Visual Cues

More Furniture Shifting

2009-08-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

I have moved my photo blog off of the Blogger platform and into WordPress. I'm leaving these posts up (though they are all duplicated on the new platform) because y'all keep coming here through search results (for which I'm very grateful!).

The new home of my photoblog is Victoria Klum Photography: Fresh Pixels. See you there!

Ole's Waffles, 4th of July

2009-07-12T16:00:00.001-07:00

Shot with a Nikon F2 on Kodak TMAX 400 film.

Gear Geek: O Noes!

2009-04-29T20:44:00.001-07:00

It seems a trip to ~~casualty~~ Apollo Camera in Oakland is in order. I pulled my beloved Pentax MX from my camera bag this evening, wanting to get this interesting shot of a seagull at the Ferry Building, only to find that the shutter mechanism felt very loose, like a tooth about to come out. I was able to fire the shutter but when I got it home the shutter came off completely.

So the whole camera is in a plastic zip bag waiting until I can take it over to Apollo in the next couple of days.

I realize that, in the grand scheme of things, a broken camera shutter is not such a horrible thing, but if you know me, you know how much I love this camera. Max has been my workhorse, my go-to guy. Those redscale film shots I've posted recently? Those were run through Max. I was just 4 shots into a roll of the new Kodak Ektar 100 film (which has now been safely retrieved from the camera, though I accidentally re-wound the film into the canister so I need a retriever gizmo...).

Fingers crossed that the shutter can be repaired or replaced.

More Redscale Film Fun

2009-04-12T00:06:00.001-07:00

Along the Altamont Pass:

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Port of Oakland:

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Golden Gate Bridge:

A Holga Two-fer

2009-03-29T20:20:00.001-07:00

Walking across the Golden Gate Bridge:

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Along the Altamont Pass:

A Redscale Film Two-fer

2009-02-18T21:22:00.001-08:00

Streetcar:

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Embarcadero Center 4 and Concrete Ball:

Sutro Baths Long Exposure (Yashica)

2009-02-16T13:53:00.001-08:00

Cupid's Bow at Dusk

2009-02-03T20:56:00.001-08:00

Shot with my new Sigma 10-20mm lens.

Blog Note: My Gear Geek List Updates

2009-01-24T20:41:00.001-08:00

I'm trying to be better about remembering to update my Gear Geek list whenever I acquire a new piece of equipment. I've updated it recently to add my Sigma 10-20 lens and a few other bits and bobs.

I keep a link to it over on the right nav bar, so you can check back periodically, if you're so inclined.

From the Bookshelf: "Black and White Photography: A Basic Manual"

2009-01-24T20:23:00.001-08:00

Black and White Photography, Third Revised Edition by Henry Horenstein

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book has been on my to-read list for quite some time now and now I realize why my photography instructors recommended it. Black and White Photography: A Basic Manual is a very rich, well-organized photography manual. Horenstein gives just enough instruction and detail without being overwhelming or leaving the reader feeling as though lighting or processing one's own film is too complicated.

This book is geared toward photographers who shoot film, though folks who shoot digital can learn a great deal from this book, too. And who knows? It may inspire some people to put down their DSLR and pick up a used Pentax K-1000 or Mamiya RZ67!

View all my reviews.

Middle Harbor Park, Oakland, CA

2009-01-24T19:16:00.001-08:00

Shot on Kodak Ektachrome 320T film, which gives the image its blue cast since it's balanced for tungsten light. If I had wanted to balance out the color, I would have used a yellow filter. But since this was expired film I had no idea how much color shifting was going to occur anyway, so I just shot as-is.

From the Bookshelf: "John Hedgecoe's Complete Photography Course"

2009-01-20T16:49:00.001-08:00

John Hedgecoe's Complete Photography Course by John Hedgecoe

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I've been dragging my copy of this book around with me for nearly 20 years now. It's a great reference when I want to get back to basics and a source of inspiration when my creative well runs dry.

If you can find a copy of this somewhere, snap it up, pronto!

View all my reviews.

From The Bookshelf: "The Moment It Clicks"

2009-01-20T16:43:00.001-08:00

The Moment It Clicks: Photography secrets from one of the world's top shooters by Joe McNally

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Joe McNally makes great photography accessible to aspiring professional photographers (or serious amateurs).

Every page is filled with great anecdotes of a successful career, as well as a paragraph or two of "how I did it" to accompany the photographs. For all of the times I've looked at a great image and figured it was far too complicated for me to imitate (armed with just my camera and, when I'm lucky, an external flash unit), McNally shows that it can be done AND that it can be done without necessarily emptying the bank account.

McNally's kind of folksy, casual writing may be somewhat off-putting to grammar pedants out there, but he comes at this as if he's sitting across the table from you, sharing his favorite "war stories" and giving his best advice.

View all my reviews.

Gear Geek: Sigma 10-20 Lens

2009-01-17T23:00:00.001-08:00

My latest equipment acquisition is the Sigma 10-20 wide angle zoom lens. I got it specifically for scenic, landscape-y photos such as this shot of the Bay Bridge, taken from the ferry on my morning commute.

