More going back through the photographic archives!
This morning I came across some images from 4/2011 when I was using a friend’s Nikon D70. I think this may be a Pope John Paul II white rose in my front garden. I took a number of images with an exposure long enough to let me blur the image, but short enough not to make a mess. There are about 10 that I did, some which are rather nice, I think. I like this one because of its softness, but also as I was looking at them, I was also thinking they could make for some rather interesting paintings.
What is it about old German folding cameras? I have a number of them and, while they can feel clunky compared to point-and-shoot cameras, or DSLRs (or mirrorless), there is something just so wonderful about using a film camera.
This is a cropped 6×9 image from my Zeiss Ikon Ercona, ca. 1950 and serviced by Jurgen Kreckel. His cameras are well worth their costs, high or low.
I have problems figuring out how to go up or down with a camera-top viewfinder. My brain doesn’t seem to “get it” but maybe I’ll get the other half to logically explain it to me. He’s good at that.
So, out for a walk to check out the camera – I bought it last July – and trying to become familiar with the camera, and guestimating exposures. Some good pictures resulted, and some dogs. I’m better at guessing exposure factors for 100 speed film. I used a roll of 120 Portra 400 film as my test roll.
Whenever I get film back, I am always so pleased. I really do prefer it to digital, hands down, but digital has its place, too. This Ercona was fun to use, a bit of a pain, too, but whenever you have something new in hand, or something old, there is always a bit of a trial-and-error period. This happens even if you have shot with the camera before.
A rose by any other name, and shot with any camera, is pretty sweet – even better when you like your photo!
Roses, this spring, are doing well. The first round of blooms has begun to fade, but new buds keep appearing to continue the cycle. I don’t remember the name of this rose, but it has a light, delicate fragrance, and rather loose, floppy petals, much like a wild rose.
… a rose embower’d
In its own green leaves,
By warm winds deflower’d,
Till the scent it gives
Makes faint with too much sweet . . .
Another image taken on film. I believe this one is with my Nikon FM2N. If so, this camera is in bad need of a CLA, as the pressure plate in the camera seems to have left marks on the film. Using noise reduction in LR, I got rid of most of them, along with a ton of spots. Lens is (I think) a 50mm f1.4 AIS.
Yesterday the FT-1 attachment for the Nikon 1 arrived. This allows the attachment of F-mount lenses – Nikon and 3rd party – to be used with the Nikon 1. Given that the crop factor is 2.7, my 55mm Elicar Macro becomes a 148mm equivalent. This morning I went out and took a picture of a white rose, the Pope John Paul II, a fragrant, lovely rose. Handheld, manual focus.
The Glass Aerie 