Two great photographers recently passed away within a week of each other. Elliot Erwitt and Larry Fink died on November 29^th and November 25^th. For the unfamiliar, these were two incredible photographers that also lived life on their own terms. I’m not going to go into the history of their long careers; you can find that all over the web. If you don’t know about these great photographers you need to learn fast!

Last year I bought Erwitt’s spectacular huge book Personal Best. As I’ve mentioned in a previous entry, it contains almost 446 photographs he personally selected as his best and favorite images from a lifetime of creative work. If you are serious about photography it’s a book you simply need to have! Sadly I don’t own any of Fink’s books; getting one had been a neglected item on my to do list.  But perhaps of greater importance, I got a chance to meet Larry several times during the last two years.  At the at the opening of Monalog’s first exhibit and that of his own show, both at the Stirner Modern Gallery, and at Nazareth Area High School, where he was working with the students and I was doing a class. A truly great guy, and FYI, the kids really loved him!

Here’s the thing … where will the Elliott Erwitts and Larry Finks be going forward when we need them. In today’s upside down world a little Elliot Erwitt would go especially well. We need some humor in our photography … and in life. Erwitt gave us that in spades! Here’s a quote: “I’m not a serious photographer like most of my colleagues. That is to say, I’m serious about not being serious.”  I like that!

So two more titans of photography who happened to be regular guys are gone. Sad. We need more top notch photography in today’s photo art world and frankly a lot less ego from those who simply can’t hold a candle to Erwitt and Fink.

I know there must be some good ones out there following or wishing to follow in their footsteps, I just haven’t seen very much of late. Who knows, maybe there are some young photographers about to take up the mantle, or whose work is waiting to be discovered like Vivian Maier … hopefully while their still alive!

In the meantime, I am grateful for Elliot Erwitt and Larry Fink and for all they gave us.

Stay well,

Michael

Last week after … well awhile … I finally made the first prints with my Leitz Focomat 1C and 2C enlargers. It seems forever since I first got them, but these beauties were just standing by until I first sourced and received all the missing bits, then figured out how to set up their pesky but brilliant autofocus systems, and finally got caught up with all my printing for the year with my admittedly easy to use Devere and Zone VI compensating timer. Now it was finally the moment of truth!

You might recall from an earlier post that I had removed my beloved Devere from my darkroom in order to force me to get on with using the Focomats. My neighbor helped me take it out, consigning it to a storage room elsewhere in the basement … removed but not too far away.

Out of sight, out of mind … right?

So how did that go? Using the Devere is like slipping on an old pair of comfy shoes or your favorite sweater. In no time it was back and put to use.

I agree that using the Devere this long is a lame excuse, but I knew it so well and my comfort level with it made me back off from trying something new while printing so many pictures under some self-imposed deadlines.

Okay, enough! Friday was my target. I decided to make things easy for myself by reprinting one recently made picture with each enlarger. My goal was to make close enough approximations in order to gauge how much I liked the work process compared to  that with the Devere, how the results matched up with the Devere and a Schneider Apo Componon HM lens, and finally a sense of how much I might miss using the Devere.

Here are a couple of key items for comparison/consideration:

Devere – Defusion light source.   Focomats – Light source in large domed housing(s) having a matt semi-silvered interior, directed onto the negative via single (1C) or double (2C) focusing condenser(s).

Devere – Color head allows for tiny incremental changes in contrast.  Focomats – Built in filter draw above the lens allows for use of Ilford or Kodak VC filters available in one half grade increments.

Devere – Manual focus using two large wheels for coarse and fine focusing located under the baseboard.  Focomats – Autofocus.

Devere – Allows the use of the second generation Zone VI compensating exposure timer with dry down function; enabling contrast changes “on the fly” without the need for making additional test prints.  Focomats – Does not allow for the use of the second generation Zone VI compensating exposure timer, but still benefits from the first generation Zone VI mechanical timer with dry down function; using different filters to adjust overall contrast requires new test prints.

