Pinhole Possibilities with PinBox

It was well over two years ago when I learned about Robert Hamm and his Hamm Camera's PinBox Kickstarter project. PinBox is a DYI pinhole camera that uses 120 film. The kit comes with precut and scored card stock and a precut aperture. I chose the f200 aperture. The camera is assembled with school glue and quick-dry glue. 3-D printed top and bottom winder keys are also supplied. After viewing the Kickstarter video, I decided to give it a try. After all, a 120 film camera that you can build fairly easily from heavy card stock would a great project for students at the elementary school where I used to teach music. However, when my PinBox arrived, I was crazy busy with putting on a school musical and sis not have time to even open the package. Then came 2019. Getting our house ready to sell and then moving to our downtown Chattanooga condo became priorities, and the little package was soon forgotten. Then came 2020, a global pandemic, sheltering in place, and time on my hands. “Let’s build a pinhole camera,” I said as I took the package out of a cabinet. And so I did.

In case you don’t know, a pinhole camera is a camera that lets light in through a very small hole instead of a lens. The idea of a pinhole camera reaches back to the very beginnings of photography. It likely was by accident that in ancient times someone discovered how light, when passing through a small hole in a wall, will project an upside down image on an opposite wall. Later, lenses were used to better focus the image, and the camera obscura was used a a drawing tool. Put light sensitive film instead of drawing paper in a camera obscura and . . . you have a film camera!

Pinhole cameras are interesting not only because they can be made out of a box or even a can, but also because the small size of the aperture (the pinhole) creates deep depths of field. Pinhole photographs can have an other-worldly look that can be quite attractive. However, this comes at a price:  long exposure times. First, some way of keeping the pinhole camera rock-steady is essential, and this means a good tripod is essential. Second, calculating exposures can be very tricky. Simply taking the aperture size (f200, for example) and then using either Sunny f16 or a light meter to calculate the exposure time will not work with pinhole photography. Why not?

The answer lies with a certain film characteristic known as reciprocity failure. Reciprocity failure is a film's inability to respond to very low levels of light. While every film is different, most films require extra exposure over what your meter indicates. Fortunately, most films come with reciprocity failure information with instructions on how much exposure compensation the film needs. With color films, not only will they need exposure compensation, they also will need filtration to compensate for color shifts. And if that isn’t enough, development times have to be shortened to preserve the highlights. 

This all sounds quite complicated, and I felt like a fish out of water as a loaded my newly bicultural PinBox camera with a roll of Kosmo Foto Mono 100 (a b&w film I quite like). So, thinking that “There's an app for that!,” I checked App Store for some help. Sure enough, I found lots of apps, but the one that seemed to be best is a paid app ($2.99) called Pinhole Assist. Not only does it serve as a light meter, but it had a built-in database of films and their reciprocity failure calculations. Once you have selected the film you are using, it will add the needed exposure compensation to the given time. It will even work with your smartphone's timer to tell you when to close the shutter.

With the Pinhole Assist app, my tripod, and the loaded PinBox camera in hand, I thought I was ready to go. However, I had one more problem to solve:  how to mount the PinBox on my tripod. The little cardboard camera does not have a tripod mount. Channeling my inner MacGyver, I found my smartphone tripod attachment, mounted it on my tripod, and used it to clamp the PinBox onto the tripod. Yay! Now let’s go get some pinhole pitchas! I used the PinBox outside my condo building, at a nearby park with a large outdoor art sculpture, and at a well-known waterfall along the Cherohala Skyway. 

While using the PinBox  I soon noticed some difficulties. First, my DIY tripod mount was flimsy at best. Just pulling or pushing on the little cardboard shutter would move the camera, and when I saw the resulting photographs the effect of camera shake was evident in most of them. The PinBox will require a better tripod setup than what I currently have or can even imagine at the present. Furthermore, somewhere along the way I lost the 3-D printed take up side bottom winder key, and the result was that the film did not wind very tightly and some frames had overlap. Overall, it was a little frustrating using the camera while knowing that I was very possibly wasting time and film.

Ugh! Camera shake. 

One final problem which I will own is my choice of developer. Normally I like using Cinestill's Df96 Monobath with Kosmo Foto Mono 100 (which, of course, is actually Fomapan 100.) But I was not aware of the need to shorten the development time when making long exposures, and I couldn’t have done so anyway with Df96. As a monobath, it tells itself when to stop developing before the fixer takes over. So my negatives have some blown out highlights for sure.

Blown out highlights and frame overlap.

Frankly, I was surprised to see anything on my negatives. But sure enough, I had images. Because I do not plan to make darkroom prints of any of these shots, I decided to go ahead and scan them. Most frames are forgettable, but with minimal exposure tweaking in Lightroom I was able to get some images which aren’t too bad. 

The question now is: Will I use my PinBox again? At the present the answer depend on two things. 1. Perhaps Mr, Hamm will send me another bottom winder key, and 2. I have to make a way to eliminate camera movement. Film is too expensive to waste , and I have better medium format cameras that I don’t use enough. For now my Pinbox will remain a pinhole possibility.

UJC Podcast #27: Autumn to the Max(xum)!

It's that time of year when the seasons change and nature puts on a display worth capturing. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, then Autumn may be happening right outside your window. Now is the perfect time to capture nature's impressionism period before the fall colors fade to winter grays. Kevin have been doing quite a bit of color shooting lately trying to capture those fleeting autumn colors, and he has some tips on how to make keeper fall photographs.

When the sunlight is coming from your side, be sure to manually override your exposure by +1 stop.
Film:  Kodak Gold 200.

When shooting close ups of autumn colors, the diffused lighting on a cloudy
day makes the colors pop and reduces the contrast.
Film:  Kodak Gold 200.

