The last time I shot a roll of film has to be at least 20 years ago. I’ve kept my favorite cameras expecting to dip back into film photography at some point.  It’s not going to happen. My interest in film has grown vanishingly small.

That reality combined with our renewed effort to get rid of stuff means the cameras are all being permanently retired after each provided many years of reliable service. So long (and good riddance).

The Olympus OM-2n single lens reflex (SLR) camera is a 35mm film camera made in the early 1980s. Here it is coupled with an Olympus Zuiko 28mm f/3.5 lens.

The Mamiya C330 Professional is one of the few twin-lens reflex (TLR) cameras taking interchangeable lenses. In this case the Mamiya-Sekor 80mm f/2.8 lens is mounted. The C330 took 120 or 220 roll film and shot square format.

The Nikon F3 35mm single-lens reflex (SLR) camera was introduced in 1980 followed shortly by the F3HP High Eyepoint version. This camera has a 105mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor lens mounted.

The Nikon FM2 35mm single-lens reflex (SLR) camera had a built-in light meter but automated nothing. One advantage is that the camera could still be operated with a dead battery.

As a little photography experiment, I set things up so I could back-light a couple of round objects to force the background to pure white.  One of Lori’s most recent pottery pieces, fresh from the kiln, was a very nice plate with interesting patterns and beautiful glazes. We’ll use part of this image on an updated set of business cards for her.

Next, I used the same setup to try my hand at an effect I saw in a gorgeous set of photos in “Gather”, Corning Museum of Glass’s member’s publication. In this case the background light refracted and reflected through the patterns of my grandmother’s cut glass bowl, one of her wedding presents way back when.

From and black-and-white 8 X 10 print made by William Duncan c. 1960.

Over 50 years ago my father made this photo of 4 of us dressed up for Halloween. As I recall, our trick-or-treating consisted of visiting the Douglas family home in Hawkeye, NY–there were no other reasonable nearby options but we made out just fine.

The photo, shot with my father’s beloved Kodak Retina II A on Plus X film, was developed and printed to an 8X10 in the kitchen/darkroom. If memory serves, a light bulb on an extension cord placed inside the pumpkin provided the spooky light.

I’ve acquired a new toy tool.  It’s been fun playing with utilizing it for a new perspective on things. I’m shooting for a higher standard in hopes that my photos achieve new heights.  I could tell you more about it but I would just be droning on.

Lori’s 60th birthday celebration picture with bourbon and cigar.

Lori has been a bit distressed about marking her 60th birthday: she’s reached middle age.  (She plans to live at least until 120.)  I wanted to commemorate it with a photo that emphasizes the spirit of how I would like her to approach it: with equanimity or indifference.  She’s too busy enjoying life to pay much attention to arbitrary chronological milestones.

I was a bit surprised when she agreed to the concept as I described it. A cigar and glass of bourbon were always part of the narrative but the venue changed from field of daisies to woods due to uncooperative weather.

A moderately wide aperture reduced depth of focus. A low ISO and 1/250th shutter speed enabled darker tones in the woods so that some lighting would help bring the subject out a bit more.

Lighting was via two studio strobes.  One was camera left in a pan reflector for a slightly diffused overall subject lighting.  Another strobe in a grid high camera right behind Lori brought up a little separation on her shadow side. Both were at very low power because of the wider aperture.

We are pleased with the results.  At least photographically.  We got many good poses to pick from.  Unfortunately the cheap cigar made Lori ill and it took her the rest of the day to recover from all the puffing to bring the shot to life.

So, aside from poisoning my wife on her birthday, I would say things went pretty well.  Lori may differ.

Twelve focus stacked wide aperture images create an in-focus blossom with an out-of-focus background.

Combining focus-stacking with wide-aperture (shallow depth-of-focus) images can create some nice effects.  I wanted this alstroemeria blossom to be completely in focus but the background blurred.  By using a wide aperture (f/2.8) and 12 images varying the focal point, the stacking operation enabled nice crisp focus on the entire blossom but the out-of-focus background remained soft, almost watercolor-like.  It’s a combo you won’t be able to get with a single image.