1/2: I made some difficult decisions regarding the camera gear I'm bringing to NYC. I had too much stuff packed. Here's what I've whittled it down to. Nikon Z7II, Nikkor 24-70mm f/4 S, Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 S, 3 spare batteries, Nikon SB800 flash with a small Vello diffuser.

My perception is that camera electronics from the 70s and 80s are more reliable than those from the 90s and 00s. I wonder if that’s true and if it is, why it is.

The dark bark of beautiful trees in the Big Woods. Olympus ON-1n w/35mm f/2 with yellow filter. Arista EDU Ultra 200 (Foma) at box. HC-110e for 8 min at 20C.

Another perspective on the nesting ball. Nikon FE2 w/50mm Ai-S and yellow filter. HP5 at box. HC-110e for 8 min at 20C.

This song is haunting me.

I searched on “Ladies Pavilion” on Flickr. Sheesh! Some people do truly horrible things to their photos. 😵‍💫

Our nephew is getting married this weekend in Central Park, NYC, in a small affair at the Ladies Pavilion. I’m the photographer. I’ll bring my Nikon Z7II kit for that assignment. I’m also planning to bring my Kodak Retina IIIc for some folder action in NYC to start out my #FolderWeek.

You find the most interest things in artist studios. Nikon FE2 w/28mm f/2.8 Ai-S and yellow filter. HP5 at box. HC-110e for 8 min at 20C.

I've worked hard on my B&W conversion preset in LR to get it as filmic as I can. I'm at a good place now. One of these photos was made on the Olympus OM-1n with the 35mm f/2 lens and a yellow filter on Foma 200. The other is from a Nikon D850. Made on the same outing. Resized to 6MP.

Deadfall in the Big Woods on film. Olympus OM-1n w/35mm f/2 w/yellow filter. Arista EDU Ultra 200 (Foma) at box. HC-110e for 8 min at 20C.

Please allow me to express my deep disappointment at what I’ve learned about my Mamiya 6 Automat. It’s got some bad fungus on the interior cemented element. I told Dan Daniel to button it up and charge me for the work he’s done. No sense plowing more money into a camera with bad fungus. 😢

This is the photo with the black rain. Spelling challenged I’d say. Olympus OM-1n w/Arista EDU Ultra 200 (Foma) at box. HC-110e for 8 min at 20C. I have a lot of bulk loaded rolls of this yet in the freezer. Get ready for lots of black rain.

This is not good. For the first time ever I’ve seen the black rain of death with Foma 200 in the 135 format. This is a screenshot of an enlarged portion of a photo on a roll I just developed. This is bad for me. I don’t care for KM Pan 200. I guess FP4 is going to become my new 200 speed film.

Two more photos from the first roll in my Nikon FE2 since getting overhauled. HP5 at box. HC-110e for 8 min at 20C. Nikkor 50mm f/1.4 Ai. These photos are good examples of different qualities of light...both soft, but one more so than the other.

1/2: Yesterday we were in the Lowertown area of St. Paul for the St. Paul Art Crawl. On our way back to the car as I was making a photo, Steffan, shown here in the photos, asked about my camera and then asked if I wanted to make his photo. I gladly agreed. If he hadn't offered I'd have asked.

Now that we’re concluding the #FP4Party, let’s keep the fun going with #FolderWeek, which commences in one week, on April 26. The “rules” of Folder Week are simple, get out shooting with an old folding camera during the week and share photos when you can. If it folds, it’s a folder.

I recently made B&W conversions of two recent woodland photos made on my Fuji XT2. I’m curious what strikes you about the these versions. I’m not asking which you prefer but rather what stands out in one versus the other, setting aside the obvious lack of color in the B&W versions.

Finally bit the bullet and deleted a ton of one star only photos from my LR library. Ended up deleting almost 20K files. That should free up a ton of storage on my external SSD and in the cloud.

One good thing about the federated model of Mastodon. No one system to target with a DDOS attack.

Went in to the Apple Store today to drop my Watch Series 7 off for battery service. The service costs $99. The salesperson tried to sell me a new Watch...said I'd get a $65 trade-in. I said no thanks. I'd still have to buy a new watch. Better to spend $99 and get a new Series 7 Watch.

1/2: Yesterday I photographed at the 45th anniversary event for the Westminster Town Hall Forum. Hall of Fame pro football player and retired Minnesota Supreme Court justice, Alan Page, was the headliner. He’s in his 80s now.

A tabletop portrait from the last Mpls Camera Meet Up for the #FP4Party. I stood my Voigtlander (1937) up on the table with the kickstand out, guessed at the distance, took a meter reading, set the self timer (yes, it still works) and made the frame. My shutter speed was somewhere around 0.2-1 sec.

My Nikon FE2 is back from Jim Holman at Intl Camera Techs. Now to put a roll through it. A quick meter check tells me it is spot on. One look at the photos Jim sends showing the repair tells me I made the right choice in sending it off.

I don’t have much to show for the #FP4Party. I only put one roll through my Voigtlander Bessa for the week of shooting, all of 8 frames. This was the venue for the last Mpls Camera Meet Up. FX39II for 6 min at 20C.