I actually arranged these leaves to create this autumn portrait. Don't be afraid to move things around
to get the composition you want, because five minutes later it won't look the same anyway.
Film:  Kodak Ektachrome E100.

Neighborhood autumn yard decorations come out once a year and may not reappear next year.
Capture them while you can!
Film:  Kodak Ektachrome E100.

Lately Kevin has been noticing that his eyes aren't what they used to be. Aging eyes can be a real problem for the photographer, and Kevin's eye doctor says that while what is happening is perfectly normal, it is not going to get any better. Therefore, Kevin has decided to make the move to using an autofocus SLR camera for most of his 35mm photography. It just so happens that he already owns a Minolta Maxxum 7000, the world's first successful autofocus SLR cameras, so listen as he explains why he chose this particular cameras and why he felt he needed a second one. Even though this 1985 era camera has been superseded by many subsequent models from not only Minolta, but also Nikon, Canon, and others, it's low price on the used market makes it a superb value for today. 

A tandem of Maxxums! 

Lots of buttons! Function buttons on the left, and
up/down selector buttons on the right. The shutter
button is touch-sensitive to activate the meter.

Another set of up/down buttons placed perfectly for my left hand thumb.

You can listen to show #27 here:  

As always, we love to get feedback from our listeners. You can send comments, questions, advise, and stories in written or audio from to unclejonesyscameras@gmail.com, or you can post or comment on our Facebook page, which can be found at @UJC Podcast. Also, we would love for you to follow us on Instagram @UJCpodcast as well. 

Happy Shooting!

Stupid Stupid Internet

We are experiencing technical difficulties . . . 

If you happen to scroll through the previous posts here on the Uncle Jonesy's Cameras Blog, you quickly will discover a problem with most of them:  no photos where there should be photos. The following is a quick explanation:

When I first created the UJC Blog, I opened a Google account just for Uncle Jonesy's Cameras. That is why our email address is "unclejonesyscameras@gmail.com," of course. However, at the time when I created the UJC Blog, I was employed as a music teacher by a school district that used the Google education platform for it's email and cloud storage. I found that trying to switch back and forth between my school Google account and the UJC Google to be difficult at best, so I just gave in and used my school Google account for the blog. Furthermore, as the "author" of any post I wrote, I used my school Google email as well. Kelley, on the other hand, used a personal Google account for the post he authored.

So, as you may know, I retired from my teaching position in July. My school email remained active until the end of September, when it was turned off. I did not anticipate what would happen to the UJC blog when that happened. First, all the photos in the posts I wrote were gone. Second, I was no longer able to sign into the account to post or edit. Great. Just great.

So, I asked my school IT to turn my account back on so that I could fix the problem. After some searching on the internet, I thought I knew how to do it. I logged back in and added my personal Google account as both an author and an admin. Then, I removed my school Google account from the blog. The help I found on the internet assured me that the new admin account would "inherit" all of the blog posts. I tested everything, and everything looked good. 

That is, until my school Google account was turned off once again. I can log into the blog with my personal Google email, but once again all of the photos I posted while using my school Google account are gone. All of them.

I promised my school IT that I would not ask him to turn on my school account again, so that train has left the station. And unless any of you Google-savy readers have a suggestion for me to get those photos back, I will have only one option, and that is to replace as many of them as I can one by one in each blog post.

So, please forgive the current sorry state of the UJC blog. I will do what I can to repair the damage, but it will take quite some time. In the meantime, all new posts will work just fine.

Thank you so much for your patience, and thank you for reading the UJC Blog.

Kevin

UJC Podcast #26: Make That Movie - Test Those Lenses - Buy This Zine

Recently both Shutter Brothers got together in the same room to share with each other what each has been up to lately with their cameras and photography, so once again we turned on the UJC microphone and captured Kelley and Kevin's thoughts for you to enjoy. The last time we did this Kelley was getting ready to shoot some 8mm movie film in his Bolex camera, and he takes the first part of the show to share some of his experiences with double 8 movie film and what he has learned from it. 

Double 8 movie film is 16mm wide, but an 8mm camera only
shoots half of the film on the first pass and the other half on the
second pass. Then, when the film is processed, it is slit into it's 
two 8mm halves and spiced together to make one 50' movie.

Kelley holds his finished 8mm movie!

Meanwhile, Kevin has been testing a pair of Russian-made lenses that came with his two Zorki cameras. While we all love to talk about cameras, it is important to note the a camera's lens has the most significant impact on the quality of the image. So what do you do when you suspect a lens is not performing as well as hoped? Answer:  Put it to the test. Kevin explains how he conducted his lens test, and you can see some of the results right here in the Uncle Jonesy's Cameras Blog.

These Russian-made Zorki cameras came with Russian-made
lenses. Are they any good?

Finally, Kevin reviews a colorful photo zine from Matt Murray. Matt is the person behind one of our favorite film photography podcasts, Matt Loves Cameras. The zine is titled Every Summer, and Kevin's company sits proudly on his coffee table. Not only is the photography top notch, but Kevin finds Matt's style of decluttered composition very inspiring. You can get your own copy of Every Summer by clicking here.

Matt Murray's fabulous zine is not only a pleasure to look at,
but also Kevin finds it to be very inspiring!

You can find the Uncle Jonesy's Cameras Podcast on your favorite podcast provider, or you can click here to listen. We'd love to hear from you as well. You can send us emails and voice memos to unclejonesyscameras@gmail.com.

Happy Shooting!

