Being at the vanguard of an important social and political movement has its reward. Now Popular Photography takes up the mantle! 

I haven’t picked up a copy of Pop Photo, or for that matter, any of the other photography magazines in years. This week I was handed a copy of the current issue. I began to leaf through the pages, not expecting to find very much of interest to me. And what do you know — an article about the value and enjoyment of purchasing and using classic vintage film cameras, including an interview with Bellamy Hunt who runs Japan Camera Hunter out of Tokyo. I have never met Bellamy, but had a very nice communication with him via email when I was considering purchasing a Konica Hexar RF for a back up. He steered me away from that one due to availability of electronic parts and viewfinder issues – very honest and ethical by today’s standards!

The title of the article is “Elegant Machines, An expert’s guide to shopping for vintage and collectable photo gear” – and there are descriptions and pictures of a number of the usual suspects – Leica M6, Nikon F3, Olympus OM-1, Mamiya 6 and 7, and Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic (my first new camera!!!) to name a few.

The article discusses collecting, but the main focus concerns the joy of using these mechanical wonders with film, the beauty of a slower more thoughtful pace and the value of being “unplugged”. I couldn’t agree more!

Bellamy states that he has noticed a resurgence of interest in using rangefinder and SLR cameras, fueled in part by the younger generation. It’s understandable for the same reasons that they are buying vinyl LPs. Both film and vinyl provide a much different, and to many, a more pleasurable experience vs. that of digital. It’s not about convenience but about the entire user experience and the end result.

So it was a pleasant surprise to stumble across this entertaining little piece. If you are thinking about giving film a try and are still on the fence, spend a few bucks and pick up one the low cost gems featured in this article. I think you will be glad you did!

A lot of stuff seems to be happening for me all of a sudden. Not sure what to attribute it to … maybe good clean living. Not sure. So here’s the lowdown.

Last Sunday we had the biggest Photo Chat Get-Together yet! I know … I have tried to keep these no harm-no foul luaus to no more than about 3 people or so but we had 7!!! People were emailing and calling me who had heard about it from others I hadn’t even met. It’s possible we might be creating a movement here!!! These meetups are a lot of fun so stand by. The next one will be in October. Sure beats mowing the lawn on a Sunday morning!

I also hung an exhibit at a local bank. If you happen to be in or around central Bucks County during September stop by the Hatboro Federal Savings, located at 609 York Road Warminster, PA 18974. They offer lollypops at the counter!

A couple of weeks ago I found out about a new artist coop that just opened in Doylestown. I directed them to this website and was asked to join the fun. So now I have a nice spot for some of my photographs, and I just completed my first two gallery sittings! The gallery is called Gathering, and is located at 65A West State Street, Doylestown, PA 18901. If you happen to be visiting our fair little town I hope you will stop by for a visit – and drop me a note before you come – maybe we can meet!!

Finally, earlier this summer I was put in touch with Division III football powerhouse Delaware Valley University, located right here in Doylestown. They have a wonderful Center for Living in Retirement (CLR) that draws almost 600 students per semester. They foolishly asked me if I would like to teach a photography class. I thought I would be lucky if a couple of unsuspecting victims signed up. So this week I went to the instructor orientation and found out that 15 people foolishly decided to take it! The class is based on an early entry I posted here called Living a Photographic Life. I’ll be writing more about this in a future entry.

Well that’s a lot to happen all in one week … at least for me!  I am very excited … and humbled.

Well I just finished three printing sessions in my darkroom this week and I began to think about my old but trusted Zone VI Temperature Compensating Timer, and why hands down it is the most brilliant darkroom tool ever created. I have extolled this to everyone I speak to when discussing building or equipping a darkroom, and now it’s time to tell the world!

I have had mine since it came out in the mid 1980s and roughly 30 years later it never ceases to amaze, because sometimes inventions that solve a single but critical problem simply are the most valuable of all … at least to me.

Here’s the problem. You went into your darkroom last December and spent several hours to produce a beautiful print from a hard earned negative. Of course, you recorded all the information necessary (the recipe) to make another one just like it. Now it’s August and you decide to make several more.

You pull out the recipe, expose your paper for the same amount of time as before and use the same aperture on your enlarging lens. Next you slide your sheet of paper into the same developer you used before, mixed at same 68 degrees and start the timer. So far, so good. Except it’s not!

