Bill Smith's Photography

Messing Around with Colour Again.

2012-02-07T16:26:00.001-05:00

More scenes from our sort of winter 2012.

Location: Belfountain Conservation Area

Camera: Nikon N90s, Nikkor Ais 35f2, Nikkor Ais 24 f2.8 lens.
Film New Portra 400.

There is Winter in Southern Ontario in 2012

2012-01-30T15:21:00.003-05:00

You just have to look for it, in this case north of Olde Base Line Road in Peel Region one hour's drive northwest of Toronto. Frustrating as a skier when you get a mild spell during the week and disconcerting when you start thinking about climate change and what it will mean in the following Summer. We need that snow to replenish the water table for the lakes and rivers, and further north prevent forest fires. People don't think about that. Personally I like an old fashioned -10c winter with about 40 cm of snow on the ground and more on the way for the ski hills.

Camera: Mamiya C220f, Sekor 65 f3.5 lens.

Film: Fomapan 100, Rodinal 1+50 developer.

2012-01-16T15:23:00.002-05:00

I was given a rather zen bit of advice back in December from an old friend. I was suffering from what can best be described a dark period from late November to about a week before Christmas and she advised me to be the water. This post is for my friend Shelagh and her advice, it was timely and I'm feeling much better about things.

Camera: Mamiya C220f, various lenses,
Film: Fuji Neopan Acros 100 processed in Tmax 1+4 developer.

Location: Beflountain Conservation Area (off season) one hour northwest of Toronto.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T10:04:00.001-05:00

Welcome to winter photography season.

All shot in the Belfountain and Terra Cotta.

Camera: Mamiya C220f, various lenses
Film: Kodak Tmax 400, Tmax developer 1+4 dilution.

Family Shot

2011-12-24T14:12:00.002-05:00

Back in October an old dear friend Anne Headon reached out to me via Facebook with a favour, she wanted some family portraits taken with her partner Glenn and son Will. I have known Anne since high school and I'm friends with her older brother David. Turns out her partner Glenn and I grew up in the same part of Montreal (Montreal West/Western NDG), it felt great meeting someone from the old neighbourhood who remembered landmarks and I wound up making a new friend from this photo shoot.

From what I took that day in the fall I think this image captures the joy of this family and Will is the spitting image of his dad.

Walking Up Hazleton Avenue

2011-12-17T11:01:00.000-05:00

Photography in December in my part of the world is a fleeting opportunity with the late sunrises and early sunsets. I was fortunate to have a nice afternoon walking around Yorkville in Toronto last Sunday. I like the residential part of Hazleton Avenue with it's late 19th century architecture. If you have to ask how much the row houses are, you can't afford them.

Camera: Series E Rolleiflex with a 75 f3.5 Zeiss Planar Lens.
Film: Ilford HP5 400 processed in Xtol 1+1.

Hilton Falls On

2011-11-29T16:50:00.001-05:00

Took a morning walk in the woods to scout out a future Oakville Camera Club outing. The original thought this would be the winter photography outing but I think this would work better as a late May/early June photo walk instead.

Camera: Series E Rolleiflex with 75 f3.5 Zeiss Planar Lens
Film: Ilford Delta 100 processed in Tmax 1+4 developer.

Wandering Around Downtown with a Leica in Hand

2011-11-15T14:18:00.001-05:00

Camera: Leica M4-2 with either a Canon 50 f1.4 or Voightlander 35 f2.5 Color Skopar Lenses.

Film: Legacy Pro 400 processed in Xtol 1+1.

Location: Downtown Toronto very late afternoon on a Sunday late last month.

The Nines at the Rivoli

2011-11-14T15:04:00.001-05:00

Taken at the International Pop Overthrow at the Rivoli, Friday November 11.

An audio taste of the Nines:

I met the lead singer Steve Eggers back in university years ago and have been a big fan of the band since the early 1990s. I wish the Nines play a bit more often because most pop music these days is dreck.

Cannington On.

2011-11-06T15:08:00.000-05:00

Cannington Ontario is roughly an hour's drive North East of Toronto and my family settled there in the 1830s after coming over from Forres Scotland. George Smith was a merchant with his son (my great grand father) William George Smith taking over in the latter half of the 19th Century. It's a real small town and I can see why a bunch of Smiths (my branch of the family) moved down to Toronto before WW I. I went back up to explore, I think I was the first one back in two generations. It's nice to visualize where your family put down roots and later leave. The Smiths were a prolific bunch and have a lot of relatives spread out over Durham region and other parts of Ontario. Some I have met and others I have not.

2011-10-18T20:55:00.000-04:00

There's something cool shooting with Nikon F's and this one makes number three for me. This particular camera basically sat around a dry storeroom for almost 40 years and never got used and the meter works just nicely with Wein cells.

2011-10-11T16:10:00.000-04:00

From Friday's hike up at Forks of the Credit Provincial Park after lunch. Camera: Rolleicord IV Film: Fomapan 100 processed in Xtol 1+1.

2011-10-04T20:17:00.003-04:00

I have been using Vuescan as my software interface with my Epson V500 since I got my Macbook Pro back in July and with my black and white workflow, it's amazing. With colour film, still trying to get it just right and I think I'm getting there. This past weekend the Oakville Camera Club had an outing up at Forks of the Credit Provincial Park, thankfully the rain held off until 1 PM. It was fun even though I was leading a large group of photographers and one Australian who was scared she would get lost. The fall colours I found this year to be muted, partially because 40% of the leaves were already down after a storm that went through and it was a dry Summer.

2011-09-19T15:50:00.002-04:00

SpringMiriamFrom the Friends of Bill Project, an open ended portrait series of friends and colleagues shot on a variety of gear and film. In this case: Mamiya C220f, 105 F3.5 Sekor lens (great for portraits). Film: Kodak Tmax 400, Tmax developer 1+4.

