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.

Since updating Wordpress to 2.6 i’ve had nothing but problems. A few people have told me about 404 errors, when trying to leave comments, or opening up individual posts. I was having problems with pages missing on the blog. Plug-ins arent updating even after i’ve installed the latest versions.
It’s so much fun.
Just bear with me, i should hopefully have it all sorted out this week.
I think this is the last time i update my blog when its not totally necessary.

* Edit: I think i’ve got everything fixed now. If not, just let me know. Cheers

I developed my first roll of 120 film yesterday and i already think im addicted.
Actually, thats a pretty silly thing to say. My negatives are still hanging up by themselves looking pretty because i have no way to scan them. They might not turn out brilliant, but im now addicted to medium format viewfinders, and really like the whole process (i’ve been borrowing a friends RB67). But thats a whole other story.
Anyway… Scanners… Yet another thing to spend money on =/
The film scanner i’ve been using up to now was something i bought a while ago before i was into photography, it’s well over 5 years old now. So it was just a fluke that it had film scanning capabilities that came in handy.
With film scanners you have two main varieties (for those who dont know). Dedicated scanners that you feed slides and negative strips into that dont do anything else besides scan film. Then you have the more conventional flatbed scanners that have film scanning capabilities.
Dedicated film scanners generally offer the best quality, but can be quite expensive and only take 35mm film.
The flatbed scanners are generally cheaper, offer decent quality (especially for web viewing and smaller prints), plus can take medium format film aswell.
So at this stage im leaning towards a flatbed scanner as i dont want to spend over $300, plus i need something that can take 120 film. I’m currently looking at the Epson 4490, Epson V500, Canon CanoScan 8800F, plus a couple others. I’m just trying to find some trustworthy reviews and personal opinions, as the manufacturer specifications are quite often misleading.
It’s actually bit of a pain in the ass finding the right scanner in my price range. The reality is none will really bring out the best of film, the full dynamic range that actually makes it superior to digital. So it’ll always be bit of a compromise. As long as it’s better than what i already have i’ll be happy!
Anyone want to buy me a drum scanner?

I’ve finished my Graphic Design course.
This whole month has been insane. So many assignments to get done and hand in, i almost left my run too late and didnt finish them in time. I’m very relieved that didnt happen.
The annoying thing about rushing alot of my work is that it didnt turn out as i originally wanted. So over the next couple of weeks its my goal to redo my portfolio and get something im actually proud of. Not something that reflects many late nights and half assed rush jobs like my current one does.
I also plan to redo my horrible website and actually upload some content to it. I think it’s going to mostly be html though, no flash, as it shits me and im always worried that people wont have the latest version installed in their browser. I like designing websites, its the coding thing that frustrates me. I’ll be happy if i never have to make a full website from scratch in my entire life! I doubt that will happen though.

Havent been taking too many photos over the last month. Actually last weekend was the first time i’d used a camera in ages. When i finish the roll i’ll post them up. I’ll be pushing some 400iso > 800iso for the first time so hopefully they come out!

Whats dangerous??
Well, the fact that im borrowing a Mamiya RB67 from a friend and i might get attached to medium format photography…. Thats whats dangerous.
Its big and heavy and damn ugly, but when you look through that viewfinder its bloody terrific. They you ofcourse have the 120 film itself which i’ve always been wanting to try out. Nothing comes close to the quality of enlargements and fine detail from medium and large format film.
I dont know why im letting myself try this camera out. Its actually pretty stupid. I’ve been interested in the Pentax 67 for a while now, and i need another reason to spend more money like i need a hole in the head (ie. photography has already sucked enough money out of me).
so anyway, this is the camera. An RB67 “Pro-s” made between 1974-1990. It has the 120 film back, 2 lenses; 90mm f/3.8 and a 150mm f/4. Oh yeah, and no metered prism on this baby (an expensive optional extra).
I’ll give it a go in a couple of weeks. I have about 10 rolls of cheap 120 film i’ll try and burn though, then develop along side my regular 35mm film. Hopefully i get some half decent results.

After a couple of delays i finally have my Voigtländer Bessa R3A Setup.
I originally ordered a secondhand camera but my order was accidentally sent to another person!… I was obviously pretty disappointed. In the end however, i was sent a brand new R3A for the same price of the used one.. I immediately felt better again
I have to say,  out of the many cameras i’ve owned and used, this camera feels the best.. I dont know what it is, but its the type of camera that makes you want to fire off a few rolls of film just by holding it. I cant wait to start using it. I’m bringing it to work tomorrow, haha
After i put a couple rolls through it i’ll post up a proper review and take a few “beauty shots” of the camera.
For now, heres a quick shot of some of the gear..

A couple friends and i were talking about how we haven’t really taken any photos lately. It’s Just been hard finding time with so much other stuff on at the moment. So we challenged ourselves to take atleast one photo today, of anything at all. We were all going to work so couldn’t really dedicate too much time to it. I ended up almost finishing a roll of film, but wont be able to develop and scan it before our “deadline”, so here are a couple sunset pictures taken from the car. There were some amazing colours in the sunset, so i waited until the sun went behind a cloud and shot a couple of pics with my digital p&s Fuji F10. They’re nothing amazing, but i think they turned out ok considering the limitations of the camera, the time i had, and the fact i was trying to drive at the same time =/ . Atleast i completed the challenge, i’ll see if the others have though :p
I just did a resize and cropped out soem of the bottom on the second shot, no other processing.