Saturday, May 19, 2018

Readying for Portland

I am looking forward to going to Portland, Oregon for a week.  The Pacific NW is one area of the USA that I have not yet visited, and I have been doing my research for the trip.  While Portland is known for the rain, the weather outlook is mostly sunny all week, which has its merits, for sure.  Of course, I am packing my Tamrac camera backpack (I purchased it at Central camera in Chicago about 16 years ago) with gear for the trip.  I am bringing my Nikon N80 because it's a lot lighter than my F100. Lenses -- 50mm Nikkor, 20mm Nikkor, and 24-120 Nikkor.  The 20mm lens is fantastic, and of course, the 24-120mm is a very good all-around travel lens.  It has served me well over the years.
I may also pack my Tamron 90mm macro lens, depending on how well it all fits.   I debated on also bringing a manual Nikon FE or FG, and decided instead to bring the Yashica FX-7 Super because it's light, works great, and is a pretty nice walk-about camera with good glass.  Having used it a lot over the past month, I am pleased with how it handles and just feels right. It's most likely to be used walking around the city, and filled with b&w film.  We'll be renting a car, so of course the Oregon coast is a sure trip, as well as the Columbia River gorge, etc.

I'll be packing my new Manfrotto "BeFree" travel tripod in my checked bag, and after having tried it out a few times locally, I know it will be an excellent camera support.  I am also bringing a Holga, Lomo Sprocket Rocket, and the venerable Olympus Trip 35.  All are cameras that I know will give me something different.

As far as film goes, 10 rolls of Fuji Provia 100,  lots of Kodak TMax 400, Ilford HP-5+, and some C-41 and specialty films such as FPP Infrachrome and Mr. Brown.  I know I'll be seeing lots of waterfalls, and Mr. Brown will be just the thing for those long exposures.

Other items - lens cleaning cloth, cable release (which the N80 accepts), quick-release plates, notebooks, some short pieces of gaffer tape, various filters, including a graduated ND filter, and business cards all go into the pack.  An empty collapsed small camera bag will go into my checked luggage for when I am just doing things in the city and don't need to carry the backpack.

I thought about just bringing my Nikon D300 and a few lenses, but the APS-C sensor won't give me the benefit  of the 20mm f/2.8 Nikkor.  Just in case, I am bringing a Nikon Coolpix S600 which fits into a pocket. While my iPhone SE does a pretty good job with snaps, the little digicam has a better range of focal lengths.

Onward!







4 comments:

Sue in Eugene said...

Be sure to check out Blue Moon Camera 8417 N Lombard St, Portland. A haven for old camera junkies.

mfophotos said...

Thanks, Sue. I already have arranged a visit so I can feature them in an upcoming FPP podcast. I am sure it will be a lot of fun.

Rick Scheibner said...

Hey Mark, I'm not sure when you're coming, but I think you would also enjoy seeing the east side of the state while you're here. Just a couple hours out of Portland, you can be in to some ghost towns, beautifully deteriorated buildings, etc... It's a more rural, sparsely populated part of the state that is in pretty stark contrast to the greener west side. This time of the year there are blue skies with big fluffy white clouds...perfect for that red sensitive film and a #25 filter! The Painted Hills is also well worth a visit. Let me know if you're interested and I'll see about getting away.

mfophotos said...

Rick -- Sorry I didn't respond promptly, but I did not take a computer with me on the trip -- just my phone, and I had to wait until I returned to respond on the blog. Thanks for the offer, and I suspect that I will return to Oregon sooner than later! An amazing place, and I got just a small taste of it, I know.