Sunday, September 30, 2012

30



Yashicamat 124, Tri-X 320, prolly Rolinar I, horsed it.

Saturday, September 29, 2012

29



Yashicamat 124, Tri-X 320, Rolleinar 1 close-up lens, gutted.

Friday, September 28, 2012

28



Yashicamat 124, Tri-X 320.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

27



Yashicamat 124, Tri-X 320, convergence.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

26



Yashicamat 124, Tri-X 320, Canadian embassy.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

What color is a red filter?

Here's a thing that surprised me.  It makes a lot of sense when you think about how sunblock most likely works: by absorbing UV light.  I had never considered how sunscreen would appear in a UV photograph, however.  That said, I think this is the first UV photograph of a person I have seen.  While I admit UV is not a flattering light source, I see plenty of photographs of people taking with X-Ray or green-spectrum sensitive film which is also less than flattering.

It does make me wonder if one could make a sunscreen that reflected UV light instead of absorbing it.

Thinking about light reminded me about a question I had wondered about on and off for a year or so.  I ended up pondering for several minutes what color a red filter is.  I admit this sounds like a silly question.

Let me explain a bit.  First of all, there's a question of whether a red filter is a filter that filters out red or a filter that filters out non-red wavelengths.  Usually we mean the latter, and those red filters look red.  Since it looks red, it is red right?

I guess the problem is that for opaque objects, we say they are a color if they reflect that color and for translucent objects, we say they are a color if they transmit that color.  What color(s) does a red filter reflect?

I had to grab a red filter and try it.  I used an uncoated filter since the coatings will probably affect the answer.  I held the filter against a black fabric so no light was passing through the filter and tried to judge the color cast of the reflected light.

Admittedly I am doing this in a fairly dark apartment under pretty weird fluorescent CRT light, and the filter doesn't reflect much.  However, it seems to reflect all colors the same amount.  In some very limited sense, the red filter seems colorless.

Is it possible to make a material which transmits one wavelength but reflects another?  What would that look like?

Edit: one of my photography teachers pointed out these things do exist!  They are called dichroic filters.  Nifty.  I want to play with some.

25



Yashicamat 124, Tri-X, D.C. pride.

Monday, September 24, 2012

24



Yashicamat 124, Tri-X, contrast.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Saturday, September 22, 2012

22



Yashicamat 124, Tri-X, Rolleinar 1 close-up lens, bifurcated.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Thursday, September 20, 2012

20



Yashicamat 124, Tri-X, XKCD shirt.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

19



Yashicamat 124, Tri-X, that guy.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

18



Yashicamat 124, Tri-X, Rolleinar 1 close-up lens, best coffee shop.

Monday, September 17, 2012

17



Yashicamat 124, Tri-X, the eternal return of the same.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

16



Yashicamat 124, Tri-X, kitteh.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

15



Yashicamat 124, Tri-X, GET.

Friday, September 14, 2012

14



D200, 50mm f/1.8 Series E, chores yulely. Seen here on Gordy's tumblr.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

13



D200, Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 (not mine!), cute Kodak timer.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

12



D200, Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 (not mine!), Deardorff...drool.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Monday, September 10, 2012

Sunday, September 9, 2012

9



D200, 50mm f/1.8 Series E. My friend is holding a Kodak Retina II.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

8



D200, 200mm f/4 micro AI-S, spikes.

Friday, September 7, 2012

7



D200, 200mm f/4 micro AI-S, chrome.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

6



D200, 200mm f/4 micro AI-S, stakes.

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

5.5

I am not against color photography, but there are only three subjects I can think of which are not as good or better in black and white : tropical beaches, sunsets, and fall foliage.

5



D200, 200mm f/4 micro AI-S, shrubbery.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

4



D200, 200mm f/4 micro AI-S.

Monday, September 3, 2012

3



Kodak Retina II, Rodenstock Heligon 50mm f/2, TMax 100, serpentine walls.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

2



Kodak Retina II, Rodenstock Heligon 50mm f/2, TMax 100, terrible trees.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

1



Kodak Retina II, Rodenstock Heligon 50mm f/2, TMax 100.