Happy new year!

things that make me think of new years eve:

candles
nutcracker like dolls
russian churches

Things that calm me down

My "Hemingway" tree. It is of african origins.
praktica mtl2+50/1.8pentacon auto.cheap color 100 or 200,horrible minilab scan
Sky from Demian Fitzig's appartment
canonet 17 QL GIII - fuji press 800 I think

Prague Vista from one of the churches.I don't remember which(st. Nicolas?st. Vitus?).

Nikon fm2n,sigma 28/1.8,fuji x-tra 400

Myths,and the Miracle of Life

These are old(1.5-2 years?).They were taken with a pentax k1000+50/2A smc in Lachish - southern Israel.The film was konica vx 200 or kodak gold 200. This wild plum tree is at least a hundred years old, and was rumored by the bedouins to be haunted by devils(to keep children coming back fast from the nearby well with the water). I think it is magical. The myth made the haunting real.So,yes Virginia,there is a Santa Claus.



The border is an unpleasant side effect of a bad scan.I decided to keep them.


I watched Life is a Miracle - great movie - good music,nice composition and acting,great use of animals - I recommend it highly!

I discovered that some of my films(including the Prague unscanned slides and scanned BW) are nowhere to be found. To make a long tory short - the guy that I used had a heart surgery so he closed shop - he transferred all his bussiness to another shop - and the owner of this one can't find them.Bummer.

On Lomography and Camera-phones

I hate lomography.I think selling a holga for anything more then 10$ is a sin you go to hell for(I've seen unmodified holgas for 80-90 Euro in Barcelona museum shops a year ago). Zenits for over 100$ are as unnatural as not serving alcohol in strip bars(and some other things you see around there).

Saying all that I think it has many positive sides: It promotes film photography, It promotes Krasnogorsk making Horizonts and a couple of other things and it keeps polaroid in the picture.

Enter the camera phone. My Sony Ericsson 750(I think) has an autofocus 2 Megapixel camera(whatever that means) and it lets me shoot polaroid\holga like images and I take it everywhere I go(while a camera is with me 80% of the time and is usually loaded with BW film in the 100-400 range).


Here's an example:

Lola the Cat

Not enlargable but is soft,with corner focus loss and dreamy(as well as fuzzy and cute).

P.S.
I watched "stanger than fiction" and liked it.

MERRY CHRISTMASS EVERYONE!!!

El Commendante

Aprendimos a quererte

desde la histórica altura

donde el sol de tu bravura

le puso un cerco a la muerte.

Aquí se queda la clara,

la entrañable transparencia,

de tu querida presencia

Comandante Che Guevara.

Tu mano gloriosa y fuerte

sobre la historia dispara

cuando todo Santa Clara

se despierta para verte.

Aquí se queda la clara,

la entrañable transparencia,

de tu querida presencia

Comandante Che Guevara.

Vienes quemando la brisa

con soles de primavera

para plantar la bandera

con la luz de tu sonrisa.

Aquí se queda la clara,

la entrañable transparencia,

de tu querida presencia

Comandante Che Guevara.

Tu amor revolucionario

te conduce a nueva empresa

donde esperan la firmeza

de tu brazo libertario.

Aquí se queda la clara,

la entrañable transparencia,

de tu querida presencia

Comandante Che Guevara.

Seguiremos adelante

como junto a ti seguimos

y con Fidel te decimos:

hasta siempre Comandante.

Aquí se queda la clara,

la entrañable transparencia,

de tu querida presencia

Comandante Che Guevara.

(Carlos Puebla, 1965)

canonet 17 GL QIII,fuji (press?)800 - wide open and slow shutter speed - a year ago or so

A flyer stuck in the bushes near the university(BGU) in Beer Sheva, Israel - hardly political - more likely to promote a night club.

Match Point,Slow Wait,Developments,old still lives

Yesterday I watched Match Point. It wasn't a bad movie but I miss the old Woodie Allen,Annie Hall,Disconstructing Harry and Mighty Aphrodite.

I developed some (BW) films.I might scan some 6x6(Petra) negs soon(ish).
The yashica lynx 14e has impressive looking negatives.
I need a couple of new Paterson reels(A couple of mine needs to be thrown away or cleaned or something).

