Tag Archives: South Carolina

Apr 29 2012

Pin Hole Photography Primer…


Today is the day!  Get out your Pin Hole cameras and go shooting!

World Wide Pinhole Photography Day, 2012!

Fuga City Detail, Pinhole image, Panasonic GH2 with the PinWide f/127 pinhole plate.

Today is the world wide pinhole photography day.  Thousands of folks around the world are out shooting pinhole images today and posting them on the http://www.pinholeday.org/ web site.  It is great fun and takes us back to an era when photographic experimentation was the word of the day!  A pinhole camera system is one without a lens. I simply has a VERY SMALL hole thru which the light passes and creates the image on the back of the camera on film or sensor.  You can purchase pinhole plates for most cameras made today plus you can easily create one of your own!

Do a little research here on the net thru Google and you will find a ton of information on it.  But remember today is the yearly big day!

I have pinhole plate adapters for ALL OF MY CAMERA systems.  There are many companies who make them.  Here is a short list to get you started:

  • Skink (ebay) (For ALL cameras)
  • Pinwide (for Micro 4/3)
  • Lenox Laser (good selection of models for various cameras!
  • Lens Baby

Here are what some of these plates look like…

Pinhole images are typically not very sharp, BUT they are at the same sharpness from the very front edge of the pinhole plate to infinity!  They can be created with one to several pinholes and there is no limit to how the film can be placed, flat, curved, round and so on!  For digital systems, you can indeed have multiple pinholes, but only a flat sensor.  They can and will create very etherial images that are very pleasing to the eye and great fun to create!

Here are some example images of my own pinhole creations, please let me know what you think!!

Pawleys Marsh Pinhole image. Leica M mount Skink f/207 pinhole plate at 3.2 second exposure

Pawleys Marsh Pinhole image. Leica M mount Skink f/207 pinhole plate at 3.2 second exposure

Fuga City Detail, Pinhole image with the Pin Wide f/127 pinhole plate.

Fuga City Detail, Pinhole image with the Pin Wide f/127 pinhole plate.

Apr 25 2012

Going Back To Momma…


Falling In Love With The Fuji X Pro 1 Camera system..

Or, what does a camera system have in common with a good doggie?

Fuji X Pro 1 System

A little history:

I started in photography over 45 years ago (yes I am an old fart)… A long time for sure!  I started using and learning on an Argus C3 35mm rangefinder camera then just started working up through many many more rangefinders.  Along came SLR camera systems and like  most other photographers of the time I decided that I too must have one of these so that I could actually see through the lens to see what I  am going to get.  Many years passed and every time I would pass a camera store I found myself looking with lust  at rangefinders of all things.  At first I thought that there must be something wrong with me, why else would I be drawn to an older technology after the many thousands of dollars I had invested in the best Canon bodies and lenses over the years?

Skittles the Dashound, #9

After much reflection I decided that it must be like dogs!  You know… your parents purchase you your first dog which you fall in love with,  and you are forever imprinted with love for the dog and the type of dog.  Then for the rest of your life you desire only that type of dog!  I am on my 9th dashound now and wouldn’t dream of any other type!  So, back to the point, cameras, like dogs are imprinted upon us at an early age and we tend to gravitate back to momma so to speak!  After coming to grips with this fact I went out and spent another $2500 on the Hasselblad XPan II rangefinder and was forever re-hooked.  Yes, I still have and shoot Canon bodies and L glass, but my true passion is for rangefinders and dashounds!  I have accepted this fact as part of who I am. I find that I even occasionally purchase an old rangefinder camera to display in a glass case in my studio!

Ok, enter Fuji!  Last year, Fuji introduced the X100, which is a digital rangefinder styled camera, not a rangefinder focusing camera.  It looked great and got great press. I wanted one from the very first but held off for a year.  Last fall I actually purchased one and was instantly in love with the thing!  It was small and light and SILENT…  It has a fixed 23mm lens and did I mention that it is totally silent in operation!!  Oh yea, in love to be sure.  This February (2012) my wife and I went to Italy for 11 days of photographic heaven and the only cameras I took were a small Infrared camera (Panasonic GH2) and the Fuji X100.  It was a match made in heaven for travel.  Light,  small and no work to lug around!  I got amazing images with the Fuji even though it had a wide fixed lens.  I simply had to rely upon my sneaker zoom to get close!

