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What's In Your Camera Bag? No. 1

What's In Your Camera Bag? 

By Michael Raso

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This month's "What's In Your Camera Bag?" was written by Photographer Michael Raso. Here's a little bit about Michael...
"A photographer, producer and filmmaker working professionally in the visual arts for over 20 years, Michael is also the founder of the Film Photography Project and its fortnightly internet radio show, the Film Photography Podcast. Michael's goal?...to get as many people as possible to experience the joys of shooting with traditional film!

http://filmphotographyproject.com/"

This article details his equipment and ALSO a recent shoot he had in the beautiful New York City. Enjoy! 

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                  A themed photo shoot with a model is especially challenging when you’re working with a person for the first time and didn’t have the opportunity to scout out the location. My photo shoot theme is World War II era America as per the suggestion of talented costume designer Jill, who also served as today’s model. My frequent collaborator Paige Davis did hair and make-up.

The shoot came together when Jill contacted me via my Model Mayhem page. She was looking for photographers in the New York City area who could shoot traditional film photography. My profile fit the bill since I exclusively shoot film. Sharing similar interests including a love for all things analog (and VHS tapes!), we were off to an excellent start as a creative team.

We had first made plans to meet over coffee but e-mail correspondences between myself, Paige and Jill led us to the conclusion that why not just dive in and shoot – a test shoot, so to speak. Jill had already secured an amazing WWII-era apartment in Queens, NY, so why not “just do it”.

I spent an hour or so staring at my vintage camera collection deciding what to pack for the journey to Queens, NY.

The final selection for my mixed bag:

Mamiya m645 – The workhorse of medium format cameras and the staple camera for wedding photographers throughout the 1980s and 1990s. As a matter of fact, I purchased my entire Mamiya m645 kit from a retired wedding guy. A wonderful camera that has a beautiful “magazine style” film inserts that allows you to pre-load cartridges with either 120 or 220 roll film. 16 exposures per 120 roll or 32 exposures from each roll of 220 film. I expected the location to be tight so I brought my 55mm f2.8 lens

Canon FT – I’ve had my 1966 Canon FT since 1978 when a family member handed it down to me. My first camera never gets too far from sight, A workhorse of a 35mm camera, it’s reliable and does not need a battery to fire the shutter. Today I packed my bag with both a 50mm and 19mm ultra-wide lens.

StarBlitz Pro-5000 Flash – A late 1980s hand-held flash that is always in my bag. Also in my bag is a Lowel 650 Omni light and a set of barn doors.

Kodak Brownie Hawkeye – I always say if you want that “old timey” look then shoot with an old camera! I couldn’t think of a better camera to bring to fit the mood and era than the 1949 Kodak Bownie Hawkeye camera. This particular model was literally picked from the trash and had 60 years of storage grit on it. I cleaned it up as best as possible, tested the shutter and included it in the kit for today’s shoot. The Hawkeye shoots 12 square images on 620 roll film.

The FPP Debonair Plastic 120 camera – This 1980s plastic wonder is a camera that’s exclusive to the Film Photography Project on-line store. I found a pallet of them in a warehouse up in Rochester, NY. It’s not quite a Holga and certainly not a Diana. The Debonair has its own unique, dreamy look and shoots 16 images on a roll of 120 roll film.

Olympus Stylus 80 – Never underestimate the awesomeness of the Olympus line of 1990s-era point and shoot 35mm cameras. The leader of the pack is their Olympus Stylus Epic, a coveted, cult camera and worth picking up. “The” camera to always have in your pocket. Today, I packed the Stylus Epic’s cousin – The Olympus Stylus 80. Today I brought the camera mainly as a Behind-The-Scenes camera but it didn’t surprise me that one of my favorite shots from the day was made using this little marvel!

The LomoKino – Lomography introduced this beauty last year, It’s a hand-cranked camera that shooting 144 small frames per 36 exposure roll of film. Edited together, it produces a silent movie not unlike the style of a 1920-era film. Perfect! (see video shot with the omokino here)

At the time I’m writing this all my film from the shoot isn’t back from the lab but I do have two examples from the inspired day. The black and white image was shot on the tiny, Olympus Stylus 80 / Kodak Tri-X film. The mood was captured perfectly in color by using a 19mm lens on my Canon FT with Kodak expired Kodak Ektachrome slide film. Experimenting with batches of expired film allows me to select a film stock to capture the mood on film. The style and mood is captured in-camera without any post-production or Photoshop effects, which I love!

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Here are some pictures of Michael's Equipment

Thank You for reading! 

Also BIG thanks to Michael Raso for writing this up for us! Make sure to go checkout the Film Photography Project here. 

February 2013

Tuck Chaylor:                 

It's the feeling i get when i see/hear it...
                                          By Jacob Stordahl
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Side note from Analog Revival: 
Be safe in the storm everyone! Enjoy a little reading while you're stuck inside.

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                   Some may look at Tuck's work and think, "That's too risque" or "It's too exposed", but there is a very artistic meaning behind his work. Although the presence of nude photographs is there, it is not the focus, nor the only type of work Tuck does (see our top ten below for examples). The meaning behind these shots, and his others as well, is to display beauty in its most natural state. Tuck's work is effortless and simple all tied together with a sense of elegance and beauty. The display of the female body in its natural state, is to show the beauty that we all inherit as human beings. Tuck chooses to display all things with a beautiful and natural display.

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     We interviewed Tuck about his work and opinions about film, here are his reply's...

 Q: What was your first film camera?

 A:I'm sure I had quite a few different film cameras as a child, but the firstfilm camera i purchased for myself would be my Diana F+.  It's a fun little camera.

Q:When did you start considering yourself a photographer?

