Tri-XXX

After the lesson...

2012-02-09T23:11:00.000+02:00

It's all about having fun after the bell rings!!

A proof that I dont drink alcohol all the time!! :P

Hey Peter!

Bill the pirate! :D

Me again? Too much too much...

Hey Sofia! What the....

Ciggie ciggie... :)

Hey Stefanos! :D

Toilet invasion! :D Some people take it lightly...

...well and some others dont!

Hey CFO!!

Having fun having fun!!

...and a few poser shots, just to justify I dont know what... :P

And the alcohol starts!! Hurray!!!

Was he talking dirtyy?? :D

The privilege of being a CFO...

Dont worry man, someday you'll also make it... :P :P

Well that's all!! Till next time folks!

Andreas

Budapest October 2011

2012-02-07T14:18:00.008+02:00

With Diana mini....That was the first trip that i didn't take my digital camera, and i used that plastic toy thing. Here are a few pics that i find interesting:

At Pest (double exposure)

Film: FujiChrome Provia 100F, expired, cross process

Pest Subway (double exposure or maybe more :p)

Film: FujiChrome Provia 100F, expired, cross process

A statue of two mosquitoes in a playground at Buda (double exposure)

Film: FujiChrome Provia 100F, expired, cross process

(triple exposure)

At Buda Castle (double exposures)

Film: Kodak Gold 200

And the pics below was taken at Margaret island

A statue of a nun (double exposure)

Film: Kodak Ektachrome E100G, expired, cross process

Turtle at Japanese garden

Film: Kodak Ektachrome E100G, expired, cross process

Statue at Japanese garden (double exposure)

Film: Kodak Ektachrome E100G, expired, cross process

And that's the happiness of multiple exposures :)

Meropi

Fotoskiasi at Askyfou

2012-02-04T12:56:00.002+02:00

The gang called fotoskiasi descended at Askyfou! Or ascended? Whatever! :P

So let's take a few photos just to take the burden of our shoulders (so that we can go and have a reeaaaalllllyyyy nice meal and drink yet another mediterranean sea of wine and raki!)

Crete is wonderful when it snows... you just have to beware of the Cretans...

...so off we go to the really fun part... As you can see, noone is really happy before the food and the raki...

... but everything changes afterwards...

cheers with the frappe! :P

Oh my... this is me... 100% ridiculous...

Someone thought he was Kertesz... no comments! :D

I think this refill move was automatic - autorefill!!

Hi you there!! :D

The capellas!! :D

And let's start the negotiations on the koupes!! :D

Are you talking to me??? :P

There are other people there who had to bare with us... until the point when we started putting out the heavy guns...

Yes... there was a Mamiya RB67 around... (faints...)

...and a foucking Rolleiflex!!! You can't say, this guy has a style... doesnt he convince you that he is a super duper photographer??

You at least have to admire his style!!!!

For those that do not know, in Greece it is forbidden to smoke in closed public spaces... Viva la revolution cretan! :P :P :P

Cheers mates!!!
Till next time,
Andreas

walk + village

2012-02-02T23:01:00.001+02:00

Some pics from a walk with fotoskiasi (a photography club in Chania).

Later that day, I went to my village, where my nephew, Sophocles was. He's so adorable and camera-friendly.

and a serious one :P

Nek

P.S. yes, I know my films are dirty.

Fota at my village

2012-01-08T00:32:00.000+02:00

At the 6th of January, the baptism of Christ is celebrated in my country. As part of the celebration, sanctification of waters is performed, I guess related to us Greeks being so much dependent on the sea. A priest will throw at the sea a cross and people will dive to bring it back. The process is repeated three times.

Well, since it is, err, winter, the sea is not that friendly to dive in... So some preparation has to done from the "brave" divers...

... till the cross is thrown by the priest and the competition starts... Who will be the one to retrieve the cross?

It is considered a blessing to catch the cross...

So the process is repeated two more times...

...and since it is considered such a good thing to catch the cross, often people from the "audience" with their clothes on, will attempt to manage it, should the cross falls close to them... the lady in front of me did exactly that...

Till next year... I wish for the best to everyone!

Andreas

More Kodachromes

2012-01-07T00:22:00.003+02:00

Scanning slowly the kodachromes and processing them even more slowly.

To be updated with more photos. Stay tuned.

Andreas

ps. let's hope Kodak stays alive...

Kite

2011-12-28T21:04:00.000+02:00

Elafonisi, Crete, Greece, April 2011.

Click on images to see them in larger size. More photos will be added as soon as they are processed.

Kodak E100GX slide film, cross processed. Mamiya 645 camera.

Andreas

Young Skywalker

2011-11-24T23:24:00.001+02:00

I could not resist posting this photo that I discovered as I was going through some old scans...

Kodak Tri-X 400 pushed 2 stops in Rodinal 1+50.Andreas

Φωτοσκίαση 2011/12

2011-10-30T19:06:00.001+02:00

Η Φωτοσκίαση ξεκινά τις συναντήσεις / μαθήματα για τη νέα χρονιά!

Άντε καλή αρχή να έχουμε! Για όσους θα ήθελαν να μάθουν μερικά παραπάνω πριν από τη πρώτη συνάντηση μπορούμε να αναφέρουμε τα ακόλουθα:
Τέσσερις θεματικές ενότητες: τεχνικά θέματα γύρω από τη φωτογραφία, αισθητική / σύνθεση, ιστορία της φωτογραφίας, concept.
Πολλά έξτρα εκτός των βασικών μαθημάτων όπως σκοτεινός θάλαμος, studio φωτογράφιση και άλλα.
Εξορμήσεις, εκδρομές και ψησίματα!
Φωτογραφικά project και μια έκθεση στο τέλος της χρονιάς...

Σας περιμένουμε όλους!

Ανδρέας

Economopoulos Photography Workshop in Crete

2011-08-02T10:42:00.005+03:00

It seems that it is the time of workshops this time around. Nikos Economopoulos of Magnum is coming to Crete in September for a workshop! The 3-day workshop will be held from 2 to 4 September 2011 in either Chania or Heraklion (not finalized yet). You can find more details in the relevant event announcement at facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=254630104548365&notif_t=event_invite.

