I've had color filters for quite a while now, but only recently I started using them to my advantage. In fact, the orange filter lives -almost- permanently on my lens now.
Read MoreLast week, I headed just over the Michigan border to photograph a beach I visited 4 years ago in New Buffalo. But it's been so cold that the place doesn't look like a beach at all. It's a frozen world.
Read MoreCamera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 50mm f/3.5
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D76
This is my favorite shot from our last trip to the Redwoods. It was a quick drive through the Avenue of the Giants so I didn't have too much time, but I did get to enjoy these magnificient trees again.
Watch the video about the Redwoods.
More photos from Northern California.
Episode 13 of the American Road Trip Journal.
The Redwoods! The talles trees on Earth.
We drive through the Avenue of the Giants, where some of these huge trees have had their home for hundreds of years.
It's a very short video because this was just a stop on our way to Mendocino, where we'd stay for a few days after this.
I took a few shots but I don't talk about them this time. They were mostly snapshots so I'm not going to pretend that I gave them much thought. I still hope you enjoy the episode!
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
No matter how many photos of the Grand Canyon you'd seen, or heard about it, or read about it, it will happen: your first glimpse of the canyon will take your breath away.
I got that glimpse little by little. I got to the Canyon almost an hour before sunrise in a very cold morning (4 layers of clothing under my coat wasn't enough for the wind chills) and I promptly headed to the nearest viewpoint.
There was enough light to realize I was in front of something big, very big. But the deepest parts of the canyon were still in darkness so I couldn't grasp the full scale of it.
I took this photo well before the Sun rose just behind me. I needed to do something to fight the cold, and thinking about exposing some film helped me in that battle.
I wasn't expecting much of the photo though. Not only was it dark, but also very hazy.
But I love the result. This image looks almost like a painting, and it's my favorite from that morning, against all odds.
This weekend I took some "time off" from the blog and the YouTube channel to work on some things that needed my attention.
I scanned 14 rolls of film: 8 from the road trip and 6 of my most recent shot rolls. I'm still working on this as we speak, I have another 18 from last year.
I also worked on my upcoming free ebook, "Examples of the PNW". It's finally coming together and I hope to have it out very soon. Consider subscribing to my newsletter to get it as soon as it becomes available.
Finally, I did some reading as it's one of my new year's resolutions. I've finished 3 books this year so far: Purple Cow by Seth Godin, How to sell your art online by Cory Huff and Astrophysics for people in a hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson. The topics couldn't be more different! I might talk about them in the future, I'm not sure yet.
Photography-wise, I'm still working on Ansel Adam's The Negative. A book that has proven to be a bit too dense for me, although packed with very useful information. I recently started Why people photograph by Robert Adams, book I'm enjoying a lot, and I have some more coming in the mail soon.
And now, back to our regular programming.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford FP4+
Exposure: 125
Developer: Kodak D76
Walking around downtown Goshen, I stumbled upon this scene: a frozen newspaper in the snow.
I shot this image handheld and using a relatively slow ASA (FP4 box speed is 125), so I used a wide aperture. Focusing wasn't easy but I got the paper in focus - although it might not look like it on some parts because it was covered in ice.
I took a couple exposures because I really liked the scene, and it turned out as I was hoping.
Watch the video Shooting film in Goshen, Indiana.
See more photos from Indiana in the archive.
We've been in Indiana for two weeks already, and besides a couple of quick outings, I haven't been shooting much. Yesterday, I decided to stop being lazy about it and just get out. My destination: the Indiana Dunes, some one hour and a half away.
Read MoreA short break from all the road trip videos to show you the little town of Goshen, Indiana.
Last week, I went for a walk around downtown and shot some photos while it was snowing. I loved the atmosphere but unfortunately I couldn't shoot for as long as I would've loved to: it was cold, very cold. I couldn't feel my fingers, nor my toes, after just half an hour.
But I had fun doing something I'm not used to, I got a couple shots I like and I experimented recording this video with my iPhone. I'll be doing it again!
Photos were taken using HP5+ and FP4+, both from Ilford.
You can find some of those photos in the Indiana archive.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D76
While our week in San Francisco was mostly about spending time with family, I got some time to take some shots by waking up really early every morning.
My main goal was to shoot the Golden Gate in the fog, and maybe some random exploration of the city. I wasn't expecting to go to Fisherman's Wharf at all but somehow, I ended there one morning before the crowds arrived.
This is how I got this shot without having another 25 people in front of me.
As I said before, wake up and get out.
About the shot itself, I only wanted an exposure of this arch so I waited a few minutes until the pidgeons were doing something interesting around it. It was very hard to tell what the shot would look like, but I tried my best to get the contrast between the dark birds and the white arch.
