Early this year, I just decided to try to take on self imposed projects. The first of these is the walk across the Golden Gate Bridge. Each time I crossed the bridge early in the morning, I looked for visual elements that most people would not stop to look at. Another thing I intentionally tried was to make elements of the bridge appear as it were something else. Like the bridge lights look much like people walking in a line. So the idea was to just go an photograph.
Rolleiflex 3.5A
140905 Rolleiflex 3.5A
Today, I wanted to talk about the Rolleiflex 3.5. If you are old enough, you may remember in the 60’s when Dad would spend much time taking a picture of the family and we all had to stand still until the shutter was released. Even at that, our heads would be cut off in the picture. Ok, maybe not every time. When my Dad passed away in 1993, he left a Rolleiflex 3.5. I started to photograph with this camera and thought the negative was fantastic. This is when I started to really develop an interest in photography.
In looking at the serial numbers website, I found that it is a Rolleiflex 3.5A; Automat Rolleiflex Model 4; or a MX(Type 1), three different names. Several years ago, I had Manfred at International Camera Tech in Mountain View clean it up and refurbish some parts. Since 1993, I have acquired other cameras in different formats, so working with the Rollei 3.5 was put on the shelf. Just recently, I decided to take it out for a spin and found pleasing results. All the photographs were taken with a tripod. However, when at the Legion of Honor Museum composing the “Thinker”, a security guard walked by and said, “No Tripods. You can hand hold and shoot, but no tripods.” Of course I took a quick snap of the shutter and packed up to leave. The three images come from that same roll.
Thanks to my Dad.
Thinker at the Legion of Honor Museum
Land's End Study 02
Land's End Study 01
Going Back to the Same Location Part 2
Going Back to the Same Location II
Fort Point was built in 1861 during the Civil War and located at the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. It is a great place to photograph and practice composition and exposure. In 2013, I set up a 4x5” camera and took the following picture. I liked it and even made a silver print. The issue is the window highlights are blown out. The other thing that bothered me was the pipe at the top of the doorway.
After going back in about 5 months, I tried to enter the fort when clouds filled the sky and the range of light between the stairs and window were closer. Exposed this picture and even used a digital, thinking the dynamic range was greater than film. Not bad and I could probably work on the digital files so it would look better.
Film Scan
Digital File
The third try (or may have been the fourth) was the digital capture. I don’t do HDR so I exposed for the highlight and got this original (as well as about 5 other exposures).
Original Digital File
Chose to work on this one and arrived at this final image.
Final Image
The next step is to try again with film and develop N-1 or N-2 to subdue the highlights and make a silver print as well. It’s always a learning process. It really is practicing and what you learn can apply to other situations. Happy photographing.
Going Back to the Same Location
Each year that I return to Hawaii, I carry with me two cameras, one digital and one film. There is one location on the Big Island that I go to each year and multiple times during the week. That place is Wawaloli Beach. It is very near the Kona Airport. As I go back, one would think that there isn’t much more to photograph. That is not true. (1) You are a year wiser (hopefully) and you see things differently. (2) The conditions in the area change. (3) There may be some places that you haven’t seen, especially along this coastline as it goes for a few miles.
This is an image that was captured in 2011 with a Fotoman 617. It is a panoramic camera that uses medium format film. I had a great time exploring this area at sunrise and looking for images to capture.
Wawaloli Beach
In 2012, I decided to bring a 4x5 View Camera. As you can imagine, fewer exposures were made. There was more to see and to photograph.
Inlet
2013 was an eventful trip. As I placed the Hasselblad on a tripod down, the system found itself to be top heavy and the camera crashed into the rocks. This is when I met Don Slocum who runs Lighthaus Camera in Kona. He tried to fix it, but the damage was too great. At this point, I was relegated to the Digital Camera. It’s probably a better idea to go out with just one camera at a time, but this photographer was not going to listen to that inner voice. Here is an image that was taken on that trip. As you can see, there is lots to explore here. It was an adventure. I did purchase a Fuji 6x7 to expose film on Oahu.
