Shooting film in Notre Dame, South Bend

If you follow college football, you know Notre Dame. Their team is very popular nationwide, or at least that's what I've been told (I'm not a huge football fan, although I do watch games from time to time and I have my favorites - the Seahawks and the Ducks, of course!).

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ND game in Fenway Park, Boston. The only football game I've been to so far. It was fun!

Even though we are now very close to South Bend, I'd never been to the actual campus. So taking advantage of a trip I had to make there, and given that the hotel where I was staying was literally next door to the university, I finally paid a visit to the place.

I only had one hour at the one parking lot I could find that didn't require a permit, and it was very, very cold (as usual). So the photos are nothing amazing - they could've been much better if I got there just 5-10 minutes earlier though, while the snowstorm was still strong.

I'll have to go back and spend some more time there.

"Snowstorm", Indiana, January 2018

Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D76
Others: Orange Filter

On my way back from New Buffalo, I took some secondary roads looking for some farms and farm equipment that would look good in that weather: snow and heavy, dense fog.

I found a few scenes but it's hard to find a place to stop on those roads, and they can be dangerous when the visibility is so low. So I couldn't spend much time there nor shoot all the images I wanted to. But I still managed to come back with a couple I really like, this being one of them.

See more photos of Indiana.

"Island in time", Point Arena, November 2017

Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC

I can't say enough good things about Point Arena, one of my favorite spots in the whole coast of California.

On my second day there I found a mostly sunny day, very different to what I'd had a couple days before that. This weather and the beautiful landscape were calling for some long exposures, so that's what I did here.

See more photos of Northern California.

America Road Trip Journal #14: Mendocino County

Mendocino was the first "new" place to us on this road trip. It was an entirely new landscape for me to explore, and I finally had the time to do so.

Based in Fort Bragg, I spent some 2 and half to 3 full days driving and hiking around the cute small towns and beautiful coastal line that this part of California has to offer.

You can't really go wrong here: not only you have the southern part of the Lost Coast very close, but also places like Glass Beach or Mendocino Headlands.

And further south, my favorite of them all: Point Arena. I took some long exposures there that are some of my favorite photos of this road trip so far.

"Frozen rocks from a frozen world", Lake Michigan, January 2018

Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Kodak D76
Notes: Orange Filter

These big, frozen rocks were the first thing that caught my eye once I got to New Buffalo, Michigan. An inch of ice was wrapping them, like big ice cubes. They were smooth, very slippery.

I knew I wanted to photograph them, but I couldn't find a good angle / composition so I gave up and headed towards the beach.

On my way back, I looked for more images near the jetty and saw those rocks again. It was by far the most interesting thing in that place, and I still didn't have an image of it!

I finally found what I was looking for, just when I was ready to give up again due to the freezing wind chills. I saw this space in between four of those rocks, filled with snow, and I decided to compose it. I took two exposures but this is the best one.

Probably not a shot that will speak to many, but it reminds me of that day, brings back feelings of the cold, ice and snow. Frozen rocks from a frozen world.

"Windmill", Bonneyville Mills, Indiana, January 2018

Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford FP4+
Exposure: 125
Developer: Kodak D76

There aren't many places to explore around here in Northern Indiana, so I'm trying to take full advantage of those few I've found so far. One of them is Bonneyville Mills.

I wasn't alone that day so I didn't have as much time as I would've loved but I still managed to take a few shots, some -like this one- will be part of #fp4party!

See more photos of Indiana.

"Redwood", Avenue of the Giants, November 2017

Camera 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.

American Road Trip Journal #13: Redwoods

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!

Grand Canyon, December 2017

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.

See more images of the Grand Canyon.

Of scanning, writing and reading

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This weekend I took some "time off" from the blog and the YouTube channel to work on some things that needed my attention.

Scanning

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.

Writing

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.

Reading

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.

"The Elkhart Truth", Goshen, January 2018

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.

Shooting film in Goshen, Indiana

A 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.

Pier 43, San Francisco, November 2017

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

Sea lions at Point Arena, CA, November 2017

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.

American Road Trip Journal #12: The Lost Coast

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.

Bronica SQ-Ai review for Emulsive

I wrote a little review of my beloved Bronica SQ-Ai for Emulsive that you can read here.