PhotoIndica Blog » Black and White

Butterflies in my stomach – Why I like Street Photography

PK — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:17:32 +0000

Street photography is a difficult art. Anticipating and capturing fleeting scenes as they happen before you is an extreme mental exercise and can leave you exhausted. You strip away everything relying only on your intuition and a keen understanding of your camera – it is photography in its purest form.

You get close to the action and sometimes end up staring into the eyes of the very subject you are photographing. You have butterflies in your stomach and get an adrenaline rush – not knowing how someone would react when they see you and your camera very briefly. I am still learning about my camera and how to operate it without even looking at the controls. I however decided not to shoot a photograph without first composing it in my viewfinder. There is something very beautiful about a well composed street photograph that utilizes the entire frame and needs very little cropping. It is a challenge but one that is worth taking.

I am turning Japanese….. I think so….

PK — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:31:29 +0000

Mira was fascinated by the Kimono and the ladies at the Japanese Pavilion (Indiana State fair) were more than happy to help

A brief review of Canon AE-1 Program Plus 50mm f1.4 Lens

PK — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:35:57 +0000

I did not know anything about Canon Cameras until recently. I have always been a Nikon guy and never owned a Canon until I came across a used Canon AE-1 camera at the local pawn shop. I paid $40.00 for the body plus lens (50mm f1.8 Canon FD lens) and another $10.00 for a Energizer A544 battery to power the metering system and the electronic shutter. The battery is supposed to last for about a year but I managed to completely drain one within a day – just don’t ask me how it is embarrassing. Just turn the switch back to the “L” (Lock) position when not using the camera and you will be safe. It wasn’t soon after that someone was selling another Canon AE-1 (not the Program version), three lenses including a 50mm f1.4, and an unused Canon Flash for $50.00. The lens itself is worth $30 – $50 on eBay and KEH. The 50mm f1.4 lens soon became my favorite combination to use with the AE-1. Although I rarely use the lens at f1.4 because it is a bit soft at that aperture. However it gives me an extra stop in a pinch which is always nice.

For a more detailed description of the camera please visit this LINK.
Here is a portrait of Mira that I took with the AE-1 Program and 50mm f1.4 lens wide open. The film used is Ilford HP5 Plus, developed in Kodak HC110 for 11 minutes at 68ºF, scanned and edited in Photoshop CS3.

The camera is an absolute joy to use and feels really solid in your hands with easy to reach controls. The meter is dead on and the camera itself is very rugged having survived multiple drops from my clumsy hands. The viewfinder is bright and big, the shutter is a bit loud but very smooth, and the film advance is just fabulous. I highly recommend getting one if you can find one for under $50.00 – you won’t regret it.

Ghosts entering the Park of the Laments Version 2

PK — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 11:20:17 +0000

Another version of the “Ghosts” theme that I wrote about the other day. I do not remember the exposure information. Film used was Fuji Neopan 400, developed in Kodak HC110 for 11 minutes at 68ºF. I use a Epson Coolscan 8000 to scan the negative and do post-processing in Lightroom and Photoshop CS3.

Celebrating Fourth of July in Highland, Indiana

PK — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 15:44:01 +0000

Small towns have the best parades. It is something that everyone looks forward to and the entire town turns out to support the troops and the community. Highland, IN is one such community. We were visiting a good friend of ours and took advantage of the opportunity to see the Fourth of July parade. We were sitting opposite the setting sun so it was pretty darn hard to get good photos of the parade. It did however work very well for the photo above of a marching officer and his US flag against the sun.

The vintage car broke down threatening to hold up the parade. But some men jumped to the rescue and pushed the car along.

