Rolland's Bio

The plan for my future is to enhance more and more in photography. What pushes me on most is: perfection. There is so much to explore and I have the strongest feeling in me that I haven't reached the end of that discovery process for a long time yet. This is what keeps me occupied in the near future. 

I was definitely inspired by Richard Avedon exceptionally, by Sally Mann and Herb Ritts. But there are several famous photographers who inspire me again and again. 

Taking pictures for me means thinking thousands of thoughts running through my mind, it means escaping the real world and diving into another. With my work, I generally try to bring out the best in my models. Very frequently, pictures turn out to be inspired spontaneously because shooting one picture means having the following one on my mind. Especially daylight is an important factor for me due to the fact that I love shooting without flashlights. Playing with light and shadow fascinates me. 

In summer 2011 I discovered my enthusiasm for analogue photographing. I learn from shooting to shooting and the analogue photos amaze me more and more. The complexity and the effort of analogue pictures is much higher on the one hand, on the other hand it is worthwhile since you have to take care of every cinch, you have to take time, and in the end you are excited by the mood and the patina of each picture. 

All this makes the photo as much as the model, who has to sit still for so long, adorable. It is a fantastic and an amazing world.

Well, I did have requests for several exhibitions but due to the lack of time I unfortunately had to decline all these offers because the locations were too far away. Up to now I was very happy to be published in various papers, magazines and on the internet. 

With reference to my work, I am dreaming of publishing a photo book with my pictures.

Rolland A. Flinta

Monday column: How did I Get Into the Analog Photography

None the less that I’m old enough to start with photography in analogue times, I waited the time that digital cameras was good enough and cheap enough, so I could afford one. Before that I didn’t know how to begin. Black and white photography, with your own developing and printing seemed to me too complicated, colour photography without intimacy and too expensive.  At that time (in the nineties) actually I was photographing with my parents “focus free P&S”. But only sunsets, home cats and dogs. So this time I don’t count as my photographic experience.  So I waited the time when I had enough money to buy my own photographic camera. It was a P&S, and digital. But it was mine own photographic camera. And with it, I could get some photographic experience. But my photographic years (for me) began to counting only when I get a DSLR. Only then, for me none the less, I start the learning of the photographic way.

Agfa Isola 1, a frame from the first roll of film

Then deep into the photography, I started to look at my grandfather’s legacy in different way. I’d remembered that we have an old camera in the cabinet.  I remembered that as a child, from time to time I was taking it from the cabinet and played with it. But wait. It seemed to be in working order. Could possibly be still working? Only film was odd format. The camera was very old, and I wondered could I possibly still get the film for the camera? At that time I have already heard about medium format photographic equipment. But for my surprise when I was taking measures for the opening in camera where the film plane it should be, it was 56 mm in both directions. It was hard to believe it. The camera was too simple to be a medium format! At that time I did not know, that 120 format film was a standard in past times, because of low resolution of film around WW2. Yes Leica format was in use, but at that time (before the war) the only advantage of 35 mm film was portability (and number of frames of course). So when I learned all about 120 format film, I bought some, put it into the camera and start to do some true analogue photography. The camera was Agfa Isola 1. And of course I had to learn how to develop the film after exposure. But this is another story.
Matjaž

The LomoWall rises in London

In honor to the upcoming Olympic Games in London, over 15,000 participants-lomographers (from 32 countries) contributed 30,000 photos, rigorously made only with Lomo cameras. Those photos have been made into a mosaic, a 65-meter long wall. The LomoWall will be on display from 13 July 2012 to 6 January 2013 at the Museum of London.

The LomoWall. Image by twitter user @votredemoiselle.

The LomoWall is a very good example of a joint effort of the analog community. I think it also proves one of the main aims of the analog community-connecting people (sorry Nokia). The link to the original article is here.

Film Matter: The Schizophrenic Ektar

Kodak Ektar might be the most sophisticated color neg film we have ever seen, in my (and also others) view. It was also the latest film emulsion being introduced (in 2008). No surprise then if it incorporates very advanced features, borrowed mostly from the movie film industry (2-electron sensitization from Kodak Vision films, for example). In the 1990's we could only dream about such a (ISO 100) film. While I find Ektar amazing, I never really made up my mind about it. Why? Because in some respects it just »looks too good« to me. Yes, I do really like saturated, contrasty films, but...Ektar's look sometimes almost reminds me of a (high-end) digital photo-it's too "polished" in my eyes. For some people (or circumstances) that might be a good thing, while for some not. Yes, all I have been dealing up to now were scanned negatives (or Frontier-made prints, for that matter). Yes, scanning Ektar is a breeze. I just think I need to make a decent optical print from an Ektar negative to get a fair assessment-hopefully soon...That's the story when your Ektar rolls undergo the standard C-41 processing. But what happens when you push- or cross-process your Ektar rolls? Let's find it out! Here we have 3 remarkable examples of cross- and push-processed Ektar from Hannah, Will and Leo.