2011-09-08T17:32:00.000-04:00

Wow, City Days and City Nights opens this Saturday at 1 PM at Sovereign House in Oakville A little background on this project: I tapped my friend Les lengyel who was part of the In the Shadow of the GTA Greenbelt project last year and my brother Alex to do something really different in terms of subject. Everyone loves landscapes in the countryside but there is beauty in the city too. The goal of City Days and City Nights is highlight the urban landscape not to make a grand statement but to show when you start looking around you will see some interesting stuff, sometimes in the morning other times late at night. I hope to see you there, for further information and directions please visit the City Days and City Nights site.

Mono Cliffs August 2011

2011-09-01T14:48:00.001-04:00

You can never keep me away from Mono Cliffs Provincial Park for too long. Camera: Asahi Pentax Spotmatic F, various Super Multicoated Takumar lenses. Film: Legacy Pro (Fuji Neopan) 400, Xtol 1+1. Scanned with Vuescan interface and tweaked in Aperture.

2011-08-08T15:57:00.001-04:00

The July Night Photography Outing on Toronto Island with the Oakville Camera Club.

Ok, we had the best of intentions when we planned this night shoot from Toronto Island back in the dark depths of winter. Who knew Taylor Swift was playing the Air Canada Centre and parking went from the usual $10 flat rate to $30. We got to Centre Island and migrated over to Olympic Island and I got this:

Toronto Island security came along and kicked us off Olympic Island with the reason being it was closed for an event. All I could see was the remains of an event with a stage being torn down, what ever, we migrated over to Centre Island and I then captured the skyline in all its glory:

That was the easy part, getting off Centre Island was a challenge after 10 PM. It seems there was a large Indian cultural festival and the City of Toronto in it's infinite wisdom did not schedule extra ferries to get people off the island. We spent an hour and a half in line, it got annoying when Western Hare Krishna converts started chanting non stop with a good natured fanaticism only converts to any new religion embrace.

Personally I don't care what you believe in, please don't share in a long slow moving line with hordes of other tired people who just want go home and sleep.

Camera: Mamiya C220, various Sekor lenses.
Film: Kodak Portra 160 NC.

2011-08-08T15:43:00.000-04:00

Harbourfront 2011

I had a chance to do a solo photo walk of Harbourfront before the July Oakville Camera Club photo outing on Toronto Island where we shot the skyline at dusk and after nightfall. I love Harbourfront, busy in the Summer and bitter cold in the winter and there's always something going on.

Camera: Nikkormat Ftn, Nikkor O 35 f2 lens.
Film: Ilford Delta 400 processed in Tmax 1+4.

2011-07-15T16:57:00.001-04:00

Wandering Around the Beaches after dinner.

Camera: Leica M4-2, Film: Kodak Plus X 125 processed in Xtol 1+1.

2011-07-05T14:32:00.000-04:00

Whenever possible, go for a long walk in the woods. My friend Lindsay prefers it to day at the spa for relaxation and to restore balance in her busy life.

2011-06-26T17:40:00.000-04:00

Still Pondering the Beast.

Still debating what to do with the Beast....slay, make peace, or am I the beast?

Camera: Rolleicord IV K3B
Film: Fuji Neopan Acros 100 processed in Xtol 1+1.

2011-06-20T15:10:00.001-04:00

Sherman Falls

Running water has a great way of calming frayed nerves.

2011-06-07T14:27:00.005-04:00

Experimenting

This should kill the ugly rumour I only shoot black and white and street and landscapes as subject matter.

My friend Lindsay is looking to get some headshots done for her Linked In profile and I wanted to experiment doing portraiture with my Rolleicord with a Rolleinar I and test drive Kodak's New Portra 400 120 film. For now this is the test drive of camera and film. Stay tuned for the shots I take of Lindsay downtown Toronto.

I am very impressed with this emulsion. Kodak trends towards reds and yellows with their C-41 films and this compliments Lindsay nicely.

2011-06-04T14:06:00.002-04:00

Going back to Mono Cliffs tomorrow.....

2011-06-01T13:26:00.000-04:00

Back to Mono Cliffs Provincial Park

Camera: Olympus OM-2n,Film: Fuji Superia 200, Location: Mono Cliffs Provincial Park, Mono Cliffs Ontario.

2011-05-28T08:56:00.000-04:00

Old film cameras find me. My friend Liz Reid gave me this Canon FTb about two years ago and I finally got around to getting it overhauled. Along with my F-1n I am back in Canon FD mount in a big way. I can see why people love Canon lenses.

Ok, if the future Mrs. Smith doesn't show, I'm getting a Ducati just like this.

2011-05-04T20:14:00.001-04:00

From a Friday afternoon walk mid April up at Limehouse Ontario.

Camera: Mamiya C220f, Sekor 65 f3.5 lens,
Film: Ilford HP5 400, HC110 Dil. B for five minutes at 20c.

2011-04-27T16:25:00.000-04:00

Experimenting with a Bay I Rolleinar I close up lens attachments and I love the results.

All shot with my Rolleicord IV with Kodak Ektar 100 colour film.

2011-04-20T15:44:00.004-04:00

Spring's Here in Colour!

Rolleicord IV + Kodak Ektar 100 in 120 = Brilliance!

2011-04-14T12:42:00.001-04:00

Lost Weekend in the Beaches.

2011-04-13T18:48:00.000-04:00

More Fun with the Rolleicord and a roll of Tri-x 400 in the City.

That other Season in Toronto, Construction!

2011-04-11T19:41:00.001-04:00

Spring's here, finally.

2011-03-28T16:12:00.006-04:00

There's a reason why I don't go to camera shows that often, usually I go wanting to purchase one or two items in this case a Nikkor Ai(s) 35 f2 lens. There was only one dealer with that particular lens and he wanted almost twice as much as the going market value on Ebay and KEH.

In frustration I just started browsing the tables and I found this bad boy, a Rolleicord VI K3B from late 1953.The speeds fire correctly and the both the taking and viewing lenses are in great shape. I did really well on the price and I walked out with something way cooler than just a lens, I now have two Rolleis.

I ran a test roll of Ilford FP4 through the camera and got this:

this:

and this:

Oh yeah, I metered the scenes from an iPhone app I downloaded two months ago, makes a pretty serviceable spot meter in a pinch.

