for the past couple of weeks. Don't really mind it

actually; reminds me of Belgium

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mmm...cupcakes.

Hummingbirds migrate up for the summer from as far away as central America and we see a lot of them in these parts. Probably the most agile animal you could ever imagine, they're extremely territorial so the alpha male engages in spectacular acrobatic dog fights with others that try to sneak up on this feeder. The trick is getting them to sit on your finger...

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I was sitting at work this afternoon, and all I could think was about being here instead ;)

Sunrise from the deck, looking East with Lake Tahoe on the horizon:

A few weeks ago I took a one day trip to Sandon with Karsten and Dan.  I had been to this former boomtown now ghost town in the Kootenays before.  A couple years ago, Faeryll and I explored the hiking on the valley sides above the townsite.  This time, however, there was five foot snowdrifts and no hiking, but again lots of photography.  The shot from Sandon were taken on Ilford 400 and Fuji Neopan 400, with a Rebel G, and my SMC Takumar 50 1.4 lens or my Bushnell 28 2.8 lens, both screwmount.  Perhaps the highlight of the day was Dan rappeling off of a road bridge on the way home!

All the photos are in this set at Flickr

Zenza Bronica auf Neopan im Diamalt Werk Allach, das unter Denkmalschutz steht.

Eine der wenigen Industrieruinen in München.

Zenza Bronica auf Neopan 400er

Zenza Bronica auf Neopan 400er (?)

Ebenfalls mit Bronica SQ auf Neopan 400 an der Regattastrecke

Dabei ist dieser Blog eigentlich ein Ersatz! Er ersetzt www.grauwert.blogspot.com und wird kombiniert mit einer konstanten Website auftreten. Diese wird hier zu gegebener Zeit vorgestellt.

Grauwert wird auch weitergeführt, aber nicht von mir, sondern einem Freund, der ebenfalls fotografiert.

Auch weiterhin werde ich hier meine aktuellen Fotografien posten.

Eine kleine Technikabteilung ist ebenfalls geplant.

Aufgenommen mit einer Bronica SQ auf Neopan 400er auf der Regattastrecke in Oberschleißheim.

Lately, I've been feeling increasing pressure to write in a witty, sacrastic style. The pressure comes from within, just in case you had any doubts.

More random sentences: I'm listening to a bunch of musicians who call themselves 'Why?', more specifically their latest effort titled 'Alopecia'. I highly recommend it. Pay attention to the brilliant lyrics.

This entry contains exactly three digitally manipulated images. I set a new record. I'm not counting good old-fashioned burning, dodging and reframing. The digital kind, of course.

My next post, maybe in a couple of weeks or so, will probably be about parties again. It's been a while, really. I don't know which party to choose from though: the one with the prettiest photos or the one with the hottest ladies. Since most of you readers might be male, there's a chance I'll opt for the latter. Then again, I might opt for the former. In any case, I doubt it will affect my pageviews. Because they're currently being dominated by the Studio 54 blog entry, which for some odd reason keeps racking up a lot of views.

Let's continue the random stories plot.

The nice Latvian fellow Artis recently wrote a piece on cool Belgians. Of course, he happened to bump into me, my partner-in-crime and my friends. I'll give you a brief take on that particular evening.

5D - 85mm - ISO3200 - 1/100s - f/1.2 - by MK

This sexy fellow is Tom Earthwalker, an old fried of mine with too much brains and plenty of stories to properly fill them with content. The man's travelled around a lot. Took quite a number of photographs too. On top of that, he'll fix your bike any time of the day. Did I mention he's single? He's got a slight obsession with exotic first names but I'm sure he'll make an exception just for you.

Anyway, I shot Tom using auto white balance, no flash, maximum ISO value and a peculiar absence of available light, sort of. As Artis already mentioned in his own blog: "It was impossibly dark in that joint!". Still wanted to show you the shots though, so there you go.

5D - 85mm - ISO3200 - 1/80s - f/1.2 - by MK

A second fellow who joined us on our little beer-exploring session was another old friend of mine named Wouter. A guy with too much brains paired with plenty of processing power to quickly outwit anything you throw at him. His smart mouth is matched only by my own, naturally. Too bad I lack a pair of matching brains. But I make up for it by chugging along a big hunk of photographic glass.

5D - 85mm - ISO3200 - 1/100s - f/1.2 - by Artis

Thanks Artis! This is what I look like without the aforementioned hunk of glass fixed to my eyeball. Next photograph please. Wait, lemme get some Cinnamon tea first.

