Mid Week Medium Format

Hello!

a mid week "photo of the day".

It proves: nothing supports a double chin like a medium format camera.

Ms Paula in the wetlands / spring 2016 / © lukkalk

Venice Travel Diary 2: Eyecandy

Hello!

Before I went to Venice in May, I checked out a recent Bond movie, since I had no clue about Venice. In "Casino Royale" (2006) James and his love cross the lagoon. In the movie the lagoon looked fake. I was certain the images were rendered, because I lacked the imagination that Venice today could be anything like a Sean Connery-1960's idylle. 

Well ... I was wrong, because Venice does look like a 1960's idylle: 

Venice, May 2016

You know this feeling, when you feel an emotion in your chest, when the beauty all around you is overwhelming: sight, breeze, sound, scents. Perfect, perfect moment.  

The waterbus route Lido-Arsenale is fantastic. While crossing the lagoon with the waterbus (Vaporetto) you get to see 360° eyecandy. 

Venice, May 2016

Aperol time at the Arsenale aka 5pm

Museo Storico Navale and chique men

Venice – City of Lions

Not a myth: boys playing soccer on a church square in the evning
There is a 2nd ball flying through the air, can you spot it?
(not pictured: the boys' grannies sitting on a bench under a tree, chatting)  

Waterbus stop in Venice. NOT static.

Italo-modern architecture always catches my eye

Lido di Venezia on the brink of high season

I have no idea, why no one was interested in the Lido in the evening end of May. Oh wait, I forgot ... San Marco. Rialto. Cafe Florian. Harry's Bar. Canale Grande.

Downtime at the Lido di Venezia

Late May the Lido becomes a candidate for a "whereabouts in Venezia" categorie

A night out in Venice aka "Germans know how to party." 
sidenote: waterbusses cross the lagoon all night long 

Projects are keeping me busy this weekend, that's why I don't tell long stories and leave you with this eyecandy ...

... and a Baci,
Paula
#teamLido

photos:
Kodak Portra 160/camera YashicaMat124G
JPGs out of cam/Sigma DP2 Merrill

Venice Travel Diary

Hello again!

Earlier this year I had the pleasure of exploring Venice and the Lido di Venezia. I've enjoyed the stay so much (and due thanks to my conservative nature), I've decided to revisit the Lido in autumn. This behaviour is not new to me. I know it all to well from previous Hamburg-trips (3 times back in 2012). One time is never enough.

EDIT Dec 2016:

The 2016 Venice Travel Diary so far: 

Venice Travel Diary Part 2: Eyecandy

Venice Travel Diary Part 3: Travelling with Style

Venice Travel Diary Part 4: Taking Your Time

The view from our apartment

This time around we'll leave the car where it belongs: in Austria and travel by train. There is simply no need for a car in Venice. Well, cars do have a purpose: they serve as accessoires in images:

Ferryboat "Lido di Venezia" heading towards the Lido di Venezia

It feels sooo good to revisit a place which you like and where you've earned a certain degree of street fondamente smartness.

Neighbourhood @ Lido di Venezia

In May the Lido smelled heavenly. Back in Vienna I had to buy an intense white floral perfume. Jasmine!  What scent will be my souvenir in autumn?

Arsenale in May 2016

La Biennale, Arsenale May 2016

Those of you who know "Come fly with me" know ...

Now that I look at the photos, I notice that they have something in common (besides the water): Movement! Slowly but surely. :-)
Like always, I am going to take plenty of time at my hands.

Baci,
Paula
#teamLido


photos:
Fuji Superia 200/camera Canon AE-1
Kodak Portra 160/camera YashicaMat124G
JPGs out of cam/Sigma DP2 Merrill

b/w Photography: Gear

Hello!

regular readers might be familiar with my vegetable cooler. It used to house mealworms in spring-time. New season, new purpose!

ready to go with a decent film stock at hand

About one and a half years ago, I sat at the legendary Café Jelinek in Vienna, chatting with a friend, after-work, talking about this and that, Rome and fashion and suddenly I came up with the idea of buying a pre-loved Nikon F4. The legend! Out of reach – moneywise – in my teenage years. See, I still know the name, having admired the famous camera only from the distance. Instead I teamed up with a Yashica FX-7, which turned out to be a reliable tool, it's still in use

The friend – a professional photographyer – disagreed: "Why buy a 35mm camera? F4? You should try medium format, that might be something for you"

It did not take long and I came home with this camera in my hands:

Yashica Mat 124-G

Binocular system

3 reasons why I favoured this camera over others:

1. no mirror

I look through an additional lens - the binocular system.  No mirror means, there is no flipping, no shaking, when the mirror moves. The binocular Yashica Mat allows slow speed, handheld - 1/30, 1/15 - no problem

2. light weight

The complete camera weighs less than a Hasselblad body. Trying various cameras, I noticed several reasons, why the Hasselblad is not for me. Mainly because my hands are too small. A friend, she is a photographer, gave me one advice: hold it and see how it feels. If it does not feel right in your hands, it's not right for you, no matter how phantastic the specs are.

  

3. built-in light meter

The light meter is nice. In the long run I teamed up with a hand held light meter. The camera needs a exotic battery, mercury free, which has a shorter life span, compared to the original mercury batteries in the 1970's. Ever 3-4 months approx. 9 EUR. 

Ordinary sky, seen on a digital camera display

The ordinary sky suddenly becomes special

6 months later a friend de-cluttered his closets, mainly camera gear. He knew about of my renewed passion for analogue photography ... 

Canon AE-1: Love!

I had no idea what a difference the gear makes until I started shooting with the Canon AE-1

Canon AE-1 and Viviar 70mm-150mm lens

The 70-150mm and I did not team up very well at the beginning. The 150mm zoom did not suffice for my needs when I wanted to capture details on facades etc. It did not make any sense, until ... well, until I heard read about 80mm & portrait!!

