Category Archives: Dragon

CVLE Bike Fest

by Boris Starosta

A couple years ago, we had a new bike race organized in my home town of Charlottesville. I like this subject matter for the challenge of capturing the essence of the sport, though it is also a bittersweet experience to stand on the sidelines with a camera, as I have several decades of bike racing experience, and I do miss participating (my last racing was ten years ago, and I’m fairly sure I finally quit for good).

I knew this shoot was going to be “low yield,” but I love these kinds of dynamic images in 3d. Few people have shot this style in MF3d, and it’s no surprise, because getting a good shot – where at least a few parts of the image are not blurred – is basically a crapshoot. Indeed, out of four rolls shot with two spuds, I got at most three or four images that meet that standard! For more backstory (and images) from this shoot, please visit my patreon page about it here.

There are several races during the day, but only two of the races have large fields of experienced riders, riding tightly packed, which is the most exciting. Thus, I shot with two Sputnik cameras, because during any given race, there’s no time to reload the camera; that gave me twelve exposures for each of those two races. Even before I started shooting, I tried a couple of different ways to aim and pan.  I discovered very quickly that trying to look down into the mirror finder was not going to work – too confusing!  I shot about half the material with my eye at the camera, looking through the “sport finder,” and the other half with the camera more or less at arms length, held out in front of me, aiming by “feel” – I felt this helped me keep the panning motion of the cameras very smooth.  I used shutter speeds of 1/10 and 1/25 second, which was about right for the camera apertures of f32 and f22.

Sputnik sport finder

(For those unfamiliar with it, here’s the “sport finder” mode in the Sputnik.  Note one hazard of using the sport finder: because you are not using the middle lens to aim, you have no feedback about whether or not the lens caps have been removed;-)

OBX pier

by Boris Starosta

A couple years ago we rented a cottage with another family for spring break in the Outer Banks, NC. This image was made one evening, about twenty minutes after sunset. Shot at the usual f32 with my sputnik, on Fuji Provia, requiring about thirty seconds of exposure. This was my goal: to blur the waves into a fog. I’d like to find another opportunity someplace to make an image like this, but with bigger waves! (taller fog)

I had brought a bunch of film, and had hoped to make more MF3d images whilst in “OBX,” but ended up with so much other family related stuff to do, that this motif was the only one that ended up on MF film.

Richmond Trestle

by Boris Starosta

I shot this in 2023 with a damaged Sputnik. On my way to the location, I was doing something with my camera bag, and it suddenly inverted, spilling out both my spud and my (brand “new”) Heidoskop onto the pavement of the parking lot. I soon discovered that the fall caused the Spud shutter to become partially inoperative – I had to close the shutter manually… it behaved like a bulb setting (actually worse, I had to push up on the cocking lever to close the shutter).

I shot this scene with the Spud, timing the exposures around 1/2 second by the “seat of my pants.” The Heidoskop had worked better, it didn’t appear to have suffered any damage; but I later discovered it had developed a large light leak, because of a broken seal in the custom roll-film back – so none of the exposures from that camera were any good.

Just goes to show: even a busted Spud can make good images!

railroad trestle and architecture

P.S.
In the interim, I’ve not had much success with fixing the Spud shutter. My efforts on that front are detailed in this Patreon post. Last year, Bob Venezia was kind enough to send me several Spud lens boards/shutters, to help me fix this thing, but alas, I’ve not yet gotten into it deeply enough to succeed with the repair.

Sloane 0205

by Boris Starosta

Sloane lights up whilst “bathing” in the tub. I think my goal was to depict some kind of debauchery – as if she’d fallen into the tub half-clothed at a party? Not sure… I do know I wanted that flimsy, translucent night-shirt on her, because it would partially float and give definition to the surface of the water. Of course I have other images out of this session showing smoke, etc., but I do also like this one of her firing up the lighter.

