Clouds

From The Archive

 I spent the afternoon retrieving scanned files from an old backup hard-drive.   Some of the files go back to 2001.  A quick look tells me my memory is going to be taxed recognizing some of the places and subjects.  

I do recall this cloudy April 6th of 2013 when I found some old cars lined up along the curb in the Old Town Plaza.  Captured with my Argus C3 and the Sandmar 35mm lens.

For this subject, Google Search is a big help in retrieving some details:

* * * 

"The car featured prominently in the center of the image is a 1958 Chevrolet Impala Sport Coupe. 

Key Details of the 1958 Impala
    •    Debut Year: 1958 was the inaugural year for the Impala nameplate, which was originally introduced as the top-of-the-line trim for the Chevrolet Bel Air line.
    •    Design Features: This model is known for its pillarless coupe design, quadruple headlights, and distinctive triple taillights. The specific color of the car in the image appears to be Silver Blue Poly.
    •    Performance: These classic cars were often powered by a 348-cubic-inch "W" engine or a 283ci V8, with some high-end versions featuring "Tri-Power" (three two-barrel carburetors).
    •    Historical Significance: It was a "one-year-only" body style, as the Impala was redesigned for the 1959 model year, making the '58 a highly sought-after collector's item. "  

 * * *

  More to follow...

Another Twin Lens

I took my Mamiyaflex II for a morning walk in Old Town.  The temperature at 9:00 AM was already about 70 degrees in the last week of February.  That made for a nice walk, along with a little anxiety about what will come in the Summer.  The car club guys that hang out in the Plaza on the weekend did not really take a winter break this year.

I found the Mamiyaflex at a yard sale some time ago.  I didn't really need another twin lens reflex camera, but it looked to be in pretty good shape for its age except for a little peeling of the covering.  It is also interesting because this Japanese camera from the 1950's bears a very strong resemblance to my Kodak Reflex II which is only a little older.

Given the amount of time the Mamiyaflex sat on a shelf since its last use I was not surprised to find that it was not working quite perfectly.  The advance was a little rough, and when I developed the film I found that the frame spacing was very irregular.  

I also found that I had a little trouble with framing my images in the viewfinder, which seemed dimmer than I remembered, especially in the corners.  That may have been due in part to the sunny day reflections on the viewscreen, and I suspect my own dimming vision may also be implicated.

Over all though I can't complain about the quality of the images.  I'll see if a little cleaning and lubrication will help with the rough advance issue.  I may also try inserting a plastic fresnel lens under the viewscreen to see if that will brighten things up a bit.

Looking At Photographs

 My old iMac was looking tired, so I got one eight years newer, a 2017 model with a 27-inch screen.  The added screen real estate is more than I need for most things, but I'm enjoying seeing some of my photos in large size.

The on-screen images from the original .tiff scans are 13x23 inches and they have the kind of brilliance similar to what is provided by a projected slide.  It is a presentation I have not seen before because the biggest prints I have made in the past are 11 x 14, and I only have a few of those hanging on my walls which were done for exhibits.  Also, the images I typically show online are usually limited to a height of 900 pixels which accommodates most online viewers.

An interesting aspect of viewing the large images on the screen is that one can appreciate the potential excellence of film-based images in regard to resolution, tonalities and grain.  Of course, one can do the same with very large prints on paper, but that is expensive.  And, what do you then do with the prints?  My little house has no more wall space for hanging prints, and just sticking them in the closet serves no useful purpose. 

In the past I occasionally did slide shows on my TV using Google's cast feature, but the device for doing that is no longer supported.  I've added some of the pictures I like to my wallpaper folder, and I'm thinking maybe I will set up some slide presentations on the iMac as an alternative to casting.

(The picture of the AFD fire engine was made with my Kodak Retina IIc on Tmax 100 processed in HC110b.)

An Old Favorite

I put a roll of Kentmere 100 through my Kodak Reflex II over a couple days.  It is one of those cameras for which I have a particular fondness because I was able to do a complete cleaning and adjustment without destroying it.  The reason for that is that the Reflex II is rather simple in its construction compared to my other tlr cameras.  The linked gear lenses are largely responsible for that simplicity.  

