Why you should say “Yes!”
Waiting for your return (TMAX 400)
I’m really enjoying this one camera, one lens, film thing. Kudos to Chris for shoving me off of the edge! I developed my second roll of film this morning. I should have stayed in the bed, as I’m still rather sick, but I can be sick for the rest of the day! The processing of the second roll was a breeze. I was in and out of the dark in about 2 minutes or less.
This morning I was feeling a little bit better. Let’s say that I was operating at about 60%. Friday was 20%, Saturday 40%, this morning, 60%, right now, probably about 35%. I’m heading downhill again, but I’ll be just fine.
Having stayed inside of the apartment all day yesterday, I really wanted to get out this morning! Really! When I awoke at about 6:00 AM, I put on my shorts, shirt, and shoes and headed over to the river with the 645. After being there for about 5 minutes, I ran into a guy who just walking around. We chatted for a bit, then these 12 ducklings came right up to his feet and arranged themselves into neat little rows. I was rather amazed. I asked him: “They seem very tame. Do they know you?”. He said: “Yes! I feed them and their mother every morning.”. Well, I just made myself comfortable right there and snapped away. I hope that I got some good shots because there were many good ones to be had.
It was quite comical to see how they followed him nearly every step of the way between the water and his car, once alarming the mother because she’s so used to him that she turned her back and all of the ducklings ran off to follow him. When she turned back around I could see her start to get a bit agitated. Finally, she flew in the direction of the car and found her family. In one respect it was nice to see the man/animal interaction, but on the other hand, to have the babies so habituated to human contact could be a problem. Not everyone is so nice and friendly, unfortunately.
Anyway, after I had walked outside to go to the car, I almost talked myself out of it. I’m glad that I didn’t. Each time that I “almost” say “No”, I find something wonderful waiting on the other end. You’ve gotta give it a chance to happen.
You know! The more that I practice, the luckier I get! — Gary Player
About the photo: A Portuguese Water Dog, I believe. Taken one day after work when I almost decided to go home instead of shoot! He was a wonderful dog. Very friendly. He had such a beautiful, soulful voice. His owner left him in the truck, but he decided that he really wanted to participate. Eventually, he jumped out of the truck, but he was tied up. I left after I made sure that he had sufficient length of leash so as not to choke himself.
A darkroom comedy
TMax 100
The last time that I was in a darkroom was right before I left home to begin my life as an adult. Sometime around late 1983, early 1984. So, about a good 25 years ago. Today, even though I am suffering from flu-like symptoms, I had to take a stab at developing at least one roll of film from my Mamiya 645.
I had to first go online to look for the proper mixes and times for the various films that I have shot. Note to self: Choose one film, like back in the day, and stick with it! 
The first roll that I developed was TMAX 100. The guy who sold me the camera was nice enough to include it as well as a roll of TMAX 400. I’ll develop that later.
Into the makeshift darkroom I go. AKA, the bathroom. I made it light tight with a blanket hung over the door to prevent the light around the edges and top and a towel to take care of the light coming in at the bottom. After setting my tank and film in place, I closed the door, made sure that everything was light tight. Then, I began to unroll the film and attempt to get it onto the reel. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts, I realized that I hadn’t spaced the reels wide enough for this film. While attempting to do that, i promptly dropped the film on the floor. Now, as I said, it was DARK. So, I had to get down on hands and knees and use a serpentine motion with my hands. I finally found it. After a number of failed attempts at getting the reel the right width, in the dark, I managed it.
Uh oh! What’s this? My nose is starting to run! Drip! Drip! Drip! Well, I finally get the film into the tank, sans nasal drippings, and got the top securely in place and could turn on the light. The rest of the development went according to plan as I only needed to pour in the solution for the correct amount of time: 9 minutes for developer, 10 seconds for stop bath, 5 minutes for fixer, rince for a few minutes and viola! I had negatives!
Dang it! I don’t have any way to hang them! Hmmm??? Ah ha! Chip clips! I have two of them, so that is what I used. I hung them in the laundry room. Oops. One more problem. No way to cut them. I don’t have any scissors! I had to go out and get some. Also, no sleeves to put them in. Hey! This guy is prepared! Looks like envelopes will have to do until I get sleeves! Indeed CF Cards are a lot easier to work with BUT there is a certain joy in seeing the negatives come out! I’m pumped up!
The final battle was with the scanner. I use and Epson Perfection 3200, now outdated and no longer produced, to scan. It tries to be smart using the medium format holder and thinks that you are using square negatives and always seems to divide one negative into two. I finally wrestled it to the ground and got it to submit to my will!
