approach on Flickr.
December 27, 2012
March 2, 2012
a brand new minneapolis no. 10 (lake & hennepin) on Flickr.
Mamiya 645 1000s | Mamiya Sekor-C 80mm f/1.9 (shot at f/2.8) | Kodak Tri-x 400 | 8x ND | D-76
Although many of my subjects thus far have been a bit world-weary, it’s not my intention through this project to only take pictures of these types of people. The bottom line is that I’m trying to find interesting people, whether it be an interesting character, like no. 7, or an interesting expression, like no. 1. This young woman was interesting to me because of her otherworldly calmness which I think shows in this portrait. Amongst the hustle and bustle of Uptown, it was striking to see someone at peace in her own world.
This picture is the tenth in my 100 strangers project, to learn more and see the rest of A Brand New Minneapolis, click here.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
February 26, 2012
a brand new minneapolis no. 8 (bryant & lake) on Flickr.
Mamiya 645 1000s | Mamiya Sekor-C 80mm f/1.9 (shot at f/2.8) | Kodak Tri-x 400 | 8x ND | D-76
This gentleman and I made eye contact as he crossed the street. It was the kind of contact that has the potential to be awkward (well, what kind of contact doesn’t?!) but I quickly motioned his way and asked if I could take his photograph. He readily obliged, wished me luck, and went on his way. Easy peasy.
This picture is the eighth in my 100 strangers project, to learn more and see the rest of A Brand New Minneapolis, click here.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
February 22, 2012
a brand new minneapolis no. 7 (lyn-lake) on Flickr.
Mamiya 645 1000s | Mamiya Sekor-C 80mm f/1.9 (shot at f/2.8) | Kodak Tri-x 400 | 8x ND | D-76
According to my father, this gentleman is somewhat of a Minneapolis legend. As my dad tells it, he was a regular local character when my dad worked downtown. I actually came across this colorful personality in Lyn-Lake (Uptown) this weekend. His appearance and manner stopped me in my tracks when I saw him. “He’s perfect!” I thought. When I asked if I could take his photograph, he gravely nodded and proceeded to strike this pose. I imagine that this wasn’t his first time in front of a stranger’s camera! Anyway, some technical notes: I am not impressed with D-76 and will be moving on to greener pastures (Rodinal, DD-X, and XTOL to be specific).
This picture is the seventh in my 100 strangers project, to learn more and see the rest of A Brand New Minneapolis, click here.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
February 21, 2012
a brand new minneapolis no. 5 (nicollet mall) on Flickr.
Mamiya 645 1000s | Mamiya Sekor-C 80mm f/1.9 (shot at f/2.8) | Kodak Tri-x 400 (shot at 320) | Rodinal (1:100, 120 min.)
This gentleman was waiting…for something at Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. He was a bit reluctant to have his photograph taken, but I guess my charms wore him down in the end!
This picture is the fifth in my 100 strangers project, to learn more and see the rest of A Brand New Minneapolis, click here.
Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page
February 6, 2012
untitled on Flickr.
Pentax Super Program | Pentax-A SMC 50mm f/1.4 | Arista Premium 400 (Tri-X 400) | Xtol (1:1)
January 31, 2012
it’s the simple things (roll-a-week 3/52) on Flickr.
Sometimes all it takes to make a good night great is a cup of coffee and a stack of pancakes (they were cooking when I took this shot and when they were done I didn’t have a chance to take a picture as I was too busy scarfing down the gloriousness that is the diner pancake. Hence its absence in the picture, but mention in the description) at the famous greasy spoon Mickey’s Diner in St. Paul.
January 31, 2012
Roll-a-week 3/52 on Flickr.
Now three weeks into this challenge, I think I’m finally getting the hang of this thing! I have gotten better at getting a good exposure using my “unique” system of getting an exposure with the in-camera meter, then adjusting for the over-exposure of the meter and the night shots’ pushing to 1600 to 3200. The beauty of Rodinal stand development is that you can expose for 400 on one shot and 3200 on the next and both will come out great! This past week brought me to a bar in St. Paul with friends, the famous Mickey’s Diner for a late-night meal, a great sandwich shop in the Linden Hills neighborhood (Clancey’s Meat Market), and finally a trip to the St. Croix River with my dad. It was a good week.
January 27, 2012
Date night at the Walker Art Center on Flickr.
Canonet QL17 GIII | Kodak Tri-X 400 (shot at 800-3200) | Rodinal R09 1:100 | 120 min
My second stab at stand development, this time using 5mL of Rodinal and a hint of Borax to control fog. I agitated 15 sec/min for the first 5 and then 15 sec every 30 min. thereafter. I think it turned out nicely! Shooting at 3200 might be pushing it, but I basically metered for 400 and then adjusted for a reasonable f-stop and shutter speed and shot. I love the flexibility stand development and Tri-X gives me! I don’t want to have to fiddle with my camera too much for each shot. Luckily, I have a cute, willing subject who puts up with my nonsense ;o) This is our trip to the Walker Art Center. They have all sorts of interesting things there, I especially enjoyed the exhibition on graphic design they have going on now. This particular shot is in their video bay benches, where random artsy videos are playing on a loop. I think this one had someone walking on their hands underwater. They call it art! More info here: www.walkerart.org/.
January 26, 2012
January 25, 2012
Roll-a-Week 2/52 on Flickr.
With my Canonet in tow, loaded with Tri-X 400, and set to shoot at about 1250, I set out for week 2 of the Roll-a-week challenge. One quick note: I developed in Diafine, which is a great compensating developer that lets you shoot box speed or greater on a lot of films. For Kodak Tri-X 400, you can shoot up to 1600, apparently without a noticeable increase in grain. I also got a 1.4V hearing aid battery for my Canonet, but knew that it would overexpose since it was made for a 1.35V mercury cell. So last weekend, I shot a test roll, taking 4 exposures 1 at the metered EV, -1 -2, and -3. I then compared the results and cross-checked to the meter from my Gossen Luna Pro. My findings were that it consistently metered about 1.5 stops over. Great, so I can easily set the ISO on the Canonet and shoot away. But that only works for sub-400 film, or 400 film that you shoot at box speed (the Canonet’s max ISO is 800 and half of that is 400…). I wanted to go about 1.5 stops above box speed and develop in Diafine. Well, with some mental gymnastics, I came up with a system to get an accurate exposure (double-checked against common sense before the shot) by using the in-camera meter to shoot at about 1250. I set my exposure to about 660 (or whatever the 2/3 stop between 400 and 800 is), which would effectively give me a little under 400 speed (660/2 is 330). Then, I metered and added about 2 stops in my head and then switched to manual (to get to about 1000, an acceptable range given the approximate nature of my system). It seemed to work very well, and it’s really not as cumbersome in practice as it is to describe. Anyway, with 24 well-exposed shots, I mixed up the Diafine and was ready to develop week 2 of my challenge. I realized my mistake as I took the tank out of the bag…something else was rattling around the bottom! It was the shaft that goes through the reel and into the funnel of the tank. I had forgotten to put it in and light was streaming through the tank and exposing my film. Shoot! I developed (not realizing my error) and was distressed at first to see that my rolls had light leaks galore. Well, I felt stupid after figuring out what went wrong, but some shots turned out ok despite my mishap. I wanted to share since this challenge will hopefully show my progression throughout the year and teach me valuable lessons. Lesson 1: don’t expose your film before you develop it!
