Fooling Around With Photo Editor On My Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

By far one of the best utilities (and most used) on my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is the Photo Editor, which allows me to add filter, photo frame, edit contrast, hues or crop with just a few taps. B & W and Sepia are my two favorites not forgetting the Polaroid frame.

Photography meets art

Measure
Ok, I do use my Samsung Galaxy Tablet 10.1 as a tablet, that was what I bought it for, as a second device and when I am away from my desk. It powers up from Sleep mode instantly, the battery lasts me a good 10+ hrs. Connecting to wifi hotspots in public is a breeze, no complex set up, locate and connect or a prompt to enter password if necessary and you are off to web surfing. Camera is not bad, front and rear facing, it is real handy and lets me capture a candid shot for a blog post. Other than occasionally freezing up on me after an Android/Samsung software update, it has been money well spent.

Olympus XA - Neopan 400 Professional 135-36 film, Adonal developer and Boats in Ventura Harbor

Both neg's were scanned using SVP FS1700
Firstly, the film grain was visible in the scan, I love it! one could never re-create that look on digital. Secondly, the top photo was taken around 8am ish when the harbor was shrouded in fog, it was not quite a sight. The element made for perfect backdrop. The lower photo was shot late afternoon approximately two hours before sunset..... In both situations, the Olympus XA handled both shots beautifully. See last blog post below for a picture of this wonderful little gem of a camera

Neopan 400 Professional is one of my favorite films, I am so disappointed that it is only available in 35mm format and Fuji has decided to discontinued the 120 format. I just reminded myself to order more to stock up on these precious films.

Koni Rapid Omega sample shots - Camera is heavy but the huge negative is jaw dropping and wonderful

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Here are two scanned sample shots from the Koni Rapid Omega 6 x 7 rangefinder medium format camera (see picture of the camera in my earlier post below) Kodak Tri X 400 120 film, developed in Agfa Rodinal 1:50 for 13 minutes, Ilford Rapid Fixer. Neg scanned on Canon flatbed scanner, invert, and levels slightly adjusted. As I won't be able to set up a home darkroom for a while longer, I will have to contend with digital scans but all is not lost, it does give me a glimpse of what I might be able to print from the negatives. Koni Omega is a 6 x 7 camera and the negative did not quite fit the neg holder that came with the scanner. I was not thrilled with the scan results, even at 600dpi. I was more interested to see if I have messed up the shutter speeds/f-stop since I was using the sunny 16 rule. it is a test roll so I was not expecting much. Looking at the negatives on my light box, the images had good sharpness, contrast and bokeh.


These pictures were shot in old town San Juan Bastista, California. A town that had the look of an old western town, forgotten, left behind in the mad tech rush of the 21st century, complete with western style saloons on Main street, a few adobe houses interspersed with brick red and blue walls, an old church, a rather quaint town. On that day, there was a gathering of a small group of classic cars whose owners had driven all the way from San Diego. Hanging out with good friends outside a cafe soaking in the sun. I chatted with a gentleman who asked about the chunky camera in my hand. He told me he shoots digital now, his film cameras are now collecting dusts on the shelves, he added "I now take pictures with my iPhone, and never missed a shot".

One of the few quirks of the Koni Rapid Omega is that until one gets used to the film advance lever it is very easy to accidentally overlap images. Below is one such accidents that turned out pretty interesting and instead of cropping it, I decided to leave it alone.


One gets 10 shots per roll on the 120 film. The negatives are 6 x 7, that is 2.7 times larger than a 35mm neg. If you are looking for a negative to print easily into a 8 X 10, the 6 x 7 camera is the most suitable film format. I am looking forward to getting the two rolls of Velvia shot also on the Koni Omega developed at a lab soon.
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Below are two on slide film, the resulting colors and hue rather lomo I must say:

A second pit stop along 101 I made on the way south from San Jose to Ventura, Franciscan Mission in San Miguel with its beautiful old Adobe building. You can read more San Miguel Mission
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and finally here is a picture of the Koni Rapid Omega 100

Back to my roots....back to film that is

Guess I have had a long hiatus from blogging. Sometimes one gets caught in the fast lane and it takes some doing to get off that "Going to Nowhere" train. I have not done much shooting, the influx of Instagram, Pinterest and the likes mean stock photography is bidding time. To survive and stay relevant, these stock photo agencies find ways to jiggle their existing contract with contributors so they can keep more of a shrinking pie and pay the contributors less. I know that day would come, sooner than later. I stop shooting digital, in fact I sold most of my lenses and kept only my Canon 10D. I was so happy to pick up that film camera again and to process my own film....There is something special about shooting film I cannot put it into words but you know what I mean.

