Film Is Not Dead-The T-Shirt (Published!)

I was so excited to see that the picture of me in my Film Is Not Dead t-shirt is featured on Jonathan Canlas' FIND blog.  Many thanks to my super talented wife for taking the shot.  It was only her second time with the Mamiya Universal.

Holga By Richard

I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to borrow a Holga from my lab.  It was kinda freeing to take pictures without worrying about the technical aspects.  The Holga has only 2 apertures (f8 and f11) and 1 shutter speed (1/100 second).  The focus is adjustable, but only as a guess.  It can shoot 6x4.5 or 6x6 on 120 film.  The think that makes the Holga beloved/maligned is the light leaks.  I even went so far as to tape up the camera and still got light leaks!  I don't know if I'll buy one (it is only $50), but we'll see.


I didn't get to use it as much as I would have liked, but here are a few of my favorites from Fort Walton Beach before the oil arrived.  

Tech Notes:

Holga 120N camera.  Black and white is Fuji Neopan 400.  Color is Fuji Provia 100F that was cross processed.  Everything processed and scanned by Richard Photo Lab.

Mountain View

The film from Southern For Dahlin is back!  The color really shows the splendor of the spot.  Here are some of my favs.

Tech Notes:

Color images were shot on Fuji 400H with my Mamiya 645AF with 80mm f2.8 lens.  The black and white images were shot on Fuji Neopan 1600 with my Canon A2 with 50mm f1.4 lens.  All images were processed and scanned by Richard Photo Lab.

Sunset Sand

Here are a few images from Valerie and Mark's wedding in Fort Walton Beach, Florida.  More to come when I get back from vacation.


On a side note, I was quite impressed watching Valerie climb the tower in her dress.  AND, Mark was suffering from a kidney stone.  They are an amazing couple.

Tech Notes:

Fuji 800Z (pushed to 1600) shot with a Mamiya 645 AF and 80mm f2.8 lens.  Processed and scanned by Richard Photo Lab.

On Cloud Seven

Wanna shoot film?  Here is a nice (and cheap) combo.

Minolta Hi-Matic 7s and Walgreens

First and foremost, cameras had awesome names in the 60s.  The Hi-Matic sounds like Ron Popeil named it.  The 7s is a 35mm rangefinder with a fixed 45mm f1.8 lens.  It has manual aperture and shutter speed controls as well as a matched needle meter (the only function that requires a battery).  Best of all, it is cheap.  At time of writing, this camera was only $9.99! 

The second part is the processing.  My regular lab (Richard Photo Lab) is very good, but professional quality work is not cheap.  So, for some personal work and test rolls, I use Walgreens.  There is a big difference, but I think it is an amazing value for the price.  Especially when you consider they will do it in one hour.  Normally a roll of 35mm costs $5-$6 (oddly, it has never been the same price twice) for processing and low resolution scanning.  

So, find a camera (preferably with manual controls) and shoot!

Tech Notes:

The shot of the camera was taken with a Fuji Instax 210.  The clouds were taken with the Hi-Matic 7s on VERY expired Fuji X-Tra 800 film.  Processed and scanned by Walgreens.

Upcycled WIN

One of the best parts of shooting film is the ability to easily and cheaply make your own camera.  Pinhole cameras are ridiculously simple and can be made from almost anything.  I've seen paint can cameras, shoebox cameras, and even beautiful wooden cameras.  This is a new one.  Apple makes a great box for the iPhone.  This lady makes it better.  It is not cheap, but it is wonderful in its perfection.

A Child's Touch

My dad buys me cameras at thrift stores.  Most use discontinued film, but occasionally he finds some real gems.  The recent batch was no exception, except...


He found a camera that uses discontinued film AND is a real gem.  The Polaroid 95A Land Camera used Polaroid roll film and was produced from 1954-1957.  The film has been discontinued for more than a decade.  Some convert these cameras to use modern Fuji instant film (probably my choice), but I found this solution for updating the 95A.


I've built quite a few things out of Legos, but I've never used them to convert a camera.  It is amazing what the human mind will dream up.

Favorite Paint Color?

Light painting is the technique of lighting an object or scene with a small light source.  It is achieved by shooting in complete darkness while leaving the shutter on your camera open.  During the multi minute exposure, you light each part of the subject separately.  You can use a flash, flashlight, etc.  The result can be creepy or beautiful, but it has a distinct look.  


I've never tried this on a large scale, but I must.  Here is a small scale experiment from many years ago.  

Tech Notes:

I don't remember everything, but I believe it was shot with my Canon Elan II 35mm camera.  It was lit with at least 20 pops from a Vivitar 283 flash.

Southern For Darling

Heather and Andy took me to a favorite spot for them outside Clayton, Georgia.  We drove, and we drove, and we drove, and we drove, and we drove.  I wondered if it would be worth it.  It was.  It has now become a favorite place for me.  You'll understand better when the film gets back from the lab.  Thanks guys!  

Tech Notes:

Fuji FP-3000B shot with my Mamiya Universal and 100mm f3.5 lens.

Studio Space

They have finally finished the construction and painting.  I get to start moving tomorrow.  I'm so excited.  Here are a few images of the finished space.

Oh, for those who don't know the back story, my landlord made me an offer I couldn't refuse.  He needed half of my current space for a dance studio that wanted to move in.  I get lower rent and tons of new prospective clients right next door.  Win, win!

Tech Notes:

Prints from my Fuji Instax 210 camera.  Scanned on my Epson flatbed.