A Tale (and Test) of Two Zorki's

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm obsessed with my two Zorki rangefinder cameras, especially the older one, my little Zorki 1. Come to think of it, I'm quite fond of my Zorki 4 as well. Both of these cameras have a special place in my heart and in my camera arsenal, and I've written about them before in this blog (see links above and below). I love seeing them sit on my window sill, and I love putting film in them and making photographs with them. 
They are fun to use, not because they are fancy or loaded with features, but quite the opposite, actually. Using them connects me with the basic functions of a camera:  shutter speed, aperture, focus, and depth of field. I sometimes feel as it I have stepped back to an earlier time in photography when photographers learned to think carefully and quickly about composition and exposure to avoid missing shots. I am not fast with these cameras yet, but the more I use them the more comfortable I get. 

If you are a regular reader of this blog, you will know that Zorki was a brand name for a series of cameras manufactured in Russian beginning around the time of World War II. They were meant to be copies of the very fine (and very expensive) German-made Leica rangefinder cameras that Russians citizens could no longer get because of the war. My Zorki 1 greatly resembles a Leica ii, and my Zorki 4 is loosely based on a Leica iiic. Of course, the Leica's were far better cameras with outstanding optics, and today Zorki's are dirt cheap compared to the investment one must make to own a Leica. Ironically, I used to own a Leica iiib beginning back in the 1980's until it my house was broken into in 1994. Maybe someday I will own one again. Maybe not. However, for now I have these two Russian copies to play with. 

If I had to pick one really good thing about these cameras, it would be that they actually work. I have had to made some repairs on the shutter curtains of the Zorki 1, and I have had the Zorki 4 shutter completely overhauled by a professional camera repair person, but hey, eventually you have to service all vintage cameras including Leica's. so functionally, my Zorki bodies work fine. But what about the lenses?

In my experience so far, the quality of theses Russian-made lenses are the most significant difference between the Leica and the Zorki. My early experiences with both cameras produced results that ranged from mediocre to out-of-focus bad. It was enough to make me question actually using them until I was able to afford better lenses. However, I decided to try again and do something along the lines of a test. I decided to try shooting subjects at difference distances with different apertures to see what the lenses can do under the best of conditions. Also, I strove to make sure that I was focusing carefully and holding the camera steady to get the sharpest photos possible. 

I started with my Zorki 1. It is equipped with a Russian-made Industar 22 50mm f3.5 collapsable lens that is a copy of the German-made Leica Elmar lens, a very fine lens indeed. I loaded the Zorki 1 with some Ultrafine Extreme 100 film and looked several walks around downtown Chattanooga on sunny days, which gave me easy-to-calculate exposures. I shot subjects at close distances, and subjects at infinity. I developed the film myself and made some prints at Safelight District Community Darkroom, where I am a member. I decided to make prints of only the best shots.

The best way to describe what I found is this:  inconsistency, especially with distant subjects. Some photos of our river bridges (a favorite subject of mine) were just not sharp, even though I set my focus at infinity. Using different apertures, like f8, f11, and f16, did not make a significant difference, either. However, a shot of our local aquarium from a distance was much better and certainly acceptable. Photographs of subjects at a medium distance (about twenty feet) also were reasonably sharp. 

The Tennessee Aquarium. Reasonably sharp
at infinity, unlike other photos at similar distance.

Universal Joint, a local pub. Good focus from about twenty feet.

Where this lens really shone was with shots with five to ten feet. I made several photographs of a public art exhibit called Passages, which commemorates the tragic removal of the Cherokee Nation from Tennessee and Georgia in the 1830's. There are several large ceramic disks that tell of the history of the Cherokee, and I wanted to see how well the Industar lens would render the details. The resulting prints are very sharp indeed! 

Strength of Life, Passages, Chattanooga. I was surprised at how
sharp the details are. Good job, Industar 22!

Warrior Birds, Passages, Chattanooga. I'd take this level of
sharpness from this lens anytime.

I am left with several conclusions. First, it is possible that the built-in rangefinder on the Zorki 1 needs some adjustment. Perhaps the lens is not really at infinity when I set it to infinity, but such a condition would show up more on close up, I would think. Second, I should try again with a tripod to achieve maximum control and rule out "Shaky Hand Syndrome." Putting a 35mm rangefinder goes against the very purpose of these cameras, which was mobility and spontaneity. Third, I would love to try a better lens. I have given thought to either selling or trading some cameras to get a genuine Leica Elmar. Anybody out there have one I could at least try out? 

Lastly, I'm not giving up. I'm going to continue to find out what can this camera and lens can do best and/or how I can improve my skills to make better shots with it. Maybe it will make me a better photographer along the way. 

Next time:  My Zorki 4.

Happy Shooting!

UJC Podcast #25: Interview with Mark Gilliland

©2020 Mark Gilliland

Today I recorded an interview with one of my favorite people in the world, who just happens to be an outstanding professional photographer. His name is Mark Gilliland, and like Kelley and me, he is a Chattanooga native. Mark is one of those rare people who make a living doing what he loves to do:  capture beautiful images with a camera, and in his thirty plus years he has worked in just about every field of professional photography including news, sports, features, fashion, food, real estate, and wedding photography. His work has earned him awards from Nikon, the Associated Press, and the Tennessee Professional Photographers Association. When he is not shooting for assignments, he shoots for himself, capturing patterns of light, color, lines, and shapes with an uncanny eye for beauty. His photographic art hangs in museums in Georgia and Arizona. 

I first met Mark when both Kelley and I were just beginning to return to film photography. Mark has had to put up with my constant questions, and he always more than happy to answer them. He truly loves what he does, and I find that and him incredibly inspiring. I hope you get some inspiration from our conversation. I highly recommend that you investigate his work, some of which can be see at www.markgillilandphotography.com. He is a frequent poster on Instagram and can be found @magill3179.

Happy Shooting!

Hello Goodbye

Today’s post is a little different. There are no film photographs or prints to share, and I am not reviewing a camera. Instead, I am sharing with you some news that has been ongoing since mid-July and has only now come into complete fruition, more of less.

I’m retired. 

