Random
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Tokyo Print
Last year I won a photo comp on an Australian Photography forum. The prize was an A1 sized print of one of my photos. It took me ages to send in the photo I wanted printed out (mainly because my hard drive died. Plus the fact that I was quite lazy over the Christmas break).
I finally got around to sending the printer a pic last week and received the finished product in the mail yesterday. I was really happy with the result. The printing was terrific so that was never an issue, i was just concerned about the post processing work I’d done to the photo. It was bit of a gamble, but turned out looking really good in the “flesh”.
I’ve made prints of my photos before, but never at A1 size. It’s pretty impressive.
I took a quick picture of it below. I haven’t mounted it yet on the wall, so will hopefully sort that out today. Oh, and the print doesn’t look all flat like it does in the photo below.
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Random Updates
Been shooting with the SP lately and its been terrific. Except for the fact that my light meter seems to be possessed! As in it’ll turn itself on or off depending on what it feels like. Luckily its been working most the times I’ve wanted it to. Thinking of taking it in for a CLA and maybe converting it to use the modern Alkaline batteries. Either that or get another one to use regularly, as I’ve become a little hesitant using my black SP as prices seem to sky-rocketing and I’d hate to loose it or drop it.
I’ve decided to start developing my own black and white film. Been thinking of it for a while now, and have finally been convinced by seeing a couple people I know get into it recently. I first learnt film developing and printing in high school and got some pretty impressive results, but I seem to of forgetting most of the details, so will have to relearn everything again. It’ll be fun though I hope! Think I’ll stick with Ilford chemicals and film at the moment, see how it goes, i forget what i used to use.
I’m going to need to invest in something that can scan film properly. My current film scanner is a flatbed scanner with film adapter but its useless. Results are really low res and overly grainy. So i have a few options; a better/newer flatbed film scanner which are quite cheap, or a dedicated film scanner which are relatively expensive. I’m really not sure what to go with yet.
Bought some Ilford XP2 Super last week. Been curious as to see how it looks with my Zuiko’s. I’ve only been using the Kodak BW400CN so far as it seems to be more common. Both are the same price though.
Really want to upgrade my 400D now. I want full frame, and something that can handle ISO noise better. Trying to find a second hand 5D, but nobody seems to be selling, everyone must be waiting for the replacement to come out first.
Why is photography expensive… Sometimes I wonder why I didn’t take up something like whistling instead…
Oh, Happy Easter! -
Film is Not Dead
Well, if you shoot with Polaroid it might be.
But if you’re into Medium Format rangefinders, Fuji might be releasing something of interest.
All I know is that its still a viable photographic option for me, and as long as film is being made, and negatives being processed, I’ll keep shooting away.
Recently a friend and I started up a film camera club for a bit of fun. It’s surprising how many people still shoot film, and the vast range of equipment that is used. I find it really interesting when you compare it to the DSLR market dominated mostly by Canon and Nikon. People are shooting film on Olympus, Leica, Pentax, Ricoh, Mamiya, Praktica, etc… A vast array of camera brands and types (SLR’s, rangefinders, TLR’s, etc) all producing unique and wonderful results. It’ll be a big loss to photography in general when these types of cameras cannot be used anymore, and the only option to take photos is on homogenised plastic objects that are superseded as quickly as they are released. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with the concept of digital cameras. The issue is when everyone is using the same equipment or technology, you have less variables to utilise in your creative output and things just begin to look the same.
Anyway, enough of the rant.I saved a new camera today. Picked up an OM2 in “non working” condition for dirt cheap. The best bit was bringing it home and getting it working in less than 3 seconds (just needed to reset the mirror position). I now have a nice new OM2 in perfect working condition, and near perfect cosmetic condition. I just need to glue down the camera leather a bit, or replace it completely. Thinking of covering it in some exotic pattern/colour and giving it to my girlfriend.. Decisions decisions.
Here’s a quick picture of it below. EDIT: pic not working. Will re-upload shortly. -
12″ x 8″ Prints…
For 10 cents each!!
A forum member was offering a special on their printing service, so I had to take advantage of it.
I got 50 prints which came to a massive total of $5. Yes, 50 12″x8″ prints for $5! 😀
Now I just need to figure out what to do with them. I’m looking for ways to display some of them on a wall, no luck yet though.
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Download Section
I just created a download page for the blog. I intend to include camera manuals for cameras I own and any other useful documents that I find relevant or interesting. I only have a few Olympus OM camera manuals so far but will be adding more in the future.
