Indiafest, May 2017
It’s getting harder and harder — and it was already nigh impossible — to find labs to process slide film. With that in mind, I decided to try cross-processing. These results (Fuji Sensia 100 processed in C‑41) are really pleasing to me! Granted, they aren’t that positive film look — and they don’t quite evoke the wonder I have when I look at slides — but the results are more than acceptable! I like the tone of the blues quite a lot.
The flare in some of them is from the 35mm goggles lens.…got to remember to use the lens hood more often!
Photographed at the Indiafest 2017, hosted by the Sri Ganesha Temple in Nashville. Leica M3, Fuji Sensia 100 35mm.
Vancouver on Film, May 2015
A week in Vancouver with a roll of Velvia 120 and FP4+ 35mm is about perfection.
Mostly playing tourist and not too much exploration, but even that was rewarding. Stanley Park is phenomenal, Gastown is great fun, and random side streets were well worth investigating.
- Driftwood, Stanley Park
- Stairs, Stanley Park
- Houseboats, Coal Harbor Marina
- Watercraft I, Coal Harbor Marina
- Girl in a Wetsuit, Vancouver
- Watercraft II, Coal Harbor Marina
- Siwash Rock, Vancouver
- Seaplanes I, Vancouver
- Nike, Thurlow St
- Vancouver Harbor
- Loading, Vancouver Harbor
- Trees Coffee, Gastown
- Steam Clock, Gastown
- Gawkers, Gastown
- Olympic Cauldron Stairs, Vancouver
- Sea Planes II, Vancouver
- Flora, Vancouver
- Careers Installation, Vancouver
- Side Street, Vancouver
- Self Portrait, Vancouver
On the technical side, I shot the Velvia with my Mamiya 645 Pro TL with the 45, 80 and 150mm lenses. I don’t shoot that camera too much these days — I have been working with the GA645 more often for medium format film. When I to manage to set aside the time and energy to show the Pro TL, the results are amazing. Especially with slide film, looking at the actual media in real life is a treat. Not to mention the sheer size of the raw amount of data coming from the 6x45 negatives!
This was also the first trip with my Leica M3 and while I am not as quick with the focusing as I am with my A‑1, I am coming along with the rest of the process. Even having to meter with an external meter on this trip for it, I still was able to shoot reasonably quickly when the time came. And the look of the images I really love, especially on those photos with a large amount of fine detail and contrast.
A great trip, really welcoming city and who knows? Maybe one day we’ll call it home.
Photo Exploration: Orange|Blue Wall
This late afternoon image was made in December 2011 with Provia 100f slide film. The sun was still bright but the year was drawing down and all the colors were starting to fade. Especially in Asheville, where once the fall leaves disappear it can get rather dreary.
However, this wall in the Asheville River Arts District was a massive antidote to the gray. Seeming impervious to temperature or surroundings, the wall stood (and stands) not with an active purpose, but maybe just with an identity. A bit of an unmmoving block of color holding court with itself. I had walked this neighborhood many times to get out from behind my desk and get a bit of fresh air, and although I had photographed the wall with digital and negative color film, I had never really felt like I had made an image that was fully present in both color and texture. However, this one last walk of the year I had slide film loaded and the time was right.
One of the hardest, for me, challenges when shooting an image like this is to get it all lined up properly. Any tilt up/down or left/right will be very noticeable in the finished image, and taking care in the moment to true your lines pays dividends later. I think I still have a bit of vertical misalignment, with the top titled slightly away from the film plane, but overall the wall and the film seem to line up pretty well. Exposure with the in-camera mechanism, check focus and with a click the image is made.
I’ve discussed the benefits/process of slide film before, especially regarding the viewing of an image and seeing the miniature world within. With this image the experience was nearly transcendent. It was like holding pure light, this amazing transparent yet solid emulsion of orange and blue. I am no way with Rothko’s talent, but I imagine his wonder at a completed color field painting to be much the same as when I first held the developed image above.
