Arran Salerno | Photography - Blog » Random

Oh yeah, I’m still here

Arran — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:48:02 +0000

Been quite a while since my last post for a number of reasons. Nothing bad, all good, but my priorities have been with offline pursuits lately. I’m trying to minimise the amount of time I spend on the net and computers in general also, which is kind of hard seeing as though my job entails alot of computer time!
Anyway, I’m still taking photos, mostly colour though, and mostly with a p&s Olympus Mju:II – photo attached as proof! I’m finding it alot more fun with a p&s, I seem to put less pressure on myself, and photography has become alot more enjoyable. I like my photos more too.
Will give another more detailed update again soon. Have a couple of projects I’ve been progressing with, and my entire website will be rebuilt with a slightly different focus. Time has been a precious commodity lately though!

Last for a while

Arran — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 13:29:56 +0000

Just some random scans I had lying around. Been shooting colour lately, and waiting to get about a dozen rolls finished to developed them in one hit (i’ll be doing it myself). These may be the last b&w shots I post up for a while.

Sydney Camera Market… Again

Arran — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 11:20:53 +0000

I’ve been to the last few camera markets in Sydney and have had a lot of fun. A great range of cameras, most at pretty good prices. I never actually “need” anything when i go, so normally set myself a very low budget (about $20) and try to have a bit of fun searching around for something a little different.
The market this time didn’t seem to have the selection compared to previous times i’ve been. I also noticed quite a lot of the same cameras doing the rounds – they must not of sold last time. The instant vibe i got wasn’t that great, so thought that i’d have my work cut out for me this time. The place was crowded as ever(which is a positive thing), but the number of rangefinders and “cheapies” had fallen considerably.
Did the circut a few times but didnt notice anything, so started to get a little concerned. I’ve never left this place empty handed before!
As the time on the parking meter grew closer to running out, things weren’t looking good.
Desperately searching a table for something that will make my time spent worthwhile I lift up the strap of an overpriced SLR and notice the unmistakable shape of a Konica Big Mini BM-201.. I test it and buy it. Well under budget, so there’s still hope
I get to a table i’ve been to a few times before, but now have a bit of room to look around (did i mention it was crowded?). I think my eyes have trained themselves to spot out anything with black paint and the name Olympus on it. That’s how i found this little guy.
When I picked the EC up I wasn’t expecting to the silver bottom plate, and was actually a little disappointed when i noticed it. But, the added “quirkyness” of the silver bottom plate started to grow on me, and now I quite like it. I doubt there’d be too many other Panda EC’s around also.
There was a label on it saying “needs service” so i asked the vendor what was wrong, he said the shutter was stuck, but I knew these little guys were battery dependant so thought it may only need new batteries and decided to take a gamble on it. All up I was still under budget, but decided to call it quits. People were still rolling in, and I noticed an increasing number of people with an aversion to deodorant, so took that as my queue to leave.
Getting home I searched the net for battery adapters and found an easy solution involving aluminum foil – it’s pretty handy stuff.
Put some old batteries in it and hey presto, the shutter works.
Anyway, that’s that. I’ve attached a leather wrist strap to the EC and will putting a roll through it next week hopefully. It’s a neat little camera. Very compact and well built. Will try the Big Mini out eventually also. I wonder how well it performs with flash photography.

A Nice Find

Arran — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 11:38:21 +0000

Well, sometimes you get lucky.
I have stayed away from that evil online auction site for a while now, but the other week I was killing some time so took a look at the camera section. Nothing amazing really, but I found a listing advertising some Minolta SRT’s and a bag full or random stuff. For some reason I clicked on the link even though Minolta doesn’t really interest me.
In the photo, amongst all the other “stuff” I saw two other lenses which werent for the Minolta cameras advertised. They were Olympus OM Zuiko’s – now I started to get interested. I ask the seller what lenses they were and was a little skeptical about his response. But decided to bid and win the auction, eventually receiving the package a couple of days ago.

After opening the packing, the first thing I see is the original large Olympus system bag with individual compartments, so that’s a good sign. I dig around and find the lenses – 2 mint Olympus Zuiko’s.
The first is a later multi coated Zuiko 50mm f/1.4 – nice, but nothing overly amazing (plus i already have a couple)..
The other was a little more interesting – a Zuiko 24mm f/2…..
24mm f/2 !!.. In the original case too..
I wont say what I paid for it, but it was less than what some 50mm f/1.4 go for on their own, so you can probably imagine I was pretty happy.
The only other 24mm f/2 I’ve seen for sale in comparable condition went for over $1000 AUD.

Anyway, I’m dying to give the 24mm a go. Always wanted to try a 24mm on my OM system, never thought it’d be the f/2.
I’ll be running some Legacy Pro through the camera. If you havent heard of it, it’s rumoured to be re-branded Fuji Neopan and Acros – same country of manufacture, same development times, same characteristics. I’ve been interested in trying it as Neopan is probably my favourite 400iso film of all time.

