A Year with Bigfoot and Bubba©

At Last!

2010-01-12T14:17:00.009-06:00

I found a template that uses the whole screen. My photos display much nicer.

My mood is good. I'm still not up to speed on keeping the Blog Drivel flowing. That will improve. Tonight, tomorrow night. Film developing. A roll of Delta 100 (possibly my last) from Bubba. A roll of Efke 25 from the Hasselblad. Strike while the water in Houston is frigid.

I think I'll add a picture and admire the new formatting. From the Wayback Machine. The original Pentax 6x7, 105mm lens & Ektachrome. S. America Street, Covington, Louisinana. Circa mid-1970s.

What did we get for Christmas?

2009-12-21T21:00:00.000-06:00

I'm afraid to look. I don't think we want to know what the Senate did to us. It all seems so much worse coming at this time of year.

Merry Christmas, y'all!

These are the good old days!

Good news and Bad news.

2009-12-19T22:30:00.000-06:00

Cowboys 24 - Saints 17

Let's Make a Deal!

2009-12-19T16:04:00.000-06:00

Ben Nelson picked Door #2. Surprise! A prize for Nebraska. Similar to the prize Mary Landrieu won for Louisiana.

Dingy Harry bragged about bribing Gentle Ben.

Government in back rooms, behind locked doors, giving away the farm to get something, anything, on paper.

Harry, Nancy, Barney, Chris, Al...........Blog This!

A Year with Bigfoot & Bubba Update

2009-12-18T20:43:00.000-06:00

My bad. I have been very lazy. I also had a number of bizarre twists in my camera inventory.

Remember the Technika V camera? I have the 127mm Ektar from the Speed Graphic and a 105mm Tominon (ex-Polaroid) lens on Technika boards. I exposed 4 sheets of film in the camera last Sunday. I'll get them developed in January. With a bit of fiddling and exercise, I can make all of the movements work as they should. A nice camera.

Next is the Hasselblad 501c/m and 80mm CFE lens "on loan for a year until you decide if you want it." My early impression: I like the camera. It's not a Magic Bullet. I'm not convinced that it's any better than the Pentax 6x7. Stay tuned. I have a lot film to run through both cameras. Of course that cuts into my time with Bigfoot & Bubba.

I saw a listing for an nearly new (2001), unblemished Leitz 90mm Elmarit-M on the Houston based 99% digital Texas Photo Forum one evening. The price seemed low. Like too low to be real. If the listing had been anywhere else, I would have thought, "SCAM!" The next morning I checked KEH, RFF, etc. and confirmed that the lens was A. Decent and be B. Well below market price. I contacted the seller. He brough the lens to my office at noon. I looked it over. Wrote a check. Done deal.

I now have 3 lenses of 85mm & 90mm. 1 or 2 must go. Deciding will be tough. As I type my c/v 75mm/2.5 lens is on the way to joe (back alley) of RFF fame. I don't miss it yet. Having a 75 & 90 might make some sense. However, I needed to pay for the new 90mm and joe came forward at the right time.

2010 will have to be the year for Bigfoot & Bubba. 2009 was scattered all over the place.

I did manage a few photos for the 35-50-90 Project.

A balcony in Winnsboro, Texas. 1961 50mm D.R. Summicron.

Glenwood Cemetery, Houston. Weeping Angel. 1965 90mm Elmarit. Velvia 100F.

And one from the Hassy..............Bull Durham. Giddings, Texas.

Thanks for reading and looking. I need to figure out the formatting here.

Stand by............I'm about to become a Blogger!

2009-12-18T20:38:00.000-06:00

The Looney Tune Wacko Global Warming Al Gore Believing Flaming Liberals are getting too much attention. It's time somebody with a modicum of good sense and practicality spoke up.

I wonder if anyone will actually read this? I haven't exactly been a dedicated contributor to my own blog.

Something Special

2009-09-08T09:05:00.000-05:00

In honor of tomorrow's date...

How's this for a Theme: 9 photos with 9 cameras on 9 types of film on September 9, 2009?

I better start planning for October 10, 2010. :grin:

The news tomorrow from Leica will overshadow my feeble efforts. Some secret, hey?

When I can collect my thoughts, I'll put up a few words about how it never rains but it pours. I thought I could live with 2 cameras and 3 lenses for a year. Deals to good to pass up came my way. Generosity beyond my wildest imagination. European cameras and lenses dropping out of the sky. August was an interesting month.

I have a 3010 tank full of sheet film and 3 rolls of Tmax 100 waiting for me tonight. Bigfoot & Bubba have been seriously neglected.

Can you say, "501 & 80mm Planar & Tech V?"

Tomorrow will be a busy day.

Cheers!

Short road trip

2009-07-11T14:29:00.000-05:00

The Texas peaches are in. We drove to a local orchard's roadside store. Open air. Friendly. Nice place. Good peach ice cream! Afterwards, we visited the local winery not far away. A lovely, but beastly hot, day.

I finished both rolls of Chrome I loaded on July 4. Mike Johnson's challenge, "Shoot at least two films a week" is tough. Especially when you work all week and it's 900 degrees outside.

