Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 250mm f/5.6
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D76
On our way back from the Redwood National and State Parks, we saw this gang of Elk next to the road and, of course, stopped to take some shots.
They were chilling and not moving much, so I had time to set up my tripod and use my long lens, the 250mm. Not recommended to handhold that lens.
I'm not one to follow trends, but I think this one is very interesting. Some people from the film community were summarizing their year on Twitter: how many shots taken, cameras used, film stocks ran... and what not.
Read MoreCamera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
Who says you need a wide angle to photograph the ground? After trying to visualize a compelling shot using the 50mm, I decided to go with the 80mm and capture the contrast between the saline bottom of Badwater basin and the impressive, dark "wall" that the nearby mountains create (have you noticed the car?).
You might remember I picked up a Holga a few months ago as a way to shoot 120 film when the situation didn't allow me to bring the heavier Bronica along (think of long hikes or very cold temperatures).
The Holga wasn't for me, or I wasn't for the Holga.
Read MoreCamera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
I'd photographed these dunes before, but bad timing didn't allow for those "classic" shots at sunset time. This time, I was ready.
I was expecting good compositions showing the contrast between the bright sand and the deep shadows that the low Sun would create, but I found much more than that. This is just the first of a series of shots I took there and I love.
The 50mm seemed like the obvious choice here, but I decided to use the 80mm and "compress" the background more with the dunes. I thought it'd create a nice contrast between the two different types of landscape.
This is a recurrent new year's resolution, but this time I'm very serious about this one: putting my own platform, aka this website, first.
I use and plan on keeping using many social networks: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube... I believe they are very important to reach people who might be interested in what you do, no matter what that is.
But I also believe that you should have a centralized place where anyone can find almost anything about that thing that you do. A place you can refer someone to, instead of giving them your Instagram handler. And this website is not that place. At least not yet.
I've been prioritizing other platforms, posting my newest content there first, but that changes in 2018.
Let's do it.
Digital shot
Camera and lens: Sony a6000, 55-210mm 4.5-6.3
Exposure: 152-second exposure using welding glass as ND filter
These shots are digital and most of them were taken from the inside of a warm, cozy car
We are going to spend the next two months in Northwest Indiana, where the conditions are far from perfect and very, very different from what I'm used to. This is how I plan on approaching landscape photography in artic temperatures and with no wilderness in hundreds of miles.
Read MoreCamera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D-76
I finally had some time to work on a video (it'd been a while), and here it is!
The first part of the video is an update about the trip (I also posted something here a few days ago). The second half is the actual episode, the first from California.
I have a lot of footage, enough for at least another 15 episodes. But lack of time and pretty bad Internet might limit updates in the next 2-3 weeks. They will come though, eventually!
I'm sure you've read many times that camera gear doesn't matter: a good photographer should be able to make good images no matter what they are using.
Let me try to make an argument of the contrary: why I think that camera gear not only matters, but *it matters a lot*.
Read MoreHi there! I'm currently writing this on my phone at Atlatl Rock Campground in the stunning Valley of Fire, an hour Northeast of Las Vegas, in Nevada. We'll be out of here when you read this though - there's no service so I can't post it until tomorrow.
I just wanted to give you a quick update about the trip, and why there's been a the lack of updates here on the website, and on my YouTube channel.
Read MoreWhen I switched to film, there was pretty much only one thing I was worried about: metering. I didn't mind manual focusing (I actually love it and only use manual lenses on my digital cameras as well, except the one I use for video), having only 12 shots per roll, not being able to view my shots, or any other "annoyances" that come with shooting film.
It was all about metering the scene. I didn't want the camera to get in my way of taking pictures and become more a problem than something that should facilitate a creative process.
Read MoreFinally got some time to work on videos and most importantly, wifi to upload them :)
This is the first of the many to come from the road. Based in Coos Bay for that week, I make a quick visit to the Oregon Dunes and Heceta Head Lighthouse where I tried to take a shot that didn't really work out.
"Ghosts" - San Francisco, November 2017
It'd been my 5th or 6th time in SF but I was yet to see that famous fog. I only had a few days there and this isn't the best time for the Bay fog (summer is peak season) but I was determined to be there in case some floating water decided to show up. But for 3 mornings in a row, it didn't.
Read MoreI must admit, reciprocity failure was a foreign concept to me when I started shooting film. "Recipro-what?"
Read MoreLast trip to Mt Hood! This one was a very special one for me.
Read MoreThe last two episodes from my trip to the North Cascades National Park a couple weeks ago. Here I go to Winthrop, Washington Pass Overlook and I return to Diablo Lake Overlook where I was given the gift of a beautiful sunrise.
Read MoreWe are finally on the road! I'm writing this from our hotel in Coos Bay, located in the Central Oregon Coast. And reading Rachel's post about our road trip, I realized I never posted our plans on here. She listed the places where we are going to be spending our next 9 weeks, and I'll leave here some of the spots I am hoping to photograph:
These are just the "big" highlights: I hope we get to visit some places I don't even know of just yet.