So far I'm really loving this lens. It's obviously not an all-around lens like a 28-135, but it beautifully handles most of the shots I like to take. At f-4.0-5.6 it is quite a light hog, and it is quite heavy, so nighttime cityscapes are going to require a tripod (and, uh, NOT being on the bouncy ferry) if I'm going for a sharp, clear image.

But overall, this is a good, solid lens that has given me a great reason to start using my DSLR again for actually taking photos, instead of as an external meter for my Yashica Mat. I can't wait to take it over to the Sutro Baths for more nighttime long exposure shots!

Blue Cat Silhouette

2009-01-15T21:43:00.001-08:00

Bay Bridge in Late Autumn Daylight

2008-12-19T20:49:00.001-08:00

This was one of the last chances I had to shoot 100 speed film before switching to my "winter stock" of faster film (generally ISO400), since the higher speed film requires less intense bright daylight.

But, oh my...I have a particular passion for Fuji slide film. This was shot with Provia 100 (about a couple of weeks ago) and it's pretty much straight out of the camera/scanner. The saturation of the film so beautifully captured the light amber quality of the afternoon sunlight.

EAT

2008-12-16T21:15:00.001-08:00

Are We There Yet?

2008-09-23T21:05:00.001-07:00

The New Kid in Town

2008-09-03T21:55:00.000-07:00

In early August I wandered around the Alameda Antiques Fair in search of a new-to-me medium format camera. I like my Holgas just fine but I was ready for an upgrade. Most of what I found at the fair was old Brownies, which I really didn't want because they either took odd-size film (the Brownie I have takes 620--which is really 120 film respooled onto a smaller spool) or they had bellows. I didn't want to have to mess around trying to find special film, or respooling 120 film to fit the 620 Brownies, nor did I want to have to deal with old bellows that may have had cracks and light leaks.

I finally came upon a vendor who had several Twin Lens Reflex cameras (as well as the old Brownies with bellows and some old 35mm film gear). I told him I was looking for something I could use right off the lot and he handed me a Yashica Mat-124G. While it was one of the least expensive TLRs he had, it was just a bit over what I had planned to spend on a camera. But it felt right. Not overly heavy, the controls were fairly easy to read and use and, well, it wasn't that far out of my budget.

I've run four rolls through it now and I absolutely LOVE it! I've taken pretty thorough notes on each frame because I wanted to see how well the on board meter works. So far it seems to be pretty spot-on. At the worst it underexposes by 1/3 to 1/2 step but,as a friend pointed out, that could be inaccuracy in the shutter too. But I have enough experience with film that the times I've relied on my instinct and overrode the on board meter, my instinct was right. Even my two rolls of slide film have come out beautifully (if you've shot chrome, you know it'll either be spectacularly beautiful or it will break your heart).

At any rate, I've been bitten by the film bug again. I've shot almost exclusively with the Yashica for the past month. (I did use the DSLR for a recent night shoot at the Sutro Baths but am planning to return later this month when there's a full moon and for that shoot I will have the Yashica). I'm looking at Web sites to see what kinds of goodies I can get for the Yashica and now I'm really jonesing for a medium format SLR. Film has a certain soul that I've never quite found in digital photography. And shooting film makes me slow way down and spend time composing my shot and thinking about exposure. Especially with medium format, since there are only twelve shots to a roll of film. Not a whole lot of room for screwing around, there.

Ah yes, composing the shot. HaHaHa! The hardest thing I'm getting used to with the Yashica is that the viewfinder is laterally reversed, meaning if I want to get something in the frame that's off to my left, I have to turn the camera to my right. It's very confusing! I was trying to get this shot of the cranes at the Port of Oakland while I was on the ferry and people must have thought I was dancing to the song playing on my iPhone or that I had a really bad itch because I was twisting and turning this way and that, trying to get those stupid cranes in the frame! I have not had much of a problem with parallax error, thanks to the viewfinder grid on the camera. I've only got one shot of my friends where I cut off their feet. The other thing I've noticed is that I tend to move the camera slightly when I press the shutter. It's not a huge problem if I'm shooting in bright daylight at high shutter speeds but I need to get my grip under control or do longer exposures on a tripod with a remote shutter release.

So maybe you'll see me boogieing around San Francisco with this beast. And if you come out shooting with me, my apologies in advance for taking so long to set up my shots!

Sparkle

2008-03-22T20:16:00.001-07:00

Staring At The Sun

2008-03-20T07:25:00.001-07:00

Lensbaby Study: Spring

2008-03-13T21:00:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted anything new here in quite a while. Mostly because I've been in a Big Artistic FUNK. Hopefully, I'm on my way out of said funk and will have more to post here in the near future.

Sunday Afternoon

2007-10-16T21:09:00.001-07:00

Rowboat. Holga.

2007-08-29T22:12:00.000-07:00

Chorus Line

2007-08-05T21:32:00.000-07:00