Work took me back to Los Angeles in the last week of June. Expecting loads of sunny skies, I packed plenty of Ektar 100, but good thing I packed some Lomography 800 and Portra 800. Los Angeles was victim to “June Gloom,” where the area is overcast for much, if not all, of the day, and temperatures are more like spring in Wisconsin than summer in California. Despite the weather, I had a good time people watching along the pier and meeting up with some film photography friends to share the experience.
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I love medium format, but medium format cameras and travel are not generally a good combination. The cameras and lenses are large and heavy. About a year ago, I determined that I was giving up on taking my Mamiya 645 Pro TL on long trips. The system is modular and breaks down nicely, but each lens adds about a pound of weight. I took it with me to San Francisco, limiting myself only to the 80mm lens, but for trips to the Caribbean where small planes and weight limitations are common, it has to be left behind. The good thing is that I have a compact alternative for shooting medium format…
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In 1965, Eastman Kodak developed Super 8 film to improve upon the old 8mm home movie format. The film size was the same, but the Super 8 cartridges had smaller perforations allowing for a larger area for exposure and the potential for sound recording on the edge opposite the perforations. The attraction of Super 8 to the home movie buff was that it came in convenient cartridges which you just popped into the camera and you were ready to roll. I had seen some Super 8 cameras rolling through the Goodwill online shop, and they were pretty reasonably priced. After losing a few auctions, I picked up a Canon Auto…
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This year, I participated in the Second Annual Negative Positives Double Exposure Challenge. The contest pairs up two listeners of the Negative Positives Film Photography Podcast, and each shoots the same roll of 35mm film. This year, I was paired with Marc Schoolderman, a photographer from Nijmegen, the oldest city in the Netherlands, and we collaborated to create double exposures featuring scenes from our two cities. Partners then submit their two favorite images, which are judged by the two hosts of the podcast, Mike Gutterman and Andre Dominguez. Marc and I decided to shoot a roll of Fuji Pro 400H. He shot a Pentax MX, and I shot my Canon…
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Explore the origins of the infamous Cheesehead at the Factory Tour in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Grab a beer from the cooler, and learn about the origins of Foamation, the company that manufactures every genuine Cheesehead, and see the very first Cheesehead, kept in the company safe. As part of the tour, you can opt for the package where you make your very own Cheesehead. Canon EOS 1v, Canon 50mm f/1.2, CineStill 500T and Kodak Ektachrome E100.
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The day job took me to southern California in February. On my way to my conference, I stopped at Zuma Beach, located in Malibu. Sadly, all the lifeguard shacks were on shore, so I couldn’t get the classic shot I took when I visited Santa Monica a few years back, but the beach was quite beautiful. Few people could be found, and I suspect the only people enjoying the beach that day were those of us from the colder parts north. Our conference was adjourned from the previous November due to the fires which swept through the area. Although there was obvious damage visible when driving through the hills to…