It was made with a Fuji GA645, quite a workhorse medium format camera. If you aren’t familiar with one, think of a wide-angle rangefinder with autofocus capability. Extremely sharp elements and very accurate metering. It is a fun camera that I’ve used many times over.
This image is meaningful for two reasons — the first is that after many attempts with a subject, I was finally able to find the right combination of material and process to get a satisfactory image. The second reason is this photograph helped push my boundaries a little bit. Removing people, nature, and many extraneous items from the image I was presented with slight texture and complementary colors.
Rome: Slide Film
A selection of the Velvia 100F, 6x45 format, shots taken with the GA645. Rome, October 2012.
Photo Exploration: Mountains to Sea Trail
Once back from Rome, we tried to get out and see the leaves and colors as much as possible. Once very successful outing in that respect was a Sunday afternoon walk on the Mountains to Sea Trail just outside of Asheville. The image below is from that excursion.
Slide film is one of the more recent media I’ve come to explore, and really only in the past year have I done any meaningful work with that sort of film. This particular shot was with the Fuji GA645 (same as the camera used here)and Fuji Velvia 100f.
There is a strange feeling working with a large-ish format film and yet working with a small-ish piece of equipment. Compared to the RB67 or even the 645 Pro TL, the GA645 is lightweight and ultra-portable. Taking it for a spin in the woods, when one has to potentially carry plenty of other equipment, is a real pleasure. The glass is immaculate and focusing is dead on (or you can manually focus if you prefer). And the result of the slide film is breathtaking. I wish there was a way to relay the feeling of holding a slide over the internet. Even viewing a print doesn’t quite have the same “WOW” factor for me as a slide does. Maybe the transparency? Maybe the compactness and clarity of the slide. Whatever it is, in the fall with the colors and textures I don’t know if I’ve seen any other photographic medium that measures up to slide.
Regardless of your photographic equipment, there is also the question of HOW to photograph a scene. And photography of striking colors are way up on my list of “Hard Shots.” I think a large amount of the difficulty is that we experience a walk in the woods with seasonal foliage quite vividly, and our recollection is often even greater in saturation than reality. Thus, photographing such scenes in ways that evoke the same emotion is substantially more difficult than other, less “oomph” driven shots. But I do have some basic ideas that can help.
The first is composition. When photographing nature, it is easy for me to get swept up in the “pretty” shots that don’t tell any story. But when I focus on composing an image with a little bit of narrative, my satisfaction down the road is much higher. Especially when shooting film which has such potential for quality reproduction that failures are that much more evident. So be sure to shoot every image, or every series of images, to bring the viewer to the scene and envelop them in the moment.
Secondly, unless you are intentionally taking a photo of something singular, I’d stay away from small depth of field’s. I know my impulse is often shoot wide open and get some rocking bokeh, but I’ve found that the effect can be jarring. Part of what makes color foliage so amazing is that everywhere you can look and focus there is color. Sharp and bright and saturated. When you blur that background (and/or foreground) in the photo, the “being there” effect can be decreased dramatically.
Last, I try as much as possible to cut through the mist. I use a polarizer, haze filter, whatever I’ve got handy to increase clarity through the entire scene. That is, unless it is a long exposure with enough time for the mist or fog or whatever to move about. Otherwise I have found that, like the second point, the reduction in overall clarity can do harm to the entire photograph.
With everything there are exceptions to the above, but those three guidelines above certainly increase my gratification when reviewing the photos after a session out in the woods.
Royal Arch Trail, Chautauqua Park, Boulder Colorado. June 2012
From the base of all Chautauqua Park through some other trails up to Royal Arch in Boulder, CO. Neopan Acros 100 (shot at 400) and Velvia 100F. All in the GA645.
Slide Film, River Arts District
- Orange|Blue Wall. Provia 100f
Slide film, Provia 100F, in the River Arts District. December 2011. Shot with a Fuji GA645.
Wonderful colors on a very crisp afternoon. Was the last time I walked around the RAD before the cold came in, and now I’m working from another part of town so those afternoon walks may not happen anymore. A good way to end the tradition.