Lion Fountain

Canon GIII QL17, Ilford XP2 Super

This fountain is located in a mini-shopping court in Carmel.

Other than looking like something found in Europe, it was interesting to test the resolution of the Canonet's 40mm f1.7 lens.

--Warren

Santa Cruz, CA -- Street Candid, Girl and Dogs

Canon GIII QL17, Ilford XP2 Super

We stopped in downtown Santa Cruz on our way to Carmel. As we walked along the main drag, I saw this little girl meet a couple of friendly retrievers. She was delighted to be able to pet them.

I quickly grabbed this shot even though the lighting was very difficult. I relied on the AE of the Canon. I had to do a bit of correction in PS because the scene was extremely backlit and contrasty. The Walgreens scan to CD was horrible, but this will have to do until I get my scanner going again.

I hope the composition makes up for the technical difficulties.

--Warren

We'll be heading up to Ottawa in a few weeks to visit Sandy's family. I think Ottawa is a beautiful little city... between April and October. Actually, it's very beautiful any time of the year, but since I am a total cold-weather wimp, and since Ottawa is the second-coldest capital city in the world, I try to stay away November through March.

So anyway, I'm already thinking about photo opportunities there. Our last visit was in mid-April 2003. I took two old film cameras with me and my then-almost-new Canon A40 2MP digicam. This time, I'll be going all-digital.

But the main difference, of course, is not the equipment, but the photographer. Warren and I were talking about that yesterday, and it's something we both subscribe to. I now have three whole years additional experience - thousands of photos, and I've learned a lot from all that. If I have a chance, I'll try shooting some of the same scenes I did three years ago and see if there's a difference.

The photo above is from our last visit, taken with the Canon A40 and given the Scott Kelby Photoshop Elements B&W treatment. It's on a path along the edge of Parliament Hill, a bluff overlooking the Ottawa River.

North Beach Alley View

I took this photo on a cloudy day. I originally started messing with the saturation, but decided on making it look more like what I actually saw that day.

I like playing with the color. I guess it's all of the Andy Warhol stuff I used to see. Bad effect on the brains.

Eric

"What Would Warren Do?..." (WWWD?)

One of the great things about this Forum is the cross-fertilization of ideas and "seeing" between us all.

This morning, I went to meet someone at a marina nearby to drop off some prints - I hadn't been there before, and while I was waiting, I saw this scene... not something I think I would have even noticed before, but when I saw it this time, I thought, "hey, that's something Warren would shoot!"

Since I had my trusty new Canon A620 with me, I took a few shots. At least, I think it's a "Warren Photo" - what do you think?? In any event, it's "Warren-inspired" :-)

I wanted to get this up on the Forum, especially so Warren could see it - I'm still at work and just took a few minutes to suck today's photos into my PC and desaturate it in Picassa - I'll try to do a better B&W conversion in the next few days (there really was hardly any color in this image, anyway.)

Fence Arrow

Nikon D100, Tokina 17mm

Just playing around here with the wide angle perspective. I was lining up this metal fencing for a shot when a pedestrian wandered into the picture in just the right spot.

--Warren

Silent Observer

Nikon D100, Tokina 17mm

This face peers back at window shoppers in Japantown. It can be quite startling if you're not expecting to see it.

--Warren

A View of Coit Tower

I took this a few weeks back when Warren and I spent a Sunday morning in the North Beach/Coit Tower area. I originally took it in color and I mucked around with the saturation just to play around. No matter what I did with the color, I liked this b&w version better. I just like b&w better I think - even the family photos.

Eric

Stack O' Stetsons

Since Warren insisted... ;-) here is the photo that got a Donor of the Day award on Usefilm last week.

I was just looking for some old images to play around with that grayscale technique from Scott Kelby's book - I found this one from my old Canon A40 2MP digicam - cropping the photo to leave in just the middle abstracted the Stetsons a bit to emphasize the shapes of the brims - I kinda liked it, and I guess it turned out to be more successful than I realized (you should see the uncropped image - it ain't much to look at :-)

434 Posts and Counting

Hi Folks,

Amazing, isn't it? When I started this forum back in September, 2004, I didn't really know what to expect. I had just "discovered" blogging, so I decided to create this forum, invite some friends, and just see what happens.