For those not familiar with Economopoulos, you may check his page on Magnum Photos or his website with more information on his workshops and photography work: http://www.ontheroad.gr/

Andreas

Constantinos Manos Workshop in Athens

2011-07-28T12:55:00.003+03:00

I dont think that Constantinos Manos of Magnum needs any reference, but whoever is not familiar with his work may check his website or his page at Magnum photos.

The news is that he is coming in Athens, early November, for a workshop. At the moment, I don't have any more details - let's call this internal information. I'll update the post when I have more to share. For the moment, whoever is interested may start saving or arrange his schedule to participate :) [update] The workshop will be held at The Athens House of Photography, from 3 to 7 November 2011. For more information you may check this web page or directly contact the organizers for more details on the program, the prices etc at this email: info@phototheatron.com .

Andreas

The event has been posted on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=154156261326212

For those without a facebook account (or those that dont want to open a new page), here it is all that matters:

The Athens House of Photography announces its first workshop for the 2011-2012 season, with renowned Greek-American photographer Constantine Manos. The seminar will run from November 3rd to November 7th 2011.

Description of workshop

This five-day photographic workshop, taught in Greek and English by Constantine Manos, will take place in Athens begins on the morning of Thursday, November 3 and ends in the afternoon of Monday, November 7, 2011. The long weekend schedule will allow photographers to photograph weekend activities in the city as well as use days on which they would be free of job responsibilities.
Classroom hours will be from 10:00 am to 13:00 pm daily. Some afternoon activities and meetings may be scheduled.
The primary mission of the workshop is to teach photographers how to go into the public domain, in this case the city of Athens, to make good candid photographs. We will work with a small digital camera, equipped with a wide-angle lens in the 28mm-35mm full-frame range.
The photographs we are seeking are ones in which the photographer is anonymous and captures unique moments combining people and settings. Our goal is to create images that are surprises, images that have never been seen before and will never be seen again. We will be seeking photographs that go beyond what things look like to express the photographer’s personal vision.
The first morning of the workshop will consist of a detailed presentation on how to select subject matter, how to discreetly approach people in the public domain, and how to use one’s camera to the greatest advantage. Aspects of street photography – including choice of subjects, locations, light, events, day and night shooting, cameras and lenses, etc. – will be discussed.
In the afternoon the photographers will go into the city in search of pictures. The next morning they will bring to class an edited digital selection of work from the previous day’s shooting. Each editing will then be projected and critiqued by Manos, who will point out the successes and failures of each image. This schedule will repeated each day of the workshop, with the goal being a visible improvement in the photographs by the end of the workshop.
Please bring a digital portfolio of 10-15 photos of previous work, which will be critiqued by Manos during the early days of the workshop.

Costs and payment terms

The cost of the seminar is 500 Euros, without VAT (615 including 23% VAT). This includes breakfast and coffee breaks for all 5 days, as well as two copies of Manos’ books (Greek Portfolio and American Color).

The deadline for registration is October 15th. Upon registration, there is a non-refundable down-payment of 125 Euros. By October 15th another 245 Euros have to be paid and the remainder (245 Euros) has to be paid before the workshop begins.

For anyone arriving from out of Athens, please notify us if you need accommodation during the seminar.

For registration and information:
info@phototheatron.com
or
6972 209171
6986 800101

Closed

2011-07-12T12:00:00.003+03:00

Peeping a closed old house (used as a tavern during summer) in the old town of Chania, October 2010.

Keramia (or somewhere near), a village near Chania, October 2010.

Kodachrome 64 as usual (when will I post something different?? :) ).
Photo taken with a Canon EOS 300 and an EF 35mm f/2 lens.

Andreas

Light Camera

2011-06-24T14:59:00.000+03:00

I have been reading about an interesting new camera concept that is soon to be commercialized. It is called Light Camera and it is to be introduced by a startup company named Lytro. The concept of the camera is that instead of using a lens to sharply focus lights rays from a certain image plane to the focal plane (the focal plane at present cameras is the sensor or the film), a series of lenses or microlenses are used to record the ambient light field in a scene: essentially all of the light rays entering the camera’s aperture.

This "plenoptic" camera then can use specialized software so that the end used can choose the focus point after the photo has been taken. It is very interesting actually and the demos in Lytro's web page are quite impressive.

So where does this all takes us? From one hand, we have a convergence of video and photo technology that specialists are claiming that in a few years time, photographers will be able to choose stills from video streams instead of taking individual photos. We have systems like the aforementioned that photographers do not even have to focus as they'll be able to do it afterwards. We have all improved automatic modes and smart metering. Variable ISO is also coming so that you wont even have to meter correctly.... So maybe in a few years time, there wont be photographers but rather editors and graphic designers?

Just wondering...

Andreas

Exhibition

2011-06-15T16:39:00.001+03:00

I dont really know why it is taking so long to update this blog. Maybe there is a feeling that it requires more time than it actually does or is it that I'm more busy than I would like to think? It could very well be both.

But anyway, this blog is supposed to be about photos, not rumblings about my personal life. From my previous post I had promised to post more Kodachrome photos and this is exactly what I'll do here. However, I am not going to just post a few random photos. The ones that you can see below are my participation in a group photography exhibition that recently took place in Chania. The title of the exhibition was "Public Spaces" and it was held as part of the events around the city organised by p-public. The title of the set is "Restructuring".

So enjoy!

As usual... all photos taken with a Canon EOS 300 and an EF 35mm f/2 lens. And of course... Kodachrome 64.

Andreas

Kodachromes

2011-05-24T14:53:00.000+03:00

Lately I have been scanning my Kodachromes. Actually I have them scanned by a professional using a professional scanner. This is a (almost) a first for me. The only exception has been for a few photos that have been scanned and printed in order to be used in a couple of exhibitions I have participated. So, in contrast of having to deal with shitty scans from shitty scanners and my particularly incompetent scanning skills, I now have really good material to start with. 100MB+ tiffs of high quality digital files are nice. The only thing that is not nice though is the cost... but anyway I'm scanning a few at a time so as not to see a huge bill at once! :P

So 'nough said. Let me show you a couple of those fresh photos! :D More will be coming in the next few days, so stay tuned!

