There is no future in retro®
Interesting photo - if it wasn’t for a blatant focussing error. It is not visible here, but the original image has the focus on the bag on the bike, and it does not reach the people. A real shame. That’s what large format is like.
Interesting photo - if it wasn’t for the accidental double exposure. A ghost image of me is right in the centre, and a piece of lamp in the sky. That’s what large format is like.
Photo by Peter Blakely who I had the pleasure of meeting yesterday. Like me Peter is trying out handheld 4×5. He is using a Speed Graphic.
If you haven’t visited photographer Alec Soth’s new weblog yet, perhaps you should. On there I came across a post on the amount of coverage post-9/11 as the most photographed event in history. It is odd that when there is any sort of event nowadays, people have the urge to get the camera out and take pictures of it, be it of a catastrophe or your child doing something “special”. What does this say about us?
It should worry us that there are cruelties in the world that are not photographed or reported enough or not at all. It should also worry us that some of the events in “our world” i.e. the western civilisation are excessively reported on. This imbalance of attention needs to be questioned more.
つくし野ビアパーティ, by megaperls.
This picture was taken last Saturday during our annual “beer party” in the area we live in. It is again organised by the residents themselves (mostly men over 60) and great fun, although we always feel a little out of place in terms of age. Still, some families are there with kids and people are generally very curious when we show up and strike up a conversation.
Since it is close to home and I am in the middle of enjoying the field camera, I decided to take it and try out flash. What a bulky outfit to carry! The missus does not look pleased. The Metz CT-4 hammerhead is huge, and the battery pack must add another 2kg. Stuffed into the backpack and wires leading out to the rig, I looked like doing a wielding job or similar. It is madness. But a rewarding one. Upon arrival II regretted my choice, but soon got into the swing. I only took one pack of 10 sheets of Fuji FP-3000B45 by mistake so I had to be economical. First shot wasted due to incorrect infinity setting of the front standard because I had fixed a bellows pinhole the night before. Then the taiko drum shot — mmmh, this is not looking too bad, I thought. Older men start approaching: “Is this a Linhof?”. Kids come and look at what the heck I am doing. Families who know us look interested and I offer to take their photo. They turn out wonderfully although people seem surprised about the lack of colour. Anyone can do compact digital, me thinks, but I can deliver decently sized prints right here, just mind the poisonous chemicals, kids. Too bad that I cannot keep a copy for myself. I shoot the Hawaiians and the beer guys, the slow sync works better and better. Shutter speed is now at half a second or even a second, and the camera is surprisingly steady as you can see.
This should end my practice with the setup using instant film. The immediate results were extremely helpful sussing this thing out and I must have burned through 5-6 packs at around 4000 yen each. This is clearly not a cheap undertaking, but I will skip proper lunch for the next 3 weeks to make up for it. Time to move to sheet film proper and get serious.
