New Sammy Davis Jr. Photo Book

Regan Books recently published “Photo by Sammy Davis Jr.” a 352 page hardcover collection of images taken by the ‘Brat Pack’ member beginning in the early 1950s. According to the book Jerry Lewis gave Davis a later model Ciro35 35mm rangefinder camera and the entertainer was “hooked.” The images in the book document Davis’ photos of friends, family, politicians and celebrities including fellow Brat Pack alumni Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra, as well as James Dean, