Focal Points
For my 16th time being there, it never gets old. From meeting veterans, watching reenactments, and seeing warbirds take to the skies, it’s always the highlight of my summer. I just wish I had taken more film last year, but then again, June isn’t too far away now.
With the focus being on creating “believable” images, it was tough to get a moment where no regular visitors were in the frame. There were lots of images throughout the day highlighting the event as a whole and showing the broad picture, but I tried to capture images that would put the viewer back in time.
A box of old photographs taken on the Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic inspires a connection between Zach and his late grandfather, James Beer.
Shooting with my Pentax MZ-S, the intention was to experiment with a variety of lights, prisms, and mirrors. Inspiration was derived from the Italo-disco era neon lights, vintage colors, retro, and fashion scenes.
Wandering around the vineyard with my Pentax 67 and Kodak Portra 400, my eyes suddenly fell upon a beautiful girl surrounded by nature, breeze, and sunshine. Immediately, I pressed the shutter to capture those moments. Enjoy!
The SRT-202 is arguably one of Minolta’s legendary cameras, fully mechanical and built like a tank it was probably the best camera for a college student like myself to learn on my own. One of the first subjects to land a place on Tri-X was Bethlehem Steel’s former world Headquarters, Martin Tower. A nice gray and misty day added to the challenge of photographing the 23-story blue and white structure from behind the chain-link fences.
Shooting with the Nikon FE10 and Kodak Double X, we have been protesting since October 18, 2019. Even though we are in a democracy, the government has responded with brutal violence. The police shoot pellets in our faces. There are already 200 people who have lost at least 1 eye to riot control tactics.
The series was taken with the Hasselblad 500CM using the Zeiss 150mm lens. Using simple and available materials in the Still Life style, Luiz seeks to transform everyday scenes into art.
As I discover and explore more of Wales I find inspiration all around. Whether I am packing up my camera and trekking up the Carmarthenshire Fans or a gentle walk on a Pembrokeshire beach I feel blessed to experience and photograph these incredible landscapes with my Fuji 645.
Shot on a Contax G2 using Portra 800. When you enter Monument Valley, everything changes, the only feeling that you experience is peace. A panorama of boundless beauty appears in front of you and you start to hum the famous Ennio Morricone's tune.
To shoot this series, I used a point and shoot camera I found at the local second hand shop: Minolta Riva Zoom 75w. I like trying out these kind of cameras, they’re easy to use and you can usually find them for under 3 euros. The film that was used is Lomochrome Purple from Lomography.
In the weeks before the shoot, I took mental notes of where the most distinct neon signs were anytime I’d pass through downtown Austin. I wanted my Pentax 67 to capture these intentionally created signs that people dedicated to neon lights.
With the Pentax K1000, its simplicity is its strength. A completely mechanical camera which needs no batteries to operate – aside from a single battery to power the light meter. Once your film is loaded and your ISO is set – all that’s left to worry about is focusing, shutter speed and aperture. This is as good a 35mm camera to learn photography on as any. And for decades now that’s what it’s been known as - a camera for students.
Shot on a Contax G2 using Cinestill 800T, Mysterious Things is inspired both by the TV Series “Stranger Things”, I love the locations and the look of it and “The Wraith”, a cult movie from the 80s.
Before the water seeped into the fabric and pulled her body down, she looks calm. Latent face with a smile as if her mind would dive deep into limbo. Not struggling or resisting. I tried to convey this emotion through the series of photographs.
There is something in addiction that makes us forget our genuine identity, this feeling makes us lose control of our impulses. Through this series of portraits I am trying to explore how addiction fits into a complex and multifaceted concept of identity.
Load the film in near total darkness. You won’t want to unload, load, or open the camera unless you’re in very faint dimly lit settings. If the charge end of the IR film that sticks out of the canister is exposed to light, that could be enough to distort about half of the roll. The end can act as a light-wick, seeping sunlight through the entire roll and ruining the film.
Different Infrared film stocks have different sensitivities to IR light. As an example Kodak HIE film is one of the most sensitive IR films on the market, recording down to 920nm on the spectrum. Siince it is more sensitive to light, it is a faster film allowing the use of faster shutter speeds.
On this episode of Focal Collective we FAILED and over-exposed a roll of Provia 100f on the Canon A1 while backpacking around Banff, Alberta. This video gives a behind the scenes look at the photos taken with this camera and what the overexposed shots look like. The Canon A1 is a great 35mm film camera for beginners, though slide film still proves challenging to properly expose the highlights utilizing the camera's built-in light meter.
On this episode of Focal Collective Mike Lindle shoots Fujifilm Pro 400H with his Nikon F100 using the Nikkor 35-70 AF f2.8 lens. This video gives a behind the scenes look at the photos taken with this film stock on the Boston Common. Fujifilm Pro 400H is a favorite among wedding photographers, see how it performs in this public park.
