Xpan goes Australia

Some of the shots done with the Hasselblad Xpan and the Agfa 100 APX (both discontinued, what a pity). Most of the shots around Flinders Ranges.

Noblex goes Australia

This log entry is dedicated to the Noblex 135 panoramas. Always reliable camera, just so sensitive for proper horizon.

Adelaide, old harbourAdelaide, old harbourKanyakaKanyaka" Rust" near HawkerWilmington Museum

Panoramic Australia

A short roadtrip from Adelaide (South Australia) to Hawker, Flinders Ranges. I will delight you with a report about this panoramic trip in late January 2007.
Australia is famous for its landscapes and its a perfect environment for panorama photography. I brought the Fotoman 617, the Xpan, the Noblex and the 1Ds along, quite a lot of equipment in my bagpack ! One the arrival that made us spend some extra time at customs to chat with the officer what all that is for and were we go. One the way back the checkin agent decided to weight my bagpack that goes into the plane with me. A shocking 15kg started a discussion about the maximum weight and number of hand luggage. This is an experience I definitely want to share with you. Anyone who brings along professional equipment easily brings 10 to 20kg to the counter - after checking in tripods and any other non-sensitive equipment. I have really no idea what to do about the weight. Normally in most other countries I travel, they dont bother (yet) to check hand luggage weight (at least big carriers). Conclusion: You cant check it in - its either stolen or broken, you cant bring it on board - only if you travel with your spouse with less hand luggage. I will put my equipment on the scale and will weight each piece and next time - at least for Australia - go on an equipment diet.
Putting that aside, Australia is wonderful and the tiny piece of South Australia we explored, gave me 100's of great panorama opportunities in return. During the trip (less than 1 week), covering 1000km, I could make 12 rolls of 617, 3 rolls Xpan and 3 rolls Noblex negatives. I will select some panoramas for you and look forward to get there again.

Roundshot 28-220

Finally ! The Roundshot 28-220 arrived from Switzerland. Its not the Seitz 617 digital - who can afford it anyway ? The medium format (120) film based camera is build like a tank and creates panoramas by rotating the whole camera above the grip. Will update you with images soon.

More infos about the camera at www.roundshot.ch.

New and new old places

Did you realize that you slowly turn blind for your environment after staying for long time at the same place ? I arrived in Singapore 5 years ago and it was full of impressions and photographic scenes seemed to show at every corner. By now I really need to focus on it or, at least walk around with a certain dedication. The interesting part: Being home only few occasions a year I start to discover new (old) things and places at home which I did not notice for years when staying there. Maybe to realize this effect helps to take care of it and opens one"s eyes.

Sign: Bad Duerkheim (between Niederkirchen and Roedersheim)
Xpan, 45mm, APX 100

Birch trees - Xpan, 45mm, APX 100

Vintage Lomography

Using consumer medium format cameras from the 50's and 60's which offer the same luxurious amount of control like the modern Holga but using real glas as lens I create images with a similar look and feel. Why spent 50U$ on a hipp plastic lens when a Agfa Isoly can do the same (and I bought it for 5$) ?
I share this sequence of images with you covering vintage looks in the modern city of Singapore.
(Agfa Isoly and Kodak VC 160)

Art or Trash ?

Coming back to my favorite controversial thoughts. Who or what defines photographic art ?
The artist, a certain style, a gallery, a critic or the artist's name, known in the scene ? Is "Fine Art" art with the perfect zone system and f64 or the blurry plastic Holga camera pics ?

I define the following panorama image as art !
It is representing my impression of moving around in an environment without meaningful subjects.

With the Billy Record in: South Africa

With a slight delay due to my huge backlog in scanning slides 2 more slides made with the Billy Record I from 1952. It is still amazing what a 50 year old camera without batteries and USB adapter can do !

The capeCape Point lighthouse

South Africa is a great place to visit. From sea to desert, from suburban rich estates to townships like 20 years ago. Safe to visit, but you should be more conscious about showing expensive equipment at the wrong place and time (this applies mainly to the city of Cape Town and Johannesburg).

