Check out my new initiative, the Why Film? Project

I have started a new project where I am trying to answer why I still use film in 2025, with no end in sight.  I will answer the question in the form of a series of ‘zines, short magazine-like publications that are available in hardcopy (preferred) or pdf format.

If this topic interests you, please subscribe to my project page at 

www.whyfilmproject.com

You can also find and follow the project on Instagram:  @whyfilmproject

Here’s a direct link to Volume 1 in the zine series:

Click Here to go to Volume 1

Love to have you along!

Reed

World Argus Day - August 21, 2021

I took these with my Argus A, which has not been out of the case for a few years, I think.  I wiped the lens lightly, loaded up a roll of Delta 400, and took it with me to Harpers Ferry, WV.  Developed in Ilford DDX for 8 minutes.  Scanned on Nikon 9000.  Edited in Lightroom.  It's great to be reminded of the basics, and the importance of composition.

For more info on Argus Day, please check:

http://www.arguscg.org/events/argusday/

and

https://groups.io/g/arguscg

The Dolly Sods

 

Banner Tree, Dolly Sods, West Virginia

Nikon Z6, 14-30mm f/4 S lens, f/16,

6 second exposure, iso 50

Processed with Silver Efex Pro 2

Been a while, huh?  Well, I just felt like getting back on here today and sharing a photo from the amazing Dolly Sods, a very special wilderness place in West Virginia.  

The Dolly Sods are known for extreme weather, especially wind, which causes trees to grow branches only on their downwind side like the one shown above.  

The wind wasn't too extreme today, but too strong to hope for freezing the motion of the leaves at any reasonable iso setting.  So, I embraced it.  I wanted to show why the banner trees grow this way.  I think you can see that in the moving leaves.  Once I got home, I decided this antique photo plate treatment in Silver Efex fit the image best.

A Piece of a Dreamworld

“Love is an attempt to turn a piece of a dreamworld into reality.”

Henry David Thoreau

I shot this at sunrise in the Alabama Hills, in the Eastern Sierra of California, at the end of February.  I was taking part in an Annual Nikonians Photo Adventure Trip (ANPAT).  If you’re interested in a great series of adventures with fellow photographers, not another lesson on depth of field, you may want to look into ANPAT.  

Click Here to read my impressions from my first ANPAT, last fall.

I made this image with my Nikon D850 and Sigma Art 35mm f/1.4 lens.

Enjoying Mirrorless Again, Full-Frame This time

When I started this blog, years ago, I was immersed in mirrorless technology as an early adopter of Micro 4/3.  Gradually, I moved away from mirrorless cameras, back to full-frame digital (Nikon DSLR, Leica M9) and film of various formats.

Well, I've come full-circle in a way.  Now I'm back to mirrorless digital, but with the full-frame Nikon Z6. 

I'm thoroughly enjoying adapted lenses and manual focus digital again.  Here's a shot I made this evening with the Z6 and a Rolleiflex SL (QBM) mount Schneider-Kreuznach Xenon 50mm f/1.8 lens.  

I now have adapters for Nikon F, Rolleiflex SL (QBM), Leica M and Pentax K lenses to mount on the Z6.  Lots of fun ahead!

DMC-365.blogspot.com

Lee How Fook's

"...gonna get a big plate of beef chow mein" - by the late, great, Warren Zevon, "Werewolves of London."

As seen in Philadelphia this weekend.

The Moment It Pops

A little mini-project I shot in Tokyo.  Watching the umbrellas pop open as people left the train station, I felt like I was surrounded by flowers popping out in early spring.  Be sure to hear the audio of the umbrellas opening and the rain coming down.  

Bull Run Creek

I made this shot with the Olympus TG-5 waterproof camera, which I bought and tested today.  The camera is quite nice, and importantly, unlike my Panasonic TS-6, produces raw files.  And, it has a fast f/2 lens.  The 12 megapixel (relatively low pixel count) helps the small sensor to minimize noise, too.

In any case, here's a Lightroom "IR" interpretation of a shot I made of a tree across Bull Run Creek at Manassas National Battlefield:

Slideshow Videos - Beast Coast 2018 Parkour Event

These "videos" were made from sequences of stills shot with the Nikon D810 and 20mm f1.8 Nikkor lens, made into slideshows and recorded as videos in Lightroom.  Fun stuff.

Loudoun County in Spring

Here's my latest 6x12 image, shot on 120 size Fuji Velvia 50 transparency film, using my Horseman FA 4x5 camera.

Velvia expertly processed by Praus Productions (www.4photolab.com) and scanned on my Epson V750 scanner.

Boy, Have I Been (Digital)lazy!

I have been pursuing analog (film) photography to a great extent for a long time now, and neglecting to scan or post images.

At the moment, I'm really getting into shooting large format (4x5), mostly black and white, and darkroom printing with real chemicals.  In fact, I'm leaving soon for a five day long large format film workshop in Yosemite National Park.  Can't wait!

