Category: photography

Olympus OM-1 MD

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This is my recently returned Olympus OM-1 MD with a Zuiko 50mm f/1.4 lens affixed.

Sometime relatively long ago, an old motorcycle friend indicated that he was selling his Olympus 35mm film kit. So, I emailed and asked him what he had and what he wanted for it. His response seemed more than fair so I sent him a check.

This Olympus OM-1 MD was one of the two cameras in the lot. It actually had the motor drive cover in place. (Many of these cameras do not have the cover.) Frank took care of his equipment.

The second body was an OM-2s Program. It actually came with a box and paperwork. There were a few lenses that came with the kit as well.

Back when Steve had his shop in Sparks, my buddy Jimmy and I used to gather there for a visit. Steve took the OM-2s to his bench and checked the meter and shutter. He looked at me, a bit shocked, and said “The meter is right on and so is the shutter. This is scary good!”

We all had a good laugh over it. The OM-1 fared reasonably well, although the meter was off by a full stop. I do not recall if it was under- or over-exposing. It does not matter now.

I picked up the camera from the shelf a few months ago and found the winding mechanism jammed. It would need a repair. So, after a bit of searching, I found John Hermosa, who runs a Zuiko repair shop and sent him an email. The repair would not be cheap, but this is a fine old mechanical camera — about as simple as cameras come.

So, I sent it to him for assessment and responded a week later with a repair bill and asked for payment. I knew it would take a month or two for it to be returned.

It arrived in the mail a couple of weeks ago. I mounted a Zuiko 40mm f/2 pancake lens that I had in my inventory and loaded a roll of film for some testing. When in the field, I noticed that the viewfinder did not brighten up after releasing the shutter. Some investigation revealed that the aperture blades were slow to return to wide open. I saw no oil on the blades, so the mechanism must be fouled.

I emailed Steve, who moved his business to North Dakota a few years ago, but is a trusted technician. I sent the lens to him this morning for cleaning.

That meant my first test roll is probably trash. I have not decided if I will send it for development or not.

This morning I mounted a Zuiko 50mm f/1.4 silver nose on the OM-1 and took it with me on walkies. I shot two-thirds of the 24-exposure roll on my walk with The Girl and will finish it up tomorrow.

The walk was lovely! The temperature has moderated this week and it was 72ºF when we reached the staging area. She was antsy to get out and so was I. There was another vehicle there, so I was watchful. But I saw no dog so let her out.

And off she went!

I donned my pack, which was a little heavier with a few small hand tools I added to the loadout. We headed up the trail. The sun felt good, not oppressive as it has the last couple of months. She had a blast running about hunting chipmunks.

I ran the little camera, using the internal meter. (It is an old-school match needle meter, just like what I learned on.) I made some adjustments by intuition or shot an extra frame with an exposure adjustment.

I can see why a lot of professionals chose these little cameras for their work, especially field correspondents. They are small, handy, have a good viewfinder, and the lenses are good.

I am looking forward to the results of the test roll. The 40mm lens will be a welcome addition to the kit because that is a favorite focal length.

I plan to keep this little camera and a handful of lenses to support it.

it was a good day. Life is good.

Smurfette

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A capture of Smurfette with the Fujifilm X-T1 and a Zhongyi 35mm f/0.95 lens. Post-processing in the iPhone 13 Pro Max using Snapseed.

I needed an image for my Project 365 this evening. The Fujifilm X-T1 with a Zhongyi 35mm f/0.95 manual focus lens was sitting on my desk. I picked it up and made the capture of Smurfette. She sits on my worktable, a toy I found lost or discarded in the backyard of my apartment. I am sure there is a story there. After washing her with a toothbrush and some detergent, I decided she needed a home and my place is as good as any.

It makes me think I should get out some of my Schleich toy animals and feature them on my desk, in rotation. They accompanied me on my walk-about after Wife died. I would get them out wherever I landed and put them on my desk for company when I worked.

The Girl and I had a good hike this morning. We went up in the mountains again. We were blessed with a bit of high clouds so the Sun was not so brutal.

When we got home, I visited with Older Son while I grilled a hamburger for lunch. Lunch was good, with the hamburger dressed with Pepperjack cheese, lettuce, a slice of red onion and some tomato, and spicy mustard. It was tasty.

