Chairman Mao was a Fascist?

Strange sight of the day: a white dude protesting in Chinatown with a giant sign that read "The majority of Chinese people in Calgary are Nazis." Sorry, Crazy White Dude, but you've pegged us on the wrong end of the dictatorship spectrum. We're commies, not fascies. Just FYI. But pointing this out would be a waste of breath, because after a bit of digging, I found out who the guy is - a crazy racist Czech man who also happened to run for mayor in this past election. Seriously, read more about him here. He's the guy a ways down the list of candidates, named Milan Papez. Would suggest you skip the link to his actual website, cause it's just a whole bunch of bat shit crazy rambling.

Anyways, enough about the downfalls of freedom of speech (they should really rename it to 'Freedom of Stupidity'). Here are a couple more photos from my attempt to shoot 2x overlapping rolls of 35mm through the Rolleiflex. Filmstock: Lomography Lady Grey 400, developed in Ilfosol 1+14 at 20 deg. C for 8 minutes.

Tutorial: How to shoot 35mm sprocket photos in a Rolleiflex

I've been eating painkillers and muscle relaxants like candy for the last couple days, after straining my back snowboarding. It wasn't as glamorous or epic as you would think either - I only got 1.5 runs in before it happened. Pathetic. Anyways, on to the photo goodness.

These shots were taken through the Rolleiflex TLR, but with 35mm film instead of 120. The whole process was a royal pain in the ass, but also quite fun if you're into shooting alternative film formats.







Tutorial: How to shoot 2x 35mm film in a Rolleiflex TLR

1) Tape film leader from one 35mm roll onto 120 spool (butt the edge tightly to one side).
2) Tape film leader from a second 35mm roll onto the same 120 spool (butt the edge tightly to the other side of the spool, thereby fully covering the 120 spool end to end. The two rolls will overlap in the middle.
3) Move operation into a film changing bag (no light!)
4) Fully spool both rolls of 35mm film onto the 120 spool, and remove the 35mm cannisters with scissors. This will leave you with 2 loose ends of film hanging off the spool.
5) Tape the loose film ends onto a 120 takeup spool, butting up against both edges to fully cover the entire width.
6) Load the take-up spool and the feed spool into the Rollei as per normal 120 film. Note, do NOT feed under the metal roller to trip the film counter. This way, you don't waste any film advancing to the number 1 frame as you would do for 120.
7) Close up back, and fire away! You just have to guess how much to advance before your next shot.

Questions? Drop me a line in the comments.

A Rediscovered Roll of Film

These shots were taken over a year ago during a film photo meet up we arranged in Calgary. They had been sitting on a half completed roll in one of my cameras, until I finally finished it off and had it processed recently. I love how they turned out.










I suck so bad at manual focus.


Horribly backlit portraits. I'm a shite photographer.

Nikon FG, Nikkor AI-S 50mm f/1.2 on Kodak Portra 400NC.

Tutorial: How to Shoot Instax Mini film through a Rolleiflex

This is a quick tutorial on how to shoot Fuji Instax Mini film through a Rolleiflex TLR (no hack required). Non photogeeks can skip the text here and just look at the pictures.

First: Why bother?! Yes, you can just buy a Fuji Instax Mini camera and fire away. But those don't give you manual controls, you work with slower lenses, and you have no control over the onboard flash. Using a Rolleiflex means full manual control, Zeiss glass, and access to any lighting setup you want via flash sync (if you want).

Things you will need:

-A pack of Instax Mini Film
-A Rolleiflex or other TLR.
-A dark place, or light tight film changing bag
-A set of rollers to run your print through

Steps to shooting instant awesomeness through your Rollei:

1) Place Rolleiflex and Pack of Instax film inside a film changing bag
2) Manually eject the dark slide from the Instax pack (use your fingers and gently guide it out the side)
3) Manually eject one exposure in the same way.
4) Open up the back of the Rollei, and place the instax exposure in the back, where film would normally sit to be exposed, then close up the back. Note - orientation is important. What you think of as the 'back' of an instax photo is the light sensitive part. So the 'back' of the print needs to face forward when inside the camera.
5) Take Rollei out of film changing bag, and expose as normal. Box speed of Instax Mini film is ISO 800.
6) Return Rollei to film changing bag, open back and remove Instax exposure.
7) Run the Instax exposure through rollers to squeeze chemicals out to start developing. This is a clumsy process, so I cheat - I reinsert the exposure into a pack of Instax film, and then eject the exposure through a Diana Instax Back (it pushes the exposure out through a set of rollers triggering the development of the print evenly). You can get away without this, but it will be harder.
8) Watch in awe as image magically appears before you eyes.

Repeat.

*In case it wasn't clear, all handling of the Instax film (loading, unloading, etc) MUST be done in the dark (film changing bag or a completely darkened room). This is a pain, and is not convenient. But INSTANT PHOTOS! FROM A ROLLEIFLEX TLR!


