Photography Week in Review - June 10-16

I hope you had a great week; it was an interesting week in the world of photography with a few product launches, more Kodak news and of course new episodes of my favorite podcasts.  Here’s your photography week in review for June 10-16.

Leica releases new camera 

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that Leica was going to be making a new product announcement.  Well, June 11 came and went and there is now a new camera in Leica’s line up.  It’s called the Leica X Vario.  Leica had been teasing the product as a “Mini-M;” however, it’s not a new M series camera.  It was simply modeled after the M.  The X Vario is a compact camera with a f/3.5 autofocus zoom lens that also allows you to record full-HD video.  The camera was not a favorite among the Leica fans I follow on Twitter.  What do you think?  Read more about the X Vario here.

Lomography goes the DIY route with the Konstrucktor
While we’re on the topic of new product releases, Lomography released their newest camera.  They had been teasing it for the past few weeks and my guess was that it was a 35mm SLR system.  Well, I was close.  It’s actually a DIY 35mm camera.  Lomography is touting it as the world’s first DIY 35mm camera and they’re marketing the educational benefits of assembling your own camera, allowing the "builder" to truly learn about the analogue photography process. The camera takes 35mm film, has an unbelievably slow  50mm f/10 lens with a shutter speed of 1/80 sec.  It has multiple exposure function and focuses from .5m to infinity.  The surprising thing about this camera is that it’s only $35.  The initial results from the camera are fairly sharp and are missing the major light leaks or other quirks usually associated with Lomography’s product line.  It will be interesting to see the results once more individuals get their hands on the camera.  Learn more about the Konstrucktor here or pick one up here.

Kodak Stopping Production of Film Acetate Base
From product launches to product discontinuations.  Last week, Kodak announced that it was discontinuing the in-house production of cellulose acetate which will result in the cutting of 61 jobs.  Kodak has been in financial troubles for awhile and sold off it’s film division earlier this year.  They’re trying to emerge from bankruptcy as a leaner company with the ability to make a profit, but as it stands right now, I don’t see how they can be successful with the product line they’ve chosen to stand behind.  Kodak claims that they will continue to produce film and that they’ll be looking at external suppliers for the film acetate base once they run out of existing stock.  I like a few of Kodak’s film stocks, but at this point, I want to support a company, like Ilford, that truly believes in film.  Read more about Kodak’s changes here or here.

FPP Releases New Podcast
One group that will always support Kodak for as long as they’re around is the Film Photography Project.  They just released their second podcast of June and this time they’re joined by long time listener and contributor Darren “Pancho Ballard” Riley and his new wife Rebecca.  John Fedele and Leslie Lazenby also join the podcast and topics such as scanning film, New York street photography and listener letters are covered.  Check out the podcast and show notes here.

Pdexposures Intermission
It’s officially not a photography week in review post if I don’t mention the Pdexposures gang.  They released their fourth “Intermission” podcast and this time the topic is the Pdexposures meet-up that took place in Seattle back in May.  Nate brought along a mic and recorder and recorded interviews with some of the participants.  Check out the intermission here.

Weegee’s Birthday
Weegee, born Ascher Fellig, was a famous press photographer in the ‘30s and ‘40s.  He  was mostly known for his gritty, black and white, crime scene work from the Lower East Side of New York. He was a member of the famous New York Photo League and was ahead of his time in marketing himself and his photographic style.  Luckily, for us, his archive of 20,000 prints, negatives, tearsheets and other memorabilia were donated to the International Center of Photography and have went on to produce several outstanding exhibitions and books.  June 12 was Weegee’s birthday and to celebrate, look up his work and admire it.  You can find it here.

Margaret Bourke-White’s Birthday
Weegee wasn’t the only famous and ground-breaking photographer that celebrated a birthday this week.  June 14, Bourke-White would’ve been 109 years old.  She is best known for three things:  (1) the first foreign photographer permitted to take pictures of Soviet industry; (2) the first female war correspondent; and (3) the first female photographer for Life magazine.  She died of Parkinson’s Disease in August of 1971, but her images left a lasting impression.  One of my favorites is “Kentucky Flood.”  What about you? See more of her work here.