2011-03-26T16:12:00.002-04:00

Spring time in Oakville

2011-03-06T15:34:00.002-05:00

Part two of the OCC winter photography outing.

Camera Olympus OM-1n,
Various Zuiko Lenses
Kodak Plus X processed in Xtol 1+1.

2011-02-24T17:04:00.002-05:00

From the Oakville Camera Club winter photography outing up in Belfountain Ontario back on Saturday February 12th.

Shot on a Series E Rolleiflex with a 75 f3.5 planar lens.
Film: Ilford Pan F 50
Developer: Rodinal 1+50.

2011-02-22T10:54:00.004-05:00

I'm a rock and roll photographer and don't you forget it.

and here is a concert video of the Shanks in action (I had no hand its production):

2011-01-28T16:33:00.001-05:00

Gone skiing.

2011-01-12T13:25:00.002-05:00

I have a soft spot for Nikkormats:

This is what you can get out of a 40 year old camera body and pre-ai Nikkor lenses:

From the recent the recent snowfall from last Saturday:

2011-01-03T15:35:00.002-05:00

I made my return to the darkroom back on New Years eve did some printing and experimenting with selenium toning for the first time. While I was using RC coated paper, I only saw a minimal colour shift but to my eye more detail came out in the image.

Selenium toner renders the residual silvers into an inert state, however there are some drawbacks, one, it stinks really BAD. Two, you are messing with heavy metals so proper protection is required and don't inhale too deeply. I should make two fibre prints and try this process and see what I get.

2010-12-29T10:28:00.003-05:00

I have been experimenting with different black and white films lately, I just picked up a bulk roll of Ilford Delta 100 and two 36 exposure rolls to try out. My favourite medium speed film for 35mm, Kodak Plus X is getting harder to find in bulk lengths these days.

I was gifted a huge jug of Tmax developer a couple of months ago and it makes Delta 100 sing. I found my go to 35mm medium speed film going forward.

2010-12-23T15:17:00.002-05:00

One lens I got from Alex along with the Canon F-1n is the legendary FD 35 f2 with the chrome nose complete with the radioactive rare earth glass element. All I can say is wow, the results are mind blowing and the 35 f2 lens weighs a ton especially mated with the Canon F-1n body. I pack a two lens set up if I'm in the city the 35 lens along with the 100 f2.8 telephoto. Anything more, my briefcase gets heavy.

2010-12-12T13:50:00.004-05:00

A continuation of the last post with my Beach photowalk last Saturday.

I really like the below shot, the woman looks like she is confounded by choice with the Kew Beach Park Xmas tree lot. They do sell some of the nicest trees in the city and if I did not have an allergy to whatever rides along with fir, pine or spruce I would have a real tree from here in my living room.

2010-12-05T17:08:00.003-05:00

Had a major case of GAS recently, it coincided with my brother Alex's garage sale of camera gear and it resulted in I being the new owner of a Canon F-1n, their answer to the Nikon F3 along with a bunch of FD lenses.

I love the F-1n and with what I now have in lenses FD 28 f2.8, 35 f2, 50 f1.4, 50 f1.8, 100 F2.8, 135 f3.5, and 200 f2.8 plus a FTb and AE-1 Program bodies, I don't need to get anything else.

The above two photos were shot along the boardwalk in the Beach neighbourhood in Toronto yesterday afternoon.

2010-11-22T13:32:00.004-05:00

It's been a busy two months and I finally got back back into the swing of printing. I find working in the darkroom takes my mind off more weighty (personal and professional) things that are currently on my mind.

Somehow I lost my photography mojo a bit of late. Part of it is due to being very busy with the Oakville Camera Club's Capture Oakville Photography Competition and related exhibit as well as dealing with other stuff that life throws your way.

I'm also frustrated with my job search, as you figured photography is my passion but PR/communications and marketing pay the bills, it allows me to tell compelling stories for a living and I love doing that. The job market however is not so cooperative, for now I am still slogging along, leads are welcome especially in downtown Toronto.

2010-10-27T20:02:00.003-04:00

My annual fall hike along the Bruce Trail almost did not happen this year. For some reason October has been really busy for (still not making money yet) but I managed to sneak out and go for a walk in the Dundas Valley near Ancaster Ontario. Funny thing, I could not get away totally from civilization like I would at Mono Cliffs. I still need to get away, maybe after all the leaf raking is done.

I used my Nikon FE and shot Kodak Ektar 100, my go to medium speed colour film. If you think this looks great in 35mm, you should see the results in medium format.

2010-10-06T17:12:00.002-04:00

Wandering downtown Oakville at night between the rain showers with a Rolleiflex, tripod, light meter and two rolls of Tri-x 400.

2010-10-04T11:44:00.003-04:00

All taken within a few blocks along Bay St. in downtown Toronto with my new to me Black Olympus OM-1n with Legacy Pro 400. This the raw material for an exhibit next year, stay tuned.

2010-09-09T17:05:00.002-04:00

Yes you can shoot slide film in a Leica M3, I did downtown and I love what I got from the 50 F2 Collapsible Summicron. I used expired Kodak Elite 100 E-6 film stored in the freezer for the past couple of years and I plan to use up what's left of my slide film stash as I am getting worried that slide film processing is going to disappear.

If slide disappears, I will just shoot with Kodak Ektar 100 in 35 and 120 mm, it's such a nice film to work with.

2010-09-04T16:40:00.002-04:00

I went back downtown a week ago for a solitary photowalk and I'm finding a lot more inspiration within the brick and concrete. I really like using the Rolleiflex for urban photography because it's light and you get a big negative out it for printing.

The two best times to walk around downtown is first thing Saturday morning and rush hour during the week. You get very different photographs even standing in the same spot.

I also want to explore the nooks and crannies downtown, the small side streets, you never know what you might find.

2010-08-21T19:38:00.002-04:00

Oakville Jazz Festival 2010

I got an opportunity to catch both the Alex Pangman and Matt Dusk shows at this year's Oakville Jazz Festival and they both did perfect sets with the ease of seasoned veterans.

