WARREN CONNECTICUT – Today I shot winter landscape with my IR-modified Sony camera, using legacy Leica lenses and an R72 filter that blocks all visible light. I don’t like this combination with foliage – green foliage is rendered bright white, which is actually weird. But in the winter or on the desert, where there is little green foliage (especially in our Eastern deciduous forrest) it is really interesting. Here you go.
Day 2305 of one photograph every day for the rest of my life.
WARREN CONNECTICUT – I’m shooting today with my Leica Monochrom and an 85mm Nikkor from 1956 or so. This lens was made for the Nikon Rangefinder camera and has roughly the same mount as Contax. David Douglas Duncan (a prominent Life Magazine photojournalist) discovered the Nikokors, and this lens in particular, while shooting in Japan; his editors at Life Magazine were stunned by the images. This was the start of the international ascent of the Nikkors and Nikon.
This its still a remarkable lens. Here’s a Steve Huff review: Huff review
The second image below is 8 frames stitched.
Day 2285 of one photograph every day for the rest of my life.
TreesTrees
On this day six years ago (day 93): Terry Tanner’s barn Originally posted in color – it’s stronger in B&W.
WARREN CONNECTICUT – More images with my Carl Zeiss Jena 5 cm (50mm) f1.5 sooner lens, an antique from 1936. This lens, which has many limitations and is a major POA to shoot with, does render beautifully. The second image is six frames stitched in Photoshop.
Day 2277 of one photograph every day for the rest of my life.
HardwareSnow?
On this day six years ago (day 86): Drifts Taken with a digital Hasselblad, which I subsequently sold in favor of more compact Leica gear. Originally posted in color. The black and white conversion is a much stronger image.
NEW PRESTON CONNECTICUT – I’m continuing to explore the capabilities of antique Carl Zeiss Jena lenses. Today I put a 5 cm f1.5 Sonnar from 1936 on my Sony camera. This is actually a lovely lens, quite modern in its performance. Apart from its quirks (the aperture ring doesn’t have click stops, turns the wrong way, isn’t linear, and can’t be moved without changing focus; the focusing ring turns the wrong way) it’s a joy to use.
Day 2271 of one photograph every day for the rest of my life.
WARREN CONNECTICUT – I spent a few hours in the actual town of Warren today. In keeping with my New Years resolution, these images are made with a 1936 Carl Zeiss Jena 5 cm f1.5 Sonnar lens, which is interesting in that the optics are coated, making this one of the first coated lenses ever.
The first image is of of a presently-closed inn. It’s four frames stitched in Photoshop, which might run slightly counter the spirit of shooting with an antique, but whatever. I’m a wide shooter and as we will see the wide lenses from this era just aren’t very good. The grave marker is in the Warren town cemetery; I found it moving that someone is bothering to maintain (with a flag) a marker for a young soldier killed in the Civil War in 1862, and that his body found its way back home to Warren. Litchfield County was an hotbed of radical Abolitionists, so many young men volunteered for service and many died.
Day 2270 of one photograph every day for the rest of my life.
WARREN CONNECTICUT – We had some old friends up as houseguests and put on a major meal for New Years Eve. Self-catering on a large scale is a bit involving, and I didn’t feel like photographing the party, so I made a few quick runs outside for views of a bleak day.
New Years resolution: I have a small collection (actually four) of Zeiss Ikon lenses from the 1930s. I’ve resolved to fill out some focal length gaps on eBay – these lenses sell for very little, and spend the month of January shooting only with Carl Zeiss Jena lenses from the 1930s.
Day 2268 of one photograph every day for the rest of my life.
Pool
On this day three years ago (day 1172): Luke Tanner’s Truck. I was obviously having a similar experience three years ago.
