(Camera: Olympus OM-PC; Lens: Zuiko 50mm f/1.8; Film: Kodak Ektar 100)
At some point in the not-too-distant past, Central Middle School here in Victoria repainted their building in the style of a Mondrian painting. It’s really quite striking and transforms an otherwise unremarkable structure into something attractive and worth walking by.
Gold and blue at Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site, Victoria , BC.
(Camera: Hasselblad 503cx: Lens: 80mm Zeiss Planar; Filter: Polarizer; Film: Fuji Reala 100)
(Camera: Olympus XA; Film: Kodak Ektar 100)
Autmn has come to our neck of the woods. Green is turning to gold, and gold will turn brittle and crumble to dust. It’s such a lovely/sad time of year — a season of transition that gently reminds us of what we’ve lost, but also hints at what we’ll gain. We just have to get through the winter.
Real tomatoes.
(Camera: Hasselblad 503cx; Lens: 80mm Zeiss Planar (with extension); Film: Fuji Reala 100)
These tomatoes aren’t perfect. A couple have noticable blemishes, they range in size, and they’re not evenly ripe. They’re not from a store, rather, they’re from my dad’s garden in Penticton, B.C. And you know what? They taste great. But that’s the thing these days isn’t it? You can go into any supermarket and find great looking produce that tastes, well, underwhelming. Strawberries are another prime example — big, lucious berries from California that taste like styrofoam. What does it say about “the market” if it has decided that we would rather have fruits and vegetables that look better than they taste? Style over substance. Features over function. Opinion over information. Fiction over fact.
This is the modern world that I’ve learnt about . . .
French Beach Provincial Park
(Camera: Agfa Isolette II; Film: Fuji Reala 100)
The photo above was shot with colour negative film, and then converted into a black-and-white image with software. To my eye at least, it reads far better this way than it does in colour. Indeed, if I had been carrying around my Hasselblad at the time, I would have shot this in b&w anyway. By comparision, the colour original is rather uninspiring. Continue reading
You dream about it, but it never seems to happen. The “dream,” of course, is finding a truly rare camera at a bargain price at some out-of-the-way flea market. This dream finally came true for me a few months ago when I stumbled across an Olympus Pen at our little town’s annual garage sale. And I didn’t even realize my luck until I got the camera home and did some on-line research. Continue reading
(Camera: Olympus OM-PC; Lens: Zuiko 50mm f/3.5 Macro; Film: Kodak T-Max 100)
An interesting info-graphic in the current (September 2012) issue of National Geographic notes that agriculture accounts for some 92% of humankind’s consumption of water. And of that, the production of beef requires the greatest amount of water by far.
Last season's apples.
(Camera: Hasselblad 503cx; Lens: 80mm Zeiss Planar (with extension); Film: Fuji Reala 100)
I grew up on a sun-soaked orchard in the Similkameen Valley of British Columbia. Probably that’s why I’ve always marked the season cycles with the arrival of different fruit varieties. Cherries, apricots, peaches, and now early apples. Just in time too — after months in storage, last year’s apples are starting to look a little past their prime.
East Sooke Park, BC.
(Camera: Konica Auto S2; Film: Kodak T-MAX 100)
Most photographers have at least two cameras – one for when they set out specifically to take pictures, and another for “just in case” situations. It’s handy to have something small enough to slip into your pocket if you’re just dashing off to the corner store for a carton of milk. A compact camera is also the ideal accessory for a medium-format setup or a full-on 35mm SLR rig. And since I mainly shoot black-and-white, I like to keep a second, small camera loaded with colour film for those occasions when the urge strikes. But even if it’s just a sometimes camera, I don’t want to sacrifice quality for convenience. And that’s why the Olympus Stylus Epic is a firm favourite. Continue reading
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