It’s been a while since I’ve made an entry here at Former Airline. The truth is I haven’t been doing much photography lately outside of work - in which I’m doing a whole lot of photography. I really must make an entry on my actual professional photography.

One other thing that’s been occupying my time is my impending wedding. We’ve finally set a date for May 30 2010. I’ll have just turned 30 years old. I can’t be 30 already can I?

The wedding will be at a charming little place called the Café Mozart in San Juan Capistrano. It has a nice little European flavor, a beautiful little courtyard to get married, plus it’s great for couples who value frugality.

Last night we got into gear and dressed in our casual best in order to make some save the date cards that would include a photo of the both of us. I almost wanted to hire a professional to do this because taking a photo of yourself, let alone two people, can be difficult. It would have to be posed, no spur of the moment chance, or split second windows of time in which our love would explode on the sensor. But the results were pretty good regardless (plus we saved a few hundred dollars by doing it this way…. seriously some photographers charge $600 for engagement photos).

At first we went to a regional park, but I wasn’t feeling the location. Plus it was still a bit too bright out for Kelly’s sensitive eyes. But later on we went to another park closer to home where things started clicking.

I tried using my strobe but, again, it’s difficult to use (I should really REALLY take a workshop on artificial lighting). The natural light at the time was just about perfect luckily, although I had to use a higher ISO. Plus, because I was setting the timer and rushing to the camera, I had no idea how we appeared in the frame so I had to crop a fair bit as a result. But it should all be fine in a 4×6 or even a 5×7. The real question now is which one to send out?

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There’s a tide pool on a beach called Crescent Bay, somewhere between Crystal Cove State Park and Laguna Beach. I like to go there because I can usually find parking pretty easily and it has some great local tide pools. Not as rocky as the one at Point Loma, San Diego, but it’s nice.

Anyway, I’ve been going there to snap some timed exposures of the waves. It’s a pretty messy business and I always end up wet or slimy. But I always have fun.

The first shot in this series was done a couple of weeks ago. I was unsatisfied with it to a certain extent because I felt it was a bit underexposed, and I wasn’t used to the developer (HC110). So I went back this past weekend to snap a few more shots with Pan F Plus (iso 50). I got even wetter and dirtier than before. That’s OK though, I liked a few of the shots. However, I did somehow make a nasty scratch into the emulsion of the first frame. Luckily, with the magic of photoshop, you can’t notice!

I have a Zero Image 135 pinhole camera that I bought on a whim appearing soon. My fiance had better come home soon from the east coast or else I may buy more camera gear to keep my mind occupied.

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This weekend I’ve barely fired a frame. We’ve been busy scouting wedding locations. The moment we think we’ve found the perfect place, there’s always a factor pointing up in another direction. However last weekend I was a regular shutterbug. Face constantly behind the camera. The main reason was that I acquired a new Olympus OM2. You may be asking why I would get a new Olympus OM SLR when I just got one last month? Well, this one is black you see. Also, I can stop up and down with the OM2 at 3rd stop intervals. So there!

The films I used this weekend were Arista Premium 400 (which is rebadged Tri-X) and Adox 25. Yes, iso 25 film. Super slow, super fine grained. I think I’ve come to the conclusion, when it comes to 35mm at least, that I’d refer using a higher speed film like Tri-X (which is a versatile film that I feel captures the essence of 35mm photography) or a super fine grained film like Adox/Efke or Ilford Pan F plus (which is suitable for big enlargements and detailed work). ISO 125 films like Plus-X just seems so mendium-grained and nothing special in this small format. I also don’t think I should bother shooting color in 35mm any more either - I’m always much more satisfied with color results in medium format.

As for the content of these test shots: Last weekend the coast of Orange County was hit by a deluge of killer waves. Life guards were extra busy and when I was there they were compelled to close the beach. That didn’t stop spectators from looking at the giant waves as you’ll see. The biggest of the waves occured at the jetty in Newport Beach called “The Wedge”. Which was a great locale for people-watching and street (or in this case beach) photography.

The second set is from a local traile called Santiago Oaks canyon where I used the Adox 25. I kept my tripod in tow when I used filters which wasn’t exactly a succesful endeavor because the camera’s meter doesn’t seem to respond to it correctly. I’ll have to compensate the exposure by a full stop next time.

And the last set was a shoot with my favorite model - my fiance. I’m such a lucky guy.

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It’s been a while since I’ve made an entry here at FormerAirline.com. I could give you some excuses but I just think I’ve been lazy.

Back at the start of the month I had the idea I should employ the services of a model to expand my skill set. I made an inquiry as to where to acquire one at my usual haunt at RangeFinderForum.com and they pointed me to ModelMayhem.com. Within a day or two of joining a model named Maile and I set a time for a shoot.

Since she was an inexperienced model, and me an inexperienced photographer when it comes to these things, I think we were well matched. Although, looking back at the work, I think I still have much to learn when it comes to photographing a model. One of the elements to that is I need more equipment. At least a decent reflector.

I haven’t made any progress since that weekend I signed up at the site. Personally I think it’s a very outdated site with all the sophistication of MySpace circa 2005.

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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 Æ’1.8, 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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