So, here are a couple of scans from my first roll. I’m happy to say that the camera works quite well even if the darkroom technician has forgotten many of his skills! I didn’t do any changes to these. They are as they came out of the scanner. Both with scanned at 2400 dpi, which will give a long side dimension of about 5400 pixels as 645′s image area is slightly under 6 cm. That said, at 2400 dpi, one could get a very nice 16 x 20 quite easily.
Friday night
It’s Friday night and I’m still in Summerville. I was remarking to a coworker earlier in the week about how seldom it is that I ever get sick. Presto! Changeo! I started feeling kind of ‘iffy’ on Wednesday, worse on Thursday, and the absolute worst on Friday. Saturday remains to be seen.
When I left work and come back to the apartment, I stopped on the way back and purchased a digital thermometer, popped in my mouth, and confirmed what I already felt. I had a fever. 101.9. It might not seem like much, but my normal body temperature runs somewhere around 96.8, not 98.6. I’m one cool guy! So, this was about 5 degrees above normal. I felt like crap! So, after a cool shower, some ibuprofen, lots of cold water to drink, a cool room, and a ceiling fan, my body temperature is down to the normal range now, at least temporarily.
I decided not to drive back to Charlotte this evening. Furthermore, if I wake up with a fever tomorrow morning, I’m not going to Charlotte at all this weekend. Next week Tony has finals as well as an important basketball camp. I’m not going to go there and infect my family, even though I really want to see them. That would just be selfish.
Anyway, I thought that I’d entertain myself with a Netflix movie, Resurrecting The Champ, and then a perusal of a blog or two. I read, with a certain amount of disagreement, two posts: The Leica as teacher and Why it has to be a Leica. In it, Mike attributes some mystical, magical powers of using a Leica for a year to become a better photographer. Some of it, I think, was tongue and cheek, but for the most part he was serious about it.
It was, nevertheless, somewhat entertaining, especially seeing the comments … many of whom agreed with him, at least in principal, about how to become a better photographer: Single camera (Leica). Single lens(35 or 50mm). Single film type. One year of shooting almost every day, or at least several times per week. I think that this could be accomplished with any type of camera, digital or film. There’s nothing special about the Leica, only its association with famous photographers who just happened to use one. It’s doubtful, at least to me, that the camera made the photographer.
Dang, speaking of cameras and digital and whatnot, I’ve not shot with my D300 in about 9 days! That’s some kind of record. I’ve been all enthralled with my Mamiya 645. I think that I have about 4 rolls to develop. Perhaps it’s five. Well, if I am forced to stay here, then perhaps I’ll get to develop some film in my spare time … but I’d much rather go to Charlotte!
A tale of two cities
Might as well chill!
OK. Last week, I placed an order to Freestyle Photographic Supplies. I ordered some darkroom chemicals, etc, to allow me to develop my film. As I had ordered from them before, they had my name and address in the computer. I specifically asked to have the package delivered to Summerville, SC, NOT Charlotte, as I figured it would arrive before I left for Charlotte on Friday. No problem.
As it was late Friday when I ordered, I received a shipment notification on Saturday morning saying that the package would be shipped on Tuesday, as Monday was a holiday … to, you guessed it, Charlotte! Curses! So, I replied to the shipping notice e-mail and told them that they had shipped to the wrong address, but that I would pick it up in Charlotte. They apologized and rerouted the package. Well, I thought, now I will get it on Thursday, that’s cool. Nope. The package was already on the truck and headed for Charlotte. It arrived there today and was promptly rerouted. Curses again! Now it is scheduled to arrive on Saturday … guess where I’ll be? Charlotte! The package will be in Summerville!
Now, I’ll have to wait until Monday to get the package as the office will be closed by the time that I return on Sunday evening. I’ll pick it up on Monday morning and have to wait all day to get back to it! Oh, woe is me!
Oh well, that’s what happens when you live in two cities! Am I being taught more about patience?! LOL!
Anticipation
Since I received my Mamiya 645e film camera, I’ve been shooting with it almost exclusively. Now while that may sound like a lot, it isn’t actually. So far I’ve shot 3 1/2 rolls of film, or about 52 shots. Most of them were shot at Folly Beach, SC. The reason that it hasn’t been out more is that it has been raining a lot and this camera is not weather sealed like my D300.
There is an air of eager anticipation. I’ve not seen anything out of this camera so, in reality, I don’t even know if it works, but I would assume so. It is in mint condition, the shutter sounds good, and I have no reason to doubt it.
Today I went to the Morris Island Lighthouse. I’ve seen pictures of this lighthouse dozens of times and they almost always look the same. Postcard plain. I met a nice man, Tom, and his son who were fishing. I tried to work them into the overall scheme. They were very willing to be in the shots. Hopefully, I did it some justice. I’ll wait to let the pictures talk.
