State of the Map US 2017

I'm spending the weekend attending the Open Street Map State of the Map US 2017. Fun and informative, and renewing some old acquaintances.......

It was a lovely Fall Day in Boulder, CO, and our venue at the University of Colorado, Folsom Field was spectacular.......

Below, a Photomerge Panorama of our Lunch time view:

This is the raw un-cropped version, because I just want to take it all in!

M7 Panoramic Insert vs. the Horizon Perfekt

Now for the show down, which really isn't much of a contest.  The Horizon Perfekt is a swing lens panoramic camera:

All of these images were taken from the same tripod position.  The first thing you notice is the much wider field of view for the Horizon, notice my fingers got in the way (lower left):

Horizon Perfekt (above) and Mamiya 7 35mm (below):

Of course the wider field of view adds more distortion, especially if the camera i

s not perfectly leveled.

Again Horizon (above) and Mamiya (below).

Last set, showing the Flatirons:

Horizon (above) and Mamiya (below) which we saw on the first posting.

So that's my panoramic comparison.  I promise better exposures next time you see the Horizon Perfekt.  I'll just have to pull out the spot meter and use ISO 100 film for the very bright sun around here.  I have one more comparison to the Horizon to make.  Coming Soon!

Also posted as Week #18 for the 52 Rolls Project.

Redux of the Mamiya 7 Panoramic Insert

We revisit the Mamiya 7 35 mm panoramic insert.  Results not so great this time.  Way over exposed and some strange phenomena that I show later.  But first, I did remember to photograph the insert:

First the parts, which makes it fairly impractical to reload in the field, because you have to partially assemble and load the film before mounting in the camera.  So after the results of this test, you probably won't see this used again.

Here with the film mask in place (above); and with the film loaded (below):

Now we are ready to close it up and go!

But mediocre results this time.  Way over exposed!  But the grain doesn't bother me.  However there were troublesome streaks possibly from a light leak.  The way the insert is deployed, the mask doesn't fit that well.  So who knows.  As I said not worth me really fighting with this since I have a 35 mm panorama camera.

Below, one of the best from this roll:

In our next episode we will look at side by side comparison shot with the Horizon Perfekt.

A few more from the Horizon Perfekt

I Really liked the way this view of the Flat Irons turned out.

Just a view of the Prairie at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal

And a Panorama at my friend's Church, St Ambrose.  Opens up some interesting opportunities for Architectural Photos.  Hadn't thought of using a Panorama Camera inside.

Panorama Comparison #1 & 52 Rolls Week #13

I'm going to be posting side-by-side comparisons for several options that I have for shooting Panoramas.  You've seen some of these cameras before and others will be new options for familiar camera friends.

Today a new Option.  I will be doing another series, because I had different films in these cameras and I want to do a true direct comparison with the same films and exposures, etc.

But we will start with a new option for an Old Friend:  The Mamiya 7 with a 35 mm Panorama insert and the Horizon Perfekt swing lens Panorama camera.  I had forgotten that I had color film in the Horizon.  But the main thing to notice in the comparison is that the horizon has a much wider field of view,  and that was what I wanted to learn from this experiment.

Above (Mamiya 7 35mm) and Below (Horizon).  Reservoir at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal.

Second view of the reservoir, panning north from the same position.

The Indian Peaks from Lake Waneka.

I assume that the streaking is an artifact of developing.  What do you think?

And the NOAA Satellite Communication Dishes.

Some interesting results. As I said we'll do a Redo for a more direct comparison.  I've posted the B&W images as Week #13 of the 52 Rolls Project.  I will post the color photos for Week #14.

Happy World Photo Day!

Couldn't miss out on a post today.  So I'm combining old and new techniques here.  Photomerge of 3-Mamiya 7 images from Wyoming's Snowy Range:

From Mirror Lake.............More later as we will do a film comparison here and look at some B&W images too.

Holga Week: Wrap Up

A Final Holga Scene.  This one a Photomerge of two images for a Panorama of the Flat Irons:

Sundays Online: Holga Say It Ain't So!

I sadly report rumors of the Demise of Holga:

End of an era and a fun way to experiment with medium format photography!

We do still have the Diana.  And I think competition from Lomo Products and Support 

for its users was part of Holga's downfall.

Holga Image of Bird's Nest on Trellis @ My House

My Favorite Holga Image from Rhyolite Nevada:

And From the Holga Panorama Pinhole at Rocky Mountain National Park:

AReprise of My Best Holga Images can be found at this link.

WorldWide Pinhole Day is This Weekend........

Check out the website to find an Event Near You!

And remember you can get a pinhole body cap for you digital camera too!  So No Excuses!

Last year we participated at an event sponsored by our local library:

Saturday Online: Beautiful Cameras

Analog Cameras have a style and design that make them Beautiful!

We have made a recent addition to our camera family:

And step through the 'Unboxing' of the ONDU KickStarter Pinhole.

 Are you getting ready for World Wide Pinhole Day?  This year on April 27th.


And Check out these Beauties at : REFRAME

Pinhole Print Comparison

This is a scanned print form Pinhole Day.  I was looking through a window from the dark Library to a very bright outdoors.

I decided to go into the Darkroom because getting a decent print with the degree of exposure difference, required quite a bit of experimentation and eventual Burning (15 second exposure a f/8 plus 45 seconds burning in the window scene).  The printing is still a work in progress; I'd probably crop the left side of the image.

I looked up how to fix this negative (shown below) in Photoshop and decided that I'd rather not bother.........It was going to take a lot of time to learn to burn in Photoshop, and I already knew what to do in the darkroom.

As  new feature I will be posting comparisons of Prints and the Scanned Negatives, under Print Comparisons.  Most of the B&W images I have been posting are scanned negatives with slight contrast adjustments or dust removal.  If it needed a lot of work I didn't bother to post it.  Now I'll be spending the summer printing some of those images and will re-post for comparison.

Taking the Long View

The Library Fun Ends here, but we still have a few more pinhole posting.........Coming Soon

Children's Books......Say Hello to the Dragon!

Pinhole Detective Take 3

Can You See the Difference X 3?

There a quite a few changes between these exposures.  I'll give you he camera bag on the table in #3. I want you to find the more subtle ones?

A Different Perspective

Pinhole Detectives

Can You See the Difference?

Results from Pinhole Day

OK, I know Pinhole Day was two months ago............Better Late than Never, and some really good results.  We'll spend this week catching up on Pinhole Day.  Our local Public Library Sponsored and Event that allowed us to photograph inside and out:

 The Holga Pinhole creates a nice Vignette effect.

Library Main Entrance

A mural on the street side of the Library Celebrates the founder of our town, Mary Miller, who named Her town after her husband Lafayette Miller.  Apparently though, Mary had the brains and the bucks, as she owned several coal mines.

Out and About Sunday with the Pinhole......

I was out testing my latest pinhole acquisition (more on that later).  My local Library was sponsoring a Pinhole Day Event, allowing us to wander around inside and out with pinhole cameras.  I wanted to support the event, so w photographed locally rather than heading to the Mountains:

I hope you were out and about too!

Red Rocks Sunday: Fun with Photomerge

Photomerge of two Mamiya 6X6 Images

Calendar 2013: Red Rocks of the West

Calendar 2013 will be posted each month on our other Blog.  Here is the Cover photo, made from two stitched images of Bryce Canyon:

I've decided that we do need to change the Banner Photo.  So we'll try this one for a while!

Today I hope to develop some of the twelve rolls of film from our trip.  Sorry, but I sank into the abyss of the Australian Open for a few days.