Why and how this little toy camera, made entirely of plastic and worth almost nothing, can make better images than optically perfect lenses attached to high resolution cameras.
Read MoreAbout the Holga
in journal
Latourell Falls, February 2018
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
A few years ago, I made an image here using this exact same composition with my digital camera. I wanted to make it again, but this time using a long exposure... and film.
Watch the video from my Oregon Trip where I made this image.
American Road Trip Journal #22: Mono Lake (and the White Mountains)
in journal
Episode 22 of the American Road Trip Journal.
Still in the Eastern Sierra, I drove more than 2 hours from Lone Pine to Mono Lake to photograph the sunrise at one of kind lake.
I took some long exposures of the tufas, but it was so cold that I couldn't focus on the photos too much.
On my way back, I stopped by June Lake and the White Mountains, where I visited and photographed some of the oldest trees on Earth.
Back in Oregon, Day 5
in journal
Last video from Oregon! On the last day, I only had a few hours left with the rental car so I decided to visit the Japanese Gardens. An episode a bit different this time, I know, but the place is beautiful.
Tufas II, Mono Lake, December 2017
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 250mm f/5.6
Film stock: Ilford FP4+
Exposure: 125
Developer: Ilfotec HC
This exposure is very similar to Tufas, Mono Lake previously posted here.
Also taken during sunrise, with that fog / mist present over some parts of the lake.
This one is a bit more minimalistic and focuses on just one tufa, further away and in the center of the frame. The mountains in the backgound are more visible, and darker.
Tufas, Mono Lake, December 2017
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford FP4+
Exposure: 125
Developer: Ilfotec HC
This image is part of the first roll of FP4 I've ever shot. It was a bit of a gamble on my part to shoot a film stock I didn't know at a place I'd never been to before, and where I only had a few hours to spend. But it worked out just fine.
This was a long exposure of the tufas at Mono Lake, in California, just after sunrise.
Back in Oregon, Day 4
in journal
Fourth and second to last episode from Oregon. I drive to Silver Falls State Park in Salem where I photograph some subjects that I find hard to capture: trees and waterfalls.
Why I shoot Black and White
in journal
Most of my friends and family keep wondering why I deliberately ruin my photos shooting in Black and White. After all, the real world is in color. And the pictures I used to take were in color, and beautiful. Why change?
Read MoreBack in Oregon, Day 3
in journal
Third day of my trip in Oregon. This time I drive to Wasco County and the Cottonwood Canyon in the high desert, stopping first by some spots in the Columbia Gorge like the Vista House and Multnomah Falls.
Read MoreDowntown Chicago, January 2018
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
After three days trying to make this image but not being able to figure out where from, I finally found the perfect place. I headed to North Avenue Beach well before sunrise on my last morning in the city, and took a couple of long exposures.
Road to the Inyo Mountains, December 2017
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
Road through the Owens Valley as seen from Whitney Portal at sunset. In the background, the Inyo Mountains.
American Road Trip Journal #21: Death Valley
in journal
This was my second visit to Death Valley in 2017, and the second time I didn't get to do as much as I wanted to do there.
Read MoreLuna and I walking on a frozen Trillium Lake, in Oregon.
On being a photographer in a foreign country
in journal
Yesterday, I found myself thinking about an essay from *"Why people photograph"* by Robert Adams. The piece was about Paul Strand and how, according to Adams, he never achieved the excellence he showed previously after he moved to France, where he lived for more than 25 years.
Read MoreBack in Oregon, Day 2
in journal
Second episode of this series, where I go back to Oregon and visit some of my favorite spots.
This time, I go to the coast: Cannon Beach, Manzanita, Fort Stevens State Park and Astoria.
Read More
Power Plant, Michigan City, February 2018
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 250mm f/5.6 + Zenzanon PS 2x Teleconverter
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
I'd been considering getting rid of either the 250mm lens or the 2x teleconverter to simplify my camera kit a little bit.
However, I got to use both -at the same time- very recently. I made a few images of a power plan in Michigan City from the nearby Indiana Dunes, and the combination of the long lens plus the teleconverter (500mm, or 275mm in full frame equivalent) proved to be very useful. I wouldn't be able to catpure it without them.
So I'm back to the drawing board and considering keeping both for situations like this, where I definitely need that focal length.
Social Media isn't the problem. It's you.
in journal
There, I said it. Social media isn't the source of our problems, but rather a reflection or amplification of them.
Read MoreEditing Film Scans
in journal
Today's video is a bit different. And rather long. I go through two rolls of film from my recent trip to Oregon and edit the 24 shots in Lightroom.
Read MoreDune, Death Valley, December 2017
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 80mm f/2.8
Film stock: Ilford Pan F
Exposure: 50
Developer: Ilfotec HC
Another exposure of a sand dune in Death Valley National Park.
I like to play with wide apertures when making images of scenes like this one. The wind on the top of the dune and a relatively slow shutter speed helped to create this effect of a soft dune on the bottom and top.
The shadow on the right splits the frame as well.
It's also a frame from one of the two rolls of Pan F I exposed during the road trip. I should use it more often since it's a film stock I enjoy exposing.
Back in Oregon, Day 1
in journal
First video of my short trip to Oregon a few weeks ago. I was too tired to do much after several hours of travel, but I still managed to do a quick trip to the Columbia River Gorge and visit a waterfall.
Read MoreThe last of winter, Michigan City, February 2018
in photographs
Camera and Lens: Bronica SQ-Ai, Zenzanon PS 150mm f/4
Film stock: Ilford HP5+
Exposure: 800
Developer: Ilfotec HC
Watch the video where I made this image: "Shooting film: The last of winter".
I'd been waiting for a day like this the whole winter. As I said before, landscape photography is all about the conditions. I couldn't dream of better conditions for photography than the ones I had this day.
It was a foggy day, and I decided to head north to Michigan City where I intended to photograph Lake Michigan. On my way there, I stopped by multiple spots trying to make the most of that incredible weather.
One of these stops was a park outside the city, a place I spotted on Google Maps when I was approaching my final destination. I gave it a try, and I found "photography heaven".
A foggy, snowy, and calm park with beautiful trees. No one around. Mostly clean snow, with not many footprints. Incredible light. It wasn't even that cold.
I spent an hour in that tiny park. I shot almost two rolls. So worth it.