Random People Looking at Card
Not sure what they were looking at but made for a good interaction.
Rolleiflex 2.8 E, Agfa Vista 200 ISO Film (much expired)
And in Breaking News… Burst Water Main in Manners Mall
Just as I was stepping out the door at work I heard a bang and… Chaos….Lucky I had my camera handy… There is a series on film as well
Would like to be the guy in the digger
Enjoy
Be Free
Rolleiflex 2.8 E, Fuji Neopan 400 ISO Film.
Tripods, Another Short Rant
Tripods… Not glamorous like a new lens or body.
Tripods… Not cool like remote flash triggers.
Tripods… Absolutely essential if you want your long exposure to be sharp!
OK so that sound pretty good without too much rant… deep breath…. but…
I work part-time in the photography retail sector and the number of times I have the following conversation is astounding:
“Hi Im looking for a tripod for about $150, what do you have?” (all prices are in $NZ just for clarification)
“What kind of camera are you putting on it?” (at this point I’m really really hoping it’s going to be a point and shoot…please…please)
“A Canon 5DmkII” (Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!)
“Um…”
“With a 70-200 f2.8″ (Double Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!”
“… …”
At this point I usually go into rant mode…
My usual equation for tripods is that the tripod should be worth somewhere between 10 – 15% of the value of the camera equipment that is put on it. Anything less and the very slight movement from the cheaper tripod renders any sharpness of the equipment utterly void.
Now this might seem like a funny thing to get angry about but I guess that’s just me. People usually have a laugh when they see me lugging round my tripod but no-one every laughs at the result and admittedly I use mine for my 4×5 camera as well as my F5 and D70s (which isn’t a particularly large camera).
What I think people are trying to say is that they want a small compact tripod and think that a cheap one will do the trick but once shown the error of their ways can be shown the benefits of sturdy leg materials like carbon and basalt.
And then there is the suspicion that I am just trying to up sell them into something more expensive… No! I just think you should respect your camera and get something you wont hate in 6 months because it gives bad results!
Anyway there are some cases where cheap tripods are good… Usually if you are going to totally trash then in salt water etc… but generally buy something decent!
Rant out
Lubitel 166U, Manfrotto 028 Tripod
Rainy Sunday
In true Wellington weather fashion last Sunday started out sunny and then about half way through the day there was a torrential downpour followed by being nice and sunny again.
Anyway when the rain hit everyone was pretty unprepared for it so I managed to get a couple of shots of people crossing the road from under a veranda.
Rolleiflex 2.8 E, Ilford FP4 125 ISO Film.
And Sometimes You Just Get Busted
Since I got the Rollei I have been taking more candid shot of people without them usually knowing that I am taking them (wow when I say it out loud it sounds kinda creepy)… but anyway its quite nice that a lot of the time people are looking at the camera when I take the image because they either don’t know what it is or they do know what it is.
And then sometimes you get a shot like this where they know exactly whats going on 🙂
Nothing was said but the expression says it all.
Rolleiflex 2.8 E, Fuji Neopan 400 ISO Film.
Fatherhood Friday 23: Storms and Beaches
Fatherhood Friday took a break last week due to me forgetting it was Friday… This new routine with me working an extra couple of days a week is really eating into my photography/blog time… not that I’m complaining… more just readjusting.
In between earthquakes and storms the size of Australia the weather has finally started to hint at what spring might be like and we have had a chance to go to the beach (admittedly in jackets and hats) and play in the sand which both girls love to do.
Unfortunately this has also brought on the spring colds etc… Samantha has had a pretty rough week and had to be picked up from Creche on Tuesday and has been sick pretty much ever since, complete with late night vomit and constant grumpiness. Emily is still having trouble hearing due to fluid in her ears but has been prescribed nose blowing and blowing up balloons by the doctor (I kid you not). She was surprised to find that she can actually blow up a balloon by herself.
Anyway everyone seems to be feeling better now so hopefully (touch wood) we are over the worst and things can go back to normal… as normal as they can get anyway 🙂
Emily with the digger that is rebuilding the bike track in the park across from us.
Sam at the beach on one of those sunny days.
Rolleiflex 2.8 E
Calvin and Hobbes Challenge
A friend on Facebook challenged me to recreate an image from the comic Calvin and Hobbes (Link Here)
This was my interpretation.
Nikon D70s, 50mm f1.8 Lens, ISO 200. Two Electra 500W Studio Lights and Silver 42 Inch Reflector.
Yellow Vespa
Vespa parked outside GAG on Victoria Street.
The owner who works at the shop was nice enough to let me take his pic as he was leaving work.
Rolleiflex 2.8 E, Agfa Vista 200 ISO Film (expired 2006)
Oriental Parade Panos
Another older image. This one is onto of the fisherman’s Table on Oriental Parade Wellington.
Couple of amusing things about this image:
The front of the roof is actually round and when it was put into Photoshop it straightened it up.
This is back before I took panos in the vertical mode.
Must go back and shoot this again some time.
Not sure what treatment I like best and slightly annoyed with the burnt out sky but all the more reason to go re-shoot.
Nikon D70s, 50mm f1.8 Lens, ISO 200, Made up of 9 images stitched.
Who Needs A Lensbaby When You Have A 4×5 Camera
A couple of images from a foray with my 4×5 camera with a 6×7 rollback on it.
It always amuses me that when I havent used my 4×5 for a while I have a tendency to over do it a bit… Here are 2 prime examples 🙂
Cambo 4×5 Camera, Linhof 90mm Lens, Fuji Velvia 100 ISO Film
Darkhalide Photography 
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