May 1 Musings

Taken today, May 1.

Well, here we are on the first day of May, and I am getting ready for a week away from home.  I'll be visiting the Film Photography Project HQ for a few days to record some sessions, and to also help with unboxing/checking of gear that has been donated to the FPP School donation program.  Then it's off to Amenia, NY, where I'll be for a few more days to visit family.  The drive from home this time will include a stop at the Camera Heritage Museum in Staunton, VA, which I saw last year, but it was closed by the time we stopped in Staunton.  I'll be giving a review of it here and on the podcast.

I love the month of May because of all of the rich variations in the color green, and as I drive up the Shenandoah Valley along Rt 81, I look forward to enjoying the scenery.  Of course, the various green shades don't look as good in b&w film, but there are so many interesting textures of unfurling leaves and patterns that to see them in monochrome is a different experience than in color.  

Rhubarb Leaf

Japanese maple

Speaking of color, people are still having a difficult time finding C-41 color film in stock.  I know that there is some excitement about Kodak Gold 200 being available in 120, and it's good to have that choice.  However, I remember when it was exciting to actually see a NEW film stock from Kodak.  It's anyone's guess about what's going on with Kodak and Fuji, and whether it really is supply-chain problems, worker shortages, or accumulating inflation effects, the prices of film have really shot up.  I'm glad that I jumped in and bought a 50 roll case of Fuji Superia 200 in 2018, when I paid $2/roll.  Last fall, as I was getting ready for a trip to the SW, I bought a bunch of Kodak Profoto 100, so I am pretty much set for any color film shooting.  I buy most of my black and white film in 100 ft rolls, and whether it's Arista 100, Kentmere 400, Fomapan 100, or Kentmere 100, I pay far less than I would for Kodak Tri-X (which I really don't like), or Ilford HP-5 (which I prefer).  The Kentmere and Foma films give me good, consistent results that I can trust.   However, the oddball films like some of the low-ISO films from the Film Photography Project (such as the Yeti and the Blue-Sensitive) and the films from Rollei always have a place in my camera bag(s).  

I am working on the next issue of Monochrome Mania - "Strictly Botanical" - which of course will be back to images and not gear, and I hope to have it ready by mid-summer.  I really appreciate the good comments that I get from readers of the latest issue - 35mm Toy Cameras, Issue No. 7, and copies of that are still available, though my Etsy store is closed until after I return on May 9.  

Here in the mountains of Western NC, spring seems to last for months, and if I drive 20 minutes, I can go back in time a week or two, and see flowers in bloom at 5200 ft. that have come and gone here at 2200 feet.   I feel fortunate to be living here.  I still have a lot to explore in NC, and hopefully, some short road trips are in order in late May/early June.

I hope that this month goes well for all of you!

A Week at the South Carolina Coast

Sunset at Murrells Inlet, SC

I hesitate to use the word vacation, because I am retired, but it was a vacation from the kitchen renovation that is ongoing. We went to Murrells Inlet, SC for a week in mid-April, and it really was nice to do some traveling after a year of not doing any travel, other than day trips around NC.  Of course, we took the necessary precautions - mask up, and all that, and Bev was vaccinated, I had my first COVID shot, and Adrienne got hers shortly after we returned from our trip.  It was great to see the Atlantic, as it's been 22 years since I have been to the Atlantic coast. We left Weaverville on the morning of April 10, and arrived in the afternoon at our cottage that we rented for the week. It was little like going from Spring to summer-like weather.  It was great to have a real kitchen, as we have been making do with an ersatz kitchenette in the basement while our real kitchen is being completely renovated.  Even so, we ate dinner out a lot over the course of a week, as we had all that fresh and local seafood at the local restaurants.

Morning on the porch

First of all, Murrells Inlet is along what is called the "Hammock Coast," inland by the width of salt marshes from the Strand, a series of barrier islands that protect the marshes from the waves of the Atlantic.  Funny though, is seeing all those beachfront properties as easy prey to the effects of climate change.  At least there is less of an onslaught along the shoreline that is surrounded by the estuaries.

Our small cottage was perfect for our needs, and I enjoyed the quiet mornings there.  We were only a few minutes walk from the busy area with all of the restaurants, bars, and tourist-oriented places, yet we felt like we were in a very quiet spot.  I enjoyed the mornings with the sun casting shadows on the porch. 