That’s right. Retired. Retired from being a public school music teacher. Retired from my career, the only career I have ever known. And not just me, either. My wife, Debbie, a career elementary school teacher retired with me. We always have enjoyed taking our journeys together, and this is the start of a big one, one we have been looking forward to for quite some time. One that wasn’t supposed to start for another two years. But scratch that. It’s on.

We made our decision suddenly but certainly while in our VW Rabbit on the way back from our summer trip to the western US to visit both our daughters. We like to take backroads and stay off the interstate when possible, and we happened to be on a very backroad winding our way around Missouri cornfields at the very moment when our decision was made. The day was sunny, and the corn was tall. Debbie was driving, and I was in the middle of a Google meet with my principal. When he announced that a change in our reopening plans had been made, we looked at each other and made our minds up. No turning back from then on.

No doubt you likely are thinking that our decision to retire was brought about my COVID-19, and you are not wrong. However, during the month and a half since that day, we both have come to realize that this choice was the right choice at the right time - pandemic or not. Something inside had been telling me that the end was near for a year already. I’m fascinated by baseball players (I love baseball) who either because of their love of the game or because of the money keep on playing past their time of effectiveness. Sometimes it works out and magic happens. Other times it’s painful. I felt like my “game” was in pretty good shape still, but the daily pressure to be creative (teaching the same standards year after year but always having to have new lessons, songs, games, dances, etc.) was beginning to take its toll on my central nervous system. Certainly our change in lifestyle from urban house owners to downtown condo dwellers had something to do with it, as well. At any rate, it’s time for the next chapter of my life:  Chapter Three.

2004:  Hello

I call it Chapter Three, because I think of my life so far as being divided into two periods. The first was my youth all the way to the conclusion of my college education. The second was my teaching career. Both were periods of generally routine and predictability. Not boring, mind you. My wife and I love our live together as we always have, and we could not be more proud of two daughters we raised. It was a blast, but they are grown now. Changes come and life goes on. Being parents was great. Being empty nesters was great, too. Same thing with college. I loved being a college student, but I also loved being a professional music educator. Each has its season. and now the season has changed again. Now, I am turning the page and starting Chapter Three. To quote Elvis Costello, “Everyday I write the book.” I’ll write it as I go.

2020:  Goodbye

I actually don’t like the word “retirement.” It calls to my mind images of being in a rocking chair taking it easy. That won’t be me, God willing. I’ve got lots to do. Yes, the first couple of weeks have been an adjustment, and we have enjoyed the constant thought that we are not tied down to a routine. But we have plans together for travel, learning, and service. And in all of that, I will make more of my own music than I have been able to do for some time. Of course, I will shoot lots of film, develop it, and make lots of prints. And I plan to write a lot for this blog and for others. I still love to do what I did as a profession educator, and that is sharing what I have learned. And yes, there will be more Uncle Jonesy’s Cameras podcasts. Thank you for your patience. Stay tuned.

Reports From the Road #7: Suitcase Full of Memories

Our long drive began yesterday morning in Pittsburg, Kansas, and it. ended as we turned into our designated parking spot at our condo building in downtown Chattanooga. And with that, our Summer 2020 vacation adventure also came to an end. It had been a lovely day driving the backroads of Kansas, Missouri, and western Tennessee, winding around farm fields on roads named M, B, EE, and J, being up close and personal with golden fields of corn, wheat, and soybean, and truly, truly feel that we were seeing America in a way that can only be done by driving the backroads. What a magnificent way to end a vacation.

We are bringing a suitcase full of memories home with us, and Debbie and I talked about an relive many of them during our drive home. We got to spend time with both of our daughters and sons-in-law, play with our granddog, play games, hike amazing trails, eat and drink together in memorable settings, paddle board, enjoy live music, and laugh together endlessly.  Because they live so far away, these moments with family are more precious than gold.

We unloaded the car and got everything on the elevator in one trip, brought it all into our condo and began unpacking. I found the rolls of film I had shot and put them in the refrigerator. Both cameras still have rolls in them as well. I will develop the black and white film right away. The Ektachrome color slide film will go to a lab (The Darkroom). Or maybe not. I’m considering ordering an E-6 developing kit and doing it myself. In addition to the two rolls of Ektachrome I shot on the trip, I had another exposed roll plus two fresh roll. That’s five rolls of Ektachrome altogether, and I could really save some money by doing it myself. I’ve done E-6 before; it’s really not any more difficult than doing C-41 for color negative film, which I do all the time.

I hope you have enjoyed reading these Reports From the Road. I certainly enjoyed writing them, as the process of writing them helped to sharpen the experiences of our trip in my mind and heart. And yes, I will share the photographs when I have those finished as well.

Thank you for coming along for the ride.

Kevin

Reports From the Road #6 Homeward Bound

The worst thing about vacations is that they must come to an end eventually. The trick is to make as memories as you can while you have the chance, so that when the vacation does conclude itself, it will continue to live on in cherished memories that, unlike the vacation itself, never ends. Make hay while the sun shines, as they say.

Lake Chatfield

With that in mind, we set out to make a our last full day with Megan and Devin a day for the memories. To this end, we went stand-up paddle boarding at Chatfield State Park, which is south of Denver. Debbie and I first tried paddle boarding a year ago in Daytona Beach, Florida, and fell in love with it, so much so we be bought our own boards. Chatfield Lake is a large man-made reservoir that is perfect for SUP, due to the fact that no boats are allowed. This means no wake, and standing on the paddle boards is much easier. We we paddled around the lake, we were treated to a great view of the front range of the Rockies. Not a bad way to spend your last day of vacation.

