Photographic Possibilities

The subtitle for this post would be something like: “or How to Photograph the Same Subject One Year Apart“. I have returned to the same small amusement park, Idlewild, in rural Pennsylvania for the Halloween celebration. Last year, I was shooting with pinhole cameras and this year I brought my Mamiya c330.

Pinhole Shot

Pinhole Photo
So here are photos taken from the same vantage point which happens to be in mid-ride on the Super Round-up. Both photos were taken while riding the dizzying, spinning ride. The pinhole photo was taken with a film canister camera on photographic paper. The ultra wide-angle view of the pinhole camera gets most of the ride in the frame and distorts the railings. The extra long exposure time of 10 seconds, blurs all of the background elements. The sepia toning gives the image an old-time feel to it. Next we’re on to this year’s image from the c330.

Mamiya c330

Mamiya c330

The Mamiya c330 is a big heavy camera and some may say that it is not suitable for street photography or candid shots. Some would also suggest that you don’t take a collector’s camera on an amusement ride, but I’m not concerned with that at all. The TLR camera was focused at about 20 feet and I used the 65mm wide-angle lens. I couldn’t look down into the viewfinder during the ride so I just aimed and shot. I did use a side grip to hold the camera and fire the shutter. With a shutter speed of 1/250 second, everything is frozen in time and quite different than the pinhole image.

120 Film

Sitting on my desk are eight rolls of 120 film with a total of 96 possible images (that’s 12 images per roll of film) which have the possibility of being wonderful. Now “masterpiece” is a pretty egocentric adjective and I don’t really want to convey that, but the truth is that I really wish that photography lead to a financial contribution to my family. The logic is that if I made money from my hobby (also known as passion or obsession) then I could justify the time and expense needed to hone that hobby. Such is not the case.

So my reality is that photography happens when it happens, in a prioritized itemized list of things that I need to accomplish. Shooting film extends the anticipation of new and exciting images though. I can’t wait to see the results from the last few weeks. I hope you will stick around as I process those eight rolls over the upcoming days or weeks.

I Do

You either love them or hate them; weddings are a photographer’s dream job or death wish. Since I don’t photograph weddings all that often, I’m somewhere in the middle. I neither love nor hate weddings as a photographer. I will pick up weddings when I have the chance, simply to earn some cash. In this case, I was able to put the money earned towards my recent Mamiya c330 purchase.

In general, weddings are not too difficult. You just keep shooting and remember that the bride is the most important person there. For group shots, arrange people by relation and height. Remember to have people stand at an angle to minimize a full frontal portrait which may not be quite so flatterring!

The one thing that I do love about weddings, regardless of whether or not I am the photographer, is that everyone is happy. They are truly content and that is a very warm environment to be placed in. Congratulations to Chris and Holly- my recent photographed bride and groom.

I have made it through another two rolls of film from the classic car show and have been pleased with several really interesting images. I opted to use the smallest aperture for all of the images that day, usually either f/32 or f/45, and have noticed that a few images sufferred from camera shake. The lower shutter speed was just too slow for a hand-held shot. Next time I will be certain to shoot somewhere in the middle and compromise on the shutter speed and aperture setting.

View my Flickr set of classic cars

Last weekend there was a huge classic car show near my house in South Park. There had to have been at least 300 cars there. I spent two hours there and shot four rolls of 120 film through my Mamiya c330. In the last batch of film that I purchased, I selected a variety of film to test out including Kodak Tri-X 400, Fuji Neopan Acros 100, Ilford Delta 100, Ilford Pan F+, and Adox CHS Art 100. I like all of these films, but I really like the look of the Kodak Tri-X 400.

With the faster film, I can utilize the smallest aperture on each of my lenses which is either f/32 or f/45. The extra film speed allows me the convenience of hand-holding the camera which allows for greater flexibility in compositions (without the inconvenience of a tripod). It seems that Tri-X film has a tendency to lose detail in the dark blacks, but retain detail in the bright whites which suits my style of image-making nicely. The visible grain gives a classic feel to contemporary images which I really like too. I will be testing out this film in more depth with regards to adjusted ISO ratings and film developer combinations.

I was scheduled to teach a pinhole photography class for young kids this weekend, but the class was cancelled due to the low number of registrants. The class is being picked up on the Winter Schedule at the Pittsburgh Center For the Arts. So if you have curious children, 11-13 years in age, register them for the class when it comes around again.

Left Hand Grip

I picked up a left hand trigger grip for my Mamiya c330. This one came off of eBay and was listed as a Mamiya RB67 grip. I contacted the buyer and he confirmed that it did fit on the C-series TLRs. I field tested this and it really is a nice piece to have for your gear. It stabilizes the camera, especially with longer focal lengths such as the 135mm. You can steady the camera with your left hand, focus with your right, and trip the shutter with the built-in trigger. There is also a cold shoe bracket on top for an external flash.

View my Flickr set of Mamiya gear

Classic VIII

I am giving the Mamiya c330 a complete workout. My latest round of testing took place at a classic car show near my home last week. I love car shows and the classics. There was such an emphasis on good visual design during the 40s through the 70s and the automobiles of those generations are wonderful pieces of art. I shot two rolls of film: one Ilford Pan F + (50 iso) and Kodak Tri-X (400 iso) to see what type of results I could achieve.

All of the exposures were taken hand-held and since the sun was very bright, I was able to shoot within the 1/125 - 1/250 second range comfortably. From the final set of images, I think that I prefer the grain which is more evident from the Tri-X roll of film. I also liked the additional depth of field that I achieved with using f/22 and f/32.

The Mamiya’s 80mm and 105mm lenses really cranked out some sharp detail in the images. I think the 80mm lens is my sharpest and most favorite, although I do like the tighter image crop of the 105mm lens.

View my Flickr set

Mamiya c330 TLR

I’ve been shooting for almost 20 years and here is my two cents on the hobby. There is a natural progression that every photographer must go through in subject matter, photographic technique, personal style, and equipment. If you don’t have any idea of what I’m talking about, then just keep shooting, you’ll get to that point eventually. I also know that every photographer is different, having completely different equipment needs, based on their preferred subject matter.

In the last few years, I have experimented with quite a lot of subjects, techniques, and styles. Everything from digital in documenting abandoned industrial sites, low-fi Holga and Diana, vintage cameras, and homemade pinhole. Each has been exciting, fresh, and new experiences and that is what photography should be all about. Don’t get stuck in a creative rut, producing the same images over and over of common everyday objects with the same tools and techniques because it is a comfortable feeling. Buy a new lens or used camera, build a camera from scratch, or just do something different.

So with this post, I’ve made the commitment to try out medium format more seriously. My previous MF camera, Kiev 60, just wasn’t good enough for the outstanding images that I have imagined in my mind.

I have picked up this beautiful Mamiya c330 Twin Lens Reflex with four lenses: 65mm, 80mm, 105mm, and 135mm. I am more than thrilled to see the capabilities of this professional grade camera. I can’t wait to see the sharpness and detail produced from the Mamiya lenses.

Diana+ Toy Camera

It seems expensive to purchase a $50 toy camera, but it did come with a hardback book and I’m a sucker for books. I am really looking forward to trying this camera out on our upcoming trip to Niagara Falls, Ontario next week. Just from reading the instructions and inspecting the camera, there seem to be a number of advantages to this camera compared to the latest incarnation of the Holga.

I am most interested in testing out the built-in pinhole capabilities for inclusion in my pinhole book that I’m currently writing. Diana+ is loaded with a fresh roll of TMAX 400 and we’re ready to go!