Today I got out in the Big Woods with my Nikon D850 and Olympus OM-1n. Nothing to show yet from the Olympus.

Another photo from my walk in the Big Woods during a heavy rainstorm. Fuji XT2 w/50mm f/2 XF WR.

I find I'm better at working a scene when I use a prime lens. I haven't decided which of these I like best. You can see the streaks of rain falling in the background in the closest in photo. Fuji XT2 w/50mm f/2 XF WR.

I decided to get out to the Big Woods this afternoon during a rainstorm to make some photos and test out the weather sealing on my Fuji kit. Temps were around 42F, so it was chilly. Fuji XT2 w/50mm f/2 XF WR. I was pleased with how my XT2 and the 50mm f/2 lens performed.

This is a dumb question from those of you in the Commonwealth. Is it relatively easy for you to emigrate to other Commonwealth countries? I hear of people emigrating from Canada to Australia or the UK, or from the UK to Australia.

Defying gravity in the Big Woods. Nikon F3 w/50mm f/1.; Ai and yellow filter. Arista EDU Ultra 200 (Foma) at box. FX-39II for 10 min at 20C. #BelieveInFilm

This is mesmerizing. Nice of that gull to make an appearance.

Amidst the deadfall. Nikon F3 w/50mm f/1.4 Ai and yellow filter. Arista EDU Ultra 200 (Foma) at box. FX-39II for 10 min at 20C. #BelieveInFilm

The old saying of I'd rather be lucky than good was in full force on this photo. That sandhill crane in the upper right entered my frame just as I was going to make a photo of this scene. Nikon F3 w/105mm f/2.5 Ai-S. Arista EDU Ultra 200 (Foma) at box. FX-39II for 10 min at 20C. #BelieveInFilm

Here's what I've decided...or let's say, here's what I'm finally admitting to myself. 35mm cameras are my daily carries. All other larger formats are for special purposes. I'm not going to feel ashamed about this.

Ugh! Now the scammer/spammers have resorted to tagging me in posts, forcing me to block them yet again. This is getting really old.

Mojo is a sneaky little bugger. It can desert you in an instant and then return when you least expect it. Mine's been AWOL for some time, but I've recently felt its return. I got out tonight in the Big Woods with my beloved Nikon F3HP and a roll of Foma 200 to make some photos.

Just paid my invoice from Intl Camera Techs for the overhaul of my Nikon FE2. Can't wait to get it back and put a roll through it. I expect I'll see it in a week or so. I like that Jim includes a thumb drive with photos showing the repair work.

Looks like your folks are going to be in my neck of the woods this weekend. Too bad I don't have any gear to trade in, at least, not yet. If I decide to make the XT2 my travel camera I may have a few Nikon Z primes I'll be selling. @behindthebluemotel.com @friction.bsky.social

Let's talk grain. Preferences for grain are highly personal. I happen to love the grain in this photo, made on Tri-X at box with my Retina IIc. I used my 18% microfiber cloth to take exposure readings. By the looks of the negative, my exposure was good. HC-110e for 9 min at 20C.

I wasn't confident that I'd gotten anything worthwhile on my Kodak Retina IIc at the recent No Kings rally, but I was actually pleasantly surprised with what I got. Tri-X at box. Yellow filter. HC-110e for 9 min at 20C. #BelieveInFilm

Seems BSKY is still having issues today. I keep getting an "Internal Server Error" when trying to upload photos.

Is there a corollary rule to the mirror rule for long shadows! Rules are rules after all.

Getting out shooting in uncharacteristically hard light for me. I liked how the shadows were so pronounced and at 45 degrees. Fuji XT2 w/16-80mm f/4 XF WR lens. They have started demoing this old abandoned grain elevator, so my days of photographing it are numbered.

Why I'm not a wildlife photographer.

1/2: I'm tagging @grainfall.bsky.social and @peterdurst.bsky.social on this post. National Camera got in those two Retinas...a IIIC and IIIc. The shutter is inop on the IIIC. The IIIc is in nice shape. The slow shutter speeds are too slow. The lens is in nice condition. Everything works smoothly.

We watched the movie Train Dreams the other night. If quiet, thoughtful movies that aren’t plot driven are your thing, then you might like this movie. We loved it. www.netflix.com/us/title/820...

Our next #FolderWeek begins Sunday, April 26. Simply get out shooting with an old folding camera during the week and share whenever you can. Please make sure to use the hashtag. Remember, if it folds, it's a folder. Here is a YT playlist link for videos on old folders. youtube.com/playlist

I appreciate how the focus falloff renders with my Fuji XF lenses on the XT2. The latter two photos are screenshots from LR at 200%. The photo was made at f/5.6 and 1/60. No great shakes as a photo, but it does show the rendering.

Martin Henson finally made a review of the Kodak Retina system, with a Retina IIIC and the aux lenses. Spoiler alert: He loves the camera! youtu.be/vM7z6h9CM8E

And now for something completely different, two seemingly healthy trees. Fuji XT2 w/35mm f/2 XF WR.