Roll 14 -Mamiya RB67 - Fuji Reala 100

I just wanted to take a quick second and share a couple thoughts about the last image here. This ladies and gents is a cauldron full of magic. Keep in mind that I am a bit (a lot) more sensitive than most.... but... anyways... a couple in love, warm colors, and created on a machine that is full manual. This kind of image is so rewarding and it's just so hard to describe. I have found a love in film that I never knew existed before.

Thank you Cary and Justin for being so patient with me while I held an intimidating beast of a camera.

Film Roll 6 – Mamiya RB67- Fuji Reala ISO 100

While driving fast on the dirt back road to Salvation Mountain I loaded a single roll of Reala 100 into the film back. I had about 15 minutes of sunlight left and I was rushing to get the last shots of the day. Most of the shots are 1/60th or lower but all on a tripod. I didn't expect much of this roll roll because after I loaded it I knew I should have loaded the ISO 400 film instead... whatever.

I didn't have enough time to finish the roll there nor did I just want to waste it so I finished it off at Cabrillo National Monument here in San Diego.

Film Roll 5 – Mamiya RB67- Fuji Reala ISO 100

Just before this photo I was in a gas station when the power went out. At the moment I assumed it was because of the heat but then I later learned that all of San Diego was down as well. I had half of a tank of gas so I headed down the east side of the Salton Sea. From that point on everyone I encountered had power so I didn't have a problem for the rest of the night. I decided to travel the one day San Diego had a black out.

^The building above was swarming with bees and birds. I walked up to the front and realized that I was approaching a large bees next... I slowly walked back as they started to surround me. I took the far detour around the back and when I was inside damn birds kept on flying out and scaring me. I always assume sounds are bums with knives.

Film Roll 4 – Mamiya RB67- Fuji Reala ISO 100

As a rule when it's 114 degrees outside you are probably not going to be bugged by authorities or pesky neighbors when you're exploring. It was a hot day which I spent most of the time drinking water and driving with my windows down. It took me awhile longer to find the locations than it has in the past since I assumed I could find it on my own as I normally do. I arrived to the photo party late but I made up for the time lost.

^Above is actually all dead fish... and as you could imagine when it's 114 degrees the smell is quite strong.

Buildings that I have been in before were listed to be torn down. I doubt they will be there next time I visit. Sad that they have money to demolish but not enough to fix the sea (sarcasm, oh politics).

Film Roll 1 - Mamiya RB67- Fuji Reala ISO 100

My goal here is to share with you my struggles and victories along with shooting film. I have shot maybe 3 rolls of film in my life but never with a full manual no assistance camera. I am going to post all 10 images I shoot on the roll meaning I am also going to waste your time with the uglies. I will try to explain with the best of my memory anything that stood out with each shot.

On the record I am beyond surprised on how well these images came out exposure wise. I expected all dark or all bright images, it turns out film is much more forgiving than polaroid.

These images for the record are straight from the lab with only resizing done to them. I want to share the whole experience with you here.

Image #1: What you don't see is me struggling trying to figure out which step I had skipped because the camera wouldn't fire.

Image #2: I was worried about shooting at 1/30th of a second with the big camera but seems to do just fine. I love the color of the wooden bench!

Image #3: I wanted to see how the light would reflect back or flare on film. The camera captured the image exactly how I saw it.

 Image #4: It appears that I got too excited to shoot this one so I shot one vertical and one landscape forgetting to advance the film... DOH!

 Image #5 and 6: I only remember taking one image of this but I think I accidentally placed the camera on a timer mode rather than an actual second value. In my defense I was rushed to take this photo.

Image #7: Seems like I nailed the exposure after practicing with the polaroid back. Up until this image all light data was guessed.

Image #8: A unique seat found in an alley near my house. This is the only image I took this day walking a few miles with the camera.

Image #9: If you look close enough you will see that I double exposed this image once again. The object on the left in the photo is a closeup of the armchair from the previous shot.

Image #10: This is a shot which I did not expect to come out. I took a polaroid of the same exact scene and it was way over exposed. I gave up mentally on this shot till I saw it today!