I used my OM-2n and the Zuiko 75-150 F4 Telephoto zoom for most of the shoot and I love how they turned out. This is a really nice lens, much lighter than the legendary Vivitar Series one 80-210 Macro Zoom which has its own cult.

2010-08-01T15:50:00.003-04:00

Back to the City

I'm done with nature for a while, back to the city I go.

Shot a few weeks ago on a Sunday morning Downtown Toronto with a Nikon F3HP with a variety of Nikkor lenses with Kodak Tri-x film processed in HC-110 Dilution B.

2010-07-27T14:34:00.003-04:00

KC and the Moonshine Band, July 24, 2010 at the Cadillac Lounge

I still have my concert photography mojo, in fact it has improved since I last shot KC and the Moonshine Band at the Cadillac Lounge. I am very impressed at how well Legacy Pro 400 film handles a challenging shooting environment like a bar with a stage.

I used my Nikon FE, a variety of Nikkor lenses, the Vivitar 283 flash and Legacy Pro 400 processed in Xtol 1+1. I should ask KC if the flash distracted him at all on stage. I found I got much better results with a flash than say pushing the film to 1600 ISO and hoping for the best.

2010-07-06T19:18:00.003-04:00

My first exhibit In the Shadow of the GTA Greenbelt starts on Saturday July 17 at 1 PM at Sovereign House on 7 West River St. in Bronte Village in Oakville Ontario. My co-exhibitors are fellow Oakville Camera Club members and friends Gary van Eijk and Les Lengyel.

Sovereign House is Open 1-4 PM Saturday, Sunday and Wednesdays and In the Shadow of the GTA Greenbelt runs from July 17 to 28, 2010.

My prints will be available for sale at $200 each.

View Larger Map

2010-06-25T15:34:00.003-04:00

Been very busy with a couple of projects including my own Shadow of the GTA Greenbelt project which is being hung July 17 at Sovereign House.

I have been doing a lot of urban photography, a combination of street and architecture before and after job interviews downtown. I find it relaxes me and the material collated is starting to gel into a future exhibit idea.

All the images posted below over the course of a few weeks with an Olympus OM-1md, a variety of Zuiko lenses and Kodak Tri-x 400 processed in HC110 Dilution B.

2010-05-15T15:19:00.004-04:00

I finally dragged my brother Alex out to Sherman and Tiffany Falls last weekend. He is an accomplished photographer with very little spare time on his hands. I was working with my trusty Rolleiflex while he worked with a Linhoff 4x5 press camera.

It was a rare opportunity for Alex to shoot something out in nature (he lives in Toronto), my nephew Marcus however while loving the idea of being in nature quickly got bored after 20 minutes at each site. My long term game plan is to introduce Marcus to hiking, maybe in a few years.

I got some great images out of this excursion and a few will be in an upcoming exhibit in July at Sovereign House in Bronte. More details to follow on that event.

2010-04-17T20:28:00.002-04:00

This past Friday night I got a chance to get back into the darkroom for a print making session. I printed Crossing Wellington on Ilford Multigrade IV Matt fibre paper and Brookfield Place on Ilford's RC Pearl.

What I struggled with for ages before switching to Kentmere was I was having the hardest time getting decent blacks out of Ilford paper regardless if it was RC or FB. I found by opening up the enlarger lens from F8 to 5.6 and shortening the exposure time under the enlarger head I got magic.

2010-04-15T20:22:00.003-04:00

Playing Around With Different Film

I am by and large a Kodak Tri-x/Ilford HP5 kind of guy for 120 format film. I do shoot slower once in a while but for most applications I stick to a 400ISO film and play around with it.

Now for a bit of a change I picked up a half dozen rolls of Fomapan 400 under the Arista.EDU Ultra label from Freestyle Photographic out of LA. I have used their slower speed films (Fomapan 100 and 200) in 35mm with great results but I wanted to try something a little bigger and I really like the results.

I shot the first roll at 250 ISO and processed in Rodinal 1+50 for 11 minutes at 20c and got the sharp results below. I plan to print this negative this weekend to see what I get enlarged on paper.

I took this down by the lake in Old Oakville with a Rolleiflex Series E 3.5.

2010-03-28T16:11:00.002-04:00

I got my Leica M3 Back last week, Gerry up at Kindermann Canada does amazing work on Leica M mount rangefinder bodies and my M3 feels like a new camera after its CLA (clean, align and lubricate).

I took the camera out on a street shoot in Riverdale with Toronto Photowalks and I will talk about group in a future post. It was a great afternoon and I found I left the 50mm lens on the camera, I think on the second roll still in the Camera, I put the 90 f4 Elmar lens on once for one shot.

2010-03-19T19:59:00.002-04:00

My Rolleiflex is back from Gerry at Kindermann, I had to send it in for warranty work, something went wrong with the film advance, turns out a small part broke. Well I have the camera back and I took it up with me on my last ski day at Caledon.

As you can tell there's no snow on the ground, the daytime high was +18c. I shot the below photographs before and after skiing.

I used Kodak Plus 125 a nice old school medium speed black and white film and processed with Xtol 1+1. I prefer my film with a bit of character, my brother Alex prefers tube grained films like Ilford Delta, Kodak Tmax and Fuji Acros. I do to on occasion but I prefer a retro look to my work.

I ordered a half dozen rolls of Fomapan 400 in 120 from Freestyle Photographic and I can't wait to try that particular film out.

2010-03-09T20:43:00.002-05:00

Want a versatile lens, reach for a 50mm for 35mm or full frame DSLR sensor. I have used in portraiture on the bottom (thank you Alex), landscape on the on the East Hill and documentary on the West Hill Patio at the Caledon Ski Club.

I shot the below images with a Zuiko 50 f1.4 on my Olympus OM-1n.

2010-02-27T20:53:00.002-05:00

From last weekend, I took the Leica M3 in for an overhaul at Kindermann because of some cold weather issues (sluggish shutter). The camera is in great hands with a factory trained Leica tech and it should be good as new in a week or so.

