Story behind the photo Archives - Page 3 of 17

Documentary Photography – Sylvina W. Beal Project

June 3, 2020 by Kirk

Harold Burnham looks over plans for the Sylvina W. Beal.

I am a history and vintage sailing buff! So when I get the chance, I am all in when it comes to documenting a project that involves both. Wooden schooner builder Harold Burnham of Essex is working on a long term project rehabbing a wooden schooner that is over 100 years old. So back in February I was over at his shipyard working on a video about the beginnings of this project as he cut red oak planks. After he was finished cutting planking we ventured up to the third floor of his house to look over the plans for the Beal. I was using my Fuji X-T3 and the Fuji XF 16mm f 1.4 for the tight space he was working in. This lens was perfect for shooting in the tight confines of his office.

Half models, ducks and whales — A half model of the Sylvina W. Beal and naval architectural tools wait to be used.

This lens is beautiful for this type of work it’s f1.4 aperture is wonderful for dimly lit scenes. In this case the lighting was not bad as there was a window and a lamp providing some great lighting. The image above was made at f 5.6 which is optimum for this lens. I just love how the depth of field flows out into the background. The close focus ability of this lens is another outstanding feature as you can see above. The whale weight used in holding splines in place is only about three or four inches long so I was pretty close.

Initials of naval architect William Duggan — Harold Burnham reveals a story about how he obtained his naval architectural tools.

the image above was made at f4 and also shows the closeup ability of this lens. It was a great couple of hours with Burnham over at his shipyard and some of the images I made are very nice. Photographing documentary projects is a great experience for folks to learn to use their gear in varied circumstances. Problem solving while working in a fast paced environment is something all photographers need to learn. In the video below Harold tells a wonderful story of how he obtained the naval architecture tools he uses for every boat he works on.

Using Vintage lenses on Mirrorless Cameras

June 1, 2020 by Kirk

Using vintage lenses that were manufactured many years ago has always fascinated me! For photo geeks it’s intriguing but for most people they just care about the image. So recently I went out to test a lens that was made in 1958 the Leica 35mm f3.5 LTM (thread mount) Summaron. I was given this lens when I was 15 years old along with the external viewfinder. A few years ago I had the lens cleaned of fungus and started using it on my Leica M-P 240. The unfortunate thing is that the thread mount to bayonet mount I have on it is for a 90mm not a 35 so the wrong frame lines come up in the viewfinder. I am sending mine to Tamarkin Camera in Chicago in return for a 35mm one. It will be fun to be able to see the frame lines correctly for once.

This lens has a very nice vignette to it as you can see in the image above. It’s like a piece of jewelry all cleaned up. What a gem! I was curious to see how the color would be an I was pleasantly surprised at the images I got.

Dinghy's — Dinghy’s at the Gloucester Maritime Center

The black and white conversions were outstanding as well meaning that the contrast was top notch. I found very little wrong with the results they were outstanding.

Finding compositions over at the Maritime Center is a breeze as they are everywhere. I just loved poking around the old hulls etc. The combination of this little lens and camera brought me back to the old days of shooting with my Leica M3 with this lens. I can’t wait to shoot some film with that combination later on this summer it should be fun. Below is a video I did on this little project.

Up to the Gunnels – Schooner Sylvina W. Beal

May 29, 2020 by Kirk

Harold Burnham is going to rehab this old schooner the Sylvina W. Beal over the next two years but for the moment she has been tied up next to his shipyard in Essex, MA. This gave me a great opportunity to check out my most versatile lens the 16-80 mm or in 35mm full frame terms 24-120mm. This is a great range and which these images will give you an idea of. The morning was very still and the water was barely moving when I arrived in Essex. The reflections were outstanding and gave me some very nice images of this vessel at high tide.

The reflections, peeling paint, and old hull made for some intriguing compositional elements. In black and white this became even more apparent.

Walking around for different vantage points gave me some even more exciting images using this great all-purpose lens! I shoot mostly at the wide and long end with very little at the 35mm/50mm mark so this latitude was a true god send for this particular project.

The old abandoned hull of the schooner Maine sits sunk in the mud near the Burnham Shipyard in Essex. The long throw of the 16-80 gives some nice perspective on this rotting relic.

Another shot using the 16-80 at 16/24mm also gives some nice perspective. I really enjoyed the outing with this lens as I find myself using it more and more as my go to lens. Below is the video on my experience photographing the Beal.