50 Most Influential Photographers of the Past 10 Years
I don’t have a lot to say about this specific news item.  I came across this article from one of the individuals I follow on Twitter.  It’s a slide show (with a small write up) of the 50 most influential photographers in the past decade.  The article was featured on the mobile site of the men’s magazine Complex.  The list is certainly pushing the boundaries of what is defined as photography, but even without knowing half of the names on the list, I’m going to give their work a longer look.  You never know where inspiration will come from.  What do you think about this list?  Check it out here.

Negative Viewer App for the iPad
I happened to come across another cool app this week.  This specific app is for the iPad.  It’s relatively simple, as it turns your iPad into a tablet sized light box.  Thus, providing you with an easy way of viewing and evaluating your negatives.  I haven’t actually tried it yet, but it’s free, so how can I not download it?  it will be the cheapest light box that I’ll ever find.  Check it out here and here.

That does it for this week.  Get out there and shoot and I’ll see you all next week.

Darkroom Work Begins!

One of my 2012 photo resolutions was to develop and print my own negatives.  As of September 29, I officially began my journey down the rabbit hole that is the darkroom.  A great photographer friend of mine, Mat Marrash, was my instructor for a two day workshop.  Mat is an amazingly talented analog photographer that specializes in 8x10 large format and alternative process photography.  He’s the co-host of the Film Photography Podcast, completed not one, but two 8x10 one-a-day projects, has dabbled into wet plate and carbon printing, and has created an astounding body of work with his barbershop series.  If you haven’t checked out his site, do so here.

In addition to Mat’s photography, he has a wealth of knowledge in regards to traditional darkroom work and photographic chemistry and he offers to share that knowledge through classes and one-on-one workshops.  Since I wanted to learn the basics of film development, but spend more time on the printing process, I decided to contact him regarding a one-on-one workshop.  He enthusiastically created a two day workshop agenda spread over the course of two weekends.  So, on September 29, I made a trip up to Findlay, Ohio and spent four hours in the darkroom learning from one of the youngest and talented working photographers today. 

Mat’s enthusiasm for photography and the darkroom is contagious, which makes him a great teacher.  We covered the basics of developing tanks, film reels and loading film for development.  We quickly moved onto basic darkroom chemicals and actually developed the two rolls of 120 that I shot for “homework.”  While waiting for the negatives to dry, we took a quick trip to see Leslie at Imagine That! After blowing an hour or so geeking out about cameras and film, we headed back to get working on the negatives.  We cut and sleeved the negs, loaded them into a contact printer and printed contact sheets.  We were now getting to the part of the process that I was really excited about - creating a silver gelatin print from a negative that I exposed and developed by my own hand.  Even though the final product is the same (only in the sense of the word), scanning a negative and printing digitally is nothing compared to exposing a negative with an enlarger onto photographic paper and then watching the image appear before your eyes.  It’s absolutely magical.

"Faceless"
Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

After evaluating the contact sheets, we chose three images to create working prints from.  We used 8x10 Oriental RC paper and went about the enlarging process.  The output ended at a total of five prints.  Mat taught me the basics of dodging and burning and we used that short lesson to make a few adjustments.  I can’t tell you how exciting it was to see the image emerge after a short time in the developer.  That feeling is taken to a whole new level after the print has been fixed, washed and dried and you’re holding it in your hands in daylight.  To know that what you’re holding was hand-made and you had control of the entire process from exposure to finished product, is a great part of photography that is generally missed from the today’s typical photography work flow.

The second session was more of the same, but with much more time spent on final prints.  I shot two more rolls of 120 for “homework” and then I attempted to load the film for the first time on the reels in the darkroom.  It took a little while, but with a little help, I was finally able to develop the film.  A little more practice on a dummy roll at home and I’ll have this process down in no time.  After developing and waiting for the negatives to dry, we went through the working print process again.  We made contact sheets, decided on two images and made some working prints.  After evaluating those, it was time to enlarge them and make final prints on 16x20 fiber based paper. 

