Dan's blog about Photography and things

I've been wanting to do color large format for awhile. When there were photo labs around the corner, it wasn't hard to do a E-6 process in a day or two. Now that process has gotten expensive and if you're doing sheet film, its even more pain. So my solution... Polaroid! well technically, it should be called "instant film" since Polaroid is trademarked term. I'm using  Fuji FP 100c45. But here's the twist. I wanted a different look. If I want true colors, I wouldn't bother with the cost of 2 bucks per shot.  I also was fascinated with some surface texture that I saw on polaroids.  I recently came across some sites that talks about turning a polaroid into negatives. Its true that Polariod years ago did have those positive/negative film, but they've discontinued all instant film a couple of years ago.   The process is simple. you take bleach and take off the black stuff on the part that you throw away.  Once the black part is off, you have a negati...

A night series that I did. Since I don't like to use tripod, I brought along my Zacuto camera support. This rig was made for video, but I like to use it when I have to shoot 30th or slower. Shot with Canon 5d MK2 and 50 1.2L.  The 1.2 really comes in handy in situations like this. I tried to not go over 1000 ISO because of the noise. I worked the colors to get more of a mood. Hand holding the camera allowed me to work the angles more freely. Click on the image to see the full series.

Took out my Linhof 4x5 field camera out for a spin. Tripod, cable release, focusing cloth, loupe, lightmeter, and film holders! The gang's all here. Linhof Technica III, (circa 1940's) with Fujinon 150mm 5.6 a modern lens design.  Bull Run Park near Manassas VA.The camera is wonderfully made with machined aluminum with German engineering. Like Butter. Working with a 4x5 is a whole different world. It takes long to set up and there are so many things that you can screw up. "Did I cock the shutter? check focus?, meter reading, dark slide out? lock the movements?... There are like 13 different steps that you have to make to take a picture.  So why do it when I can just point my 5d and shoot in easy one two steps?  Reasons may vary, but I do it because of the camera movements. The tilts, swings, shifts. These cameras were made so you can technically control how the image hits the film plane. You can achieve "technically perfect" images, whatever that means.  ...

I love this little camera. Its a point and shoot but it has the micro 4/3 sensor (half size of full frame 35mm). The pancake 20mm 1.7 is the perfect companion to this camera. The field of view is like a 40mm lens on full 35mm format. Yes, you can swap lenses with other 4/3 system lenses. You can put an optical viewfinder on the hotshoe. They have an electronic finder for this cam, but I prefer the 'real' image from optics (no delay).  Sugarloaf Mountain. GF-1 20mm 1.7 Its small enough to fit into a jacket pocket. It shoots 12mp. I've sold images from this camera to stock agencies and they don't even know its from a point and shoot! You can manually focus using the ring. Try that on a point and shoot. I thought my 5d was close to perfect, but the size to quality ratio of the GF-1 is unbeatable. The shutter is pretty loud despite the fact that there is no mirror. One of the few drawbacks. Auto focus is very fast too. If you're a pro or serious amateur looking for ...

A small personal project video. I mixed some still photography in it. Also looped the windshield wiper sound that somewhat syncs to the video and still. I though that rhythmic pounding of the drum from the song went well with the motion. Used Panasonic GF-1 with a 20mm 1.7 Pancake lens. All shot handheld. Enjoy! P.S. The rendering on this site is quite awful. See the HD version here

I've lived in Baltimore when I was attending Loyola College. Its a 'boutique' city, I guess you can call it. The part of the city that I always liked was the industrial areas near the water. If you've been in baltimore you've seen this building. This is the famous Domino Sugars building. You usually see the sign glowing in the dark from the Inner Harbor. I tried to show it from a different perspective here. The cloud was nice but not enough. So I waited around for the bird to fly by. Shot with 50 1.2L. The shutter speed was very fast since the lens was pretty much wide open during the day. With me moving the camera looking for the right bird, if it wasn't for the fast shutter speed, the building would've been blurred.  These trucks with the telephone pole and its shadow made a nice dividing line for the composition. Shot with 28mm 1.8.  I like the way that this photo is more about geometry than a 'place'. This is a back alley way of many row h...

I don't like the cold.  When you see yourself knee deep in freezing water to get a shot, you're either stupid or crazy. I prefer the latter description.   ND filter (7 stops!) Its a Hoya multicoated. Fantastic filter. I "toned" like selenium (for you youngsters, its a darkroom thing) in LightRoom.  The cool tones makes you want to put on your wool hat. My foot slipped on a patch of ice on a rock dunking my leg into the freezing water.  Hopping from rock to rock in icy condition is not recommended to the uninitiated. For photographers, highly recommended! I used around 15 to 30 sec exposure. Iso set on 100 for low noise, around f9 to f11 for deep depth of focus, tripod, mirror lock up, 2 sec self timer so I don't shake the camera with my hands. This photosession is almost opposite of what I did on my last post. You do what you have to do to get the shot you have in mind. My 5d mk2 worked flawlessly in the cold. Battery life was good too.  Shooting in ...