The lion Fortitude at the NYC Public Library after a snowfall.
The 2 lions at the NY Public Library have been called the most beloved pieces of public art in the city. Their names are Patience and Fortitude. This is a portrait of Fortitude the morning after a snowfall that paralyzed the area. It doesn’t look like a lot of snow but it hit the airports hard and our flight out was pushed back by more than a week.
Many acronyms have been created for the letters in “Ford”. Most of them are unflattering. I’m a big Ford fan, so I’ve created a positive acronym for F.O.R.D. – “Forgotten Old Relic Discovered”. This old Ford is resting peacefully by the side of the road in Crawfordville, Florida. I bought some infrared filters for my TL-120 and shot a few rolls of Kodak Aerochrome on that trip. This is one of the results. This particular strain of Aerochrome can be (and was) processed in E6 chemistry. The film is rated at 400, and I took exposure readings through the TL-120’s meter. The metering lens also had an infrared filter on it. I much prefer to photograph old wrecks and decaying cars over restored vintage vehicles (even though I do appreciate restored vintage vehicles). It’s been said many times, but if only these old rust-buckets could talk!
I had my TL-120 down at Toronto’s waterfront and I was attracted by the myriad of shapes, textures and colours (or colors, if you happen to reside in The States) that were migrating towards the shoreline. I kept a tight composition with the intent of creating a sort of in-camera collage. I wanted to fill the frame with as many of the various and sundry debris as I could, illustrating the contrast between man-made and natural debris, without necessarily establishing an indication of their location. This was shot on Velvia 100 using the TL-120’s built-in meter.
We used to live in an old Victorian house in downtown Toronto. Access to the garages was via an alley, and that’s where I found the door in this photograph. The door served as an entrance to someone’s garden, and I was drawn to the textures of the weathered wood, tarnished metal, and peeling layers of paint. This might’ve been one of the first shots I took with my TL-120, or it might’ve been shot with my Sputnik – I’m not too sure. What I do know is that around this time my local lab stopped processing AGFA Scala, and I wanted to determine where I should send my Scala rolls in the future. I shot a few rolls and sent a couple to dr5, and a couple to Mainphoto. This is one of the shots from a Mainphoto roll. Washed out, not a lot of contrast. I think it has a vintage aged look to match the textures on the door. It would have been a very different shot had dr5 processed it. Not necessarily better, but different.
A detail of the ride “Zipper” with sunset colors behind
Taken last year at the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe, Washington. Sunset colors painted the sky briefly while I scrambled to find a vantage point.
TL-120, Provia 100F, settings unrecorded.
Looking up from a walkway outside the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington.
Yeah, not a whole lotta depth. But I took it and you’re gonna look at it!
It was a bit of a challenge to shoot as I wanted the lenses parallel to the ceiling and it was an awkward position from which to check my framing.
TL-120, 1/2 second at f19, Provia 100F. Taken on New Year’s Eve 2009.
An area near the Pillars of Silence
When I visited the Southwest a few years back I stopped in Page, Arizona, and hired a photoguide to cart me around to some interesting spots. There’s one spot called the Pillars of Silence where there’s a deep layer of white sandstone topped by a harder layer of rock. As the cliffs erode there are places where a hard rock is still protecting the soft sandstone directly below it so you get to an area full of white pillars each with a stone cap. It looks like an art installation. This photo is of an area right before you get to the pillars. You can see the amazing patterns made in the sandstone as it melts away. It reminds me of brain matter!
Shot with the TL-120, Provia 100F, f22, on a tripod. Shutter unrecorded.
Logs, Squamish, B.C.
On the Sea to Sky highway between Whistler and Vancouver, B.C.
Tried to get the through the window effect.
Kensington Market, Toronto
Spire St. James Cathedral, Toronto
TTl 120 camera
1853 – New Gothic Revival Cathedral opens for services on original site
1865 – Bells installed
1875 – Spire completed
One more Bob V. tribute!
