Archive for category Photography

Snaps

Posted by GZ in Events, Featured Articles, Life, Photography on August 24, 2010

Went out the other night for a work happy-hour, which we don’t do often enough. Things have been a bit crazy on the job, and we all needed the chance to decompress and have a drink on the company’s dime. We met at the landmark Cat & Fiddle on Sunset. I used to go all of the time when I had friends living near the place, but I hadn’t been in years. They have a great outdoor patio space, and I like the English pub feel. The service is notoriously slow and somewhat aloof, but the food’s decent enough to wait for when you have interesting company.

I decided to shoot a little with the AE-1, and since I knew the light was going to be subdued, I went with the Ilford HP5+ 400 stock. I think I got a good batch of shots overall, and the results were roundly appreciated. I say again and again that I need to shoot more people – I do enjoy it, but my shyness/propriety gets in the way. It’s easier with this bunch. They’re good humans, and it shows.

It’s funny how folks are surprised that this whole “film thing” still works.

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Same View, Different Window

Posted by GZ in Photography, Processing, Vendor on May 26, 2010

Adam at 10 (on film)

Got my first roll of color 120 — Kodak Portra 160NC — through the Mamiya and processed. Since I’m not at the point where I’m developing my own color film (and I don’t know that I want to, due to the complexity), I took it in to A&I near my office in Hollywood. This is the first time I’ve used a “pro” photo lab, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I got friendly service, on-time delivery, nice packaging and presentation, and slightly cheaper than nearby alternatives (but still quite a lot more costly than 35mm at Costco). Color negative film is a wonderful thing, but black and white will continue to dominate my analog output.

I’m always apprehensive trying a new thing or taking a next step with this stuff, but it turned out nicely. My metering with a second camera was close enough, and I’m getting more familiar with the gear. I’ll eventually acquire a dedicated meter, but for now I’m OK and won’t be so intimidated by the arrangement.

This is another shot from the session mentioned in a previous post. Compare and contrast, film and digital — I think this one has a slightly warmer tone. I might get a big print made.

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LAist Likes It

Posted by GZ in Featured Articles, Photography, Published on May 3, 2010

Sisters (Adopted)

LAist.com, a Los Angeles news and culture site, chose one of my photos for its weekly “7 Reasons to Love L.A.” photo feature. It’s not a big thing, but it’s nice to be noticed.

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Family Things (and Newton Rings)

Posted by GZ in Life, Photography, Processing on April 7, 2010

Húsvéti nincs színe

Had a nice, relaxing Easter with the family. Saw in-laws and my sisters, ate a really good meal, colored eggs (well, I didn’t – I never do) and finished a roll of 220.

For once, I came up with a nearly-flawless strip of negatives. Since I started using the Mamiya, every roll has suffered some sort of ruinous problem – scratches or streaks that rendered many frames unusable, and required a lot of healing brush work on the rest. Research and friendly interviews pointed to either bad news happening in the film magazine or drying issues after development.

This time, I made certain that I used a different insert, and I decided to forgo squeegeeing prior to drying, just in case that had some effect. To give the strip a good long hang-space, I suspended it whole from a boom mic stand positioned in the bathtub (very rock & roll, I know).

The combination worked, so I’m sticking with it. Of course, things are never that easy. When it came to scanning, most frames were afflicted with Newton Rings and had to be redone.

I’ll get the hang of it eventually.

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Happy Now?

Posted by GZ in Events, Flickr, Photography on April 7, 2010

Comfortable Despite the Obvious

Because I’m told I don’t post often enough, and because I’m told I need to shoot more color, here – enjoy.

This harbor seal watched us watch him/her from our boat as 80 or so cameras snapped at him/her. A bunch of us were out on a cruise sponsored by the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Lots of fog and no whales, but still plenty of sights and a chance to hang out with friends.

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Hot and Cold

Posted by GZ in Life, Photography on April 5, 2010

Contrast Drops

I’ve been alternating between pushing too hard and then crashing and slacking. I need to even things out and make a plan if any of the big projects are going to get done: