MorseBlog

If I am to ever get good at this craft I need to practice. The surprisingly difficult part of this landscape stuff is I have to get up early, before sunrise. This time of year is easier the sun rises about 8:00am compared to 4:30am at the height of summer. So I managed this morning and a short drive to the neighboring town put me on the Ouse. There is not a lot that is spectacular around here, it is flat English countryside. Certainly not the landscapes I knew growing up in Arizona. A chance to learn to adapt. I need to learn to photograph and to see what others (or I) cannot. I loaded up a film holder with Velvia 50 color transparency and one of Ilford FP4+ black and white film the night before. So an exercise in the morning. Weather forecast said clear skies so I could count on some light. So I drive the short distance to town, put on my pack and carry my tripod. I meet a couple of dog walkers with subdued 'good morning's as we probably wish we were really alone at this hou...

On a short business trip to Japan. Can’t help but spend some time in Shinjuku. Stopped by Map Camera to look at all the old cameras. Map is a palace of Leica with some Rolleis and Hassleblads thrown in as well. Well worth the visit to the basement. For new camera a colleague informs me the prices are better at Map than Yodobashi.  The other stop was Yodobashi and their film department. Here you can get great deals on fresh Fuji (other films as well Iford, Kodak, etc.) Everything available from Fuji from 35mm up to 8x10 large format film. You can also get 220 film here as well. The import film prices for Kodak and Ilford are not as good a deal os course. (Coals to Newcastle).  Yodobashi Large Format Fuifilm Selection I picked up Acros B+W, Velvia 50 in 120 and 4x5, Velvia 100 in 220, Provia in 120 and 4x5. On the way home at the airport found some good prices on Velvia 100 120 film I couldn’t resist as well.     The Film Haul from Odabashi I also pick...

Vicki and I have moved to the Northeast of England near Cambridge. This is an area called the Fens. It is low and flat generally and shares a natural history with Holland in that it once was underwater and has been drained and pumped for 500 years. Indeed it was the Dutch who brought their expertise and technology of claiming land from the sea. Canals and windmills did the work at first followed by steam and now electric and diesel pumps. Here are some photos of what it may have looked like hundreds of years ago. We visited a National Trust property that tries to protect some old Fen land. These pictures were taken during our first house hunting trip. (Mamiya 645 Old School 2) In the heart of the Fens is the town of Ely also known as the Isle of Ely. It is on a small rise and at one time was an island on which is perched a small village and a Cathedral. The town is pronounced (EElee) as the wetlands around were abundant with eels which gave the town its name. The ca...