M6 + TMAX400

I should be sleeping since my flight to JFK leaves in about 8 hours. I have a handful of portrait sessions in NYC, a portrait shoot and wedding in Washington DC, another two portrait sessions back in New York, and finally my two-day SHIFT/TILT: NYC workshop, co-hosted by Tony Yang.

I've occupied much of my last three days here in Korea test driving my M6 and 50mm f/2 Summicron, familiarizing myself with different types of film stock in the process. The images below were all shot on Kodak TMAX 400 film. I'm also trying out Fuji Neopan 100 and Tri-X 100 for B&W, and Kodak Portra 160 and 400 for color.

I made the noob mistake of shooting a roll of Portra 400 at 50 ISO because it was so bright out yesterday. My lab guy politely informed me not to push color stock more than a single stop in either direction -- meaning I should keep Portra 400 between 200 - 800 ISO. Shooting at 50 ISO is a full 3 stops from 400. That would be okay if it was B&W stock, I was told, but for color film, it's a big no-no.

I'll be posting my thoughts on the filmstock that I'm trying out in the coming weeks.

I'm going to miss my two beautiful boys and my special gal, Jenny while I'm gone. If you are in Seoul and want to lend a hand or hang out with my loves while I'm gone, I'm sure Jenny would appreciate the help and company. ^^

Love you three so much, daddy misses you already.

FIRST ROLL  //  LEICA M6 + KODAK PORTRA 400

My first roll of color film with my new(ish) Leica M6. It's a bit grainy because I had pushed the ISO to 640 from the night before my early morning stroll. The rangefinder system has taken some getting used to -- however, having complete control over absolutely everything the camera is doing is much more suited to my approach to and style of photography. The shutter is so quiet, and the camera is diminutive. I can get away with street and candid photography a lot easier than with a DSLR.

I bumped into my friend, Amarisse, who works as TBS Radio as a live broadcast announcer for traffic and weather. It was a lot of fun getting a peek inside the live radio broadcast world. The shutter was even quiet enough to take a few shots while she was giving a live traffic update.

M6 + PORTRA  //  FIRST ROLL PREVIEW

Very excited about jumping in the deep end with film.  My first 100% film wedding is next week in Washington DC.

WATER BALLOON FIGHT!

We had a family water balloon fight.  Monsoon season has been in full-swing for a good two months, and we were sick of chilling indoors.  We hail from Seattle, afterall.  The rain let up long enough for us to get each other soaking wet. :)

The last image was focused, recomposed and taken by our three-year-old, Justin (Juju).  The kid is a prodigy.  So excited to watch him grow and learn.  He's already taught me so much about life and the things that really matter.

(All shot on a Canon Elan 7 w/ Kodak 400)

36 FRAMES SOOC

This is every frame from my first roll of film in about 4.5 years.  Shot on my trusty Canon Elan 7 with a nifty-fifty, on Kodak Gold Max 400.  The camera had been sitting patiently in my camera roller for the last 4 years.  I learned much of what I know today on a classic Minolta X-700 during and after high school.  It accompanied me on a 9-month journey across America in that turbulent time between high school and university, from 2002-03.

My wife, Jenny, took a few shots of me and Justin.  Justin took the second to last frame, of his friend JJ, with just a little help from daddy.

It feels so good to be shooting film again.  It feels good to be home.