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I've decided my photographic "style" is film kintsugi. The idea that the flaws of the image are what make it unique and interesting really speaks to me. 1960s Anscochrome, Olympus OM-2N. Self- developed in homemade slide developer (Rodinal + C-41) (at Wooster, Ohio) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfsQ7mvr9SL/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Maybe there ain't enough room in this world for perfections like you and horrors like me. Dupont Superior Motion Picture Film, circa 1967. Olympus OM-2n. Self- developed, Rodinal 1:100, 60 minute stand. (at Wooster, Ohio) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfpk_AyprRq/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

The Fine Art of Falling Apart Portra 800, Olympus OM-N2, Self- developed in cold C-41 (at Wooster, Ohio) https://www.instagram.com/p/CfnCe8Fr1Ob/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

It took 3 years of planning, a pandemic delay, and the threat of Kylee leaving the state, but we finally shot the Paper Dress! And, you know what? Worth the wait. More to come. (at The Ohio State Reformatory) https://www.instagram.com/p/CehhLkbrOr6/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Friday is for business casual. https://www.instagram.com/p/CWeAbOoJRL7/?utm_medium=tumblr

I'm sure there's nothing in the dark. (at The dark) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCggoAAAmAD/?igshid=fm8glxqx2ks5

A new photo series I'll be working on, "Into The Woods". If anyone is interested in modeling for it, please get in touch. https://www.instagram.com/p/CBs9uN5guBb/?igshid=gy5kjsxz09tb

Beer Developing ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ If Covid-19 won't let me hang out with people, I guess I'll do something different. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ All of these black and white pictures were developed using common household items: washing soda, salt, vitamin c, and beer. That's it, nothing else. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I had to MacGyver it a little; I only had baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), but putting that in a 400° oven for about an hour gives you sodium carbonate (washing soda), and I've had a hell of a time finding vitamin c powder locally, so 4 packets of Emergen-C (orange flavor, of course) had to suffice. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The beer was my favorite Ohio-made brew from Urban Artifact in Cincinnati, but it was leftover from a wedding reception a couple years ago, and it was either toss it or find a new use for it. I hate wasting something useful, so... Beerol. It's probably not the most efficient or cost effective film developer in the world, but now that I have the sodium carbonate and plain vitamin c (I broke down and ordered some online), I've got enough cans of beer to get me through a couple rolls, and a project in mind to use it for. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Stay safe and wash your hands! (at Wadsworth, Ohio) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_ivDUaAscZ/?igshid=1n5w8489y167q

This week's portraits were never intended for this film project, but these are the only images I have left from a different camera, so this is it. I've reached the last of my film portraits until I'm able to go out into the world again. I've also saved my favorite camera for last. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The Olympus OM2n was the first film camera I ever bought (aside from disposable point and shoots), and I bought it in a Target parking lot in July 2012, from a guy I met on Craigslist. It was a shady deal, but a great camera, if you could look past its flaws. This particular camera had some issues with a slow shutter, faulty meter, randomly drained batteries, and bad light seals, so I ended up selling it the next year, but I've regretted it ever since, and I've been trying to find a replacement. Finally, just last year, I bought a second OM2n, this time from John Hermanson in NY, a former Olympus tech who's been working on these cameras longer than I've been alive. This second camera is in pristine condition, and it is without a doubt my favorite film camera to work with, and possibly my favorite camera, period. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The OM2n is compact, full-featured, robust, well-built, reliable, beautiful, and ergonomic. In short, it is perfect. Every other camera I shoot with is compared to this one, and almost none of them are its equal. When it was released in 1975, it was widely touted by most prominent photography publications and magazines as the most technically superior SLR camera in the world. But without the big name recognition of companies like Nikon and Canon, it was overlooked by many professionals of the time. The only little teeny tiny minor issue that I could even possibly have with this camera is that it requires batteries to operate. But the batteries are cheap and easy to find in any drug store or supermarket, so I don't have a huge issue with this (I also have the OM2's big brother, the OM1n which does NOT require batteries to work, just in case). ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The picture above of the camera is from the sale of my original OM2n in 2013, not my current model. And the scratches on the negatives are from a faulty developer (me), not the camera. (at Wooster, Ohio) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_TWiTmA9JS/?igshid=wqjtbdr9bkm7

We’re going all the way back to February of 2018 for this week’s set, for a session that was shot on Kodak Portra 800 in the Braun Paxette Super IIBL. The Paxette was a series of rangefinders/viewfinders manufactured in Nuremberg, Germany in the 1950’s (mine is from 1958). The II in the name means it’s got interchangeable lenses, the B indicates it has a light meter, and the L shows that it has a Bright Framefinder; I’m assuming the initials mean something different in German, because it’s a little nonsensical in English. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This is a really nice, compact camera; small enough to fit in a coat pocket, but not so small that it’s hard to operate. I believe the Paxettes in general were well constructed, and my Super IIBL certainly feels high quality, and has very good optics for the 1950s. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I didn’t do a great job shooting with this camera back in 2018, and was really hoping to get a second chance for my film project. With any luck I still will, but for now I’ve almost exhausted my backlog of film portraits I can use, so I’m reaching the bottom of the barrel. I hope everyone is doing well out there in the real world; stay safe, and wash your hands! (at Stow, Ohio) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_BW868gttn/?igshid=1j487x1oleyca

