Notes from Mosquito Hill

May randomness (P366)

mack505 — Fri, 18 May 2012 01:11:35 +0000

5/8 – In the checkout line, wondering why Nostradamus looks like an angry Sean Connery.

5/9 – Charter Hose No. 1

5/10 – Beth learning to handle a manual TLR, in this case a Super Ricohflex.

5/10 – The Vegetable Garden @ Castle Hill

5/12 – Requiem for a picnic table. This one came into the family around 1975. It had finally rotted to the point of being dangerous. With company due this weekend it was time for it to go. Bring on the chainsaw.

5/14 – cool thrift store find: a Minolta Uniomat. More about this later.

Crawford Notch (P366 – 5/5)

mack505 — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:05:55 +0000

On 5/5, Beth and I took the motorcar up Crawford Notch on the Conway Scenic RR with the Cotton Valley Rail Trail Club. I’ll let the photos do the talking.

Nikon FM2/Kodak Ektachrome E100G cross processed (above)

Smena Symbol (below)

Wordless Wednesday #2

mack505 — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:20:00 +0000

Floodlights

mack505 — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:05:36 +0000

5/4 – Engines 681 & 682 operate at an early morning car fire with exposures.

Shot on 645 Pro for the iPhone, which has some nice feature and a decent night mode.

Golf Ball (P366 – 5/1)

mack505 — Mon, 14 May 2012 14:05:53 +0000

In our recent photo travels, Beth and I have noticed a number of found objects stationed on fence posts. I’m not sure if this is coincidence, or if I’m missing out on some sort of meme. This golf ball graced the entrance to Hellcat Swamp at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge last week. It follows on the heels of a shoe and a few mittens we’ve also photographed.

Holga BC135/Ilford HP5+

Light (P366 – April 26)

mack505 — Sun, 13 May 2012 10:55:01 +0000

4/26 – Beth & Cricket. I was experimenting with alternative lighting using a new flash slave adapter. This little $5 gizmo fires its flash when it sees another flash fire. It has lots of possibilities, and I highly recommend picking one up.

4/28 – First day with the new (to me) Minolta HiMatic AF2. I drive past this swamp on Route 1 a few times a week. This particular morning the light was calling to me.

Incidentally, the AF2 has become a quick favorite of Beth’s. It has auto focus, auto exposure, and a built-in flash. The flash has to be engaged manually, but the electronics will tell you when it’s needed. It’s a cool little camera for $6 and takes some very nice pictures. She’s on her third roll of film with it. I must confess I like it too.

Sunrise, sunset (P366 – April 28/29)

mack505 — Sun, 13 May 2012 01:10:05 +0000

Jake Bouchard (@jbphto) from Old School Photo Lab issued a challenge recently. To paraphrase, “Everyone shoots sunsets. I want to see what the sun is setting ON.”

Here you go, Jake.

4/28 – Sunset in Deerfield, NH.

And the object. Nikon FM2, Kodak Ektachrome E100G cross processed.

And for good measure, here’s sunrise the next morning over Salem Harbor.

For those fond of Instagram, Photoshop, HDR and the like, I’d like to point out that none of these images have been post processed. This is the magic of modern film.

Wordless Wednesday #1

mack505 — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:05:17 +0000

Wireless-less Wednesday, Another Milestone, and a 365 Update

The scientific method

mack505 — Wed, 09 May 2012 01:36:34 +0000

I’m not exactly happy with my results in the darkroom. My latest attempts at printing have been flat. I’m not having much luck boosting contrast to the levels I would like to see.

I have been saying that I’m experimenting with my photography, but I haven’t been organized. I’ve been playing with multiple new cameras and different films for the last two months. The results have been fun but not educational.

So starting tomorrow, I’m shooting a known camera (my Nikon FM2) and known film (Ilford HP5+ because it’s what I have that’s not expired.) Hopefully I can pay attention to my darkroom technique and figure out where I’m going wrong.

These are uncorrected scans from my last roll of HP5. They’re not too bad, but the boardwalk could use a boost. Hmmmm…

The River

mack505 — Wed, 09 May 2012 01:10:16 +0000

4/23 – cold & wet

Bessamatic with Kodak Gold 400

In the rain

4/24 – Bridges

Bessamatic/Gold 400