 A:  I've only recently become comfortable andconfident in the work i produce.  I wouldsay about 6 months prior to this interview.

Q:What do you think are the advantages of film?

 A:  To me there's something about film you can'tget from a digital camera.  It's kind oflike comparing vinyl records to mp3s. They both are amazing in their own way, but there's something aboutanalog that I just moves me.  It's thefeeling i get when i see/hear it.  Plus ithink it takes a bit more skill to create unique and artistic photos on filmversus the digital stuff you can do in photoshop.

Q:Why do you choose to shoot mainly portraits?

 A:I'm not really a very social person.  Idon't do well in big crowds and I don't have a lot of friends, but I stillcrave that connection with people. Shooting portraits gives me a 2 to 3 hour window to connect one on onewith another person.  I like that.  I need that in my life. 

Q:What is the reason and argument behind (what some might consider) risquéportraits?

 A:haha. I live in a small town where there's a church on just about every streetcorner.  A lot of people around here arereally negative when it comes to nudity. I've actually had someone call my work pornography.  I'm just really inspired by the femaleform.  I'm very much influenced bymemories.  I remember once waking up nextto this girl and the sun was coming through the window and highlighting her exposedskin.  The sun traced every curve in away that was so beautiful to me.  I tryreally hard to capture that feeling in my photographs. I think seeing skin isvery important to getting that feeling. I don't think that nudity or sexuality is anything to be ashamed of.

Q:If you could only shoot with one of your film cameras for the rest of yourlife, which would you pick?

 A:Hands down, My Olympus OM-10.  My batterylife last forever, my negatives/photos will outlive me, and It takes the mosthonest photos.  An amazing photographerby the name of Coach Moon (http://coachmoon.tumblr.com) influenced my decisionto purchase this camera and buy the manual adapter for it.  Coach has inspired me more than any otherphotographer out there. 

Q:Do you have a favorite brand of film?

 A:Not really... haha I'm not too picky about what brand of film i shootwith.  I love Impossible Project PX 600Silver Shade Black Frame, Fuji Instax mini & wide, Lomography's Lady Grey,and as far as 35mm film, I'm not too picky. I buy a lot of expired film (it's cheap and can be unpredictable sometimes)

Q:What are the pros and cons of film?

 A:Pros:  there's honesty in film,  It's raw, and as i mentioned before thenegatives will be around after my life expires and that it has a different feelto it.

Cons:  unless you're shooting instant, there's alittle bit of waiting time between taking the shot and seeing the shot andevery shot cost you a little money.

Q:How about the pros and cons of digital?

 A:Pros: Instant gratification. It gives you the chance to see if your photos areexactly the way you want them. Endless possibilities in photoshop.

Cons:I'm not sure if there are any real cons to digital.  I guess the one thing i don't like aboutdigital is the fact that damn near anyone can pick up a digital camera, put itin auto, and take a good photo without knowing anything about their camera.

Q:Are there any tips you would like to give to anyone starting in photography?

 A:I think that if you're wanting to get into photography then you should learnabout your camera, learn about proper lighting, and good composition and afteryou learn all the "rules" to photography take and throw that shitaway and just shoot.  Have fun withit.  Just don't be afraid to makemistakes.  Take photos that make youhappy.

"here'sto all the artists who know their work is just a drop in the ocean, but do itanyway"  P.O.S.

Iwould like to add that I'm not a purist by any means.  I love film and I love digital. I shoot a lotof digital and instant film simply because I like instant gratification. 

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     Also, here is a list of his film equipment he uses...

Canon T1i 

OlympusOM-10

MamiyaC3

FujiInstax mini

Sigma17-70mm 2.8-4.5

Olympuszuiko 50mm 1.4

adapter to fit my olympus lens on my canon

Here are our top ten photos from Tuck

 

Check out Tuck's sites and give him some love

Tumblr                           Society 6

 Thanks for reading this month's interview. See you next month.

As always, get out and shoot.

February Film DIY

Check out this super simple, super functional film canister photo stand. It only takes a few minutes and it’ll definitely spice up your room!

You’ll need these materials:

• 35mm film canisters- however many stands you’d like to make (one canister makes one holder)
• Box cutter
• magnets, small enough to fit inside of the film canisters (two magnets for every photo holder)
• Super glue
• A writing utencil
• A cardboard box

Steps

1. Take the box cutter and cut one canister all the way around the middle. Try to make it as straight as possible but it doesn’t need to be perfect.

2. Cut off a section of the box and trace the inside of the canister on the cardboard. Cut out the circles and repeat this step until you have about ten pieces, you will need enough to fill both sides of the canister.

3. You’ll need to fill up each side of the canister with the cardboard circles. Put a dot of super glue on the bottom of each side and place a circle on top. Continue putting glue on each piece until each sides are filled nearly to the top.

4. Lastly, glue one magnet to each side of the canister. Make sure that the sides of the magnets that face out are opposites so they will stick together.

You’re done! Just place your picture between the two magnets and... walah!

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Thank you for reading this weeks Film DIY 

Check back on the First Sunday of every month for more fun things to do with film!

Look for our Interview with Tuck Chaylor next sunday

©Analog Revival 2013 

New segments to come!

To form a more consistent viewer base, we have decided to add more then just interviews on Analog Revival!

We will be posting a new segment (almost) every Sunday, starting with next, the 3rd.

1st Sunday of every month: Will be "Film DIY", a short article about crafty things you can do for fun involving film!

2nd Sunday of every month: will continue to be full length interviews

3rd Sunday of every month: Nothin! We gotta rest sometime! 

4th Sunday of every month: "Whats in your Camera Bag?!" where we will simply ask this question to a professional/ amateur film photographer, and they have to honestly answer this question.