When we were done paddle boarding, we drove back to Megan and Devin's home to get ready for supper. Once again, Devin was the chef, and his tacos and his quacamole was outstanding.
While the meal was being prepared, I made an effort to spend some time with Megan and Devin's dog, Darlin'. Darlin’ Dog became our granddog ten and a half years ago when Megan rescued her from a shelter in Nashville. I will never forget meeting her for the first time when Megan came to visit us shortly after, and we fell in love with her straightway. Darlin’ is a mix of two breeds:  Rhodesian ridgeback and beagle, 

and she is totally devoted to Megan and to anyone Megan loves, which includes us. Debbie is “G Mommy,” and I am “G Daddy.” While a bit nervous around strangers, with us she is the ultimate herder and protector. Even though she is approaches her tenth birthday and is slowing down some, she still has such great love for the people who love her. I love her as much as I would a grandchild, and I cherish every minute I get to spend with her. She’s a good dog indeed!

When this morning (Tuesday) came, we got up early and said our goodbyes to Megan and Darlin’ (Devin, who has to work late tonight, was having a sleep-in, and we said our goodbyes last night), and we Point per our little Volkswagen Rabbit toward I-70 East and set out for home, sad for the departure but happy for the many memories we carry home with us. Hopefully, I will have some good photographs as well. We stayed on the interstate until just past Hayes, Kansas, when we turned south on US 281 and drove until we came to US 400. There we turned left and drove eastward through golden fields of Kansas corn and wheat and skies bigger than I have ever before seen.

Quite coincidentally, we came upon Parsons, Kansas, in the southeastern part of the state. Although I have never been there before, Parsons has a special significance to me, as it is the home of Dwayne's Photo Services. Since 1956 Dwayne's Photo has operated as a film lab, and in late 2010 they processed the last roll of Kodachrome ever, and processing had ceased everywhere else. Just a couple of weeks before developing that last roll, they processed my last roll of Kodachrome. Beginning in September 1980 when I purchased my first real camera new in the box (a Minolta XG-1) with my first teacher paycheck, I was a devoted Kodachrome shooter. I have hundreds and hundreds of Kodachrome slides stored away, slides that documented mine and my families's lives for thirty years before Kodak discontinued making the film.

Tomorrow, home. Stay tuned.

Reports From the Road #5: Trail Magic

We woke up Saturday morning a bit late tired from our hike up to St. Mary's Glacier, so we took it a bit easier for the day, spending the day at or near our oldest daughter and her mate, Devin's home in Denver. Our one excursion was to Banded Oak Brewery to enjoy some local Denver-crafted beer while hearing some live music. Like most food and drink venues in these pandemic days, everything happens outside with tables widely distances and everyone wearing masks when not eating or drinking. The beer was good indeed, and so was the music from the local honky tonk band, Extra Gold. 

Extra Gold in 2019, Minolta 7s on Fomapan 100

Honky tonk style music is very popular in Denver, but I think Extra Gold stands out with its breezy, almost psychedelic style. Ironically, we saw them play live about this same time last year when we were in Denver to visit the girls, and it was then that I made one of my favorite concert photographs. This time, however, I used my Minolta XE-5 SLR with the 28mm lens and both finished up a roll of Ultrafine Extreme 100 and started a roll of Kodak Tri-X 400. The band played underneath a small canopy in the parking of of the brewery, so I was able to get quite close while still keeping all the musicians in the frame.

Both Megan and Devin are avid outdoor adventurers, and Debbie and I also love a good hike. So, Sunday saw us driving north on US 34 along the front range of the Rockies to a place between Longmont and Loveland called Sullivan's Gulch, where a strenuous two mile out and back trail climbs almost 1000 to a mostly level open field that allows breath-taking views of Long's Peak. Debbie and I have found that walking sticks are essential for trails that ascend and descend, and they sure came in handy on this trial. We picnicked at the trailhead first and then set off underneath a lightly overcast sky, for which I was very thankful.

Long's Peak, one of Colorado's 14,000 ft peaks.

The clouds not only made for cooler temperatures, but also for less contrast and more color saturation. I carried both SLR's with me, as I planned to shoot both color and black and white along the way. We encountered lots of colorful wildflowers and plenty of rock outcrops, but one of the best aspects of this trail is that it is lightly traveled. We only saw three other hikers on the way up and only four on the way down, so it was fairly easy to remain socially distant. When we reached the top, day had changed, and we were greeted with a beautiful partly sunny Rocky Mountain vista! It always amazes me how much clouds will improve a photograph. I decided to try out my 135mm Minolta Celtic lens to get a good shot of Long's Peak. I rarely used this lens; it’s simply too telephoto for me, and it really should be used with a tripod for best results. I didn’t carry my tripod up this steep climb, but I did have my walking stick which just so happens to have a tripod mount on it, which is accessed by flipping open the top of the stick Handel. I don’t actually use the screw mount; instead I just rested the camera on the stick for steadiness and gently squeeze the shutter.

Using my walking stick as a monopod.

Debbie and I at the top of Sulivan's Gulch.

Hikes like this one do not come along very often for me, and a was quite sincere when I told Debbie that today had been one of the best days of my life. However, it was not over yet. Megan and Devin took us to Ironton Distillery and Crafthouse for supper and spirits. Ironton crafts a number of spirits such as vodka, gin, whisky, rum, and others with great attention to detail. They also make fine thin crust pizzas and serve their products in a lovely outdoor patio setting that is maintained by the landscaping company for which Megan works. We were awed by her colorfully artistic barrel plantings that are carefully placed throughout the patio. I made a few shots of the patio before it got too dark, and then we all enjoyed a great meal and time together.

Monday will be our last full day in Denver, so stay tuned to hear about our adventures before we begin our journey home.

