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It seems to be working.

Since sometime in September I haven't done much of traditional street photography. Instead I've been focusing on shooting large format environmental portraiture. Photographs influenced by the type of moments I'd be looking for if I were out street shooting, yet with a more controlled hand on the composition.

So far I'm finding this switch to be bliss. I've never been so satisfied with the work I've been creating as I have these last few months, and I've been getting a massive waves of positive feedback on the body of work. Shooting this way also adds a great facet to my photography that rarely appears while shooting candidly — actually connecting with people.

I've been happily using my 4x5 camera to shoot these portraits, but then a perfect storm of photography hit me right in the face.

1) I was given an old Korona 8x10 camera.

2) I found a Jobo CPE-2 at a thrift store for $30.

3) A kind man who I met one night in Minneapolis gave me 15 sheets of expired 8x10 color film he never expected to use.

So I thought to myself. "Hey, I only have $30 invested into this system. I wonder what would happen if I used that old film in that old camera, and see if I can develop them with the Jobo I just got?"

I think I kind of now understand how a largemouth bass feels the moment an angler sets the hook and he is ripped away from the only world he's ever known.

Now, while the photos from the 4x5 look absolutely amazing, the images coming out of the 8x10 are just something else. This is photography with the volume set to 11. The camera is heavy and physically demanding to use. The film is expensive and I can only take a few exposures out with me at a time. But I'll be damned if it doesn't just feel right.

So that is my quick summary of where I am at so far in 2012. Year of the 8x10. Also, the new Alcest album Les Voyages de L'Âme is pretty awesome. Go check it out.

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$79.99, $112.00, $124.00, $229.42, $250.00, $250.00, $325.90, $346.66, $355.00, $380.00, $414.00, $537.00, $537.82, $578.29, $600.00, $700.00, $900.00

I sent e-mails to four separate repairs techs and only received responses from two. Of them, Youxin Ye was by far the easiest on the wallet. When all was said and done, the damages clocked in at ..... (drumroll)

$203.00

Very quick service, and a price that seems to be at odds with anything that has the term Leica in the mix. This is the second time I've sent a camera to him to work on. I highly recommend him if you need work on a Leica. Very, very fast, and it won't kill your bank account.

The Winner!

Original rules said "Closest guess without going over." Given the gamut of entries, that winner goes to Mr. $124.00. AKA: One of my recent portrait victims.

Winner Number Two!

The secret second place in this contest was simply the closest guess with going over. In this case, Mr. $229.42, AKA: Photography Wünderblogger, Blake Andrews.

Congratulation winners. And thanks for everyone else who played. Better luck next time I break a Leica.

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He is also really good at being on the other side of the lens as well. I suggest you go look at his work.

Here are a few samples.

Why are you still here? Get over to his site now!

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It finally happened — my Leica M6 stopped working. Sometime on Saturday night it just decided that when the film gets to about ten exposed frames, it just isn't going to advance anymore. There has been a few lesser issues with the camera sprouting up over the past few years, so it is due for this. I just fear what the repair cost may end up being.

I figure I might as well use this unfortunate turn of events to play a little game. You take your best guess at what the final repair cost is going to be, and whomever comes closest without going over, wins a prize.

What kind of prize? Right now I'm thinking a free print for the winner, though I may end up getting more creative with the prize. I might also offer different ways to win than just the final price as well. Make your guess and let the fun begin! There are no entry fees, so what do you have to lose? The simple entry form is at the bottom of this post.

Notice: If you are reading this via an RSS feed, make sure to click though to my actual site so that the form works properly. I think a few people had issues trying to submit it from their read the last time I did something like this.

Fundraising

Anticipating the cost of getting the camera repair as not being pretty, a little fund-raising is in order. I know you have something you've been meaning to buy. Just hit this banner to Amazon below and buy it. You get some fun new item you've always wanted, and I get a small slice of their profits to help repair my camera.

Not sure what to get? Let me plant some ideas in the form of music I enjoy.

This is the last album I've purchased by the Finnish Melodic Death Metal band Insomnium. They just announced today that the guitarist is leaving the band because it is getting to hard to juggle with his career as a surgeon. How metal is that? Awesome album.

Metal not your thing? Lets roll it back a bit.

Upcoming Minnesota band, with some strong Duluth ties who is making waves in the Midwest. The night the M6 gave up the ghost, I was taken to the floor by the lead singer after and amazing display of unexpected stage diving. Don't worry kids, that isn't what killed the camera, but it is a neat little fun fact.

