jimmuller wrote:
Rafael, I have never met you personally and I can only guess at the backstory of your grief. (And I'm not asking.) But I will offer these thoughts on photography mojo. It has to do with life itself.
I often ask myself why I bother to take pictures at all, and why spend money on a great camera and lenses when a phone would (almost) do well enough. The answer goes back to about 1970 or 1971. My dad had been a photographer, so in my last year of college I had bought an SLR, a Russian camera, cheap at a local camera shop but it turned out to be pretty good. A few years later when it showed signs of age I wanted to upgrade so I asked a friend, a Nikon enthusiast, for a recommendation. He first asked me a significant question:
What do you want to do with it, what kind of pictures do you want to take?
I remember my answer, "To document my life". Years later it sounded pretentious but that's how a guy a few years out of college would have answered. I thought that same way for years, really pretentious, but lately I have re-evaluated my answer - it wasn't pretentious at all. With the Z5-II I've been going through and scanning the thousand or more slides I took over the years and have re-lived some of those wonderful experiences. They let me remember the good times because those are the pictures I took. I've never experienced grief except for the death of my parents, about which I have no pictures. But the sheer joy of seeing the parts of life I did enjoy are worth all the expense and effort and pretentiousness of that answer.
Your past pictures are parts of life you need to remember. And the pictures you take now will be parts of life you will need to remember half a century from now. You may not think so now but you will later.
It's part of life and all worth remembering. ...Show more →
I just want to chime in to add that I really enjoy the scanned slides that you share here. It's really cool seeing someone else's memories! It makes this shared hobby of ours all the more significant.
serge07 wrote:
Siphiwe, the cactus is a different type of photo from you, great processing.
Hahaha, thank you but if you squint your mind a little, you'll see that it's very typical of what I shoot and share. It's been a challenge to shoot and be happy with the picture for a while. I thought this one kind of worked.
rafaelcasd wrote:
Thank you for all the kind words. They helped me understand that I have been avoiding photography to avoid memories.
I am getting to the point that memories bring me not only sadness for the losses but also profound gratitude for the gifts life brought me.
Wonderful, Rafael. Memories are what photography is for. I wish you continued healing. It's a bumpy road but it is worth collecting new memories, too. In time they will provide you with the continuity that is needed, in the absence of Abner. Without new memories, your previous memory-filled life might seem to have ended at the point of his passing.
mivadep wrote:
I just want to chime in to add that I really enjoy the scanned slides that you share here. It's really cool seeing someone else's memories! It makes this shared hobby of ours all the more significant.
Thank you.
Memories and sharing, that's the whole point, now isn't it?
Your 'travel buddy' has likely taken a bit of a beating given the number of times you visit Europe.
I am sad to see the demise of inked visas & stamps in passports.
Now everything is digital, biometrics, ESTAs, and E-gates.
Colin
The old Passport is well traveled but the one prior beats it by no small margin.
I believe Italy, Spain and Portugal continue to use the visa stamp, I will find out in a couple of months.
The first photo I had taken long ago with the D40 and wanted a higher rez version.Thanks!
James Markus wrote:
Serge, I agree that the 35mm f2 O.C has the rendering I prefer. I sometimes - even often - get the same rendering out of the f1,4 ais, but not always. The ai version I had was mint, and I got it for $38 off ebay. I think the price colored my respect, and it was only after getting the f1.4 and reviewing f2 shots did I realize my mistake, My plan was to convert this beautiful non ai to ai, but I have decided to use it on the Nikon F4s, and my Canon DSLR bodies. In fact I am not going to convert any of the non-ai lenses. Particularly the Nikkor-S 5.8 cm f1.4 - it just felt wrong. Had the drill press all set with a cross vice and vertical mill bit, and I just can't do it. Got another batch of gear to sell, but found a minty Nikkor-P 105mm f2.5 non-ai and grabbed it yesterday. At the newspaper all the photographers shared an ai'd version as the "studio portrait lens".. It sat on the posing stool - no caps - bent, and malformed on the front rings - even chips in the front element from being dropped or knocked off the stool. However, it was a great lens. I suspect it was one of the few (>4000) 9 blade copies from the 1960s. I could not find one of those for sale, but this one is from the approximate same time.
James, $38 is a super steal for a mint 35/2 Ai. I felt very fortunate to snag a pristine factory Ai "O" with box and papers for $76. It is a stunning looking lens.
On the 105/2.5 front, I have mint copies of the Ai and AIs (SIC version). I am often tempted to pick up the rangefinder 105/2.5 which is a stunner.
I am with you about not modifying the non AI metal focus ring lenses. They are works of art as is.
Enjoy the P-105 f/2.5. The only 9 blade Nikkor in the collection is the AF-D 85/1.8 which can produce great sunstars but nothing like the 16/3.5
serge07 wrote:
James, $38 is a super steal for a mint 35/2 Ai. I felt very fortunate to snag a pristine factory Ai "O" with box and papers for $76. It is a stunning looking lens.
On the 105/2.5 front, I have mint copies of the Ai and AIs (SIC version). I am often tempted to pick up the rangefinder 105/2.5 which is a stunner.
I am with you about not modifying the non AI metal focus ring lenses. They are works of art as is.
Enjoy the P-105 f/2.5. The only 9 blade Nikkor in the collection is the AF-D 85/1.8 which can produce great sunstars but nothing like the 16/3.5
Serge, I had to consult my gear spread sheet - I only owned the 35mm f2 ai for 10 months in 2012-2013 and sold it for a lot more than I paid. I remember the auction listing having bad photos - like an impressionist painting. However, that minty sheen Nikkors have shown through the out of focus photo. I've bought a handful of lenses based just upon that sheen. Probably a bit like Bambi's view through her tears in the fire scene of the Disney movie.
The iris blades do not matter at all when shooting wide open, and it is only when stopped down that they come into play. I wanted round bokeh balls at f5.6 for portraits.
The Irish kindly obliged with the stamp in my passport. It was the first one ever, and I'm plotting my return.
DeltaSigma wrote:
Serge,
I like the framing of these.
Your 'travel buddy' has likely taken a bit of a beating given the number of times you visit Europe.
I am sad to see the demise of inked visas & stamps in passports.
Now everything is digital, biometrics, ESTAs, and E-gates.
This is why we refer to Rafael condition lenses. He has the most pristine collection, and a vast collection. I'm thinking if he ever had to do one shot of the entire collection, he'd need an 800mm to get far enough back...
jimmuller wrote:
Oh dear. Now I have to re-shoot that pic of all my MFNG using a MFNG lens so I can post it here. But not until I get those other lenses (and two F bodies) from my friend on the Cape.
