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If you read my post from a few days ago you’ll note that I bought yet another camera. This one an old MF one, Yashica Mat 124G, in mint condition. It was so mint that I felt bad for using it. So, the only choice I was left with is to buy another one of the same model for general use. Naturally.

Back to eBay we went. Populated my list with potential candidates and this morning I bought another one… which also looks mint… which went for double my budget… help?

This one is a Yashica Mat 124, the model previous to the G. It has silver metal parts where on the G model they are blacked out. I personally think it looks better with the chrome which is a nice contrast to the black body. This one came with a tele and a wide lens. All look mint but let’s hope they aren’t so I can feel ok to use them and not buy another one.

Last night I bought a Sekonic L-308S light meter which is a nice compact unit. Not as cheap as I thought they would be but hey, that’s photography.

So in summary, I do admit I am addicted and am reminded of a friend who also buys more cameras than he cares to use. You know you’re worse than me Arran. Maybe we need to hold an intervention for each other?

Not long ago I began looking for a medium format camera. After using 35mm film for a while I can see the benifit in a larger size. Most of the entry level cameras with interchangable lenses are still fairly expensive and they tend to be bulky as well. That’s where a small box comes in handy. It’s a TLR to be exact. Compact, light and sexy if I say so.

The Yashica Mat 124G is a very common entry level camera to MF. It offers an 80/3.5 4 element lens with a B/1 to 1/500 Copal shutter and a short ASA range of 25 to 400. The camera takes both 120 and 220 film and has a meter which you use at your own risk. The best thing about these cameras is the massive ground glass focusing screen. It’s such a delight to use it.

I picked up a roll of Tri-X 400 and a Provia 100 today. I think I’ll try the 400 first because I can develop that at home. Stay tuned for the first set of pics. In the meantime, check out the mint condition. It’s almost a shame to use it and I’m seriously considering buying another to use so this one can be stored away.

Saw a cool video on how hang gliders are made. I never would have guessed that it involves 1050 parts! I’ll take two please…

Discovery Channel - Factory Made ep. 6 from Søren Ladegaard on Vimeo.

What a delightful little gem. Home for the Holidays (1995) is one of those movies that I come across by flicking through the channels and a single scene grabs my attention. I never would given this movie a chance had I not seen it by accident. It’s a shame because movies like these are the reason I’m a filmaholic.

Directed by Jodie Foster, it tells the tale of a divorced 40 year old played by Holly Hunter and her dysfunctional family as they gather for Thanksgiving. Robert Downey Jr. plays a rather chirpy in your face brother who’s very confrontational and a delight to watch. The rest of the cast is absolutely perfect. They portray a family with all their little quirks just as if someone planted spy cameras in the living room of a real family. They argue they fight, kiss and tell old tales, storm off and cry, hug and share moments, they entertain you more than you will expect.

I’m actually really surprised at how much I enjoyed this film. The actors are simply amazing giving their characters real life with little nuances and gestures rarely seen by even the so called A list actors. The timing of the comedy is unexpected and had me laughing out loud more than once. An all round quality watch.

Without spoiling the ending for you I’d like to say that it will leave a sweet taste in your mouth. It’s such a nice way to close off our little look into this family. It succeeds at giving us a Hollywood ending without actually being too perfect and unrealistic.

Hello my two friends that read this blog. Or did one of you stop coming already?

Today is the very last day of my 6 week holiday in Europe. So, is there anything to tell? Probably. But I don’t want to get carried away so I’ll just spew out a few sentences for now.

It was just a visit-the-relatives-overseas type of holiday. I don’t want to make it sound dull though. I did have a fantastic time. My cousins over here are fabulous and I loved getting to know them better. I went to Croatia for 7 nights which was fantastic. I did get sun burnt pretty badly on the second day but that didn’t stop me from enjoying all the history and scenery around. I’ll have a few photos to show at my photo-blog over the next few weeks.

Most of the time was spent in Macedonia. I was born there and have lots of family. It was great seeing them. Last I saw most of them was 13 years ago… The country itself is in better shape. That is to say it’s improving but still has a long long way to go. I would class it as third world. I could complain about the lack of systems around daily life, bad roads, poor health care, extremely high unemployment rates and low wages… but I will bore you I fear. The country has a lot to sort out and they are making slow progress.

The social/networking side of things is great though. It seems that everyone knows everyone and even if they are poor they still manage to go out to restaurants and cafes and generally enjoy themselves every single damned night of the week. I swear I’ve gone out to dinner at around 10pm every night for the past 5 weeks. It truly is an experience.

Alas, the trip is over and I’m coming home. My flight leaves Macedonia from Skopje Airport in 16 hours. I am looking forward to seeing everyone I left behind including half of my immediate family and all my friends. My dog my car, bed and shower, job and cameras and every single materialistic thing Sydney life is good for. I’ve no illusions, I am a slave to materialistic things and I do miss my life there.

Just one more thing…

On a day tour a couple of weeks ago we drove up this mountain to see some historical monuments where we ran into some paragliders launching off a hill. It looked interesting so we stopped for a picture and a look see.

They would carelessly launch off the hill and float up and up just like a feather in a cool breeze. It looked like so much fun. It stayed with me all day.

The following day I had to find a net cafe to read up on the sport. After a few days wasting too much valuable holiday time I decided to try my hand at hang gliding. As it turns out us Aussies seem to be at the centre of the sport and there’s even a popular site close to home: Stanwell.

I’m actually a little surprised I haven’t previously looked into the sport. I’ve done a few solo sky dives and I was always a little different in the fact that I preferred the canopy ride to the free fall which is what attracts most people. It only seems natural to take that canopy ride and extend the experience. Here’s to another little adventure in my life…

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.