Our rented cottage

One of the places that we visited - three times, in fact, was Brookgreen Gardens.  Admission on one ticket is good for 6 consecutive days, and in light of how much there is to Brookgreen, it certainly makes sense.  For the history of Brookgreen Gardens, go to https://www.brookgreen.org/history-gardens.  Brookgreen Gardens has over 2000 pieces of figurative sculpture in a garden setting, and I have to say that I was wowed by what I saw. Aside from seeing several works by two sculptors well-known by Michiganders (Marshall Fredericks and Carl Milles), I was introduced to Anna Hyatt Huntington's amazing work and many others. Of course, all this is in addition to the fabulous gardens and plantings, the Low Country Museum and the zoo. I spent many hours just walking around and loving the Tillandsia (although it's often called Spanish Moss, it's not Spanish and it's not moss - it's an epiphytic Bromeliad) hanging from the Live Oaks (Quercus virginiana).  To me, those trees exemplify the deep South, and with those long, arching branches, they provide a mysterious and languorous scene.  They also support other epiphytic plants such as lichens, mosses, and ferns. I photographed the hell out of them, seeking ways to convey that sense of wonder and place that they provide.  I'll know if I succeeded when I develop the film.

Don Quixote sculpture by Anna Hyatt Huntington

Live Oaks at Brookgreen Gardens

On the other side of Route 17, across from Brookgreen gardens, lies Huntington Beach State park.  This parcel is where the Huntingtons built their winter retreat, which Archer Huntington called Atalaya. He had a passion for Spanish history and literature, and Atalaya was designed to look like the coastal forts of Spain. It's now called Atalaya Castle, and is a shell of its former residence. Although I enjoyed walking around and through it, it seems a melancholy place. However, it provided some great photographic subjects, which I also hope come out the way that I saw them.  The beach area is large, and the North end of the beach is the best place for photography and wildlife viewing.  The south end is more managed for typical beach and camping activities.  

Atalaya Castle (Lumix DMC-LX3)

The North end of Huntington Beach State Park

Seaside memories

We also spent an afternoon in Georgetown, the third-oldest city in SC, incorporated in 1729. The historic district is a nice walk, and there are lots of beautiful old houses on the National Historic Register.  Georgetown is the second-largest seaport in SC and has several large industries. I did enjoy seeing that there is an old theater there, the Strand, which hosts theater and no longer shows movies. 

The Inlet Crab House

We ate one meal at a restaurant every day, usually dinner. My two favorite places were the Inlet Crab House - a small place that seemed to cater more to locals, and the Hot Fish Club - which is a big place that offered up some of the best meals I have ever had.  All of the places around Murrells Inlet feature seafood, and a lot of it is fried.  That's why the Hot Fish Club was so excellent - there are many non-fried options to choose from, and we ate there two nights. We ate lunch at Wicked Tuna one day, and I had the most amazing shrimp Po'Boy ever.  I was also introduced to She Crab soup, which I tried at two different places, and it's a luscious mouthful of buttery crab meat and roe. Graham's Landing had the best version. I also found that Grouper was my favorite local fish.

A shrimp po'boy at Wicked Tuna

Okay, this IS a photography blog, not a restaurant review, so I'll list what I brought along for this trip. I decided that my Pentax 6x7 wasn't giving me enough exercise, so I packed it and several lenses into a backpack. I also brought my YashicaMat 124, and Holga, to round out the medium-format section. Imagine my chagrin when I went to load the P67 and found that I had left the take-up spool at home.  I wasn't going to ruin a roll of film just to have a take-up spool, so I waited until I finished up a roll in the YashicaMat to transfer it to the P67. The Holga went along for many of the trips.  The 35mm camp was pretty straightforward - Nikon FM3a, with a spare Nikon FM body, in case I needed it. For lenses I brought the 50mm f/1.4, 28mm f/2.8, 85mm f/2, 105mm Micro-Nikkor, 35-105 Nikkor zoom, and the Lensbaby Pro Optic 35. I added the Horizon 202, and shot about half a roll of film with it. The Yashica Electro 35 CC was a constant companion,  and I also brought along two 35mm toy cameras to round things out.  The only digital camera aside from my iPhone was the Lumix DMC-LX3, which I did use a bit.  Overall, I shot 8 rolls of 120 and 16 rolls of 35mm over the course of a week. That's a lot of medium format for me to shoot, and I used the 55mm lens on the P67 quite a bit.  Most of the film was b&w, but there was enough color to keep things interesting.  

