taken from a camera that I bought from the same lady who was selling the Fujica Half-Frame. This is a TLR medium format Yashicamat EM that is truly a fun and nice camera to use. It has a nice bright screen, is solidly built, has a selenium meter that works because the thing was stored in a nice leather case, has double exposure prevention, and fits nicley in my oversized hands. The camera came ready to use, which is nice, because I have had a tough time buying from e-bay recently because I tend to get cameras that are very dirty. None of the cameras I bought from this estate were in any condition but fabulous. These were taken in our local cemetary and as you might notice, it is very peaceful. So peaceful in fact, that deer tend to spend quite a bit of time here. Can you see the one in the background here. I tried to get shot of them as the main subject, but this camera does not lend itself to fast handling, at least in my hands, and I didn't want to disturb them. I used outdated Kodak PXP shot at 400 and processed in Diafine.

I ended up taking more shots, and will post those later. This was at my sons eighth birthday party. As you can see, it had a pirate theme, with a treasure hunt, eye patches, and a birthday cake with pirates stranded on a deserted island (or is that desserted island) and a ship that had a canon that shot Whoppers as canon balls. Here he is trying to make his meanest pirate face while saying, "Arghh."

Fuji Half-Frame

2006-02-20T08:22:00.000-08:00

I just picked up a Fuji Half-Frame camera from a very nice lady who is selling her father's photography gear. I ended up buying way too many cameras, but am quite excited about using all of them. This little gem uses 35mm film, but shoots two pictures on one frame, thus the name--Half Frame. Pretty cool stuff actually. There are whole groups dedicated to using half-frame cameras. Some even have a sort of cult following. Think about the economy of the thing, 72 images on a roll of 36 exposure film, and you don't even have to deal with obsolete film such as 110. I didn't even need to put a battery in the thing because it uses a selenium meter and was stored in a nice case so the meter is still good. I rolled some ultrafine B&W into an empty Fuji cartridge (it said use Fuji film so I decided to trick the thing), and went out and shot about 15 shots. The camera is small, quiet, and quite like a point and shoot. I liked it so much that I have a roll of Kodak Max color film in it right now.

This can be a tough shot for many cameras sensors because of the bright sunlight directly on the white bark. This turned out pretty well. I just like Birch Bark.

Self portrait taken to test the self timer. I can see that I need to loose about 200 lbs. so no more self portraits, the camera exposed pretty well in indoor light.

Hip shot in a very hip restaurant. I need to watch my framing. Actually, the camera is pretty well suited for street photography because it is quite small and quiet. I just need to figure out how wide the lens is--meaning, 28mm lens on a 35mm camera is quite wide and can take in much of a room or scene, but because this is taking half of that, then 28mm is more like a normal 50mm lens on a 35mm camera.

Last of the last--FED2

2006-02-15T07:42:00.000-08:00

I told the boys to be serious for this picture. Apparently some can't help but smile.

FED 2 Last Pics

2006-02-14T14:38:00.000-08:00

I just sold a FED 2 to a friend over on nelsonfoto and it needed new curtains as light is leaking through them. I just shipped the beast out yesterday, but this weekend I had a chance to use it one more time. We live in a small town of around 1500 people where everyone knows all about everyone else. In this case it is a good thing. There is an older couple in town who had a limb off of one of the large pines in their front yard fall during a storm and go completely through their roof and partway through their bedroom ceiling. They decided to take out the two tall trees so that they wouldn't have to worry anymore about a repeat. I got a call late Friday night to come and help the next day. I showed up and watched the action begin. I had the FED 2 with me knowing that the pics might not be great, but wanted to send it on its way going out with its boots on. The pics have very bright lights right in the middle because of the curtains, but I did get the pics.

First tree falling!

Second tree falling! The amazing thing is that there were power lines all around us and the logger didn't even get close to hitting one. It looked exactly like the trees were tall enough to hit the lines, but just dropped them right where he wanted.

We counted 117 rings which means this tree was around way before I was. I think it is a bit of a tragedy to cut something this old down.

The kids showing me their muscles.

Homemade tractor/snowplow. The one in the back is a 4-wheeler included so you can get an idea of the size.

Russian Pinhole 2

2006-02-14T09:26:00.000-08:00

I modified the Broken Kiev 88 pinhole to have a pinhole mounted in the body of the camera. I came up with this idea. I cut the bottom out of a can of diet Coke and siliconed it into the body of the camera. The good thing is that I can simply cut the silicone if I want to remove it and rub off the extra caulk with my finger. The difficult part was to get a pinhole in the can as the bottom is a bit thick. The filters that came with the Kiev 88 fit into the inside of the can after I wrap two turns of masking tape around them.

