MorseBlog

My odyssey in film photography these past short 8 years has taught me a few things about my preferences for cameras. Affordability has always been a factor. I also have a distinct prejudice in favor of medium format. This stems from first my brother’s involvement where he left a distinctly favorable impression on medium format despite having shot 35mm and large format competently as well. He passed away well before the digital era. I also decided that I wanted to avoid 35mm despite the obvious advantages in terms of cost, size and weight. I reasoned the advantages of film over digital was being quickly overtaken and medium format would remain relevant for a while longer. As I write this however it seems the technical advantages of film have been mostly if not completely over-run by advances in digital technology and cost. Never-the-less there are some attendant benefits to shooting film; among are not economy, simplicity, nor instant gratification. So my first film camera tha...

At the end of a recent holiday we visited with some good friends who live in Stroud. They took us out to visit the Purton Hulks along the Severn River. This is a place where old ships were placed along the bank to shore it up against erosion. It was a nicely cloudy day and we all took cameras and took some photos. Here is one of mine I printed in different ways to explore contrast and light. To start with I used just a #5 high contrast filter. f16 #5 16 sec The sky was washed out so I burned it again with just #5 filter. This gives a brooding dark sky though the day was not like that at all. f16 #5 16 sec burn sky 11 sec A little less burning off the sky gives a closer approximation to the day. Again only #5 filter was used. f16 #5 16 sec burn sky 8 sec Next a little low contrast #0 filter was added. But the sky is not well resolved. f16 #5 11 sec #0 4 sec And finally a conventional print. f16 #5 11 sec  #0 8 sec

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...