Spoke to Avi today,he said he will try finish scanning my Petra color films.

and now some old still lives(all shot with SLR's with normal lenses):

Nostalgic 1


Bad Liver


Nostalgic 2


Calligraphy 1


Caligraphy 2

what i've been reading watching and doing.

I finished to kill a mockingbird(I wish I have read it at 13-14 - great book) and Tender is the night(nice).Now reading threepenny novel(the "opera"'s adaptation by Brecht).

Watched Henry and June(great visually but much,much worse then the book),Nacho Libre(I want to have Jack Black's baby - he is HILARIOUS),thank you for smoking(so so) and Battle Royal(modern Japanese filmmakers don't know how to pick a soundtrack for the life of them).

Anna's computer died so I was computerless,I made one frankenstein out of the two we had and got one working.Now I need to buy two computers.Grrrrrr.

My friend from work, Avi, started scanning my color Petra films.

I am going to Folsom,

(I hear the train a comin´
it´s rolling round the bend
and I ain´t seen the sunshine since I don´t know when,
I´m stuck in Folsom prison, and time keeps draggin´ on
but that train keeps a rollin´ on down to San Anton..)

California mid february on work bussiness.


Shooting B&W and storing it in the fridge - no mood for developing\printing.

Yoni Rabkin potentially found a 50 lens for my enlarger,if it works ok and gets to me,all I need is an easel and I am of printing my BW archive.

old stuff - geometry

Having no computer and no scanner sucks.Here's some old stuff.

Parallel


90 degrees at 30 degrees


Hexagon


Parabola


Cross

Anna

Three pictures of my significant other,Anna.
They are 1-2 years old.They are not posed.
She looks much better in real life.
We moved in three months ago. It is fun living with her.

Neg defects that rock(nikon fm2n 50/1.4AI ilford pan 400,possibly at 800).I overhandled the neg so it has defects.


One of the 2 or 3 pictures I took with a digital camera(dad's fujifilm 5000,35 equivalent at 2.8 between 1/10 and 1/60)


Start SLR with helios 44 - ilford pan 400 - love the camera for portraits - I didnt wash the negative well and the residue stayed. I like it.Gives it a nostalgic and somewhat melancholic look.


The package from Oleg Khalyavin arrived at the post office with the CLA'd jupiter 12 and summitar.Total work cost - 25$.That man is a magician and a darn nice guy.

liquidating stuff and dreaming of leica m2

I decided to cut down my cameras to two systems+MF.
I am keeping the nikon kit and want to get a leica m2(if I can get one for the rediculous price bracket I can afford) adn the yashicamat(unless I can get a more comfy MF to replace it - like a small 6x6 slr or rolleiflex or maybe an RF of some kind - something light and comfy).

I am intrested in selling:
pentax k1000+50/2 SMC A
yashica 14e(very dead meter,rest seems ok)
zorki 4 with j-8\j-12\summitar 1939 uncoated(1958 and 1959) CLA'd and handpicked by Oleg(I will sell the lenses that I wont use on the leica - I hope to find it with a 35 or 50).
vilia auto (with lantanum triplet)
elicon 35cm
k mount to m42 adapter(LOMO one for ALMAZ)
m42 x2 teleconverter;set of 4 non auto extension tubes
m42 50/1.8 pentacon auto; m42 135/2.8 pallas magenta(both auto)
some 49 filters.

intrested? email me.

Kobi Wolf

I've been to this guy's
expo about a year in a mental hospital wonderful.I talked to him and a press photog for 40 minutes or so. Played with the press photog's x-pan II(I like a leica M2 more. I want one. Wanna sell me one?). Neato. He shoots BW film(tmax\delta 400) for editorial work. He told me he pushes it for high contrast up to 1600. I am shooting a roll of tmax400@1600 now as an experiment.

The exhibition was shot with an EOS 5 on tri-x. All wet printed on ilford paper. Kobi is a darn nice guy and I hope he suceeds in his further projects. He is in the market for a leica now. I enjoyed talking to him so much I forgot to ask him to sign the book(stupid!stupid!stupid!). All the book proceedings go to the hospital.

Walked around and shot a couple of rolls with the nikon with the 50 and 28.Shot some people and graffiti.