I found that I was not totally satisfied with the X100 because it was limited to a single lens.  So I ordered the new digital Fuji X Pro 1 interchangeable lens system with the 35mm f/1.4 and the 60mm f/2.4 lenses, and I have the 18mm f/2 lens currently on order.  It arrived at the end March and I was amazed by its light weight but enhanced functionality that the camera system provided!  now after a month of shooting with it I feel like I have returned to momma and have again found myself through my roots in photography!  God, please help me.. I am so locked onto this camera system that I can not  see any way to ever break away, hooked, addicted with a big fuji monkey on my back!  Fuji also says that  later this year they are offering a 14mm and a 18mm to 72mm zoom!  Then 3 more new lenses next year!  I can feel the dollars slipping away now.. I hope that my wife can forgive me for these future purchases.  I WILL keep the X100, it is after all a rangefinder styled camera and it is silent in operation!  I will purchase new lenses for the X Pro 1 and look to the future for the Pro 2 and Pro 3 bodies…

It seems as though I have found yet another addiction…

X Pro 1, 30 second exposure, 35mm f/1.4 lens, B&W Seascape of Pawleys Island Groin

This post is not a review of the X Pro 1, there are a ton of those out there on the web. It is simply a short series of statements and facts about the camera and why I love it so!

It will NOT replace my Canon 7d for (5%):

  • Lightning Photography, because it does not have a electronic shutter.
  • Water Drop Collision Photography, because it does not have an electronic shutter.
  • Macro Photography, well, it might actually work out for this one.
  • Birds in flight, focus is not fast enough.
  • Sports Photography, I simply don’t do this anyways.
  • Movies, has HD movies but no external mic hookup.

I will use this camera for(95%):

  • Landscapes
  • Seascapes
  • Hummingbirds in flight, works great.
  • Grist Mills & Covered Bridges
  • Long Exposures, works great.
  • Travel, light with many lens choices.
  • My MAIN every day camera system!

Leica Pin Hole pancake

I was considering the Voigtlander Super Wide Heliar 15mm f/4.5 M Mount Lens instead of the Fuji 18mm but there have been so many web posts on how bad this lens is on the Fuji that I have decided against it.  I instead will use a Leica M mount Pin Hole plate from Skink on the Leica to Fuji adapter!   I love Pin Hole photography and have them for ALL of my camera bodies!  There is just something very peaceful and satisfying about using technology for the early 1800’s and the resulting images are very etherial!

Ok, more to come on this great new camera system in the future, I have to have a chance to actually go out and shoot the thing!

Antique Gas Pump, Fuji X Pro 1

So…

Returning to the love of our roots can mean:

Camera Love <= Really does equal => Doggy Love

Told you I was a sic person…

Smile!

Apr 24 2012

Galleries Are Here!


The Gallery pages are coming online!

Sunrise on Folley Beach, Light painting on the driftwood with a white LED light! Very LONG Exposure...

 

On the top menu of the blog you will find several pages listed across the top.  The one labeled Galleries is actually a series of drop down menus which will let you select several organized image galleries containing my favorite work from over the years.  So far, I have 4 galleries populated but will be expanding over this month to around 15.  Please stop by for a visit and come back often to see the changes there!

I hope that you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed creating them!  They cover about 15 years of my work since living in the Low Country of South Carolina and cover about 19 different states and 6 different countries! I even have some high speed water drop photography thrown in as good measure.

Oct 29 2011

The Great South Carolina To Missouri Grist Mill Trip, Day 1


16 Mills in 4 Days!

A beautiful mill full of photographic possibility!