"Wounded Wood"
Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

Last time, I spent the majority of my time souping the prints in the chemistry as I watched Mat operate the enlarger.  For these prints, running the enlarger was my job, so that I was comfortable with the entire process from enlarging to developing the test and final prints.  I’ve already mentioned that Mat is a great teacher, but I can honestly say that I walked away from the two session workshop confident in my abilities to walk into another darkroom and start hand producing my work.   

Watching these enlargements develop before my eyes was more exciting than the first session.  I was staring at a large print that may be hanging in an exhibit or competition and it’s something that I made with my own two hands.  The fiber based paper gives the print an entirely different feel and even though it’s a bit harder to work with (due to curling and longer development time), the finished product is more archival than RC and it just has a unique hand-made feel to it.  After going through an archival washing process, we toned the images with selenium toner.  This provided additional archival stability to the image as well as adding a little bit of punch to the final print (in terms of tonality). 

"Lost"
Camera:  Hasselblad 500 c/m
Lens:  150mm
Film:  Kodak Tri-X 400

Of the final two prints, I definitely have a favorite.  I can’t stop admiring the beauty of the silver gelatin and I know that I’ll never tire of producing them.  I want to send another thank you to Mat Marrash for giving up two weekend days to help me out in the darkroom.  Mat’s a brilliant photographer and teacher and is very willing to pass along his knowledge and help others develop their photographic skills to achieve their photographic dreams.  Besides that, Mat’s also a good guy that I consider a friend.  I’m glad I decided to make the initial trip to the FPP Midwest Meetup for his first gallery show.  If you’re interested in learning more about developing, printing, alternative processes or large format photography, Mat Marrash is your guy.  I’ll be getting back into the darkroom soon, so I’ll be posting more work on this blog in the near future.

Analog's Pulse

I have a number of blogposts on the horizon and I thought I would start them off with an overview of a great event that I attended last week.  The event was a three day film photography extravaganza (digital shooters were welcome too) in Cleveland, Ohio.  Analog's Pulse was coordinated by Scott Meivogel, photographer and owner of Aperture:  A Photography and Variety Store in the Tremont neighborhood of Cleveland and was sponsored by A and A Studios, Film Photography Project and Old School Photo Lab.

As the title of the event implies, this event was focused on film photography.  While digital technology has been flooding the photography landscape for the past decade, there has been an increasing number of shooters switching to film or rediscovering film.  There is a movement taking place and there is a clear energy behind it.  It's a very exciting time to be a photographer, especially one that loves to shoot film.  Regardless of your personal opinions, it's clear that Lomography and The Impossible Project have helped to foster this rejuvenation; all which led to an event like this being held in my home state of Ohio.

The event kicked off on Friday night with a "social hour" opening reception at Aperture.  A group of approximately 20-25 people attended from different areas of the U.S. (even Canada), enjoyed some frosty beverages and listened to opening remarks by Scott, Michael Raso of the Film Photography Project and Jake Bouchard of Old School Photo Lab.  After we went over the itinerary for Saturday and purchased our film, we went our separate ways.  I had the pleasure of having dinner with a few individuals at Prosperity Social Club.  Jared, a relatively new photographer from Point Pleasant, West Virginia (home of the "famed" Moth Man) and Chris and Katie, two amazing photographers from Milwaukee, were my company for the evening.  We enjoyed great food, beer and conversation.  Chris and Katie regularly travel Route 66 and document it with the help of Polaroid cameras and film.  In fact, they just released a book, six years in the making, entitled Polaroid Photos from Route 66.  In addition to that, they run a site entitled "Fading Nostalgia," they're Urban Explorers and Chris is an amazing night photographer.  It was a pleasure to meet these great individuals and it was the perfect kick off to the weekend.