Hannah's Ektar processed in E6. Image retrieved from her photostream on Flickr..

 Hannah crossprocessed her Ektar at home in E6 chemistry. The colors are a bit more muted, yet still rich, there's a bit of bluish cast there, but nothing exaggerated. Probably, a light warming filter will compensate the color cast (if you wish so). But most importantly, the film gets an entirely new look. To me, it looks much like the old trichromie photos. It's like we have a brand new slide film to choose from-who did ever say Kodak discontinued all slide films ? -:)

Will's  2-stop push-processed Ektar in C-41. Image retrieved from his photostream on Flickr.

Leo's 3-stop push-processed Ektar in C-41. Image retrieved from his photostream on Flickr

Will and Leo, on the other hand, push-processed Ektar in C-41 for 2 and 3 stops (ISO 400 and 800), respectively. Yes, these negatives inevitably pick up in contrast (corrected after scanning), but their color rendition changes very much as well. In fact, it's like you're dealing with a completely different (uknown?) color-neg film! Another good thing is, graininess remains reasonable. Will's photos remind me of earlier Kodachrome versions, while those of Leo render a more pastel-like color palette. I shall thank all 3 contributors to gave me the opportunity to show a side-by-side comparison of different processing versions of Ektar. It's just amazing how a "vintage" look you can get from the most modern film! Ektar is definitely a film with split-personality and it's worth to try all the processing variants shown (and perhaps some more)!

Silver regards
Mitja

Cottage Tip: Keeping Humidity under Control- Part 2

Keeping your photo bags and cases free from moisture is only part of the story, especially if you keep them in an enclosed environment, a closet or drawer, without circulating air, where moisture can accumulate (especially in the cold spots of the house). Over the years, I have accumulated quite some gear, so I needed to buy a small closet where to keep my toys. Now, you can buy an air dehumidifier and replenish the adsorber (calcium chloride) as time goes by. The trouble is, these dehumidifiers are quite bulky, taking much of your precious closet space, as it was in my case. It's still better to have this place for storage of more lenses, isn't it? I came up with a cheap solution: a dehumidifier made from a soft drink bottle.

This is all you need: a stocking, a bottle and calcium chloride.

Put the adsorber inside the stocking of the assembled "device".

Just get a wide-neck bottle and put inside a short nylon stocking. Fix everything with one or two elastic bands. This stocking will serve to contain the adsorber (calcium chloride),  suspended above bottle's bottom, while the wide bottleneck ensures more moisture adsorbing capacity. Fill the stocking with calcium chloride (it is much cheaper to buy it bulk). With time, the liquid (saturated calcium chloride solution) will accumulate on the bottom. Dispose the liquid down the drain (it is safe) and replenish the stocking with fresh calcium chloride as needed. That's it! 

The dehumidifier in its place, along with a thermo/hygrometer.

The same thing can be made from a jar, of course (provided you have enough room). Oh, and a good measure is also to have a small, cheap thermometer/hygrometer located in this place (you can get one for a few bucks). You will be amazed how much humidity changes, depending on the weather. Our goal is to keep relative humidity under 60 %, which is thought to be (mostly) safe in terms of fungal growth. However, r.h. under 35 % is also bad, since lens and camera mechanisms are more likely to get too dry (less lubrication). Fortunately, the latter condition is less likely to occur, in most places.

Portfolio of the Week: Margus Sootla

Dear Readers,

This week we feature an Estonian photographer, Margus Sootla. Margus is a photographer-world traveler who works primarily with medium format. He began with digital, but soon converted himself to film photography. Regarding films, he works with a great variety of them. He defines himself as an amateur, but based on his portfolio, I can only say this is an understatement. Personally, I am particularly impressed by his work done with IR films. However, I was equally impressed by his biography, as I was by his photographic work. Therefore, I made no excerpts of his bio. His full, uncut biography is posted just below the portfolio-just scroll down please. Margus' work can be accessed via Flickr and this link. Enjoy his photos (along with very descriptive captions)!

