Been a little while ...

It has been almost four months since my last posting. There were a few projects, I had been working on. One of them were re-editing some of my previous images and I am updating the images on these previous post.

The other main project ... I have been working on ... named Series 8. These are a series of 8 images, hence the project is aptly named Series 8. Finally the first set of Series 8 images are completed. Please see my new blog for this project posting and images.

I will still continue to post on ... your morning SNAPZ!, however at the moment, it may not be as often as the Series 8 site. ... your morning SNAPZ! will be more of a review on the technical aspect of a camera or film and etc.

Come on over to Series 8 and see what's on site.

Here is a little cottage country humour. I came across this Modern Outhouse this past summer.

Image was captured by Leica D-Lux 3 ... Aaah yes! I did not have my medium format film camera with me. But I do carry a P&S digital camera even though I am not a huge proponent of this photography medium - it is convenient. The image was than converted through Nik Silver Efex plug-in for Aperture/Adobe Photoshop.

Abstract Urban Images

Shadow, lines and moorings - image captured by vintage folder Agfa Isolette III with Solinar 75mm f/3.5 lens and Ilford 100 Delta Pro film

Urban landscapes ...
Landscape photography does not always have to be awe inspiring mountains, lakes or indescribable sunsets. It can be things that you see everyday ... but have been desensitized to it.

Take a moment and look around you ... look at things as you would through an empty picture frame. You will be pleasantly surprised at what you see...

Open Eyes ... Open Mind.

Wired - Image captured by vintage folder Voigtlander Perkeo I (smallest 6x6 vintage folder) with 80mm colour-skopar f/3.5 lens and Ilford 100 Delta Pro film.

Always keep an open mind ...
When going on a shoot, keep an open mind. For instance when I went down to the Canal Road farms, I wanted to capture the fallow lines in the fields. However, this electrical pole with its coil of wires and the road sign caught my attention as well. This was not planned, but it worked as part of the theme.

Groupings of Main Objects.

Hay! Hay! Hay! - Image captured by vintage folder Voigtlander Bessa II with Heliar 105mm f/3.5 lens and Ilford 100 Delta Pro film.

Geometric lines are not the only visual impact in photography. Grouping of objects works as well.

Return to Canal Road.

Carrot Fallows - Image captured by vintage folder Voigtlander Perkeo I (smallest 6x6 vintage folder) with 80mm colour-skopar f/3.5 lens and Ilford 100 Delta Pro film.

There's always something interesting to see ...
Today's post should be appropriately called "... your evening SNAPZ!" As I had indicated in my last post, there is always something interesting at the Canal Road farms. I was back there again this morning, I can always find something interesting to capture.

Not Just Geometric Lines.

Ready to Roll - Image captured by vintage folder Voigtlander Perkeo I (smallest 6x6 vintage folder) with 80mm colour-skopar f/3.5 lens and Ilford 100 Delta Pro film.

Vehicles or machinery can make interesting subject ...
This weekend will be my fifth visit to the Ash Bridges Moraine farmlands. The geometric lines is not the only thing that fascinates me. There are other subjects to capture my attention. All you need to do is look around. As the image above proves, it is just another type of "geometric lines"

More geometric lines.

Onion Fields - Image captured by vintage folder Voigtlander Bessa II with Heliar 105mm f/3.5 lens and Ilford 100 Delta Pro film - scanned with Epson Perfection V750 PRO. Cropped in Photoshop.

The richest farm soil in Ontario ...
To continue on the same note as Thursday morning's SNAPZ, I am posting another image about geometric lines. You can find tons of these geometric lines in and around the farm rich land of Ontario - especially the Oak Ridges Moraine - part of the Greenbelt of Ontario. Anyway I had company for this shoot (on occasion I do have company, most days I shoot solo). My friend, Carole, who was visiting from South Carolina (formerly Montreal) had a good chuckle that I kept spouting and getting excited over "The lines, look at the lines!"

The other difference on this shoot, I was hopping in and out of my car. Most shoots involve me cycling or walking. It was a situation where there was not an area to park and it was too far to walk from one spot to the next. Plus I did not have an extra bicycle for my companion that morning. But I must say, I accomplished what I had set out to do.