I also finished the install of my Starlink system here at the house. I bought a Starlink late last year so I could have Internet service while traveling. This releases me from the desk because I can work anywhere. There is no reason to pay for landline Internet and Starlink, so I decommissioned the landline and access point/router, installed a wall pass-through for the Starlink cable, and added a Ethernet switch for the wired connections. I also terminated my ISP service and will return their equipment this week.

I am working on getting my workroom in order. I still need to clean the PC side of my workspace, strip and recycle the old tower, and transfer the 32-inch monitor to the new laptop computer. I can use the extra screen real estate for my work. I might start that process tomorrow.

Much of the week will be spent in the field surveying. I have some office work to do as well, which is good with the money I have been spending.

I am reading a set of E-zines I purchased from Sean Tucker, a UK-based photographer and writer who reminds me much of myself. Although, he does a lot more portraits than I do. But, much of his other work does remind me of my own photographic interests.

It was a good day. The Girl wants some of my attention, so I think it time to move to the sofa so she can snuggle. After I fed her, she started asking. Now she is waiting patiently on her bed under my worktable.

Life is good.

Sunny Pines

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When the Sun does not work for you, find another way. Shot on walkies with the Fujifilm X100V and converted to an Ektachrome E100-like look in DXO Photolab 7.

Yesterday on walkies (hiking in the national forest), I looked for a subject. Nothing was grabbing my attention, so I had to dig a little deeper. While this image is not portfolio quality, it still represents a reason I love hiking in the mountains — the sun filtering to the forest floor through the pines. The interplay of light and shadow soothe me, as does the hike with The Girl.

Life is good.

Snoozing Sera

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I have so many images of my Girl. This one was shot with the Fujifilm X-T1, the Meike 35mm f/0.95 wide open, and converted in-camera using Pro-Negative film simulation, SOOC.

I shot this image a few minutes ago for a daily image. I take a lot of photos of The Girl. She is a ready model, does not mind, and is good looking. She also has so many aspects to her personality that she presents many photo-ops.

I have a Shawn Mullins album playing in the background, Beneath the Velvet Sun. One of the songs, Amy’s Eyes brought a tear to my eye. When I dealt with my depression, so many years ago, this song was a reminder of how Wife saw the world through different eyes than I do. The world just seemed to be a bit brighter for her and I envied that, a little.

In time I got better, but the observation remained — Wife just seemed to see the world a little brighter than I do. Although she died more than a decade ago, her presence is still missed. I especially miss her voice. We talked a lot, much of it inconsequential, but that did not matter.

Now that it is cooling off, I think it is time to hit the rack. The morning will come quickly and there are some things to do tomorrow.

I am grateful. Life is good.

Playful Sera

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She put on a show for me this evening. Shot with Sony A7Sii and Zeiss 50mm f/1.7 Planar wide open. Light processing to convert to black and white.

I think Sera knew I needed some interaction late this afternoon. She pawed at my bare feet (Ouch!), head butted my legs, and generally put on a show. I happened to have a camera at hand and made a few captures.

Then we had a big play with the squeaky football until she said “I’m done” and asked for supper. She is such a hoot.

I win. (And I fed her.) I am grateful. Life is good.

The Trail I Love

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Sera and I have been walking this trail a lot this summer. I never tire of it. Shot with the Fuji X100V with the 23mm f/2 at f/8 and straight out of camera.

The Girl (Sera) and I are walking this trail a lot this summer. At an elevation greater than 7,000 ft the weather is cooler. The Ponderosa Pines provide some shade (and lots of sound when the breeze blows). The terrain is varied enough that I get a pretty good workout in on the climbs. There are tons of chipmunks for The Girl to chase. There is not much foot traffic on the trail, although I remain watchful.

There are lots and lots of images to make on the trail. We will probably be able to hike it for another three months or so. Once the snow begins to accumulate, hiking will be more difficult. I might pick up some snowshoes this winter.

But for now, we continue to hike the trail most days. It has been a great break from the more congested Silver Saddle Ranch trails that we were walking (and still sometimes do). There is also less risk of rattlesnakes. I really do not want another rattlesnake encounter.

The frame captures why I really love the trail.

Thunderstorm Over Piñon Hills

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From the same roll as the previous image, this shot southeast over Carson City and the Piñon Hills to the east of Carson City was made with the Nikon F2as and a Nikkor 35mm f/1.4 on Ilford XP2 at about f/8. No post processing.

This is another capture from the roll of 35mm Ilford XP2 I finished up on the hills between Carson City and Washoe Valley. The Girl and I drove up the steep trail on the east side of this hill, which gives a lovely view of both Washoe Lake and Carson City. An afternoon pop-up thundershower was brewing to the southeast.

