The 8% Solution
November 12, 20133 Commentsf/Egor (Leica Blog)How can photographers measure their success? Through simple mathematics, of course.
Littlefields
October 4, 20134 CommentsMusingsMy readers are well-aware of how stubbornly I hold onto certain photographic convictions — particularly my belief that photos are best-enjoyed printed. In a time when many photographers have never seen even a single one of their photos in print (much less a collection of prints), it's a delight to come across a world in which photographers still practice the fine craft of distributing photographs the "old fashioned" way — via small, independent magazines. This article discusses one such magazine, Littlefields, and how it gives me hope that photography's future need not resemble its present.
Multitasking
September 4, 20135 CommentsMusingsWhat's a busy fellow to do? Faced with a backlog of photo-related correspondences to write plus another blog article to develop, I had but one choice: Multitask!
The Other Half Frame
August 1, 20133 CommentsPhoto GearThere's more than one way to fill a negative. So when another attack of flat-back panoramic camera lust flared up recently, I chose to extinguish it not with a big bad Hasselblad Xpan, but with a diminutive little half-frame faux-panoramic camera, called the "Minolta Freedom Vista."
Pen Pal
July 2, 20139 CommentsPhoto GearLately, it seems everyone I know is buying an Olympus PEN. Not wanting to be left out, I too jumped into the waters — only instead of getting one of those new-fangled digital PENs, I opted for a classic mid-1960's PEN FT film camera.
Roadkill
June 3, 201314 CommentsMusingsThere are two types of street photographers — those who choose the label, and those whom the label chooses. Which are you? Which am I? And why?
ULTRA U: History of the Film Camera
May 8, 201311 CommentsMusingsPhoto GearWelcome to "ULTRA U," my new online university dedicated to the preservation and dissemination of photographic knowledge, as best I can manipulate it. Here, in Lesson 1, I'll discuss the real history of film formats for still photographers. Give it a read — you'll likely find it's not nearly as dry as you might suspect, and I guarantee you'll learn something you never knew before.
Reject Intent
April 30, 20135 CommentsMusingsvBookWhat makes one photograph better than another? Miraculously, I think I found the answer. And, as anyone who frequents this site might suspect, the answer has absolutely nothing to do with what we've previously read, learned or intuited. Read the article to see how I applied this new definition of 'better' to create the "Masquerade" vBook, which premiered on this site a couple weeks ago.
Masquerade
April 18, 20139 CommentsvBook"Masquerade" is my second vBook of photographic stills produced under the "Necessarily Narcissistic" film production label. In contrast to the purely accidental creation of my previous vBook ("47 Photos of Rain"), this one's creation is quite purposely accidental.
Making Contact
April 1, 20138 CommentsPhoto GearPhoto TechniquesOne man's toy is another man's tool — at least that seems to be the case with my adaptation of the toy-like, budget-friendly Lomography Smartphone Scanner, which I've found to be the quickest way yet to create digital contact sheets from my 35mm negatives. What's that? You say you don't need no stinkin' contact sheets 'cause you're one of those hip new digital lifeloggers? Think again, trendsters.
Get Y’ur Lurnin’
March 19, 20131 commentMusingsULTRA newsThe inevitable has occurred — ULTRAsomething is now hosting workshops. OK, it's only ONE workshop, and its being co-hosted with Quinton Gordon from Luz Studios, but it's still a workshop. And it's every bit as unique as its title: "Ferreting Mantras."
Jim’s Victory
February 22, 20136 CommentsMusingsOther than one's spouse, few relationships are as important and influential as the one that exists between teacher and student. Any teacher can shovel knowledge on their pupils, but great teachers unlock their passions.
This Past Fast
January 14, 20133 CommentsMusingsWhy must fasting be limited to food? Why should our stomachs be the only organs to suffer the martyrdom of neglect? Recently I went on a five week fast of a completely different type — a photographic fast.
More Bartlett’s Rejects
January 6, 20135 Commentsf/Egor (Leica Blog)MusingsLinguistic economy is most definitely not the hallmark of a typical ULTRAsomething article. But every once in a while, I do manage to articulate my thoughts in a pithier than normal manner. I did this a couple years ago with an article called "Bartlett's Rejects," which simply listed 14 of my own personal quotes about photography. This article is the sequel — cleverly titled "More Bartlett's Rejects," it contains another 14 photography quotes, ripe for copying and pasting into signatures, tweets and term papers.
A Fetishist’s Guide to the Monochrom (Part 3)
December 11, 201214 Commentsf/Egor (Leica Blog)Photo GearIn this, the third and final installment in my three part discussion of the Leica M Monochrom, I wrap up my review of the camera's imaging characteristics, then dive deeply into the psychological aspects of the camera.
A Fetishist’s Guide to the Monochrom (Part 2)
December 11, 20121 commentf/Egor (Leica Blog)Photo GearIn this, the second of my three part discussion of the Leica M Monochrom, I take a good long look at the camera's various imaging characteristics, including tonality and "filmishness" — whatever that means.
A Fetishist’s Guide to the Monochrom (Part 1)
December 11, 20122 Commentsf/Egor (Leica Blog)Photo Gear3 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.
The Inverted Maslow
November 21, 201217 CommentsMusingsAnother 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.
ePub-a-Dub-Dub
November 14, 20127 CommentsMusingsPhoto GearIn 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.
Terrible Parables
October 19, 20124 Commentsf/Egor (Leica Blog)MusingsPhoto GearIn this article, I explore the idea of a "photographer's parable," and soon realize why there are so few of them out there.