Visit to a Buddhist Temple - With My Rolleiflex 2.8F

Wat Lao Buddhavong, by Reed A. George

Rolleiflex 2.8F, Kodak TMax 400 Film

 

I made a visit to a local Buddhist temple that I'd never been to before - Wat Lao Buddhavong in Catlett, Virginia. Anticipating a festival that never materialized (I guess my information was wrong), I took the opportunity to walk around the grounds. These are a few of the things I saw there.

 

Shooting with TMax 400 in the bright sunlight and with snow still on the ground meant very fast shutter speeds (1/250-1/500) and small apertures. I did use a yellow filter, which reduced the sensitivity by about 1 - 1 1/2 stops, so really, I was shooting at an equivalent of about iso 150.

 

The square composition worked well for me here. The detail that the 2.8F's Carl Zeiss Planar bring out are just amazing.

 

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Some Panoramic Pinhole Images - Buddhist Temple

Here are three 6x17 shots I recently made at my meditation class:

 

These were made with the "Reality So Subtle" panoramic pinhole camera that my wife bought for my on my 50th birthday. It shoots four exposures on a roll of 120 film (TMax 400 in this case, which I developed in Kodak D-76 diluted 1:1 for 13 1/2 minutes). The top and bottom images were made with about ten seconds of exposure; the middle one took one hour.

 

(Click Here) to read more about the camera.

 

(Click Here) to see the images above at full size on my flickr page.

 

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Refuge

Refuge, by Reed A. George

Nikon Df, Nikkor AF-D 50mm f1.4 Lens

iso 2500, f8, 1/30 sec.

 

How it felt at that moment.

 

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Meeting Frank "Tico" Herrara

Last night, I had the good fortune to meet master black and white photographer and printer, Frank "Tico" Herrara. I had shown up way early for the hanging of my images for the exhibit "Coffee and Critique: Exposed" at Glen Echo Park in Maryland. More on that below.

 

Happy to at least find the building open on this cold, windy night, I had to wait for a long while in the dark lobby, until someone showed up and unlocked the gallery and darkroom space where Coffee and Critique is held. Along comes this gentleman, who happens to have a key, and is willing to let me follow him in. When he asks why I'm there, I tell him I'm there for a hanging. He says "Oh, good. I haven't been to a good hanging in so long. I thought they were outlawed nowadays." or something to that effect.

 

Anyway, it turned out that this was none other than Frank "Tico" Herrara, the most senior staff member at Glen Echo Photoworks, winner of a Guggenheim fellowship, and excellent photographer and printer. We sat and chatted for about an hour, which gave me the opportunity to learn about his Guggenheim project, "The West Virginia Crosses," among other things.

 

In this project, Tico used the Guggenheim fellowship to "document clusters of Roman crosses that were being erected all over West Virginia by a millionaire businessman as part of a religious mission called "Cast Thy Bread.""

Image Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiZGouJYA1UUbb2WQ54ZVCSgFdbEaE-NN9YQHUTqfMPSMfAWMEaGb_d66MXvaG1Q-R3oI02LRjI1o2PLPs6brCPyi9UJwwXqUnifU7EeGXfND0NEOuyai_yVnFvmcjqYGiJEt21STQ0HO95Gfo1gomIzZ2XMoDelUepAGEbdiM=s0-d-e1-ft

 

After we'd talked for a while, I screwed up enough courage to ask Tico for input on the pictures I'd come to hang, those of my meditation practice, shot with large format film and old cameras, including a pinhole. I posted a slideshow of those images previously. (Click Here) to see that post.

 

I was pleased to hear that Tico sort of "got it," meaning the idea of what I was trying to communicate with the images. He said they definitely communicated a meditative message. That was really nice to hear.

 

So, all in all, I'm glad that I arrived so early to the exhibition hanging. My reward was to meet and spend some time with a real photographic master, one on one. Tico is a really nice guy, and I hope to get the chance to meet up with him again.

 

If you're interested in seeing my exhibition, along with about fourteen of my colleagues that take part in the Coffee and Critique sessions at Glen Echo Park in Maryland, you can (Click Here) for the details. My work will be up until January 5, 2015.