I'll start developing the film this weekend, and I am looking forward to sharing the results.  I'll be in Pittsburg at the end of the month, and look forward to photographing there again.

some work ahead

All of the images shown in this post were made with my iPhone XR.

Those were the days...

I recently started scanning in some of my 35mm slides from 1980.  That was my first trip to the Southwestern US.  At the time, I was a graduate student at SUNY-ESF in Syracuse, NY, and was working on a master's degree in entomology.  Roy Norton, a professor in the department asked if I wanted to go on a two-week trip to the Sonoran Desert,  camping out along the way, and collecting insects at many locations (none from the national parks, of course).  It was a great trip in Roy's Ford Pinto station wagon, the back crammed with gear and supplies.  It's the trip where I learned to drive a manual-shift car, and my introduction to a real road trip across the USA.  We hit a lot of traditional destinations - Mesa Verde, Grand Canyon, Great Sand Dunes National Monument, Monument Valley, the Painted Desert, Flagstaff, Tuscon, Organ Pipe Cactus National Park, and Saguaro National Park. Mostly we took secondary roads once we got into Colorado, and I wish that I had kept a journal of that trip.  I did take a borrowed Pentax Spotmatic camera, which was certainly an upgarade over my old Exa Ia SLR.    There were no electronics, we navigated with road maps, and we always carried plenty of water. 

1980 is the year that I think everything started to change.  I wish that I had been thinking as a photographer at the time and shot some of the town that we went through. The funky old towns hadn't yet been ravaged by Walmarts, and the uniformity we see today of chain stores and restaurants along strips had yet to happen.  Sure, we stopped at McDonald's when we were traveling, but we ate on a budget, and I have a memory of stopping somewhere in Arkansas for bread to make sandwiches (PB&J, of course), and all the store had was that awful white Wonder bread.  At the Grand Canyon, we camped at one of the campsites- and I found that the 25-cent shower was certainly a quick one.  That low-alcohol Coors sure tasted pretty good, too.

The trip was a great success, and I have a fair number of slides from it.  I scanned a few slides earlier this week, and all of the scans require minutes of removing dust spots.  I shot Ektachrome and Kodachrome, and all of the slides have aged pretty well. Over 40 years, they have been moved around, and at some point in the mid-1980s, I transferred them from the slide boxes to plastic storage sheets in binders.  Now that I have more time, I'll continue to scan the slides in, and I am finding that I did pretty well with most of my shots.  It just takes some time to clean up the images after the scan.

Here are a few... some have not been cleaned up.

Great Sand Dunes National Monument

Great Sand Dunes National Monument

Great Sand Dunes National Monument

Great Sand Dunes National Monument

near Oak Creek Canyon, AZ

The Grand Canyon, of course

Arizona Snow Bowl near Flagstaff

Monument Valley, converted from color slide.

Documenting My Trips

As with just about everyone I know, I carry a cell phone with me at all times.  My iPhone XR is an indispensable tool that helps me document my photography trips.  Yes, the camera in the iPhone does an incredibly good job with making photos.  That's where most of my images on Instragram come from.  Although I try and keep a detailed notebook when I travel, I usually go over my notes in the evening and enter them into the notebook.  Instead of writing everything down while shooting, I take reference shots with my phone (some of which I post online), which of course, has the coordinates attached to the image information.  I use Google Maps quite a bit to see where I was, and then I'm able to do more research after the fact.  I am on a trip to NY State right now, and while the purpose is to visit family, it's also a good opportunity to do more photography of an area I rarely get to these days. 

Just yesterday, I went on a short drive near Amenia, NY towards Sharon, CT.  I used Google Maps to label my stops and then later, when I was home, I could write up my notes and include the precise location  of each stop.  I have been photographing some old cemeteries which are lacking in signage, so retracing my route on Google Maps has helped me research the sites and figure out the exact name of the cemetery.  In addition, if a place is visible on street view, it's often very helpful to be more positive of the exact place visited.

