The Photos: black and white

Showing posts with label black and white. Show all posts

The waves certainly look and feel larger and more powerful up close, all the jumping over waves and wetting our trousers are real fun out there, especially in a place as beautiful as Adventure Bay.

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The film that I used here is Kodak Tri-X, with a red filter. As you can see, it has gone a little out of control, the contrast was a little too high. I suspect it is due to the scanning, and I should really scan it again to do these negatives justice.

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On a side note, I have just finished 5 weeks of placement at Queenstown, at the west coast of Tasmania. The great wilderness out there is so very beautiful, I could see the way the landscapes were formed and how the glacier carved through the mountains, leaving behind large, open ravines and many glacial rocks. Thanks to the geography and weather (it is always, almost constantly wet there), there are many lakes and streams to explore and take photos. When luck is on my side, the sun shines between the clouds and adds colour and splendour to the already majestic landscape. The temperate rainforest there is also unique to Tasmania, it feels... Scottish to me. I always wind down my window and just breath the fresh, invigorating air of the beautiful forest. Now I can't wait to get the films developed!

Thanks for reading.

Film | Isthmus. 4
Bronica ETRS, Kodak Tri-X

Isthmus. 3

Enjoying the day at Adventure bay.

Thanks for reading.

Film | Isthmus. 3
Bronica ETRS, Ilford HP5

Isthmus. 2

1. The hill and the lookout platform.

2. The isthmus. One can see the interesting geography clearly from this vantage point.

3. Adventure Bay and Tasman Sea.

6. The vegetation-stabilised sandy slopes where little penguins dig their burrows.

9. Waves.

Adventure bay. A smooth, long stretch of sand that forms one side of the isthmus. Sitting quietly on the beach and forgetting all the stress in life, while resting my mind and enjoying the environment... This is one of the best form of relaxation a person can get, a rare opportunity to dissociate myself from rest of the worries of the world.

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The photos here are bright and clean, just like the feeling that I want to convey. The sand is bright as snow, the water tranquil and gentle. I want to feel the place's peacefulness and calmness through the photographs, and that's done by making the photographs brighter and less contrasty.

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A note on shooting with the Bronica: I noticed that it's not the best camera to shoot as you go, mainly due to the hassle of changing film. This is not helped by the fact that I was at this vast stretch of sandy bay with nowhere to put my equipment/ film without getting sand particles in my tools. The gentle breeze also sometimes bring sand with them, so film-changing was made even more challenging. Well, time to splash out on another film back...

Thanks for reading.

Film | Isthmus. 2
Bronica ETRS, Ilford HP5

Isthmus. 1

Bruny Island, Tasmania. 2013.

Isthmus (n): A narrow strip of land with sea on either side, forming a link between two larger areas of land.

The sandy isthmus of Bruny island, connecting the South and North islands, is a narrow stretch of land with 2 bodies of water on either side: the d'Entrecasteaux channel on one, and, faced by the Adventure bay, the Tasman sea on the other. The neck itself is an important breeding ground for small fairy penguins, which could be seen at dusk during breeding season.

Adventure bay in particular is incredibly beautiful, I feel that it is as pretty as the famous Wineglass bay on the East coast of Tasmania. The sand is fine and powdery, the beach is wide and vast, the wind is cool, the waves are gentle. It is an amazing place to be at.

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The above photo is taken from Adventure bay. It is the sandy dune that every tourist climbs to experience the breathtaking view of the isthmus with seawater on either side. Taken with red filter, though, the hill is rendered solid and dark. The striking triangular shape of the hill stands out as almost artificial, almost too mathematical. The shape is contrasted by the organic form of humans and clouds in the photo, which takes a more fluid and free form. A darker mood is felt in this photo as a result of the fast-moving and low-lying clouds that pressure the scene, and also the darkness of the hill.

Thanks for reading.

Film | Isthmus. 1
Bronica ETRS, Kodak Tri-X

Life Scenes (XVIII): A Dead Penguin

Bruny Island, Tasmania. 2013.

Finally managed to scan my Bronica ETRS rolls that I shot last year. Thankfully the negative was perfect & unscratched despite being stored in a dusty box & rolled together unprotected. I had a couple of darkroom prints made too when I was visiting my friend at Hobart, it was such an eye-opener and such great fun! I can definitely see myself doing it in the far future...

Thanks for reading.

Film | Life Scenes (XVIII): A Dead Penguin
Bronica ETRS, Ilford HP5.

Fish

Hungry for air.

It has been 4 months since I bought my Bronica ETRS, which I've been using regularly. In fact, the first few rolls of film shot with it has already been developed and scanned- I have them in my harddisk now. However, I forgot to note the film types for each of the rolls, so due to logistical & archiving reasons I will not process it until the end of the year..

That aside, the main point I want to write in today's post is after all these months of ownership, I still haven't do this camera justice by shooting what it really is intended for: portraits & landscapes. So, over the last few weeks I've been bringing it out for some landscape shootings, the most recent one was shooting at Cradle Mountain national park.

Looking at the scans from previous rolls, I've learned the limitations of shooting with medium format SLRs- many of my shots were motion blurred, mostly due to the low shutter speed and unstable platform/base. I've grossly overestimated the ability of my hand as a tripod substitute, and by doing so I crossed the line. When I was planning for landscape shootings this time, I thought that if I were to get serious and shoot landscape using a medium format SLR with a slappy mirror without mirror lock-up, I might as well do it right. Well, I did it right... almost, except for 2 things.

Firstly, I don't have a tripod. As a uni student studying in a town in Tasmania, my contacts are limited but I still managed to borrow a tripod from my friend. I'm grateful for it, however the tripod's stability proved to be way less than adequate for my pig (camera). In fact, I could see the whole partially extended centre column swaying sometimes, not just when I release the shutter (with cable, of course), but under moderate wind as well! This has really got me into thinking of investing in a heavy, stable tripod.

The second issue is relatively minor compared to the first, but I think it'll be more important as I get more serious about landscape (if it happens): the lack of filter accessories. I only thought of this in retrospect- I have not used many filters before but from what I saw from most serious shooters, filters are a must in shooting landscape.

These issues aside, I enjoyed shooting landscape with the Bronica a lot. I really loved the process of shooting slowly, it's a relaxed, unrushed way of shooting and makes me think more for each shot as I have so much time to shoot (the light was flat and stayed the same when I was at Cradle Mountain). Ansel Adams must have felt similar too when he was preparing to capture The Tetons and Snake River...

Thanks for reading.

Film | Fish
Yashica Electro 35 CCN, Ilford FP4

二姐

My sister.

When this post goes online, I must already be at the airport, waiting for my flight back to KL, back home.

Oh dear home, how much I've missed you.

Thanks for reading.

Film | 二姐
Yashica Electro 35 CCN, Ilford FP4

Life Scenes (XVI): Life at Different Stages

Candid portraits of people at Salamanca Market, Hobart.

Thanks for reading.

Film | Life Scenes (XVI): Life at Different Stages
Yashica Electro 35 CCN, Foma Fomapan 400