Shot with my twin-rig Mamiya 6, on Fuji RAP Astia film, a half second exposure to capture the lighter’s flame, and a strobe flash to capture everything else:

semi-nude woman in bathtub

Great Mosque of Sousse, Tunisia 2023

by Brent Osborne

The Great Mosque of Sousse is a great place to check out in Tunisia. Located near the Medina of Sousse, it was built in 851, and is now the oldest mosque in the city as well as the oldest prayer hall in North Africa. I wanted to get some night shots while in Tunisia, and chose the mosque as a great backdrop along with the moon. Not far from the main part of the old section of Sousse, it was only steps away from our hotel and a really fun place to smoke at a hookah lounge. Sousse is on the coast of Tunisia, and unfortunately is known as the place that had terrorist attacks in 2015 that damaged the tourism in Tunisia. Although still trying to recover from those days, Sousse is a good place to visit and Tunisia as a whole. The city is rich with history and was definitely noticeable all around you at every turn. This was shot with my Sputnik, on Provia 100f.

Duomo di Orvieto, Orvieto, Italy 2022

by Brent Osborne

Duomo di Orvieto, is a gorgeous church in the heart of Orvieto, located in the Umbria region of Italy. My wife and I explored Umbria and Tuscany in 2022 by car, and in doing so, got to visit many different little towns off the beaten path. Built between 1290 and 1591, it is an amazing place to visit. Similar to the church in Milan with it’s black and white stonework throughout, it is a sight to see. Personally, I recognize myself as agnostic, but I am still always fascinated by religious structures throughout the world. This one was no exception. As to getting the shot, I managed to have a tiny tabletop tripod that is maybe 3 inches long, and has a quick release system. I slap that on my Sputnik and then find some railing that I can ‘pinch’ it on as I take the shot. I tried the string to foot method in the past, with little success. So, by not being able to use a proper tripod in churches, this is the best I could come up with. Shot on Provia 100f.

Khoa San Road, Bangkok, Thailand 2024

by Brent Osborne

Khoa San Road is a very popular area of Bangkok. Those who have visited may have stayed near there, or are at least ‘in the know’ as to it’s existence. It was once, and still is, a backpacker’s hub (since the 1970’s) with tons of little shops, eateries, street food, and chaos. We happened to stay in this area of Bangkok for the first time, because it is known to be loud, crowded, etc. However, we managed to find a great hotel nearby that was on a much more quiet backstreet and was steps away from everything. Great experience! We happened to be there during Halloween last year and I wanted to get some night shots. As you can see in the photo, there are red streaks of light about head height in the image. Those are lit up red devil horns that people were wearing all night. Glad I captured at least part of that. This exposure I believe was about 20 seconds long. Shot at f16. Shot on (the now hard to get) Provia 100f with a Sputnik.

Georgetown Steam Plant, Seattle, Washington 2024

by Brent Osborne

The Georgetown Steam Plant, owned by Puget Sound Energy, was built back in 1906 to power Seattle’s Streetcars and the small area of Georgetown. It ran until 1953, and then decommissioned in 1972. I was invited by a local camera club (through my coworker Sarah) to come by on a Saturday afternoon to visit. It reminded me of the abandoned hospitals and factories that I used to urban explore back on the East Coast. The only difference was that this was very clean, had lights on, was safe and most of all ‘legal’. This had been my first outing with my TL-120 in a long time. I had a ton of fun using it! I tend to use the Sputnik more often, thanks to it’s size and manageability. I was, and always have been, impressed by the sharpness and quality of the TL-120. Maybe I’ll become brave and take it internationally someday. Shot on Kodak E-100 Ektachrome.

Four from Don Lopp

by Bob Venezia
Kubota Garden Moon Bridge

Kubota Garden Moon Bridge

Kubota Garden Moon Bridge
I assume all four images were taken with Don’s home-made camera with the 47mm Super Angulon lenses. The one of the Moon Bridge is shot on Velvia 100.

