bad photography

Bicycles at work

Bicycles at work

Snapshot of man with dog

I always see this local man walking his dog around the neighborhood. The dog is invariably trotting along with its tail wagging rapidly. I stopped at a convenience store and saw the dog, so when the owner came out, I asked if I could snap a photo. I made a nice 5x7 print and hope to give it to him.

I really wish that I had a rangefinder camera with me instead of the nearly P&S XA2, as I'd give it a nice and narrow depth of field. However, I didn't own an XA at the time, so if I didn't have the XA2 with me, I probably wouldn't have gotten ANY photo.

The worst photo is the one not taken.

Several things today

For one, Liz's blueprint enlargements went over well with her teacher, so she's doing that for her final project. I'm scanning one of the 8x10s tonight and will post it on the blueprint photography page.I ordered a real enlarger (Omega B-600) for home use, and it may actually be here by the time they're due.

Secondly, I ran a roll of Tri-X 400 through a Holga. I failed to acheive enlightenment. I can only hope that enlightenment arrives when I see the contact prints.

Also, I attempted to photograph Rudy Guiliani today at a Borders Bookstore. Seems that he was in town for a book signing. I doubt the photo will come out.

There's more! I sold off my Rolleiflex a while back with the idea of putting the money toward the purchase an Ikonta C folder. Since I have yet to find one that I like, and since I'm miss having a good quality TLR, I am acquiring a Yashica Mat LM. I still want a good Zeiss folder but the good ones are either very expensive or are already highly prized posessions.

And lastly, I picked up some Fuji Provia 100F for attempting to retake the duckblind as a real photo and not such a snapshot.

Duck Blind

I really wish that I had some sort of chrome in the camera for this one. For some reason, it makes me think of a duck blind, but on a commercial campus. I plan to reshoot this image using the Canonet and some slide film, probably just past dawn.

Olympus XA2, Kodak Tri-X 400

This image was shot in the week of Oct 3-9.

My main problem with using the XA series of cameras is the lack of respect you get. If people watch you contort yourself into odd positions while hanging from a tree branch, they think you're crazy. If you have a nice big camera, they think you're a photographer or photography student. If you have a little XA, they think you're a delusional and crazy photographer wannabe with a P&S.

For 'street' and candid photography, it's perfect. It's unassuming, small, quiet, and always convenient. You can blend into a crowd with ease. However, for more serious photography, you look like an idiot. Normally I wouldn't care, but sometimes you get a little more give from security and other folks if you look like you know what you're doing. Crouching by the water looking like a hunter is somehow acceptable if you have a 'real' camera, but it sure gets a lot of funny looks if you have an XA.

Fountains at BMC

Just some fountains in BMC's plaza. The mixed lighting made for an interesting test for the XA2's metering.

Olympus XA2, Kodak Tri-X 400

This image was shot in the week of Oct 3-9.

Olympus XA

My new (used) Olympus XA arrived today from Adorama, after much pain and frustration. I won't order from them again.

The XA is the same form factor as my beloved XA2, but it's a true rangefinder. The front has an aperture selection slide (aperture priority!) and a tiny rangefinder lever under the lens and ASA slider.

I've been wanting to try some of the C41 B&W films, particularly Ilford XP2, so I may expose a few rolls with the XA. I will, of course, run some Tri-X through it to compare it to the XA2.

Finally, I've found an affordable pocket rangefinder with aperture priority!