Why I RARELY Shoot Wide Open (How to Separate the Subject from the Background) – YouTube

Mostly I  don’t watch videos about photographic techniques (not because I know everything, but I kind of like to do my own thing and not copy others) but this was a really great video by Kebs Cayabyab that shows 5 ways to separate your subject from the background without using shallow depth of field.   You should watch this 7 minute video! TL/DR,DW here they are:  Light/Shadow –  Use selective lighting to show your subject to the viewer Colors – FindRead more

Shooting large format film

I looked at this short introduction to using 4×5 (large format) film on Ilford’s website with more interest to the lens used.  The Bokeh looked a little like a Helios lens as the aperture circles at center become ellipsoid on the edges of the frame.   The lens Mr. Phimester used is a 178mm Aero Ektar.   I’m still undecided if I like the bokeh or not, but I think in the case of this image in the woods, it has aRead more

Projection Optics Company 18″ E.F. – “Lens Review”

I’ve got one of these Beseler E.F. Projection lenses sitting on my desk.  I may have paid about $30 for it some time back, just because it seemed cool, but now and then I think about shooting with it.  I didn’t know the coverage and just found that like many things someone else has already wondered the same and done some experimenting.  Charles Hollemeersch reports that his 18in lens will cover nearly 35x42cm so sounds like it would cover 11x14inRead more

How to Spot a Fake Leica

    Coming from the perspective of being a Zenit KMZ importer, this article was interesting, and I was happy to see at the end that they report the fakes aren’t half bad.  I’ve never really shot much with the Leica rangefinder cameras since I prefer SLR’s but maybe someday I’ll pick one up, and perhaps it will be a copy and not the real thing.  Saving this link for future reference.  Jump to the page on Mike Eckman’s siteRead more

Afghan Box Camera / Kamra-e-Faoree

Afghan Box Camera Project Today I viewed a post on Reddit from someone who built their own “Afghan Box” and was really intrigued.  What is it?  Basically the Afghan box is a camera inside a box with two dark sleeves on rear and side, developing trays,  and a peep viewer that allow internal development of prints.   I’ve seen such boxes for tin types before.  What’s different about this is the peep hole on the top for watching the prints develop. Read more

The Royal Photographic Society’s whole archive is searchable and viewable for free

This is actually quite amazing!  If you like old cameras or study photography or photographers you can search through all the RPS’s journals by keyword.  Wow!  The RPSJ is the oldest continuously published journal of photography – from 1853 until now.   They covered the gear, the people, the techniques, the industry….    What a great resource! Source: The Royal Photographic Society Example link to ‘Best Shots’ Volume 158    Read more

Lost for Decades, These Stunning Color Photos of Africa in the 1950s Have Finally Been Published

Making the rounds today on the internet are the ‘rediscovered’ or ‘lost’ photos of photographer Todd Webb that had been languishing in a collectors home all timed in conjunction with the release of his archive book.  But hey these shots from his 5 month trip in Africa taken with a Rolleiflex and Leica on Kodachrome are pretty awesome!  And relevant for their historical and cultural significance.  I might even buy the book!  I spent some time on the different websitesRead more

Narciss: a 16mm film SLR Soviet camera

Source: Narciss Soviet KMZ 16mm camera I’ve been reading about older KMZ products since I’m importing their new lenses and cameras to the US.   This site USSRphoto.com is a great resource btw. I just stumbled across this really cool camera, the Narciss, which is a small stylish SLR that shoots 16mm movie film.  The camera was originally supplied with spools to allow you to load movie film onto, and even a small developing tank was included.  It has a detachable viewfinderRead more

THE TINHOLE CAMERA | Analog- & 3D-Prints

Here’s a really neat 3D printed tin can pinhole camera (designed by Christopher en.printsandprints.de) that you can load a roll of 35mm film into and shoot with.  What’s really cool is how he has printed gears to advance the film inside the can.   btw – He’s selling the parts for these cameras for about 20 Euro on his website, link below.   Source: THE TINHOLE CAMERA | Analog- & 3D-PrintsRead more

Best of 2020: Top 60+ Photographs From Around the World

Modern Met Team has published what they consider the Top 60 photos from this year (2020) which has been exceedingly unusual.  As a former photo contest jurist I’m always curious to see what other groups deem as top imagery.     I’m somewhat surprised to see so few images with people and/or connected to the Covid.  I guess maybe we are all over the Covid, don’t want to see any more about it right now?  That perhaps explains all the animalsRead more