Kodak Pony

2006-02-13T11:25:00.000-08:00

Wigwam asked about the Kodak Pony I have sitting on the shelf in my office and wanted to know if I had used it. A friend of mine bought this at a yard sale because he knew that I liked cameras. This came with an old time flash and a box of assorted Blue-Dot bulbs. I loaded the thing up with some fuji color film and shot some pics. The only problem is that I am not the best guesser on distances. This is a zone focus camera that does not have a coupled rangefinder. That means you look at someone/something you want to photograph and guess the distance to them, set the distance, then snap the photo and hope that you were close.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of pictures coming out of the camera. The lens is pretty good. While it will not be my go-to camera for everyday use, it is pretty fun to play around with. Click on photos to see larger images.

ps. I have a few rolls of film scanned in and some updates ready to post later tonight. I have been swamped, but will get these up tonight.

Minolta Himatic 7s and Rokkor lens

2006-02-09T10:55:00.000-08:00

These rangefinder cameras are quite good and the lenses are fabulous. I have yet to meet a Rokkor that I didn't like. I rolled some B&W and went out to test the beast. When I first got it, it was the most dirty disgusting camera I have ever had. It looked like it had been dipped in frying oil, then dropped in the mud. Thanks e-bay. Anyway, I cleaned it up as best as I could and went to shooting. I still need to figure out how to set all the controls but I am happy with the results. Did I mention that this lens rocks? I could have a dozen more of these cameras and nothing else and I would be happy. Click on images to see larger size.

Self portrait

The ugliest sculpture I have ever seen but decent for testing the light. Freud would have a heyday with this sculpture.

Another light test.

First indoor shot of my office to test some indoor lighting.

I was in stealth mode here trying to do a little street photography. I shot this from the hip so that no one would know. Nice test of a highly backlit scene.

Crop of a baseball practice.

My favorite so far.

2006-02-09T10:35:00.000-08:00

I was putting in a furnace two nights ago and thinking about photography. I probably should concentrate more on the furnace as there are gas lines and electricity involved, but I was thinking photography. Anyway, as I was cutting some wood for a base for the furnace, I got this bright idea that I should make a camera. So I just kept cutting and came up with this in about an hour.

The one box sits inside the other and holds the paper or negative down. I lined the edge with 1/4" foam so that light is sealed out and painted it flat black. I drilled a hole with a 5/8" bit and mounted a piece of tin with a hole in it for the "lens" After a test shot, the hole needs to be a bit larger. The camera is six inches deep which, according to my not so scientific calculations, should yield a slightly wide angle view. I loaded up a piece of paper around midnight last night and exposed it for 5 minutes. Nothing came of it. Apparently, paper requires loooooong exposures. I then put a 4x6 piece of paper in and a long strip 35 mm negative and exposed for 6 minutes just to try and determine exposure times. The paper fell over part of the negative, and did not get nearly enough exposure, but the negative turned out pretty good. I will tape anything under 8x10 in for the next go around as everything got a bit out of kilter.

Shot at midnight last night as a test shot. The flowers are about six feet away. I am headed out with "The Vulture" ( so named because it is made entirely of scavanged materials and The Turkey Buzzard didn't sound quite as goog to my ears) this afternoon. It is loaded with paper not negative materials.

Large Format Pics

2006-02-08T09:47:00.000-08:00

These are some large format pics taken by a friend of mine named Brian (r-brian) over on nelsonfoto.com and are used with his permission. He says, "This is one of my favorite places to photograph. It's a little stone cabin, built in the 1930's by the CCC, right on the edge of the crest of the Sandia Mountains. Off the back side of the cabin is a vertical drop of 500 feet or so, then a steep incline for another 5000 feet till you hit Albuquerque. These photos were taken on last Columbus Day early in the morning. The cloud was on top of the mountain and it was windy, like always, and snowing. Taken with a 4x5 Tachihara, 65mm f8 Ilex Acugon on Tri-x developed in HC-100 Dil B. Just quick scans on a Epson 2450 with some curves adjustments. Bought the scanner just for situations like this, proofing 4x5 negs."

Thank you Brian for letting me post these here.

These first three photos were taken with a 4 x5 Tachihara wooden field camera.

This last pics was taken using a 4x5 Busch Pressman metal field camera.