I also do the reverse if I am scouting out an area for potential places to photograph.  Having that information ahead of time has been quite helpful.  Sometimes it turns out that a potential site isn't as good as I thought, or there may be structures or obstacles nearby that make me change my mind about the access.

I suppose that I could also have voice notes (turned to text of course), if I wanted to be even more concise while traveling, showing how amazing these little computers/entertainment centers/phones/cameras have become.   It's an interesting marriage of digital and analog tools that make my photography trips richer with having so much information at my fingertips.






Here is an iPhone photo of one of the cemeteries near Sharon, CT.  The oldest graves date from the 1780s.  Many of these burial grounds are surrounded by beautiful dry-laid stone walls that are so widespread in New England. 

Boxing Things Up.

As some of you know, my wife and I are planning on moving to Asheville, NC later this year.  Right now, we are beginning a series of home renovations, and doing a lot of moving things around, some preliminary boxing up, and I won't have the opportunity to do any extensive blogging like I have.  Camera tests and film testing will be off for awhile, as well.  I am not sure when I will have some really free time to pursue these things, but I am guessing after April.  We'll see.   I am currently decluttering and packing some things away for a few months. Things I am not necessarily needing to access until we are settled. 

While boxing some items,  I found a bunch of CD's with photos on them, and yes, they are all labelled with the pertinent information.  I pulled one out, and it was from The Darkroom, and it contains scans from a September 2014 road trip that Marc Akemann and I took to Monroe, MI and places around it, including Luna Pier.  All of the following were taken with a Konica FS-1 that I had, and I have no idea when I sold it or gave it away, but I think I divested myself of all Konica stuff in 2015.  All these images were on Hawkeye Surveillance Film, a nice C-41 color film from Kodak.  I wish that I had bought about 4 100 ft. rolls when I had the chance! Some of these have been cropped from the 35mm frame to square format. 

As I recall, I liked the FS-1.  It was the first 35mm SLR to have a built-in motor drive in 1979.  It had a weakness with the battery holder, though, and that was a sore point with an otherwise nice camera.  It's fun finding some things that I have not looked at for a while, but I better keep packing, as the contractors are coming Monday to refinish all the wood floors!  I'll see you again in a month or so!

Mark

Happy New Year!

I am sitting here at my computer writing this with a cat on my lap. Johan, my furry buddy, seems to think that is the best place to be. It makes typing a bit awkward, but he's not been feeling well the past few days, so I'll put up with it. Eventually, he moves around behind me on the seat, which probably helps my sitting posture.

Last year seems like only yesterday, and it was quite a year. My first year of retirement was filled with lots of travel, lots of photography, and personally, was quite good. I still think about my friend Marc, and wish I could share some of my adventures with him. I think my film photography was extremely prolific, with at least 120 rolls shot. Between testing new films, old cameras, and travel, I was also doing a lot of film developing. Of course, I scan my negatives, and while I have my darkroom and enlarger, I rarely print just for the sake of printing. I only make prints if I have a project in mind. Film photography is gaining more press and more traction, and I think most of would agree that the variety of film stocks (especially in b&w) keeps increasing. I hope that 2019 sees some great new products on the market.

Speaking of darkrooms… my most important acquisition has been the sous vide heater for doing C-41, ECN-2, and E-6 developing. It's been an incredible water and time saver, not to mention, giving me great uniformity in my developing process. While I bought mine on Amazon for about $70, The FPP is selling one for about $50. Of course, if you are doing stand development in regular b&w chemistry, the unit is even more desirable, especially if your workspace is chilly.

This year will see some big changes in my life, as we are preparing to sell our home and move to the Asheville, NC area. As we look at houses, it will be important for me to have darkroom and studio space. Analog photography processes will be an important aspect of my life, and I will continue to be advocating for traditional processes. We will have lived in Michigan for 38 years this May, and while we have greatly enjoyed Michigan, Adrienne and I are looking forward to new adventures elsewhere. She retired from her job yesterday, and now both of us are “pensioners.” We both grew up in New York State, and miss the terrain, but not the long winters, so the Appalachians are calling to us, and Asheville is a good fit. We probably won't be moving until mid-year, and in the interim, I have lots to do. 

