Wednesday, July 06, 2011





Lauren in South Texas at the Santa Fe Ranch, iPhone photo


Yesterday, July 24 Rosemary and my two granddaughters Rebecca and Lauren returned from our 9000km trip to South Texas. I had high hopes that I was going to be able to post pictures from my iPhone via facebook and from there to my blog but this only worked once. After that my iPhone, the photo app CP Pro and facebook ceased to communicate. My frustration lasted a couple of days when I finally realized it was all for the best. This does not mean that I will not post 20 blogs for the 20 days we were on the road or at Mike East’s Santa Fe Ranch in South Texas. What I plan to do is to randomly write something every day using pictures from the many cameras that I took in those days.





Pentax MX, 20mm lens, Kodak Ektachrome 100G

For the trip I took two Nikons, and FM-2 and an FM.  One was loaded with Kodak Plus X b+w and the other with a no-name (probably Konica) expired 24 exposure, 800 ISO colour negative film. I like the look of this film with its almost garish colours and grain. I had a third camera, a Pentax MX with only one lens, a fantastically corrected 20mm F-4 lens. In this camera I loaded it with Kodak Exktachrome 100G. I took a medium format Mamiya RB-67. In one back I used the last of my Kodak Plus X (Kodak has discontinued this film in 120 size) plus the not yet discontinued Ilford FP-4. I used this camera to take portraits in b+w of the cowboys I met working at the Santa Fe Ranch.

If this were not enough I also took my swivel lens panoramic Noblex which takes two and a quarter inch by 7 inch negative or slide. I sometimes used the FP-4 and sometimes Kodak Ektachrome 100G. Finally I used my iPhone for snaps but I must point out that the CP Pro App that my friend Paul Leisz recommended I download from iTunes has vastly improved the look of my often primitive looking iPhone shots.

During the whole trip I was hampered by extreme heat (up to 44 degrees Celsius) so I had to be careful where I stored the film. I opted to place it under my driver’s seat as it was always cool as the Malibu has a most efficient air conditioner. In the evenings I would store the film in our hotel fridge.

Another problem was the iffy loading procedure of the Noblex. It simply isn’t easy and then the camera has many ways that will guarantee that your picture will be a double or even triple exposure. But worst of all was always having to remember that while the slide film and the b+w negative film was ISO 100 the colour negative was 800.

Nikon FM, 24mm lens, ISO 800 neg film


Last year when I took Rebecca to the Santa Fe Ranch I photographed her by one of my favourite spots there. This is a hill, barely a hill, with some trees for shade, opposite the main house of the ranch where Mike East’s father, Tom East is buried. Rebecca objected to going there as Mike had warned us to be careful as rattlesnakes might be lurking. We never noticed any but the bugs were aplenty and Rebecca complained that she just might be bitten not only by mosquitoes but by the terrible Texas chiggers. The resulting photographs, in spite of all of Rebecca’s objections, pleased me.



This year I decided to not pursue the idea of taking more pictures of Rebecca. A year later her temper has not improved for the better. I asked Lauren if she would pose for me. Her objections were manifold but in the end she did not only grant me the opportunity but she even carried my tripod in the stifling 42 degree heat. I took pictures with every camera I had. Here (until I process all the b+w) are three pictures, taken with the Nikon (the 800ISO colour negative film), the Pentax and the 20mm lens with Kodak Ektachrome 100 G and the last one with the iPhone.