35mm Film

HOW TO BE A BETTER PHOTOG: SHOOT A PHOTO ESSAY

All Photos taken with a Leica M6ttl and a Leica 50mm f/2 Summicron on Kodak 400CN film. All Photos from the photo essay, “The Faces of Transcarpathia.” By Andrew J. Tonn ©

By Andrew J. Tonn

MONTERREY — Most photographers have favorite subjects and preferred themes. Some are obvious and others less so. One person shoots flowers and selfies. Another also photographs flowers and themselves but, as with any art, the subject is not always just the subject. Robert Mapplethorpe’s beautiful black and white studies of calla lilies and tulips are far from ordinary photos of pretty flowers and Graciela Iturbide’s self-portraits are far more than another reflexive selfie.

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HOW TO BE A BETTER PHOTOGRAPHER

By Andrew J. Tonn

MONTERREY–Part of our mission here at Field Photographer is to help our readers become better photographers. Both in person and from readers on-line, we are regularly asked for advice on how to become better with a camera. The following are five things anyone can do to improve their picture making ability. None of them are terribly complicated or very expensive. There are no cryptic, esoteric secrets involved. I don’t doubt that investing years of study and tens of thousands of dollars going to photography school would make you better than when you started (or maybe not, judging by some of what is currently in fashion from visual academia). I am advising neither for nor against formal education. What I am saying is that there are a number of things anyone who is truly interested in the art and craft of photography can do to become much better.

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THESE FADING PLACES, BY 2018-2019 ESSAY WINNER MATT WHITE

These Fading Places, By Matt White

In the third week of the new year, I have crossed the Mississippi River from my home state of Arkansas and am passing slowly through little Mississippi towns like Rolling Fork and Cary under winter sunlight so pretty I wish it would never end. The Sunday streets are deserted, and the closer I get to the Louisiana border, it dawns on me that everyone is inside, glued to the Saint’s playoff game. Though not apt to follow sports closely, I appreciate high stakes and will always root for all things New Orleans, the great American city that she is. I am listening to the nail-biter on the radio and thinking of everyone I love in the Crescent City. On my approach into darkening Vicksburg: the crushing last-minute defeat just down river, a soon-to-be full moon emerging from a field in my rearview mirror. Evening is falling, and every direction I turn looks the way a Lucinda Williams song sounds.

THE WILDS or A JEEP AMONG LAND ROVERS

It may look like deepest Africa with fields stretching over rolling hills and wide open plains that resemble the Serengeti, but it is, in fact, The Wilds of Ohio. The Wilds is a nature preserve filled with African wildlife. Every so often, this wildlife refuge was home to an off-road event exclusive to those who owned a Land Rover. We brought a Jeep.

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ANNOUNCING THE KODACHROME CITIZEN ARCHIVE PROJECT

Andrew and I have a fondness for Kodachrome that often comes up in our discussions of films photography’s past and future. For my part, I never actually shot much of it. The first time I’d ever bought any was for my 2003 venture to the island nation of Haiti, and nearly all of the film I shot on that trip was stolen or lost coming back into the U.S., so I’ve never seen my own images on Kodachrome.

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MY PANORAMIC IS A POINT AND SHOOT

A few years ago, in the last days of the common film era (CFA) and the beginning of the Age of Digital (AD), point and shoot film cameras were common items. Even as the digital writing was on the virtual wall (for those who cared to look) the camera industry introduced an entire new format, the Advanced Photo System or APS. The system used a self-contained, more or less idiot-proof cartridge designed to address various perceived problems with 35mm film. It used a somewhat smaller negative (30.2mm x 16.7mm as opposed to 36mm by 24mm) (think APS-C sized sensors as opposed to “full-frame” sensors), had no film leader and, among other features, nearly every APS camera could be easily switched between several aspect ratios. These were simply crop modes but they were briefly quite popular, so much so that many 35mm point and shoot models followed suit and added a panoramic mode.

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THE VOIGTLANDER 15MM F/4.5 SUPER-HELIAR V1

Sometimes you should listen to the voices in your head and sometimes you shouldn’t. Do not run with scissors in traffic. Do not befriend Nigerian royalty. Do not shave your head and climb that bell-tower. But if the voices are telling you to hang onto a particular lens, that someday you’ll figure out what it’s good for, and that someday you’ll figure out how to use it correctly, then listen. Continue reading “THE VOIGTLANDER 15MM F/4.5 SUPER-HELIAR V1”

LEICA-M SUMMARON 35mm ƒ2.8

The owner of Brittania & Company, one of the classic old Parsi restaurants in old Bombay. Leica M-P (Photo, Andrew Tonn ©)

ARLINGTON — Of all the Leica M lenses out in the world, there is one in particular that does not seem to gets its due. That lens is the 35mm f/2.8 Summaron, a lens made from 1958-1974. Continue reading

DOES BUY CHEAP MEAN CHEAP? SHOOTING BUDGET END FILM: GUEST POST FROM RICK DAVY

Today we have a guest post, hopefully the first of several from a talented UK based photographer Rick Davy. Rick has touched on the subject of buy cheap, but shoot well in his own blog in the past. Rick has been kind enough to join us today to share some very lovely images and revisit this subject with some Agfa 200 Vista Plus! Lets get to it, over to you Rick! – Jef

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After coming across a reliable source of super cheap budget end film, I thought I put it to test on a selection of cheaper end 35mm camera’s to see what kind of results you could achieve.

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JCH STREETPAN PIN (First Published 2017/07/10)

Japan Camera Hunter Bellamy Hunt known for his love of film, released his own Street Pan B&W film awhile back, and that film has been a huge success. If you’ve been shooting this film and want to show off your love for it, Hunt has you covered. Available through his site is the new JCH X Thirdculture StreetPan Pin. The pin will only cost you ¥1,300, that’s about $11.50 in real money. (Link) FP