They have the ugliest looking pack design i’ve ever seen though though =/

Been a While

Arran — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 14:13:36 +0000

.. Since my last post.
Nothing exciting to report really. Been having trouble finding time for photography lately. Well, I shoot stuff, but at an extremely slow rate. I’ll bring the camera out and may only shoot one frame all day. I dont know what it is, but i’m having trouble finding anything visually interesting lately.
For some reason I also have 5 rolls of film sitting in various cameras half finished and another 3 or 4 rolls already shot and waiting to be developed. I’m just not in a hurry to see whats on them.
Saying that though, the other day I got an urge to develop some Neopan 1600 (not so interested in the photos themselves) as i’d never done it before ,so went out to buy some Microphen. At the last minute I changed my mind as i felt like bit of a challenge and decided to use my normal developer – Rodinal. Probably the worst developer you can choose for high iso stuff, but i figured i’d be able to minimise the grain by altering a few developing techniques. I think it worked, i was relatively pleased with the results. Sure they’re grainy, but I dont think any more than what i’d get from another developer, plus the grain is pretty sharp which is nice too.
The roll was an old one I had sitting around, and most were of photos I took on NYE, so things got a little “messy” near the end of the roll/night. I’ll just post one up for now as I haven’t gone through them all yet.
It’s now my mission to develop another roll this week. I need to get back into the routine.

Woohoo.. I think it worked

admin — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 01:06:59 +0000

Ok, i think i managed to get this blog transferred to another server.
Things got a bit “iffy” for a few hours there, im not a fan of going into databases and editing values, but i think its all working now. Just in time for Christmas too, arent you lucky?
Anyway, don’t have much to say besides being relieved that i got the blog transferred over and didnt loose any posts/pictures in the process (i dont think).

On another topic. Heres a picture i shot the other day. First time i’d picked up the DSLR in a while. There were some really interesting storm clouds i could see form the back of my house so thought i’d get a few photos. It looked pretty dramatic. I would of loved being in that plane

Things may get a little bumpy

Arran — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:02:52 +0000

I’ll be updating wordpress and transferring my newly built website to a different host over the week. Hopefully all goes to plan. I’m not the best at these sort of things. So if my site doesn’t load up, you know why…
Wish me luck!

No, im not dead

Arran — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:40:47 +0000

Just really busy.
Sorry there hasn’t been many updates recently. Work has been pretty hectic, and my other time has gone into building my new website. That means i haven’t taken many photos in the last few weeks. I have 2 rolls to develop, but that’s it! Pretty disappointing i agree.
Anyway, not much to say now, but hopefully i finish everything before Christmas, as i intend to take quite a few shots over New Years.

P.S- Here’s a shot of the sunset a couple of nights ago from my house.

Back…

Arran — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:32:24 +0000

Came back from my overseas trip yesterday morning.
Dont really know what to say besides the fact i still wish i was away! Theres nothing exciting about coming back to the usual crap like work etc. But then theres little things like the smell of the ocean and summer that i miss about Australia. Not to mention seeing friends/family again.
The trip went very well. Ended up covering 4 countries in total and saw alot of interesting things.
I took quite a few photos, but left my camera behind on purpose some days. Photos definitely came second, as i was more interested in spending time with relatives that i rarely see than looking through a viewfinder.
Speaking of cameras, the Bessa was terrific i had it with me the majority of the time and never had any issues with it. The DSLR was very handy too but not as enjoyable to use. I didnt end up taking a shot with my digital p&s which was bit of a surprise to me.
I dont know what it is, but for some reason other countries seem to offer alot more photo opportunities than Sydney/Australia. Ofcourse theres alot of things you take for granted about your own country that visitors might find more interesting. But even when you ignore tourist spots and seasonal festivals/events , large cities like Tokyo and many of the smaller cities i visited in Europe seem to just have alot more character. And it’s the people that give it character and a sense of energy i think. I don’t know… I guess it’s not so clear cut, im dealing with generalisations also….
Anyway, i’m off to start developing my b&w film.

On a plane tomorrow

Arran — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 07:03:43 +0000

Haven’t made many posts lately for a combination of reasons. Mainly work, finding new work, and organising an overseas trip.
Tomorrow i’ll be going overseas to Germany, and driving down to visit relatives in Italy via Switzerland and other stops in Italy along the way, then stopping off in Japan on the way back. I’m really looking forward to it. They’re all amazing parts of the world.
Photographic opportunities will be endless also, so I think i’ve put a bit of pressure on myself.
There’s a few places in Italy that i’ve been wanting to shoot since my last trip over there years ago, and then there’s all of these new places i’ve never been to that i really want to take advantage of.
Theres nothing worse than being a slave to your camera when you’re on holidays, but then again i’d hate to miss out on some opportunities i may not have again. Finding the perfect balance is the real trick i guess, and there doesn’t seem to be a perfect solution.
Last year when i visited Asia (China, Japan, Hong Kong), i jut had my DSLR with one zoom and things were relatively simple. It was perfect 90% of the time. I just hate traveling with extra bulk and weight of modern camera gear. I don’t want to be one of those gimps carrying around half a dozen “pro” lenses and “pro” tripods with laptops all strapped to overly expensive “pro” camera bags so they can take holiday happy snaps. Some people like doing that, and good luck to them, it’s just not for me.
I wish i could just travel with one camera and posibly 1 or 2 lenses max, but now i’ve started this whole film thing, i cant resist taking it with me overseas. I’ve managed to narrow my gear down to 2 small individual bags (one for film, one for digital) that fit into my backpack, and still have room for the usual non camera stuff. I’ll see if i get the urge to take anythng else with me at the last minue…
I have the DSLR with a wider, lighter, smaller, cheaper zoom than i had on my last trip. Plus the usual CF cards and a lens cloth, but that’s about it besides a battery grip which i can remove if i want to lighten the load. The extra batteries will be handy though.
Then in the other bag i have my Bessa R3A with one 35mm lens and a dozen rolls of film consiting mostly of tri-x, provia, and velvia. I have no idea if it’ll me too much or enough, but i figure i can buy more film if i need, especially in Japan.
I think i’ve covered myself for most situations without going overboard. I intend not to be a slave to my camera, but i’d like it to be around when an opportunity presents itself.