 

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Meditation Retreat Slideshow

I have been attending a meditation group for a few years now. I am not a religious person, but find the philosophical discussions and meditation practice to be very good for me.

 

Recently, one of my fellow students and her family invited us to their home for a one day retreat. Here's a slideshow from that day.

 

 

In addition to Buddhist meditation, we had a seminar on the seven chakras, or primary energy centers in the body. It was very interesting, and led to some insights for me. Importantly, the chakras are each associated with a different color. I've decided to work on a project to photograph images that I think represent the characteristics of each chakra. This could be a very long project for me, as there's a lot to cover. I've already experimented with images to represent the saccral chakra, which is associated mostly with the color orange. Once I have a few more images, I'll share them here.

 

All of these images were made with my Nikon Df and 24-120 version 1 VR zoom. It is one of the most hatest lenses by Nikon in recent years. It seems I'm on a theme of trying to make good images with the most reviled Nikon lenses. This lens's most attractive feature is ease of use. The zoom range is very useful for shooting an event, even though the f-stop (f3.5-5.6) is pretty slow.

 

I am finding that making slideshows with selected pictures is a very good practice. I learned that from David Alan Harvey at the Magnum workshop I attended last summer.

 

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Lessons from the Forest - My Upcoming Exhibition

I spent some time yesterday printing and preparing for my upcoming photography exhibit, as part of the "Coffee and Critique Exposed: The Exhibit," to be hosted at Glen Echo Park, Maryland, from November 21, 2014 - January 5, 2015.

 

I've been working on a set of photographs related to my meditation practice. I've put together five prints for the show, printed on matte paper. I'm using Epson matte paper at the moment, but may experiment with some other papers before the exhibit hangs on November 13.

 

One thing I learned from the Magnum Days workshop with David Alan Harvey is to make short slideshows of my work, as part of the editing process. Here's one that I made and posted on youtube for this exhibit:

 

 

Lessons from the Forest, by Reed A. George

 

All five images were shot on 4x5 film. The first and final shots were made with a Graflex Speed Graphic, the others with a pinhole camera. I have a lot more to do on this project, but the goal of this series was to share something of the state of mind that I achieve in meditation, and particularly in walking meditation.

 

I hope you find it interesting!

 

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Vicarious Travel, Luoyang City, China

From time to time, I see a forum post that really makes me want to see some place new, a place I've never been. This time, it's thanks to Martin Tai's post on photo.net, about Luoyang, China. He shows us several pictures of a mountainside and caves (Longmen Grottos), literally covered with an estimated 100,000 sculptures of Buddha.

 

(Click Here) to read Martin's post on photo.net.

 

Here's where Luoyang is located (thanks to Google Maps):

 

 

 

Image Source: http://photo.net/leica-rangefinders-forum/00cYk0

 

I wonder how one gets to the grottos? I've never been to China, at least beyond a short business trip to Hong Kong many years ago. I'm always amazed at the size of the country, and the diversity of regions and people there. I work with many Chinese scientists, from many different regions within the country. I enjoy talking with them about the specifics of their local areas. Languages, religions, food, all vary widely depending on where in China they live.

 

Maybe a China tour is in my future, once I get to the phase of life where I have time for such things.

 

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Dreaming in Monochrom(e) - Buddha in Snowstorm

Here are a couple of shots I made with Ilford Delta 3200 film in my Leica M4-2, at a Buddhist temple during a snowstorm. Both were made with the Zeiss C Sonnar 50mm f1.5 lens, one of my favorite lenses.

 

Wat Yarn in Snow, by Reed A. George

 

I selected 1/125-1/250 sec. for my shutter speed, in an effort to catch the falling snowflakes.

 

Parasol, by Reed A. George

 

I like how the statue's eye shows up in this image.

 

I wouldn't normally use high speed film for images like this, but it was what I had with me. I think it worked out pretty well.

 

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Fisheye Image - Zen Heart - Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 and Bower 7.5mm Fisheye Lens

As I write this, I'm on the final day of a trip to New Mexico. I've had precious little free time, which means the meeting I'm attending is actually pretty good.

 

I decided to make this a "Micro 4/3 only" trip, in an attempt to bond with my new GX7. I must say it's working. The image quality from this camera is stunning. I'm still not completely sold on how it feels in my hand, actually preferring the feel of either the earlier DMC-GX1 (which is also along for the trip), or one of the more SLR-shaped Lumix cameras (which I've now sold off).

