Most liked posts in thread: Photography

tower inspection.

 

I'm a fan of Black & White photography too. Guess it is because I've run so many rolls of Tri-x film through my old Nikons.

 

I've been consistently amazed by the capabilities of my Galaxy Note 8. Even by today's standards, it's well out dated, but it produces great images.

Path of the Vikings 2018 by Jono Kenyon, on Flickr

 

Honestly, photography lost a lot of the magic for me when the world went digital and we no longer needed a darkroom (I happened to lose my access to good darkrooms at almost the same moment in history). I worked in a biology research lab (well... several) and when you had to use film to capture your images, a skilled hand in the darkroom was hard to find. I spent way too many hours learning how to burn and dodge using light, time and lots of bits of cardboard on sticks to bring out the final image and I really miss that very physical part of the art form. When you can lighten, darken, dodge and blend with the wave of a mouse it seems a bit too easy. Yes... you get better results with a computer (much more control), but it makes me think of the Japanese principles of wabi sabi and the artistry in the natural imperfection of the work.

I still have some photos that I shot on film, developed and laid to paper myself hanging on the walls around the house.

 

I used to love loading my own film. Shooting it, souping it myself & printing it. Over time my interests drifted elsewhere. My cameras & darkroom sat seldom if ever used.

Life moved on & then digital photography came about. It really gained my attention. I was not an early adopter as the cameras then seemed like toys & the images they produced seemed half baked to me.

What really flipped the switch for me was when Fujifilm came out with a camera called the S1 Pro in 2000. It was a Nikon SLR with Fuji guts stuffed inside. It allowed me to use all my Nikon lenses on this new wonder gadget. I have been through a series of Nikon DSLR cameras & now shoot with Fujifilm mirrorless ones. For me that is my happy place gear wise.

While working in the darkroom was relaxing for me, doing post processing of digital files certainly was not. It took me a long time to figure out how to do it & I'm not an expert by any means. One benefit of digital is once the camera, computer & software are purchased there was no need to by film chemicals & paper. Beautiful prints can be made from digital files, although I rarely print these days.

The best photographers not only shoot great compositions & capture light just right, they also are experts in the digital darkroom. The digital darkroom is not as easy as many people feel it is.

Things have changed again. Cameras can take a photo, send it right to your phone so you can easily share it. I don't do social media, but it is great for sharing with family & friends. To me that is really something.

Back on topic....
What digital camera? There are so many good cameras out there. Any one of them could work for you. You need to figure out if you want interchangeable lenses. What size sensor 1", M4/3, apsc, full frame or medium format. It really is hard to give you any meaningful advice. I'd recommend hitting some photography forums & asking questions there.

 

No MINI pictures.... But the camera was riding with me in the MINI during my last MINI trip.... So there was that.......

 

Been shooting quite a bit lately...here's a couple automotive shots. I've been liking the Cars at the Capital. 2 more weeks to go with a Duesenberg and a Lambo Countach coming up.

The Black Ghost, a really cool story about this car, only one left with these options apparently.
https://www.hagerty.com/drivers-club/my-garage/78598943/national-historic-vehicle-register/42bceeb2-f217-4264-9e9c-a6bbf909c3d3

Cars at the Capital WEEK 2 by Jono Kenyon, on Flickr

And this one that everyone knows, I'd assume.

Cars on the Capitol by Jono Kenyon, on Flickr

 

Dog leading a parade at a local cars n coffee event.

 

That's called "vignetting," and it can happen with adapters. The image created by a lens is circular, and is cropped by the image frame. An adapter can make the circle not fit the rectangle. The old round peg in a square hole.

CD

 

That is the down side.

And just so I can contribute and hopefully help by showing an example, here's some photos I took after getting mine.

Without filter:


Filter rotated to filter the glare on side windows.


Filter rotated to filter the glare from the windshield and hood.

Or reposition ones self if moving the car isn't possible. I'd love to know how you use photoshop to remove the glare but I suspect that would be a larger topic for another thread.

 

A couple of other photos showing with/without the filter.

 

There is a great 'old time' camera store in Cincy. A lot of inventory, used equipment, and great advice. I have picked up some great deals there. BTW, if anyone likes Sony DSLR cameras, I have upgraded and have a Sony A350, with a couple of lenses and vertical grip for sale or trade.

 

I always have a clean microfiber towel (about 10X10 in size) in my camera bag. It is good for smudges and dust. I also use the lens hoods that came with my lenses, even if I don't need them for light issues. They are good at keeping fingers (and elbows, if I'm in a crowd) away from the glass.

The coatings used on lenses these days are amazing. They are very hard to scratch. A good filter as a "sacrificial" layer is still a good idea if you use your lenses out in the elements. I've done a ton of testing -- I test all of my lenses on a somewhat regular basis -- and I haven't found any reason not to use a high-quality filter.

CD

 

Yes Sir that is. From what I understand it is a real handful to drive in anger.

 

A comment up the page reminded me of a rule of thumb impressed upon my by my mentor. Back then everything was B&W for the campus news bureau. Something like this: "For every hundred frames you shoot, 2 or 3 will be worthy of publication. Film is cheap." I carried a camera with me every day and burned thru half a dozen rolls a day then spent a few hours in the dark room mining for gold. "I love the smell of fixer on my hands in the evening." Now we don't need fixer and a sim card can carry how many hundred frames. I still subscribe to that philosophy.

 

Pixels are free once you buy the camera. No D76, no stop bath & no fixer needed for development.

 

Thought I add some photos showing the focal length of the kit lenses that came with my Canon T3i. Not the best lenses out there but seem to do a good job for what I'm using them for.

Lens: EFS 18-55mm. I wish I had one taken at 18mm for a better comparison. This one was taken at 55mm.


Lens: EFS 55-150mm. Taken at 250mm.