film backs

quite daunting…

Polaroid 545 back, Fuji PA-45, Polaroid 405 and the fuji instant film back…

At position 10 o clock, we have the 545 pro back (4×5 format). this back takes the Polaroid type 55PN film and other 4×5 sheet films from Polaroid.

for a sampling of Polaroid 55PN pls click on this link 4×5 polaroid 55PN examples

top right is the venerable Fuji Quickload 4×5 film back. this back takes a special proprietary quickload system from Fuji with emulsions like Velvia 50, Provia 100 and Quickload FUji Pro 160 color negative and even Neopan quickoad 4×5 sheets. the beauty of this back is the ability to load and shoot film without a dark bag.

to the right of the 545 back is the Polaroid 405 back that takes 3×4-inch film like Polaroid Type 665 which features a 3×4 print and negative.

flickr’s moominsean has a wonderful collection of 665 images.

link to moominsean’s 665 images

bottom left, is a Fuji PA-45 back that takes 4×5 instant packfilm in 10 shot magazine that is loaded into the back and has 10 sheets of film. Fuji’s FP-100C 4×5 film is the culprit here below. this back usually just right onto the 4×5 graflok type back on most 4×5 cameras.

last but not least, bottom right of the original photo is a regular 4×5 film holder. takes two pieces of film, one on each side. this type of film back needs to be loaded in dark room or in a light proof changing bag. more on this later !

cheers !

volcano + lava

 

 

 

fun times over on the big island with for a short week compounded with amazing clients and amazing photography in an amazing locale ! the big island of hawai’i

above, a tour boat gets really close to the volcanic action as lava pours into the ocean. the scary part is all the noxious gases the visitors are inhaling ! whoa !

file pix

Thumbing through some old compact discs or commonly called ‘CD’

what a blast from the past ! fun ! above photograph was the normal customarily 2-3 songs, front row in front of the crowds at Aloha Stadium, in an area called the ‘pit’. we get shuffled in after the beginning blah blah then the 2-3 songs go by really fast. need to find my michael jackson photographs /negatives…

completely forgot i used to shoot sports, got ‘ok’ at it. far cry from the ‘zen’ photography attempts in the near dark Klum gymnasium or ‘Ad Nauseum’.

if i need to share one tidbit about getting interesting photographs, my philosophy has always been, ‘put the reader (or viewer) where they cannot be…’. easier said than done. here a view into a burning condominium fire at honolulu’s century center. building didn’t have any sprinklers. the good part, i survived ! oh, also, smoke rises !

last but not least, always carry a camera. you never know what you’ll see, in this case a giant crab devouring a building in kakaako, honolulu. cheers ! have a great week !

viva las vegas

viva las vegas

Last week i attended my very first WPPI photography convention held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first couple of days were spent in dark rooms with judges and moderators to observe judging of the WPPI print competition.  This by far was the best learning experience i’ve ever had !  amazing !

Many attendees were from around the globe attending workshops on lighting, business and celebrity photographers.

above view of the winners of the print competition.  the prints were amazing, wishing the judging size was 16×20-inches instead of the smaller 8×10 standard print size.  next year, i need to bring a magnifying glass !

shawn from Black Tie Cinema photographs his print that took ‘Second Place’ congratulations !  link to his site http://www.blacktiecinema.com/

best advice given at the workshops by Ben Chrisman of http://www.chrismanstudios.com .  ”how to become a better photographer?  to FAIL”  .  yep. the endless process of lifelong learning !  thanks to the Chrisman’s !  inspirational work ! link to the chrisman’s site

above, Rod Gammons maker of the amazing ‘Rotolight Anova’ demonstrates the LED light that puts out 1000ws.  this amazing light can be controlled via wireless and iPhone rotolight link. 

another notable piece of gear was Photogenic’s new Ion Battery link here. compact size and killer power ! can’t wait to pickup a pair of these compact beauties.

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Musings with Light

Thank you to all who participated in the recent Pacific New Media class about Painting with light at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Thanks to David Ulrich and staff for hosting this fantastic photography workshop series. honored to participate and share !  pls check out previous post light painting 101 here.

above photograph, blue gelled vivitar 285 flash within a plastic container and a small AA battery powered LED flashlight w/ special snoot. will post a photo of the snoot soon

below image made w/ ‘backlight’ only

we worked from a simple one object still life to a group image with attendees.

above images. top, one baretube flash subject rear. silhouette of subjects. 2nd image below, i ‘painted’ in the silhouette w/ LED light. 8 seconds f/8.0 iso 200

above image, 1 baretube flash placed behind john, LED flash light painted his face then w/ 4 seconds left, i quickly turned the lens out of focus and used the LED to ‘paint’ his jacket and desk areas. 8 seconds, f/8.0 iso 200 . nikon D800 w/ manual focus 105mm AIS lens.

back to basics

sharing with everyone in this time of holiday cheers and special times all point to a more poignant ‘bigger picture’ . as the quest for photographic images has moved from camera to i-phone, photographers both new and old are motivated to share and most importantly store most of their images for the future on their little devices. the crux or paradox is if anything happened to this ‘treasure trove’ of saved images all would be lost.

this 2013 will be the year of photography,

i’ll be headed back to basics making more prints than ever. sharing them too ! gifting and of course selling some of my special prints in 25 print series. signed, numbered w/ certificates of authenticity. haven’t decided whether to go w/ silver based print media, canvas or metal ? archival ph will also be of a concern as well as longevity. hey jerry, u listening ? the above prints are a folio of images for some very special clients. what is that old adage, ” a photograph is worth a thousand words…” more to come !

above image, Fuji FPC-100 4×5 instant film made w/ modified Graflex Super D 4×5 w/ Dallmeyer Pentac Aero 8-inch f/2.9 lens

4×5 graflex

first off, thanks a million matt of www.abelsonscopeworks.com awesome and amazing work ! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU !

Aloha all ! happy fathers day ! 

thanks matt ! the amazing modified Graflex Super D 4×5 SLR w/  Pentac 8-inch f/2.9 lens arrived ! here above you can see at camera right,  Super D graflex 4×5 SLR w/ built in hood and super sharp kodak ektar. 

First off, the front is made from a billet piece of aircraft 6000 series aluminum an amazing feat of machining with the option of tilt added.  the front standard is secure by two knurled knobs at the center of the standard keeping the heavy 8-inch pentac in position.

Ample tilt can be attained with a slight limit by the bellows. A future project might involve making a slightly bigger bellows to accomodate more front movements. the above view is about where the lens is at infinity. 

 

 

Left, you can see the grafted Sinar 4×5 back that was installed and fitted to the original rotating graflex system. At camera right, a modified graflex 4×5 super D w/ graflok back.  One of my goals in having this modified is the ability to shoot 4×5 instant film w/ the convenience of a single lens reflex. Both Fuji 4×5 instant films and 3×4 pack films can be utilized. 

i’ll post more photographs of the lens in action shortly, need to head up to http://www.hawaiicamera.com/ to pick up some Fuji FP-100C 4×5 !’m on my last sheet.