2010-02-22T16:55:00.005-05:00

My Leica M3 is getting an overhaul from Kindermann Canada, I had a situation back on Saturday when the shutter decided to get sluggish in the -3c temperatures. That has not happened to me before. So a semi retired factory trained Leica tech my brother recommended to is going to work his magic and itt will be a couple hundred dollars well spent.

I managed to get the shutter working properly and managed two rolls. After I think frame 12 you can tell the shutter got sluggish. Sort of like everything below 1/500 became bulb. The remedy was warming the camera up to room temperature and exercising the shutter. Mr. Gerry Smith (no relation alas) is The Canadian factory trained Leica tech and I figure getting the CLA done now makes sense because I don't know how long he wants to keep working even part time.

The other thing with this set I managed to do was try HC110 Dilution B again, a developer combination I used when I started developing black and white film four years ago. Rating Kodak Tri-X 400 down to 250 to 320 ISO, I got some great images I am going to print for a future exhibit.

2010-02-15T15:32:00.001-05:00

Old Slides from the Archives

I dug into the archives recently and re-scanned some material I shot four years ago during the Analog Photography Users Group Conference in Toronto. Over 300 hard core film photographers specializing in different subject areas descended down on Elevator Labs in Leaside for four days of seminars and workshops. I participated in the Sunrise and a day later street photography workshops, taking away a lot in terms of knowledge.

I have landscape photographer Robert Teague to thank for enlightening me to the joys of Fuji Velvia 100. I shot with an Olympus OM-1 for the whole conference and the Epson V500 does wonders in scanning the slides.

The rusty truck was shot at the Distillery District and the remaining photos were taken at Humber Bay Park way too early in the morning in May 2006.

2010-01-28T10:30:00.004-05:00

I took my Canon FTb up with me last weekend up skiing. I picked up a 625 Wein cell battery to see if the meter. The FTb was made in the early 1970s and the original batteries were mercury based and of course due to environmental concerns are no longer available. The Wein Cell gives off the same voltage without the environmental impact.

I used this camera before with a hand held meter and the shutter speeds are just fine which is surprising for a 37 year old camera. The meter works but takes a little getting used to. The FTb uses almost a modified spot meter principle as opposed to center weighted used in Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Leicaflex and the Canon F1. It takes a little getting used to if you are used to center weighted metering.

One last thing, I found that helps a lot with bright sunny days and there's snow on the ground to slap on a neutral density filter if you are shooting with 400 ISO film. Otherwise getting a decent exposure would almost impossible without a slower speed film.

2010-01-20T18:14:00.002-05:00

Ontario winter as it was meant to be, well this was a few weeks ago when we had winter. The weather forecast right now is almost more late March than late January. I shot this right after New Years in the Belfountain Conservation Area.

Gear and film:
Nikon FM, Nikkor Ai 28 f3.8 and AiS 50 f1.8 lenses and Kodak Tri-x processed in Xtol 1+1.

2010-01-11T15:40:00.003-05:00

I put my Rolleiflex through it's paces two weeks ago at a concert shoot. Brian Hayman and quintet played at set at St. Jude's Jazz Vespers back on January 3rd.

The one challenge, no flash so I used my Leica M3 with pushed Tri-x and Fuji Pro 800 NPZ in the Rollei. To quote one fellow Flickr member who commented on one of the photos, "Planar lenses rock!"

I found a Bay II hood for the camera and my brother Alex gave me a warming filter, all I need to do is find some more filters and I am good to go with the Rollei kit.

I also found a new layout for the blog, now my 6x6 shots can be seen as I had intended, square.

2010-01-03T12:10:00.001-05:00

My new Toy.

This is my Christmas present from my family, a 3.5 Series E Rolleiflex with a 75 f3.5 Zeiss Planar lens, I think made in the early 1960s if I got the serial numbers right.

I am using this camera on a photoshoot for the first time this afternoon. Stay tuned for the results.

2010-01-03T11:57:00.003-05:00

Two shots of my Honeywell Pentax H3 I picked up two years ago on Ebay as an impulse purchase. It suffered from a stalled mirror which is common with old Pentax screwmount cameras and that is due to the shutter curtains not going through it's complete cycle.

In my current between opportunities state, a professional CLA (clean lubricate and align) is a little expensive so I went to Pentax-Manuals.com downloaded the repair manual for the Asahi Pentax S3 which is the same camera as the H3. I then also downloaded another how to link on the Instructables site on how to fix a seized mirror on a Pentax Spotmatic ES.

Bear in mind the Spotmatic ES was made at least ten years later than the H3/S3 and the insides would have evolved a little bit. However combined with the S3 service manual, I have some direction.

Old Pentaxes are reasonably easy to fix, if you have steady hands and high spatial reasoning. If you have an old body you got for stupid cheap, you will get a tutorial on how a mechanical camera works.

2010-01-02T20:12:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year and a new decade!

I hope everyone had a good holiday season. I got one neat toy for Christmas, my own 3.5 Series E Rolleiflex with the 75 f3.5 Zeiss Planar lens. So Alex's Rollei is going home soon. I am trying the new (to me)camera out tomorrow with high speed colour film no less with an interior photoshoot.

In the spirit of fresh starts here is a little shake up a photo study of downtown Toronto around Bay St. around quitting time. It was shot in early December with a Nikon Fm and a Nikkor 28 F2.8 Ai lens with Kodak Tri-x processed in Xtol 1+1.

I love doing landscapes but I think after the In the Shadow of the GTA Greenbelt project, I am doing something urban.

2009-12-17T14:09:00.004-05:00

This is my last roll with the Rolleiflex Automat I have been playing with for the past five months.

Fear not I am going without medium format only until Christmas when I will get a Rolleiflex Series E with the 80 f2.8 Zeiss Planar lens from my mom and brother (he will be happy to get his Rollei back).

I shot the below last weekend with Kodak Tri-x 400 processed in Xtol 1+1 in the Beaches neighbourhood in Toronto. I was blessed with a clear sunny day without too much windchill, offshore breezes can be bitter off Lake Ontario.

Update: Just a quick note on the images, I have found Blogger crops the image a little bit, this is not intentional on my part. Please click on the image to get the original.