5D - 30mm - ISO3200 - 1/80s - f/1.4 - by MK

It's been a while since I used someone else's lens. Artis was nice enough to let me try his 30mm. I think it's very arty, just check out the pretty vignetting caused by the massive light falloff. On a 5D, it's easy to exploit this particular feature. I think I want a 35mm f/1.4L but then again, I'm slowly beginning to accumulate too much photographic toys. Maybe it's time to actually start using all that junk.

5D - 85mm - ISO3200 - 1/100s - f/1.2 - by MK

We moved to a different bar pretty quickly, and this one was much better as far as available light was concerned. This time 'round, I was smart enough to set the white balance manually. My lovely partner-in-crime is holding the toy camera. The toy camera is a righteous bitch to focus in low-light conditions. I don't care what that Austrian shooter says about easy focussing. What puzzles me even more is that he's able to properly focus that thing while under the influence of alcohol. Must... show... respect....

For the record, Artis, I'm not jealous. I was just trying to provoke you. Mwahahahaha.

5D - 85mm - ISO3200 - 1/100s - f/1.2 - by MK

Sneaky fellow, I tell ya. Don't feed him too much beer, he gets drunk pretty quickly :-) So this bloke is a photographer in his spare time, he likes to write entertaining blogs but don't tell his personal massage partner, she doesn't know. I found out he doesn't work for the enemy, which is a relief. Other than that, go easy on the gas pedal when he's sitting in the back, you wouldn't want a hefty lawsuit pinned to the back of your Volkswagen.

5D - 85mm - ISO3200 - 1/125s - f/1.2 - by MK

I'm telling ya, my old friends were like "what in the hell are these bloody freaks doing". I guess that's photography, in a way that might be beyond the grasp of fellas with too much brain capacity.

5D - 85mm - ISO3200 - 1/125s - f/1.2 - by MK

I can see Tom second that thought too. "Hrmmmm, shooting away, aye? Lemme see that thing you're using. You can fill a container with all that glass you're carrying around." Tom happens to work for the enemy.

5D - 85mm - ISO3200 - 1/125s - f/1.2 - by MK

Hi there, gorgeous.

5D - 85mm - ISO3200 - 1/100s - f/1.2 - by MK

In the foreground: my beer. Which was excellent. In the background: Artis' beer. Which was even better. The beers are the exact opposite of each other. Allow me to elaborate: the waiter would come out and ask our Latvian friend:
"Strong or light?"
- "Light please"
"Dark or blond?"
- "Dark please"
"Sweet or bitter?"
- "Errrrrr...."

So when this waiter fellow starts his routine on me I interrupt him and say "just gimme the opposite of what he's having". Life can be simple at times.

5D - 85mm - ISO3200 - 1/100s - f/1.2 - by MK

Some delicious cheese to match the beer!

I'm going to thank my old friend Tom at this point. Tom, the next one's on me mate!

5D - 85mm - ISO3200 - 1/100s - f/1.2 - by MK

Two more shots at f/1.2, this one was taken from the driver's seat around midnight, on our way home.

5D - 85mm - ISO3200 - 1/200s - f/1.2 - by MK

Last one, using the truck's headlights. I wonder what a Noctilux is capable of, since it's supposed to be half a stop faster than my beloved '85.

Man, I have this peculiar urge to go out and have a nice beer. Might as well do it, since the lovely weather is not going to last much longer, unfortunately.

I want to briefly talk about something else now: action photography. No elaborate comments, no magic tricks, no wise words or expert insight. Just some thoughts.

5D - 85mm - ISO400 - 1/2500s - f/5.0 - by MK

This shot took seventeen takes. The bulldog is chasing a ball, as you can see. I grossly underestimated the sheer amount of concentration action & sports photographers must possess. Forget about shallow DOF, unless you have a 200mm monster (or possibly bigger). I had to revert to at least f/5.0 to get decent focus. It's meant to be a fun shot, but it sure as hell didn't feel like it, heh.

Enough about dogs, let's do some horses for the sake of the aforementioned randomness.

5D - 85mm - ISO200 - 1/250s - f/2.0 - by MK - (converted to B/W)

For some reason, I really like this image. I think it's mainly because of the way he's looking at his hands, all concentrated, making sure he's properly grabbing the reins. At the same time, he appears lost in his own thoughts.

5D - 85mm - ISO100 - 1/1250s - f/2.0 - by MK - (channel alteration)

The weather was really lovely. Sunshine illuminating everything nicely. Here's our young rider once again.

Allright, let's move on to something else entirely.