Reports From the Road #4: All Gonna Meet Down at the Cadillac Ranch

After spending the night in Amarillo, we began the day with a visit to the iconic Cadillac Ranch just west of town. In case you don’t know, Cadillac Ranch is “sculptor” art installation that consists of ten vintage Cadillac automobiles in a row with their front ends buried in the Texas soil and their tail fins jutted upward into the sky, all at the same angle. The installation is considered interactive, and each colorful car has been painted over many times by visitors and artists. I didn’t actually know where Cadillac Ranch was until I researched hotels for Wednesday night and found that it was only about two miles away. Although we did not get up and out at the crack of dawn, we did check out quickly and set out for it in the bright cloudless morning sun. I stupidly thought that we might be the only people there and that I would have the opportunity to make some photographs of the famous monument with no one else around.

However, as we approached the site, I saw dozens of parked cars along the side of the road. We parked our car and walked through the gate toward the site, and I could see a large number of people gathered around the cars, all actively painting the cars with cans of spray paint. I realized that this probably happens everyday and that, unlike most art, the appearance of Cadillac Ranch is never static. I shot several frames of  Ektachrome E100 color slide film with my Minolta X-700, and while I tried to isolate a single car to show off its bright colors, I also made some shots that included the “artistic” activity that was going on. It was fun, and now I’ve been to Cadillac Ranch.

Next, it was time for a long Thursday drive through west Texas and northeaster New Mexico to reach Colorado and eventually Denver, where our oldest, Megan, and her mate, Devin, live. I loved that the road was all state and US highways until shortly before Colorado. Driving the backroads puts you up close and personal with the landscape and the places where people live, work, and farm. I was amazed at how often the landscaped in Texas, changing from the flattest farmland I have ever seen to rocky hilly prairie to almost desert-like conditions with cactus all around. We stopped once to photograph a church, but we could have stopped again and again if we weren’t on a schedule. I also kept on eye on the car thermometer and watched it climb upward, eventually reaching 102°F in southern Colorado. Suddenly, as we drove north along Interstate 25, the Rocky Mountains came into view. High heat and high peaks!

We finally reached Megan and Devin's warm and comfortable home in the afternoon and spent the rest of the day relaxing in her colorful flower garden. Megan is a very talented landscaper who aspires to have her own landscaping business someday. Because she also is a talented visual artist, she is building a reputation for her creative flower plantings, and this is clearly evidenced by her own beautiful and thriving flower garden. You can feel her love of beauty and nature there, and we had a wonderful evening catching up with lots of laughter and love.

The next day we had a tasty breakfast of breakfast burritos crafted by Devin. Devin works in the restaurant industry and is a master of burrito making; his burritos are rolled perfectly, and they are a joy to eat. Actually, Devin has many talents, but none so pronounced as his musical talents. He is a fine guitarist who also gets around well on bass and drums. As a singer and songwriter, he spends a lot of time crafting his music in his studio, which he has fashioned in the garage. I got to jam with Devin after breakfast, me on drums and Devin on guitar. Fun!

Next, we drove into Clear Creek Canyon and climbed until we reached St. Mary's Glacier. The air was clear, and the Rockies were sharp, present, and beautiful. We walked up to the snow, and I carefully walked out onto the glacier, trying desperately to not fall (unsuccessfully, of course.) I shot a lot of color and black and white film, as I managed to carry both the XE-5 and the X-700 with both a 50mm and a 28mm lens. In a landscape situation like the Colorado Rockies, a wide angle lens is a must. The bright sunny conditions made for a sunny f16 day. Once we had enough of the snow, we set up hammocks and had a great picnic lunch. That with a home-cooked meal back at Megan and Devin's made for a truly great day.

Stay tuned.

Reports From the Road #3: Still in Texas

This morning we said goodbye to our youngest daughter, Amber, and her mate, Matthew, as they began their journey back to their home in Seattle. We had a great time together, but now it was time for us to begin our journey to Denver to visit our oldest daughter, Megan, and her mate, Devin. We decided to break the trip into two days with a pn overnight stop in Amarillo, which is where I am as I type this.

Texas is a big state; you can seemingly drive forever and still be in Texas, which is what we did today. We did enjoy the US and state highways that took us most of the way. The landscape changed from slightly rolling hills to prairie to flat flat farmland. We love taking the backroads that take you through the land rather that above it.

No time for photography today, but tomorrow we visit Cadillac Ranch in the morning. I’m looking forward to seeing what magic the early morning sun angles perform. After that, it’s on to Denver.  Stay tuned.

Kevin

Reports From the Road #2: Hot Hot Heat

Today was a great day of spending time with our younger daughter, Amber,  and her mate, Matthew, in Austin, Texas. We had lunch out at a restaurant that had outdoor seating, played some games, fixed a wonderful supper in our AirBnB, and laughed a lot. I shot some photos of them together with my Minolta X-700 on Ektachrome E100 slide film, and I also wondered around the neighborhood with my Minolta XE-5 loaded with Ultrafine Extreme 100.

My cameras on the shelf in our rental.

I’ve never been to this part of Texas before, and I have to tell you that I have two impressions. First, it is unbelievably hot, much more so that I was prepared for. Officially, the heat index reached 98°F, but it seemed like being on the inside of an oven. It was hard to enjoy all the city of Austin has to offer when all I wanted to do was to get back inside. Second, the mosquitos are as oppressive as the heat. Mosquitoes seem to like me anyway, but here they were just too much. When I did venture out, I has to keep moving to keep from being eaten up. The mosquitoes also delighted in feasting on Amber. I’m sure that Austin is a fun place to visit in normal times and not in the middle of summer, but these are not normal times. Perhaps when COVID is over someday, we will come back. Perhaps in December . . .

Tomorrow we are hitting the road again, taking two days to get to Denver to visit our oldest daughter, Megan, and her mate, Devin. Our plans are to stop in Amarillo for the night, and while I was researching Amarillo, I discovered that Amarillo is the where the Cadillac Ranch is. Ah, I’ve always wanted to photograph Cadillac Ranch! This should be fun! Stay tuned.

