Here are some more shots from Italy. I’m just trying to scan as much as humanly possible before me scanner packs it in. The quality isnt brilliant, but after an overseas trip i have no money left for a fancy new negative scanner!
Taken with Neopan400 and Tri-x400 (some EI300).. Im really liking Neopan at the moment. Maybe ive just fluked a development time/method that gives the results i want, but i cant seem to work tri-x out at the moment. Oh, all were developed in Rodinal 1+50, but i think i managed to keep the grain down (even with bad scans).
**click to view full size

Ok i’ve just about finished developing my film from the holidays so i’ll start posting shots up here.
The title of this post says it all really. I kind if got on a mission to take photos of cars/bikes/etc one day and this is what i came up with.
*you might want to click on them to see the bigger version.

I’m in the process of finally creating a proper photo gallery for my website with separate albums/galleries etc. That’s where i’ll start to put proper sets up, and put some more effort into projects i’ve started but never finished. I’m playing around with a couple different types of gallery software, but im not 100% keen on any yet. If anyone has some suggestion feel free to email me or post up here, it’d be very much appreciated.

Ok, this set of shots are just randoms from my most recent trip. I’m posting them up pretty roughly for the time being and will save the proper finished products for my new gallery when it comes to life.
Here are a few from Germany and Switzerland…

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.

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.

Have been stuck inside doing assignments all weekend, but managed to find one distraction i couldnt resist.
I stumbled on some old negatives of mine when i went to Europe with my family years ago. I was in year 10 or 11 at the time, and just started a photography class at school. The only real reason i did the class was because we had to choose an art subject and i didnt want to have to draw or paint… Yeah, um, i dont know how i’ve ended up studying graphic design now..
But anyway, the class quickly became my favourite and i would borrow a camera from school every weekend. When my parents told me we were going overseas to visit relatives i immediately thought about photo opportunities, so i arranged to borrow a camera from school.
These were the days when i didnt care about what camera or lens i was using, i dont think i ever actually knew, i’d just pick up whatever was available and loaded it with film. That was another thing, film, i couldnt care less what it was. I’d just load canisters with whatever was in the bulk loader at the time and try to squeeze 40 shots worth of film on them
I quite like the thought of not worrying about the camera im holding or the film in it. It’s almost a more “honest” way of taking photos. Not stripping quality back for the sake of getting a “lomo” look, or going out of your way to use a manual camera to have “full control”. It was purely about capturing an image. Finding the shot with whatever you have in your hands.
It all sounds nice until i remember a few things. The lens i did use for alot of shots was the biggest piece of shit. The left side was out of focus compared to the right so closeup images suffered pretty bad. The film advance lever wouldnt always engage too, so i’d get overlapped images, or just weird spacing in between shots on the film. Then i remembered how i use to put the negatives in the holders when they were still wet. Some shots that would of been half decent are now covered in dust that has dried to the wet negative..
I like to remember a more “romantic” view of taking pictures when i was younger, but i think it’d be hard to completely go back to the way i used to do things.
I’d like to think i enjoy the entire photography process more, as opposed to just the shots themselves.
Well, thats how i justify the money i spend on cameras atleast…

Here are some of the shots that werent covered in dust. This set was taken in Italy. I quite like them even if they arent perfect. It also helps to have something interesting to take a photo of too.

Just reworked an older picture of mine… Didnt take any photos this week. Too many other things happening.

Been going through the restored files on my old hard drive today and found some pictures i had totally forgotten about. They are all from my Asia trip last year, mostly in Japan though.
Its a nice finding old pictures you’d forgotten about