Tuesday, December 12, 2006

i wasn't planing to post a blog right now.. since i have only one film (also only half shot).. but it's something to show off.. technicaly.

i have to react a bit on chris (weeks) latest quote "i hate to say this (sorry, Sev and others) ... leica's b/w mode is abso-fucking-lutely ... brilliant"..

i believe him. i'm sure this camera makes nice looking b/w for a "mode" on a digital "camera".. i'm sure this is the best digital camera on the market in that pocket size...

but i guarante you (you all), that a correctly exposed photo on a good developed negative, printed on a nice fiber fix gradation will make you wanna flush that m8 down with all you other digital shit.

i can say that, because i know enough about it. i can also only roll my eyes about the reactions on chris' m8 submission..

"damn! I really thought it was one of your film scans.."

"I am inbarased thst I thought this was film"

"btw....hard to believe its digital!"

"I only realised it was digital after I read the comment."

...

you know what. i can make you believe that a shot with my cellphone is a fiber print on the screen.. why ? because it's A: on a fucking screen.. B: you don't fucking know shit about b/w at all..

why ? because you don't work with film, b/w, paper, chemicals, time, temperature, redlight, no light, good lenses.. whatever..

you know nothing. i know a bit. i know enough to say something like that at least but i'm not a fine printer, not yet, who knows...

i love it to print a great negative.. and i hate it to print a bad one but i love it when i compare negscan to print and i know it was worth wasting paper, time, chemicals, water....

i'm throwing away hundreds of prints you'd find great and keep a handful i like somehow, and you talk about b/w.. dude.


i wonder how many of you know how important the absolute correct exposure is ? i wonder if you care about half-f stops and shit.. i really do. no wonder that mr.gilads photos look like catpuke when he exposes everything afterwards in photoshop. most of you do that i assume..

please, try to print. try to develop yourself. are you intrested in learning to take photos ? well, do it all yourself. the moment you suffer hours on a print because of a horribly exposed photo or blowzy developed negative, you know what i'm speaking of.


so now to the last bit of photos:


he just crashed a few moments ago. he was strangely happy though, even if it was his fault.


more or less a hipshot.. just not at the hip but a bit higher ... i dunno, nothing spectacular but i find it funny how straight it is.


she was kinda evanessance-like.. don't beat me for misspelling.. i'm no big evanessance fan.





zhenya from russia has been in vienna. just a few days. i showed her some rather ugly places in vienna.. why not, hehe. been to the prater here.. strange place in december.

i was on the phone with linus and took two shots of her.



linus talked about the bessa. the one he bought NEW! in summer at the leica shop (write some hatemails!).. that camera and lens was new and never worked properly. also the camera collected dust inside like shit !! so he brought it a few times back to the shop. they sent it to germany once. nothing happened. they cleaned it and "fixed" the focus at the shop later. a week later it was dusty like hell again and the focus was correct on 0.7m but not useable at 1,5m and above... so they finaly sent it to cosina, japan. now after 1 month and a half, it came back from the island and NOTHING has happened. they won't repair anything.. and so does the leica shop... now that's what i call a bunch of ASSHOLES.

this fucking leicashop should burn down with all the cameras.. wait, i want a MP, 28/2, 50/1.0 and 12/5.6 .. everything else should burn down !!


back to the photos.

this is my favourite. now chris. i doubt, no i KNOW, that my trix looks 10x better than your m8 b/w mode.. look at that scan, a dream for a print.. will fiber it soon.



bye, burn, b/w.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

you're still a 20 year old art student, mate.

come to the real world! ;)

then you'll see.

sometimes you're really a dick; but you know that! ;)

sev said...

i talk about b/w and you talk about hollywood.

:P

Anonymous said...

I've also read all those comments to his M8 photo like 10 minutes ago... and I had the EXACT same reaction as you...!!!

Anonymous said...

I love your work man, your pictures are continually amazing and truly inspiring. since i found this blog it has given me a renewed respect for street photography.

I've been meaning to ask you though, how do you develop tri-x rated at 3200 to look so incredible?? And do you use the M6 internal meter alot or just meter based on your experience??

Adam said...

"wonder how many of you know how important the absolute correct exposure is ? i wonder if you care about half-f stops and shit.. i really do. no wonder that mr.gilads photos look like catpuke when he exposes everything afterwards in photoshop. most of you do that i assume..

please, try to print. try to develop yourself. are you intrested in learning to take photos ? well, do it all yourself. the moment you suffer hours on a print because of a horribly exposed photo or blowzy developed negative, you know what i'm speaking of."

im trying to develop my own film, im going to see if i can use an enlarger tommorrow, ive been on the kodak website and printed out all the info i need to develop tmax, and then im off, no teacher or anything to help me or guide me, and no i dont know correct exposure but i try, so i need help every once in a while i might ask you, because you seem to be the only one, that actually knows what hes doing, hope you dont mind

A.

