Polaroid, finally

Got a Fuji Instax 210 tonight. I'll do a proper review but for now, here are my first shots :)

(makes me happeeyyy !!!)

oh oh oh ! just realized I have 5 followers, woooooooooooooooooow. Thank you people !

 this is actually me...

Why do I shoot film ?

Most of the picture I will display here will be film photography. Why? Digital is convenient, forgiving, even sometimes better (Nikon makes cameras that perform amazingly at very high ISO) but there are still reasons to shoot film:

• Tone range : digital photography relies on a certain number of tones between white and black. Film photography relies on the chemical reaction of a product on a plastic sheet: tones are progressive, more subtile.
• Medium format: there is a very simple rule in photography, the larger the film / sensor, the better. A medium format camera will surpass any 35mm the same way any car will alway be quicker than a horse. Same applies to large format compared to medium format. Digital MF does exist but wow, price tag makes it inaccessible to most of us (>$ 15k)
• You pay attention to the way you shoot, because you have from 8 to 36 frames on a roll, and it will cost you. You learn faster, and more like an artist than like a paparazzi. Painter don't paint 500 until they get the right one, they pay attention to what they do, same applies to film photography

Nikon F5 (300 euros second hand), Nikon 85F1.8 and Fuji Acros

• It remains photography, not digital art. I love good digital art, but please let's call a cat a cat. Photography relies of exposure, framing, composition and use of light. If you use textures, massive editing, or else, you are a digital artist.
• Cameras are cheap as hell now that everyone gets digital: a Mamiya RZ67 (a top professional studio camera) cost 800 dollars with a lens on Adorama or B&H, Ebay etc. And will destroy any 5D mkII, Nikon D3X when it comes to pictures. Same applies to Pentax 67's, Fujica's etc. Wanna shoot fancy? Don't waste money in a snob Leica M. Your MF system will outperform it for 1/5th of the price !!!
• In B&W, it just looks better.
• Film grain is awesome !

An automated MF rangefinder to travel.

I am soon traveling to India, and of course I intend to shoot like my life depends on it. One problem though...I got used to the unmatched pictures of my 6x7 medium format Mamiya RZ67 and can't accept to travel with only digital or 35mm film. Why is it a problem? Well have you seen, and mostly weighted a Mamiya RZ? I call it the Tank for a reason (5.5 pounds to be precise). Not to mention the absence of built in metering. I tried walking around in NYC with it, painful experience. No thanks.

Therefor I ended up entering an exciting yet terrible phase: finding and choosing a new more portable / autonomous MF camera, adapted to street life photography. Starting with the stars: Mamiya 6 and Mamiya 7. Naaaa...metering is dodgy, and bokeh on the one lens that I wanted (75mm F3.5) is crap. They are landscape cameras anyway.

Pentax 67II : excellent camera, but comparable to the Tank itself in size, and sounds like a tank firing when you trigger it. Not for traveling.

Rollei and other TLRs : no metering.

Bronica RF645: a very good choice (ended up #3 on my list), built in metering, 645 format but...

...but Fujicas came along: at first the GW690 series. OMG, 6x9 frames, soo much film, too much actually, no more that 8 shots on a roll of 120 film. And no metering. However those are AMAZING, fantastic lenses, beats Leica M easily, I can only recommend as a second MF camera, and they are cheap as hell used.

I ended up ordering a Fujica GA645 60mm F4. It has an easy to use meter, AF (yes yes, a medium format automated rangefinder), and a lens that compares to the one of its brother the 690. Kind of big Contax G2 :)

Not as amazing optics as Mamiya's, not 6x7, but 15 shots a roll, automated, and equivalent to a 35mm lens in 135 format. It's always a matter of compromise, this was the best for me in order to travel.

Can't wait.