Camera:  Canon AE-1P
Lens:  50mm
Film:  Fuji Provia 100 (XPro)

Saturday was a jam packed day with three themed photo walks, with the first set to start at 8:30 a.m.  We were to meet in between Gund Arena and Jacob's Field (now Quicken Loans Arena and Progressive Field) and start out on a street photography themed walk.  While the numbers weren't to the level of RSVP's received on Facebook, there were still a good number of people that showed up for this event and we added individuals as the day went on.  We made our  way through the Gateway District, E. 4th Street and ended at Public Square.  The walk was very informal, with Scott pointing out various landmarks as we walked.  Shooting took place sporadically, with different groups forming and advancing along the path.  For the first part of the day, I decided to keep my shooting pretty mindless and went with two "point and shoot" film cameras.  I broke out the Olympus XA2 loaded with Ilford HP5 Plus black and white film (I'll post those results once the roll is developed) and my Holga micro 110 camera loaded with Lomography's new Orca 110 black and white film.  I was able to finish my roll of HP5, but didn't shoot my 110.  The morning started out hazy with drizzle and the fixed aperture and shutter speed of the micro Holga coupled with the 100 speed of the film didn't lend itself to being used.  By the end of the first walk, the haze and drizzle lifted, the sun came out and the heat began to intensify.  I enjoyed the walk, but after attending several meet-ups, I've come to the conclusion that this type of event doesn't lend itself to my style of shooting.  I'm a solitary photographer that takes a lot of time to line up a shot, using my exposures sparingly and prefers to shoot with a tripod versus hand held. However, it's fun to meet new like minded people and geek out about cameras, film, photography and beer :)

Camera:  Canon AE-1P
Lens:  50mm
Film:  Fuji Provia 100 (XPro)

After a bit of a break and some rest, the instant cameras came out to play and the instant photo walk began. Most attendees were shooting multiple cameras, with a mixture of Polaroid pack film cameras and Polaroid integral film cameras being used.  I sported my original Polaroid SX-70 loaded with Impossible Project PX70 Cool film and my Polaroid SX-70 Sonar One Step with ND filter loaded with PX600 Silver Shade UV+ Black Frame.  This walk featured a contest for the best instant photo submitted (with three wonderful prizes at stake as well as pride) and spanned through the Warehouse District and the Flats.  It was a great walk, hearing the beautiful Polaroid sound coming from many integral cameras and other individuals pulling and peeling pack film.  I have a number of images from that walk that I'll also post once I have them scanned.  After the walk, we all chose our one best shot for the contest and headed back to E. 4th Street for lunch.  We decided on Flannery's Pub at the corner of Prospect and E. 4th.  I had a wonderful Reuben sandwich, enjoyed some beer and wonderful company.  We had about a total of two hours before the next walk was set to start.  I had a brief issue with my Hasselblad back (which seems to be fine now) and so instead of shooting a roll of slide film for the next walk in my medium format beauty, I had to switch it up to a roll of 35mm slide film in my Canon AE-1P with 50mm lens.  Since my hotel was right down the street, I switched out cameras, unloaded some gear and grabbed an iced coffee at the Erie Island Coffee Company before we headed out for the third and final walk of the day - the cross process walk.  We headed out to the theater district of Cleveland and snapped away using film provided courtesy of A and A Studios.  Jake Bouchard from Old School Photo Lab gave us a few pointers on shooting the film for cross processing and we trekked across the theater district and ended up in an old cemetery right behind Jacob's Field.  I had fun on this walk, but I had to change gears as a shooter, seeing as how I had to get through 36 frames within two hours.  Anyone that knows my photographic style and how I shoot knows that the task set before me is a tough one.  However, I was able to finish, although I had about 10 "throw away" exposures and candids at Panini's, which was where we ended the day.  Scott said a few words, announced the winners of the instant photo shoot, and we all drank and enjoyed each other's company.  After awhile, everyone began to go their own way and soon the night was over.

Camera:  Canon AE-1P
Lens:  50mm
Film:  Fuji Provia 100 (XPro)

Even though a few attendees headed out on Sunday for a large format walk, my Analog's Pulse experience was over.  It was a great time and I'm glad I could take part in the event.  I met a lot of great photographers and people for that matter, enjoyed great food and company and got to shoot the cameras that I love so much.  It was the second time that I've been to Cleveland in the past few months and I'm really beginning to dig the city.  I want to return to shoot some of the areas by myself; where I can set up my tripod and just take my time.  Regardless, I would participate in this event again.  I know something is brewing for next year,  so stay tuned to Scott's website and get excited for F8 in 2013.  Until then, cheers and keep shooting!