Devere – uses Schneider Apo Componon HM lenses.  Focomats – uses the last and best Leitz enlarging lenses for 35mm (IC) and medium format (2C); the 60mm lens on the 2C is not a contender.

Devere – Uses glass negative carriers for best film flatness.  Focomats – Uses glass negative carrier (2C) and an anti-newton ring glass pressure plate to hold down one side of the negative (1C).

So let’s start with the 2C.  The beautiful glass negative holder allows for use of a variety of masks. I used the one for 6×7. Autofocusing was a dream. A test print was made using the grade 2 filter to match what I had done with the Devere print, exposure determined, and a work print made. Easy.

Now for the 1C. Not so easy. The negative I chose was at the end of the filmstrip and trying to get it to line up properly in the negative carrier prior to lowering the anti-newton ring pressure plate turned out to be a major pain in the rear. I’m sure I will get the hang of it for those instances; if I don’t I might have to resort to using a tiny piece of tape to hold the edge in place. Other than that everything went the same as with using the 2C.

Both prints benefited by using the built in dry down feature in the Zone VI timers.  The prints were washed and then placed on screens to dry overnight. The next morning I went downstairs and compared the Focomat prints with those made with the Devere.  The paper used was the same … Fomabrom Variant III … but there were differences. While the Devere prints were made using the color head equivalent to grade 2 (10 units of magenta) they looked a little different. Overall the Focomat prints looked crisper and perhaps a little clearer if that is possible, while not exhibiting any of the harshness of those made with typical condenser enlargers.

So what’s the takeaway of this first go around?  Giving up changing contrast on the fly will be something I’ll miss, as inserting and removing filters from the filter drawer is certainly not as convenient. But the autofocus is the bee’s knees!  The Devere is a tremendous and reliable enlarger, a real workhorse … the Focomats are well … they’re the Leica’s of enlargers!  Not the easiest or the most convenient to use … but … you know the story.

Stay well,

Michael

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Mine was great, spent with my wife, children, grandchildren, and dogs.  To say I have a lot to be grateful for is truly an understatement … in art and in life.

But I also know the things we hold most dear and usually take for granted can easily be taken away.

So, please take a moment to think about this, especially as it relates to the one thing that enables us to do so much and to have so much … our democracy.

Let’s do all we can in this most important year ahead to be to make sure Thanksgiving 2024 is truly a happy one.

Stay well,

Michael

Several weeks ago I visited a new acquaintance to listen to his stereo (I’m somewhat of an over the top audiophile) and to look at some of his photographs made some fifty years ago.  The stereo sounded great but what really struck me were the wonderful images he had made. Some were framed on the wall, but most were confined to an old 8×10 Kodak Polycontrast paper box.

Here was a person that had real talent so what I saw and felt bothered me.

The pictures, made when he was in his twenties were sensitively seen and beautifully printed. It sounded like he had tried to make a go of it, but having a young family made that difficult. Like many his age he found a better way to make a living and stopped making photographs. I get that, but I can only imagine the work he might have produced had he continued on.

Sad.

I think he’s a few years younger than me, and still works like I do. He puts a lot of time and effort into his listening passion. So do I. I told him he should find some time to make images again; I didn’t care whether they were analog or digital. I just wanted him to get out there again and do what he’s capable of doing … for those that would be fortunate enough to see the work … but most of all for himself!

He’d lost all that precious time and missed the opportunity to create a meaningful body of work.

What could have been.

I think he could have found a way to keep photographing. I had to do the same thing. I know it’s difficult, yet possible. It’s a question of priorities like everything else in life.

Now it’s a question of what still could be.

I’ve told him several times that he should find the time and make pictures again. Easy for me to say, maybe not so easy for him to do … or want to do. I’ve offered to help, but I won’t bother him again.

He really wanted me to see his pictures. I guess that says something.

