civilized ku # 5133 / the new snapshot # 183 ~ relics

one way or the other ~ Ogdensburg, NY (embiggenable) • iPhone

2 cameras sitting idle ~ Au Sable Forks, NY (embiggenable) • µ4/3

8x10 Arca Swiss and Polaroid SX70. 2 cameras I used to use a lot. And, 2 cameras I really miss using.

I actually have 4 SX70s all of which I purchased at flea markets for ridiculously little money. I have bins, not boxes, filled with Time Zero prints. The Polaroid camera(s) were the pinnacle of instant joy, picture making wise and I must confess, the iPhone is giving it a run for the money, instant joy wise. That written, I miss using the SX70s.

The 8x10 Acra Swiss view camera has been with me for 40+ years. It was a commercial workhorse, especially for my food photography work. Although, long about 1979 I fell under the spell of the work by Joel Meyerwitz, Stephen Shore and a handful of other pictures makers who used 8x10 view cameras and color negative film. So, I took to the streets (and the Adirondack mountains) with a wood 8x10 Deardorf camera and 10 8x10 film holders (20 shots) loaded with Kodak 8x10 Type L color negative film.

In today's world each film holder + 2 sheets of film = $270.00 - that's $240.00 for a film holder + $18.00 per sheet of film - not including processing cost. At any given time I was walking about with $2,700.00 (today's market value) of film related stuff. And, FYI, the current cost of an Arca Swiss 8x10 Classic view camera is in the $7,000.00 range.

All of that written, with the cost of approximately $38.00 per 8x10 sheet of film (including processing/contact) and the cost of the new instant film for the SX70 at approximately $2.50 per print, both cameras seem destined to be nostalgic paper weights.

civilized ku # 5128-32 / triptych # /the newsnapshot 180-81 ~ thanksgiving + weekend ramblings

raindrops ~ Ottawa, ON. (embiggenable) • iPhone

hotel room / Hugo ~ Ottawa, ON. (embiggenable) • iPhone

window ~ Ottawa, ON. (embiggenable) • iPhone

rink exit ~ Navan, ON. (embiggenable) • iPhone

breakfast scraps~ in the Adirondack PARK. (embiggenable) • iPhone

refuse bins ~ Petawawa, ON. (embiggenable) • iPhone

hotel comforter landscape~ Ottawa, ON. (embiggenable) • iPhone

raindrops # 2 ~ Ottawa, ON. (embiggenable) • iPhone

Spent Thanksgiving at home with family > Friday-Saturday, 600 miles / 2 hockey games > Sunday, 260 miles / 1 hocky game > today, 300 miles / 1 hockey game.

Just to add to all this fun, late Friday evening Hugo accidentally dropped my car key fob down the Ottawa elevator shaft. Since the was no hope of recovery until Monday, the wife + son (aka: the Cinemascapist) teamed upto form a relay team to get the spare key fob to the Ottawa hotel, arriving at 3:30 Am Saturday.

civilized ku # 5126 / the new snapshot # 177-78 ~ seeing is believing

Adirondack guideboat guy ~ in the Adirondack PARK (embiggenable) • µ4/3

relaxed / Mirror Lake Inn ~ Lake Placid, NY (embiggenable) • iPhone

billboards ~ Rochester, NY (embiggenable) • iPhone

Is a digitqal file, or for that matter processed film, a photograph? That question was posed in yesterday's entry on TOP.

iMo, a digital file / processed negative are indeed raw ingredients for a photograph. However, just as the raw ingredients for a cake are not a cake, a digital file / processed negative do not come to life until they are in print form.

That is to write, an tangible / tactile object which can be hung on a wall, presented on a page in a book or as a simple snapshot print. An object which is not device dependent for viewing and can be distributed (in any number) to friends / family and/or handed down to future generations.

Setting aside the above, it is my opinion and experience that, for a picture maker, the real value of making prints is how he/she will react to them. I know that I have a entirely different viewing experience / reaction when viewing prints rather than viewing a picture on a screen. And, it simply does not matter if it's a small "dimestore" print or a 24"x24" (in my case) Epson Ultrachrome Ink print. A print is a print and viewing one is (or certainly should be) a distinctly different viewing experience from that of viewing the same picture on a device.

And, with a cornucopia of low-cost small print printing sources out there - online or the corner drugstore and such - it a wonder to me that more picture makers don't print their pictures.

civilized ku # 5125 / the new snapshot # 175-76 ~ school days

morning light ~ in the Adirondack PARK (embiggenable) • µ4/3

Sherman Inn B&B - Ogdensburg, NY (embiggenable) • iPhone

Sherman Inn B&B - Ogdensburg, NY (embiggenable) • iPhone

2 weekends ago, the wife and I spent a night at a funky B&B in Ogdensburg, NY. The B&B is in an old granite school building with the classrooms used as the bedrooms. That is if you call a 1,000sq ft. room with 4 couches, 6 easy chairs, 4 coffee tables, 2 nightstands, 8 lamps, a tv cabinet/armoire, 50 pieces of art and collectibles + private bathroom a bedroom.

The funky factor was made funky-er by the fact that, when the school closed in 2014, the school furnishings were left on site. The Principal's office is just like it always was - desk, cabinets /bookcases and chairs. The nurse's office looks just like a school nurse's office. The library is still a library, albeit with the shelves filled with collectibles / object d'art.

iMo, if you are in the Ogdenburg area and need a place to stay, the Sherman Inn Bed & Breakfast is the place to stay.

civilized ku # 5124 / the new snapshot # 173-74 ~

zigzag hallway ~ Mirror Lake Inn / Lake Placid, NY -in the Adirondack PARK (embiggenable) • µ4/3

breakfast ~ Mirror Lake Inn / Lake Placid, NY -in the Adirondack PARK (embiggenable) • µ4/3

by the fire ~ Mirror Lake Inn / Lake Placid, NY -in the Adirondack PARK (embiggenable) • µ4/3

Squarespace is testing the limits of my patience, re: repeated issues with posting entries. If the recent issues are not resolved soon, I will looking for a new blogging platform.