Now, nineteen months later, we have over 400 pictures on the forum, with many very interesting and informative comments and articles along the way. I never imagined that the forum would grow like this, and frankly, I almost pulled the plug on it a few times.

I am very happy that all of you decided to join in on the fun, and I want to say that I fully understand the ebb and flow of participation on the forum. And the beauty of all this is that it's all free! I just ask that you give me some feedback once in a while to let me know that you are still enjoying the pictures and still interested in the forum.

Questions for you:

I do want to ask you this though, is Blogger.com still the right venue for our forum?

Or should we investigate other types of photo forum software?

As the number of pictures in our gallery grow, it feels like there is really no organization to all the pictures, or is that just the nature of a blog based forum?

How do you like the look and feel of the forum? Is it still satisfactory?

Even if there was a facility to organize the pictures better, how would we do it? I'm not sure if there is a good way, other than just leave it as a chronological sequence.

Do you still want to keep our forum private? Or should I publish to web directories and search engines? What are your thoughts on this?

Do you know anyone who might be interested in joining us? If so, please go ahead and invite them to check us out, and if they want to join, just send me an email.

When I have time, I really enjoy going back through the archives viewing the pictures and comments. There are a lot of nice shots on the forum.

One thing is obvious, because of my obsession with photography, my picture posts probably outnumber everyone else combined by a factor of 10 to 1 :). Maybe I should not post so many, especially so many at one time. They probably scroll by before anyone has a chance to get a good look at them or comment on them.

Thanks for reading, and Happy Shooting!

Warren

Obligatory Picture Post:

"Modern Church, Japantown", Nikon D100, Tokina 17mm

Nightclub Sign Abstract

Nikon D100, Tokina 17mm

I was walking inside the Kinokuniya Building. It's like an indoor shopping mall. I saw this entrance to a nightclub in a darkened hallway off to the side. It was 11am in the morning, but it seemed like the middle of the night. I thought that the lights made some interesting patterns.

--Warren

Sunlit Stairs

Nikon D100, Tokina 17mm

Back to the Japantown series...

This inside stairway was lit by a skylight in the Kinokuniya Building.

--Warren

[Note: edited 3/28, lightened it a bit]

FPCF News & Rollcall Time Again

Hi Everyone,

I visited SteveR's blog the other day, and I noticed that Steve was awarded Donor of the Day for a second day in a row! Congratulations, Steve! I really like that picture, and I hope Steve chooses to post it here on FPCF too.

We're such a small and close knit group, I am always concerned when people drop off and disappear. So, it would be great if you can spend just a few minutes to check in here and let us know how you've been, and what you're up to.

Here's the latest news from my point of view:

Me -- Well, as you can tell by my recent postings, my love for shooting film and for shooting with a wide variety of equipment is still very strong. I was very impressed with the lens and AE performance of the Canon GIII. I now know why this little gem of a camera has so many fans. Next up, when I have time, is the Fed 3B. I still don't have my Nikon Coolscan film scanner online. I have not had time to install the new SCSI that I bought, and I have not had time to find the correct SCSI cable.

SteveR -- Steve has been busy winning Donor of the Day awards at Usefilm.com. Two days in a row, amazing! I really appreciate Steve's articles on Photoshop technique, and his willingness to share his points of view on various composition topics.

Dolph -- Finally, a couple of picture posts from Dolph. I know that Dolph is busy with his new job as Corporate Controller of a manufacturing company.

Jill -- Jill, our resident artist, is usually busier with work, and her other interests. I don't think she is set up at home for easy Internet access even though she has a new computer now. I told Jill that I would write up her bio for the bio page, and I still owe her that (along with a funny picture of her).

Benson -- With the demands of running a Orthodontic practice, and raising a young daughter, it's not surprising that Benson is mostly in "lurk" mode. I do know that Benson recently acquired a nice 12-24mm superwide zoom lens, and I'm hoping to see some more shots from it.

Martin -- Hey Martin, you've been quiet. I hope everything is okay with you.

Tony -- I heard from Benson that Tony has been very busy with work (teacher), and with taking photo classes (for his intended new career in photography). I hope Tony decides to engage in this group again, I'm very interested to see some of his latest work.

Dennis -- Dennis recently re-acquired a Nikon D100 dslr. I'm looking forward to having Dennis back on the forum with posts and his excellent analysis and commentary.

