50mm

Also from the wetlands (as is the one below) that I visited while I was in Australia. Missed the ladybug with the focus but the magic tones and the crazy background made up for it (for me anyway).

It’s an old shot that I guess I’m re posting. Shot late afternoon near my house at the park with a Rolleiflex and a Rollinar 2. (more…)

This is one of my failed kodak T64 shots that needed a LOT of contrast to give it any kind of personality. Not having a lot of luck with these 20+ year old films

One from an up coming collection

Shinjuku station, about 12am. Rain is starting to fall and he’s…

So just for fun I asked several people, including my friend Stephan, for a photo. I usually use the Hasselblad and have tweaked my settings so I can use the 80mm lens to take close-up head shots. I was, however, surprised to see the result when I developed the film. I wasn’t expecting him to look so different. And I always thought that the 80mm lens on the Hasselblad was a 50mm equivalent on a 35mm SLR. What a difference a lens and a bit of fiddling with the settings makes. Stephan prefers the digital shot. Probably because of how different the lens makes his face look. I actually like it more. Most likely because it’s difficult to replicate the look. In any case I’m surprised to see how well the film version turned out when putting it side by side with the digital one. More of these to come.

The second shot of the roll that I took with the Holga when I went to Nara. This was the only other shot that worked.
I have to say, I do enjoy the Holga’s randomness when it comes to focus, colours, tones etc. You’ve usually either got an instant hit or a complete failure.
This, I think was shot with Velvia 100.

So I finally finished the roll and got the film shots I took at Kawasaki developed. Here is the film vs digital.
I’m not sure if you can see it here (even at a large size) but the film appears to have more depth than the digital shot which just seems flat.
In any case I like the square format a lot more.

Shooting with the Rollei 35 is very hit and miss. The focus is all based on distance. There is a finder but you cannot see the focus through it. And shooting at f/2.8 at night and candid photos at that makes this task even more difficult. So I was surprised to see this shot turn out so sharp.

Spent on afternoon earlier this year at Koga san’s cafe. He wasn’t around at the time and no one knew who I was but that was the beauty of it. This great little space in the middle of nowhere I’d been before. The light in the late afternoon is magic and the food is excellent. I’m hoping to go again with a few friends next time for some food and beer to kill a late afternoon / early evening.

Recommend you check it out if you get a chance.

In an effort to keep a balance between a holiday and taking photos I too my digital camera and a Holga to Nara. Using Brett’s trusty 1000 year old Velvia (that apparently had a speed range between 100 – 1000) I managed to squeeze about 3 semi usable shots out of the roll (not the films fault. Bloody f8 at 100 ASA!)
I’m happy with the result. For some reason I value this a lot more than the 500+ digital shots I took that I have not posted.

Another Friday night at the station