As some of you know, I recently dropped a rather significant amount of wad for the sole purpose of being able to turn the photographic clock back roughly fifty years. Yes that's right, I bought the toy camera. I came across a very well-tended specimen a while ago, and made an appointment with the owner, a professional photographer that goes by the name of Serge. Not only does he entertain himself and his viewers with some fabulous shots using his beloved Hassy, he's also a damn nice fellow. Needless to say, we exchanged quite a few words on photography, photographic gear, good coffee, and life in general. I need to make a mental note so I don't forget to check back on him, something tells me he'd like to know how his toy camera is doing right now.

M6 TTL - 50mm - Superia 200 - by Jorid

First shot with the toy camera was not by my hands. My lovely partner-in-crime took care of that when we first met up with the seller. I loaded it with a roll of Superia200 which I bought nice and cheap from a local store which was going all-digital. They even had a roll of expired Velvia, but refused to sell it to me. Don't know why, really. I forgot to ask.

M6 TTL - 50mm - Superia 200 - by Jorid

Come to think of it, I think my lovely sidekick has used it more often than I have, so far. She uses her left eye to focus, which I think is funny. Yes, it's a mirror self.

M6 TTL - 50mm - Superia 200 - by MK

What better way to try my new camera than using a pair of unsuspecting cats as guinea pigs? I need to keep a pencil and a notebook with me all the time, because I really want to remember what shutter and aperture these were taken at. Maybe next time.

M6 TTL - 50mm - Neopan 1600 - by MK

Changed the film. 36 exposures go by in a heartbeat. Fantastic.

M6 TTL - 50mm - Neopan 1600 - by Jorid

Nikki holding a black two-eyed monster in her lovely arms. I remember Bernhard always complaining about what a great job photo labs do of handling one's negs. Note to self: Bernhard is right.

M6 TTL - 50mm - Neopan 1600 - by Jorid

A semi-professional photogeek and a former professional photographer. Peter's a friend from another era. He's not particularly fond of being photographed, but I think Jorid caught him just in time.

M6 TTL - 50mm - Neopan 1600 - by MK

My turn again. Just a simple shot. Night-time, streetlights and such. Walking and focussing at the same time is not all that bad.

M6 TTL - 50mm - Neopan 1600 - by MK

Enjoying some coffee. I like the fact that a more or less decent result with the toy cam feels much more gratifying than a technically better shot composed with the 5D. Maybe it's all in the mind.

Bronica ETRS - 75mm - TMax 400 - by MK

Note the completely different frame size of the medium format Bronica. You really have to get used to the way all these cameras feel and handle. I'm currently trying them all at breakneck speeds ;-) Tmax400 was all I had for the Bronica film back, a photographer gave me a couple of rolls so I'm not complaining.

On a side note: I haven't been able to set up the darkroom so far. I know a lot of analogue heads have insisted I should develop my own stuff. I'll get around to that in good time, no worries.

M6 TTL - 50mm - TriX 400 - by MK

I think it went off by accident. Strange thing is: with my 5D I would have been able to precisely pinpoint when and where this was taken. With the toy cam, I can't even begin to guess.

M6 TTL - 50mm - TriX 400 - by MK

Switching rolls again. This time it's TriX400. Lovely partner-in-crime can be my willing subject as long a I haven't gotten used to handling this little beast. I'm referring to the toy camera, ya bunch of witless geeks.

M6 TTL - 50mm - TriX 400 - by MK

Walking the streets of Ghent, in search of a food joint. Ah.. Ghent. Lovely city. I've heard rumours that my partner-in-crime is going to move to Ghent pretty soon. She intends to take me along with her so I'm definitely not complaining. I'll raise my glass of Pastis to that.

M6 TTL - 50mm - TriX 400 - by MK

The sweet MJ, our host from the old Berlin blog entry, joined us for some food and a little chat.

M6 TTL - 50mm - TriX 400 - by MK

Yup, I'm really going for an overdose of partner-in-crime shots.

You know, the toy camera feels very comfortable and natural in one's hands. It has some undeniable charm. I'm probably going to waste another slew of frames in the next couple of weeks. Lemme know if I should try out some exceptional colour film. Or b/w, for that matter. I've become curious, so recommendations are more than welcome, folks.

Wrapping it up with some good ol' digital:

5D - 85mm - ISO100 - 1/800s - f/1.2 - by MK - (tone curve adjustment)

I hope summer will be good to us this year. Here's to 2008.

Thanks for watching & see you around in the blogosphere!