Steve F. -- Steve told me that his current interest is digital video, so Steve may be in permanent lurk mode. He did say that he still wants to participate sometime in the future, but I'm not sure what that will be.

Pat -- Pat has been the commentor-extraordinaire recently, even though I know that he is very busy with his new company. I wonder if his friend, Larry, was able to show Pat the benefits of the "digital darkroom", like Larry had planned.

Eric -- Eric has made the forum come alive with his enthusiastic participation. There will be a drop off for sure, when Eric takes some time off to visit his parents back in Natick, MA. But he's bringing his digicam, so I expect him to take TONS of pictures and inundate the forum when he gets back!

So it's your turn, what's going on with you???


Happy Shooting!

Warren

Carmel Mission -- Old Cloister

Canon GIII QL17, Ilford XP2 Super

This cloister looked more original than ones at some other missions. I liked the fact that it was raised a few steps, it allowed me to easily get a lower angled shot. The light was very nice here.

--Warren

Camel Mission - Inner Courtyard Wall

Canon GIII QL17, Ilford XP2 Super

I spotted the perfectly positioned shadow on this inner wall at the front courtyard of the mission.

--Warren

Carmel Ranch Fence

Canon GIII QL17, Ilford XP2 Super

Hey Gang! I finally got my first roll back from the Canon GIII. Even with the cheap scan to CD from Walgreens, I am VERY impressed by the Canon's 40mm f1.7 lens.

Gail and I were checking out the Carmel Ranch Resort. As we walked the grounds, I was struck by the majestic sweep of this white fence.

--Warren

Lady and Green Caddy

Nikon D100, Tokina 17mm

This was a total from-the-hip grab shot. This Japanese woman was about to get into her Cadillac.

--Warren

Stone Bench Abstraction

Nikon D100, Tokina 17mm

This stone bench is in front of the Peace Pagoda at JapanTown. It was wet from the recent rain, and it was reflecting part of the Pagoda and surrounding trees.

--Warren

More Stairs to Nowhere

Nikon D100

Here's another of the former church's entrances converted into a room.

--Warren

Victorian Reflection #3

Nikon D100, Tokina 17mm



--Warren

Victorian Reflection #2

Nikon D100


--Warren

Victorian Reflection

Nikon D100, Tokina 17mm

This is the facade of an old church that was restored, and converted into a senior citizen residential care facility. This was one of the former church's doorways.

The reflection of the classic Victorian buildings across the street caught my eye, and also the strange fact that they left the stairs leading into the window (no more doors).

--Warren

Mar. Project -- Japantown Peace Plaza

Nikon D100

March is almost over, this may be my last March Project shot for the month. I had about an hour to walk around in Japantown this morning, so I'll be posting a series of pictures from this session in the J-Town neighborhood.

--Warren

Better B&W From Digital

Here's a view of the Loeb Boathouse in New York's Central Park. I took this one last month when Ben & I spent the day in NYC. Taken with my Digital Rebel and it's "kit" lens - 18-55mm zoom.

The original was color, but I thought it would look better as a B&W image. Tonight, I tried a technique from Scott Kelby's book "The Photoshop Elements 4 Book for Digital Photographers" that seems to produce a significantly better B&W image than just removing the color from the image. I wrote up the instructions in a post on my blog tonight at http://therosenblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/better-bw-from-digital.html Give it a try if you have Photoshop Elements (I know it will work with Version 2 and 3, at least.) It should also work with "regular" Photoshop, but Scott says that Channel Mixer (not included in Elements) is the normal way to go there.

Hope you find it useful.

Regards,
SteveR

Fenced

Nikon D100


--Warren

Bridgewalker

I took about a half-hour in the morning last weekend to walk around the Spa Creek Drawbridge in Annapolis. I was under the bridge on the Eastport end when I looked up and noticed the possibilities of getting a solitary figure crossing over.

This one has a lot of the elements that I often (maybe subconsiously) look for - strong diagonal, simple shapes, repeating pattern, "a little bit of something in a lot of nothing" (i.e., the lone walker.)

