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Roadkill
There are two types of street photographers — those who choose the label, and those whom the label chooses. Which are you? Which am I? And why?
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ULTRA U: History of the Film Camera
Welcome to “ULTRA U,” my new online university dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of photographic knowledge, as best I can manipulate it. Here, in Lesson 1, I’ll discuss the real history of film formats for still photographers. Give it a read — you’ll likely find it’s not nearly as dry as you might suspect,…
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Reject Intent
What makes one photograph better than another? Miraculously, I think I found the answer. And, as anyone who frequents this site might suspect, the answer has absolutely nothing to do with what we’ve previously read, learned or intuited. Read the article to see how I applied this new definition of ‘better’ to create the “Masquerade”…
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Masquerade
“Masquerade” is my second vBook of photographic stills produced under the “Necessarily Narcissistic” film production label. In contrast to the purely accidental creation of my previous vBook (“47 Photos of Rain”), this one’s creation is quite purposely accidental.
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Making Contact
One man’s toy is another man’s tool — at least that seems to be the case with my adaptation of the toy-like, budget-friendly Lomography Smartphone Scanner, which I’ve found to be the quickest way yet to create digital contact sheets from my 35mm negatives. What’s that? You say you don’t need no stinkin’ contact sheets…
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Get Y’ur Lurnin’
The inevitable has occurred — ULTRAsomething is now hosting workshops. OK, it’s only ONE workshop, and its being co-hosted with Quinton Gordon from Luz Studios, but it’s still a workshop. And it’s every bit as unique as its title: “Ferreting Mantras.”
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Jim’s Victory
Other than one’s spouse, few relationships are as important and influential as the one that exists between teacher and student. Any teacher can shovel knowledge on their pupils, but great teachers unlock their passions.
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This Past Fast
Why must fasting be limited to food? Why should our stomachs be the only organs to suffer the martyrdom of neglect? Recently I went on a five week fast of a completely different type — a photographic fast.
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More Bartlett’s Rejects
Linguistic economy is most definitely not the hallmark of a typical ULTRAsomething article. But every once in a while, I do manage to articulate my thoughts in a pithier than normal manner. I did this a couple years ago with an article called “Bartlett’s Rejects,” which simply listed 14 of my own personal quotes about…
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A Fetishist’s Guide to the Monochrom (Part 3)
In this, the third and final installment in my three part discussion of the Leica M Monochrom, I wrap up my review of the camera’s imaging characteristics, then dive deeply into the psychological aspects of the camera.
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A Fetishist’s Guide to the Monochrom (Part 2)
In this, the second of my three part discussion of the Leica M Monochrom, I take a good long look at the camera’s various imaging characteristics, including tonality and “filmishness” — whatever that means.
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A Fetishist’s Guide to the Monochrom (Part 1)
3 installments! 4 dozen images! 10,000 words! And enough photographic fetishes to qualify as camera porn! In this, part one of my three part discussion of the Leica M Monochrom, I discuss the kinkier mechanical aspects of the camera.