All photos taken with a Canon EOS 300 and an EF 35mm f/2 lens. And of course... Kodachrome 64.

Andreas

Photoshop Private Lessons

2011-05-10T17:58:00.001+03:00

A photographer and good friend of mine, Nikos Vasilakis, has started teaching Photoshop in private. Since he is located in Athens, this mostly concerns greeks and you can read more here (the web page is in greek).

More information on Nikos and his work may be found in his website, nikosalpha.com.

Andreas

Photometria 2011

2011-04-15T00:19:00.002+03:00

I just received an email for a photo festival in Ioannina, Greece, accompanied by a photography competition. The theme is "Street Life" and you can participate by sending your photos till the 8th of May.

For more information, check the website of the festival: www.photometria.gr. Apart from the competition, there will be exhibitions and seminars, so check it all! :D

Andreas

Documentary Project Workshop 11th Arrondissement, Paris

2011-04-13T17:32:00.000+03:00

"Join Documentary Photographer and Educator Stella Johnson in the documentation of the 11th arrondissement, Paris. Working with Parisian photographer Eva Le Pallec, Stella will teach you how to approach a subject and how to start a long-term project, in the cafes and of the daily life in the 11th arrondissement, where Le Pallec lives. We will look at contemporary documentary photography and discuss how the projects evolved and why the individual images work and how they work in a sequence. You will be photographing every day and we will also meet for class critiques everyday. You will learn how to make contact and follow-through with one subject. We will show you how to photograph “intangible moments”, those in between moments, the moments we tend to forget but constitute life. Stella will meet with all participants privately to review their portfolios."

If you are interested in this workshop - which will take place from Aug. 28, 2011 to Sept. 3, 2011 - you may visit its page in facebook (it is in english) or its website (which is in french).

I would highly recommend it! :D

Andreas

Elafonisi

2011-04-08T16:39:00.000+03:00

From my latest visit to this lovely beach.

Canon EOS 5D Mark II with a EF 35mm f/2 Wide Angle AF Lens. April 2011.

Andreas

New Kodak Portra 160 Film

2011-03-01T14:35:00.002+02:00

It seems like a partial relief that Kodak still announces new films. This means that the business is still alive. (Though I mention partial because the new film replaces two lines of films, the Portra 160NC and 160VC, so it is a sign of shrinking). So I continue to be optimistic :)

More information on the new film: Kodak Professional Portra 160 Film

Andreas

UPDATE: I have been reading this blog post on the new Portra and it seems amazing! It also made me want to try the new Portra 400!

M-mount (leica) module for Ricoh's GXR camera system

2011-02-02T12:38:00.002+02:00

Ricoh has developed a rather interesting camera system (GXR Interchangeable Unit Digital Camera System), where modules including the lens, the sensor and the image processor can be mounted on the camera body. Now, Ricoh announced that it will make available an expansion unit for this camera system. The expansion unit will have a 12.9MP CMOS APS-C sensor and will have an M-mount ring to which lenses compatible with Leica's M-mount system can be attached. M-mount are Leica's lenses for its rangefinders and the same mount is also used by most rangefinder manufacturers such as Zeiss and Cosina/Voightlander. I think it will be a really interesting development.

News source: http://www.dpreview.com/news/1102/11020114ricohmmount.asp

Andreas

Double Exposures

2011-01-21T11:37:00.000+02:00

I have been working on a small project while shooting my last roll of Kodachrome. I photographed a few friends in open environment (not studio) and then I rewinded the film and photographed around the university. So the end result is a series of double exposures combining a portrait of some kind with a structure/industrial setting.

These are the first two photos I scanned. Hope you like them.

As mentioned the film used is Kodachrome and the camera is a Canon EOS300 with a Canon EF 35mm f/2 lens.

Andreas

International Street Photography Awards

2011-01-20T12:16:00.001+02:00

The London Street Photography Festival has announced the first International Street Photography Awards. The festival is going to be held (ok where else? :P ) in London in June 2011 and the competition is accepting entries till the end of March. So for the street photographers interested, go check the festival's website here and the competition's webpage here.

Oh! If you are a student (over 18) in the UK there is a separate category for the competition. Check it here.

I wish the best success to anyone who will participate!

Andreas

Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2011

2011-01-13T11:11:00.002+02:00

I was reading through news in dpreview.com and spotted the announcement of the Leica Oskar Barnack Award 2011. It a really interesting and prestigious photography competition (with significant prizes as well), so whoever is interested could check on Leica's website for the competition : http://www.leica-oskar-barnack-preis.de

Andreas

Lomo photos

2010-12-22T12:03:00.001+02:00

Photos from my first rolls of film with the Lomo Fisheye 2 and Lomo Action sampler cameras. This post will be updated to include more photos as they are processed.

(Lomo Fisheye 2 and Fuji Reala 100)

(Lomo Action Sampler and long expired Fuji Provia 100 cross processed)

Andreas

at chalepa

2010-11-24T10:19:00.000+02:00

Canon EOS 300, EF 35mm f/2
Kodak Tri-X 400, developed in HC-110 (1+32)

Andreas

Old films

2010-11-17T21:14:00.000+02:00

I was going through some of my old films and I came upon those photos. Hope you like them a bit :)

I'm coming to get you Barbara.... :P

Canon EOS 300, Canon EF 35mm f/2.
Kodak TriX @800 (I think I used Rodinal or T-Max developer, not sure which one though...)

Lomo Fisheye

2010-11-08T17:07:00.001+02:00

I have been using a lomo fisheye 2 camera the past few days...

All I can say is that it is really fun! I am waiting to get my first film back from the lab to check if the result is fun as well. Hope there will be a few photos to share here! :)

Andreas

Firmware rants...

2010-10-26T11:51:00.000+03:00

Continuing from a previous post where I expressed a few concerns about the firmware updates that keep on coming to correct bugs and poorly designed initial products, I opened today dpreview.com. On the front page only, out of the 50 reviews or news stories, there are 14 announcements of firmware updates! Almost every third article is about a firmware update...... I dont know what to make of this. However I do know that I would prefer longer product lifecycles, so that when a camera comes out it is more well-thought and tested.