Swinglens

I just realized the blog is called XPan and Noblex, but I didnt publish any Noblex images yet. To compensate this 2 images from Bali Beach, early morning at sunrise. The camera is a great piece of equipment, both in 135 as well medium format. It creates unique panoramas, but a bit sensitive to non-even level during shooting due to its rotating lens.
Noblex 135 with Provia 100

Color and BW

Welcome 2007 ! A new exciting photographic years started.

Closed the old year with an inventory exercise, check negatives, scan what was not scanned yet. Make my thoughts about the material.
I want to share this 2 shots from the same place in Switzerland, the Schoellenen Gorge, one in color, which appears a bit mystic, one in black and white, a more classic view.

Significant Photography

Back to the question why we make photographs, shoot images. I browse occasionally through the web to see other photographers works, either on personal portfolio pages or so-called photo-communities. I notice the number of images is huge and also the number of meaningless and bad images. I am no criticizing the images of students or starters exchanging their pics and feedback in a progress of learning, I am talking about images uploaded with serious intention and the feedback they get from their fellow photographers. Whats the point of uploading a really bad image and others highlighting as great work and beautiful imagery ? How can anyone evolve and develop, if you get continuously supported and no honest feedback that allows you to make the next step, without getting challenged. I will not mention the websites I don't visit anymore but rather highlight community pages with a very high level of quality of the images:

• ART LIMITED
• ALTphotos
• IRISF64

This sites are worth visiting ! Let me know if you find similar.

"Photography is more than a medium for factual communication of ideas. It is a creative art."
(Ansel Adams)

My 2 cents

Stones

A very simple subject. Stones. Provided by nature. Hardly changing their shape naturally during a human lifespan. They are just there. The patience of the endless stream of water might do what the pure human hand might not, shape the stones.

Abandoned

I am always attracted by abandoned objects, like houses and cars. Sometimes I re-visit I place that I know already. This place is near Sounion, about 50km south from Athens in Greece. A nearby famous temple attracts ten thousands of tourists but no one sees this couple of broken down houses and a little chapel. I found the place in 2001 and after 5 years I visited it again. Strange how slow times is passing there, still look s the same. Follow your own footsteps.

ThePrintSwap Project

The second round of the ThePrintSwap is open for registration.
More information at www.theprintswap.org

Registration closed 6.12.2006. The swap is in progress.
You can register for the next round in January 2007.

With the Billy Record in: Greece

I bought recently an old Agfa Billy Record (model from around the 1940's) and I am surprised that it's fully working and creates sharp images ! A camera more than 50 years old and still running like a steam engine. One of my first digital cameras (Casio QV xyz?) from 1997 not even survived one year and for my digitial image bank from another huge company I even dont get replace batteries anymore after 2 years.

I am not asking you to change to medieval equipment but give it a thought, think about the superficial fast pace of consuming and producing nowadays. The Billy Record has good chances to survice another 50 years and I will bring it along to my upcoming trips together with the Agfa Clack and the 1Ds !

Tuscany Photography Journal 4

I close the Journal for the Tuscany Trip with these 3 panorama images.

Pisa: Il Torre Pendente (Fotoman 617)

Le Crete (Fotoman 617)

Siena (XPan)

Tuscany Photography Journal 3

Tuscany Photography Journal 2

I continue to show a couple of the Tuscany panoramas. I find the commonly known pictures from this region are getting too trivial, I have a hard time to select something off the beaten track.

With the Agfa Clack in Pisa

"Il torre pendente" (alias leaning tower) is for sure the most photo- graphed place in Pisa, you will see at any given time dozens of people snapping away with all types of cameras (I wonder how many pictures exist of it already). The favourite position is to somehow lean over and try to push or support the tower, its the best thing to observe this for a while! I realized there was no one in sight, for the 2 hours we hang out there, using a film camera (not to talk about a medium format camera). I tooks some shots with 617 and the xpan (people look like I come from a different planet with these ancient looking cameras) and found I dedicate the place to the most simple camera I own:

AGFA CLACK
The AgfaClack was produced from 1953 to 1965 and costed about 20.- SGD (19,50 DM at that time). With fix focus, fix aperture (2 settings, ~11,16) and fix shutter speed (1/30s) it exposes 120 film (6x9 cm). It was dedicated to use a Agfapan DIN 17 (25) film which is no longer available. It makes sense to use a lightmeter to give you a feeling how close you are to the F11-1/30s settings. I used an expired Agfa APX100 for these images (Scanned with Espon V700, minor touchup).