 

Here's a shot I made at the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe:

 

Zen Heart, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, Bower 7.5mm f3.5 Fisheye lens

 

I visited the Center for an early morning meditation session (7:00 am). It was really worth the drive up from Albuquerque, where I'm staying. I was back in time for my meeting.

 

(Click Here) to read about Upaya Zen Center. They host a no-charge meditation session every morning.

 

This silver heart pendant (about 2" in size) was attached to the fence around Upaya's community garden. My lens was about 4" away from it, which is one of the cool features of the fisheye. You can get very close focus. In the background, you can see the Center and the base of their windmill (on left) and prayer flags on the back fence (on right). I like how this single image has the focal point of the heart, but also includes a lot of information about the place.

 

I really am impressed by the image quality of the GX7. Now if I can just get comfortable with it in my hand.

 

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Oh No! Banding on the GX7 Sensor? Not to Worry.

I saw a post by pisanoal on mu-43.com that initially had me worried. You see, I've only had a little time to play with my new Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, and most of that has been with the surprisingly decent new 14-42mm Series II kit lens.

 

In this post, pisanoal showed an example of the GX7 sensor producing "bands" in the image when shooting with the Lumix 20mm f1.7 (1st series) lens, which is one of my favorite Micro 4/3 lenses. Here's the example:

Image Source: http://www.mu-43.com/showthread.php?t=54486

 

Worrisome. Now here's the good news - it was shot using the electronic shutter.

 

When I was looking at the features of the new GX7, the electronic (silent) shutter came out as a major plus. I have always thought the Micro 4/3 camera mechanical shutters a bit loud. I found myself thinking, why would I ever use the mechanical shutter if I have an electronic one? The image above is one answer. The frequency of the data collection on the sensor when using the electronic sensor can interact with the frequency of some specific types of light, such as the fluorescent lights in the image above. Also, the electronic shutter cannot be used with flash.

 

(Click Here) to read the post and comments by pisanoal on mu-43.com.

 

Remembering those limitations, I have already found the silent electronic shutter to be a real advantage, as in the example below, which I shot inside a Buddhist temple. Photography was permitted in the temple, but I still found it nice to be able to shoot without drawing the attention of others.

 

 

Bathing the Buddha, by Reed A. George

Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7, 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 Series II Kit Zoom at 42mm

iso 1600, f5.6, 1/30 sec.

 

Not bad for iso 1600, at the long end of the kit zoom, wide open aperture, huh? This is a pretty impressive little camera.

 

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Skeletons From The Closet - August's Agfa Record III - Buddhist Temple

My SFTC camera for August made a huge impression on me. The Agfa Record III with Solinar is a super capable camera.

 

(Click Here) to read about the camera.

 

Producing big ol' 6x9 negatives, the image quality is spectacular, in my opinion. Here are some shots from a recent trip to my local Buddhist temple, all on Kodak Portra 400 color negative film.

 

Altar Flowers, by Reed A. George

Agfa Record III with 105mm f4.5 Solinar Lens

 

Tree Deck and Altar, by Reed A. George

Agfa Record III with 105mm f4.5 Solinar Lens

 

I wish I had lined up Buddha's face in the reflection on the rail. That would have been difficult but interesting.

 

Bell, by Reed A. George

Agfa Record III with 105mm f4.5 Solinar Lens

 

Smile!, by Reed A. George

Agfa Record III with 105mm f4.5 Solinar Lens

 

This old camera is amazing. I recently found myself looking long and hard at the modern Fujifilm GF670, a folding 6x7 medium format camera. While I was looking, the Record III showed up in my life, thanks to a package from my Mom. With its uncoupled rangefinder built-in, and accessory shoe to hold my Voigtlander CV Meter II, the Record III is very convenient to use; I don't have to carry around a separate meter and/or rangefinder in my pocket. And, unlike the GF670, the Record III doesn't need a battery to operate.

 

So, the Record III is a perfect high quality medium format camera for carrying on travel. In fact, it went with me to Maui recently. The film is off for processing at The Darkroom now, so you'll see those pics soon as well.

 

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