Friday 2 February 2024

Catching up.

 Well it has been a couple of months since I posted a Blog article.  

I don't have any Project or roll of film in particular to share with you. So, I will put up what I have taken and give a run down of what has been occurring.

In October 2023, Kim & I visited Wauchope (about 2.5-3 hour drive from our place) to see our Son, Lachlan, his Wife Naomi and, their 2 sons Jasper and Griffin. The boys are twins and it was the occasion of their 1st Birthday. For their birthday we went to the Billabong Zoo and Wildlife Park, just up the road. It was a really nice day and the boys loved seeing the animals. It took me a short while to get onto the editing of these photos. That due to the Black and White roll of Fuji Acros 100 (original!) I got back from the Lab that needed scanning (see last blog post).


I love the photo above of the Cotton Top Tamarin Monkey. A problem I find when photographing animals in a Zoo environment is the background.  Usually, the background is cage wire, cement wall, brick wall or a wall that is painted with scenery or, just a plain wooden wall. They tend to look cheap and nasty and take the impetus and attention away from the subject. For the photo above, I used the Background Layer selection in Lightroom to darken the painted wall so that the subject was highlighted. I also used Dodge and Burn tools to bring out the texture in the branch and detail in the monkey's fur.

The two lions below are an example of what can be done with a crappy fence background covered in an overgrown climbing plant. I changed the background of the original photos in Photoshop using the new AI. It gave me options of what might go in the background as well as a blank search area to find something I thought would suit.  I typed in 'African Scenery' and it gave me a number of options. The cutting in of the new background onto the original subject is done really well and the outcome looks a lot more pleasing. I can't see myself using the Photoshop AI that often but, I can see that it may have its place for some projects on old photo restorations.


After leaving Lachlan, Naomi and the boys, we had an overnight in Forster on the way home. Lovely little place that lies on the Coolongolook River (below). I can see that it would get massively busy in the Holiday Season (one of the joys of being retired now is travelling out of the Holiday Season nightmare!) 



I added a soft Magenta colour filter to this as there was already a fine Magenta colour in the
original (see photo above this one)

In November, we travelled up to Brisbane for an early family Christmas. Popped into Ballina on the way up to visit my Cousin for a couple of nights which broke the trip up just nicely. It was very hot and soooo humid in Brisbane! Who'd have thought I grew up just down the road. Whilst in Brisbane we visited the Roma Street Parklands, magnificent gardens that were all out in flower! It really is a place to visit!

One thing I was amazed at was the amount of Eastern Water Dragons wandering the parklands. They aren't phased at the Humans wandering around but they are not real tame either and take off if you get too close. The Parklands has a wonderful Cafe if you're not in a hurry you can sit and enjoy a Coffee and something sweet with it or, perhaps lunch. 

We stopped into Yamba on the way back and stayed in a Cabin at the Caravan Park. My Brother and his Wife were there in their Caravan for about a week or so and we decided to spend 2 nights there to have a look around and have a few wines with them. 

Just before Christmas we played designated driver for Rhiannan who was attending a Christmas Function for her work. Kim and I took the dogs into town with us and hung around for a few hours. It had been a hot day but there was a cool change that came through accompanied by a thunderstorm. I love thunderstorms but not while I am sitting outside eating wood fired Pizza and having a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon! It's ok though, I didn't get any water in my wine!

Of course, I took my camera with me (early evening is a great time to wander the CBD!)

I have found in the early evening, the light can change pretty significantly depending on the location in the city. For example, alleyways and open beach spaces. I didn't take a tripod with me; too much to carry when just wandering. So, for these photos I set the camera on Auto ISO so I didn't have to muck around, checking and then adjusting. For the most it went well but there were a few that just didn't cut it for my liking so, I think the Auto ISO will not be continued in the future.


My fav photo of the evening.  I named it 'Ice Cream & iPhones'!

It was a bit of madness for a short while, doing some last minute Christmas shopping but we survived; barely. The Summer here on the East Coast of Australia has been hot and so very humid! We had a heatwave for about 4-5 days where the temperature reached between 39 and 46 (degrees Celsius! That's about 102-114 Fahrenheit for my overseas friends!) It has been back up there again since then and I am soooo looking forward to the colder months this year.  We have had weather warnings for thunderstorms and heatwaves. Needless to say, Kim and I have been hibernating in the air conditioning and just veging out!

Because I don't have any new material to edit, I re-visited some of my old Air Force photos. The colours over the last 38 years have faded and yellowed slightly, hence my decision to re-edit them in Black and White which has turned out pretty successful! I actually think I prefer the Black and White to the original colour photos (but, then again, if you know me, you will know that I love Black and White photos so, possibly, I could be a little biased!)



And there we have it, now you're up to date with where I am. For my next projects, I have a roll of medium format Fuji NPH 400 (expired) loaded into a Bronica ETRSi and, a 35mm colour film (the type of which I can't remember! ha ha) loaded into a Yashica EE rangefinder.  I also have to renew my stocks of Black and White film for 2024.










Sunday 12 November 2023

Canon EOS 300V - saved by the bell

 

I like to have Canon EOS 35mm SLRs in my collection.  It allows me to share my modern day EF lenses and other Canon accessories with the old cameras.  My first Canon EOS 35mm SLR was a 300V.  It was released in 2002 as an upgrade to the Canon EOS Rebel series cameras.  Basically, this camera could do a lot of stuff; it also had the fastest autofocus and most advanced auto exposure in its class and the plastic lens mount in previous models was replaced by a steel mount in this model.