... and what do you know - I posted this one on Usefilm.com Tuesday, and today it showed up with a Donor Image of the Day "award." Not exactly the Pulitzer Prize, but I nice ego-stroke nevertheless ;-)

Another Usefilm member, Hugo de Wolf of the Netherlands, took the time to make an extensive comment with some suggestions - most notably that it would be nice to get the lamp out of the photo. So I did some editing in Photoshop Elements and produced the second photo - which I think is cleaner and "better" overall - of course, it's all subjective.

-- SteveR

Recent Additions to my RF Collection

You folks who are digital-only are missing out on a lot of cheap, fun, film cameras.

The first one is my 4th FSU (Former Soviet Union) camera. The make/model is Fed 3B. I bought this from a seller on Ebay who I used before. He has a good reputation, and he does CLA's and checks out the equipment before selling. Of the 4 FSU cameras that I now own, this one, with its Industar-61 52mm f2.8 lens, is in the best condition. Some FSU camera fans dubbed this the "Flattop" because it was the first Fed to depart from the traditional Leica Barnack style of rangefinder housing. It was also the first to feature a wind lever instead of a knob. And, it has the full range of shutter speeds from 1 sec. to 1/500. The I-61 50mm lens is considered the best FSU 50mm in terms of sharpness and contrast, and I'm eager to put it and the camera through its paces. I got this one for $48 (!!!) shipped from the Ukraine. It's an unbeatable bargain for a full featured, interchangeable lens (in Leica screw mount), 35mm rangefinder camera. The Fed 3 was a very successful and popular model of the 60-s to the 70-s. Fed produced over 2 million of them (cameras for the people!), so they are plentiful and cheap today.



The 2nd camera is a 70's vintage Canon/Canonet GIII QL17. Yes folks, this is my very first Canon (gasp, choke). Well, I've been casually looking for one of these for a very long time, ever since I first read about its many virtues. I was cruising the Rangefinder forum site one day, and I happened to spot a recently placed ad for this camera for only $50 + $10 shipping. Again, this is a very good price for a CLA'd and properly working GIII QL17 in excellent condition, and it was from a fellow RFF member. On RFF, you have to be quick on the trigger to be able to snag a bargain. I made the decision within minutes of the ad being placed, otherwise someone else would have snapped it up immediately. Cameras in similar condition routinely sell for $65 to as high as $125 or more on Ebay.

The GIII QL17 (lousy name, isn't it) was Canon's last and greatest iteration of a full featured 35mm, fixed lens, leaf shutter, rangefinder camera. It had a very long run, so good used examples can still be found, though prices are slowly rising as more RF enthusiasts are beginning to collect it. Some of the features that I like about it are:

- Fast, sharp, fixed lens with an interesting focal length (40mm f1.7)
- Quick film loading (the QL17 part). This was a very innovative feature for its day
- Large and bright viewfinder
- Shutter priority auto exposure. I would have preferred aperture priority, but I can live with it.
- Fully manual operation that does not require a battery.
- Very quiet operation. It uses a leaf shutter, which is much quieter than focal plane shutters.

I shot a test roll (XP2 Super) through the camera on our overnight trip to Carmel last weekend. I'll post some pictures if they turn out okay.



If you're interested in reading more about these cameras, there is plenty of information on them available on the web. Just do a search on "Fed 3B" or "GIII QL17"

--Warren

Dining Out in Palo Alto

Got a shot of a restaurant patio before it got crowded. If you look at the gate, you are going to see barrel distortion. (Gives it a kind of Adams Family mansion effect.) Well, instead of trying to fight it, I am going to try and learn how to use it. Gonna be tricky, but we'll see what happens. If I don't try, I'll never know.

Eric

Homeless Clothing

While Genie and I were in Palo Alto last weekend, I came upon an old jacket on a bench out in the street. I had the distinct impression that a homeless person left it here. It appeared pretty old, dirty and used. I wanted to be sure to get a picture of this because Palo Alto is such an affluent community. To see homelessness and remnants of homeless in such a place, to see any of this anywhere, is very disconcerting. It says something about the places in which we live.

Gotcha!

Nikon F2, Vivitar 75-260mm

Here's one from the dusty, musty archives.

One of my best friends, Curtis, invited me to his black belt promotional way back in the 80's. Here he's in the section of the promotional where he has to spar with the black belts. The sparring style was contact with control. It was a very intense day.

This was my best shot of the day, taken while sitting in the bleacher seats.