Wawaloli Beach
Fast forward to this year, 2014. I went into Don’s store looking for a 24mm lens for the Digital Camera. I replaced the body of the Hasselblad and brought that along as well. Don tells me of an area along the same coast, but further North by only, as it turns out a half a mile. The lava shelf was riddled with blow holes and areas where the waves crash onto shore and cascade back into the ocean. I could have stayed there for hours, because each wave looked different. Here a couple of images from this year’s trip. If you want to look at other photographs from this year, go to the “Recent Work” page. If you are in Hawaii and need photographic equipment, go to Lighthaus Camera. They’re in Kona, Honolulu and two places on Maui. It is good to support ‘brick and mortar’ stores. We’ve already lost three stores in San Francisco. There is a website for Don’s stores that lists location and services.
Cascade
Kona
Attending the John Sexton and Charles Cramer Photography Workshop
In a one week period during the month of October, I signed up to attend a photography workshop led by one of the foremost analog photographers today, John Sexton and one of the most outstanding digital photographers, Charles Cramer. It was the best of both worlds. Assisting in the workshop was John’s wife, Anne Larsen, an excellent photographer in her own right. People who attended the workshop came from all over the world, 14 all together. We all converged on Lee Vining, CA. Many who were in the group have attended a workshop with John or Charlie before, as many of them knew each other already.
Each of the participants were asked to bring a portfolio of 10 photographs. John and Charlie critiqued the set from each of the participants as well as showed and talked about their own work. One of the most useful lessons that came out was how to detect “rogue highlights” or areas of distraction in a photograph. This was accomplished by turning the picture upside down to view. The distracting highlight areas just seem to pop out.
There were different field sessions that occurred each day. The group loaded up in a caravan of cars and headed to the destination directed by the instructors. The first afternoon, we headed for Black Point at the North end of Mono Lake. As the sun went down it got really cold. I forgot to bring my gloves so the metal tripod was hard to handle. When the sun went down, we all went to Whoa Nellie Deli for dinner. This is where we ended up each night. It is located at a Mobil gas station at the junction of Highway 120 and 395. The dinners were great, but the chocolate cake was to die for.
Parking Lot at Black Point on Mono Lake by Alejandro L. Gulminelli
On the second day, the group went to the South shore of Mono Lake. This is the most popular place to see the large tufa out crops in the lake. There were other photography groups there as well.
The next morning or the third day, we left at 6:30 am to go to June Lake Loop where we created photographs of Aspen trees along a riverbank. Then we had a great breakfast in June Lake. In the evening we travelled to Lee Vining Canyon where there was a waterfall and more Aspen.
Waterfall in Lee Vining Canyon
During this week in October, the government was shut down, so plans to enter Yosemite National Park had to be put on hold. So on the fourth day, the group headed back to Black Point to try to capture images of the moon rising. I wasn’t successful in this case, but possibly some of the others were able to create a photograph with the moon.
Mono Lake as seen from Black Point
Finally on the fifth day, the government re-opened and Yosemite was accessible. In the morning we travelled to Navy Beach, an area on the South Shore that had short tufa in sand. In the afternoon we entered the park traveling up highway 120 to Olmstead Point, Tenaya Lake and finally to Weston Lake. It is great to be standing by John Sexton, Charlie Cramer or Anne Larsen to help guide the work flow, while you are composing and metering the photograph. The sun went down and we headed back to Whoa Nellie Deli.
Weston Lake
OK, so this is starting to sound like the days of Christmas, but I have to say that the workshop was a rich and pleasant experience. So on the last day, the group mounted the vehicles and headed North to Bodie. What is it about photography and old buildings? Who knows? It was just so much fun to wander and create images. We had a picnic lunch and headed back South where we stopped along the highway to photograph groves of Aspen off the road and down a hill. From there we went back to June Lake for more photographic opportunities. This night there was no deli, but a catered dinner at the community center where we spent the week looking at portfolios and observing presentations.
Bodie Interior Design
The week went by fast and I feel that I have learned so much to enhance my photography. John said that the measure of success of the workshop will occur in six months when we are creating better photographs.
More images can be found on the Black and White page under Mono Lake Photography Workshop.