The holiday is over. All black & white now. Fresh film in one body. Expired film in the other. At the moment, Plus-X 100 and old Delta 100. No metering confusion.

The 90mm Elmarit has yet to come out of the bag. Are 3 lenses 1 lens too many? I will force myself to use the 90mm lens. Assuming I can do without either the 35mm or 50mm lens.

It ain't easy.

Cheers!

July 4, 2009

2009-07-04T09:30:00.000-05:00

Day 4. The first day with cameras in hand.

Small town 4th of July celebration. Firemen. Firetrucks. Fireworks. It's going to be a Chrome kinda day. Koda and Exta loaded in Bigfoot and Bubba. The honking big Canon EOS-1 will get a roll of 400UC for the fireworks tonight.

Black and white will have to wait. Color is for holidays!

Happy 4th Y'all!

2:00pm update:

Open House at the Fire Deptarment was great. 35mm and 50mm lenses. Fast and loose PJ style. Something I haven't done since forever.

This is fun!

I can get started now

2009-07-03T14:05:00.000-05:00

Day 3

Back at home. Me, Bigfoot, Bubba, the 3 lenses and a pile of film are all in one place. Time to get busy.

Darren at the Rangefinder Forum asked if I had one film and delevoper in mind. That got me to think about what films and developers I have. Quite a list. Very contrary to the 1 film, 1 developer advice dispensed over and over.

Developers:
Xtol
Rodinal
D-76
Microdol-X
D-19
Microphen

In my previous photographic life in the 60s & 70s, I used D-76 1:1 and Rodinal exclusive. In my current photographic life, I am exploring Xtol 1:3 with Rodinal for special purposes. I really don't know if i will use the other developers I have.

35mm film on hand:

200' bulk Ilford PanF+
6-8 rolls Ilford Delta 100
7 rolls Agfa APX25, for the Rodinal!
8 rolls Arista Premium 100
10 rolls Arista Premium 400
10-12 rolls Kodachrome

That's a lot of film. More than I would have used in several years long ago. I really must get busy!

Cheers!

Off to a very rocky start

2009-07-02T11:51:00.000-05:00

Day 2

I can't do much since the cameras and lenses are still at home and I'm still at work 250 miles away. This is getting boring I know.

Passing the time and filling up space...

Yesterday I gave a brief lists of films I plan to use initially. In light of Kodak's recent announcement, I will definitely use the 10-15 rolls of Kodachrome that I have on ice. I have 7 rolls of APX 25 (Thanks Kevin!) that I keep overlooking as well. Oldest film in first!

On Tuesday the mailman delivered a pinhole body cap for the Pentax 6x7. I will put that to good use to break the monotony of 35mm photography. I probably have more old 120 film than old 35mm film. Way past time to use it up.

Tomorrow. Returning home. Bigfoot & Bubba will be loaded. I'm behind schedule already.

Cheers!

Teaching the Old Dog a New Trick

2009-07-01T12:38:00.000-05:00

July 1, 2009.

Day one of my Blogging experience. Wherein I shall share miscellaneous trivia and ramblings from my world.

You may be wondering about the title, "A Year With Bigfoot and Bubba" ©. Simple. Bigfoot is the firat Leica M5 body that I purchased in 2006. I liked Bubba so much that when Sonny Carter offered his M5 for sale, I bought it. Coming from the South, and Bigfoot's younger sibling, Bubba seemed appropriate.

That explains Bigfoot and Bubba. The Year part is a personal photographic project based on two things:

1. "You will want 35, 50 & 90." Advice offered by the one and only Leica rep. I have met and spoken to on the occasion of my first rangefinder camera purchase in Lafayette, LA circa 1967.
2. Mike Johnson's advice to spend a year with one Leica and one lens and black and white film.

Having already spent more than a year with a single camera and lens, I combined #1 & #2 and came up with "A Year With Bigfoot & Bubba" ©. When I began to purchase rangefinder cameras ans lenses in 2006, I didn't give much thought to the long forgotten advice of using 35mm, 50mm and 90mm lenses with a rangefinder body. As a result, I bought several lenses. Too many in fact. When Mike Johnson's article came to my attention, I remembered the kindly old Leica man's words. I decided it was time to put the lens trio to the test. I even had the luxury of multiple candidates. I settled on the following:

35mm/2.0 Konica UC-Hexanon
50mm/2.0 Leitz Dual Range Summicron
90mm/2.8 Leitz Elmarit

Over the last few years I have accumulated a motley assortment of expired and fresh B&W film. I have a couple hundred feet of bulk Ilford PanF+ and a few rolls of ancient Delta 100. Complimenting the Ilford films are 10 fresh rolls each of Arista Premium 100 & 400. Xtol and Rodinal are my developers of choice today.

Ironically, I don't have Bigfoot, Bubba or the lenses with me today. A scheduling snafu left the cameras at home and me in Houston. No worries. I shall have everything in place on Friday the 3rd.

Hopefully the coming year will open my eyes. Foster some changes perhaps. Find any skills I may posses.