Sundays Overseas: Seoul at Night

Tennis Hiatus.........

Thanks for waiting through my Tennis Hiatus.  I must confess that I am a Grand Slam Addict, So I've been consumed by the Australian Open.  For waiting, I'll share this lovely creature:

From the Colorado Indian Market: HawkQuest. A Eurasian Eagle Owl
Donald has really taken to photographing animals; me not so much..........

Sundays Overseas: Korea Old & New

Canonet QL17 GIII

 

The Canonet Rangefinder is next on deck for repairs, after I priced the replacements.  In excellent condition a replacement would cost more than $200, so certainly worth fixing.  I looked back to find an earlier posting from 2009, where I pondered whether or not to repair this camera.  So it has been offline for a while.

The Canonet Series were 1970’s Leica M-Series knock-offs.  This was the final high end version of the Canonet Series.  It offered Aperture Priority, Auto Exposure and Manual Exposure modes.  It is also just a fun little camera.  For some Canonet photo examples I can recommend “I Love Old Cameras”. 

More on the technical specs here.

NO SOPA!

Remembering Martin Luther King Day at the Denver Botanical Gardens

 

For more Orchids visit here.

Donald's Digital Images

Nikon D-40

Nikon Autofocus Lens:  18-55 mm zoom

Sundays Overseas: Korea

We'll spend a few more Sundays in Korea:

The Streets of Seoul.......

B&W Orchid #4

Today we are going to the Botanical Gardens to photograph their Orchid Display.  I am tempted shoot B&W rather than the expected color...........

B&W Orchids #3

B&W Orchids #2

Flowers in B&W

Oddly, flowers do work in B&W.  Just look at any of Maplethorpe's less controversial Flower images.....No claims to that level of greatness here, but i came across some photos I took just about a year ago.

My friend and owner of the Santa Barbara Orchid Estate had sent some beautiful orchids while I was recuperating from surgery.  And they really did last a month as she said they would.......

Minolta SRT-202
Ilford Delta Pro 400
Rokunar f/2.8 50 mm Macro Lens

Sundays Overseas: Korea

A few years ago Donald was sent by his employer to Korea to make a presentation:

There were many beautiful sites around Seoul.  However, all of the Ancient City had to be restored, because it had been destroyed during the Japanese Occupation (1905-1945).

The Minolta XD-11: The BEST Camera That Nobody Wanted

I came across an article on-line regarding “High Water Marks” for various camera brands.  It seems to support my statement that the XD-11 was the BEST camera that nobody wanted.  Making its appearance in 1977, the XD-11 was part of the late 70’s technology boom in lens development and film quality.

Winning Features:

·      Auto Exposure with both Aperture Priority and Shutter Speed Priority options

·      Programmable override for Shutter Speed Priority

·      Excellent viewing screen (very bright)

·      Great ergonomics

·      Leaf Shutter

The quality of Minolta MD Rokker lenses is also vastly under-rated.  This may have been due to mass marketing to amateurs with little attention to attracting the professional photographer.  In turn, lack of professional exposure discouraged amateurs, etc, eventually killing the Brand, although their recent digital technology was purchased by Sony.  I experienced this ‘disdain’ when I returned to college after my Christmas break freshman year with a Minolta SRT-SCII, marked down to discount prices because of the new XD-11 model.  One of my wealthier friends returned with a Canon AE-1, but since my photos were often much better than hers I didn’t let it phase me.

My XD-11 is currently at the Camera Hospital.  New Photos Coming Soon!

Hippity Hop!

The Rabbits continue to enjoy our front yard.

New Years Photo Resolutions 2012

My goals for this past year were very unrealistic given my health circumstances.  So I'm trimming it down to something more reasonable for this year:

Start Printing in My Home Darkroom

Continue with Pinholes (I have a paint can pinhole to play with this year)

Work on the Family Project (Easier once I have the darkroom)

Play with Caffenol

Dig into my slides from Spain, Norway, and Africa........and Post them for you!

My camera plans continue to be:

Still looking for a Minolta SRT-101

Long-range Plans for a Mamiya 6X7

Longer-range plans for a Graflex Press Camera (Speed Graphic model)

Yes coming soon the DARKROOM!  I'll post a progress report image in the next week. The only addition, looking for a small pocket sized rangefinder.  We'll talk about that in a later posting because I'll be seeking recommendations.

What are your Photo Plans for this year?

Happy New Year!

And for the New Year we inaugurate another series:  Sundays Overseas, where I share my foreign travels with you.  This is another attempt to force me to dig into those files for: More from Britain, South Africa, Norway, Panama, Mexico, etc..........

We begin with an old favorite, Cerro Torre from Argentine Patagonia.

Tech Data:
Minolta X-700
Kodak E100GX Film
Tamron f/2.7 28-200 Zoom Lens