For all those of you with dusty old Polycontrast boxes underneath your bed, in the basement or the attic, go find them, take the old rubber bands off and have a good look at what’s inside. Once upon a time you really cared and had something you wanted to say. It’s not too late to finish what you started or say something new that matters … to you … to all of us.

Stay well,

Michael

Every week for the last month or so I have been working with thirteen and fourteen year old’s after school. No they don’t have film cameras!  A few have old basic digital cameras, but most come to class equipped with their mobile phones. No sweat, I’m just trying get them interested in learning about photography and making pictures. They’re very polite but don’t speak very often, so it’s been a bit of a challenge, but I feel I’m making more progress every week!

A couple of weeks ago it came time for the much anticipated outdoor photo walk. I had everything scouted out for some interesting pictures and was pretty jazzed about what I found!  Like my recent photo walk with older teenagers, the idea was to look for exciting opportunities that are usually passed by without a thought.

So off we went. The problem, or so it seemed, was that some of the things I thought were pretty spiffy appeared to be flat out uninteresting to them!  I would point out something I thought was cool and then say “so what do you think?”, only to get the deer in the headlights look, or a “nah”.

But was there was a silver lining that made the experience a success?

I realized that while I was trying to get them to think about making photographs of things I found interesting they were making photographs of things they found interesting! The more I thought about it, I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome.

Then at class last week they showed me the pictures they had made on their phones.  As I looked at their pictures I noticed something very interesting … along with all the pictures of what they thought were interesting were some of what I thought were too!

Those sneaky kids!

I’m glad they made pictures of what they saw, as well as ones of what I saw.  And while there were some promising images of what I pointed out, the best ones were all theirs … and that makes me especially happy.

I hope I succeeded in getting them to begin to open their hearts and mind’s eyes to the vast array of photographic opportunities that will always surround them as they grow up.

They agreed I was on to something here … I know they are too.

Stay well,

Michael

After attending another Zombie Walk in Asbury Park, I decided to head back to the town made famous by The Boss. I’ve been making photographs of murals lately and Asbury Park has its share. So this past week I drove back. The seventy mile trip takes about an hour and half.

The sun was shining when I pulled into my parking space not far from the boardwalk. Getting out of the car I immediately noticed something I wanted to make a picture of. I opened my camera bag grabbed my camera. And then I looked again. Oh $@%#^$!  I left my light meter home in another camera back #!@$%^(*&^%!!

I’ve never left my meter home. My first thought was put the camera back in its bag and head back. But then I thought I’m not going to do a three hour round trip and come back empty handed!  What to do?  All of a sudden I thought of the so called Sunny 16 Rule that states on a nice day you can set your lens aperture on f/16 and your shutter speed at the inverse of your film box speed. I guess we were about to find out if it was really true about all that Tri-X latitude! With the shutter speed set at 1/500^th of a second, a close enough match to ASA 400, I set out to find some murals.

Would my trip to Asbury Park turn out to be a bust or have a sunny outcome? After a long stroll along the board walk and a number of photos of the murals made I saw what looked like a bridal party in the distance!  My pace quickened until a caught up with the happy couple being photographed against some of the murals by their wedding photographer. Great … I had a camera too! Needless to say I hung out with them for a while.  Good thing I had my Leica … small unobtrusive and quiet!  If the exposures of the murals and the bride and groom were remotely accurate there may be a keeper or two.

But wait, there was more!  As the wedding party finally walked away and I was ready to head back to my car, I spotted yet another man and wife to be with their photographer!!  Needless to say more photographs for me!

I talked to my two kids about my experience that day. Both said pretty much the same thing. According to my son my bridal stalking was semi creepy … my daughter said it was creepy.  Millennials … what can I say? Hey, no one shooed me away, and one of the grooms even waved at me!

Yesterday I developed my Tri-X filled with murals and young love and the negatives didn’t look all that bad.  There may well be a sunny outcome after all to my meterless outing!

Stay well,

Michael