Camera:  Canon AE-1P
Lens:  50mm
Film:  Fuji Provia 100 (XPro)

Hasselblad 500 c/m!

I've had a bad case of Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS) this year.  It started in January when my wife purchased a Polaroid SX-70 for my birthday.  From there, I've accumulated numerous film cameras and I'm up to a total of 15 different makes and models.  Some of them I haven't even shot yet.  It's somewhat of an addiction.  When you began diving into the world of film photography, you become aware of so many combinations to achieve your artistic vision.  Cameras manufactured decades earlier are still relevant and in good condition.  Most of them are in perfect working order or may need a simple CLA, but film can still be purchased and wonderful images can be created; all at a fraction of the cost of shooting digitally. 

I'm in my infancy of using 120 medium format film; mostly shooting the roll film through my Lomography cameras, the Holga and the Diana F+.  I've had great results, but I've been wanting to upgrade to a professional medium format camera.  There are a number of great models out there, but there was just something about the iconic Hasselblad 500 c/m camera that I couldn't resist.  Hasselblad is a name that's synonymous with quality and the 500 c/m was a completely interchangeable machine.  The iconic box shape is not the only thing intriguing about this camera. It's truly a professional kit with a variety of interchangeable options.  In addition to the lenses, if you don't like the focusing screen, you can change it.  You don't like the viewfinder, change it; you want to switch from black and white film to color film mid roll, change it.  It's a highly flexible system that produces gorgeously sharp 6x6 "square" negatives.  So, after seeing some of the results on Flickr and reading about this camera and it's surprisingly cheap price point compared to today's digital standards, I just had to get one.  I saved some money and perused eBay until I found a great deal from Columbus Camera Group.  I couldn't resist and I ended up winning the auction. 

It arrived a couple days later and actually handling this camera in person is better than I expected.  It's well built; it's definitely not like holding a Holga in your hand.  The camera is very particular and there are functions that I simply wasn't used to.  A great deal of reading and researching was required before I could actually take this camera on a test run.  After getting a good handle on the basic functions of my new Hasselblad, I was ready to take it for a spin.  Unfortunately, for such a great camera, the only roll of film I had to run through it at the time was a roll of Lomography Red Scale.  Not the ideal roll, but at least I was going to go shooting with this new toy.  I had to pick up a few of my images that were hanging in the Gateway Arts Council Spring Fling Exhibit, so I thought I would swing by Tawawa Park afterwards and run that first roll through.  I spent a couple hours wandering down paths and setting up shots.  This was only the second time that I used a light meter and I had to get used to seeing the image reversed in the viewfinder.  Regardless, it was a good time and I really enjoyed using the camera.  The sound of shutter is magnificent and to hear it is simply enough to convince me to continue using the camera.  After a couple of hours, I had finished the roll of film and I sent it off to my lab for processing.  I received it back within a week and I was a little disappointed.  While my exposures were pretty close, my shots weren't great and I just didn't get anything of outstanding quality.  My negatives also came back heavily scratched.  I had a bit of a freak out moment and thought something was wrong with my A12 back.  I searched all over the Internet and found that Lomography Redscale film scratches easily.  I couldn't be 100 percent certain that my film back was functioning properly until I ran another roll through.  The FPP Midwest Meet Up was coming up in a few weeks, which made for the perfect opportunity to shoot the Hasselblad again.

This time I was armed with a roll of Adox 50 ISO black and white film.  After the photo walk portion of the meet up, I ventured back out alone to do some additional shooting.  I shot the entire roll, focusing mainly on urban and rural decay type shots.  The roll came back from my lab without scratching and I was happy with some of the results.  While I have a lot to learn and I still have to get used to this camera, I know I'm going to love it.  I have a project that I'm going to be working on in August and I'll be using the same Adox film and the Hasselblad to complete it.  If the results are as promising as I know they can be, I can't wait to share it with all of you.  In the mean time, check out a few images from my second roll.  Enjoy!

