I had planned to add an Olympus 35SP to my kit as a dedicated black and white shooter. But as soon as I got it, I began having problem after problem with it. Either there was a crank advance issue, or the shutter speeds would be off, or the leather fell off. I sent it in to be repair - unfortunately the repair was unsatisfactory so I sent it back.

It was a shame because I liked the lens on the camera, I like some of the shots I was able to salvage from my tests. Then I thought, “Why limit myself with two fixed-lens rangefinders in my kit, when I could enjoy more artistic freedom with an SLR system?”

And so I headed to OCCamera to see what they had. I was particularly interested in the Olympus OM1, because, well, I’ve been using Olympus cameras lately. But when I saw the OM1 in person I knew I had to have it. Very compact for an SLR, low mirror vibration, quiet shutter, durable, and impressively designed. It contrasted sharply with the Minolta SRT200 I have, especially in regards to noise and mirror slap.

I started with a roll at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and loved the quality of the results from the common 1:1.8 50mm Zuiko lens. I used some Arista Premium 100 (there are rumors floating around that it’s actually Plus-X), but I left the new orange filter I got on the lens the whole time, foolishly and unnecessarily.

This past week I shot a roll of the AP400 (purported to be Tri-X) and pulled out a nice self portrait as seen below. On Friday it was a roll of AP100 in Old Towne Orange, developed in Rodinal. This series is mainly a sequence of shapes that struck me on my walk. I also snapped a shot of my lovely fiance at ƒ1.8, to test the lens wiiiiide open - the focus on her eyes while her face fades into the creamy bokeh really struck me.

Finally, I tried out some color with the new Ektar 100 yesterday at Quail Botanical Gardens while we scouted out wedding locations. Since no reputable photo shops are open on Sunday, I went to CVS to process the negs. I know, I know, I know, I was really taking chances. But I knew I was taking a risk, and I also knew that the processing would take 20 minutes and not 2 hours-plus like the places I usually go to.

Anyway, I went into CVS, dropped off the roll, and when I returned the clerk said he put my negs in “The little plastic thing.” meaning the canister. When he said this I knew there would be a bunch of fingerprints on the negatives. My suspicious were confirmed when I went home and saw a variety of smudges along with water spots. So I reeled up the roll into my 35mm tank and tossed in some Photo Flo and distilled water. That seemed to do the trick. Scanning was another matter entirely, I must’ve spend over an hour trying to get things to my satisfaction before I could get a workflow going. But all-in-all I was happy from what I was able to pull from the Ektar roll. The film is, however, very high contrast (or it only looks good if high contrast, in my opinion). We’ll see how it performs with some 160NC… and more Tri-X… and, well, with just about anything. Awesome camera, awesome fun.

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At first it was unnoticeable, but the Autocord developed an increasing problem of scratching the negatives. After doing a variety of repairs involving steel wool and chain lube, it looks like the problem was solved thanks to Karl Ryan, Autocord expert.

Regrettably, a few rolls I shot will be unable to be enlarged to a signifigant degree.

This blog post is pretty boring, I’m distracted by watching an episode of Arrested Development. I like these photos however.

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All shot with PX125 and developed in 1:1 76, the shot with Kelly studying was Tri-X 32 in 1:25 Rodinal.

It’s been a stressful couple of weeks. I’ve moved into a new apartment, bought a new Cal-King-sized bed. I’m anticipating further expenses down the road with the whole getting married thing, as wonderful as that is.

But the good news is that I think I’ve finally pinned down a film camera kit I’ll be sticking with for a while. No more swapping, trading and buying for a while. I’m just waiting on a new Domke bag, and the elusive Olympus 35sp (which is to be my dedicated B&W shooter) to come back from repairs.

Last week was my 29th birthday, possibly the first of many 29th birthdays I shall have. I dragged my fiance to the Chino Planes of Fame air museum with my Autocord and 35RC in tow. Enjoy.

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Automazing

I think I’ve finally found a camera I feel a genuine kinship with, a real connection. Dare I call it love? Well, I wouldn’t go that far with inanimate objects. But the Minolta Autocord is becoming one of my favorite cameras. It beats down the Yashica-Mat 124g in terms of build and image quality hands down in my opinion. And looking at the images I’m getting from it I can’t say I miss the Hasselblad.

To test out this little beauty (this is the RG version 2 from 1962 by the way), I went to the Muckenthaler Motor Car Festival in Fullerton, CA. Taking photos of cars is kind of cliché in my opinion, I see a lot of Lomo squares of classic cars on flickr all the time. But cars are pretty and they stay still and they’re colorful, so they’re the perfect thing to test out a new camera with.

I brought a roll of Plus-X (a film I keep coming back to), Tri-X 320 (which I regrettably overexposed a stop), and the new Kodak Ektar 100. The retina looks more like a slide film than a color negative… and it produces reds that really do a number on my eyes as you’ll see in the pics below.

I’ve included the squares I liked, and a few cropped images - I felt some of them benefited from a crop into a rectangular format.

Up next - the Planes of Fame in Chino then followed by the new Star Trek for birthday fun!

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August 2010... The ULTIMATE Wedding!

This past weekend I proposed to my girlfriend of two years. We had talked about getting married and last Saturday we went to look at rings. Well, Kelly saw one she fell in love with that fit her pefectly. Seeing how excited she was, I realized I had to propose that night. So while she studied in the bedroom I prepared a nice meal, set up the table and the wine, and when the time was right I asked her to marry me. She nearly knocked over the table shouting YES!YES!YES! We’re planning for August of 2010. This gives me plenty of time to make ultra-romantic photos.