2009-12-01T19:15:00.006-05:00

I used to shoot with a Canon AE-1 from 2001 to 2005 as my entry into what I term manual focus photography. I switched to Nikon when I received a Nikon F as part of my dad's estate, picked up a Nikkormat Ftn and a second F the same year, so the AE-1 had to go.

Turns out you can go home again, I was gifted a 38 year old Canon FTb along with a later production FD 50 f 1.8 lens and a mid production FD135 f 3.5 telephoto lens a month ago. After a test roll, I am reminded how nice Canon FD glass is and it's a pity the mount is an orphan.

Don't think for second I am liquidating my Nikon kit but I am going to keep my eye out for more Canon FD lenses. I am really happy my new to me FTb's shutter speeds are pretty much bang on. Now all I have to search for is a Wein Zinc Air 625 battery as mercury cells have been illegal for some time.

The below test shots were taken around the Oakville waterfront yesterday with Kodak Tri-x and processed in Xtol 1+1.

Thank you Elizabeth Reid for the camera, be assured it has gone to a good home.

2009-11-27T19:46:00.009-05:00

A tale of two Wideangle lenses

Nikon in the 1960s and 1970s made some really 28mm wideangle lenses. Here is a back to back comparison between the fast Nikkor N 28 f2 lens and the classic Nikkor H 28 f3.5 while slower has very high performance in it's own right.

I borrowed my brother's Nikkor N 28 f2 lens a few months ago to play with, it was made for photojournalists working in less than ideal light. So does it stack up with my beloved Nikkor H 28 f3.5? I don't know, going through my Flickr account and doing a comparison, I prefer my slower 28. This is just comparing negative scans, the real test will be printing from the negatives.

Now if you want to read up more on the subject, check out Photography in Malaysia's pages on the Nikkor 28mm lenses. I do not hold myself responsible if after reading you get a case of Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS).

Top two were taken with the Nikkor N 28 f2 lens up at Limehouse Conservation Area and the bottom photos two Nikkor H 28 f3.5 lens in Oakville Ontario. The camera body was a Nikon F2 and the film was Kodak Tri-X processed in Xtol 1+1.

2009-11-14T20:43:00.007-05:00

The Magic Image

This is not a perfect image, it's not totally razor sharp but I love it. I wanted to give the impression you are on Bay St. downtown Toronto in the middle of the crowd and I nailed it.

I used my last roll of Efke 50 in my Leica M3, the perfect film/camera combo. I can hand hold at slow shutter speeds and I get a really cool vintage look because the manufacturing process with Efke films has not changed in 50 years.

2009-11-08T11:48:00.002-05:00

We all love some fall colour.

Shot a few weeks ago up on the way to and at Forks of the Credit Provincial Park. I used my Olympus OM-1 MD with Kodak Elite 200 slide film, the black and white set will follow later in another posting.

2009-10-27T17:48:00.006-04:00

One of the bonuses of babysitting my brother's camera equipment while he and his family moves house is I get to play with some really cool toys. In this case a Leicaflex Sl, Leitz's answer to the Japanese SLR juggernaut in the 1960's, alas for them, loo little, too late.

That being said Leica SLR lenses are really nice glass and it's a shame they never made them in third party mount for example Nikon F, Pentax K mount, etc.

In this particular set, I went out on a damp Sunday morning with a black Leicaflex SL and got a chance to put a 21 F4 Super Angulon through it's paces along with the 35 f2 R Summicron that I used as the prime lens on the camera. The film used was Fuji Pro 160 S rated at 100 ISO.

2009-09-30T17:17:00.004-04:00

This is something I don't to anywhere near as often as I should, shoot people and portraits. I have to step out of my comfort zone once in a while. Not that I am bad shooting people, it's a different dynamic the capturing a landscape or a street scene.

The top two are of Hayley and Kieley respectively, taken with a Rolleiflex Automat with a 75 f3.5 Schneider Xenar lens with Ilford Delta 400 film at the OCC AGM a month ago. The bottom headshot is of my friend Derik shot on a Nikon F3 Press Camera with a Nikkor Ai 200 f4 wide open with Kodak Tri-x 400.

2009-08-29T15:07:00.003-04:00

I am so doomed with medium format, my only saving grace is not falling in love with the Hasselblad 500 CM 6x6 SLR system. I am devoted to Rolleiflex in terms of weight and ergonomics after trying out Alex's Mamiya C220F. It's a heavy twin lens reflex camera with interchangeable lenses which is nice if you need to switch between wide, prime and telephoto. Personally I find the Mamiya too heavy, I prefer hand old shooting over tripod work and Rollei just plain works for me.

Now while I only have negative scans here, I did print from 6x6 negatives last night. It takes some getting used to in terms of exposure but the end results done right blow my mind. Thank you Alex for loaning me your Nikkor 80 f5.6 EL lens, it will be put to good use the next few months.

2009-08-23T15:52:00.005-04:00

Kodak Tri-x 400 is one of those legacy black and white films that can be used for most photographic situations. What I like about it is you can push (deliberately underexpose) up to 3200 ISO and get a decent negative with stand development with Rodinal Developer.

The images below were shot on a Nikon FE2 I re-sealed for my brother and I wanted to test it out. The roll of Tri-x was exposed at 3200 and processed in 1:100 Rodinal so if I was mixing up a 500ml solution it would have 5ml of Rodinal concentrate. I stand developed for two hours starting off with 30 seconds of gentle agitation and after that three gentle agitations every half hour. The solution temperature was at 20c, give or take a degree.

The biggest mistake people do when using this combination is over agitating the tank full of developer or being too aggressive with the agitation. That will introduce a lot of grain which most times you don't want.

This is my go to combination for doing event photography for my IABC chapter, parties and concerts. It works well for me and I can get decent prints up to 8x10" easily.

2009-08-04T19:22:00.006-04:00

I am spending a lot of time up near the Forks of the Credit this Summer on weekends working on a project for possible exhibit next year with two other photographers. We are focusing on the GTA Greenbelt a region around Greater Toronto though protected officially from development is under stress from gravel quarries and expanding suburbs.