However, I did purchase a 6x12 panoramic back for my Horseman FA 4x5 camera.  Here are some shots I made on Velvia 50 transparency film with that rig, on a recent hike up Maryland Heights at Harpers Ferry, WV.  All shots were made with a Rodenstock APO Sironar-N 135mm lens designed for 4x5.

These were processed by The Darkroom (www.thedarkroom.com), and scanned on my Epson V750 scanner, using the Lomography Digitaliza film holder and SilverFast software.

FotoWeek 2017 Opening Party - 360 Views

Last night, I attended the opening party for DC FotoWeek, an event that is celebrating it's 10th anniversary.

(Click Here) to learn more about FotoWeek.

I took the opportunity to shoot some 360 degree panoramas with my new Ricoh Theta V, a badass little dual-sensor camera that makes these immersive images easy to produce.  Almost too easy.

Be sure to check out the final one, it's a funny little few second video of a toddler on the dance floor who takes an interest in my camera.

Here they are.  DON'T FORGET TO SCROLL AROUND AND ZOOM!

You get much better controls if you click on Theta in the bottom left of each image.

Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

A view from the fireplace:

Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

And finally, that video clip:

Autumn Color

I got out in the autumn colors today, from a vantage point at Bear's Den overlooking the Shenandoah Valley, less than an hour from home.  Here's the overall scene (don't forget that it's interactive - you can zoom and scroll around in the 360 degree panorama image if you click on image):

Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

And here are my favorite shots from the day, all shot with my Nikon D810.  The first two with the Nikkor 200-500mm, the rest with the Zeiss Milvus 50mm f1.4 (amazing lens!).

7 Day Black & White Challenge

My friend and co-worker nominated me to take part in a photo challenge on facebook, specifically, a 7-day black and white challenge.  The images are to be presented without words or description, and should not include people as subjects.

(Click Here) to see the challenge.

I’ve shown my results for days 1-4 above, all shot with either my iPhone SE or iPad Air.

Great fun, so far.

UPDATE:  Here's the final three

Dmc-365.blogspot.com

A new way to see “the Bean”

I frequently joke that the only thing to photograph in Chicago is the damned bean.  Honestly, I have to stop saying that, as this weekend in Chicago, where I’m attending the International Leica Society (LHSA) meeting has been quite engaging.

But, it took the Ricoh Theta V to make what I think is a unique image of the bean.  This was shot standing directly underneath it.

And here’s the interactive version.  Go ahead, scroll, zoom, look around!

Click Here!

Reed in the Darkroom - 360 degree view

Check this out.  I just got a new Ricoh Theta V camera, which uses two ultrawide angle lenses and two sensors to capture 360 degree spherical pictures.

Bringing together the old with the new, I shot an image in my darkroom with it.

Post from RICOH THETA. #theta360 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA

Be sure to scroll and zoom! Look up at the ceiling! Pretty darned cool, right?

DMC-365.blogspot.com

At the Skate Park

Had a blast today shooting around a bunch of uber-talented skaters and bikers.  The Nikon D810 just does everything right.

Still summer day out in the kayak.

I'm working on a nice collection of images from a recent trip to the Desert Southwest.  Just thought I'd get this posted in the meantime.

Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum

I live very close to Dulles Airport, and the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum.  The museum is incredible, and the collection includes many one-of-a-kind aircraft, including the Enola Gay, the B-29 bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.  Yet, I've always had trouble photographing there.  Essentially one huge open space, it's difficult to focus on any one thing or type of aircraft.  I'm shooting a jet fighter, and there's a biplane or helicopter, also in the field of view.

Well, today, I tried something different.  In order to isolate my subjects, I shot with a long telephoto lens (200mm f4 Micro-Nikkor, manual focus), which allowed me to focus on details of various air and space craft.  I cropped tight enough that the identity of any given aircraft is not obvious.  I also used a strong flash.  This allowed me to close down to smaller apertures, increasing depth of field, but more importantly allowed me to make anything in the background go completely black.  In other words, I only lit what I wanted to see, and the ambient light in the background was too low to show up in the pictures. 

Here are a few of my favorite results:

DMC-365.blogspot.com

Live Dead '69

Last night, I attended an amazing live music show at Bright Box, in Winchester, Virginia.  A celebration of the Grateful Dead, the show was called "Live Dead '69," and featured former Grateful Dead pianist Tom Constanten, Slick Aguilar of Jefferson Starship and the David Crosby Band, and Mark Karan who played with The Other Ones and Ratdog.

All of these images were shot on the Nikon Df, with the Nikkor 20mm f1.8 AF-S, Nikkor 85mm f1.8 AF-S, and Nikkor 50mm f1.4 AF-D lenses.  Processed in Lightroom to emulate Ilford Delta 3200 film, a treatment that I really like for live music images.

DMC-365.blogspot.com