Gordon Parks and MF

Speaking of Medium Format I got the most use out of the Rollei TLR and the Mamiya 6. Reason - those were cameras that I could easily take with me. Light. Easy to slip into a bag. You use what you've got with you. Who would go out for a walk with the Pentax 67? Add a couple of lenses to the Pentax and you had a bad backache on the way.

Anyway, I felt most comfortable with the Mamiya 6 (even more so than with the Mamiya 7 which I wasn't that crazy about and only used for a week as a rental. The main improvement with the Mamiya 7 was the rangefinder could be used to focus a longer lens.)

But I liked the way the Mamiya 6 could be collapsed; and I like the square format. Much faster to use than the Rollei, though you'd be surprised if all you're doing is using the Rollei you can get pretty adept with the thing and I always thought that looking down at a ground glass screen helped my composition. One other thing these cameras have in common as opposed to the Pentax 67 is quietness.

* * *
Went to the Gordon Parks exhibit at the Greenberg Gallery. There is obviously something wrong with me. Yes - the first shot when you walk in of the guy coming out of the sewer is amazing (however it was done). And the rest of the work is - well - it's great. It is. But it didn't leave me with any haunted feeling as the Saul Leiter exhibit did. Hard to fathom my reactions. The prints are well done.

As I say, there's something wrong with me because I noticed a small hair that was on the negative that hadn't been spotted out on one print. That seemed weird. But except for one or two prints - it didn't feel mysterious to me. Well - it's a documentary style.

Afterwards spent time in coffee shop with Matt and we were talking about medium format stuff and he offered to loan me a Pentax 67 and a couple of lenses. And yes - how amazingly cheap medium format has gotten. For fun I looked up a couple of Hass bodies on eBay... wow. What a market drop there. Those used to be the things no one could afford. I think I saw the 500 c/m kit in good condition for like $750. Back, lens, body and a couple of filters. Am I wrong or was that selling in the $25oo range last time I looked a few years back? And the Pentax 67 - what a plummet there. Damned sharp lenses. So digital has pretty much replaced MF at this point. Will they keep making film for these guys? I'm going to borrow the 67 from Matt since I'm feeling more like doing tripod stuff these days.

Pope, Central Park

Pope John Paul II crossing Central Park, 1995. Cardinal O'Connor in the backseat.

Night Storm

Hi Dave

Just a note to let you know the print arrived today! Thank you; its fantastic! ( Night Storm ). That's winter captured in single print; the crisp air, crunch of snow underfoot, the muffled and distant sound of traffic; great stuff!

It arrived in perfect condition too and its off to the framers this afternoon for a nice black wood frame!

Cheers and all the best,
Allan (Great Britain)

[Just a note: That was done on the Museo Silver Rag. I have been sending out one or two prints on that stock because I love it so much, but I only have enough left for about three large prints. Well, it will be available in three weeks. Since this is a 4 x 5 negative, it's also the result of a better scan with the 4990 and I'll give myself a pat on the back - more sophisticated PS skills.]