The Best Lab in The Country!

So, our beloved photo lab just moved 6 blocks away from my house, and they had an amazing opening party for the amazing photographers that they work with. If you want your film to look good, send it to Richard. They are the best. I know, I've tried labs all over the country!

The lobby of their new space is riddled with great photography, from Commercial photographers; Autumn de Wilde and Pamela Littky, to Wedding photographers; Jonathan Canlas and Jose Villa, the latter of each attended.

Below is Brian Greenberg, the entrepreneur responsible for this amazing lab.

From left: Bill the lab manager, Joel Serrato, and Mrs. Tanja Lippert

Brian again chatting with Jose, and Gia Canali who also snapped the right photo of me with the Fujifilm Reps.

All off these were captured with our Leica 5CM Summicron on Ilford Delta 3200 processed in DDX developer.

Country Rustic

Instant negatives made from FP-100C45's shot on Frankie, my little 4x5 Land camera I made. The boy is me. That gorgeous lady I'm with is Serra, my soon to be wife!

Frankie Lives!

This is the first of many future gifts from our new toy. His name is Frankie and he rocks! He has been a pet project of mine for the past 9 months or so. And yes he is a 4x5! Not just any 4x5... a relatively compact hand held 4x5! In the world of large format the words "hand held" are rarely used. But with Frankie I can get great shots at 1/4 of a second with no tripod and no ground glass! I don't have any images of him yet so I will be forced to use only words. His body is a Polaroid 160 Land Camera with a swapped out rangefinder from a Polaroid 900. I also swapped out his lens board with one from a Polaroid 110A which comes with a killer 127mm f/4.7 Rodenstock lens with a Prontor leaf shutter. None of these cameras have film available for them any longer so I cut a hole in the back and mounted a 4x5 Graflok spring back onto him. The result is a beautiful monster! Hence his name... Short for Frankenstein! I was able to pull some shots off on some Fuji FP-100c45 thanks to the gracious Gia Canali who lent me her 4x5 Polaroid back to borrow. I can't wait to get some FP-3000B45 from Japan! Unfortunately it will cost me $4.20 a frame! Ouch! Unless someone out there has a hookup in Japan? Anyone from Fuji reading this? I can still get the the FP-100C45 for under $1.60 a frame though so I look forward to exploring a whole new world of instant photography... Large format!

Here is a 2 minute exposure from the roof of my new apartment in Los Feliz.

This is the view my wife and I will have to enjoy living in our first apartment together! By the way... I'm getting married! 29 days and counting and it couldn't come soon enough!

Real Life | Reel Film - A True Treasure

Here is a little highlight of a Wedding that I helped our friend at Flicker Films work on while he was suffering from a shoulder injury. Shooting motion is a real challenge, and Tim is the man for it. Shot all on Super 8mm films; Kodak Vision 3 500t, and some Kodak reversal B&W and daylight color films. You have to see the clarity and grain structure in person, but even streaming on the interweb gives you the feel that video just cant emulate. Gotta love that 500T in the candlelight!!!

I Still Heart Film!

Film Is Not Dead Indeed @ WPPI

Jonathan Canlas has silver in his veins!

The MGM Grand smells like goop!

And Vegas won't let me sleep!

Sepulture in Oregon

This last fall our mother lost both of her parents. My Grandpa, who was the healthiest person I've known, passed from cancer (chemotherapy was the ultimate culprit). We all expected him to outlive my Grandma for years. I mean he ran his last marathon several times in his seventies. And I mean Ran! He was a loving father, grandfather, and great grandfather; an athlete, a socialist, a veteran, and a former atheist. He was a man full of questions, and always seeking answers. Ultimately he decided it was foolish enough to keep telling God, "I won't believe in you!" and settled for obtaining his answers when he met God face to face. :-)

His loving wife stayed by his side in bed till the very end. She was a lifelong Catholic, and loved God and the Church with all her heart. My Grandma had been suffering from Diabetes for decades, and had undergone several open heart surgeries. So it wasn't but a few weeks, after moving up to Oregon to be with her great grandchildren, that she passed in her sleep as well.

We had a memorial service in California for my Grandpa, then his ashes went up to Oregon, ultimately to be laid to rest with my Grandma. They shared a beautiful life together all the way to their shared resting place. He was honored by the military at their grave after the beautiful catholic ceremony. My Mom received the flag and the family was at peace that day;reminiscing over the legacy the two had left behind.

Mega

Kodak Vision3 500T Motion Picture Film, rated at ISO 800 (no push processing).

Norma Jean and the clown

Kodak Vision3 500T Motion Picture Film, rated at ISO 1600 (no push processing)! I didn't clean the Remjet off very well.

Sullied Subway

Kodak Vision3 500T Motion Picture Film, light metered in camera at ISO 3200 (no push processing)!!! It looks dirty 'cuz I didn't remove the Remjet very well.

Night Light Leica

With the combination of advanced high speed film and fast glass, shooting at night poses no exposure problems for us. :-)

Kodak Vision3 500T Motion Picture Film, light metered in camera at ISO 800 (no push processing)!

C&C - Joshua Tree Engagements