I like Tel Aviv. People are such exhibitionists they like their photo taken. It's not a struggle like here,people don't ask for explanations,they understand your an amateur street photographer and will talk to you about it. Lots of beautiful girls(more then average beautiful-we are in Israel-we have good looking girls everywhere).I've seen 4-5 potentialy anorectic girls.

rain dogs

I am in the AM martini(5/1 - gin/vermouth) after work(can't sleep the night after a nightshift)

so there's stuff:

Tom Waits - Rains dogs cover facts.interesting
http://www.keeslau.com/TomWaitsSupplement/Extras/raindogs.htm

was loaned a 3rd party 300/4 in m42.the glass is imaculate but there is oil on the blades and using it stop down is a pain. Shot some at 1/1000 - difficult to focus a f/4 lens with no split screen(on a pentax k1000 via adapter).The lens used to belong to a private detective.

some old pics.again.I have a lot of new stuff but just can't afford scanning it now.

a poject of decorating on junction boxes(Do you love me asked the turtle)

nikon fm2n 50/1.4AI tmax 100(development stains)

Nature meets man(the department of welfare is corrupt!)

nikon fm2n 50/1.4AI tmax 100(development stains)

military base-"soldier,drive from your home(base)to you home safely"

pentax k1000,50/2 with ilford pan 400(probably)

Positive

I am trying to transfer a couple of positive moments I had in the last couple of years.

One is my cousin's wedding - It came out blurry but I like it.


canonet,ilford pan 400@800

The other one is a lazy free Sabbath at my army base - it is an 30mm ammo box with the sun shinning above it.

practika mtl3,pentacon 50/1.8(or,less likely pentax k1000+50/2A SMC),some cheap 100 or 200 kodak or fuji

Writing on the wall

Graffiti and signs - old pics

I also added a couple of pics to ht previous two posts.

for rent\sale((canonet ilford pan400))


Do you like dogs? (praktica mtl3,pentacon 50/1.8 neopan 100 SS-I guess)



Subway station Barcelona-the one next to the zoo (canonet ilford pan400)




You Break it,You buy it(canonet ilford pan400)

Abandoned Cinema

About a year ago I stumbled upon an abandoned cinema

Discarded Stock


the place is sad,strewn with syringes


The Tin Drum


Refreshment stalls - eighties commercials


LADIES room(modern ones just say "women")




BW kodak tcn canonoet 17 QIII QL;Color praktica mtl 3;pentacon 50/1.8;kodak gold 200 or something of that sort

Bad Mood

The Jerusalem orthodox dwellers(read freeloading bastards who dictate our lives) protested against the gay pride parade by throwing burning trash bins at passing cars etc. The goverment folded and confided the parade to Jerusalem's University Stadium.

The pics are not new, but they seem to reflect my mood now

Holy Ghost


Kahana(a fashistic religous right wing lunatic) is alive


The one on top has a blank gaze and the one below has a piercing one




Nahman Meuman(good dog) with Stigmata


Russian Whores go home(racist graffiti next to religious commercials-fun being an immingrant)


Danger(construction)The People of Israel Live


Nahman From Uman...Ruined the neighbourhood


Nahman from Uman...born to be wild


I finished reading Ursula La Guin's the "left hand of darkness" - it is wonderful.
I developed a film shot with the yashica 14e - the negs look wonderfull.

A new hope

I am getting my friends used computer(in a week or two it will be operational) - it is a two years old but still rather modern - and the price is very good - so I will be able to edit\post my scans on an acceptable level.

Got a yashica 14e with non working meter for really cheap - now testdriving it - pics and reviews might follow.

Got 10 rolls of bulk loaded Kodak Plus X(went 50/50 on a bulk roll).
Will test it as well.

Have something like 12 rolls color and 7-8 BW in the fridge ready to be developed. I neglected the darkroom lately. I want to develop\print some of the Petra BW shots but have no MF neg holder\easel so it's improv time.

a desperate try of saving the image with no decent editing software

I useed some crappy online program (http://www.myimager.com) to greyscale and adjust contrast

and you thought c-41 was easy part 2

further wailing and gnashing of teeth:





Small town photo finishers make film photographers exclaim to each other- "it's hard for thee to kick against the pricks".