I acquired a Koni Rapid Omega with 120 back on Ebay for $69 Buy It Now price (I got lucky) plus $23.95 shipping. A beautiful medium format rangefinder camera, the Koni Rapid weighs a good 4.5 lbs. It is a beast!! I love shooting street photography, the impromptu scene, the not posed images. Being able to use available light, finding subjects in ordinary places makes shooting so much more rewarding for me. I will now add the Koni Rapid Omega to the list of cameras I enjoy shooting: Mamiya RB ProSD, the Bronica Zenza S2A and now the Koni Rapid Omega. They all share a few things in common: sharp lenses, weigh a ton, battery-less, totally mechanical. What a bliss!


In the last 6 years or so, I have gone through a few photo enlargers, setting up a home darkroom whenever possible (call it the learning curve, finding out what your like and what you don't and the quirks). However, each time I was getting ready to move, I dreaded having to move it and so I got rid of them by passing it along to the next person. Amongst them: the very massive Beseler 23C, the Saunders LPL, Omega D6, Omega C700 the list goes on. Up until this morning, I was effectively "enlarger-less". However my photography world just got that much better as I spotted a Durst M601 in superb condition for sale on Craigslist for $30 last night. I decided I had to drive 50 miles south to go and get it, never mind I can't set up a darkroom now. What a great enlarger! Everything I wished the other enlargers could be I found in the Durst. Solid, steady, extremely well built means one can print without worrying about the enlarger moving or shaking ever so slightly. The glass negative holder holds one's negative flat no matter how long one has been printing (not curled as with many negative holders when things get hot). Two sliding red knobs on the neg holder allow one to adjust the masking on the negative as desired. Not having to remove and reposition means less dusts will be introduced!! The column measures 3 ft, the base 20 x 20, the head can be tilted and locked at an angle for larger enlargement. The movement up and down is smooth, quiet and the knob handle folds and locks (much like the winder on a Bronica). Made in Italy, this Durst M601 for $30 has to be one of my best hauls ever ($50 including gas)! Never mind that my printing will have to wait until I can find an abode that has an extra room/garage or outside barn for the darkroom again.

A still life....Kodak EIR film....and the late afternoon sun

This photo has a special place in my heart. A photo I shot in a dingy garage years ago, and a still life put together invited by the light. The garage had a low window with many 50s style square glass panes. It sits just above the ground, much like a basement or a daylight window. As winter approaches, the window would ever so gently filter in just enough light from the afternoon sun, and warm the garage. Each time I would stare at the window and the long shadow on the floor...saying to myself that I must put something together quickly and shoot this light before it disappears.

Positive "high res" film scan with SVP FS1700 Negative and Slide Scanner, Kodak EIR film, no post process
The wooden background panel had quite a history. I bought it from another flea market seller on Melrose in the Fairfax district in LA. I was attracted by the beautiful big bold paint strokes of the sunflower, painted in lime yellow and green. The seller told me it came from an old house and that the panel was a salvaged door. Someone he knew was an artist and decided to paint the panel hoping to sell it as a work of art. The seller wanted $35. We haggled and finally settled on $15. It was heavy and it was 3.5 ft wide and 4 ft tall and almost 3 inches thick. I lugged it 200ft to the parking lot to my car and was relieved it would fit inside the trunk of my old Jeep. It is perfect as a table top in my future garden, the money would be well spent, I consoled myself.

The antique garden jug belonged to my housemate. It had beautiful lines and despite being a little beat up, it looked elegant. I needed something to prop up the garden jug and balance the composition, the wooden carpenter step ladder looked perfect for the part, it completed the composition. I moved them around just a bit until they looked right...

I set my film camera on a tripod and proceeded to shoot a few frames. I had imagined the shots and wanted to capture the light before it is out. Much later when I was nearly finished with the roll of film that I realized I had one of my two remaining rolls of Kodak EIR color slide film in the camera. Until today I cannot get over how a simple still life at the spur of the moment can be so out of surreal, so beautiful and timeless.

Sometimes we spend days chasing after that perfect shot, and it is staring right at us, if only we take a pause..........