5 july 2013.
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I took quite a few photos with the Pentax 6×7 over the long holiday weekend. These two, of a balloon man we encountered on the street and my dear friend Michael, taken a few hours apart on July 5th, were my favorite of the lot.
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among the living (2).
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A few more photos from my new project, Among the Living.
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among the living.
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I’m working on a new project, Among the Living. Here are a few of the preliminary photos.
Between a wonky in-camera light meter and gut instinct, I’m struggling a bit to get the right exposure with the new Pentax (a real light meter is on its way, slowly but surely, don’t worry!), but I think I’m getting the hang of generating ever-so-slight (and much-desired) underexposure on this guy.
To everyone in the States: Happy 4th of July! To everyone else: go out and take some photos! Have a good weekend, everyone.
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weekend favo(u)rites.
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Percy, my crazy Pentax 6×7, showed his malleability this weekend with, of all things, the usually very slow Kodak Ektar 100.
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my funny frankenstein.
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So after renting the behemoth last weekend, I knew I needed to get one of my own. A few trips around town and one eBay auction later, I cobbled together a Pentax 6×7 with an SMC Takumar 105mm f/2.4 lens and left-side wooden grip attachment. Gloriousness! This one doesn’t have the automatic functions of the more advanced 67ii, so there’s no aperture priority settings and the like, and the 6×7 is a clunky old all-manual beast that’s taking some getting used to. For the time being, I have to rely on a through-the-lens meter that is proving to be a bit wonky and unreliable — everything’s coming out a bit overexposed. But next on the to-do/buy list — a proper Sekonic light meter — should correct some of these issues.
All of that said, I am so very much in love with this guy. I’ve been taking him everywhere with me, which is no small feat given that, at nearly 6lbs, it’s around 2lbs heavier than my Hasselblad! Many, many more photos to come.
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Also, can I just say again: THE LIGHT.
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big monster weekend.
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I rented a Pentax 67ii medium format camera with an SMC 105mm f/2.4 lens this weekend. The thing weighs more than my Hasselblad! With 6×7 cm negatives (compared to the Hasselblad’s 6×6 format), the sheer level of detail the Pentax 67 picks up is extraordinary.
I’m happy to report that I have perhaps fallen in love with this camera. Just look at what it produced.
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Perhaps a bit less adept, this 105mm lens, at middle distances, but that’s something to be played around a bit with a couple of other lenses, perhaps:
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Just how big is this camera? My friend Nick and I had a camera duel of sorts in the middle of the Third Avenue street fair this weekend: the Pentax 67ii as captured by the Leica M9:
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Huge! A veritable SLR on steroids.
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folks, recently.
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A going-away barbecue party + an old pal visiting from upstate + the light in June = magic.
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repetition, routine.
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I’ve developed a bit of a routine over the last few months: work on Mondays through Fridays, with a TV night usually on Tuesdays with dear Mike D, and maybe seeing a friend or two on other weeknights. Saturdays I spend in the darkroom — darkroom C, at Print Space in Manhattan, is my preferred one of the four available for hourly rental — and Sundays I laze about in bed, seeing what’s available on Netflix Instant. An afternoon glass of wine (or three) along with the Times crossword. A book in the evening, or perhaps pub quiz at my Brooklyn local. And then it’s back to the workaday world.
There’s something rather comforting about this routine, an orderliness and stability after months of disquiet. I think it’s starting to show a bit, too, in what I’m choosing to photograph.
Above: The return of the Backdrop Project! [Top: Bob. Above: Glynn.]
Below: The stoops of Bergen Street, Brooklyn.
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the ladies.
Kathryn, her sister Betsy, and pal Michally on a gorgeous Memorial Day afternoon in the Lower East Side.
Also, this happened before I could fully get the lens focused:
more prints.
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I *have* been taking more photographs recently, and there are a few things to show you over the next few days, but in the meanwhile: a few more older (but only recently made in the darkoom) prints are available in my etsy shop. These were printed on fiber paper, not resin-coast (RC) paper, so they’re a bit sturdier, and the dark black tones are a bit more dramatic. Anyhow, take a look at the photos here or in the etsy shop, and please do pass along the link.
More photos soon. And I’m considering taking a color printing class, which would mainly be for my own edification, but oh boy, handprinted color photos! The idea just kind of takes me to a lovely place.
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hong-an tran 