In the media!!

I haven't posted a great deal lately because I've been tied up with a few other things, namely my solo show that I announced about a month ago.  So, I hope that's rectified in the coming months.  Anyway, I've ran two rolls through my Hasselblad 500 c/m and I will be posting my thoughts on the camera, a few images and my upcoming projects with it by the end of this week.  Until then, I was featured in a few things this past week and I wanted to pass those on to you. 

First off, I attended the FPP Midwest Meet-up and Mat Marrash Gallery Show on July 15.  As I mentioned in my review, it was a great time.  During the meet-ups, Michael Raso typically interviews the individuals and I was lucky enough to sit down and chat with him a bit.  The new Film Photography Podcast is live and it features a recap of that event.  During that recap, my interview with Michael Raso is featured.  My interview comes in around the 1:02:44 mark.  Check out the Film Photography Project and download the newest podcast to hear my interview here.

My solo exhibit is now hanging in the gallery space at the Amos Memorial Public Library in Sidney, Ohio.  It will be up the entire month of August and I'm having an opening reception on Thursday, August 4 from 6-8 p.m.  So, stop by, check out my work, grab some refreshments and chat it up with me.  Before then, check out the article that was featured in the Sidney Daily News yesterday here.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for my Hasselblad images and post later this week!

FPP Midwest Meet Up / Mat Marrash Gallery Show

I've referred to a specific podcast that I began listening to in a few of my previous blog posts.  For those of you that don't know, it's called the Film Photography Podcast (FPP).  The podcast was founded in 2009 by Michael Raso and has been going strong ever since.  The podcast has spread to a website, Flickr group, store and an eBay auction site.  In addition, it's become a massive community of film shooters and film lovers around the world. 

In 2011, the FPP community organized a few meet ups.  The first one took place on April 16, in New York City.  A smaller meet up was organized later in the month at Toronto and in June, FPP founder Michael Raso and co-host John Fedele travelled across the pond to London for a UK meet up.  With all of these meet ups taking place, I was a bit jealous that I couldn't join in all of the fun.  The newest co-host of FPP, Mat Marrash, lives in Findlay, Ohio.  He had mentioned on the show that he was going to have his first gallery exhibit in July and I immediately planned on attending; especially since Findlay is only an hour an a half away from Troy.  I was absolutely elated when I found out that in conjunction with the gallery opening, an official FPP meet-up was being planned.  It was going to be attended by founder Michael Raso, FPP video man Joey, FPP Deputy Dan Domme, FPP frequent guest Lauren Bagley and of course, FPP co-host Mat Marrash.  So, I took the day off from work and headed to Findlay the morning of July 15.

I arrived shortly before 11 a.m. and was greeted by Lauren and her dog, Strudel.  After the rest of the attendees arrived, Michael taped a short beginning segment and we took off on a photo walk of downtown Findlay.  The first stop was Leslie Lazenby Hunsberger's Imagine That! store.  Leslie is a photographic technologist, specializing in photo restoration.  On top of that, she has an amazing collection of cameras and has a wealth of knowledge on all things photography and film.  It wouldn't be hard to waste hours talking to her about film stock, film cameras, techniques, etc.  She's also an astounding artist herself, which I found out after viewing a few of her Polaroid manipulations.  She was very friendly and welcomed us with opened arms and even treated us to a "grab box" of expired Kodak and Polaroid films.  I grabbed an expired pack of Polaroid 108 film and can't wait to see what type of results I get.  After Leslie's store, we stopped into The Baker's Cafe for a coffee break.  I got to chat with a few other FPPer's who attended; Dave Mihaly from Columbus, OH and Tom Schaefer and Chris Fecio of Buffalo, NY.  After our coffee break, we continued walking through downtown Findlay, shooting the new Kodak Portra that Kodak provided FPP with.  I shot Portra 400 with my Canon AE-1P with my 28mm wide angle lens.  Unfortunately, I had a small rewind issue and some of my film was exposed to the light, which produced a bit of fogging on some of the roll.  Other than that, I enjoyed the roll and if I have something I'm happy with, I'll display it in a subsequent post. 