Andreas

Skinakas Space Observatory

2010-10-20T20:36:00.004+03:00

Skinakas summit is located at the island of Crete, 60km away from Heraklion (by road, 25km line-of-sight). Its construction began in 1984 and it has been built and operated by the University of Crete, the Foundation of Research and Technology - Hellas and the Max-Planck-Institut fur Extraterrestrische Physik (Germany). At an altitude of 1750m on a wide plateau four buildings stand: three observatory domes and a guesthouse.

Each year the observatory is open to the public. This gives the opportunity to visitors to be introduced to the operation of the research facility and observe through the telescope. The photos presented here were taken during my visit to the site.

Some photos from the site before it started to get dark...

That is the observatory dome that houses the 1.3m RC telescope. This is the telescope through which we would be able to observe a group of stars.

This dome houses the 0.3m flat field telescope.

The view towards southern Crete...

...and towards northern Crete...

This is a visitor building... I dont know what that means however it was really nice for photos :)

As it was getting darker, it was also getting really cold (no matter that it was August) and so we all gathered around the entrance of the main dome where we could hear some people from the university explaining us a few things about the observatory and the group of stars that they had targeted and we could see from the telescope.

We eventually went into the actual telescope dome and these are a couple of photos from that room (really dark, however remember that no flash could be fired in there!) just for reference...

And a last photo before we leave this amazing place...

For those interested, you can visit the website of the observatory at this address: http://skinakas.physics.uoc.gr/.

There you'll also find the announcements for the open days. Be aware though, open days most usually are 3 or 4 Sundays from May to September. This year's open days have ended so look for the 2011 announcements.

All photos were taken with a Canon EOS 5D Mark II with a 35mm f/2 lens. August 2009.

Andreas

Canon 5D mkII firmware update

2010-10-19T14:01:00.002+03:00

Canon has released a firmware update for the EOS 5D Mark II camera. Firmware version 2.0.8 fixes a number of issues in video recording and live view. For more information on the release and to download the update, go to Canon's website here.

Although I'm a very satisfied owner of this camera, it keeps putting me off the number of updates that we commonly see for digital cameras. This indicates for me poor testing and low software quality. And it is not just a Canon issue. It is common practice throughout the industry. Anyway, just ranting. At least it is good that the companies acknowledge their shortcomings and offer the updates.

Andreas

Photography Masterclass by Antoine D'Agata in Athens

2010-10-15T12:45:00.002+03:00

I just read that Magnum photographer Antoine D'Agata will be hosting a masterclass workshop in Athens on November 2010. The 5-days workshop will begin on the 5th of November and there are 15 open positions for professional or serious amateur photographers.

For more information: art-if-act.com

Andreas

Night On Earth

2010-10-13T12:19:00.001+03:00

Night on Earth concert at School of Architecture, Technical University of Crete. 9th Anti-War Festival, 17 April 2010.

All photos taken with a Canon 5D Mark II with EF 50mm f1.4lens.

Andreas

Workshop at the beach

2010-10-05T13:26:00.004+03:00

If you have read the previous post on this blog from Nektarios, you already know about Stella Johnson's workshop here in Chania at the end of May, beginning of June. You can see samples of student works here. Unfortunately, work is a time-sucker, so I was not able to take part and I was left with an envy. However, I was able to enjoy the company of fine friends and great photographers that actually participated. Here are some beach photos with them...

Canon EOS 300 with EF 35mm f/2 lens.
Expired Kodak T-MAX 100 Black & White Film, developed in Kodak HC-110(B), scan from negative.

Andreas

clicks

2010-09-29T03:01:00.018+03:00

Not much to say here, some pics from the last Stella Johnson's workshop in Chania last May. My worst workshop in the aspect of my photography, but one of the best in terms of communicating, learning, blending in, and discovering things about my style.

Some lambs and goats:

Interiors:

Outdoors:

Abstract:

Canon EOS 500N, Canon EF 50 mm f/1.8 II Lens, Fuji Superia 400 / Canon EOS 5D Mark II, Canon EF 35mm f/2 Lens

Nektarios

Summer photos

2010-09-28T14:33:00.002+03:00

Canon EOS 300 with EF 35mm f/2 lens.
Expired Kodak T-MAX 100 Black & White Film, developed in Kodak HC-110(B), scan from negative.

Andreas

Through your own viewfinder.

2010-09-24T11:36:00.004+03:00

September 24th, 2010 - Waiting for my turn in Greek Social Security Service, something which is known to be extremely slow.

Unfortunately, this has become my reality over the last year once every month (or twice). Not having anything to do while waiting, I do what every other person there does. I observe people. I notice what they wear, how they move, how they interact. As a photographer, I see through a viewfinder and create virtually orthogonal images, by deliberately hiding a part of what I see, so that what I'm looking is similar to a photograph.

A fat lady just passed in front of me, and when her legs opened for the next step while she was in front of me, an old guy just behind her, seemed exactly framed inside the isosceles triangle formed by the woman's feet and the ground level. The old man had his head in his hands and his feet spread at approximately the same angle with the lady's legs. The paradox of huge legs (because of the proximity to my eye) wearing very kitschy shoes, combined with the small-shaped old man with the attitude of despair, would create an amazing photo. At that very moment, I closed and reopened my eyes, as if they were a shutter. I almost heard the click of my camera. What a striking image.

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me today. But even if i did, chances to capture this image on my film or sensor, were very small. I may not have had the time to frame, perhaps the subjects would have noticed me, something that would cause them not to behave naturally, perhaps, perhaps, perhaps...

Ultimately the issue is that to produce one breathtaking image (street in particular), you need hundreds of coordinates to be aligned ideally and the photographer with his agility and talent should make the picture. But even if he fails to capture this moment, he still earns something. He earns the ability to see life in moments, in the most slight details that most people barely notice.

It doesn't matter if you're a photographer or not. This procedure is something that wakes you up, it's the most refreshing thing in the world. Something that makes you see life in a completely different way. Observe those moments, keep them. If you need to, blink your eyes. You might even hear the click.

Itzedin

2010-09-23T12:53:00.005+03:00

Talking a lot about photography, yet not a lot of photos huh? Let's start changing that by posting some photos.

