black & white – Koraks tinkers

Unearthed – Running film through an old Kiev rangefinder camera

I’m not a camera collector. At the same time, if a camera literally ends up in my lap, I generally can’t resist giving it a go. This happened to a Kiev rangefinder camera that I found in my dad’s attic. So…does it work?

Scales – Walkabout with Minolta

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!

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!

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!

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…

Brilliant ID – In praise of ID62 all-purpose developer

I stopped buying B&W developers years ago. It’s not that I didn’t like what I could buy. It’s just that I liked to experiment – and still do. And the flexibility of mixing your own ‘soups’ comes in handy in that case. One of the formulas I’ve come to rely on is this general-purpose developer of Ilford pedigree, ID-62. I think it’s just great.

Striking gold – An attempt at carbon transfer orotones

A few weeks ago I was at Unseen Amsterdam, where I saw many gorgeous works. One of the things standing out to me was a series of orotones by Naohiro Ninomiya. Drop dead gorgeous! Partly because of the orotone process, but to be frank, to a large extent due to the minimalistic, contemplative compositions that worked very well as presented at Unseen, in a collage of small images. Well, at least, I could try my hand at this orotone thing, couldn’t I?

Some images – Tractor tracks

No long story this time, just some images. By far the most photos I make are taken in the immediate vicinity of the house, within walking distance. The same is true for these two, which I took when exposing a test roll of Fomapan 100 to see how the Sigma 24/2.8 I received recently works.

Black is the new black – Pigments for B&W carbon transfer

No, I haven’t given up color carbon just yet, but neither will I leave B&W alone. One issue I’ve been having is that of hue. After all, there’s black, and there’s black: black pigments tend to come in all sorts of hues, so there’s lots to choose from. But a satisfactorily neutral black has evaded me for quite some time – until now!