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Hello there. It’s been a while since I’ve posted but I have legitamite excuses. Note the plural. Work has been pretty full on and that’s my main excuse. I’ve gained a staff member, trained them, been promoted, fired someone, hired someone and trained them. All the while taking on new tasks and drinking lots of coffee. Yay. I’m really happy about the promotion. It does seem like hard work pays off.

Apart from the fun stuff at work I’ve not done much else. My photography has slowed down but my enthusiasm hasn’t. A mate and I just purchased a bunch of film for experimenting and I’ve shot a couple of rolls already. One of those I completed in 5 minutes earlier tonight and boy was it fun. My little brother was rocking away on the drums while I got creative and experimental with a roll of Ilford Delta 3200 shot at 1600. The Olympus OM-1 I was using only goes up to 1600 unfortunately. To be honest even if none of those shots works out I trully did have a blast taking them. Next roll in the camera is an Ilford HP5.

Lars and the Real Girl (2007) is a totally predictable movie. It does not offer us anything new. It does not break record budgets nor does it tout many fine outstanding actors with egos bigger than their budgets. All it does is take you on a simple journey with a simple story of a troubled young man. This, it does better than most movies you will see all year.

Ryan Gosling plays Lars, a shy young man who from the outset has social interaction problems and quietly but spectacularly spirals into a delusional state when he introduces his brother and sister-in-law to his new girlfriend, a blow up doll called Bianca. The story is set in a smallish town whose citizens all know each other and are very accepting of Bianca. She befriends the town folk, secures a part-time job, volunteers at the local hospital and even goes to church. Predictably Bianca comes between Lars and his real life love interest. The title with its double meaning makes sense right about here. The plot is simple, the journey unforgettable.

I don’t want to spoil the movie any more than I have so I’ll leave it at that. It’s such a delightful watch and I urge you to take some time out from your life and join Lars and Bianca for an hour and fourty minutes.

The Online Photographer: Great Photographers on the Internet

Possibly the most entertaining thing I’ve seen as a photographer. We all know that there are many experts on the internet and now we have the proof. Please try to crop properly, get the attention of your subjects by shouting just before you take the picture, do not let your AF choose point of focus, keep your horizons straight, select better subjects and always always take sharp photos!

Cloverfield (2008) presents a simple story via a video tape found in what used to be Central Park in Ney York post an alien attack. Right from the opening scene you expect to see some torn down wasteland occupied by an army with a no tolerance attitude. Or maybe that was just me? What you do see for the rest of the movie though is the very same video tape as it’s being watched by someone we don’t know and never will meet.

The movie is shot with a handheld style giving us extremely weird angles and often falling, spinning, climbing and jumping with our characters. This might get annoying to some, especially when you realise that the whole movie will be like this, but it does work. It puts you in the scene with our characters and via some timely editing tells us a love story. It is Hollywood after all. I’m just surprised we didn’t see a sex scene somewhere in the middle. I’m sure they tried to fit it in but failed and gave up. I did find it annoying that all the characters and even the filler crowd at the party were perfect twenty somethings. C’mon America. Where are the fat people running away from the aliens with a gallon of Coke in their hands?

I must admit I did enjoy this movie. It might have something to do with my good mood at the time but I won’t take away from the ok acting and somewhat unique format. The use of a video tape found post an alien attack to tell a story and leave your imagination running wild and hoping for more was… fun.

It had to happen soomer or later. I thought maybe I’ll accidentally expose the film to light or get the development times wrong. Perhaps a dud developer or even film (does that even happen?). There had to be one roll that did not develop for one of those reasons. I never expected what actually happened today although now that I think about it should be the most likely dud roll cause. The entire 36 exposures free spun, never moving past the film lead that’s exposed on a new roll. Ayeee.

A few days ago I loaded a 400TX in my Minolta SRT 201. I don’t recall doing anything differently or being in a hurry. I was sure I loaded it just fine but I must have made some mistake. I’m just glad that the roll I shot in half an hour earlier today was a test roll. As soon as I tried to rewind the film into the cassette I knew there was something wrong. I was kind of hoping it was extra smooth for some reason but in reality I knew it was a silly mistake. Even so, I developed it and wasn’t susprised to find a blank roll come out. I think I’ll keep it as a reminder.

Lesson of the day; do not try to squeese an extra frame out of your film. Load it properly in the open and be happy with the 36 frames.

For the last month I’ve been exclusively using film cameras, both rangefinder and SLR’s. Two days ago I took out my digital SLR to take some birthday pics and was shocked when I put my eye to the viewfinder. I had honestly forgotten how small that thing is and how poor the magnification was. Compared to a film SLR these digital viewfinders are an outright joke. It’s a given some models will have bigger viewfinders and mine is but an entry level Canon 400D but even so, they will never be a match for the gorgeously clear, large and bright finders of old film SLR’s.

The second thing I noticed was the focus screen on these old film cameras is no less than 24.325 times better. Not only did they come with a variety of focus screens but they were also much easier to focus. The combination of large viewfinder and wonderful user friendly focus screens makes me feel pitty for all photographers who have only ever known digital. I suppose they are better off for not knowing what they are missing out on.

I shouldn’t be surprised, one comes with the other. Tomorrow I turn 30 years old. Such a monumental birthday if ever there was one. No longer twenty-something, rather a whole decade older. What a fucking slap in the face.

