Print: Echo (Part 3)

This is the third part to my Suburban Echo series. I took four exposures of houses in a retirement village. There were a bunch of old people walking around; one even wanted to know what kind of camera I was using. Old people can be cool sometimes. I used my Mamiya C330 with an 80mm lens.

Thanks for looking!

Roll: Par King (Front 18)

This afternoon, after Katie and I took another trip to the Grove in Glenview to finalize our wedding plans, we took a trip up to the "Par King" miniature golf course in Lincolnshire. We played the first 18 hole course out of two, and had a fun time. It's definitely not as cool and rustic as "Novelty Golf & Games" in Lincolnwood, but it's still pretty sweet. I brought along my Olympus OM-2n with a roll of Fuji 200 and took some photos of the holes we encountered. Here are some of my favorites:

While Par King was a little too clean and well-kept compared to Novelty Golf, we still had a good time. I won by six strokes. Yes.

Thanks for looking!

Spotlight/Roll: The Renaissance Faire (Part 2) on the Nikkormat EL

Last weekend Katie and I headed up to the Renaissance Faire again. This time we brought along Katie's brother, Aaron, and his girlfriend, Nina. I also brought along a little camera called the Nikkormat EL.

The Nikkormat EL is the electronic version of the classic Nikkormat, and features an electronic shutter and aperture-priority mode. The Nikkormat cameras were semi-pro level cameras, just below the pro-level Nikon F series in Nikon's camera line. The EL has a lot of great features in addition to its aperture-priority system, such as mirror lock up and two different ways to lock the camera from accidental exposure. The EL also has the oddest way of inserting a camera battery that I've ever seen. You have to take off the lens, lock up the mirror, and left up a tiny flap to reveal the battery compartment in the mirror box. Ridiculous!

But anyway, I was excited to try this camera out, because I had just borrowed a 50mm 1.4 lens from a friend, and 50 1.4's are my jam.  Here are some of the photos I took:

Thanks for looking!

Lost and Found: Auto Show 1968

A couple months ago, I found some negatives at an estate sale I was at in Glencoe. They were in a box that was simply titled, "Auto Show 1968". It was the same sale I bought a Kodak Retina Reflex at, so I can only assume these were taken on that camera. Take a look!

I tried to scan and edit these negatives faithfully, with the exception of the second to last shot of the light fixture, which I thought looked better upside-down. I really enjoyed seeing the world of 1968 through one person's photographs, so I think I'll do more of these "Lost and Found" posts whenever I find some stray negatives. Thanks for looking!

Spotlight: Agfa Viking

The Agfa Viking is a cool little folding camera that was made in the early 1940's. This particular camera belonged to my grandmother, who passed away about five years ago. I don't think she used it more than a couple times, because it's in amazing condition. My Papa (grandpa) gave it to me a few Christmases ago.

 The Viking produces eight large 6x9cm negatives on 620 film. It has shutter speeds ranging from 1/25th to 1/100th of a second (As well as Bulb and Time modes). The focal length of the lens is not mentioned anywhere on the camera, but is probably around 90mm. The lens is extremely slow, with a maximum aperture of f7.7! You compose your shots with either the pop-up finder, or the brilliant finder that's attached to the lens.

All folded up!

Soon after receiving the camera, I took the time to try it out. Here are a few of the shots I took with it:

The camera is obviously not very sharp at all, but it makes for a decent snapshot camera... which is pretty much what it was intended for. Hey, even if your pictures are shit, at least you'll look cool with the Agfa Viking in your hand!

Thanks for looking!

Lost Negative: Refuge

I'm going to start a new segment, called "Lost Negative," where I take the time to show certain shots that I have never printed. The reasons for my never printing these negatives will vary. Some I simply don't like enough to spend the time and resources to print, while others are negatives that just aren't workable (Too overexposed, underexposed, or have flaws I can't work around), but can be brought to life through the wonders of Photoshop. But don't be sad; some of these might one day be printed. You just never know! 

This negative is from over a year ago, when I shot a roll inside an abandoned house near Oquaka, Illinois. I used my Mamiya C330 with an 80mm lens. The negative is just a bit too thin to make a darkroom print from it.

Thanks for looking!

Print: Echo (Part 2)

For the second part of my suburban echo series, I headed back to The Glen. This photo is a multiple exposure of three different corner townhouses. It would have been of four different townhouses, but a creepy old guy was sitting in front of one of the houses giving me weird looks. I used my Mamiya C330 with an 80mm lens, on Ilford Delta 400 film.

Thanks for looking!

Roll: The Renaissance Faire (Part 1)

 

Every year, Katie and I go to the Bristol Renaissance Faire, up in Wisconsin. We actually try to go multiple times, because it's pretty much the greatest place ever. As cliche as it sounds, going to the faire really is like stepping into another world. If you haven't ever gone before, I highly recommend it. There are spectacular sights, fantastic food, and some of the craziest people you will ever have the pleasure of meeting.

I brought my Olympus OM-2n with me to the faire, along with a roll of Kodak Gold 200. There were a LOT of cameras there, but I was the only one shooting film that I could see. I got called out on my camera by the Vegetable Justice guy, who insults you while you throw tomatoes at him. He said something along the lines of, "Hey, why are you still carrying around that camera from 1984? Don't you know they don't develop film anymore? Oh... let me guess, you're an artist. I bet you have your own blackroom, too."

He read me like a book.

Here are some of the shots I got from our day at the faire:

Thanks for looking! I'll be bringing a camera with me each time I go to the faire this summer, so be ready for some more renaissance photography!