These photos were taken about a year and a half ago at an old fortress (and then a prison till recent times) called Itzedin. It overlooks the bay of Souda (Chania, Crete, Greece). You can read more about it here.

(Click on the photos below to view them in larger resolution).

All photos were taken with a Mamiya 645 Super with a 80mm f/2.8 lens. Films used: Kodak Tri-X 400and Ilford FP4+. Both developed in Rodinal (1+50).

Leica madness...

2010-09-21T12:47:00.001+03:00

I had to read the press release more than three times to make sure that the price I saw was indeed correct... Leica introduces a titanium version of its M9 camera with a 35 f/1.4 lens at the affordable price of......... £19,800!!!!!!! That is GBP not euros people!

Comments are yours. I would just like to know the guy who will buy it. Maybe he could spare me his pocket change. so that I can buy a lens or maybe a motorcycle!

Andreas

FujiFilm FinePix100

2010-09-20T14:14:00.004+03:00

Looking for the first product announcements coming from Photokina, I stumbled upon the FujiFilm FinePix100 compact camera announcement. Well, I have grown a serious dislike for digital compact cameras, as I have found none so far to be acceptable. Their only only actual appealing feature is their small size. But you have to counter that with sluggish, slow performance, low image quality, totally unacceptable high (by "high" in these cameras we say anything from 400 ISO and more) ISO performance, cumbersome at the least manual settings, not really nice displays and very short battery life. What is there to like? (ok, maybe I'm little bit exaggerating here but that's my personal overview of the subject).

But look at this one!

Shit, it is great!! Just like a classic rangefinder camera!
And the good things?

1. large 12MP APS-C sensor
2. fixed bright 23mm f/2 lens (35mm eq.)
3. Hybrid viewfinder (both optical and electronic)

According to dpreview.com it is supposed to offer an ISO range from 200 to 3200 (expandable to 100 - 6400) and if it can shoot with acceptable results at 1600 ISO, it will be great! The lens seems nice and this is the lens I'm using all the time, so what is the price??? If it is below 1000 euros, then it will be a good buy I think!

There are two other compact cameras of similar design, the Leica X1 and the Sigma DP2. I know little for both. But the Leica costs almost as much as my 5D Mark II and I cannot but wonder the benefit. The FujiFilm seems on the other hand much better than the DP2 (and the Leica to be honest), so if it is priced nicely, I think it deserves a good look!!

FujiFilm's official announcement : http://www.fujifilm.com/news/n100920.html

An equipement exhibition on the street

2010-09-16T14:47:00.001+03:00

I recently visited the island of Santorini, Greece. A beautiful island, but that is not the subject of my post. Santorini has been forced in the minds of people around the world, as THE place to watch the sunset. It's like the event of the day. Everyone tries to find the right spot, setup all the equipment, find a girl to kiss (or a man) and they even applaud in happiness and excitement as the sun goes down the sea.

I have been to many places, but never witnessed such a gathering of diverse and expensive photographic equipment around me. It could be a live Photokina exhibition for Canon, Nikon, Manfrotto and the likes. Especially all Japanese and Chinese tourists were so heavy loaded! I'm pretty sure that there hasn't been a single photographic accessory that was not moving around at the little streets of the small magnificent villages of the island. And I also think that after a point on, I could only notice the cheap lenses and cameras as the red rings of the expensive "L" glasses on high profile bodies were so common, that they became a natural sight to my eyes!

I hope that after I review my shots, I'll come back and show some photographs at last instead of simply ranting... :) . Till then, have a good time and keep on shooting!

Andreas

hello world

2010-09-09T16:38:00.003+03:00

Hey people, I'm Nektarios, and I'll be caressing your eyes from now on on this blog, with photos, articles and whatever comes to my head. The name of this blog is kinda weird since I'm mostly a digital kid, so I intend to take the role of the "bad cop", in a mostly film-oriented blog.

"Talk" to you soon. Cheers!

Throughts on film and digital

2010-09-09T14:19:00.004+03:00

Oh... the so original question! There must be thousands of threads all over the internet on this subject. I'm not going to contribute to that. All I want to do is to simply post my experience on the matter. No photos included. And no technical data and analysis. Just my impression.

Black and white photos

I feel very strongly that when you photograph you have either to use the proper tool for what you want to do or use your tools abilities and limitations and work with those. As such, I would never use color film to make black and white photos (through scanning and post processing). It is simply a mindset. Putting color film or b&w film on my camera makes me think in color or b&w respectively and I act in that fashion.

This attitude has followed me also in my dSLR era (using a Canon 5D mkIIcamera). I tend to shoot with it assuming that my photos will be in color, not b&w. After a year working with this camera, I think I havent tried to convert more than a handful of photos to b&w. And when I do that, I'm completely disappointed. Maybe my skills in Photoshop(or Lightroom) are not that great but I tend to get the feeling of unoriginality. It just doesnt feel like true black and white. Maybe I'm just too stuck to the b&w films that I cannot accept something else. Anyway, for black and white photos, I prefer film. Period.

Color photos

I have been shooting a lot with FujiFilm Reala. I find it a great combination of affordable great quality film. The color is just superb. And the good thing is that the people that scan and print my films have used it extensively and I get excellent and consistent results each time. Which is a good thing.

Lately I'm shooting with Kodachrome. I have some last few rolls, bought a year ago when I found out that it would be discontinued. Well, this is my first experience with such a film and all I can say is that it is mind-blowing. It is the best color I have seen. So vibrant, so intense, so saturated - without being odd or excessive to the eye. Simply perfect.

I find both films to produce better results than the 5D. It is a little disappointing, however it is true that during daytime (and especially at "hard" light hours), film is much better and more forgiving. The latter is especially important for me since most of my photos are street photos and therefore I dont have the luxury of perfectly adjusting my every shot to the lighting conditions of the frame. I have to react fast so that I wont loose a good moment.

There are two very very serious caveats though. First, did you notice that both films are low-ISO films (100 and 64 ISO)? What happens when the light is just not enough for those films? I know I know there are higher ISO films. Though I dont feel so strongly about those for a number of reasons. I feel that 5D feels much more comfortable comparing to those films, the detail is not that great (compared to the 5D) and they scan far worse than their low-ISO colleagues. (nonetheless I have some photos that I really like with high-iso films). On the other hand, to get good quality high-iso films you have to spend a lot more. I really like the FujiFilm 800 though. :)

5DmkII is simply amazing at high-ISO. And because of my work, I shoot a lot at late hours. So it gets many many points from me in that respect.

