Roll: Pentax LX Randomness

Last weekend, I bought a pack of Kodak Portra 160 film for a multiple-exposure project I have started to work on (See above photo). I took some time this last week to fool around with the film, since I rarely shoot color, and have never specifically used Porta 160 before. I took my Pentax LX, loaded with the Portra, with me estate sale hunting, hiking through the woods, and for another walk along the old train tracks in Highland Park. I used my SMC 50mm f1.4 and SMC 35mm f2.

Thanks for looking!

Print: Rocket Rider

At the same park where I found the rocket slide, I also found a cool little rocket spring rider. I was annoyed because a group of fat old people was sitting just behind the rocket rider, so I had to position them directly behind the rider in the frame. I used my Pentax LX with my SMC 35mm 1:2 Lens, and Ilford Delta 400 film. I also used a yellow k2 filter for a little boost in contrast. The physical print is 10 x 10 inches.

Print: Atomica

Last weekend, Katie and I took a trip over to St. Charles, Illinois, to celebrate our birthdays. St. Charles is a sleepy little tourist town that sits along the Fox River. It's home to many restaurants and shops, along with being the closest town to the Kane County Flea Market, which we enjoy going to. During our stay in St. Charles, Katie and I found a small playground on the outskirts of the town. In the middle of the playground stood a gigantic four-story rocket-ship slide, straight out of the 1960's. Katie and I took turns climbing to the top of the crooked, rusty, creaking monstrosity, and felt very unsafe.

I photographed the rocket with my Pentax LX and SMC 35mm 1:2 Lens, on Ilford Delta 400 film. The physical print is 13 x 8 1/2 inches. Sure, there's some imperfections in the sky, but I think the photograph accurately captures the grandeur of the aging structure. 

Spotlight: Olympus OM-4

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of buying a bunch of Olympus equipment from a nice guy I met over Craigslist.  Among the plethora of camera gear I bought from him was an Olympus OM-4; the last main entry in the OM camera line (It came out in 1983). The OM-4 is the successor to the OM-2 (both have electronically controlled shutters), and while it might not have the same classical look as the OM-2, the OM-4 has a few much appreciated improvements.

Probably the best improvement over the OM-2 is the fact that the OM-4 actually has a manual shutter speed! Yes! If your batteries run dry, you can still shoot at 1/60th of a second. It's always nice to have a back-up plan. Other improvements include a faster maximum shutter speed (1/2000th vs 1/1000th), light up display, and a non-removable hot-shoe. There is a whole new advanced metering system where you can aim the camera at your brightest point, and your darkest point, and have it calculate the correct exposure, but I didn't mess with that feature.

I mainly shot in aperture priority mode, and switched to manual mode for a few tricky exposures. I took the OM-4 around with me to some estate sales, and also just played around in my backyard with a 50mm 1:3.5 macro and a 24mm 1:2.8 (plus fisheye adapter). Everything was shot on Ilford XP2 400. Here are my results:

Thanks for looking!

Print: Hard Times

Last weekend some friends and I went to Belmont Ave, a fairly hip part of downtown Chicago. Between checking out cool shops such as People Play Games, and Chicago Comics, I found an abandoned storefront with this mannequin inside. She's sitting, facing away from the window; I think she's depressed. I used my Leica M4 with my 50mm Summicron, and Ilford HP5+ film. The physical print is 10 x 7 inches.

Roll: Yard-Sailing in Niles

The "Perverted Old Man"

Last week my friend David and I went to a bunch of yard and house sales around the Niles area. One of the online ads for yard sales listed a "perverted old man" as being for sale. We couldn't resist; we found the sale, and the perverted old man (pictured above). The nice older gentleman didn't seem too perverted, and talked to us about how he grew up in Missouri by Six Flags Great America. He even let me take his picture, as long as I sent him "a check in the mail."

Ad for the Perverted Old Man

Barry with his Van

That same day, we ran into one of my friends and former boss, Barry, at an estate sale. He was buying a creepy Betty Boop mask. I used to photo assist (and still do, occasionally) for him on architectural shoots.

Here are some other shots I took that day, as well as the rest of the roll I finished later last week. I used my Leica M3 with a 50mm Summicron and Ilford FP4+ 125 Film.

Spotlight: Olympus OM-1n

While scouring various estate sales last week for cool finds, I came across a black Olympus OM-1n. It was marked $125 with a busted lens and no hot-shoe. I managed to talk the owner down to $50 for just the body. What a sweet deal! Luckily the hot-shoe from my OM-2n fit just fine.

The OM-1n came out in 1979, and is a slightly updated version of the OM-1, which launched in 1972. The OM-1 revolutionized the camera market when it originally came out, due to its incredibly small size for an SLR.

The OM-1n is small (even smaller than a Leica M!), but the build quality is fantastic. It feels extremely solid in my hands. All the controls are at just the right place. I love how both the shutter speed and aperture dials are located around the lens. This means I can adjust both settings without having to move my right index finder off of the shutter. Other features that I like are the mirror lock-up setting (not really necessary for 35mm, but a nice option), removable hot-shoe, and film rewind switch (just like a Leica). The only thing I don't like about the OM-1n is the fact that it takes crappy PX 625 batteries, and not the more reliable 357 batteries.

Here are some photos I took a few days ago on the OM-1n. I used Ilford FP4+ 125 film.

Thanks for looking!