Due to the impending move I'll probably be selling some of my camera gear on eBay that I am not using. Just look for argusmaniac on eBay, and you can see my auctions. Moving a household is filled with making decisions on what to move. In addition, we are having some home renovations done, which of course means moving things around within the house. That's a great motivator to reduce the “clutter.” No, I am NOT selling my big Seal dry-mount press!

I have plenty of camera reviews lined up for 2019, and hopefully, more travelogues and photos to accompany them.

Here's to a good year! 

Back from North Carolina

Mountain Sentinel.  iphone image.

I am finally done traveling for a month or two.  My latest trip to North Carolina, and Asheville,  in particular, was to look at potential areas where we would like to move to in 2019.  With our realtor, we examined a number of homes for sale in the Asheville area.  When we were not doing that, we were exploring the area's natural beauty.   The more we saw, the more convinced we are about making a choice to retire there.  One of my prerequisites is that the future home have space for a darkroom, and some studio space.  It's amazing how many homeowners have completely finished their basements into living spaces, which makes installing a darkroom more problematic.    I am hopeful that we will find the right combination of size, amenities, garden space, kitchen space, darkroom space, and two-car garage by the time we are ready to sell our house here in Ann Arbor.

North Carolina is certainly a great place to move for nature and landscape photography.  The western part of course, is mountainous, and such a contrast to the flat state of Michigan and the Midwest, in general.  I grew up in the Adirondacks of New York, and while I miss that state's topography, I would like to live the rest of my life where winter is not such a big deal.  We have lived in Michigan since 1981, and as much as I enjoy the Great Lakes and the Upper Peninsula, it's an 8 hour drive at minimum to Marquette.  I am looking forward to new adventures in NC and of course, being in the eastern US again.  I am doing a lot of research on the photographic community, and people doing traditional photographic processes, in particular.  The film shooting will go on!

I shot some of the new Kodak Ektachrome E100 on the trip, and will have some examples to post in a couple of weeks. I shot with my Nikon FM, and it remains a great camera for trips.  I took the 50mm f/1.4, 28mm f/2.8, and 105mm f/2.5.    I only shot 6 rolls of film during the week, but I did do a lot of site scouting, and that was beneficial. 

Now I know why they are called the Blue Ridge Mountains

The Blue Ridge Parkway just has to be the most scenic route I have been on.  No commercial traffic, which makes the drive much better.  It seems like there was an amazing view of some sort almost continuously as we drove from Asheville NE to Blowing Rock.   I look forward to being able to drive just a few minutes to the BRP and enjoy the scenery!  NC has waterfalls galore, and I picked up a copy of Kevin Adams' "North Carolina Waterfalls."  Splendid photography, and a great guide.  I look forward to doing pinhole photography at some of the waterfalls next year.

Now that I am home, I have a lot of topics and reviews that have been on the back-burner and will start putting them on the blog shortly. 

Happy Halloween!

Ready to Go!

It's been a year of travel for me, which is a wonderful thing to be able to do when retired.  As a photographer, I have enjoyed seeing new vistas and subjects for my passion.  While digital took a back seat on my previous trips, I am packing my Nikon D300  this time.  I'm going to be gone for 2 weeks, and with a week in Colorado, 2 days in New Mexico, and the rest in Tuscon, AZ, I need to be lighter on the gear, as we are flying to Denver, and flying back from Phoenix.  We'll be renting a car for everything in between.  So, I am packing my camera backpack with the D300, 35mm f/1.8, 11-16mm Tokina lens, 18-70 Nikkor, 90mm Tamron Macro, and 70-300 Nikon AF lens.  That's it for the digi, (well, along with the iPhone).  For the film side, I'm packing my Yashica A TLR, and my Leica M2 with the 35mm f/1.4 lens.  All of my film also goes into the backpack, which is a carry-on. At the last minute, I decided to throw in a toy camera, the Debonair.  It doesn't add much to the weight, and will be fun to find the right subjects with it.   My Manfrotto tripod goes in my checked suitcase.