Anonymous said...

half stops, correct exposure etc... Are you trying to tell me you zone expose your street photos.... Cos that would be pro....

John Hupp said...

Of course, I could add that a photo is never done until you've rendered it in pencil, but that ignores the beauty of your prints, and that my professors irrationally hate photographic references.

Anonymous said...

"strangely happy"

i bet the driver was drunk:)

Anonymous said...

Agree on the film. It's why i've movd back from digital to film.

Not that you care but I just bought my first M6. It's taken me 2 months of saving up, but I finally fucking got it. Just need a couple of lenses for it now. Getting a 50mm f/2 'cron first and then a 35mm f/2 'cron. Then I'll see where I can go from there.

Hope I develop half the eye for photographs you have.

Tomé Duarte said...

and i add,

i've heard you can shake the m8 before you download the files to change grain and contrast...

and i suppose they are selling the tmax-sensor, the trix-sensor, the delta-sensor...

then they have the xtol-USB, the d76-USB, the rodinal-USB, the pirogalol-USB, the selenium-USB...

not to forget a special pc in the shape of an enlarger that allows you to burn and dodge and play with contrast the silky way and print in fiber...

sev said...

@anonym:

"I've been meaning to ask you though, how do you develop tri-x rated at 3200 to look so incredible??"

first of all, your lens is responsible for contrast when it's wide open. then exposure must be right on. in my case, i often add 1/2 to 1 ev step to the suggested exposure to add contrast. even if i risk some highlights, i prefer bright midtones to dark ones for prints and i avoid too much grain in the mids.

i develop in xtol 1:1 20C° moving 2-3 times every 30 seconds, except i have shot it in rather good light situations, then just 3 times every mintue. 16min for the whole process.

that's how i do mine.

@luke: i use to meter everytime light situation changes. so when i leave the house, i meter, when i enter the bus, i meter, when the sun comes out again, i meter, at dusk, i meter, in the cafe, i meter... i meter everytime i sense a possibility for a photo. it's very rare that i take a photo without metering beforehand.

it's also useful to know the correct metering for special places. i always set my M to f2.8 1/60th when i shoot trix+3 in the subway (train not station) or tram. in the nightbus i set it to 2.4 1/30th... and if it's not correct i change it.. but since mostly there is the same lightsituation, it's spot on.

at night on the street i often have f2.0 1/15th and in the dark areas 1/8th... i just know these general settings.


@tome.... dude.. that seriously made me laugh :D


@zeitgeist... i know enought about your mother.. so shut the fuck up !

Anonymous said...

The last photo of the girl is a pretty damn good. Makes a good print I'm sure.

I used 30 minutes to write a nice essay here, but decided to delete it, as I know there's a hint of sarcasm in your writings. And I don't want to get all serious and whining. ;)

In a nutshell: Perfectionism is good, but sometimes the perfect photo isn't perfect in technical aspects.

If a perfect photo even exists.

-Drooper

Anonymous said...

da hör ich ein bißchen coxi raus..
aber ich weiß ja, dass in dieser harten filmdose ein weicher kern steckt.

Anonymous said...

Poeh, I always keep wondering why you still care and put so much energy in this ranting. Not that I (dis)agree, I just can't be bothered.

Anwyways... Really dig the last shot. Hard to get decent expressions when someone is talking. Or well, for me it is anyway (got a 'flattering' one of you :D).

Anonymous said...

@adamkozlowski

"the M8 files will look better than negscans" ... why does everybody thought that those m8 photos from chris were his regular film scans then???

and look at http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/44645328/ ... do you seriously find it better than any sucky negscans! I DON'T! (look at the hair!)

I'd rather have one M7 than 100 M8!

Anonymous said...

nice rant...thanks for the info about Leicashop, I was going to order an M from there but f*ck that now.

Noons said...

20 year old or not, you run rings around many older people when it comes to photography. as in: the act of "making photos". not "making images". so please: stay like that.

as for the m8vsfilm debate: not buying into it. the whole thing is a marketing exercise. digital serves one purpose, film another.

people use the tool that is adequate for their needs. so-called "pros" use digital for one reason alone: time to market. that is what's important to them, so they should do so.

any1 interested in the art of photography doesn't give a flying fuck about "time to market". and should probably give film a try: it's still the best way of registering a b&w image.

I contend that it is also with colour, but I understand there are many who disagree. the important thing is that both you and I and anyone else can continue to be able to express ourselves whichever way we fucking like.

enough 4-letter wording, off the soap box.

Anonymous said...

I dont understand why you would shoot black and white with and M8, i would only see it as a colour camera. Digital black and white just does not touch on traditional.

However the colour output of the M8 is fantastic, look at American Colour by Constantine Manos http://inmotion.magnumphotos.com/essays/color.aspx

The shots he shows that he has taken on the M8 make me want one just for that reason.

Colour i think digital can do quite well, but black and white it wont ever because it doesnt use silver halides.