Kevin

Reports From The Road #1: Long Drives

Our vacation is underway, as Debbie and I set out from our Chattanooga home Sunday morning about 8:30 am EDT. We reached our first day goal of Shreveport, Louisiana, some nine hours later, and after finding a decent hotel room, settled in for the night. It was all interstate driving, something we avoid usually. To us, taking the “backroads” (meaning US and state highways) is worth the additional travel time, because seeing the ever-changing landscapes, farms, towns, or even cities of America is the real reward. However, COVID-19 has changed our usual vacation approach, and we stayed on the interstate. Even choosing a hotel is affected. We usually book our hotel rooms “on the fly” using smartphone apps, and Sunday was no exception. However, our first hotel in Shreveport was unacceptably dirty - it was clear that it had not been occupied or cleaned in quite some time. We asked for and received our money back and found a different hotel - cleaner than the first but still far from ideal. We spent the night there anyway and set out for Austin, Texas, this morning.

For today’s trip, we decided to take backroads to get to Austin. The reason for this was to avoid traveling anywhere near Dallas, which is a very hot “hotspot for COVID-19. Obviously, we are nervous about being in Texas at all right now, so anything we can do to take precautions is a good idea. The drive was quite enjoyable vent with some intermittent rain. Both the rolling plains and the flat prairies of Texas are a joy to see from the backroads. Our road, US 79, was both flat and straight with little traffic - a fun drive in our 2007 VW Rabbit.

We arrived safely at our AirBnb about 3:00 pm and have settled in nicely. We went out for dinner at an Italian restaurant that had outdoor seating and braved the mid 90° heat. There was a market adjacent to the restaurant that had an interesting sign that demanded to be captured, so I took out my Minolta XE-5 on shot two frames of Ultrafine Extreme 100.

Tomorrow will have adventures of its own, so stay tuned.

Kevin

Vacation Camera Choices

Both Debbie and I are K-5 public school teachers, so a couple of months off during the summer is a cherished blessing for which we are very grateful. Now experienced empty nesters, we use this time for extended travel that usually involves visiting our daughters and also some amount of camping. We have just returned from a camping trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina and Virginia that we enjoyed very much despite spending two of the three nights in a motel due to weather concerns. Tent camping and rain to not play well together.

Our next journey begins this Friday and will take us to the American southwest to visit both daughters, neither of whom actually live in that part of the country but instead are joining us for visits. Our youngest will be with us in Austin, Texas, while our oldest will join us in Taos, New Mexico. Because they actually live in Seattle and Denver, respectively, we do not get to see them very much, so we are very excited about this trip indeed. Sadly, Texas is seeing significant increases in COVID-19, so we are going to take all precautions as we go, just as we have been doing here at home in Chattanooga.

Because I have "too many cameras," choosing what cameras and film to take on a trip like this can be stressful. I try to involve most, if not all of my favorite cameras over time, and my interests in shooting them shifts constantly from one to another. Sometimes I am greatly influenced by what others are shooting through a blog post I have read or a podcast episode I have listened to. I can be very impressionable. However, this time I have made my choices - choices that I think will both be enjoyable and will work well for me. Let me give you some insight into how I arrived at my decision.

My Minolta XE-5 (L) and my Minolta X-700, about to go west.

I am taking two manual focus SLR's, and they are both Minoltas (no surprise there, of course). I am taking my beloved X-700 (with the Minolta Motor Drive 1) and my Minolta XE-5. The X-700 is an old favorite, being only the second (and last) film camera I ever purchased new in the box. It feels so good in my hand, and I am so familiar with the controls that I feel at one with the camera. I replaced the seals and the mirror bumper on this one last year, so it fires silky smooth. Even though the Motor Drive 1 adds weight, I love the grip and the two auxiliary shutter buttons. And speaking of the shutter buttons, this camera features the touch-sensitive buttons that turn on the meter when touched. The meter will go off again in a few second, saving battery power. All the batteries in the camera and motor drive are fresh and can be replaced easily on the road. In my experience, the X-700's meter is highly accurate, which is a factor because of the film I will be shooting in it (more on that later).

The XE-5 is a fairly new camera to me. I found mine in a local Facebook Marketplace ad for a very good price, considering that it came with a Minolta MC Rokkor-X f1.4 50mm lens, a lens I had always wanted. I have two Minolta f1.7 lenses already, and both of them are good. However, this f1.4 has a stellar reputation. I've had it cleaned, so it's ready to go. The XE-5 camera itself is one of several interesting results of the collaboration between Minolta and Leitz Camera of Germany, makers of the famous Leica rangefinder cameras. Much of the Minolta XE came from Leitz, especially the extremely smooth Leitz-Copal shutter. I can attest that it rivals my Nikon FE for the smoothest, vibration-less shutter. The design of the XE is very much like Minolta SRT-202 (Uncle Jonesy's, of course), so my fingers know where everything is on it. It's solid and dependable, and unlike the SRT-202 it takes the same batteries as my X-700 and are easily found. The meter on mine seems to be accurate as well. The only significant difference between the XE-5 and it's more expensive brother, the XE-7, is the lack of information in the viewfinder. You do not see your aperture selection, and you only see the suggested shutter speed (via a needle). I am not worried by this, as I tend to look at the dials anyway whether they can be seen in the viewfinder or not.

I should also point out that I originally bought the XE-5 to "rescue it" - that is to clean it up, test it out, and sell it to someone looking for a working film camera. I have only begun to test it, having taken it on our Blue Ridge Parkway trip last week. I have not yet seen the resulting photographs, so I suppose using it on this trip out west is some level of risk. Nevertheless, I want to see what it can do. Again, I'm not worried. These cameras have been found to be reliable.

