ALL POSTS INDEX
A hyperlinked index of every ULTRAsomething post in descending chronological order
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Black & White Colors
“Hey, I know! Why don’t I take a nice black and white photo of the colorful fall foliage?” Really, I have thoughts like this. And it’s not like life isn’t already stressful enough without my masochistic need to invent photographic assignments that I can’t possibly hope to satisfy. Why do…
-
Rainy Days and Mondays
It’s been over 40 years since The Carpenters scored a #2 hit by complaining about rainy days and Mondays getting them down. Too bad the Pentax K-5 wasn’t around then…
-
The Leica 21mm Super-Elmar-M
When Leica lent me their new Super-Elmar-M 21mm f/3.4 ASPH lens, I gave a figurative shrug. I already owned an excellent copy of an old 21mm f/2.8 Elmarit pre-ASPH, which I absolutely love. So it would be highly unlikely that Leica’s new 21mm would actually inspire a case of gear…
-
Wag the Blog
Once every three months I slip away from all the limelight, tinsel and glamor of the blogging world, and I take a good long look at ULTRAsomething. I ask myself a great number of questions about what this site is and what it should be. It’s a quarterly rite of…
-
Riffing in the Key of Ricoh
With the release of the GXR Mount A12 module for M-series rangefinder lenses, the Ricoh GXR camera system has not only come of age, but found its way into my camera bag. This article discusses why the GXR has replaced Micro Four Thirds as the digital backup to my Leica…
-
The Geometry of Night
The requirements for photographing at night versus day are as different as… well… as night and day. This article proposes that night photography is best approached not as a challenge of light, but as a challenge of subject.
-
Going for a Spin
Earlier this year, in an attempt to maximize context in my photos, I purchased a swing lens Widelux F7. Its 120 degree horizontal field of view provides me with far more context than I’ve yet been able to use effectively. Sane people would be perfectly satisfied to stop here. So…
-
Bartlett’s Rejects
Without a doubt, this is my most quotable article to date. Perhaps that’s because it’s nothing more than an assemblage of my own personal photography quotes? Whether you have a term paper to write for photography class; are looking to impress a hot hipster with a lomography fetish; or are…
-
Market Speak
What is the market value of a photograph? For how long should someone view a photograph? What does the public want from photography? Why do men have nipples? This article, ULTRAsomething’s latest philosophical musing, provides no answers.
-
Lobotomy, Please!
Self-doubt is a bottomless quagmire from which escape is difficult. We are who we are. If we’re lucky enough to have a vision and to feel passionately about it, then we owe it to ourselves to persevere. Slavishly adapting my style to match current trends would likely bring me more…
-
Hockey Gods
In its forty years of existence, the Vancouver Canucks hockey team has never won the Stanley Cup. Some of this city’s more pagan residents blame this on vengeful Hockey Gods. There might just be some merit to this belief…
-
Fauxtographs
Every so often I see a trend develop that sort of rubs me the wrong way. That’s when I invoke my “Blogger’s Right to Curmudgeonly Commentary” and type out a post like this one. What bee is in my proverbial bonnet this time? Photographers who choose web publication as the…
-
A Long Look at a Widelux (Part 2)
In this, Part 2 of my lengthy look at the classic Widelux F7 panoramic swing lens camera, I discuss the anatomy of the camera, its various eccentricities, and my ultimate delight with its unique view of the world around it.
-
A Long Look at a Widelux (Part 1)
The Widelux F7 takes WIDE photographs. It delivers DEEP focus. And, apparently, writing about it requires LONG articles. In this, Part 1 of my look at this classic camera, I discuss the various photographic needs that drove me to consider panoramic cameras, and my rationale for choosing this particular model.
-
I Heart Rangefinders
I used to think concert photography went with SLR cameras like eggs went with ham. Well, cancel that side of ham and bring me some of that rangefinder bacon. In this article I confront life after SLRs, and schlep a couple of Leica rangefinder cameras to a Heart concert.