Some months ago whilst on a trip to Victoria, I noticed the camera starting to play up.  After taking a photo, the viewfinder would black out and the battery icon would flash.  I replaced the batteries but, the viewfinder would still  black out and the battery icon would keep flashing.  The blacking out of the viewfinder didn't always cover the viewfinder.  Sometimes it would leave a blacked out portion on an angle across the viewfinder which prompted me to consider that it was the Shutter Curtain getting stuck or damaged.  Once I had removed the film from the camera, I tried it again; this time with the camera open.  I was able to view the working of the shutter curtain and it was working as it should.  

Jumping onto Google I searched for the symptoms I was experiencing and found that the problem of the flashing battery icon and the blacking out of the viewfinder was also an indication of a mother board failure within the camera.  I was a bit disappointed but, hey, the camera was 20 years old and I had no idea how it had been used with previous owners.  I hadn't paid a lot for it and considered I had probably got my moneys worth out of it.  I didn't throw it out straight away, thinking that I still may be able to salvage it at some stage.  I did keep the older original kit lens though.

A few days later I found a Canon EOS 300 in Facebook Marketplace.  It was an excellent price but body only.  This camera was released in 1999 so, it was a few years older than the one it was replacing.  It was in very good condition, the original owner had shelved it in favour of a digital and it hadn't had much use.  Luckily I still had the original kit lens (Canon EF 28-90mm f4-5.6) from the 300V to put to use on it.  Imagine my surprise when I got it home, put that original kit lens on and experienced the same exact problems as the 300V.  I removed the original kit lens and put on my Canon EF 50mm f1.4 lens.  The camera worked properly with no problems.  I then retrieved the 300V from the back of the cupboard and put the Canon EF 50mm on that camera.  It also worked properly!  Not trying to get hopes up, I changed the EF 50mm to an EF 85mm and the 300V worked properly for that lens also.  Just to be sure, I put the original kit lens on the 300V and, sure enough, it played up.  Just for good measure (and a bit of curiosity) I put the original kit lens on to my Canon 90D and the digital camera froze and came up with an error message.  The problem had been the original kit lens all along and not the Canon 300V body!  I am looking for a replacement for that 28-90mm zoom lens now, it was a good size for the camera and I don't have an equivalent EF 'digital' lens to replace it.

So, now I have 2 Canon 35mm SLRs.  I took the recently acquired Canon EOS 300 out to the Broke Village Festival with the Canon EF 50mm f1.4 attached.  I loaded it with my last roll of original Fuji Acros 100.  That was a bit sad because it was my favourite B&W film.  I haven't tried its replacement yet, I want to try some other B&W films before I get Acros V2.  It was a fun day and I took some great photos using the 50mm.  This was one of the first rolls of film that I scanned myself with my latest piece of kit - an EPSON Perfection V850 Pro scanner.  I am so happy with this scanner.  It gives me more control over my own work and I love the results.

Anyway, here are the results from the Canon EOS 300, Canon EF 50mm f1.4 and, Epson V850 scanner.


All photos are Copyright ©Life with Jordy Photography

All Rights Reserved






Morpeth Bridge from the balcony of the Commercial Hotel.




I am amazed at what people can put together out of everyday
'stuff'!

I thought some of our politicians had paid us a visit.  Close, but not so!   ha ha!

The inside of older cars is simplicity itself.



I have a couple of favourites from the Broke Village Festival.  This is one.  Beautiful vehicle!

This is one of my favourite photos from the Broke Village Festival.  

These two little men are my Grandsons.  Full of life and energy and it is a joy to see them!







Friday 18 August 2023

Ricoh Singlex TLS Camera & Hanimar 35mm f3.5 Lens

 

Lovely camera that I purchased from an Antique Warehouse in Bendigo.  It was in excellent condition.  It came with a Hanimar 35mm f3.5.  Hanimar was one of the lenses distributed by Hanimex, produced by unspecified manufacturers.  It was released in 1983. Luckily, I had an expired roll of Fuji Superia 100 spare in my bag.

This lens was a little intriguing though.  It had an extra control ring on it that I had never seen on a lens before.  This control ring has 2 arrows pointing in opposite directions and at the end of one arrow the letter 'O' and the other has the letter 'C'.

I found that this is called a 'Preset Lens' meaning, the aperture diaphragm manually stops down when adjusted and then a separate dial is used to quickly open, and then close, the aperture when a brighter view is required for focusing or composition. Apparently it was a common configuration before automatic diaphragms became popular.

So, the idea is to choose the settings you'll be using for your photo.  Turn the ring toward the 'O' til it stops.  The aperture is now wide open for you to focus and compose the photo. Once that is done, turn the ring in the direction of the 'C' which will return the aperture to the correct setting for the photo.  There was a few times I forgot to close the aperture after focussing and I expected a few photos to be overexposed but was pleasantly surprised to find that only a few required a slight adjustment in the scanning process.

The lens mount on the Ricoh is M42 so, I can also use it on my Practika LTL3.  I always try and purchase cameras and lenses that I can interchange.

The lens is in good condition and the glass is as clear as a bell!  Because I wear multifocal glasses, I did find focussing a little difficult but seemed to have got it right after taking my time.

The camera was introduced by Ricoh in June 1967.  It has a vertically travelling metal shutter and features through the lens metering.  It has a needle exposure meter seen through the viewfinder which can be turned on or off by a switch on the camera body. ISO ranges from 25 to 1000 and shutter speed is Bulb and 1 second - 1/1000 second. Originally it took a Mercury battery but there are modern day equivalents that can also be used.  A very solidly built camera with a  sweet shutter sound!


All Photos are Copyright © Life with Jordy Photography

All Rights Reserved




















Catching up.

 Well it has been a couple of months since I posted a Blog article.   I don't have any Project or roll of film in particular to share wi...