12.30.07
Posted in Photography at 12:10 am by thomas
This is a crop from a larger photo I took a few months ago on Sutter Street in San Francisco, late at night on my way home from work.
The photo has been doing rounds on my harddisk ever since, because I couldn’t really figure out what was wrong with it. Well, the tree just to the left of the car was wrong, and now it’s gone. I like it this way much more. It captures a lot of what I like about San Francisco at night, and the vintage car just makes it perfect. You almost expect Sam Spade to walk across the street any moment now…
Taken with my trusty Kodak Medalist on Ilford Delta 100. Click for a large version.
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12.28.07
Posted in Culture, Modern Life at 11:44 pm by thomas
Being slightly bored between the holidays has its advantages… I was idly browsing through the cinema listings when I stumbled over this little gem: Helvetica
It’s a documentary not just about the font, but also about typography, print design and urban environments. It’s admittedly not everybody’s cup of tea to listen to 80 minutes of designers talking about their craft, but I very much enjoyed all of it.
The film does a great job of assembling a very elevated caste of type designers from around the world and across the decades, and the director gives them the time to expound on typography, design and specifically, about how Helvetica has influenced their work.
I very much recommend watching this movie if you’ve ever found yourself searching through your computer’s list of fonts for the “right one”.
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Posted in PhotoBlog: Camera Porn, Photography at 11:08 pm by thomas
The Jiffy Kodak Six-20 with the very stylish Art-Deco faceplate was produced between 1933 and 1937. It was Kodak’s entry-level offering at $7 ($314 in today’s money using the unskilled wage index).
The Jiffy is different from most other folders due to the use of a parallel knee-strut system to support the lens, which allows for a very slim and light body in a folder with a 6×9cm negative size. The disadvantage of the knee-strut system is that the lens is unprotected when the camera is folded.
The camera uses the now obsolete 620 film format, and it can still be used with re-rolled 120 film, since both film formats are the same size, only the spools are slightly different between them.
The lens is a very simple Twindar lens that only has two defined settings: 5 to 10 feet and beyond 10 feet. There is of course the choice of “somewhere in between”, but I haven’t found a use yet for that setting.
The shutter has only two modes – (I)nstant and (T)imed. In both modes it does not need to be rewound and the speed in Instant mode is maybe around a 60th of a second. In Timed mode the shutter stays open after pressing the button until it is pressed again.
In addition, there is a small unmarked metal slider at the bottom of the lens case that can be pulled out to change the diaphragm size, allowing for three aperture settings. This slider is easy to miss and even once found, it can easily be misunderstood to be just a support for the camera – that’s at least what happened to me for almost two years before I noticed that the slider changes the lens opening.
Pictures from this camera are generally not very sharp, but the camera has surprised me with the very moody long-time exposures (here , here and here) that I’ve been able to produce with it.
There is also a Series II model that was produced from 1937 until 1948, but the technology is not noticeably different or better, only the Art-Deco front has been replaced by imitation black leather. Given the choice I would recommend the earlier model for the better looks.
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12.09.07
Posted in PhotoBlog: Camera Porn, Photography at 10:59 pm by thomas
This is my Kodak Medalist, made in 1943. The Medalist was produced through most of the 1940s and during the war many of the cameras were specifically made for the armed forces. The military versions, like the one I own, had a black anodized lens tube to reduce reflections in combat situations. I don’t know if my camera saw any action during the war, but it sure has some interesting scratches here and there.
The Medalist was a complete re-imagining by Kodak of how to build a medium-format rollfilm camera. Most other medium format cameras of the time were folders, and to support the coat-pocket format these cameras were built relatively light.
But the Medalist was different. Very heavy and incredibly sturdy, with a big lens that extends on a bulky double-helix. There are reports that some soldiers who had been issued with these cameras actually used them in close combat by swinging them – and from carrying a Medalist around on hikes, I understand where this sentiment comes from.
When you first hold a Medalist, you are surprised by the weight of the cast aluminum body, and with more than three pounds it is a camera that never travels easy. Placed on a shelf next to other cameras, the Medalist positively looms over its contemporaries.
The lens of the Medalist is a jewel – sharp and reliable, with a large aperture. Many of the landscape pictures that I’ve taken with this camera feel very airy, light and crisp. This impression is also supported by the 6×9cm film format, which allows for wide landscape shots with a lot of breadth and depth.
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12.08.07
Posted in Culture, PhotoBlog: Found Photo at 2:05 pm by thomas
One unexpected side effect of the Web has been the wide array of websites dedicated to vernacular photos. Found photo blogs abound, but some are far more interesting than others – the eye and humor of the collector has a large influence on these sites.
One of the best ones that I’ve just recently discovered is bighappyfunhouse – a daily treat with often very poignant found photos, dug up from a seemingly endless pile of great pictures. The site owner, Ron Slattery, adds great, thoughtful commentary that often adds another dimension to the photos on display. Make sure not to miss the alt tags (roll your mouse over the pictures).
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12.07.07
Posted in Photography at 8:08 pm by thomas
I took this picture a while ago in Golden Gate park in a little bamboo grove in the Arboretum. I brought the Kodak Medalist on one of its infrequent outings, something I don’t do very often since the camera is just too heavy for a casual stroll through the park.
But whenever I use the Medalist, I am very pleased with the results. The near-cinemascope 6×9 format and the super-sharp lens deliver pictures like no other camera in my collection.
Shot on Ilford Delta 100 film. Click for a large version.
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12.04.07
Posted in Photography at 12:34 am by thomas
Since we’ve bought a new scanner I’ve been going through some of my negatives for a second pass, and this is one of the “rescued” photos that I couldn’t scan well before.
This is Spofford Alley in the heart of Chinatown in San Francisco, one of the oldest and mostly untouched alleys that criss-cross several blocks in this neighborhood. At night this alley echoes with Mahjong games that take place in every basement, storefront and upstairs apartment. It’s one of my favorite places in Chinatown, but also one that I find very hard to take interesting pictures of.
I took this shot with one of my Kodak Jiffy Six-20s late at night on my way home after work. The Jiffy is always a bit of a risky camera to shoot with, there is just not much control over the lens or the shutter. But the simple lens has surprised me more than once with its very rich colors, especially during long exposures at night.
This photo was taken on Fujicolor Superia 100 color negative film – and now looking at the leftover rolls I have here, the film may already have been expired when I took this picture. Click for a larger version.
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12.02.07
Posted in Good Stuff, Japan at 12:15 pm by thomas
Today I’ve stumbled over a great blog if you are interested in Japan: Walking in Japan by Kurt Bell is all about his hikes in the Japanese Alps and the interesting things he finds along the way.
Kurt clearly enjoys his walks through the mountains and that shows in the photos and videos that he posts on his site. I really like his hiking videos – they bring back a lot of memories of my own – albeit far less ambitious – solitary hikes in Japan.
The videos are very well done, and while he seems to be taking a bit of a break right now, I hope Kurt will be posting new hiking adventures soon…
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12.01.07
Posted in Photography at 1:10 am by thomas
Here’s a bit of a different view of Nob Hill in San Francisco. This is on Joice Street at the corner with Sacramento looking uphill towards California Street. Joice is a very narrow street, really only a steep canyon between the tall buildings near the top of the hill.
The light conditions were pretty bad as it was an overcast day and it was already late in the afternoon when I shot this picture, but I like the resulting mood and the graininess of the photo. The picture was taken with my Kodak Duo Six-20 on Ilford Delta 100. Click for a larger version.
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