The Pentacon Six does the Hamilton College Chapel

I brought several of my film and digital cameras with me on my 40th college reunion two weeks ago. Rather than let everybody sit in the car and just go from Albany to Central New York and back, I wanted to give all of the cameras a chance to shine at one point in time…

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It’s not a gun case. I promise it’s not a gun case.

When I purchased my Meyer Optik Gรถrlitz Orestegor 500mm f/5.6 telephoto lens for my Pentacon Six TL camera, I thought it was a nice addition to my photographic arsenal. I soon discovered that it is a very HEAVY and BULKY addition to my photographic arsenal. I could do barbell curls with this thing. Build up…

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Sometimes it takes a rainy day just to let you know everything’s going to be all right. -Cris Williamson

Today’s headline is the first lyric of singer-songwriter Cris Williamson’s song Waterfall, from her legendary album The Changer and the Changed. Fifty years later, it still holds up today. And it’s kind of an inspiration for today’s blog, as I get back into making my cameras work for me. I need to make sure all…

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Junior Enters a New Race

The harness horse known as Pay Me To Knight, also known around his stables as Junior, has won me a fair chunk of change over the years. He’s a decorated trotter at Saratoga Harness, and I’ve been known to put $20 on his nose every time I know he’s on the track. Hey, you’ve got…

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My Pentacon Six TL shoots its first rolls of infrared film

I already have one dedicated infrared camera – my black Nikon Df was converted to a full-spectrum infrared shooter some time ago, and it works like a charm. And I’ve also had some reasonable success with my new-to-me Pentacon Six TL medium-format film camera, it’s handled slide film and print film and B&W film like…

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More attempts with the Petzval-modified HELIOS 44-2 lens

After three days with my new-to-me HELIOS 44-2 lens – whose front lens has been flipped in the “Petzval modification” to provide swirly, creamy bokeh – I’ve tried various subjects to get a picture that can rival my first attempt with this little piece of glass. This was my first attempt with this little piece…

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A photo contest where I send in a blind roll of film – should I enter it?

This looks interesting, and I’m sharing it in case anybody wants to enter this unique competition. Pro Camera Film Lab, a film processing service in Virginia, is offering a unique contest this year – a competition where the winning entries are sent in from your undeveloped film roll. You shoot a roll of film, and…

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