The second big thing is processing and printing/publishing. While my Kodachrome blows me and gives me this huge smile, I can only view it or project it. Otherwise, to make anything from low quality web sized photos to a quality large print, I have to use a really good scanner (and someone more proficient than myself in the scanning and processing tasks). So some of this mind-blowing will go away with the digitization. I'm not sure how much better the scan will be compared to the 5D. Anyway the difference will be smaller. And the cost much higher. Unfortunately.

One may argue that there is a third factor in the equation. Time. It is true, digital is much faster and some times combining long working hours with processing and scanning is just too much. But anyway, since I'm not a professional photographer trying to meet deadlines, I find this argument a little less strong. I have always found myself feeling more confident about the way I see and judge my photos when I'm not too close to the excitement of actually making the photos, so I enjoy some time distance between taking a photo and seeing it.

Although I did not mention it, these comparisons apply when comparing 35mm film and a dSLR. In case of medium format film, well things are different, and maybe (for dSLR's shake) we should not touch this. :)

Tri-XXX resets and restarts!

2010-09-07T16:57:00.012+03:00

Hey people,

after practically ignoring the blog for a long time, I have decided to start reusing it. I hope that this time around a few things will be different.

First of all, I now have an easier access to film scanning. As such it will be much easier for me to post photos on the internet.

Second, well... not really proud to mention it in a blog named after the famous Kodak Tri-X black and white film, I also found my way on to digital photography. I bought myself a Canon 5D Mark II
. So... again it'll be easier to post photos from this beastie.

I've also decided to make this blog a little more general about photography. Expect to see technical stuff, recommendations and opinions on equipment (as well as personal reviews and experience on photography equipment that I use), thoughts on various aspects of photography, news about exhibitions, workshops or other related events and also talk on inspiring works and photographers. We'll see how this will work!

So off we go!!

Andreas

A busy evening

2009-03-24T18:50:00.024+02:00

Two blog entries so close to each other! It can't be! :)

It seems that the digital cameras that I've been using from friends give me an opportunity to communicate more and more photos. That has been especially true during the past few months that I have been using almost exclusively my Mamiya. The little beast produces excellent photos, but unfortunately I cannot scan them, since I have not a medium format scanner at my disposal and scanning those films at a lab costs way way too much.

Anyway... let's see what happened during an evening with a borrowed camera....... it all started with a coffee at Ippopotamos cafe with dear Ilektra ...

and the also dear....

... (my God! can you use the word "dear" with this face?? :P :P ) Nektarios. Ok, ok, dear Nektarios....

Coffee done... not much interest and too much cold outside, so we headed towards Yali Tzamisi, to an art exhibition of a women's club on the occasion of the Day of the Woman. Basically not that interested in the exhibition (dont tell that!!!) but just to meet our friend M. there! :)

Things got a little bit rough though in the beginning as you can see...

Someone got angry for being photographed! :P :P

M calmed things a little bit, although you can see the suspicion in his eyes, cant you?

Some more fighting.... and becoming friends again.... :)

This guy....

Cant really get bored with him! He can even speak seriously!!

But as you can see, Ilektra has all the credentials to be part of the "funny face" gang too! :D

Playing a little bit with the reflections on M's photos...

... just to give time to Nektarios to prepare his next act!!!

You understand that if we stayed any longer there, we were going to be kicked out! So we had to leave!

Catching a night street photo...

... and off we go to the Fotoskiasi (photography club) meeting! Look how we were greeted!

The meetings of the photography club are held at the Immigrants' Place, a building in the old town of Chania dedicated to immigrants. A live place with always something going on in there!

And from the crowed first floor, up we go to our classroom!! :)

Dont take the sexy face in front of a man with a camera...

...because you may feel embarassed later on!! :P

4 o'clock...

Participating....

.... I want to participate too!!

Well, that's all folks!!! :)

Till next time... tataaaaa!!

Andreas

Epea + Old Harbor

2009-03-16T20:48:00.012+02:00

It's been so long since I last updated my blog. Maybe now it's a good chance to revive it again!

Although I dont use a digital camera nor I'm a fan of it, I have to admit that when you want to play a little bit, not having to think about the clicks nor the process afterwards, kinda sets you free. No, you dont make better pictures (probably the contrary) but you have a little bit more fun in the process! :)

So, here is me fooling around with a D200. Nice camera although I hate its ergonomics. I also hate its high ISO performance so be prepared to see a looooooooot of noise!!

Epea Pteroenta (greek : Έπεα Πτερόεντα meaning words of the air) is maybe one of the best cafes in Chania for me. A tiny tiny place yet every little bit of seems so particular, so unique, so well taken care of. I really love this place, I really like the people in it.

On the foreground my Coronita! :)

Using Maria to create more layers to the photo....

Scramble time!!! But can you notice the little amazing detail of the place? :P (hint: it's on the ceiling! )

Love capturing the people while talking (and without interfering to their conversation)!!

Ok, the image is very soft but had to apply some noise correction. At high ISO the Nikon is awful. Having shot with some Canon dSLRs, I can say that Nikon performs very very poorly... Anyway! Who cares!

Scramble et al...

Action inside, action outside...

Look at this guy... I mean did he actually plan on getting dressed to the colors of the cafe??? :P :P

Let's leave the cafe and start walking a little bit!!

Photos outside Yali Tzamisi at the old harbor of Chania.

That's all folks! See you around! :)

Byrsodepsia (Tampakaria)

2008-07-08T10:56:00.012+03:00

Tampakaria are located at the suburbs of Chania, close to Chalepa - once the aristocratic neighborhood of the city. This is the place where most of the leather-processing small industries were (are) located from the middle of the 19th century. The area was chosen because of its subsaline underground waters used for the initial softening of the leathers and its proximity to the town.