I was hoping for more, but I got 4 where I wanted. Plus the ones resting on top of the arch. Overall, I like how it turned out. But next time, I might want to take 2 or 3 shots to increase my chances.
More photos: Archive -> San Francisco
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
Point Arena was one of my favorite spots in the Mendocino area, and that's why I went there twice leaving behind some other places.
The first day I got rain and fog. The second time I got Sun and a very bright day.
As you can imagine, this image was made on the first day. It's a long exposure of some sea lions hanging out on those rocks. I was hoping they wouldn't move too much for a few minutes so they'd still look sharp enough. And looks like I was right, they didn't move a lot.
You can find more photos from Northern California in the archive.
Episode 12 of the American Road Trip Journal.
On this episode, I drive to the Lost Coast. Still in Northern California, and still on the same day - this happens after we went to the Fern Canyon.
The Lost Coast is a mostly undeveloped part of the coast of California. There are a few small, remote towns and not much else. There are some roads but they are pretty bad: it took me almost 2 hours to reach the coast from Eureka.
From there, you have miles and miles of coast to explore. You'll find some livestock roaming on private property you can't trespass, so don't expect to be able to go anywhere you want.
For that, you might want to head further south, where the road doesn't reach. The King Range mountains await you there: you can either climb them or hike along the coastal trail.
But of course I didn't have time for any of that in just one afternoon / evening. I barely got any time to spend there, but managed to take a few shots I'm happy with.
I wrote a little review of my beloved Bronica SQ-Ai for Emulsive that you can read here.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
Near the town of Lee Vining, approaching Mono Lake, at dawn.
I was on my way to the tufas that morning, and with the Sun almost peaking out in the horizon, I had not much time to spare. But then I saw this tree on the left side of the road, and I had to stop and take an exposure.
The fog was accumulating in the lake just behind the tree, that stood dark as no light was hitting it. The sky was already bright from the approaching sunrise.
A scene that really depicted this place.
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D76
You can't go wrong with the Mendocino area at sunset time. This photo was taken from the Mendocino Headlands, a long exposure of about 5 minutes using an ND Filter.
You can notice a person on top of the rock. I thought he'd be there for just a few seconds and leave, so he wouldn't be in the image at all. But that guy stood there for more than a couple minutes - or half of my exposure. I knew he was going to be there, somehow.
But I like the result! He's still easily removable from there but I decided to kept the ghostly figure. I think it adds something to the photo and maybe... just maybe... even tells a story (stories in landscape photographs is something I've thought a lot about, and I don't think it's a thing... but this might be a good topic for a whole new post).
This might be one of the biggest misconceptions about landscape photography, and some might frown upon but I'm going to say it: you don't have to go deep in the wilderness to take amazing landscape photos. In fact, a lot of the greatest shots were taken either from a car or from the side of the road.
Read MoreCamera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford FP4+
Exposure: 125
Developer: Kodak D76
Notes: an orange filter was used
While photographing the Oregon Dunes, I noticed this cloud that was forming a few miles away. It was just behind a hill and I couldn't tell if it was touching the ground or not but in any case, it was very low.
Everything happened really fast: I was taking shots of the ground behind a big dune, the shape of the cloud quickly changed to what you see here, almost like ready to hug or eat the grove of trees (I swear I can even see a face).
I took 2-3 shots of it trying to use the dune to my advantage, hiding the otherwise very busy foreground to keep the cloud as the main and only subject of the image.
I wanted more exposures without that dune though, but by the time I as able to go around it the cloud had already changed to something different and not as interesting.
Another lesson to be learned: when there's weather like this, windy and clouds forming and dissapearing so fast, keep an eye on them at all times and be ready!
Watch the video about this trip: American Road Trip Journal #8: Oregon Dunes and Heceta Head Lighthouse.
250mm vs 2x Teleconverter + 150mm f/4 lens: pretty much the same size
A few months ago, I bought a Zenzanon PS 2x Teleconverter. I thought the combination of 150mm + teleconverter could replace the 250mm and make for a lighter system. Turns out, I didn't really use it too much. But as we are getting ready to move overseas, I'm faced with the same question again: portability or better quality, teleconverter or long lens?
Read MoreCamera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 250mm f/5.6
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D76
First thing you see when you arrive to the Lost Coast (from Eureka) is this settlement. You guess it's not so lost after all. But then you see that there's pretty much nothing else after that: not even a road after a few miles.
This was taken from Mattole Road, on the way to Petrolia.
I tried to capture the vastness of this place, contrasting it to these few buildings. How they were built in probably the only somewhat protected spot.
I used the 250mm lens, but the 150mm might have worked as well. The longer lens allowed me to place the "town" all along the foreground though, with the road leading towards the horizon and the emptiness.