I wanted to finish up the roll in the Nikon F2as and the Bronica, so I spent a half-hour walking the hilltop with Sera (keeping a sharp ear out for snakes) and making some images. This frame looks like I used a red filter to add some contrast to the sky and the exposure seems just about right. I see some detail in the cloud tops and plenty in the valley below.

It was a good day. The breeze atop the hill was a little stiff and gusty, pretty typical for a Nevada afternoon. But it also was cooling so I did not mind.

The rocks were a little rough on The Girl’s feet. So I put her back in the rig.

Life is good. I am grateful.

Sera On Watch

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Sera after I put her back in the rig. Shot with Nikon F2as and a Nikkor 35mm f/1.4 on Ilford XP2 with exposure data unrecorded. No post processing was applied.

Five rolls of negatives were returned to me this week. I spent a few minutes looking through them, after reviewing the scans. I came away with a few notes, but need to formalize them.

There are a few good frames in the set. It is probably about my average hit rate. I would like to move that hit rate up, but that is probably another story.

A number of frames were significantly underexposed, both the Pentax 645Nii and the Nikon F2as. These were generally frames that had a lot of sky in them and I think it biased the in-camera meter. I would get a better result if I opened up the aperture a stop or two. (Note taken…)

I missed focus on a few frames. The take away is to be very careful when focusing, particularly the Bronica. I have a bright screen to put in the Bronica and need to get that done before I take it out again. It will help.

I replaced the screen in the Pentax with one that has a split-image/microprism cell in the center of the frame. This is going to improve my ability to focus the camera.

I need a light table and loupe for review of my negatives. I think there is a light table buried in the garage (in a box) somewhere. However, the technology has changed (for the better) since I bought it, so I will buy a new one. The LED lamps are so much better than the micro-fluorescent tubes of my original.

In the meantime, I made the capture with my new-to-me (but very old) Nikon F2as and a Nikkor 35mm f/1.4, probably using a filter (not recorded) and I did not record the exposure. The film was Ilford XP2. It is a good frame.

We were on the hills between Carson City and Washoe Valley. I have a few more good frames from that outing.

It was a good day. Life is good.

Lucas Test Shots

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Lucas shot with Nikon D800e and Voigtlander 90mm f/2.8 wide open.

Lucas serves as a test subject for many of my lens testing exercises. I have been playing around with my Nikon D800E and a Voigtländer 90mm f/2.8 APO Skopar. I want to see how the lens renders the subject and the out of focus areas. The 90mm does not focus very close, maybe about 2 feet plus (about 0.8 meters). It is quite sharp wide open and the backgrounds look lovely.

It is a very good lens and I need to take it out on walk.

Lucas shot with a Nikon D800E and a Voigtlander 50mm f/1.4 Nokton at f/2.8.

This frame was shot with a Voigtländer 58mm f/1.4 Nokton at f/2.8. It will focus quite a lot closer than the 90mm. It is also quite sharp wide open and has excellent out of focus character. Again, this lens will want to go with me on a walk.

One thing I like about the Voigtländer lenses is that they have a chip that provides data to the camera body. So exposure and distance information is available to the camera and stored in the image file. These lenses will also work on my Nikon film bodies.

Lucas Test Shot

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This capture of Lucas the Spider (one of my favorite plushies) was done with the Nikon D800E and a Voigtlander 90mm f/2.8 Skopar at f/8. I did some light processing with DXO Photolab 7.

This little Lucas the Spider plushie is a favorite test subject for lenses. If I shoot at night, then I have some light sources in the background and I can get a sense for how the out of focus areas are represented by the lens.

I shot this with my Nikon D800E (ancient at this time) and a Voigtlander 90mm f/2.8 APO-Skopar lens I bought earlier this year. I really prefer legacy glass to modern glass for the older lenses’ character, including their flaws. They often render more interesting images in everything from color, to sharpness (or lack thereof), to background blur (bokeh in photo parlance). Their optical imperfections produce interesting effects that I often like.

The Voigtlander lenses are proving quite interesting and have a modern adaptation. They have a microchip interface to the digital cameras (my Nikons) that enables the camera’s CPU to read the lens settings and incorporate that data into exposure control and fill in the EXIF data in the image file.

I like the Voigtlander lenses enough that I think I will add to my collection of them. I suspect they will become commonly used on my Nikon film bodies.