Analog Life, part 2

I have very cool parents and one of the major downsides of living in America is that I am very very far away from them most of the time.  Once in a while, however, I go back, or one of them flies across the Pond and stays with us for a month or so.  I just learned that my Dad is up for visiting this summer, and I can't wait - I will be 8 months pregnant going on 9, but we will still find a way and time to have the greatest family adventures possible.  Dad is a physicist and I plan on taking him to an observatory among other things.  Imagine all the photos I'll have the chance to take!

To a big extend, Dad is also responsible for my affinity for photography.  He was the one always taking pictures, and thanks to him my childhood is so well preserved.  He gave me his Zenit E when I moved to the States, and the point&shoot film Olympus.  

Here are a few images from when my Mom and Dad were students.  Mom was the Golden Girl of her generation, the captain of her handball team.  Dad was a bit of a nerd whose heart belonged to rock'n'roll.  Man, they were cool!

Taken by unknown back in the 70's, most likely with a Russian camera and a 35mm black and white film.  

More super awesome vintage analog images of me and my family.

Unexpected Development

Again, more images of my cat than of my son, but with manual focusing I have to use all the tricks I can, and this includes photographing static objects...as opposed to running after Johnny and getting a bunch of blurred, badly composed shots.  This is what I love about film - it's slow.

I am kind of in love with the Portra.  It performs so well in low-light setting and it has very little noise.

I got a new roll, this time an 800, and a Fujifilm too, so stay tuned!

Zenit E, Kodak Portra 400

35 mm of Happiness

I'm experimenting this weekend because I'm sick of waiting to win the lottery (for which I would need to play the lottery), or to find the free time to get me a lucrative enough photo gig that would cover my needs for new digital equipment. Two rolls of Kodak Ektachrome have been sitting in my camera drawer forever so I decided to give them a shot. Both are very expired - we're talking 1981 expired - which is incidentally the year I was born. I don't even care that this particular film is designed specially for controlled indoor/studio lighting. It's 64 ISO but I'm pushing it to 100. 

I have a ready roll of 120 mm film from my Mamiya, and another 35 mm (Portra 400) to finish shooting with the Zenit, so I thought it would also be nice to try out a 50 mm Nikkor lens of - get this - f/1.2 with my Nikon FM2 before I go down to Palo Alto to develop them all. EXCITING STUFF!!!

Of course, this might not work at all, which would suck. But I'm bored, and I want to challenge myself. So let's go.

Filmy....

Today I developed a roll of Kodak Portra 400 I shot with my Nikon FM2 over the past two months.  I love everything about this film.  Enjoy!

Once In July...

I had almost forgotten about this roll of film, but I am glad that I finally came around to develop it.  It is hands down the best collection of analog images I've taken so far.  The exposure settings at places are a bit off, and there's a pretty radical light leak in the beginning, but I've nailed the focus, and I absolutely LOVE everything about the subjects in the photos - my Mom is here, Shelby too, some friends, my lovely in-laws, John with his long hair (swoon!), and of course, 2 month old Johnny boy with his cute little feets, dark newborn eyes, and almost no hair.  Also, it all enfolds in our old apartment, where the lighting was just brilliant. Ah, good times!

Zenit E, Kodak Portra 400

My Adventures in Film

Here's a collection of analog images I took with 3 different cameras in 3 different countries over the span of the past 3 years.  Gosh, I love film!  I wish I could afford to do it more often... I also want to try my hand in medium format, but that won't happen soon, unless I get lucky enough to find a Rolleiflex of a Hasselbad at a yard sale and the owner doesn't quite know the real cost of twin-reflex cameras :)  Until then I'll keep enjoying my Zenit and use it with expired film.