I took a series of close-up, Autumn stream shots just down from the Kilgore Falls pictured in my last entries. They turned out OK, but not too exciting. Then I remembered seeing how Bob improved a Bryce Canyon shot with a pan mask crop in the last folio. So I just scooted the smaller frame mount over the pics and arrived at this. I really utilized the 3D World mounting jig for the first time on this one, to try to save everyone too much eyestrain! (and criticism) 🙂
The DOF, of course, suffers shooting at such a close and slanted angle. But the shapes and colors remind me a bit of Klimt and other curvy, Fin de Siècle paintings. So, I can just enjoy the pure abstraction of it, without worrying just how sharp or well exposed everything is. I like looking at the floating, squiggly highlights and finding all the tiny, nearly invisible jets and drops of water poking out in depth. View this one with maximum lighting, if you can!
This was taken at Baltimore’s Artscape Festival in July – said to be the largest, free outdoor arts event in the country. I set out to do a series of slides to contribute to a “Summer in the City” themed gallery group show last year. The gallery was enthused about the stereo format, but we still have a way to go in presentation ideas and executions for them.
This was shot at a performance by the frenetic “Baltimore Rock Opera Society” (BROS). Think Ed Wood-meets-Bosch, set loose on the sweltering streets – but the music and singing was actually pretty decent. I just set up my tripod and TL-120 behind a stage, hoping not to get knocked over.
Tacky, silly, and so very Baltimore, Hon!
I did another small series of MD Renn Fest shots this Fall, but a freak Oct. snowfall prevented me from doing the PA one this year.
April, the confident, photogenic vendor shown here, was introduced to me by Tom, (another roving, middle-aged photographer who was toting an impressive lens and digicam). 🙂 He said he has a Realist camera and was into NSA and such a few years ago, and I invited him to jump back into the fold.
Anyway, I did a few shots of her and others that warm day. I waited until the later afternoon when the sun slanted thru the thick, forest canopy of the grounds. It really is a special time, and no, I didn’t usually bother with fill-flash or reflectors. I like the way the sharp lighting heightens the fabric textures of the costumes, even at the expense of harsher shadows on the skin. Check out the fine print detail on those bills she holds! I got a whole, small series of various Renn Denizens, (including 1st attempts at Bob V. Style close-up portraits). I’ll slip more into the folios to come.
Ducks Lake Winnebago
Velvia 100 and TL120(used for all) Exposure f16 1/30
I used the reeds as a 3d frame for the ducks. I like to underexpose velvia a bit to saturate the color.
My son, Efke 25, Nikon Sb 28 flash on auto f8
I love this film for portraits, grainless with excellent latitude. Please try it and DR5 if you haven’t yet.
Purple Tree at Riverside Park Neenah Velvia 100
Also slightly underexposed to saturate the color. I think trees are the perfect subject for 3d, I think this was f16 1/125
Myrtle Falls Mt. Rainier Velvia 100
I used f8 and 1/500 for this to eliminate the need for the tripod. Probably one of the few shots that I’ve used the top shutter speed for. Still adequate depth of field at infinity, but if you are really looking for it. Some forground needles are slightly soft. I love this place and hopefully will get to use the Tl- 120 in few more National Parks. Long Live Slide Film!
I used to travel to Upstate New York quite frequently. My friend Erich Hadfield has over 250,000 78 rpm records piled up in two barns about 20 minutes apart there. After I purchased my TL-120 I started taking it on my record buying trips instead of my Realist. This photograph is one of a series of shots of an old abandoned boarded-up school house. On the side of it is a large pentagram-type star. I was drawn to this school house because of all of the history, memories and stories it contains. I tried to imagine what this place was like when it was operative and thriving. I like the depth between the viewer and the school house, but I’m not crazy about the soft foreground grass. I’m considering re-mounting this one in a cardboard landscape mount (if I can get my hands on one) and masking out as much of the soft-focus grass as I can. I shot this on Ilford Pan F Plus, and it was processed by dr5. I shot the roll at whatever ASA his site suggests for this film.