Looking up in NYC

September 16, 2020 fishyfisharcade2 Comments

As I still haven’t written my camera review post yet (although I do have a cheesy title for it!) I thought I’d dip into the archives and pull out a photo that never got published before. This one was taken last May when I travelled to New York City with my wife and our two youngest boys.

I’ve been looking back through these pictures – taken when the Covid-19 pandemic would have likely seemed an impossibility to most people but, yet, a year later and look how the world changed! – because I’m taking part in a zine swap with some folks from a forum I’m a member of. I’ve never made a zine before and time was ticking on, so I decided to choose a bunch of street-shots for my first publication. I have everything set up and now just need to finalise a few bits beore clicking the button to get them printed. I’m probably going to end up with far more than I need for the zine swap, so might have some to swap with others too.

While zoomed-in, spotting the photo for dust before uploading it, it was fun to notice a guy stood atop the scaffolding at the lower left of the shot. Photos are so often full of little details such as this. Unspotted at the time of making the picture, and even overlooked on initial viewing, but there waiting to be found when you spend the time.

Looking up in NYC — Can you spot the man on the scaffolding?

Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Ilford HP5+.

Taken on 29 May 2019

Film photography · Medium Format · Photography

Just do it

June 9, 2019 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

You can’t fail to be struck by the advertising hoardings in Times Square, whether it be the high-tech animated electronic boards, or the more traditional versions like in today’s photo.

I’m a little disappointed with the roll of Ektar I shot in NYC – not due to the film itself (the colours are glorious), but because of my results. Apart from a couple, all the shots (including the one here) show at least some minor signs of softness. I know the camera is capable of sharp images, so this is down to camera shake or DOF blurring when using wider apertures. Although it wasn’t badly lit on the day I shot the roll, the light meter app on my phone was giving somewhat long exposure times when I metered the shots, so I was shooting with longer shutter speeds and / or wider apertures than I’d have liked. As this was a family trip, not a photography expedition, I was also taking less time than I would have liked to compose and take many shots, which probably exacerbated things too.

I wish I’d have taken my Sekonic L-208 meter with me instead of relying on the phone app. The phone app is normally ok, but on this occasion seemed to be giving me somewhat variable results even when readings were taken in similar conditions. I think the L-208 would have been a more reliable companion.

Zeiss Mess-Ikonta 524/16 & Kodak Ektar.

Taken on 27 May 2019

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Stars and stripes and empty seats

June 1, 2019 fishyfisharcadeLeave a comment

Another photo from Times Square.

Now, you could argue that this is a picture that would work better in colour – primarily due to the huge illuminates Stars and Stripes display in the middle of the frame – but, well, I had HP5+ loaded in the camera, so that’s that. I do have some colour digital shots from the same location, but they won’t appear on here (and I’ve not loaded any onto Flickr as yet).

Anyway, despite the lack of colour, I still really like this photo. Once again, the rain makes it – the silhouette of the man with umbrella against the sign, and the wet, empty tables in the foreground work well I think. I also think that, despite the blazing colours all around, that Times Square suits black and white very well – possibly because it evokes older, classic shots of the location that I’ve seen over the years.

Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Ilford HP5+.

Taken on 28 May 2019

35mm · Film photography · Photography

Rainy Times (Square)

May 31, 2019 fishyfisharcade2 Comments

I got back from a family trip to New York yesterday so it’d be a fair assumption to expect quite a few photos from there in the coming days (and weeks!). I shot six rolls in total: 2 x Kodak Portra 400 (135); 2 x Ilford HP5+ (135); 1 x Kodak Portra 400 (120); 1 x Kodak Ektar (120). I’m still waiting for the colour shots to be processed, so don’t expect I’ll see those until next week, but I’ve started on the two rolls of HP5 and have scanned a few strips already.

I’m looking forward to seeing the colour shots, but the black and whites I took in and around a rainy Times Square have come out pretty well.

I’d have loved to have spent days just wandering the streets taking photos, but it’s not really possible to do it freely on a family trip, so I just grabbed stuff wherever I could as we went about our holiday. I’d really like to go back and take more photos, but it’s a long way from home and I might never get to visit again – I think if we make another trip to the US we’ll probably aim to visit somewhere else.

Here’s one of my Times Square pics to kick things off.

Canon Sure Shot Z135 & Ilford HP5+.

Taken on 28 May 2019