We're digging back in the archive now. This session was actually shot over a year ago, so it doesn't technically count for my 2020 Film Project, but desperate times and all that. Honestly I'm not even 100% sure what camera I shot this with, but I'm going to guess it was the Canon EOS A2e. If you've seen a modern Canon digital camera, you've already got a pretty good idea of what the A2e looks like, and since I'm stuck at home and can't get a picture of it, you'll have to use your imagination. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ This is a pretty cool camera, and one of the few film cameras I own that's younger than I am. The EOS A2e (also known as the EOS 5, way back before the ubiquitous 5D would change the digital landscape) was a semi-pro film camera manufactured from 1992 to 1998. For the most part it's a pretty standard modern SLR, but what makes it really cool is the "e" in its name, which stands for "eye-control". There is a little infrared sensor inside the viewfinder which tracks your eye, and theoretically focuses the camera on the area you're looking at. Yep, eye-controlled focus. It's pretty damn cool when it works, and as long as you understand the limitation of the system, it works pretty reliably, especially if you just use the center focus point and recompose. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Otherwise, the A2e is just a nice solid film SLR; it accepts all modern Canon EF lenses, and feels like the digital SLR I'm used to holding. For many years the A2e served as my backup-backup camera for weddings and other high-pressure jobs; if all of my digital cameras failed, I knew I could count on it, and I'm still pretty fond of it. (at Stow, Ohio) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-vgcKfA8Fp/?igshid=bedg94ddefly

I'm ready for the apocalypse. In the future, historians will mock those who stockpiled toilet paper. The film hoarders are the true visionaries. @kodak sponsor me. 🙃 https://www.instagram.com/p/B-gVO1pAkGE/?igshid=1e87t9xmiagi4

Minolta's SRT 101 was a semi- pro camera manufactured from '66 to '76. All mechanical, except for the meter, with a large bright viewfinder, it is a great camera to learn on. My copy is in great shape (although I didn't try using the meter) and it's one of those great vintage cameras that just seems to work. If you're in the mood for a new camera to play with, you can't go wrong with this one. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ On a related note, I stockpiled film portraits earlier this year just in case my schedule got busy and I couldn't find time to shoot with new people (this is the fourth and final camera I shot with Pepper). Turns out that's the exact opposite of what happened. Who would have thought? Anyway, I've got two more weeks worth of pictures saved up, and then I'm going to have to start taking pictures of my cats, or, God forbid, my family. For fuck's sake people, wash your hands and stay inside! (at Wooster, Ohio) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-dYW6hgleC/?igshid=rshjruqtn8uh

This whole "emotional distancing" thing is pretty easy. Not sure what all the fuss is about https://www.instagram.com/p/B-dWxOjAXQt/?igshid=1kolls4c0h1ud

The Zenit B was a fully manual camera manufactured in the USSR from 1968 to 1973 by camera maker KMZ. It is a boxy, heavy, non-ergonomic piece of Soviet engineering; a fully mechanical behemoth that is as subtle as a military parade through Red Square. Over the Zenit B’s manufacturing run, nearly 1 million were made, and most of the Zenit Bs in existence today were made for export to the Western world, which might be the camera’s saving grace. Anecdotes from the time note that many importers inspected each and every camera they received and either tossed or returned the duds - a critical quality control step that was missing from the USSR factory. That extra effort put in by the importers means that nearly all of the Zenit Bs you’ll find today are in excellent mechanical condition and still work perfectly. Or at least as perfectly as they did when they were new. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ The Zenit B isn’t a bad camera, but it is unnecessarily awkward, with the shutter release oddly located inside the advance lever, and a shutter speed dial that is as un-intuitive as any camera I’ve ever used. It is all mechanical, so no batteries are required, but it’s also about as barebones as a camera can get, with none of the niceties found on other cameras of the era. The Zenit B is not an especially attractive camera, either; square and plain, with knobs and levers sticking out at odd angles. And it is LOUD. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ But the Zenit B is also strangely endearing; there’s something about its simple, agrarian, Soviet styling that makes it retro-cool. Plus, it’s not expensive, and it pretty much just works. (at Wooster, Ohio) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-LsMv3gcvw/?igshid=fujvvzk861lh

@sutefaniiroozu social distancing before it was cool. (at Blue Hen Falls) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-HzlQhAKF_/?igshid=zsvyymbq7tdo

The Rolleicord IV is a TLR (twin-lens reflex camera) that was manufactured in 1954 by the Franke & Heidecke Optic company (later known simply as Rollei). It was a simplified, less-expensive version of the Rolleiflex, aimed at amateurs who wanted a high-quality camera but couldn't afford the professional version. I've said it before, but it bears repeating: there is nothing wrong with simple cameras, especially when they're from good camera companies. Simple cameras have less that can go wrong, and after nearly 70 years, simple cameras tend to just... work. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ @jellyshooz gave me this version of the Rolleicord to test and inspect, which is why it was used to shoot with both Kylee and Grace. It has a few problems, mostly cosmetic, but for the most part it works well. Slower shutter speeds aren't accurate, and there's some dust and fungus in the lenses, but nothing that seems to impact normal operation. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I did have some trouble shooting with the Rolleicord, but it was just as likely to be user error as camera error. (at Wooster, Ohio) https://www.instagram.com/p/B95OBjNAUNq/?igshid=1o1au7hdyyskt

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