DTLA Noir. Weekend Emulsions 11/27/20

Hey theya coppash, you’re a bunch of fiulthy diurty rrrats, schee… I went and painted the town black and white so yuhs could get some sense into that thick skull o’ yers. Nyyyeaaaahhh, scheee? Really, show you wut fer.

Sorry about that, I got a little excited about trying to shoot my neighborhood like an old Film Noir from the 30’s (note: get me drunk and ask me to give you an oral dissertation on Film Noir and whether it’s a genre or a time period). I’ve been shooting a lot of golden hour lately, and decided to switch it up and absolutely STOMP through the neighborhood at night, very rapidly shooting three rolls of film at a blistering pace rather than my usual meandering over the course of a weekend. This night, I shot three rolls of film in about two hours of walking. It was nice to concentrate on volume rather than… uh, whatever it is I focus on usually (quality? sexiness?). That said, out of 108 exposures, you can imagine that a lot of it was garbage. Some shots of my city were pretty creepy, and some were creepy-pretty:

Walker, Texas Ranger.

Drip.

The least garbage of three rolls of Ilford 3200 B&W pushed to 6400. Leica M-A, Summicron 50mm F2 with a 1/4 Pro Mist filter to make the highlights bloom.

Bankshot. City Bank shot. Nothing but net.

Morning snaps, afternoon hangovers: Weekend Emulsions 11/07/20 - 11/08/20

Upon the broadcast of a particular bit of news on Saturday morning, I hit the streets with my film camera and met up with a friend and her video camera.

I ran out of my usual Kodak Portra film and instead used a roll of Kodak Ultramax ISO400 film. To be honest, I maybe prefer this cheaper film. Not sure if the subject matter just elevated the look or if it’s just a better stock to my eye. Maybe cheap shit matches my blood type. I halfway regret only having brought one roll out that morning, but on the other hand, I think it worked out perfectly.

Here’s the video she shot:

Muse.

Finally developed our first roll of B&W film shot on our Leica M-A.  I think I must have missed the sprockets when I loaded the roll, because I ended up with a few multiple exposures at the head of the roll; which turned out pretty well.  Chalk it up to happy accidents.

Accidental psychological portrait of my wife.  Her, a map of the world, her books, teacups, unicorn statues, a ballet bar, and other random things she collects.  Leica M-A, Summicron 50mm 2.0, Ilford Delta ISO400 35mm film, multiple exposures.

The bottom of the multiple exposure portrait overlapping with my wife being sleepy in an elevator.  Leica M-A, Summicron 50mm 2.0, Ilford Delta ISO400 35mm film, improperly cut by the lab?  My fault again?  I wouldn't rule that out either.

Digital vs. Film.  Shot on the same day.  A7Rii vs. Leica M-A.  Zeiss 35mm 2.8 vs Summicron 50mm 2.0.  I think the light and the pose are better in the digital shot (left), but the one on the right has a little more romance in its softness.  My wife doesn't like the film shot (right) because she's 'got her bitch face on.'

I swear, I really do take pictures of things besides my wife and kickboxers.  ("My wife and kickboxers" copywritten title for my autobiographical sitcom)

Yardbirds.

Brian Del Rosario gets ready for a light spar with Luke Drews at The Yard Muay Thai.

This past weekend I dropped in on part of James Law's seminar given through Leica Akademie US.  It was a 3-day class, but I only stopped in for the field trip to The Yard Muay Thai gym.  It was really exciting to watch James do his teaching thang with a captive audience.  His students were of varying experience levels and looked like they were really taking what he was saying to heart and appreciated that he was forcing them to get out of their comfort zones.  The provided Leica gear was an added bonus (I shot my first medium format shots, BRO.  Wasn't my memory card though, so I don't have a copy, BRO.).  I took a few photos, got to see some sparring, chatted with some of the fighters from GLORY and Lionfight, and made a few new friends.  If one of my new friends is out there reading this, we're friends right?  REIGHT?!?  Please?

Amateur champ Natalie Morgan, looking like she's about to hand me a professional beating.