hmm seems like my blog has suffered a near-death experience, so i’m going to post a quick update on what i’ve been doing lately… just to let this blog rise from its ashes somewhat.
so… what have i been doing lately? my studies(exams and school assignments) have taken most of my time. meanwhile, i also invested quite a lot in new photo equipment. i finally bought a Mamiya Sekor C 50/4.5(equivalent of 25mm in 35mm format) for my RB67 Pro-SD. lovely wide-angle lens with a minimal amount of distortion. just love it!
i also bought a Minolta Auto Meter VF(hurray! finally accurate light measuring when shooting with the Mamiya, instead of having to guess settings), a Metz CL4 flash and a NPC polaroid back for my Mamiya.
to be honest, i’m not too fond of polaroids because of the “cool” and “(f)arty” label many people tend to attach to it(not to mention the complete idiots that put polaroid borders ’round digital photographs… just to be cool *sigh*). i’m not going to use polaroids to be “cool” whatsoever, but rather to make proofings before i shoot with film. it’ll be handy in some situations to check on exposure, dof, composition,… in advance. i’ve already seen results of polaroids used with medium format(a great set on Flickr – both 4×5 format and 6×7 format) and i must say.. i’m really impressed by the overall image quality of polaroids.
when i woke up this morning, a USPS package was already waiting for me on the table. it was the polaroid back! i immediately cleaned the rollers and then popped some Fuji FP-100C in the polaroid back. so hereby, my first “cool” *slash* “(f)arty” polaroid!
Mamiya RB67 Pro SD w/ 50/4.5 lens and Fuji FP-100C(expired; 01/2005)
talkin’ about film… in the last few weeks, i’ve found myself a new hobby: stashing up (expired) film in my fridge (and freezer). i found sooooo many great film bargains on Ebay recently. well, see for yourself… as you can see, i’m much of a Kodak fan boy :p
this picture was taken a few weeks ago, so it isn’t up-to-data anymore.
meanwhile i received another:
- 10 rolls of Ilford FP4(220 format),
- 15 rolls of Agfa XPS160(220 format),
- 10 rolls of TMax(120 format.. don’t like TMax, but i’m going to give it another try :p),
- 5 cartridges Fuji FP-100C(Polaroid)
– 2 cartridges Polapan 100(Polaroid B/W).
i’m seriously considering a dedicated film fridge now, ’cause some people at home aren’t too happy with the fact that there’s more film in the fridge than food :’ )
there, my first (not so interesting) post after a long period of interactivity is a fact! if you really read this blogpost from start to finish, you’ve just earned yourself a virtual lollypop. enjoy!
(a more serious photo blogpost will follow soon. i’ve recently switched to a lcd monitor and i’d like to have my moniter calibrated first ’cause the blacks aren’t too black imo…)
cheers,
bert
Don’t see the point in buying that much expired film. It’s like having unprotected sex with a prostitute: you never know what you’ll get.
I put “expired” between brackets, so not all film is expired. It’s especially the Ektachrome and Ektacolor films that are expired, but those films were dirt cheap so i just took the risk and can only hope that i don’t get AIDS by doing it cheap and unprotected ;-)
Then again… expiry dates are merely an indication(for when film is stored in a dry environment with a normal temperature). So much depends on how/where the film has been stored, so in my case i can only hope for the best concerning those expired films. And if you freeze your film close to/after expiration date, it should be good for a few more years(you can’t stop cosmic radiation in the end, can you?!). All of my expired film is safely frozen now ;-)
And if the expired film would be fogged in the end, then i’ve just had tough luck. It’s not that i’m going to use expired film for serious projects without testing out some rolls in advance. Expired film will be used especially for experimenting…
“not to mention the complete idiots that put polaroid borders ’round digital photographs… just to be cool *sigh*”
Nice one! Especially since, for once, it isn’t coming from the mouth of an amateur. Seriously, I know so many of the beforementioned and they all think they’re ‘it’.
Either way, I enjoyed reading your blog, decided to leave a reply so it wouldn’t be as much as an act of voyeurism. ;-)
Minor note though (and I’ve noticed many non-native speakers make this mistake); it’s “to do” plus infinitive. Hence, “I did invest’.
Keep up the work, hope you’ll update soon.
I still would consider myself an amateur though. Photography is not my job. I just take pictures for fun (and for school), so that still smells like amateur hour to me :D
I’m glad you enjoyed reading my blog. New pictures are on their way! I’ve finally started scanning ;)
And thanks for correcting me! Now that you mention it, “i did invested” sounds really strange. What was i thinking :D Anyways… my english is far from impeccable, so people correcting me are always welcome. I might learn something ;)