After our walk of Findlay, we headed back to the Findlay Inn and Conference Center for pizza and Polaroid fun.  We had a few hours before Mat's gallery show, so I headed back downtown and shot a roll of medium format with my Hasselblad 500 c/m.  This was just the second roll I've run through this camera.  After I get the results back from the lab, I'll post a few images and give my overall impression of the 500 c/m thus far.  After my second round of shooting, I headed to Mat's gallery show.  He had a number of amazing portraits that he shot all on film.  He used a Hasselblad 500c and his Eastman Commercial 8x10 large format camera.  His work is absolutely stunning and will continue to be on display at the Lea Gallery until mid August.  I highly recommend checking it out.  Additionally, we also ventured upstairs to view Lauren Bagley's paintings, prints and illustrations.  They were also amazing and it's highly likely you'll see her illustrations gracing a children's book very soon.  After the exhibit, we headed to The George, a great book/coffee shop for a night cap.

Overall, the meet up was a great time.  Everyone was friendly and just as enthusiastic about film as I am, if not more so.  The FPP community is filled with a great group of individuals, and it's astounding that all of these individuals, some that have never met before, can get together, hang out, take photographs and generally enjoy each other's company.  It doesn't matter the skill level or the type of camera that you shoot; we all love film and we all love photography and that allows us to form a bond regardless of where we're from, where we live and what we do for a living.  Ideas are formed, tips are traded and work is exchanged and viewed.  This community is helping take artistic photography to a whole new level, while keeping film alive.  This is what a photographic community should be; I'm grateful that I'm part of something like this.  The Film Photography Podcast has helped me grow as a photographer and has helped inspire me throughout 2011.  I feel as if FPP has the potential to spur a further renewed interest in traditional film photography and I look forward to what the FPP future has to offer.  For those interested, I highly recommend checking out the podcast and all of the amazing work produced by the FPP community.

Blue Moon Camera and Machine

I took a trip to Mansfield, Ohio for a photo weekend two weeks ago and I've been anxiously awaiting the results of that shoot.  I shot six rolls of film and a couple packs of Fuji and Impossible Project film for my Polaroids.  I just received my negs and scans yesterday; I'm excited to post the results and provide an overview of my experience, but I would be remiss if I didn't make this post first. 

In my last post, I discussed the amazing customer service that Michael Raso of the Film Photography Podcast (FPP) provided me.  I'm still blown away by it and I'm happy to report that the film he resent did make it in time for my weekend photo shoot.  So, thanks again Michael!

In this post, I want to bring attention to a great lab.  If it wasn't for FPP, I would've never found it.  The lab I'm talking about is Blue Moon Camera and Machine.  Blue Moon Camera and Machine is located in Portland, Oregon.  They sell film cameras, film and typewriters.  In addition to that, they are one of the last remaining optical printing labs.  They still process film by hand and will also print using an enlarger.  In addition to that, the staff is comprised of individuals that love and care about photography and are photographers themselves.  They've taken some amazing images and I highly recommend you check out their galleries. 

My first experience with them was for film.  I recently picked up a circa 1950s Kodak Tourist camera off of eBay.  This camera takes 620 roll film; unfortunately, 620 film is not made anymore.  The good news is that it's simply 120 film on a different spool.  So, you can still use 620 film cameras by respooling 120 film onto a 620 spool or by purchasing modified 120 film rolls.  Since Blue Moon Camera is also a machine shop, they are able to modify the rolls for 620 cameras.  So, I purchased a few rolls of film from them and received great customer service.  During one of our emails back and forth, someone bought the remaining stock of the film I was interested in and Blue Moon Camera graciously emailed me when they were restocked and I received my film in time for my photo shoot.  Once again, a customer service experience that big corporations should pay attention to.

The last couple of rolls I had developed, I decided to try out the Lomography film lab.   They had a nice package of negs, scans and prints and their price for all of that was pretty comparable to other places, so I thought why not?  While they did a nice job, it took three weeks for me to receive one roll of my film and a month for the other roll.  They mention that they will let you know where your film is at during the entire process, yet I received absolutely no communication from them at all.  In addition, they claimed that it would take 1-2 days to process the film and send back from the time they received it.  That is a false claim and because I had to call numerous times to insure that I finally received my film, I most likely won't be using their lab services again.