Nitey nite,
MK

Fujifilm ist dem Namen nach und speziell in unserer Branche ein Begriff für photographische Aufnahmefilme. Und in der Tat stellt die Firma diese auch her. Das Film-Geschäft trägt jedoch nur noch unbedeutend zum Ertrag der Fujifilm-Holding bei.(1)

Fujifilm-Chef Shigetaka Komori sieht die Zukunft des Unternehmens im Pharma-Bereich und kauft entsprechende Firmen im großen Stil auf: "We aim to become a comprehensive health-care company". Offenbar lässt sich das Know-how, das sich bei Fujifilm zur Filmherstellung angesammelt hat, gut für die Herstellung von Medikamenten nutzen.

Probleme mit der Qualitätskontrolle?
Fujifilm Neopan-400-KB-Container mit falscher Kennzeichnung
Photo © Martin Frech, Berlin

Wichtige Geschäftsfelder von Fujifilm sind heute Flachbildschirme und Bürokopierer, zunehmend auch Medizintechnik (Gen-Analyse, Ultraschall- und Röntgenbild). Filmfabriken wurden schon geschlossen, die Kameraproduktion von Japan nach China verlagert. Es könnte also sein, dass Fujifilm sein Filmgeschäft bald aufgeben wird.

Bei Kodak sieht es ähnlich aus, Agfa und Polaroid sind Geschichte

Somit gibt es mit Ilford nur noch eine Firma, deren Kerngeschäft die komplette Palette an Schwarzweiss-Materialien ist und die diese mit hohem Qualitätsanspruch selbst produziert.

Es gibt kleine Anbieter, die sich in diese vermeintliche Lücke drängen und den sehr kleinen Markt fragmentieren. Dieser Markt lebt wesentlich von der Nachfrage der Liebhaber und der Künstler. Diese kleinen Anbieter, die entweder Material von den Großen/Verblichenen umetikettieren und/oder manufakturähnlich selbst herstellen (wollen), verstehen es teilweise sehr geschickt, das Internet als Marketingplattform zu nutzen. Sie versuchen, den Eindruck zu erwecken, sie seien die wahren Sachverwalter der silbernen Kunst.

Ich sehe das anders und kaufe bei Ilford. Dort glaube ich meinen Materialbedarf zukünftig am ehesten gesichert, und das in zuverlässiger Qualität und einer gewissen Bandbreite. Bei den "neuen kleinen" weiß ich zur Zeit nicht zuverlässig, welche Emulsionen sich unter den Etiketten verbergen und ob sich dies bei der nächsten Lieferung wieder geändert haben wird. Auch erwarte ich von dort kein modernes Material -- diese Anbieter beschäftigen man sich m.W. nur mit klassischen Emulsionen und haben (außer mit Efkes 127er-Rollfilm) nichts zu bieten, das ich nicht auch bei Ilford bekäme. Und jeder Kauf bei denen schmälert Ilfords wacklige Zukunftschancen.

(1) Hall, Kenji: Fujifilm Focuses on Pharma. In: businessweek.com. Online verfügbar: http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/mar2008/gb20080312_471823.htm (2008-03-23)

Weitere Randgebiete-Beiträge zu dieser Thematik (Auswahl)

• Photographie ist unverzichtbar für die Menschheit
• Nachfolger für Provia 400F
• Kauft Gefrierschränke
• Ilfords SFX200 ist wieder da
• Rollei Digibase CN200 Pro

Observing full contact Wii action:

Portrait gallery:

Visual overload.

 

 

 

 

 

 

They did, last friday I got a call saying they have the rolls I wanted and I told them I'll go pick it up either today or next week.

So I planned to take a trip to Sto. Domingo to pick up the film. I purposely didn't bring my laptop and cameras except for renault for this trip.

I never ventured much around Quezon City except for Banawe, Sta. Mesa and random parts of Timog and Libis, all in the comforts of a car. So going there via commute sent me into another heaping truckload of excitement and fear.

It was easy, Sto Domingo was a major road along a major avenue so I got there with only time as my enemy. I was tempted to ride a taxi but flatly refused when the hawker gave me an outrageous price of 150 pesos.

She can shove the taxi and the 150 up her... moving on...

It was around 5:20ish when the jeep finally moved to EDSA and around Quezon Avenue. I made sure to check my landmarks and got down with an SUV beeping the hell out of me and the Jeep to have stopped in the corner.*oops.

It was 5:40.

It seems as if I was getting a bit lost, remembering the instructions of the Fuji girl, I continued to walk straight ahead and I was already going to ask for help when I saw the sign. Whee!

