Street Photography

Chicago With The Hasselblad SWC

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I’ve been taking semi frequent excersions to Chicago lately on business trips so of course it was only a matter of time before I brought a camera to make some photographs around the city while I had some downtime. I’ve quickly discovered that from a street photography perspective, Chicago is quite an amazing place. The Hasselblad SWC is an obvious choice for this city because the incredibly wide angle lens native to the camera allowed me to just take it all in. The architecture in Chicago is just gorgeous! I could easily burn through twenty rolls of film in a single afternoon if given the opportunity. One of these days I’d like to take a week long trip to Chicago with nothing to do but walk around and take pictures.

Photographed with a Hasselblad SWC and Ilford FP4 120 film.

Unfortunately I noticed when I got home and started developing some rolls of film that the back I use with my Hasselblad SWC had a light leak. What a bummer! The tall buildings in Chicago block out a lot of light so only certain rolls had a leak that was visible, but it did sadly ruin quite a few shots I would have otherwise liked. Oh well. A quick repair kit that cost me $15 has since corrected the issue (seriously, repairing light leaks on a Hasselblad back is incredibly easy), but I’m still bummed I had to discover the problem after it was too late. The challenges of working with film sometimes…

Photographed with a Hasselblad SWC and Ilford FP4 120 film.

Traveling with film these days can unfortunately be a bit of a logistical nightmare. Modern airport security scans will ruin your film. Though technically you can request a hand check from the TSA so your film doesn’t go through a scanner, I have found this to be hit or miss. Sometimes a friendly TSA agent is cooperative about this, sometimes they aren’t. So I’ve gotten in the habit of shipping my film to my hotel ahead of me and shipping it home before I leave. It’s not the most convenient thing, and it does come at a cost, but it is worth it to ensure that my film isn’t fogged or damaged when I go to develop it later. If I’m going to invest the time to make images on film I don’t want that time wasted thanks to airport security.

Photographed with a Hasselblad SWC and Ilford FP4 120 film.

Doing street photography with the Hasselblad SWC is quite easy though. It’s one of the reasons I really like this camera as it is not nearly as complicated as it would maybe first appear. For exposures I just use the sunny 16 rule and the depth of field is so long with the wide angle lens that I really don’t have to worry about critical focus all that much. So more or less the camera just becomes a point a shoot. Given the “open shade” of the tall buildings in Chicago most of the frames on this day where photographed at f/8 with focus set to infinity. Super easy.

It’s hard to argue with a point and shoot with a fantastic Zeiss lens and a big 6x6 negative. Plus, for a medium format camera the SWC is fairly compact. Not at all a problem to carry around on foot over long distances.

Panon Widelux F8 - First Roll

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The Panon Widelux camera is a machine I’ve long been interested in checking out. For those reading this who have never heard of the Widelux, in a nutshell it is a 35mm camera with a rotating front lens that gives a mind blowing 140 degree viewing angle and a negative that is roughly twice the width of a standard 35mm frame. It’s one of those cameras that truly transforms the world around you when you look through the viewfinder. The images are so wide when using the Widelux the photographer has to hold the camera at the top and bottom, not the sides, otherwise you’ll get your own fingers in the frame. I had quite a few bad images on my first test roll because I instinctively gripped the Widelux with my right hand like I would any other camera.

Photographed with a Panon Widelux F8 and Fomapan 100 35mm film.

Famous actor Jeff Bridges is well known in the photographic community for using a Widelux. You can check out his website here and it is worth a look if you’re thinking about buying a Widelux for yourself. He has a lot more experience with the Widelux than I do and his photographs are quite good. He’s also got some great tips and tricks on his website worth considering if you want to buy a Widelux for yourself.

I first encountered the Widelux in my college days when I saw a series of work one of my Professors was working on with the camera. I thought it was insanely cool but I was also hesitant to pick one up for myself for nearly two decades. The Widelux is notorious for being a little unreliable and incredibly difficult to work on. A lot of repair shops won’t even touch the thing.

Photographed with a Panon Widelux F8 and Fomapan 100 35mm film.

The camera I purchased from eBay clearly has a shutter swing that is running on the slow side. Given the cameras age and the amount of gearing it takes for the Widelux to work I’m not totally surprised. I compensated for that when I made the images on my first test roll so the images turned out more or less fine. I had to do some post production work when scanning my negatives because they were clearly a big “overcooked” but nothing I wouldn’t be able to do in an analogue darkroom.

Photographed with a Panon Widelux F8 and Fomapan 100 35mm film.

However, if I’m going to dive into this strange world of Widelux photography I’d rather have a camera that is in tip-top shape. So I’ve immediately sent the camera off for a tune-up and I’m eagerly awaiting its return. I waited nearly two decades to buy a Widelux so I can certainly wait a few more months to have a sample that works perfectly. Hopefully, like most mechanical 35mm cameras, once it goes through a good CLA (Clean, Lubricate, and Adjust) it’ll work nicely for the foreseeable future.