With old age (ok so I’m not that old) comes health problems and so today, as a prelude to my special day tomorrow, I chipped a tooth by doing nothing more than breathing. It just decided to fall apart. Yesss! Oh woe is me and all that.

Over the last few days I’ve been in a frantic shopping spree mood. I’m looking for a small SLR for general use. It has to be light and mostly, if not all, mechanical.

I started my search with the iconic Olympus OM-1. The placement of the shutter speed selection is a part of the lens mount so you are always only a movement away from aperture and shutter settings. The only problem I had with this camera is the lack of viewfinder indicators of shutter and aperture but it is reputed as one of the brightest and largest viewfinders of their time and even by todays standards. The lack of VF indicators wasn’t a deal breaker though as I have read that after a bit of use you get the feel for the settings with the help of some design aid based on a 1/30 mid point. Perfect for me as I use 1/30 to 1/125 most of the time. Love that motion blur in my street shots. This camera is all mechanical with only a light meter requiring a 1.3v battery and not much else. No auto settings, just you and the metal.

Other cameras I looked at included the Nikon FM3n with its auto this and that. It looks like a real solid well designed camera with great shutter speed range unlike most other SLR’s of the time. It does rely on batteries for most things to work and it really is a fair bit bigger than the OM-1. As tempting as their glass range is and the well designed feel, it is too big and I just know it’ll end up on the shelf more than around my neck.

The Pentax MX got a quick look in. It’s a very samll camera in direct competition with the OM-1. Most of the settings are the same but slight differences in control placement and viewfinder were enough to put me off. Besides, you can’t compare the Zuiko glass of the Olympus to the range Pentax has. I’m afraid I didn’t spend too much time on this one.

At this stage I feel I should mention that I’m a Canon man and they at least deserved a bit of my time. That’s all they got. Their electronic cpu controlled offerings of the time were fantastic and a break through which we should all be glad for but they just weren’t what I was looking for in a film SLR. You are the weakest link Canon.

Next and by far the most tempting was the Minolta XD. Labeled the XD in Japan, XD-11 in USA and XD-7 elsewhere. It is a gorgeous camera rivaling the OM in size. It offered the very first shutter priority mode as well as aperture priority beating out Canon and Nikon. The viewfinder, although not as big and bright as the OM-1, displayed a lot of information via LED’s which also served as battery level indicators. This camera really is a nice unit and I can see myself buying one when I find a good example. They don’t seem to pop up on eBay that often and parts look like a problem. Their lenses are respectable and the fact that I already have 4 terrific lenses for my Minolta SRT 102 made this a very easy decision.

Only I read this…

———
Sid Reed from Dallas, Texas, USA
Item: Olympus OM-1 (1972)
Interests: fine art,landscape,portraits,wildlife
sid_reed@yahoo.com

The OM-1 does not set what speed of film you are using automatically. It cannot load the film itself, nor rewind the film itself. It cannot set the shutter or aperture by itself. It cannot auto-focus. The only electronics are a simple light meter that tells you if you have the exposure set correctly, and it is not always correct (when the subject is back-lit, for example). If you lose the cover that goes over the opening that the Winder/Motor Drive attaches to, you most likely will not be able to replace it (they are rare). There is no built-in flash. The hot shoe for the flash gets lost easily. You cannot easily find new lenses for it anymore. It has been out of production for years. It is no longer supported by the manufacturer. It does not beep, chirp, whistle, blink, or buzz, ever, for any reason.

It just hums - like any exceedingly wonderful work of a master craftsman hums.

The OM-1 is a work of art for creating works of art. It is one of those rare tools that become a part of you, an extension of yourself, after you have used it awhile. And that is why some people refer to their OM-1’s so fondly, as if they are talking about a friend. They are.

I bought the one that I own in 1978, in Dallas, Texas. I still use it, and am quite fond of it, despite also having two digital cameras and an OM-4Ti.

Sometimes it is just the simple pleasures that one needs. This is a camera for those times.
———

The above is a review found on www.camerareview.com. It, along with a whole lot of other research, helped me make my decision to invest in the Olympus OM-1 and the Zuiko lens system. eBay here we come.

I’ve been watching a lot of new movies recently. Last week I went back in time to 1989 and what has to be a classic fun movie. Forget the average imdb score, this is one time where it really doesn’t reflect the quality of the movie.

Tom Hanks stars in this comedy (he cut his teeth on comedies) about a suburban cul-de-sac where a new family, the Klopeks, have moved in. Strange noises in the middle of the night accompanied by flashes of light and unusually odd behaviour are the norm for the Klopeks whose front yard dies shortly after they move in and no one sees them leaving or entering their home for a month. The quiet cul-de-sac littered with interesting characters who are more than curious is all of a sudden marred by a black sheep. When a neighbour disappears suspicion turns our suburbanites into a comedic lynch mob of sorts. A recipe for hilarity.

The Burbs imdb

Last Saturday I woke up to a wet morning, perfect for indoor activities such as nude darts complete with clothed streakers, Spring cleaning in Autumn, or developing your first roll of film. I chose the darts but after 10 minutes of searching for them I gave in and decided to develop a roll.

I shot a 24 roll of HP5 on a Canon QL17. I hadn’t tested the camera before nor the film so it was all going to be a trial and likely to end in error. After a fair bit of reading I settled on what I thought was a reasonable method and off I went. To my surprise images came out!