Murrays Mill, NC

I needed to visit my parents who live in St. Louis as they have moved into an assisted retirement home and were selling their house!  They wanted me to take some furniture back south to my kids so that they would have something to remember them by and assist a little with the house in general.  The entire process was pretty painfull and stressfull except for the 2 days of travel at each end of the trip!  For those 4 days I was in heaven!

Bost Mill, NC

I have 173 grist mills programmed into my GPS in the truck that covers every state from Florida north to Boston then west to Missouri down to Texas!  I had no specific stoops planned except for the Glade Creek Mill in West Virginia (which I have been wanting to visit for years) SO… I pointed the GPS to Glade Creek and then went to my Favorites section on the GPS which told me how close I was at any time to specific mills which I could then simply touch and direct the GPS to take me to as a VIA Point!  Using this process I managed to visit 16 mills and could have made 20 or so but it was simply too much to do and still have time to sleep!

Linneys Mill, NC

I spent a lot of time in North Carolina as there are just so many mills there to visit.  Some are totally useless as photographic subjects but still could be saved.  I skipped those that were in such condition along my route. I also would stop at a pretty barn as well but my priority were mills!

Several of the mills along the way were actually working mills that ground corn in order to make a living!  This style of mill is not nearly as pretty as the older 1800’s version but can still be very interesting!  The Linneys Mill in North Carolina is one such mill and very much worth the effort to find and photograph!  It sits along a very pretty stream that has been damed and if viewed from the back is a worthy photographic subject!

Linneys Double Metal Wheel!

Mitchell Mill, NC

Aside from the occasional commercial mill and tons of old mills there are quite a few of old mills that have been converted to private homes.  I especially like to visit these as long as the owners try to keep the exterior the same as designed!  The Mitchell Mill in North Carolina is one such mill and the owners have even kept the mill workings operational!  They were not home when I visited and I really did try to talk to them but alas I was only able to make friends with their three dogs before shooting the mill!  Perhaps the next time I go thru I will stop and attempt to visit them again…

Glade Creek Mill, WV, B&W

OK, it is time to visit the Glade Creek Mill in Babcock State Park in West Virginia!  As I said before, this one mill has been on the TOP of my wish list for several years and the point of my chosen route to St. Louis.  I really didn’t know if morning or evening would be better for shooting here so I kept my options open and planned to stay at a local hotel in case I needed a morning shot!  I needn’t have worried though as I actually arrived at 6 pm and the light was perfect, the fall leaves stunning and there was serious water flowing along the creek and over the various water falls!  There were about 50 photographers there and I had to wait for the locations I wished to shoot from.  I shot both in Color and Infrared but really Color was the priority due to the Fall colors.  I used a Canon 7D body with the 24-70 L f/2.8 lens and a Singh Ray 8 stop Vari-ND filter to slow the exposure way down and allow for soft creamy water motion.  Of course I shot on a heavy tripod using a remote shutter release and mirror lockup!

I processed all of my Color shots for B&W as well.  I also kept HDR in my mind as I setup and shot several sequences for later processing using the new Nik HDR Pro software!

Here are a selection of my favorite images of the Glade Creek Mill:

Glade Creek Mill, Single Shot, 30 second exposure!

Glade Creek Mill, Landscape, High Lighting The Waterfall

Next, a 3 shot HDR image using Nik’s HDR Pro Software:

Glade Creek Mill, 3 Shot HDR, Nik HDR Pro

Glade Creek Mill, 7 Shot HDR, Photo Matrix Pro Software

As you can see, the two different HDR versions give drastically different results.  I like both but can NOT decide which is best! Perhaps you can help with this?

Glade Creek Mill was a dream come true for me and while there are several more world class mill shots coming in the next 3 postings, it was the highlight of my trip.  It was worth the extra miles I drove to include it in my trip and the evening proved the best time to photograph it. I did make several discoveries while at Glade Creek, the most important is that I needed very GOOD ankle high boots in order to safely climb below the water falls and negotiate the rocks!   I did not get a local hotel but chose instead to drive much further on for the night before I stopped.

My next post will be a few mills that I saw on day two!

Stay tuned!