I asked the miss about the films, who probably looked a bit alarmed at my very confused,tired, wasted, panicky, and baffled state when she told me it was out of stock, I told her I asked someone to set aside for me some rolls and I found them, all neatly packed and sealed with my name on it :). I collected my Neopans, gave them a happy smile, went to the church for thanks and started to think on how to get home.

Yes. How to get home. :)

There were no jeeps going towards my place, and it would be really out of the way for any train rides.

Oh to hell with it, I climbed aboard a random jeep and headed myself for (mis)adventure.

*point! click! shoot! hide!
tilted quezon avenue (canon ixy 910 is)

I got down UST, and decided to make a walk for it (congrats to me). I went as far (or as near as :P) Dapitan when I found a tricycle and asked him to take me near enough to walk from my house and far enough not costing me an arm and a leg.

The ride was around 50 pesos. But at least my feet were happy. And I have my babies (lol).

hooray for expired films!

I also got some free superias from a friend who don't seem to have any use for them.Thanks Harmony ♥

Ah, what I'd do for films :)

Very nice! ~120km/h wind.

So I cannot go out and have nothing to do for school... I scanned some photos.

With a new scanner!

Not a lot of photos... since I only scanned the ones I like best.

Excuse me the bad quality... its because of the heavy compression.

Lets start with new years eve... on the way to a party.

Neopan 1600

Some nice bokeh?

I found the "Canongasse" (Canonlane) on the way to the party!

Its a VeryFine lane!

Leyla eating a "maltesers". Sweet little girl. In the back... the host of the party.

Some people felt asleep after the "gang-bang" haha.

generally because of the alcohol. I felt just fine... some just puke into jackets or in the bed or else where.

The host was happy!

Simon( insaze on dA )... the guy who "invited" me to the party. Looks like a grandpa in his pullover.

He drank just 2 or 3 beers... what a looser. Thinking about Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

now Trix@1600

One of the 2 very nice twins. Simon in the back.

Leyla didnt felt to well... so we took a walk outside and enjoied the fresh cold air.

It was snowing heavy. Simon was posing... he's a real poser.

Came across this "Heil" saying croco. In the Sky with Diamonds.

Back in the flat I ate something and we talked a bit about music. What else. Simon is in a band...

I ate some pizza and tortilla chips with some nice sauces! Then I felt tired and went home (around 5 in the morning).

Took a snap at the end.

Trams and U-Bahn´s are driving through the whole night on new years eve. I took the tram. And a shot.

The last 15min I had to walk to the flat of my sister where I slept.

Came across a bag full of exploded "Krocha's". Hahaha... insider.

Other day in vienna...(trix 1600 again).

While I was waiting for Simon in the wrong train station (wichtig!) I took this not-so-well-composed shot.

And thisone.

He was talking with the owner of the "würschtlstandl" about musik. About drinking and smoking. With his guitar and 2 dogs.

After drinking 1 vodka orange... talking about many things I went home. Simon on the left with his ueber gay face and another guy who was with us on the right side with an even gayer similing!

I missed the last U-bahn...so i walked around like 1 1/2h in vienna... just for fun mostly. Then I took the "nightline"-bus home to the flat of my sister.

Ok thats all so far. Wish you a nice and stormy weekend!

Christoph

I gave into my desire to work with Tmax 100-400 and Tri-X 400. Having had good results messing with Tmax, I decided to see what I could do.

So I bought a new lenses to accompany my Leica M4: A 35mm f/2.0 Leica Summicron

Seeing some of the shots that are on flickr though, I may try out Fuji Neopan 100, 400 and 1600 for the hell of it too. I saw some nice results with Neopan Acros and xtol or tmax rs, while I saw some incredible images with TMax or Tri-X with Diafine. I'm mostly writing the films and developers to keep that as a note when I get the film developed. Hopefully I'll have some scans of the film up here soon as well.

I gave into my desire to work with Tmax 100-400 and Tri-X 400. Having had good results messing with Tmax, I decided to see what I could do.

So I bought a new lenses to accompany my Leica M4: A 35mm f/2.0 Leica Summicron

Seeing some of the shots that are on flickr though, I may try out Fuji Neopan 100, 400 and 1600 for the hell of it too. I saw some nice results with Neopan Acros and xtol or tmax rs, while I saw some incredible images with TMax or Tri-X with Diafine. I'm mostly writing the films and developers to keep that as a note when I get the film developed. Hopefully I'll have some scans of the film up here soon as well.