A few years ago, a friend gifted me a Minolta XG-M. He didn’t do much with 35mm and when he does, he’s a Nikon guy, so this little camera was sitting idle. I used it once or twice back then, fixed a problem it had (I forgot what it was, really) and then it went back into storage. Until I brushed off the dust a few weeks ago and gave it another spin. What a nice little camera!
Continue reading “Scales – Walkabout with Minolta”Intermission – What’s up doc?
Hey, long time no speak! It’s been a while since I last posted something here – but it’s not an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ situation. Not by a long shot. Stuff has been brewing and I should really write some of that up. Here’s what I’ve been playing with and what I’d like to update on in the next few….well I dunno; when I get round to it, hopefully soon!
Continue reading “Intermission – What’s up doc?”Natural Intelligence – Why AI will save the artists who fear it the most
Made you look, didn’t I? Seriously though, I think it will. Yes, that’s right: I believe artificial intelligence will save artists, because it (AI) will help us realize what art is about. And that will reconnect us with something we may have lost touch with for some time.
Continue reading “Natural Intelligence – Why AI will save the artists who fear it the most”Whither hybridia – The challenge of digital output for alternative printing
I’ve never made a secret of my frustration with digital negatives. Yet, they also appeal to me, for the obvious reasons of consistency and as a crucial means to marry digital imagery with analog/alternative printmaking. For something like color carbon, I consider digital negatives the only feasible way to go – but man, are they fickle. In this blog, I’m going to try and list the options, although frankly, I have no solution yet that I feel comfortable with. Maybe getting it off my chest and structuring the whole thing will help some.
Continue reading “Whither hybridia – The challenge of digital output for alternative printing”Unpaper – Rutty photos will not be printed
I haven’t photographed much lately. Occupied with other things (electronics, software, housekeeping, private stuff) too much. The only thing that helps is some subtle force. Walk around with a camera, snap the mundane stuff I come across. It’s unlikely I’ll print any of these images; quick & dirty scans are probably as far as they’ll ever get. That’s OK – there’s always more rocks than nuggets!
Continue reading “Unpaper – Rutty photos will not be printed”All over the place – The problem with color negative film scans
Scanning color negative film is something that often throws people for a loop when it comes to getting “good” colors. I can relate – I still find it a frustrating endeavor sometimes. And it isn’t helped by the algorithms in scanners and scanning software that are intended to make this process easier. The actual result is that these automatic color adjustments make life pretty frustratingly difficult if you’re after consistency! Here’s an illustration (and a solution, but I already discussed that earlier).
Continue reading “All over the place – The problem with color negative film scans”Ghosted – When and how to clean an Epson 4990 transparency unit
I’ve had my Epson 4990 since the model was new, so the best part of two decades. It has always served me surprisingly well, although it’s now old enough (by far!) to occasionally require a little TLC. In particular, it can do with a little dusting once in a while.
Continue reading “Ghosted – When and how to clean an Epson 4990 transparency unit”Fade to black – Why ‘modern’ Gossen light meters might drain their batteries
This came up the other day on Photrio where @RalphLambrecht wondered about why his Gossen light meters drain their batteries while they’re supposed to power down automatically. Now, I happen to have one of those Gossen meters powered by a 9V battery, so I figured I could have a peek inside to see what might be wrong with his.
Continue reading “Fade to black – Why ‘modern’ Gossen light meters might drain their batteries”Cheap chips from China – A brief look at the CH32V003 microcontroller
I admit I love AliExpress specifically for low-end electronics components. I often shop around for stuff like IC’s and microcontrollers. And while you can get certain Microchip (Atmel), Texas Instruments and STM devices attractively from China, this has been starting to feel a bit odd to me. After all – a nation that retrieves rocks from the dark side of the moon is surely capable of making a decent microcontroller by itself. So why purchase Western parts from China, and not dip into the actual Chinese-made (and, in particular, engineered) stuff? So that’s what I did!
Continue reading “Cheap chips from China – A brief look at the CH32V003 microcontroller”Full bloom – DAS carbon starting to come together
I’ll probably jinx it by saying this, but…I have a feeling my DAS carbon printing workflow is really starting to get somewhere. Maybe I should take a moment to reflect on some of the key lessons learned. Perhaps even muse a little on what’s next, too…
Continue reading “Full bloom – DAS carbon starting to come together”