The last time I visited NM and CO was in 2003, and that was a fun family vacation. We drove the entire trip, and between my daughter Jorie and I we had probably a dozen cameras in the van.  We shot a LOT of film.I learned on that trip that one can have way too many cameras on a trip, and to not duplicate functionality.  So, while the DSLR will be used for a lot of the scenery and wildlife, the Yashica TLR and the Leica M2 will have their place, shooting b&w, and giving me that analog satisfaction.  Because I am shooting a lot of digital on the trip, I need to make sure that I can backup my files and do some sharing on social media (including this blog).  I bought an 11" Chromebook just for that purpose, and it will take up a lot less space than my laptop, and give me more functionality than my iPad.

One of these days I'll make a trip with just one camera, but I don't see it happening anytime soon!

Back from Portland, with lots of film.

Looking E into Portland from Washington Park.
That's Mt. Hood in the background.

Earlier this week, I returned from a week in Portland, Oregon.  It was a fantastic trip, and I am still mentally processing the trip, and have yet to start processing my film.  We flew there and back  on Alaska Airlines, which I had not flown on before, and I was pleased with the service and had absolutely no problems at any time.  I had my film in my carry-on bags, and did not bother with hand-checking at TSA.

I previously listed what I was bringing, and I used all of the gear that I brought, though I used the Holga and the Sprocket Rocket very little.  Aside from shooting 20+ rolls, I also shot about 600 images with the Nikon Coolpix S600 and my iPhone SE.   I'll put a few of those in this post.

A few things that really struck me in Portland:
1. Light rail and streetcars make getting around very easy.  Five dollars gets you an all-day pass, which is really cheap.  I did have a rental car for traveling outside the city, and put 800 miles on it. Except for visiting Blue Moon camera and Machine, I didn't drive to any spots within the city, as I walked or took the rail.
2. It's an easy city to navigate on foot. Watch out for the bike lanes and street cars!
3. There are lots of bridges and elevated highways which make for great subjects.
4. Lots of photography stores are there, and there is probably nothing that you cannot find locally.
5. While the Pacific NW has a wet-and cloudy reputation -- it was almost always sunny while we were there. However, bring a light jacket or windbreaker if you go west to the Pacific beaches. You'll get chilled if you don't.
6. Lots of bars, lots of food.  You won't be thirsty or hungry. Food trucks are everywhere!


7.  Check out Blue Moon Camera and Machine, 8417 N. Lombard Street - analog only, and what a place to visit!

Inside Blue Moon Camera

8. The trees grow very tall and straight.  Make time for some trips to the coast as well as the Columbia River Gorge. Lots to see within a 2-hour radius!
9. Visit Powell's bookstore.  THOUSANDS of photography books.  They will ship to your address, too.
10. There are many fountains and parks in the city that will surprise you.

I also made a trip to Tokeland, WA  to meet up with Marcy Merrill. She's a great photographer and has been operating the Junk Store Cameras website for about 20 years. I'll report on that later.  After I get through my film, I'll post some specific sets of topics here.

Ira Keller Fountain is stunning.

Visit Multnomah Falls if you can!

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!

On the Road Again

Tools and shot film, NC trip

I have been traveling a lot the past few months, and as a retiree, it's something that I had been looking forward to.  I was away in North Carolina the past week to check out Charlotte and Asheville, NC.  Aside from seeing the outer banks 24 years ago, I hadn't seen much of NC before, and I have to say Charlotte is a very nice city.  Charlotte has a great light rail system in place, and it really makes access quite easy.  I look forward to going back again. Asheville I like better, because it has a little grunginess, and as a photographer, I like to find interesting things to photograph.   I have turned into a flat-lander, having been in Michigan so long, but I really enjoy the mountains in NC.   I got back last night, so I won't have a chance to develop my film until after I get back from NJ next week. I leave for Fair Lawn, NJ on Wednesday to help out the Film Photography Project.

Hopefully, I'll have some material for some posts later this month, and I look forward to having some time to write and work on my photos.   The so-called spring weather has yet to take hold in Michigan, and I have to say it was a delight to be in a warmer climate last week.  Back at home in Ann Arbor, it is once again snowing (but not sticking), and spring weather would be welcome right now.