Geometric lines can be very dynamic.

Storm's Coming - Image captured by vintage folder Voigtlander Bessa II with Ilford 100 Delta Pro film - scanned by Epson Perfection V750 Pro

Getting up early ...
That is the crux of the problem. If you want to capture dynamic images, you have to be willing to get up very early, sometimes even before dawn and position yourself in place. Or be at a spot when the sun is setting - which means working with a flashlight to find your way around.

This still does not assure you that you will be able to capture the image you have in mind. You might have to return to the same spot time and again. What it boils down to is perseverance and patience.

The image above was captured at the Canal Road farms around 7:30am. Thank goodness for a stormy day, otherwise the sky might be too washed out on a cloudless day, the foreground could have been flat as well.

Vintage Folders ... as is.

No zoom or telephoto lens required ...
I am sure every photographer who travels frequently have one time or another grappled with the decision on which camera to bring and most important of all which lens to leave at home.

Since I started shooting with vintage folders, the choice is no longer left up to me. Uhm! In a way it still is, however, I no longer have to worry on which lens I have to bring. The lens on the vintage folders are fixed lens. If I choose to bring the Bessa II (6x9 medium format), the decision to make is how to frame the image carefully than capture it. Due to the lens being fixed, I am forced to get physically as close as possible to the subject - no zoom or telephoto lens to help me here. Once the film is developed and scanned onto my desktop, I can crop it in Photoshop. This ends up being the same thing as using a zoom or telephoto lens.

Okay, I can hear the nay sayers ... going "No way!" "The image will not be sharp enough" and so on and so forth ... Let me explain. As the Bessa II is 6x9 format, after scanning the image is actually 120 MB. This is bigger than any existing digital camera in the market. Below is an example that I had shot at Canal Road just off highway 400 (these pillars are actually supporting the 400 bypass over it)

Reflected Strength - captured by vintage folder Voigtlander Bessa II with Ilford 100 Delta Pro film and scanned by Epson Perfection V750 PRO- shown as is (no editing)


Reflected Strength - cropped in Photoshop no other editing.

I am not saying that I no longer use zoom or telephoto lens. I still do with my Hassy. What I am saying is that I do not have to moan or mull over not having a zoom or telephoto lens when I am out shooting with my folders. In fact, I always carry two different folders with me on days that I shoot with them. I bring a 6x6 format folder and a 6x9 format. Why? Since they are so light, I can. Believe it or not they fit into my pockets.

Vintage Cameras ... Folders in particular.

The choice of medium format cameras ...
When I returned to the world of film photography, I chose the medium format cameras as my medium. Primarily the Hasselblad 503cw and all its assorted accessories i.e. lenses, extra film backs, waist level finder and the 45 degree prism finder and etc.

For those of you not familiar with the Hasselblad, these are not lightweight cameras, I for one always limit myself to certain lens which I require for the day's shoot. I discovered over time I only prefer 2 lens at any given day when shooting and only a couple of extra film backs. Even than I feel my shoulder and back objecting by the end of the day.

Over dinner one night. I was reminiscing with my cycling buddy about my first camera - a 35mm Yashica ME rangefinder - which I had sold when I upgraded to my 35mm SLR. This prompted me to surf eBay to replace my missing Yashica. One thing led to another and I stumbled upon the world of vintage folding cameras. To make a long story short. The vintage folders have become my camera of choice for traveling, if I wish to shoot in B&W film.

My favourite folder is the Voigtlander Bessa II with a Heliar 105mm f/3.5 lens. For a 55+ year old camera, it still performs amazingly. The film format is 6x9, this means I only get 8 shots from a 120 film roll as compared to 12 shots from a 6x6 medium format. Just to give you an idea, the images below have not been manipulated except cropped to show the clarity of the image captured by this vintage folder. These images were captured by the Voigtlander Bessa II. The film I use exclusively with the vintage folders is Ilford 100 Delt Pro. I have yet to experiment with the Ilford Pan F (I use this with my Hasselblad 95% of the time).

Uncropped and unedited image from vintage folder ... seen as is. Scanned by Epson Perfection V750 PRO


Cropped without any further editing.