Silver regards

Mitja

Nightlife under Khaju bridge, Esfahan, Iran. This is where the local muslim young come to meet their future partners. (Kiev 60, 80mm f2.8 / Maco TP64c)

Persepolis guardian - the symbol of Iran. (Kiev 60, 80mm f2.8 / Maco IR820c IR)

An abandoned ship in Magellan Strait, Argentina. (Pentax 67, 35mm f4.5 fisheye / Fomapan 200 Creative)

Motorcycling Dream, Estonia. (Pentax 67, 75mm f4.5 / Kodak Aerochrome colour IR)

Portrait of Raúl, the friendliest person we've ever met, Argentinian Patagonia. (Pentax 67, 200mm f4 / ADOX CHM400)

Calm before the thunderstorm in my backyard, Estonia. (Linhof Technika 69, 90mm / Maco IR820c IR)

Shades of Time, Estonia. (Pentax 67, 75mm f4.5 / Rollei Infrared shot in -28C )

The Ride, UK. (Arax 60, 30mm f3.5 fisheye / Kodak T-MAX 100 )

Sublime. (Pentax 67, 35mm f4.5 fisheye / Rollei Retro 400)

Hamer tribe is having fun with my small Sigma PS camera, Ethiopia. (Pentax 67, 35mm f4.5 fisheye / Kodak T-MAX 400)

All photos copyright: Margus Sootla

Margus' Biography

I am a hobbyist, a wandering nomad who's passion is travelling. Be it physical or mental. The latter form is where the film cameras (and also analog-audio) comes into play for me.
 
I shot digital in my baby steps stage till I saw wall sized enlarged b&w photos taken with a 8x10" large format camera by one Estonian photographer who's name unfortunately I can't rember. I was stunned by how much character the photos had down to the grain level without having seen any Photoshop - it was fully analog bred stuff. My other hobby has been motorcycling, being unable to afford carrying a bulky LF camera (although I do have a 5x7" LF camera I shoot with time-to-time), there are too few 35mm film shots I've seen that inspired me, so the only way to go was medium format - to have that raw sensor size yet to be able to pack it with me on my motorcycle and travel the distance.
 
I started with Kiev 60 - a relatively unreliable soviet 6x6 medium format camera that had many mechanical problems. But through pain it taught me many valuable lessons about photography and the artistic side of it - it's often the defect that becomes an effect in analog photography. The main thing is that this camera has superbly artistic Zeiss Jena lenses that I still can't find equals for in 6x7 format I currently shoot with - the 180mm f2.8 Jena is the best portrait lens ever made in my book. With constant mechanical hassles and hoping I can keep my lenses I upgraded the body to Arax 60, which is an improved version of the Kiev 60 body, but although slightly better, it also gave me problems till I switched to Pentax 67 format which I have been shooting with many years till today. As of now, Pentax 67 is a proven battle tank, it's has endured over 200 000 kilometers of different journeys on a motorcycle - rain, dust, sand, heat, cold and vibrations and I'm amazed it still keeps going, even works at down to -30C degrees. I use 400mm f4, 200mm f4, 105mm f2.4 and 35mm f4.5 fisheye for the P67 system. Time-to-time I also shoot with my friend's Linhof Technica 6x9 with superb Schneider lenses.
 
In choice of a film I've been a complete multitasker. I do not have any favourite film I can name since I find the analog photography word so fascinating in all levels. I think I've tried almost every film currently sold, even the very little known film brands which I love to test. It's not just about b&w, infrared, colour slide or negative world, but also the alternative enlargement processes to get it on the paper - I've given up scanning the enlarged work since unlike film scanning no digital representation can bring forth the feel of seeing a photo done by an actual enlarger or a contact print onto a photographic paper. From its depth, texture to varying surface reflection, you just can't smell it from the computer monitor :). I became a big fan of the Lith-process that worked especially well with my infrared negatives. Pity I sold my decent darkroom to finance my long dream: to circumnavigate our planet on a motorcycle. This recent undertaking made me homeless, I sold everything I've had except my vinyl collection, turntable, tube amplifier, speakers and my analog camera gear. It has made me more horny about analog photography (and audio) than ever before since I couldn't really practice it to full being more than 3 years on the road.  I did shoot over 150 rolls of film that still wait for digitalizing or enlarging. This will have to wait since I'm currently in a process of building myself up from zero again and I'm glad I've kept all my analog gear, hopefully some day I can acquire some proper analog darkroom again too!
 
As said before, I'm by no means a proffessional photographer, thus like me also my work has no home in the real world nor on the internet. Flickr never had any serious attention, but some stuff is found there. For more straightforward viewing of my recent doings in English language, you can explore the following link:
 
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=480532
 

Margus Sootla