Black & White – it is what it is!

I have tried on many occasions to “create” black & white from digital color images and they’re always less than satisfying. The photo above was shot with an Olympus XA2 on Kodak BW400CN. As I said in an earlier post I love the XA2 and I also like this film, mainly for its convenience. It uses C-41 processing – the same as color film so it can be developed at your local 1-hour processor, assuming you still have one nearby (I do). I also like this film for its full palette of gray tones.

My all time favorite black and white film is Tri-X for the opposite reason. It has rich blacks and brilliant whites and is generally considered to be a high contrast black and white film. Although, in the right hands and under the right exposure conditions, Tri-X can display rich gray tones as well. To me, that is the Holy Grail of black & white photography.

The point I want to get to however, is simply that black and white film does what it does and it does it link nothing else. I have indeed seen some nice black and white shots taken with digital cameras or maybe “created” in post processing but I always get the impression (and maybe it is just my prejudice showing through) that someone worked really hard at getting it to look like what black and white film just does automatically.

I to have tried to do it digitally without much success. Maybe I just am not willing to work that hard or just don’t know what I am doing in that regard. I actually tried to manipulate the image above in post processing to make it look more like a Tri-X shot but couldn’t pull it off so decided to just leave it alone.

It is what it is – an image that represents what Kodak BW400CN is and does.

Classic Point & Shoot

Although the Olympus XA2 I used to capture the image of my sons above on Kodak BW400CN film is something of a cult classic it is essentially an early 1980’s point & shoot camera. These little gems have gotten a bad reputation simply for being simple and easy to use. This grandfather of the ubiquitous auto-focus (and pretty much auto-everything else) point & shoot 35mm cameras of the 1990’s and early 21^st century is almost as easy to use as those that came afterwards. The only things left for the photographer to do is set the film’s ISO (ASA in those days) and choose one of the three zone focus positions. Everything else is taken care of for you.

This was revolutionary when this camera was introduced. With shutter speeds from 2 seconds to 1/750 the sharp 35mm f3.5 Zuiko lens captures incredible detail, even in the window reflected selfie. This is only the third roll of film I’ve put through this great little camera. I posted a couple times about it last March (2013) if you’re interested in reading more about it or seeing more pictures taken with it.

Every time I use the XA2 I am amazed by the quality of both the camera and the images. The XA is a bit more sophisticated because it is a true rangefinder and had more controls but for sheer simplicity and a lot of fun its hard to beat the XA2.

There are many great 35mm point & shoot cameras to be had for under $10 from Ebay or thrift stores. I think everyone should have at least one to carry around with them where ever they go.

Frozen Photos

I guess this post is more about the weather than photography. Above you can see the latest view out of my office window. I have frequently shown this same view through the lens of various cameras and shot it with different films but rarely has it looked so white and cold. 

This may not look very impressive to my Northern friends but in South Louisiana we generally keep our ice in a glass with our favorite beverage. Lately however, we have been experiencing what the rest of the country calls “Winter.” This has discouraged me from venturing out to take many pictures.

Here’s another shot showing the edge of my roof decorated with icicles.

I have of course, continued shooting indoors, some church directory photos and a local concert but nothing appropriate for this blog. Stay tuned though, the good thing about weather in this part of the country is that it changes often so no doubt some warm sunny days are just around the corner.

OLIPHANT PHOTO MUSEUM

OLIPHANT PHOTO MUSEUM, a photo by wizowel on Flickr.

Busy, busy, bush these days but here's the colorized version of the black and white photo I posted last week. The black & white was shot using the Olympus XA2 on Kodak BW400SN. This one was shot with the Pentax ZX-30 on Kodak Portra 400.

OLIPHANT PHOTO MUSEUM

OLIPHANT, a photo by wizowel on Flickr.

Here's a shot from the latest roll of BW400CN that I ran through the Olympus XA2. This is a handy little 35mm that is easy to have with you.

I forgot just how much I really like both this film and this camera.

Reboot for 2014

2013 has been an amazing year for my photography. I’ve shot with and written blog posts about a dozen different cameras and almost as many different kinds of film. I’ve been introduced to the world of 110 film format, delved further into medium format with both 120 and 620 film and continued my exploration of 35mm with new cameras as well as some new film stocks.

That’s the good news. While it has been exciting there is a down side to all this too.

First of all I have found myself occasionally confused and struggling with trying to figure out how to make these new cameras do what I want them to do. There is something to be said for using the same camera for years until it becomes an extension of yourself that you never have to really think about because you (and it by extension) just automatically do what needs to be done to capture the picture you want to capture.  There is absolutely a learning curve associated with each new camera or even film and all the experimenting is fun but not really conducive to producing excellent photographs. Plus, you tend to keep shooting the same compositions over and over for the sake of comparison.

For 2014 I want to get back to basics a bit. I want to settle down and shoot just a couple cameras and focus on producing better pictures. I also want to get my own scanner so I can take the “keepers” and produce some high resolution scans for printing and make some prints. I used to actually get prints and fill up photo albums but abandoned that when I became infected with “digitalis.” I am not talking about the plant.  I am talking about the disease that inflicts those infatuated with digital photography and makes them believe that prints are no longer relevant.

The photo above is from the first roll of 620 Portra 400 film shot with the Kodak Vigilant at f11 and 1/100. This is an amazing old camera that produces 6 X 9 negatives - that’s 60mm X 90mm! Its over 70 years old and as you can see, it still works. I love the huge 6 X 9 negatives so this one will be a keeper although I am considering selling of a few of my cameras to help me attain my other goals for 2014.