Kubota Garden View

Kubota Garden View

Kubota Garden View
I titled it thus because I’m almost certain this was also taken at Kubota Garden, a Japanese Garden in South Seattle. Shot with Fuji Astia 100F

Japanese Garden Waterfall

Japanese Garden Waterfall

Japanese Garden Waterfall
I had originally assumed these last two images were taken in Seattle, either at the Japanese Garden in the Arboretum or at Kubota Gardens. But I confess that my knowledge of the Japanese Gardens is wanting. It could have been Portland. Shot with Velvia 50

Japanese Garden Waterfall #2

Japanese Garden Waterfall #2

Japanese Garden Waterfall #2
Again unclear as to the location. Shot with Velvia 50

Nut Thief

by Bob Venezia

Nut Thief

Squirrel in Lincoln Park, West Seattle

I’m spending more time in Lincoln Park, across the street from my house in West Seattle. Decided to try for some close-ups of the squirrels that constantly hound you there. I brought the twin rig Hasselblads but that was a lot of work and something went wrong with the exposures. Operator error no doubt. The TL-120 images were more successful. Yes, there are problems with the background, but the flash isolates the subject in a way to make the background easier to ignore.

Ian’s D26 Submission

by Ian Andvaag

Owen’s Beach, Rushton Point, Tacoma, WA

I was struck by the lush green mossy branches and the cooler green ferns. It took me many attemps to parse a composition out of the complexity, and I’m not sure I really succeeded, but I think it gives the impression I was after.

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA

I went on a business trip to San Francisco last year, and took a personal day to go walk around with a Sputnik. I haven’t developed the images from Chinatown yet, so I’m eager to see how those turned out.

Mount Rainier Pool, WA

This was taken during the excursion to Mt. Rainier during the 2022 3D Con in Tacoma. It was inspiring to be able to shoot in the same place where I’ve seen so many wonderful folio submissions, in particular Don’s. It was also a delight to be able to visit and photograph alongside Bob. Not to mention the many outstanding slides Bob brought to share on the bus ride. What a great day!

Douglas Park Lily, SK

I was hiking back to my car after a day of photographing the sand dunes at Douglas Park. The sun had nearly set and the light was fading, when I came across a handful of Western Red Lilies, which is Saskatchewan’s provincial flower in the undergrowth. The fiery colour was striking against the undergrowth. It was one of the rare times in Saskatchewan when there was hardly a breath of wind. I think this was a 10 second exposure. Evidently, there was a breath of wind, as observed in the white flowers, but I think it still came out OK, and I’m glad I had a roll of Velvia to capture the vibrant colours.

Timo’s first views in the Dragon Folio

by Timo

I have chosen a selection of views that are already prepared, since I was suddenly invited to join the folio, accepted, and then was handed the folio. This took less than 2 days. Then Ian gave me a week to send it back to him,… the next name on the list.

Anyhow, I am happy to be welcomed into this folio.

A couple of these views may be remembered if you have spent a few years in Folio A.

Charles Bridge, Prague

This image was taken with twin Lubitel cameras with the two hand cable release method. It is a mild hyper image, as are all my twin Lubitel images.

I set this up on the west bank of the Vltava River on the south side of Charles Bridge (Karluv Most).

 

Cherubs in the Lillies

This shot was taken in my yard, almost certainly taken with Provia 100f film, on my TL120, before it started to give me trouble. This is always a tempting subject, once a year.

 

The following two images were taken at the Milton Steam fair, just a little west of Toronto, which is held every labour day. I like this fair since it provides so many opportunities for making stereo images, and I like steam engines, and steamed corn.

John Deere Heaven

This image was taken at the John Deere area of the fair. You can see that the fair takes place at a pioneer village, where there are plenty of historical buildings to stage these stunning tractors.

 

 

Two Veterans

This collector brings his steam tractor to this event every year. He kindly consented to have his picture made.

This is one of may favourite portraits. I love this guy,…you know… in a photography sort of way.