magicial little polaroid shop

while walking through the enchanting streets of old Madrid, we came across a photography shop at   Calle Barquillo, and of course, I could not resist and entered. 

As it turns out, the shop is really a little gem of everything polaroid and it's following team - the impossible project.

An impressive collection of pola-cameras and photographs.

The shop has also a small photo studio and it is owned by now the 3rd generation of photographers.
One of the proudest item is an old wooden camera, fitted with a polaroid 8x10 back, passed down in the family.

The youngest generation is a newly married couple, he's a film maker and she's the grand daughter of the shop's founder. 

They even had their marriage photo, taken by the old wood camera.

They handle everything polaroid, here's their site: 

  http://www.alanstudio.es/

cameras - warning: just for camera freaks !

Back in 1991, I was a hardcore nikon shooter.
Starting with the FM2

which was great to use.

It took a real pro to use, you had manual focus, of course, and if batteries ran out, you could asses the lighting conditions (cloudy, sunny, overcast etc.) and adjust the settings (f8 on 1/125 sec for midday). 

mechanics was great, highly reliable even with hard field use. I shot a few years in desert conditions and it never failed. 

next I saved for the nikon f801 and after that the great f90 

I remember purchasing a used model for an equivalent of about 3500.- US$ !!! used !!

 I still have it somewhere. 

but I remember always dreaming about the flagship model of the time, the great Nikon F4. 

A heavy, professional camera with replaceable everything. Viewfinder, grip and more. 

Fast autofocus, massive.

A college of mine had one. held it in my hand once. a dream 

super-high shutter speed of 1/8,000 sec. achieved with the development of shutter blades made from an ultra-lightweight compound material (carbon fiber compound) which is lighter and more durable than titanium.Our first use of Focus Tracking with Lock-On, to provide optimum focusing by determining any displacement of the focus point of a moving subject based on the distance measurement data obtained while the shutter release button is half-pressed, and then moving the lens additionally to compensate for the displacement of the focus point.High-speed winding at 5.7 frames per sec., when used with the high-power battery pack MB-21 (1.5V LR6 alkaline battery x 6).

today you can get this jewel for as little as 150$ in Ebay. 

back then it was like a hasselbladt, beyond anything you can buy.

interestingly enough, today's flagship has again the digit 4. 

namely the D4s. 

a spectacular machine, no doubt, but somehow it's not the same.

since then, I switched to Canon cameras and glasses and I am quit content with the 5d MKII. 

Get's the job done and very well .

I do meet here and there photo- artist who cling to the Nikon F2. It has something elusive that no digital wonder can replace. some spirit in the machine.

dawn and dusk with the 50 ISO velvia

Is there any justification for slide film anymore ? 

Spaces in the city

re-learing the view camera

Borrowed a Toyo View Camera to study it.
It's a bit anachronistic, it seems, these days, with all the corrections you can do in Photoshop and such, but I think it's a knowledge you have to possess and preserve.
I am going to shoot a studio project using not 4"by5" but rather a 120mm film cassette.I'll try to relearn the basics and the advanced features, such as using the tilt shift, a lens that can close up to f64 !!!!
working with an upside- down view (camera obscura) isn't going to be easy but all in all-
I am very exited.

My Photo installation in the art event "Arim Tehomot" in Jaffa, Tel Aviv

An Alternative art event that took place on Saturday march 24th in Jaffa, Tel Aviv.
I presented a composited picture that was shot on Black and white Film and later composed in Photoshop.

Also, did a "slow Portrait" street Studio using available light and shooting on a 6 by 7 Mamiya RB67

Behind the scenes by photographer Nino Herman

Nino's Blog

 The Slow Portrait

In my personal work I aim to slow down. 

As a working photographer I have a personal need to balance the super fast pace of the image taking process with a more traditional way. 

For that purpose I use various Film cameras, preferably Medium format. It forces me to measure, aim, re-compose and do a lot of thinking before pressing the camera trigger. 

The resulting images have a different ambiance, different intention and a lot more intangible feel to them. 

In this Project I want to bring the process of slowing down to the street. Involve and share this experience with the passing by. I want to take pictures of people without the constant and instant judgment of the results, which will be shown only after a while. 

I will pose them in front of a white canvas and in the tradition of the great masters, try to get something pure and authentic out of them. 

The process is the act, the photography as a sort of live performance perhaps. 

Black and white Film Portraits

Shooting medium B&W format in Jaffa (IL)

Canera used:
Mamiyaflex 6x6
Film: TMY-2 400 ISO

street photography - in the city of tel aviv with the Olympus AF-10 35mm

 

photography in 35mm pocket Film camera

view from my sudio window

the mountain of trash with fields

in an ethiopian photo studio downtown

in an ethiopian photo studio downtown

a gathering

smoker

coffee shop and laundrymat