Above: Cactus Trigger, and Nikon SB800 (hidden behind me) bounced off the ceiling.

Below: No speed light. Bathroom incandescent lights were the sole light source.


If you still have questions, drop me a line in the comments.

Update: I googled and found everyone links to a page that shows a 'hack' for a Rolleiflex TLR with a tintype back. Note, there really is no need to hack your Rollei - you get the same result this way by simply placing the film inside the regular back of the camera. The only difference is that the tintype back will ensure your Instax frame will be consistently straight and upright (no tilt). You can get similar results simply by using some gaffers tape along the inside edges of your rollei to create a sort of guide rail that you would just butt your Instax frame's edge against before closing the back up.

Friday Morning Sketch

Having every second Friday off usually means sleeping in, eating cheezies and watching TV for yours truly. NO MORE WASTED DAYS, I SAY. I'm going to start doing something fun or creative with all my Friday's off. Today's result:





Mixed media sketch - Pentel pocket brush pen, Conte, and Shinhan Touch Markers on Strathmore 11x14" Toned Tan Sketchpad.

The Beauty of The Bitter Cold

Anita and I nearly froze our nut sacks off getting these pictures yesterday in the FRIGID ass cold, so you better enjoy them. And no, Anita does not actually have a nut sack, but it doesn't sound as dramatic when you say she froze her vagoo off.

All photos taken with the Holga 120N on Fuji Acros 100. Developed in Ilfosol 3, 1+14 at 68 deg. for 7:00min.

A Very Potential Fit of Rage Coming Later Today

Hypothetically speaking, is it kosher to push your wife off the bed because she's snoring louder than a 20hp vacuum cleaner? (I'm not really engine saavy, but I think that's enough horsepower to yank the nose hairs right out of someone's schnoz from across a room.) Anyways, back to the snoring. So, no? It's not kosher? Cool, just asking. I wasn't quite clear on the protocol, and in a fit of desperation last night, MMAAAAAAY have considered it. But in my defence, it was only a fleeting thought... and I opted instead to drag my carcass over into the spare bedroom and left her to air-pull nose hairs in peace. She's going to kill me when she reads this. Especially since she (to my knowledge) has never attempted to snuff out my snoring... I imagine her rage will look a bit like this later today:


This was a sculpture seen at the MALBA (Museum of Latin American Art in Buenos Aires). It was done as part of social commentary on violence and the drug trade in Latin America. There are apparently actual cannabis buds on the sculpture.


I'm not quite sure where to start with all the photos from Chile yet, so here's a just quick assortment from the early part of our trip - all taken with the iPhone.

Random Acts of Weirdness Thursday

Today was a Random Acts of Weirdness kind of day. While at work, I got an iMessage on my phone that just begged for me to mess with the sender. I'm the blue text bubbles (right side) in the screen grab below.



A couple folks asked me where I pulled 'Snapple' out of. My original thought was that the sender would've asked, 'WHAT?' And then I could've responded with, 'Exactly.' Regardless, made for some entertainment.

And then after work, I was waiting at the bus stop after picking up my film from the lab, when a drunk native couple approached me asking where "the strip club" was. I had no idea, so I just pointed in a random direction and said 'That way.' When in doubt, LIE. Being a big believer in Karma, this little prank is probably going to come back to bite me in the ass... probably when we're lost in Munich desperately searching for the concert venue where The National will be playing later this year.

And just to add to the randomness, here is a shot from some film that had been sitting half exposed in my Holga for almost a year before I finished the roll off in Chile. It was a surprise to see this when I picked up my film today (I had completely forgotten about this shot of Elaine and Anita from early last year). Just an explanatory note: this is a triple overlapping exposure taken with a 27 dollar hunk of plastic. And to get the overlaps, you just sort of eyeball, and guess. Enjoy!

Last and First Meals of 2013/14

Our last and first meals of 2013/14. For my birthday (yep, getting old!), Anita took me to FARM, for a five course meal with wine flight pairing. The place was completely full and quite loud, but the service was attentive (often not the case on busy New Year's Eve), and the food was delicious. The decor is simple but elegant, and the kitchen is fully exposed and surrounded by the bar for you to scrutinize and drool over. If you plan on trying a meal here, reservations are essential.


ENOUGH WITH THE SNOW ALREADY!!!




The OLD birthday boy himself. Time to start tucking my sweater vests into my relaxed fit khakis.



And because we've dined out SO MANY FRICKING times over the past 6 weeks, I made spelt pancakes for breakfast.







I feel like this was an appropriate ending to our epic 2013 year, and a nice simple way to start 2014, where many more adventures in fooding await.

Photos: combination of Fuji X100s (digital), and Nikon FM2n on Kodak Portra 400 (analog).