So, for my Mansfield rolls, I decided to use Blue Moon Camera and Machine.  They offer development services as well as scans and prints; it's up to you to decide what you want.  I sent them six rolls of film which they received in two days via priority mail.  They called the day they received it and they were done in exactly a week.  They called the day it was finished, it was shipped that day and I received it two days later.  They did a fantastic job and I plan on using them again. 

So, anyone that's looking for a great lab, I would highly recommend you check out the gang at Blue Moon Camera and Machine.  Visit their site here.

Film Photography Podcast

Up to this point, most of my blog posts have revolved around my work.  Occasionally, I'll post a website, artist or photographic information that I come across which intrigues me.  I want to use this post specifically for that reason; and to show that good customer service does exist in today's world of bigger than life corporations that only care about the bottom line.

As most of you know, I've recently been experimenting with film photography.  I picked up my first film camera at my father-in-law's estate sale.  It was a Canon AE-1P; unfortunately, it was beyond repair and I was unable to use it.  It now has a prevalent position on our bookshelf.  The shop I took it to actually had a used AE-1P for sale and I purchased it.  I put two rolls of film through it; it was a bit daunting at first.  Switching back and forth from digital to film is not easy and I hadn't realized the full beauty of film until this year.  A few things fell into place that helped pave the way for me to embrace the analog nature of photography.  I received my first Lomography camera, a Holga, as a wedding present.  My wife gave me a Lomography Fisheye 2 camera for Christmas and a Polaroid SX-70 for my birthday.  I also stumbled upon a great podcast; the Film Photography Podcast.

The Film Photography Podcast (FPP) is hosted by Michael Raso, John Fedele and Mat Marrash.  These men love film photography and they bring that spirit to their podcasts.  There is something so unique about shooting film; it's really hard to explain unless you've experienced it.  This podcast has opened my eyes to the massive world of photography that I've yet to explore.  I've got a running list of books and magazines that they've referenced, I've found some great specialty labs for developing, I've learned about so many different styles of cameras, and I've opened up my work to more individuals than I have ever before.  Most importantly, I've been exposed to a community of great people that love photography as much as I do and just how much knowledge and experimentation that is waiting to be tapped in to.

In addition to their podcast, the FPP gang runs a blog, a YouTube channel, a Flickr group and a store.  To show support for their small operation, I purchased a few packs of Fuji 100C and Fuji 3000B pack film for my Polaroid 440 Land Camera.  I received the box in the mail today; it was missing the film.  There were two stamps on the box that stated the USPS received the box in damaged condition and they received it without contents.  This type of incident blows my mind!  How can a perfectly packaged box just be grossly mishandled and passed onto the final destination with the contents lost or stolen?  You would think this would've raised a red flag somewhere.  Well, apparently it didn't, and I ended up with an empty box.  I specifically purchased this film for a photo shoot that I have scheduled for this weekend.  I emailed the FPP store and in less than an hour, I received an extremely amazing reply from Michael Raso.  He apologized for the USPS mishap and reshipped my film via Priority Mail.  While I hope that I receive the film before I leave for my trip, it really didn't matter after I read Michael's email.  The level of customer service he demonstrated is outstanding.  The FPP is a small operation, but they care about their customers.  They know that every one of their customers, or listeners for that matter, is a huge fan of film photography and they are simply treating each one like they would want to be treated.  Michael Raso doesn't know me personally; yet, he took the time out of his busy day to write a personal response and send another package.  I wish all businesses would work in this manner; the world would definitely be a better place.

I hope I can attend an FPP meet up and meet Michael and the rest of the FPP gang.  You've helped open up a whole new aspect of photography for me and I appreciate that.  If anyone reading this blog is into film photography, thinking about getting into film photography or used to shoot film and wants to get back into doing it, I highly recommend FPP.

Here's the link:    Film Photography Podcast

Thanks again Michael and the FPP gang!