It’s interesting to come home with just the camera and no pictures. It reminds of back in the day, although back in the day I’d come in, give my mother a brief hello, a peck on the cheek, then I’d head straight to the darkroom to process the rolls that I shot. Soon I’ll be doing that here. My daylight tank and chemistry should arrive by Friday … just in time for me to go back to Charlotte! 
I’ve already brought my scanner from Charlotte, so as soon as the negatives are dry, I’m good to go! I decided to develop myself rather than spend money on processing and postage 2 ways. It will reduce my cost and increase my enjoyment.
Yesterday, as I was standing near the Ashley river, film camera in hand or rather on the tripod, I noticed a deer across the river contentedly munching on some leaves. My first impulse was to ditch the film camera, run back to the car, get the D300 and the 200-500 and hope to get some shots, but I just stayed, watched, and took a few shots with 645e. It only has a normal lens on it, 80mm. When I develop them, if I remember, I’ll have to crop to see if I can see the deer.
It’s been great fun and I’m eager to pull out those developed negatives and have a gander! It’s been a while since I’ve had to use center weighted metering and no instant gratification. It’s cool!
Thoughts for Memorial Day
Today, Monday, May 25, 2009 is Memorial Day in the United States. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, it is celebrated on the last Monday of May each year. It was started after the Civil War at the time when the north and south were reunified, originally called Reunification Day. It has become, as most holidays have, a time advertisements, sales, and television rerun marathons. There will be a few parades, graveyard visits, and speeches, as well.
Mankind, it seems, has been fighting since we learned how. We’ve yet to figure out how to resolve our differences peacefully, or to simply allow for differences. When we stand in judgment about the other, we have no time to love them. We see a constant need to answer differences and fear with violence rather than understanding and peace. There have been many who have tried to teach us:
Martin Luther King Jr.: “Hate begets hate; violence begets violence; toughness begets a greater toughness. We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love…Our aim must never be to defeat or humiliate the white man, but to win his friendship and understanding.” — 1958
Mahatma Ghandi: What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty or democracy?
Mother Teresa: I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.
Lao Tzo (Tao Te Ching):
If there is to be peace in the world,
There must be peace in the nations.
If there is to be peace in the nations,
There must be peace in the cities.
If there is to be peace in the cities,
There must be peace between neighbors.
If there is to be peace between neighbors,
There must be peace in the home.
If there is to be peace in the home,
There must be peace in the heart.
To name a few.
So, it is my hope that today, as we remember those that have fallen in battle in the name of one cause or another, that we strive to accept each other as we are. That today, someone will learn that no type of violence brings anything that we want; violence can NEVER bring peace, and war becomes a thing of the past.
It doesn’t start with the government, it starts with the individual. It starts with me.
Peace to all no matter where you live or what you believe.
SoFoBoMo: Slow progress
This year’s SoFoBoMo progress has been slow, in my estimation. Or, perhaps, it has been methodical. I started 12 days ago. I have 18 days remaining. No hurry. It has been raining for several days in a row, with the next 7 – 10 days bringing more rain. Since the 10th, I’ve taken 288 pictures. Not many. Of those I have selected 25 thus far. I have written many paragraphs, some of which will not make the cut, some that will. I don’t know what I have on my B&W film just yet. I may get to see sometime in the next couple of weeks.
During this rainy season, I’ve spent a lot of time reading. I’ve read most of David duChemmin’s excellent book, WTF, or Within The Frame. I have read David Ward’s book, The Landscape Beyond, as well. David Ward’s book is more right down my alley because, though both speak to vision, DW’s book is all about landscape, whereas, DC’s book is about photographing people and culture. Both books are certainly worth having on your self, no make that within easy access so you can read them over and over again.
I’ve been greatly influenced by DW’s book. He spends a great deal of time talking about leaving a bit of mystery in your landscape photos. That is, don’t answer all of the questions. Provide a few for the viewer to ponder. With that in mind, I’ve been having a more critical eye towards my photographs and trying to see which ones speak to me in that way. I’ve come up with a number of them that I feel speak to me. In fact, I had not planned to do a black and white section in my book, and certainly not mix color and B&W, but that’s all changed. It seems to fit. They’ll be in different sections, but I want to try it out.
I’ve had my selected photos rotating through my desktop background, one per minute. I’m getting used to them, seeing if I can remove any of them. So far, so good. I like what I see. As this is a holiday weekend, I get one more day to shoot unencumbered by work. I’m taking my film camera with me, too. I wonder what I’ll see.
After I assemble all of the pictures, I think that I’ll have to create a story to tie them together in some way. I already have a few ideas. This year is a lot more methodical, calmer, and through provoking. Last year it was all about the excitement. This year, it seems, it’s all about the message … whatever that is!