I am focusing on the fragile beauty of the Greenbelt and I am having fun putting the portfolio together. I will be spending the winter in the darkroom printing the 35mm black and white, over at my brother's for the 6x6 negatives and I have to find a decent colour lab who can handle the slides and c-41 negatives regardless of format.

2009-08-02T14:51:00.005-04:00

My brother Alex is my worst enabler. I now want a Rolleiflex after trying out his Rolleicord recently on a hike near Belfountain. For those not familiar, Twin Lens Reflex cameras have been around for about 80 years and use 120 roll film. The Rolleicord is the prosumer TLR derived from it's "big brother" the Rolleiflex and differs a little on features and ergonomics.

So why beat around the bush, get the rolleiflex and be done with it. As much as people merit the versatility of a Hasseldlad 500 series 6x6 SLR system, personally I rather have the TLR. You only get one choice of lens on the camera as it is built in, mechanically it's really simple and it does not weigh a ton. What I love about medium format photography is you have to slow down, plan your exposures a lot more than 35mm and be really fussy with your metering of the scene.

I used Ilford Delta 400 black and white film processed in Xtol 1+1. Not my usual choice of film, it's all Henrys Oakville had in stock. I prefer Ilford HP5 or Kodak Tri-x 400 for their grain structure, I like a retro look to my images.

2009-07-15T15:05:00.008-04:00

Fun with Kodak Ektar 100

I am currently experimenting with Kodak Ektar 100 C-41 film. With Kodachrome 64 discontinued and E-6 slide processing getting difficult to find, having this new film from Big Yellow Father is a gift, most of the time. This film stumps me with blue skies.

Ektar 100 is well as its name states, is available in 100 ISO only in 135 and 120mm format, it’s relatively cheap ($4.95 a roll at Film Plus) and is the finest grained colour negative (C-41) film on the market. I picked up six rolls to conduct tests to see what I can get running the film through my gear. The first roll went through my Leica M3 with the shots being incident metered with Gossen Profsix Light meter. Great outcome from that session which can be found with my Webster’s Falls outing in late April.

The most recent roll was exposed in my Olympus OM-2n a compact 35mm SLR with aperture priority ability and “off the film” metering, I have never taken a bad shot with this camera. All my lenses have UV filters on them and I only use a Polariser sparingly. The roll was processed at a mini lab at a local Shoppers Drug Mart and they do great work with Fujifilm. I think part of the problem stems from the drug store scanning process, and the other part is not exposing the image properly on the film, the skies have a cyan cast to them.

Now Contrast with the images on the bottom which were scanned in with my Epson V500 with 48 bit colour settings (see below). I found I got more realistic look to the images, the skies look right this time ot. Now having that figured out, from now on I am doing the scanning.

Outside of direct sun, Ektar 100 blows my mind (see images below).

2009-07-03T21:19:00.002-04:00

My Leica M3 is seeing more action these days. I recently tracked down the proper lens hood for my Canon 50 f1.4 LTM lens and it is on the camera all the time instead of the 50 f2 Collapsible Summicron.

I shot the three images below with some Kodak Tmax 100 processed in Xtol 1+1 and I can't wait to print from the negatives.

2009-06-10T20:10:00.002-04:00

I got a chance to try out some slide film gifted to me. A fellow member of the Oakville Camera Club gave me her remaining slide film stock as she switched to digital. Thankfully it was stored properly in the freezer and I am quite happy at how this set turned out.

I used my Nikon FE with this hiking photo shoot along the Bruce Trail in Ancaster Ontario and shot Fuji Provia 100.

2009-05-25T20:19:00.002-04:00

Sherman Falls

I had a good shoot at Sherman Falls which ended in bad news. I was shooting with a Nikon FM with a Nikkor 50 f1.4 Ais lens, only to find out my over exposure trouble that has been giving me grief, turns out it was the lens. Oil on the aperture blades was the culprit, I got a quote to fix it and I am waiting for my tax return to arrive. I have another 50mm Ais lens, a F1.8 which is really good for landscape and street work. For some reason when it comes to shooting people, I prefer the 50 f1.4, it is more flattering for people in my eye.

I am headed back to the Dundas Valley and I and I am taking more photos with the FM. It stems from when I learned how to ski. If I ever had a serious wipe out, I have to ski the run again to get it right. Same thing with photography. The over exposed frames in Dundas will be re-shot with the same camera, same film and different 50mm lens.

2009-05-11T19:27:00.003-04:00

I warned you I was going to try out a roll of the new Ektar 100 from Kodak and oh boy, this film makes my brain hurt, it's so good. I shot it through my Leica M3 and exposed this roll of Ektar 100 at 64 ISO. This film has the latitude of it's C-41 heritage and the super fine grain one usually associates with slide or E-6 film which is getting more difficult to process. Enjoy, I plan to shoot some more this Summer or maybe in the fall.

2009-04-21T11:20:00.002-04:00

We organized an Oakville Camera Club outing for Spencer Gorge near Hamilton this past Sunday morning. Armed with a Nikon FM and neutral density filters to slow things down, I got the photographs below. I took a different approach this time out not focusing on Webster's Falls (which is over photographed), instead looking at the fast water as a source of inspiration. There's more to come when I get the test roll of Ektar 100 processed.

2009-04-10T13:55:00.006-04:00

Welcome to Spring for real this time. We had a cold snap earlier this week and Southern Ontarians let out a collective groan with the 48 hour return of wind-chill and flurries. Thankfully that is out of the system and we're back on track with spring.

I went really old school and shot with the older of two Nikon F's I own with Kodak Plus X 125 processed in D76 1+1 dilution around Old Oakville. I love how the tonality just pops out with this film and I get a nice period feel which is the objective.

2009-03-31T20:39:00.004-04:00

Scenes from Georgette Peter's opening day at the Sidespace Gallery. Photos are taken with my Leica M3 with a Canon 50 f1.4 LTM lens with Kodak Tri-x processed in Xtol 1+1.