The pictures from this roll were artistically unremarkable, but I was happy with getting decent tonal results in combination with a fresh kit of PMK Pyro. 

The shot of my friend, Bob, was made in the dark corner of a coffee shop at 1/25 and f:3.5.  I was slightly off on the focus, but still pleased to get anything under those conditions.

 

It was a noteworthy accomplishment for Kodak to produce a full featured twin lens reflex at an affordable price in 1948.  The coated Anastar lens is very sharp and the viewfinder is as bright as anything made in those days.

 

f you have a Reflex II that needs some cleaning up, Rick Oleson's Tech Notes are free to download.

Medium Format

I took my Yashica-Mat for a walk in the Botanic Garden.  There were few other visitors on this sunny winter morning.  I have been disappointed in the increasingly manicured look of the place, but it is still a nice plece of nature to have nearby when I might not feel like going to the river or the mountains.

The conservatory always has an abundance of flowering plants regardless of the season.  This time of year I look forward to seeing and photographing the exotic lilies.

 

 The dry climate side of the site has native plants from the southwest deserts.

The medium format images from the Yashica-Mat have a kind of solidity which is particularly nice compared to what often comes from even the best of the 35mm cameras.

Having the close-up lens kit for the Yashica-Mat adds quite a bit of versatility in subject matter possibilities.  An eye-level finder like I have for the Mamiya C-330 would also be nice as shooting high with the waist-level finder requires a more flexible neck than the one I currently have.  I do have a steadying hand-grip which fits the camera, but I couldn't find it before this outing and my success rate suffered a bit as a result.

A Decade of Discovery

I was looking for something to support my bedtime reading habit.  Not finding anything interesting at the local library website, I turned to openlibrary.org and entered "photography criticism" in the search box.  That got me to Light Readings: a photography critic's writings, 1968-1978 by Allan D. Coleman.

The decade of articles collected in the book were first published in The New York Times, the Village Voice and Popular Photography. Coleman seemed a familiar name and it seems like I must have seen some of the columns as I was in New York in the late 1960s.  I don't recall any of the dozen pieces I've read so far.  

My lack of good familiarity with Coleman is a symptom of my general failure to take advantage of the great photographic resources which were available at the time.  There was really no end of museum and gallery exhibits on photography.  I can really only recall going often to the Museum of Modern Art, and I took no advantage at all of the opportunities for learning from the great people who were teaching courses in New York in those days.

I have since gotten familiar with a lot of the artists in photography that Coleman's columns discuss.  It is great fun to read about many of those people in Coleman's interviews and critiques. His style is spare and perceptive and there a lot of good stories I had not seen before about the New York photography scene in the 1960s and 1970s.

Coleman's historical and social comments are mostly right on.  One instance in which he misses the mark is in a discussion of holography.  I do recall the hype about that 3D imaging technology, but Coleman's prediction that it would be the art form of the future really didn't pan out.

I imagine that Coleman's columns were accompanied by examples of the photographic work he was discussing, but they did not make it into the scanned copy of the openlibrary book.  It is easy enough to supplement the reading with quick online searches for the images.  I also have books by some of the photographers.

I was particularly pleased to find that one of Coleman's articles dealt with the career of Roy DeCarava, whose work I have always admired, mostly through the collection illustrated in the Friends of Photography book edited by James Alinder and with a lengthy introduction by Sherry Turner DeCarava. Coleman's article provides a good overview of DeCarava's style and the difficulties he encountered in obtaining appropriate recognition as a Black artist.

************

UPDATE:

It turns out there is a selection of photos buried in the middle of the online book.  Still helpful, though, to do a quick search in a second tab for examples of the artists discussed.

Also,

I found another document online with a selection of A.D. Coleman's writing that includes some of the columns from the Light Readings book, but covering a longer time period.  It is in a format that is a bit easier to read than the openlibrary scan.

An
A. D. Coleman Reader
Published Writings 1968-2017

Prepared for the Forum on Contemporary Photography
Department of Photography, Museum of Modern Art

September 19, 2018