Today most of these small industries are closed. The buildings that used to house these industries are either abandoned or used for different purposes. Few remain operational for their initial intention. However, their unique architecture has not faded in time - adapted to the natural declination of the ground, they are ground floor buildings with an entrance from the main street and they two or three floor buildings from the seaside. They are built with stone and ceramic roofs, one inline with the other separated only with narrow stairways towards the sea. They constitute a unique architectural ensemble.

The photos presented here were taken during my visit to the place on May 2008. I wanted to photograph the area, but was completely unaware that there were actually operational units there left. People working there welcomed me and let me photograph freely. I spent a couple of days there and I think this is a project worth pursuing. As they told me the business is rapidly dying. Maybe a couple of years from closing down. Plastic leathers and imports from China or other low-cost countries as well as lower demand from the local traditional leather handicrafts is driving this profession to an extinction here.

B&W photos were taken using Kodak's Tri-X 400 b&w negative film, underexposed by 1 stop and a little overprocessed in Kodak T-Max Dev. Color photos were taken with Fuji's 800 and 1600 ISO color negative films (Superia). All photos were taken using a Canon EF 35mm f/2 lens.

Palace du Grand Magistre

2008-04-20T18:42:00.005+03:00

Place: Palace du Grand Magistre, medieval town of Rhodes, Rhodes island, Greece.
Time: February 2008.
Film used: Kodak Tri-X 400 b&w negative, developed in T-MAX dev.

Eleousa

2008-03-23T14:25:00.005+02:00

Photos from Eleousa village, Rhodes island, Greece. This was the second time I visited the place, in order to focus more on the abandonned buildings located near the central square. So I mounted a b&w Tri-X film on my camera and went shooting!! Nature-like photos from the same place, can be seen here.

City of Rhodes

2008-03-03T20:55:00.008+02:00

Photos from the city of Rhodes, taken during a sunny Sunday in January 2008.

All photos taken using an Agfa slide (ISO 100) film, cross-processed.

Profitis Ilias

2008-03-02T16:31:00.007+02:00

Profitis Ilias is one of the highest mountains in Rhodes island. The area is covered by forests of pines and cypresses and has been included in the network of protected areas Natura 2000. Near the peak of the mountain, one may find the monastery of Prof. Ilias and around it a few remains of buildings and houses dating back to the italian occupation of the island. Two of the them have been renovated and are now used as hotels.

Oh my God! A photo of mine!!! Strange things happen too! :P

At the same area, the house of the italian ruler of Rhodes is also located. Unfortunately the building has not been preserved. It is still unique though (especially in front of a photographer's eyes) and the view from it, is simply breathtaking.

Photographic quotes... The colors on the the above images are rather strange and highly saturated. I have used an Agfa color slide (ISO 100) and developed it as a negative film (cross-processing). No digital manipulation other than scanning from the negatives and resizing. Hope you like it. More photos from the same roll of film will follow in a later post.

C-yA!!!

Andreas

First photos from Rhodes island

2008-02-03T17:35:00.000+02:00

It's been a long time since I took my camera and started wandering around for new photos. But times roll, things change, world moves on and so the soldier has found his way back to the photographic reality.

Don't expect to see any greatness. But what the heck! If greatness was to be found so easily, I would be a pro! :P

First photos are from Psinthos... (by the way... all photos are from Rhodes island as the title of the post suggests!)

A nice taverna is located next to this little river (named "Fasoli" or "Fasouli" or something similar). So as you understand, it was hunger that lead me to this place and not any photographic quest... :P

I used a FujiFilm Reala 100 film by the way. Here you see the scans from the negative. The same applies for the photos that follow.

As I said, the film used is Reala, therefore a color one. The photo above has been converted in b&w using Adobe PhotoShop CS3. These two photos and a few more that follow were taken at Eleousa, a small village on the mountains of central Rhodes. Quite near to where I live now.

Let's move to the city now....

That's for now! Hope you liked them!!!

Andreas

Some photos

2008-01-14T21:33:00.000+02:00

After - I don't really know how long - quite a while, I got myself on the streets again and started shooting. It felt really nice, I have to admit. Didn't quite shoot a whole role of film and I don't even know when I'll be able to develop and scan it. The thing is that I want to post a few photos... desperately! Hahahahahaha!!!!

So... instead of showing any recent photos, I'll post a few photos from last summer. From my visit to two villages - Vafes and Fre - located near my place. The photos are nothing special, but remember I'm desperate to post something!!

(Film used : Agfa APX100, developper TMAX dev, development process BBBAAAADDDD!!!!!! Couldn't do more mistakes at once but what the heck!!)

A walk at Chania in July

2007-09-16T01:23:00.000+03:00

Yeap I know... it's September already... So what? It is only now that I get to have the time or the mood to post these photos! All photos were taken with my new 50mm f/1.4 lens and I used an Agfa APX 100 b&w film. Unfortunately the development process was a bit crappy, but what the heck! :D

No words?? I don't feel like writing much now!! Maybe I'll edit this post later!!!

Hope you like the photos though and you are not bored as well to write something!! :P :P :P

Syntagma Sq. Athens - July 2007

2007-08-02T23:39:00.000+03:00

I was just thinking that I should upload a few color photos, just for a change, but then I developed a new roll of b&w film. Agfa APX 100 this time.... could not resist from uploading a few street shots taken after quite some time experimenting with different kinds of photography.

I was fooling around Syntagma square in Athens (the square where the greek parliament is located) waiting for a friend of mine. The camera was in my hand so......

This is not Indonesia or any place like that... it's Athens (stiles Olympiou Dios)!

Metro, waiting for the train to Syntagma. Station Acropole.

On my way outside the greek parliament, I pretended I was shooting towards the building. In retrospect, they were not as pretty to really bother, but anyway!

Ok... this guy got his photographic work rather too seriously!! Even the guards were not looking as severe! The bloody bastard though had a EOS-1 camera with the 70-200 f/4L (I think)... GGRRRRRRR!!!!

... at least I look better than him! :P :P :P :P

I liked that kid a lot... he was going straight towards the pigeons! Good work mate!!! I know I would do the same!!

Hi mama,
I'm at Greece in front of the tsoliades (nice gkomenakia btw). I don't know why the heck I thought it would be cool to write a post-card here under 45 degrees hot sun. I guess it is just because I want to break the nerves of the other girls.