2009-03-31T20:34:00.004-04:00

I pulled my Leica M3 out of hibernation for a workout, this time incident metering instead of spot metering and I had revelation at how nice my negs turned out. I was using a Canon 50 f1.4 Leica Screw-mount lens with adapter for the M3 with no filter on the front and got the below results. I did a short walk along St. Clair Avenue West in Regal Heights Toronto before going to Georgette Peter's (a fellow member of the Flckr Toronto tribe) gallery opening. I really have to use my Leica more often, it is a really sweet camera.

2009-03-30T17:31:00.003-04:00

I have to do some more night photography, what I did last week after a Third Tuesday Toronto Social Media event and I was blown away with the results with Kodak Tri-x. I am planning to do an Oakville by Night series and submit a print for Capture Oakville '09.

2009-03-22T16:53:00.008-04:00

Welcome to Spring! I took advantage to shoot in the city for a change after a fine winter of skiing and wandering around the Forks of the Credit. I find with spending time away from Toronto, I get to see it differently when I return. Some neighbourhoods I have over photographed and need a break, the best example being Kensington Market.

I love midtown Toronto and if I had move into the city from Oakville, I would give this part of the city some very strong consideration. The first photo was shot on the way in at the mouth of the Humber River, I love this bridge as a photo subject.

For this set I used my Nikon FM with the Nikkor Ai 28 f2.8 lens, shot Fomapan 200 and processed it in Rodinal at 1:50.

2009-03-18T20:50:00.005-04:00

Shot these over the past two weekends, my ski season is over and so are the winter photographs. Spring is pretty much here so I am enjoying the nice weather and the lack of windchill. Geographically, the photos start at the back hill of the Caledon Ski Club, the Maclaren Side Road five mintutes southeast, and ending at the Cheltanham Badlands. I am coming back to Forks of the Credit later in April for a hike, there are a couple of side trails on the Bruce Trail I want to explore. Stay tuned.

I used my trusty Olympus OM-1md with Kodak Tri-x with one roll processed in both Xtol and the other in D-76, both were 1+1 dillutions. I forgot how nice D76 is with Tri-x, it renders a classic look and I get nice shadow detail at ISO 250.

2009-03-09T15:30:00.005-04:00

I was over at my brother's place on the weekend and I got a chance to take some photos of my neice Charlotte. I have seen her since Marcus'(her big brother) birthday back in January. I can't believe she's turning two in early April.

The shoot gave me a chance to give the OM2-n a workout and test out some three year old expired Tri-x 400, it developed nicely in Xtol 1+1, my prefered developer of choice for this particular film.

2009-03-01T15:54:00.004-05:00

I'm back! With the new air purifier parts working properly, printing in the darkroom is a joy.

I pulled three negs from last Summer from my roadtrip to Wallaceburg with the Be Tiresmart Care-van team. I tried out the New Tmax 400 black and white film from Kodak in my Olympus OM-1, nice to shoot and also really nice to print. I used some gifted Ilford Multigrade IV RC glossy paper and I know I will have to fiddle with the exposure times a bit if I switch over to Kentmere or another paper.

What blows my mind is how fine the grain is on this 400 ISO film, on thing to notice it in the scanning process for uploading to the 'net, something else when you print from an enlarger.

2009-02-10T17:26:00.003-05:00

Just checking in, I have not been taking pictures or hitting the darkroom all that much due to other commitments. On top of that, the air purifier attached to the furnace is in the process of being repaired, so I am a little loath to develop or print considering the amount of dust in the air going through my darkroom which is also the furnace room.

So please stand by and do not adjust your set.

2009-02-03T19:26:00.004-05:00

Saturdays during the winter are special for me as I get to ski with Alex and Marcus up at Caledon Ski Club. Alex and I have been members for 28 years and Marcus is the next generation to start off skiing this year and he is conquering the hills. I can't believe how well he is progressing from being a little scared at the start of the year forgetting everything from the first two years to taking the steep part of Soules Skyway with ease.

I used Ilford HP5 as the film for this set, it was gifted to me by fellow Oakville Camera Club member Kelsey Mason. She gave me a brick of Kodak Tri-x, the roll of Ilford HP5 and pile of slide film which will keep me busy for a long while. I shot the HP5 through my Olympus OM-1 using mostly the Zuiko 50 f1.8 with Xtol 1+1 as the developer of choice.

2009-01-24T20:12:00.004-05:00

Funny what can happen in the space of a week. I could not believe the amount of ice build up on the West Credit River Falls. I did some long exposure work by slowing the shutter on the camera to about quarter of a second at F11. I used my old Nikkormat Ftn, most people are blown away that I would be using a 40 year old camera but the vertical metal copal shutter works fine in -12c and colder. I used Fomapan 200 rated at 125 EI and processed in 1+50 Rodinal for 10 minutes. All the below shots were taken in Belfountain Conservation Area in Belfountain Ontario.

2009-01-19T17:20:00.006-05:00

Sorry for the silence, I was out taking pictures. This winter has provided me with tons of inspiration so far. I have been taking my Nikon FM and three lens kit up skiing every weekend and below is only the beginning. I belong to the Caledon Ski Club and it's located in what I best describe as Middle Earth, well Belfountain Ont.

The bottom shot was done with Adox CHS 100 processed in Rodinal 1:50 an taken on the "Old Chair Hill" on Caledon Ski Club property. The shots above were on Plus X processed in Xtol 1+1 and taken within the Belfountain Conservation Area. But wait there is more on the way, I have two rolls of Fomapan 200 waiting to be processed. Please stay tuned for more winter photography at it's finest.

2008-12-25T12:03:00.005-05:00

Merry Christmas everyone! I shot these last weekend on my first ski day. I think I got the hang of Tri-x, Xtol and snow figured out. Since I use a 1+1 dillution which produces box speed, I experimented with delibrate over exposure as far down as 250 ISO for the outdoor shots. I think the results are pretty good, now if only it stayed cold this past week. We had rain on Thursday and a downpour and +11c forecasted on Saturday which is not cool for skiers one bit. Why are we getting west (wet) coast weather?