My Third Eye

All About the Eye

johnmeadowsphotography — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 14:57:56 +0000

This is a concept I’ve wanted to shoot for some time. I have this old shutter from a Polaroid camera. I bought it to use on my 4×5 with old lenses that do not have any shutters, but thought that coupled with a cable release it would look great as a monocle. The idea is that the most important photographic gear is one’s eye, brain and heart; everything else is an intermediary.

(Mamiya M645, 80mm f2.8 lens, single strobe through umbrella. Shot using Fomapan 100, developed in Blazinol (Rodinal) 1:50 for 8 minutes)

From Russia With Luck

johnmeadowsphotography — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 01:29:47 +0000

In a recent post I mentioned I had picked up a well-used, but still working 1939 vintage Leica IIIb 35mm rangefinder body; it did not come with a lens, and not wanting to shell out or trade for a genuine (read:expensive) Leica lens, I decided to roll the dice and get a Soviet Russian made Jupiter 8 50mm/f2 lens.

The phrase “Soviet craftsmanship” is not heard often, and I knew that buying this lens would be chancy; these lenses are know for having good glass, but shoddy workmanship. I’m happy to report that mine seems to work fine; a sample image from my test roll is below. I have a 50mm f2 Summarit on its way (I had to trade away “the Beast” Pentaax 6×7 to get it), but for now I will enjoy my Russian surprise

(Leica IIIb 35mm rangefinder, 50mm f2 Jupiter 8 lens, Ilford HP5+ film, developed in HC-110 dilution H)

Props

johnmeadowsphotography — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:42:40 +0000

This image is from a recent session with a great model, and features a couple of props. She is using a vintage phone receiver (1940′s vintage perhaps) I picked up for a song, and she brought along a jewelry box. Together with her great pose and expression I think everything works together to tell a story.

(Mamiya M645 with 80mm f2.8 lens, single strobe through umbrella. Shot on Fomapan 100, developed in Blazinol, a Rodinal clone 1:50 for 8 minutes)

Two Different Products, Two Different Philosophies

johnmeadowsphotography — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:30:02 +0000

This is my recently acquired Leica IIIB rangefinder, dating from 1939 (it currently has a Soviet Russian lens on it, a genuine Leica lens is on the way). I could only afford it because it’s in bad shape cosmetically (which I will fix) and I offset part of the price via various trades.

Today’s post is not about the camera though, but about the philosophy and world view behind it, compared to the Apple iPhone 4.

When the iPhone 4 was released, Steve Jobs compared it to a “Leica camera.” Now apart from the fact that the Leica did not need a rubber band around it to work (unlike the iPhone 4 which for at least some people needed what was basically a rubber band around it for proper 3G network connectivity), there are huge differences in the business practices of Apple, and Leitz, the maker of Leica cameras. In the article Hell is Cheap, China, Apple and the Economics of Horror, a damning account of Apple’s business practices are presented, and can be summed up by the following quote from the article:

“Companies like Apple don’t outsource to China because the workforce is better-educated or more highly motivated. They don’t even outsource just because the labor is cheaper there. They outsource because employers who defraud their workers can make products more cheaply, and those who ignore their safety can produce them more quickly.”

Now let’s compare Apple to Leitz, the company that made Leica cameras. According to a Wikipedia article, at Leitz, progressive measures such as “ Pensions, sick leave, health insurance — all were instituted early on at Leitz, which depended for its work force upon generations of skilled employees.” Further (as I just learned the other day), in the late 1930′s Leica started a project called the “Leica Freedom Train” in which Jewish employees, families, and even some friends of families were “assigned” to foreign countries, ostensibly to sell Leica cameras, but in reality to save them from the steadily increasing persecution which found its tragic culmination in the Holocaust. Leitz was taking enormous risks in doing this, but did it because it was the right thing to do, and because they cared about their employees.

Apple, the way in which you subcontract to arms-length companies to try to maintain plausible deniability regarding how workers are exploited proves to me you are no Leitz, and your products do not deserve the comparison. Shame on you.

I have a number of Apple products, and I feel guilt and conflict about benefiting from the suffering of others. I can take some small satisfaction knowing that all of my vintage film cameras (made mainly in Germany, Japan and the U.S.) were made by workers who we paid a living wage, and whose skill was respected and valued by their employers.

Alone

johnmeadowsphotography — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:00:05 +0000

Today’s image was taken at the fountain in the middle of the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto. It was taken with a Nikon F2 35mm camera (and I think with a zoom lens). It’s normally pretty busy around the fountain, but at this moment, at least on this side of the fountain, this man was alone.

Against the Grain

johnmeadowsphotography — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 19:23:41 +0000

Another image from a roll sitting around for sometime waiting to be developed. In this case, a roll of 35mm Tri-X black and white shot late last summer in Toronto with my Nikon F2 (body since sold as part of a gear rationalization, since I have an F3 body as well).

Since this was shot on 35mm high speed film, grain is inevitable, and in comparison to decades ago when photographers would do everything in their power to minimize grain (in part as a response to shooters who didn’t take the 35mm format seriously), many film shooters now don’t mind the grain. It’s a badge of authenticity, and has a special character, especially when compared to digital noise. It is ironic that people spend money on Photo shop plug-ins to recreate this grain. I like the real thing

Concealment

johnmeadowsphotography — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:22:32 +0000

Today’s image is from a shoot with Pash, a local actress/model of Iranian descent. She has long, exuberant hair, and in this image it was arranged to conceal much of her face; I was trying to create a sense of exotic mystery. After the fact, I started thinking about the tradition in Iran of women wearing head coverings (and in other Muslim countries where the requirements for female concealment is even more extreme). To me, I cannot help but see these mandatory coverings as symbols of subjugation; in this picture, I hope I am creating a feeling of power emanating from the emodel, with a different kind of concealment.

Mamiya M645, 80mm f2.8 lens, Ultrafine Xtreme 400 film, developed in HC-110 Dilution B

Ghosts

johnmeadowsphotography — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:25:50 +0000

I finally got around to developing a roll left from our trip to Italy in November of last year. It was a rainy day in Pompeii, but the rain did a great job of detailing the stones and textures on this ancient street. When I looked at the streets, I could not help but imagine how it would have looked, crowded with citizens and slaves, so many centuries ago.

Mamiya M645, 55mm f2.8 lens, Ilford Delta 100, developed in HC-110, Dilution B

A Fun Trip

johnmeadowsphotography — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 01:49:54 +0000

Something different this time around; I finally got around to developing my first roll from my Olympus Trip 35. The Trip 35 has well deserved cult status among film shooters; a simple camera, with zone-focusing, only two shutter speeds and a Selenium meter. but with a lens (a Zuiko 40mm f/2.8) that is very sharp. The Selenium meter also makes it an auto-exposure camera that does not require batteries.

I’ll have to make a point of using this fun little camera more often

Revisiting

johnmeadowsphotography — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:20:07 +0000

Back in the early 1980′s I shot this picture of an antique piano stool belonging to my parents. Fast forward about 30 years: I inherited the piano stool, and now it is a favourite prop/support for portraits — I love it!

Mamiya M645, 80mm f2.8 lens with 25A red filter, one strobe through umbrella. Ilford SFX 200 film, developed in HC-110 dilution B for 9 minutes