And finally, lets take it down yet another notch.

One of my favorite Minnesota bands that you've probably never heard of. Music is a bit hard to describe, so just listen to them preview clips. Not many albums feature a bowed saw blade as a main instrument. Miles of Twine and To Answer Monotone would be my top picks from that album.

Alas...

The Contest Entry Form

Entry is open to anyone worldwide. But just remember that any value entered will be assumed to be US Dollars. Do a currency conversion if your brain works in something else.

And remember, you Fill out this form on my actual website if you are reading this post via an RSS reader.

Contest is over. Thanks for playing!

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Going back to my popular 8 Ways to Title a Photograph post from earlier this year, I'm going to put a reverse spin on The Pop Culture Reference method, as inspired by my play list.

The song, O Children by Nick Cave.

And now for some photos loosely tied together through the title.

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There were a few first for me on this vacation/wedding. First time I'd left the continental United States. First time I'd purchased meat from a stranger on the side of the road. First time I'd seen someone selling marijuana out of a conch shell in the ocean. First time I've been to Hedonism with my deeply catholic grandmother. First time I drank the good Guinness with a golf caddy for nine holes under a blazing sun.

Come to think about it, that was also the last time for all of those things. Aside from the leaving the country point, probably for the best.

The roll I grabbed this time came from the wedding reception. I don't think they've ever even seen the photos. Strange that I should share some now that the marriage is pretty much dead and gone. Oh well. When people die it is typical to show old images of the good old days right? Might as well do it for a marriage as well.

RIP.

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Kermit 2010

Meh. Might score well on one of the many photography rating websites where the user base goes jump-off-the-wall crazy for mediocre photos with narrow color palettes. It leaves me empty though.

Kermit 2011

Attach a flash and summon the spirit of Weegee — now we are talking. Almost looks like a crime scene photo, or darker yet, a photograph taken by Kermit's abductor and tormentor as a trophy.

Wonder if I can make it darker yet the next time we cross paths?

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Point & Shoot camera with some old Kodak Gold 200. Woo!

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Back in late 2007 I was sharing an office at work with a gentleman whose work ethic was particularly poor. Typically, instead of work, he would spend his days researching another topic which started with the same three letters, but ended with ld of Warcraft.

One fine day I entered the office and noticed that instead of the typical World of Warcraft information being on his monitors, it was the current eBay listings for Leica cameras. Intrigued I asked "You looking to buy a Leica?" to which he replied that he wasn't looking to buy, but was gauging prices to sell the M3 that his father had given him.

Game on.

At this point in my life, the closest I'd ever come to one of these supposedly magical cameras was when I crossed paths with a guy shooting with one four years earlier in Seaside, Oregon. It didn't take me very long to talk him into letting me put a roll or two though it to, you know, make sure it was functionally sound before he sold it. I needed to at least get my hands on this camera to see what all the fuss was about. And maybe, just maybe, acquire it off him at a really sweet price.

A few days later he brought it to work and gave it to me for a few days. If any hardcore Leica collector had seen the condition of this camera, and that we were handling with without the finest cotton gloves, they probably would have started raging like a young John McEnroe. The condition of his father's M3 was spectacular. Testimony to this was after we figured out that the shutter needed a tune up and the camera was sent to the well-known repair tech Youxin Ye. When Youxin received the camera, he e-mailed back basically saying "How much do you want so I can keep this camera?"

Given that someone who has had their hands on thousands of Leicas in his lifetime had just told him it was one of the best specimens he'd ever seen, I no longer believed I would be getting a sweet deal on it. However, just for a moment, I wondered if I could still procure a great price in exchange for silence on his lackluster work ethic? I decided not be that evil and bought a heavily used M3 off eBay instead for less than $400. I think he ended up selling the body to a local collector for about $1300, though I did manage to secure the 35mm Summaron and 135mm Elmar lenses he had at a very good price.

The negative sleeve I plucked at random was the first roll I shot while I had his minty M3 in my possession. Saturday, November 10th, 2007. A nice wintry day with heavy, wet snow falling gently from the sky. I met up with Whitney and we went for a little walk while I photographed things.

Though the photos aren't much in themselves, this was the the roll marks the turning point in my career where I started to take street photography very seriously. So far so good.

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