I broke down and touched up the contrast on a few pictures; worth it? Still not sure, but I’m leaning yes.
Doctoring
photography
Cobblestones and sand and snow
I forgot my developing notebook, so I’ll get the nitty-gritties on the films and developing on here in a few days. Sparse details: Ilford HP5+ and TX400, mostly, pushed to 1600. All run through my F3HP, shot through an e series 35.
On cameras: I’m thinkin’ I may have to abort operation dave-saves-up-for-three-years-and-buys-a-M6/35-setup, and then start a new operation, likely to be titled dave-saves-for-a-year-and-buys-a-X100. Digital? DIGITAL? Well…yeah, I think so. Hmm. But have you SEEN that thing? Seriously, what a neat camera.
To the street
First tries: street photography and push processing. Conclusion: I’m in love. With both. Oh but wait you might say, that’s not a good conclusion, dave–it’s a love triangle! You need a last chapter to resolve things! What do? To that I say nothing, only give a clue: I fidget with my shirt sleeve. Like I’m trying to get you to think that I’m trying to get you to think that there’s an ace there; probably no ace there, huh? But oh I may have an ace, yes I may have one where you never thought an ace would be. In my sock.
Anyways, next up: try pushing film that’s actually made to be pushed. I fear that good places for street photography may be hard to find up here–I need to figure something out to deal with this issue. Anchorage, maybe? That’s a long drive to take pictures.
End-note about street photography: man, I took a LOT of shots, and not many of them turned out nice. Like, this: there’s a reason this post only has two pictures. That bugs me. And it set off a little spark. I hate to let something get the best of me, especially an abstract thing like “street photography” (what DOES that mean, anyways?). No good.
Nitty gritty:
Body/lens: F3HP /e-series 35/2.5
1st shot: Ilford HP5+ @ 1600, Ilfosol 3 1+9, 19min, one inversion each minute with three 3min water baths (@6, 11, and 16 min)
2nd shot: Kodak Tri-X 400 @ 1600, Ilfosol 3 1+9, 15min, one inversion each minute with two 3min water baths (@6 and 11min)
Photos
Yup. Title pretty much says it all. By the way, all film, Nikon F3 (HP edition) with an e series 35, no post-dev processing. Yes, that is actually how the colors came out. Neat, yeah?
Somersault
Wheeeee!
(look close, feet airborne)
XP2 is awesome stuff, but I like HP5+ better. No dependable c41 development nearby…HP5+ is a clear winner. Time to stock up.
Jugglin fool
It’ll get into your BONES, man!
First foray, again
So a while back I forayed into film, here: http://wp.me/p14q4r-97. Since then, I have: bought a film SLR, a nice digital SLR and four lenses, and I have sold three lenses and a nice digital SLR.
So now, another first foray: development.
Ok, well sorta the first…maybe actually second. But lets just say these here were my first try, ok? I feel better that way.
For those of us: F3HP, e series 35mm, Kodak 400TX, Ilford chems
Last ado: when I got here I took some color film to the only film-developing guy in town, and the shots came out bluer than a song B.B. King wrote the day his dog died. I took these developed negatives to him for scanning, and half came out like these first five.
Long and pretty drive
Great, long and beautiful drive, even better: shared with mom.
Just in case it may not show through well in the one photo with the thumbs up, the thumbs up is actually for 4wd, not the icy road. Um.. on second thought it is for the icy road too. So it should’ve been a double thumbs up. my bad.
Also, review of the 1990 Jeep Cherokee Sport: really, really really cool and fun. Mileage, not terrible but not too hot either.
Jack
Names and stories
I don’t know what to say, but the names of some of the people and places and things. But really, the names of the people…
“–the way in which stories posses the power they do, by which they
actually change how people think, feel and behave, and hence change
the way the world actually is–”
(N.T. Wright, but really anybody who’s thought with even half a wit about stories and us humans and what it all is ought to have the same thing in heart)
…some of the people who were part of this story. Were? That’s tough. Really tough. Jorge. Magdalena and the other Magdalena and Catarina and her little brother, sharp as a tack, Angelina and the other Angelina, Mateo, Isabela who has a name-twin in town, “Alcalde” and Alfredo, one goofy and happy and the other goofy and sharp as a tack too, Sara and Amalia and Chepita and Pablito and Mingita and Mrs. Rosa and Jefe Roni and el Mosquito Paquito, Wuicho who’s so great at math and just a great little kid and walks and talks and is as though he were in his 50’s, and Diego who really is still a child somehow, and the one dirtbike that actually worked well. And more that I don’t even have pictures for, la pocaluz that became la resplandora through hell, the Paloma, the Tortugita, Meme, Don Chepe, El Mero-Mero chingonaso viejito Don Otto, la Negra y la trapeadora Ines. La Coyotilla (arrooOOOOooooo). The Pokis and Fiona and Shrek and Claudini and Luchis. Tripa el caballeron (also known by his buds as vejillo). Danery. La Capsinita and su esposito y el Capsinito. El Camion. Wuicho the mechanic and his pop Don Enrique and Venado the crazy, the pastorcitos and the shrink and the giant cranky guy and the half-dozen canchas in town, each it’s own place. Eatin’ some ceviche and having a cold beer up with the shusha. The Shush and his crazy daughters. Tamales. Tortillas. The Cuban doctors who I hardly understood, the annoying old one and chill less-old one. All the suegros and suegras and chabashitas and chabashitos. The market. And so much more, many more. Many many more. And also more hell than I’d ever thought could be on earth, too.
Isn’t that what a chapter of life’s supposed to be anyways? Well actually I can’t think that’s the whole, but it’s gotta be a piece. Right?
The good times
Some old pictures of the good times. I can’t even think of what to say about the times or the pictures, so like it ought to be they’ve gotta do their own talking. I love good black and white photos. Life lesson: good times are all about the people.
This one time
This one time mom and I drove up to Alaska, and the guy in town who develops c-41 had old chemicals, the shots turned out bluer than the blues, and I even had to pull the big lever to put the jeep in 4wd a few times (so, soooooo satisfying)
Pictures worth words: part 2
Pictures worth words
It’s funny how very often the more words a picture’s worth the less the quality matters. By the way, that’s a motorcycle designed for agricultural use in the Australian outback. I love the sound of that exactly as much as I have no idea what it really means. And I have absolutely no idea.
