Arran Salerno.com

Here are a few more random snapshots from Italy this time.
Wish i had more than 2 clips for drying negatives at the moment. It’ll take ages to get through my developing backlog..

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.

Well yes and no.
Yes i’m checking out a “new” lens i have, but no im not taking photos of brick walls and newspapers to pixel peep corner sharpness and other crap like that.
A few guys i know have started using alot of older manual focus lenses on their DSLR’s with terrific results. I’ve always been interested in doing this myself, but have never got around to it. That has now changed. Why shoot with old manual focus lenses on a DSLR? Well….

• Its a way of using some of the greatest lenses ever made (ie. there a massive variety of lenses to try),
• They’re generally smaller, lighter, and cheaper than modern lenses,
• Many have unique characteristics and draw nicer than modern lenses,
• Build quality that still shits over most modern lenses,
• Trying something different for the hell of it.

As you can see, theres several good reasons to consider using older lenses.
From using film cameras recently, i’d already built up quite a selection of Zuiko lenses for my Olympus OM bodies. Luckily, Zuiko have made some of the best lenses in history (no you cant dispute that its a fact), so i got a cheap adapter off ebay to start using them on my DSLR.

I’m not going to keep rambling on, so i’ll cut to the chase.
This afternoon i attached my newest Zuiko, a humble and underrated 100mm f/2.8 that cost me $55 including postage from the U.S. The light was going down, and the wind was pretty strong, but f/2.8 is still pretty respectable even if it’s not exactly “fast”.
Here is what i came up with shooting wide open at f/2.8 at 200ISO. There is no processing whatsoever, its straight from the RAW. No sharpening, no level/colour adjustments. I’ve also included a 100% crop of the image. **click images for full size, the resized ones can look a little soft**

100% crop

Shooting with a manual focus lens on the 400D isnt the best combination you can think of. The viewfinder is pretty small, and it doesnt have a focus screen designed for manual focus lenses. You can buy them and they’re relatively cheap, but i probably wont bother unless i upgrade to full frame. I’ll definitely be using my other manual focus lenses form now on though and im looking forward to using the 100mm for some portrait work.

Ok, havent posted up any film shots for a while.. No working film scanner means no scans. So you have to suffer through a couple more shots of new cameras than have found their way to me lately.

The first is a terrific 124G. Been liking this medium format thing lately, so i’ve bought my own camera just incase i have to give the RB67 back (im hoping my friend forgets i have it). The Yashica 124G is a 6×6 medium format TLR that was built in between 1971 and 1986. It has a very good reputation as an entry level medium format camera with an astounding 80cm f/3.5 Yashinon lens.
There is also a non “G” model (ie. Yashica 124), that appears to sell for considerably less than the 124G. They’re actually exactly the same except for the external finish of the camera. The optics are exactly the same, and there are rumours that the 124 has stronger internal gears than the 124G. Too bad i couldnt find a 124 anywhere for sale that was in working condition, luckily the 124G is still pretty cheap (if you look around a bit).
Heres a quick pic of it

I also got these 2 things for an offer i just couldnt refuse.
One is in amazing condition, the other nice and brassed up. I actually have something special planned for the “roughy”.

Well now that my film scanner is dead i’ve been shooting some more digital lately.
Tonight my dad was working on his latest sculpture. It’s a commissioned work for one of Australia’s leading golf clubs. It’s quite an adventurous project actually. Golf is generally a conservative sport, especially when played on private courses which adhere to strict rules and tradition. Having a naked golfer at the entrance to you club isnt something that alot of people would be comfortable with. The club and members are making quite a bold statement and representatives from the R&A (golf’s governing body) loved the idea so much they’re footing most of the bill and are coming back over from Scotland for the unveiling which should be next year.
Anyway, i just got a couple shots of him tonight to check out the lighting conditions etc. I’ll be taking some black and white film shots at a later date.

Click the images for a larger view, especially the second. I just stitched two shots together for some fun. No real post processing done at all.

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