Other Clacks:

Tuscany Photography Journal 1

Tuscany must be one of the most visited places or areas in Italy. The famous landscapes, towns and cities are attracting millions of visitors each year. Most of the famous places are drowned in busloads of people. After this trip I throwed away my travel Guide telling me places like San Gimignano is a tip. Its not, if you go for some serious photography you should avoid places like this. But there is plenty to explore around and there more you get to the countryside the better, you still find places almost "off the beaten track".
My recommendation: Siena, Le Crete, Asciano (tourists but still ok), Go in September or better October.
I focused on my favourite topics: old buildings, details, landscape. The above panorama shows a farm around Le Crete, probably the most photographed place around there. You will find views like this on every second postcard and in every travel book, but not everything looks like that !

Return from Tuscany

Finally found our way back after one week Tuscany. It is a beautiful place and there are plenty of photo opportunities all over. But I didnt expect so many tourists, even end of september. We skipped Florence to focus on the less congested (less expensive) area around Siena and Le Crete. I brought back a number of 120 rolls (617) and 135 (XPan) and now busy scanning my treasures.
I put some images here in the next few days and also give more personal thoughts and tips about travelling to Tuscany.
I brought my 6x6 and even an Agfa Clack along that I purchase drecently for 2 Euro (Lets see what a camera from 1960's with fix aperture and time) can do.

Tuscany

I am heading off to Tuscany for a panoramic trip. First I will meet my good and equally crazy photographic friend Thierry in Zuerich then drive to Siena and Florence. Decided to leave the digital stuff at home and completely focus on 6x17 and XPan equipped with 50 rolls of 120 and 30 rolls bw. Updates in the first week of October.
cu

Photography as Art

Photography had a hard time to reach the status of an art form. Not talking about press or daily snapshot photographs but fine art photography like classic images by Ansel Adams or Edward Weston. Maybe my statement is not correct, images by Robert Doisneau ("Kiss by the hotel"), which is rather classic street photography reached a level of art as well, at least posthum.
I am selling occasionally prints to collectors or as well to people looking for a nice panorama image. Images that I produced with film cameras and printed on fibre based paper are higher appreciated and people are ready to pay more for a darkroom print than a print that I produce with a large format inkjet printer. Somehow the effect of being able to reproduce or reprint prints any number of times, even stating as limited edition, makes one think its a poster print from the deco shop around the corner.

I like to browse photography magazines, especially issues that are not focsussing on technical details but on portfolios images. I am struggling to appreciate the artistic value of some photographers work showing totally blurred or contentless images, just because of the fact they are either famous or student of someone else famous. Anyway, if you like your own images, blurred or not, thats all that counts.
Reflecting about this I know that at least in this community, we are producing something that endures the banal everyday things that we do day by day.

My 2cents for today.

ThePrintSwap first wave kicks off

We gathered 26 photographers from 9 countries to start the first swap. In the next days the email addresses gonna be shuffled and the swap can begin..

Check out ThePrintSwap website and register for the next round in November 2006 !

Update 14th September 2006: The swap pairing is done.

Simple Things andSome Thoughts about Photography

What do I see here ? Nothing you would say. Thats correct, it looks like an empty scene, a street, a wall and a an old parking device. It might be boring or meaningless to you, but its simple and appealing to me.

You ever thought about the number of pictures that are made every day on the world ? With an inifinite (?) number of cameras, digital cameras and mobile phones some millions of images are taken every day. Maybe a million every minute. Pictures taken, deleted or forgotten. How many of them will survice a couple of weeks ? How many will really catch a piece of memory of history ? How many will be considered as art, printed and displayed somewhere ?

The more possibilities we have, the more megapixel and GB of memorycards we use, the more we should focus on essential values. Spend more time on less pictures.