Ok, that's it. Kisses.

Chou chou!!! Damn pigeons!

Help me dad!! :)
Nice happy family moments... liked them a lot!

Not everyone gets to be lucky in the big city....

That's about it! Till next time... tataaaa!!!

Arsakeio Exhibition - The opening

2007-07-26T10:35:00.000+03:00

So you've seen the place, you've seen the making of the exhibition, let's see now the grand opening!!! :)

We had music and DJ...

We had food and drinks (and the drinking started early! :P )

The exhibition starts...

Makis and Anastasia on a "how-to" conversation...

....Amelie ( :P ) watching the photos from the photo-group from Athens...

Well, she is not Amelie, but she looked a lot alike!! :)

This amazingly beautiful girl is looking at my photos....

... and now that I'm thinking of it I don't know why the hell I was sitting there taking photos rather than going to talk to her.... Anyway...

Photo-exhibition without photographers is it possible??

Yet another beautiful girl watching the photos of the photo-group from Ksanthi...

Some abstract shot on a nearby window...

... and then making Anastasia and Stelio participate in this.. hmm.... great (????) idea!

Back to the theater with our photos. Some serious conversations...

... and some less serious! :)

Some advanced photo watching...

And some advanced photo-shooting from Katerina!

And some glamour shooting too!

Shiny happy people!

All the good people....

...the guys from Heraklion could not be missing!! :P

Night falls as drinking still flows...

Well, that's about it!!! I hope I'll have more chances in the future to participate on something similar! :)

(photo info : all photos taken with a Kodak Tri-X 400 B&W film, pushed @1600, developped in Tmax Dev.)

Arsakeio exhibition - The making of

2007-06-24T13:19:00.000+03:00

On my previous post, I showed you a few photos of the place before we actually started working on it. In this post, I'll show the process that got us to the exhibition! :)

...and yes... people are involved too! :)

So, without any more delays, let's start showing the photos!! All photos taken using Tri-X 400 pushed @1600 (TMax developper).

Yeap, biking inside the old school was a must!!

Since you've seen the back, see also the front of mr. MacGuiver! :P

The team has some badass guys! :P Don't wanna mess with them!!

Taking a rest at the stairs....

Some people don't like to be photographed....

... and they are photographers!! Hmmm.....

And the cycling goes on...

Although, there seem to be a lot of cleaning, this was the official racing track... :)

...the school's theatre actually offered a much more spacious racing field...

Pretty cool this graffiti... Remnant of an old exhibition held in the very same place.

Cleaning was not that cool... but these guys just made it funnier!

And some abstract cleaning photography.... :P :P

Working till late makes you imagine stupid photos...

I don't know why the obsession with these stair photos... fool me! Anyway, there were more interesting things to shoot...

I'm becoming an abstract - conceptual whore... I know... I'll spank myself to get back to normal photography! :P

What you saw in the previous two photos, is a view of Arsakeio's yard by night... I really liked it to be honest... :)

During the next days, photos from the other photography teams started to arrive...

We treated them perfectly...

...although it was not our fault that they didn't know how to package properly their frames.... :(

No, we didn't leave it this way... but it was quite a fuss replacing these glasses... Anyway... That frame was from the photography team of Ksanthi... see some more of them...

Some photos from the room dedicated to the group from Heraklion...

Although you can't see the actual photos, it is maromar's photos at that wall... :)

And these are IznoGood's photos!

I think that here are a few of Thessaloniki's photos... could be wrong.... we hadn't hang them yet on the wall...

Don't ask what is that... remnant of a birthday party we had during the process :P

Now, I don't who this girl is... most probably she is with the other photography team from Patras (ASTO)... quite nice though... :P

I really like photographing people in front of windows with bright light. I like the duality of the image produced : light and shadow, shown and hidden expressions....

This is ASTO on the work by the way....

Working on such a place seemed like a good idea to them... don't ask me why!

Meanwhile let's see some of OUR people working!!! :P

...bloody photographers!! :P :P Work work work!!!

...some corporate meetings....

A few people trying to do the same job... :P

Who said that photography does not require other skills???

...precise handling...

...planning before acting...

...and patience to bear with the stupid people like me that keep on shooting instead of doing anything more usefull!! :P :P

And then you can relax... a ciggie maybe?

...or how about a beer?

Last day before the exhibition and the whole place was a total mess... A least the room that was supposed to host our own photos...

What the heck... important thing is to keep your spirit! :)

...and have fun in the process!!

By the way... it's my pictures in the background here!! :)

A few more photos are supposed to be lying around my films from the making of the exhibition... like this one...

...but this post is already too big and has taken too much time... So, till netxt time...

Remember to always have fun!!
Andreas

Arsakeio

2007-06-19T12:09:00.001+03:00

From May 10 to May 20, 2007, the photography group of the students of University of Patras ( ΠΟΦΠΠ ), organised a photography exhibition at Patras, Greece. The exhibition was a meeting of photography groups from around Greece, with 7 other photography groups from Athens, Thessaloniki, Xanthi, Heraklion, Larissa and Patras participating.

The exhibition took place at old Arsakeio, a former school establishment, near the center of Patras. I think that Arsakeio has ceased functioning as a school in 2003 or '04 and has since been used for a few exhibitions. Most important among them was an exhibition of modern art, held during 2006 when Patras was the Cultural Capital of Europe. Since then, no work has been to preserve the building and especially the floors that weren't used for the exhibitions were left abandoned.

The photos shown here are a few conceptual shots I took before we started working on the building. Most of them are shot with Tri-X 400 pushed @1600 (developper used : TMax Dev.) and a few with T-Max 400 (normal, same developper). Next entries in the blog will feature the events that followed.

For those who can't read greek, old students of the school have written on the blackboard things like "Our home, Arsakeio as a notion and concept is HERE", "You can't erase 10 years of a student's life like this", "Our memories became ruins" and also a few typicals... "Maria + John = Love for Ever" :P :P

Well, that's it... Hope you liked the photos so far! :)

Testing

2007-06-19T11:57:00.000+03:00

One ... two... three.... ένα δύο τρία το παπάκι πάει στη ποταμιά!