--Warren

Wushu Form

Nikon D100

While we're on the subject of martial arts, here's one that I took last April at the Cherry Blossom Festival.

This young man was performing the Wushu Drunken Fist Form.

--Warren

Another Capoeira Photo

I was having trouble posting another photo, but finally here it is. It's another photo of the guys in Palo Alto having a good time. Note how the big guy in the previous photo is doing a handstand. Not bad. It was a lot of fun watching this. It's a fascinating combo of dance and martial arts. Very nice stuff. These guys were great.

Eric

Capoeira in Palo Alto

Genie and I were in Palo Alto today, and we came upon a group of guys who were practicing Capoeira. Capoeira is a form of martial art created by slaves in Brazil. It masqueraded as a dance (to hide it's true meaning from slave owners) and it is very athletic and beautiful. These guys were having a lot of fun.

In this photo, the 2 on the left were in the midst of a bout and the 2 on the right were accompanying them with a drum and with what I believe is called a berimbau. If I am wrong and it is not a berimbau, let me know.

Eric

Transamerica Pyramid Bubble Machine

Sony DSC-D770

I was looking through my digital archives and I found this shot from Aug. 2000 that I took with my then new to me Sony digicam. This was image #724 from the camera.

Gail and I took a walk through Telegraph Hill. I've always liked this view of the Pyramid from this neighborhood.

I was a little annoyed by the lens flare during the shooting that day, but on this shot I decided to have some fun with it.

--Warren

Flag Waver

Sony DSC-P72

One usually sees laundry hanging from Chinatown windows and balconies.

--Warren

Ol' Spot Cruising North Beach

While Warren and I were taking pix in North Beach a couple of weeks back, I caught one of our canine companions cruising the streets. He was intent on something. Note the ears.

-- Eric

My Dream Car when I was 7 years old

This 1912 Model T CommercialRoaster was my favoriate car when I was 7 years old. I don't remember what happened to the model Ihad built, but it probably had something to do with girls a few years later. What I really was impressed with was the oil bottles the man had in front of the car.

Low Hanging Fruit

Sony DSC-P72

This is a common sight at Chinese stores. By the way, I hate the phrase: "low hanging fruit" when used in the business world.

--Warren

What a Bargain!

Sony DSC-P72

A popular Chinatown hole-in-the-wall (for the locals).

--Warren

Old Red Sign

Sony DSC-P72

This is the sign for an old Italian meat market at the corner of Stockton and Vallejo, the border of Chinatown and North Beach (Old Italian District). It was another morning in-between the rainstorms. It had cleared up, the air was crisp, and the light was vibrant.

--Warren

The Crimson Curtain

Nikon D100

I liked the contrast between the red curtain and the worn, white paint of this house. It had a mysterious aura to it.

--Warren

Abandoned Shoes at Abandoned Lot

Nikon D100

Seen at the same lot as Eric's previous post.

--Warren

Abandoned Lot

Here is a photo of a vacant lot in North Beach on Upper Grant. Abandoned lots in any city always give me a feeling of despair and lonliness.

Eric

Hello There

Last weekend, while Warren and I were walking around the North Beach/Coit Tower area, I happened upon these 2 statues on the top of a house. Kind of strange but kind of interesting.

Eric

Digicam Salute #2

Nikon D100, Nikkor 50mm f1.8D

The previous post reminded of this picture that I took last September on the summit of Mt. Tamalpais.

--Warren

p.s. This is the 400th post to the forum!!!

Digicam "Salute"

Nikon D100

This was at Coit Tower. With the advent of digital cameras, you see many people doing the P&S digicam "salute". (using the back-of-camera LCD to compose and shoot pictures)

--Warren

Putting it Together

Nikon D100

Here's a shot of the front entrance of the apartment showing the balconies and railing.

--Warren

Camouflage Failure

Nikon D100

This is the same apartment buiilding from the previous post. I loved the design of the balconies, and I noticed the sky blue roof structures. I'm guessing that they were painted this color so that they would blend into the sky and become invisible. However, on a cloudy, overcast day like last Sunday, they might as well have been painted red. :) The blue really stood out against the light sky, and gray building.

--Warren

Meandering Steel

Nikon D100

I saw this beautifully designed railing at the entrance of an old apartment building on Telegraph Hill.

--Warren