Photographed with a Panon Widelux F8 and Fomapan 35mm film.

The unique “swivel” of the lens allows for some very unique creative opportunities, especially at slow shutter speeds. At 1/15th of a second the lens takes a few seconds to swing from one side to the other. Moving the camera or moving the subject (in the last image on this post, that subject is myself) along with the movement of the lens can be really fun. When I get the camera back from repair I’ll probably do a lot of experimenting with this. It’ll be a unique way to approach figure studies on film.

Even though I’ve only dabbled with the Widelux F8 so far I can already tell I’m going to enjoy this camera a lot.

Journey To Northern California

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I recently found myself on a trip to North California to visit family and like every time I journey outside the comforts of Portland I brought a camera with me. It was fitting I brought my Minolta SRT-101 with me on this particular trip. The Minolta SRT-101 was the first “professional” camera I ever used as it was gifted to me by my parents on my 16th birthday. Just a few short weeks ago I turned 46, which means the Minolta has been going strong in my life for exactly three decades. That is quite remarkable when you think about it. I can’t recall of many things that stay consistent in one’s life for that long.

Photographed with a Minolta SRT-101 and Ilford HP5 film.

During that time I’ve only sent it in for repair once, a good old fashion CLA, and quite frankly it didn’t even need it. I only did so because a local shop was holding a discount and I figured why not?

Photographed with a Minolta SRT-101 and Ilford HP5 35mm film.

I traveled to an area just outside of Nevada City California. It’s an area of the Golden State that still feels like a bit of a boom town, attracting people who want warm weather and who want to forge their own path with maximum autonomy. It’s a different vibe than I’m used to in the Pacific Northwest, but it’s good to be in a new environment every so often. I can appreciate the fresh air to be found there, the horses that trot around fenced pastures, and the rivers with shallow shores that were once lined with panhandlers searching for gold.

Photographed with a Minolta SRT-101 and Ilford HP5 35mm film.

I only went through a couple rolls of film while on the trip because I had other business to take care of. Still, some pictures are always better than no pictures at all and it was refreshing to just wander about a bit capturing whatever caught my fancy.

Blind Cats and Street Photography

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I’ve always admired people who are good at street photography. I absolutely do not count myself as one of those people. I think it takes a certain kind of bravery, an ability to be in a singular world where you are an observer totally unaware of the way people are in turn observing you. For better or worse, when I take a camera out in public, I can feel eyes looking at me. The reality is, most, if not all, people really aren’t, and even if they are it shouldn’t matter. But I can’t help feeling a tad bit of discomfort about it every single time. The best street photographers probably don’t get this feeling. Or if they do, they turn that energy into great photographs. I haven’t quite figured out how to do that.

I’m sure it takes practice and perhaps part of my problem is I haven’t invested the time to get good at it. Very few things in this world come naturally after all.

Photographed with a Hasselblad 500c/m and Ilford HP5 120 film.

It’s because of all of this that my personal street photography tends to not be about people. Buildings, plants, flowers, random animals, old cars, that sort of thing are more my speed.

For this image I noticed a random cat just chilling out on the sidewalk. It wasn’t until I trained my camera on him that I noticed he was completely blind. It didn’t seem to bother him. He was friendly, purring on the warm concrete, only a few steps away from a porch with a cat door. Clearly he was well cared for so the scene didn’t make me sad. In fact, I envied the little guy. He seemed quite relaxed when I made a little portrait of him.

Using the Olympus XA4 For A Sketchbook

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Like most people out there I have a day job. It would of course be wonderful to make photographs full time and pay my bills with print sales, but alas, I’m a cubicle warrior by day and a photography dabbler on the weekends. As such I try my best to dip my toes into a creative headspace whenever I possibly can.

Photographed with an Olympus XA4 and Fomapan 100 35mm film.

Every so often when I manage to wake up and get ready for my day a little early I like to take a walk around town and make street photographs with my little pocket Olympus XA4. I’ve never claimed to be a great street photographer, but sometimes I find the practice cathartic, like doodling in a sketchbook. It’s just a great way to look at things, practice making compositions in the viewfinder, and to appreciate the place you live.

Not every photograph I make needs to be a masterpiece. Heck, NONE of the photographs I make need to be a masterpiece. I’m still going to do it anyway regardless of the outcome

Portland Oregon photographed with an Olympus XA4 and Fomapan 100 35mm film.

Photographed with an Olympus XA4 and Fomapan 100 35mm film.

I find the Olympus XA4 to be a perfect camera for taking snapshots on the street. It’s sleek and durable and fits easily in a winter coat pocket or the side pocket in my daily backpack. Ultimately it’s a point and shoot camera so creative control is limited, but the trade off is worth it for the portability. I also appreciate the fact that it is capable of longer exposure which is helpful when I’m walking about before dawn.