Our youngest family member is a Labradoodle: Luna

Both cameras – the Yashica Mat and the Canon AE-1 fit in this backbag:

KATA backbag

KATA was a legend. Was – because unfortuantely, KATA is no longer. Manfrotto bought KATA a few years ago. From what I've heard, the original  KATA knowhow* and KATA design became part of the Manfrotto pro-line.

Ok. Now you have read a lot about my cameras. And what about black and white? 

To be continued!

The follow-up posting will lead us straight to the dark room

* two Isreali guys, both experienced with weapons founded KATA. Their bags provided maximum protection for (all kinds of) gear. 

Wetlands

Oh, how I love the wetlands in Lower Austria. They are nothing new, only that I have discovered them recently. The "Nationalpark Donauauen" (National Park Danubian Wetlands) starts in the outskirts of Vienna and goes all the way down the Danube River towards Slovakia. 

Standing in the middle of the wetlands, you experience the overwhelming soundscape, wild animals.  Amphibians, birds, water animals. It was a spectacular experience. I have to go back and explore the wetlands a bit further.

vintage 6x6 TLR camera: YashicaMat 124-G / Film: Kodak Portra

The "disturbing depth of field" is on purpose. Well, maybe aside from all-too-prominent blurry leave in the foreground. ;-)

News from a Darkroom aka I Believe in Film

Hello!

(very) long time no see.

There has been quite something going on since June.

First, I went to far away place, where safety nets, norms and codes are less established than in the EC. The place is Russia, Siberia to be precise. Don't get me wrong: I need this confrontation once in a while, makes us alert in a good way!

en route in Krasnojarsk, Siberia
[The next moment a mother with a baby on her arm came our way. You could tell by the different speeds where I come from and what she is used to experience.]

The day I returned I found myself entering a new kind of adventure, an adventure that speaks to my heart and soul: the darkroom. Not the other one. The real thing, the one that comes with chemicals and stacks of paper. At night, after work.

This was August. Now, on the last day of September I can look back and ... gasp. I think got really far within the past two months.

There is a lot happening in my life. Not that I am saying blogging mirrors the episodes of my life where nothing happens. It's just that all that is happening is sort of analogue: the ride on the Transsiberian train was offline. The black and white prints looks best when held in two hands.

I am glad that I do spend a lot of time off the computer at night. Developing and printing in the darkroom comes with the #1 rule: "No eating, no drinking in the darkroom", which is actuelly also quite nice, sizewise.

I will probably not invest in a super-pretty-scanner. So all that I can present here for the moment are rather poor scans  – from incredible beautiful photos.


I am almost sure I am going to dig deeper into the whole darkroom magic, show you around, let you take part at the experience. Meanwhile I hope you enjoy the light this autumn provides as much as I do. In the end it's all about light. Speaking if light and highlights: did you notice the bizarre comeback of glitter and tinsel in fashion? All the sneakers sparkling in pink, green, gold. I might actually go for one pair of those. Could be a nice counter balance for all the black & white aesthetics that dominate my senses these days.

Let me finish with the poor scans I referred to above:

Little Mia (3 months) and her proud mother

The weeping willow served as perfect setting for the shooting. The baby never got tired of looking at the tree. What I like about this photo: how they all look in different directions and still form an entity.

Yes, I did ask the family if it is OK to post the photos. Of course!) There is so much I love about the photos, the setting ...

 The afternoon light in Vienna never ceases to impress me.

 This room welcomes me when I leave the darkroom. Lucky me!

 Earlier this week, at night: HP5+ pushed to 3200

Yesterday I developed another film (last 2 photos above) entirely by myself. I printed the photos by myself and – exceptional for my standards - I did not follow the rules when taking the photos (expose 400ASA the way it's meant to be exposed) but pushed the film up to 3200ASA which allows me to take hand held photos, without a flash, at night. Ok, ok, I am drifting off into details.

What I am trying to say: I am enjoying this new, old* chapter in my life.


In case you visit Vienna until January, I can highly recommend the exhibition "Black & White" at the Albertina. The real stuff, made of gelatine and silver.

thank you for reading!
Paula
 
* been there in 1988 :-) 

The end of the line

Hello!

More squares to come! 

After having finishing the b/w film, I continued with a colour film.

The photos do reflect my approach to the location I pictured 100%. There is nothing exciting. 

You can sense a calm, almost boring atmosphere by looking at the photos. Guess what, that's exactly how it is, the end of the line. 

I am surprised, how soft the colours turned out. I guess I overexposed most of the pictures, maybe the handling of the film at the photo-laboratory did its part, too, altough the scans are much lighter than the original prints, the contrast is also very low.

 2nd photo not as intended ;-)

 

The 6x6 creates a unique feeling of space. When I look at the photo with the blossoms above, it seems like a picture taken inside a room. The only room that's there is the room formed by the branches of the tree.

On my way to one of the most expensive living areas in Vienna.

Since there are only 12 photos I show them all. Usually I would delete digital photos like the one above and the one below.

Normally you would take photos with the camera mounted on a tripod. 4 pounds and a mirrored view are not really easy to handle. I took al photos with the camera holding the camera in my hands. My right thumb isn't thankful at all.

Another end of the line, almost central. I like this photo, irrespective of its suboptimal exposure. The brownish light comes with the late time, 7.30pm

The next day I was left with one more shot. Soft as you can get:

 

In case you wonder: Yes, you still find shabby houses like this in Vienna. Gentrification has not taken it all, not yet.

The next film is going to be b/w. 'The package of 5 is sitting on my shelf. 

And the camera? Definitely not going to be a borrowed one. Call me in!