Obviously, one of the main reasons for choosing two Minolta SLR's is so that I can use whatever lenses I bring on both camera bodies. Aside from the above-mentioned 50mm f1.4 lens, I will bring two more lenses:  my Minolta Celtic 28mm f2.8 and my Minolta Celtic 135mm f3.5. The 28mm f2.8 is one of my favorite lenses, even though it is a "Celtic" lens, which was Minolta's line of budget lenses. Despite its "budget" status, I have found mine to be a solid performer with good resolution and contrast. Sometimes I go out on a photowalk with this lens only and adapt my "vision" to its perspective. The 135mm f3.5, also a Celtic lens, is a lens I seldom use, because it's just too long for me. I got a good deal on it when I purchased it, but I really wished I had found an 85mm or a 100mm Minolta lens at such a good deal. Using a 135mm lens without a tripod is risky at best. Nevertheless, I am taking this lens with the intent of finding uses for it, and I will have a tripod with me as well.

Because I am taking two SLR bodies with me, my plan is to shoot black and white film in one (the XE-5) and color film in the other (the X-700). As for color film, I chose to shoot the newly re-introduced Kodak Ektachrome V100 slide film. My experience with this film since Kodak brought it back last year have been very positive, and I think it will be the perfect film on which to capture the colors of both Austin, Texas and the desert of Taos, New Mexico. Slide film requires accurate exposure, and I am confident that my X-700 will be up to the task. I won't be developing the Ektachrome, but instead I will be sending it to The Darkroom lab in San Clemente, California for development. I've had good experience with the rolls of Fuji Provia slide film I sent them recently.

As for black and white film. the XE-5 already has some Ultrafine Extreme 100 in it, and I have plenty more of that in the form of a bulk roll. However, there is a part of me that wants to shoot a lot of Kodak Tri-X 400 on this trip, and I have a lot of it as well. I also am intrigued by the idea of limiting oneself to a single black and white film for a trip or project. Tri-X 400 is a magical film to me, especially when it is developed in Kodak D-76 diluted 1:1 with distilled water. I love making darkroom prints from Tri-X negatives as well.

I will take more film than I probably will need for a very important reason:  I want to force myself to shoot a lot on this trip. I tend to be "thrifty' when it comes to shooting film, and I try to make every shot count. However, when I look at all the photographs I took while on a particular trip, more often than not I will ask myself, "Is this all the photographs I took of this trip? Why didn't I shoot more?" I am determined to come away with lots of photographic souvenirs and not have regrets over not shooting more.

Vacations for Debbie and me are all about experiences and memories, and they are the perfect opportunities to apply the craft of photography. Trips like this do not happen very often; we don't get to see our daughters and their mates often either. I want to experience all the good parts of such a trip and capture as much of it on film as I can. Stay tuned for updates from the road.

Kevin

UPDATE:  We've just learned that the governor of New Mexico has issued an executive order requiring all out-of-state visitors to self-quarantine for fourteen days, so we probably will not be going to New Mexico after all. Instead, we will visit our oldest daughter in Denver.

UJC Podcast #24: They're Gonna Put Me in the Movies!

Kelley holds another one of Uncle Jonesy's cameras, a Bell &
Howell 8mm movie camera.

The Shutter Brothers, Kelley and Kevin Lane, got back together this week to make a brand new podcast episode, and that episode is now live on all your favorite podcast sources. Show number 24 sees us Shutter Bros. in a very good summer mood with lots of summer plans for their photography. Kelley, for example, is planning to shoot home movies with his array of 8mm movie cameras, including one that was owned by - you guessed it - good old Uncle Jonesy himself! In fact, Kelley is the caretaker of a number of Bell & Howell 8mm movies that Jonesy shot with this camera, and the Bros. as kids are the "stars" in most of them. Kelley also owns the Bell & Howell 8mm movie camera that was in our family when we were growing up, and yes, there are lots of reels of film from those days in Kelley's possession.

As kids, the Shutter Brothers made fine use of this durable Bell
& Howell 8mm movie camera.

It's an interesting fact that there are more varied kinds of 8mm movie film available today than there ever was back when the format was at it's peak, and the Michael Raso of the Film Photography Project is responsible for making this happen. It is now possible to shoot both color and black and white 8mm movie film, and both have options for negative film (for scanning only) or positive film for projection as well as scanning. The Film Photography Store sells a variety of ISO options and also provides developing and scanning services. While shooting, developing, and scanning color film is an expensive options, black and white film is more affordable. Kelley plans to shoot a lot of it in the coming months. He may even create a video for the Uncle Jonesy's Cameras YouTube channel demonstrating some tips and tricks. Stay tuned . . .

A handsome Keystone 8mm movie camera with turret normal,
wide angle, and telephoto lenses.

Meanwhile, Kevin explains his decision to stop scanning his black and white negatives and instead scan finished darkroom prints that he makes in Chattanooga's community darkroom, Safelight District. He has written a series of blog posts about this and also how he creates "virtual" contact sheets that can be viewed on any mobile device. You can read those posts here and here.

We finish the show with a great listener letter from Wayne Lorimer, who is a film and digital photographer from New Zealand. While Wayne is shooting more and more film these days, he has a sizable and amazing portfolio of his digital work that just blew us away. You can see his work here. Wayne also maintains a pair of blogs on photography, and you can find those here and here.

This jpeg was made by an app called Film Lab.
Kevin will convert it to PDF, annotate it with
information, and add it to his pdf book of contact
sheets.

Speaking of listener letters, we'd love to hear from you! Our email address is unclejonesyscameras@gmail.com. Drop us a line or even a voice comment. You also can find us on Facebook and Instagram by looking up @UJCPodcast. Leave us a post or a comment and tell us about yourself.

That's all for now. Stay well and safe out there. Wear that mask!

Happy Shooting!