You smugly go through all the remainder of the darkroom chemical process steps, and make sure you have compensated for your particular paper’s dry-down characteristics, etc. Finally you leave your prints to dry (I place mine on window screens). Next morning you go back into the darkroom to collect your now dry prints, turn on the lights and … they don’t look exactly right!

@#$%#@$%^

What happened? You followed every step from the August session to the letter. You mixed the chemicals at 68 degrees, just like last time. Good for you, but you made a fatal mistake. You failed to take into account that the temperature of your solutions can drift dramatically during the course of a printing session. So it’s summertime now and you have started at 68 degrees. Well guess what … the temperature of the water is going to increase! Maybe a lot, perhaps into the 80s! Oops … higher contrast. Now turn that around and say you want to make a print in the wintertime that you originally made in the summer … now we are talking about your solutions perhaps dropping into the 50s, yielding a weak low contrast result.

Same thing when developing negatives where temperature control is even more critical! Negatives developed in the summer could end up being much too contrasty and the opposite for those developed during the winter.

Of course there are workarounds. Placing your film developing tank or print developer tray in a larger one containing ice water, etc. But in the end all solution temperatures drift. Life is too short; there’s an elegant solution that solves the problem once and for all.

The Zone VI Temperature Compensating Timer has three setting on it: Real Time; Paper; and Film. Connected to the timer is a temperature probe that’s placed in the developer tray for paper. For 35mm and roll film a water bath tray is used. The probe is placed in it, as are your film tank containing developer, and graduates containing stop, fixer and hypo clear.

The timer automatically compensates for any deviation from the standard 68-degree time so that every negative is developed properly and every print developed looks the same, no matter what the temperature of the developer and other solutions may be! That’s all it does and it does that perfectly – every time!! Simple and effective. Brilliant!!!!

Also connected to the timer is a footswitch that activates it. A digital display shows the amount of seconds that have elapsed and a beep softly goes off every 30 seconds so you don’t nod off!

Sadly the Zone VI timer is no longer made. I forgot what it cost when first introduced, but about ten years ago it sold for almost $400 before it stopped being produced (after the disastrous acquisition of Zone VI by Calumet).

Not to worry. If you are patient they are available from time to time on the used market for about half that price or thereabouts.

Look for them used on APUG, eBay or Craigslist, etc. and get one!!!!!!

You won’t regret buying one. I promise!

I want to take a moment to thank everyone who came to the open house that launched my recent show at Manu Propria Photographic Studio, in Staunton Virginia. I especially wish to thank my family and dear friends who came to share this moment with me, as well as those who could not be there but encouraged and supported me in this endeavor!!!

I met a lot of interesting people and had a lot of fun. There is something exciting about seeing your work beautifully displayed on walls that are not your own! I also enjoyed speaking with visitors about my work and watching them move in close to look carefully at the photographs. I print them on 8×10 paper – meaning in practice they are smaller than that. I came away very encouraged and learned a lot … and in the end that is what really matters!

I encourage you to try to find a venue to display your work. However, what is most important is that you keep making meaningful photographs … those that are meaningful to you!

The show stayed up for a few weeks, than I traveled back to Staunton, Virginia and conducted the Shenandoah Valley Workshop with Richard Pippin. This too was great fun for me, and again I learned a lot. In particular, just how easily it is to make a beautiful platinum contact print … from the coating of the paper to the final print. Part of the objective of the workshop was to show participants that they could do this with little or no experience, and with a minimum of equipment — even without having a darkroom, using either the sun or a UV light source. Richard did a great job demonstrating this and removing much of the mystery and fear. While alternative processes are not for me, you can’t argue with the beautiful results!

And since we were in Staunton, we paid a visit to the really cool Camera Heritage Museum, the largest camera museum open to the public in the US. Museum Curator David Schwartz held court, showing us how camera technology has evolved over the years. This is THE camera candy store, and we saw some unique and extraordinary equipment! All I can say to you gear heads and everyone else that would like to see and touch the exquisite tools that made photography possible … this is THE place!

For me, the workshop was a test. Could I do it? Would I freeze up, or be stiff and boring? Could I motivate? In short, could I teach what I know and learn something myself?

I answered my all of my questions and achieved my goals; I hope this is the first of many workshops to come!

Stay tuned!