ALL POSTS INDEX
A hyperlinked index of every ULTRAsomething post in descending chronological order
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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.
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The Inverted Maslow
Another article filled with psychobabble and theoretical illustrations? Yep. It’s almost as if ULTRAsomething believes that learning about oneself is, at the very least, every bit as important to one’s photography as learning about the latest hip camera gear.
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ePub-a-Dub-Dub
In this article, I offer the generous gift of a stand-alone ePub version of my 10,000 word Leica M Monochrom review, “A Fetishist’s Guide to the Monochrom.” In exchange, I ask only that you read my bellyaching about how annoying it is to create such a thing.
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Terrible Parables
In this article, I explore the idea of a “photographer’s parable,” and soon realize why there are so few of them out there.
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((P)re)incarnation
Reincarnation is a romantic notion, but no one ever bothers to consider the dark-side: What happens when your new life begins before you’ve achieved all the desires of your previous life? Fortunately, I’m here to tell you. Not only that, but I even manage to offer up a quasi-review of…
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Venus in Furs
What does Leopold von Sacher-Masoch have to do with my celebration of ULTRAsomething’s 100th post? Everything, most likely.
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Fireworkzzz
Once every three years, as if possessed by some inner-biological masochism clock, I’ll inexplicably grab a camera on the way out the door to watch Vancouver’s annual Celebration of Light fireworks competition. It’s a curious act for someone who’s violently allergic to fireworks photos.
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Red v. Green
Red cameras are intriguing — not just for filmmakers, but for still photographers as well. But they’re also expensive. Even a complete “entry level” Red Scarlet system is likely to cost as much as a brand new fully-loaded compact automobile. Which is precisely why, when I set out to see…
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47 Photos of Rain
It might be a film. It might be a slide show. It might be a music video. Or it might just be me trying to grunt and babble my way to a new visual language. All that’s really known is it’s a collection of 47 moody, melancholic, phantasmagorical photos of…
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Term Limits
We need to fit the term “photographer” with a pair of concrete shoes, and drop it in the nearest lake. Photography is no longer a unique ability — but the numerous tasks we can accomplish with photography ARE still unique. And this uniqueness is how each of us, moving forward,…
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Pavement
I receive numerous emails questioning me about my photographs and techniques. In order to answer them all, I’ve created this, umm, step-by-step video guide to street photography.
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Hatch Battening
On May 10th, Leica Camera announced the M-Monochrom, a modified version of my beloved M9, which contains a monochromatic (rather than color) digital sensor. It’s the camera I’ve dreamed of owning for over 6 years. So why am I having nightmares? Because I’m trying desperately to convince myself I don’t…
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Glam Cams
In this article, I struggle with the idea that my rugged, he-man camera of choice isn’t peddled in a depot, market or shop — but in a boutique! And I attend the opening of the first Leica Boutique in Canada in an effort to get to the bottom of it…
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A Derelict Memory Lane
“Memory Lane,” as I define it, is “a long strip of acetate with a silver halide coating.” I consider my film cameras to be miniature time capsules — my past self records a person, scene or event that it thinks my future self will find interesting. This article discusses one…
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Rodinal Jones
Chemical dependency is defined as an addiction to a mood-altering chemical. If denied access to the chemical, the dependent person is unable to function properly, and lives only for the chemical and the relief it brings. I never thought it would happen to me — but that was before I…
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Resurrection: AE-1
At this very moment, there are likely thousands of Canon AE-1’s languishing in boxes, drawers and cabinets all around the world. Pity. Because this is as wonderful a camera today as it was when it was first released in 1976. This is the story of my Dad’s AE-1, and its…
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Gear Guano Canal
There is no such thing as technical perfection. There is no perfect camera. There is no perfect lens, flash, film or Photoshop plugin. There is only the perfect image — and people have been taking them for well over a hundred years with some amazingly imperfect gear. So why do…
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Shooting Through the Wormhole
For the last several years, various mid-20th century sources have exerted a profound influence on my own photography: golden age photojournalists of the 1930s and 1940s; post-war photo essays from the 1950s; and John Szarkowski’s New Documentarian leanings of the 1960s. I wasn’t always this anachronistic. Rather, I used to be even…
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The January Effect
In this article, I struggle to find the perfect New Year’s resolution — you know, something fairly trite and not too onerous. Along the journey, I discuss the often negative effect other people’s resolutions have on me, and wax nostalgic over the one and only shining example of positive effect…
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R-E-S-P-E-C-T
I make no money writing these articles for ULTRAsomething. So I moonlight by writing the f/Egor column for Leica Camera — a gig that pays me… umm… actually it pays absolutely nothing. Obviously I haven’t completely grasped the meaning of “moonlighting,” but I do understand the meaning of “respect.” And…