And finally yes that is me with a StarWars Stormtrooper. I found him hanging out with Darth Vader

Veterans Memorial (Indianapolis, IN) through the lens of a Holga 120

PK — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 02:12:05 +0000

Hybrid digital darkroom workflow

PK — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 16:10:53 +0000

Many of you that follow my blog know that I use film for some of my work. Sometimes I get asked if I have a wet darkroom and my answer is no, but I did at one point. I got rid of it when I purchased my first DSLR, a Nikon D70. I also got rid of all my film cameras including my favorite Fuji GW670. But for the past several months I have started building my arsenal of film cameras again and I couldn’t be happier. I however decided not to rebuild a wet darkroom and instead chose to take a hybrid approach. I shoot film but all the post-processing and printing is done using a digital workflow. Here are some details about the hardware and other products I use:

Digital Darkroom Hardware:

Scanner: Nikon Coolscan 8000 and Coolscan 4000
Scanner Software: Vuescan Professional Edition
Computer: Macbook Pro with 2.5GHz Intel Processor and 4BG Memory
Monitor: Dell E248WFP
Software: Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop CS3
Printer: Epson R2400
Monitor Calibration: Colorvision Spyder Pro 2
Calibration Software: ColorEyes Display Pro
Photopaper: Epson Somerset Velvet, Hahnemühle FineArt, and Ilford Premium Plus

I couldn’t be happier with this arrangement, I get all the benefits of shooting film including access to cameras that would cost thousands for equivalent digital versions. I enjoy the process of manipulating images a lot more than I used when doing the same in a wet darkroom. I however do realize that all my time spent in a wet darkroom have trained me well to get the most out of my digital darkroom. The image you see above is what I envisioned and created in the digital darkroom and what you see below is the actual capture itself. What do you think?

Holton Valley Farm [Before and After]

PK — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 17:19:38 +0000

BEFORE

After working on this image in my Digital Darkroom this is what I got. Tools used:
1. Adobe Lightroom 2 – Preset Punch and Sharpen Landscape
2. Photoshop CS3 – Levels, Healing Brush, Selection Tools, Layers and Layer Masks, and Adjustment Layers

AFTER

The bond we share

PK — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 12:27:07 +0000

We all go through life making connections and building relationships. These relationships could be with other humans, animals, and even inanimate things. How many of us haven’t given a name to our car or talk about our electronic devices as if they were a person. This bond is especially strong between humans and animals. We humans depend on them for just about everything – food, clothing, even work.

The above photograph was captured in Downtown Indianapolis near Monument Circle. You will find many of these horse drawn carriages parked around the circle waiting for passengers. Sometimes you see a couple out on a romantic evening and at other times you see kids just enjoying the ride. The passengers change all the time, but the horse and the carriageman stay the same. They enjoy a special bond and you can see it in how they communicate and respond to each other. I took this photograph after walking around the circle a few times. I did not have any expectations as to what I wanted to photograph that day. But when I saw this scene playing out in front of me I knew I had something special.

See other interesting B&W work at The Weekend in Black and White Blog

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[Series 10 of 10]:Indianapolis at Night (408 N Capitol Ave, Musicians' Repair) Wed 25 Nov 2009
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[Series 8 of 10]: Indianapolis at Night (2305 N Meridian St, Dreams of Indy) Tue 24 Nov 2009
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Googly Eyes Turtle

PK — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 10:41:43 +0000

The above image is from one of the first rolls of film that I shot on a used NIkon F4S camera. The lens is a Micro-Nikkor 60mm AF-D lens.

Related Posts
Hybrid digital darkroom workflow Thu 21 Jan 2010
Holton Valley Farm [Before and After] Sun 10 Jan 2010
The bond we share Fri 08 Jan 2010
How to load 35mm film in a Medium Format Holga 120S Toy Camera Sat 02 Jan 2010
Man and his dog in Central Park (NYC) Wed 30 Dec 2009
Winter fun with Holga Tue 29 Dec 2009
Hey IMA - I Wanna Blog Wed 23 Dec 2009
Woman in alleyway Tue 22 Dec 2009
[Series 10 of 10]:Indianapolis at Night (408 N Capitol Ave, Musicians' Repair) Wed 25 Nov 2009
[Series 9 of 10]: Indianapolis at Night (Unknown, Headless Men) Wed 25 Nov 2009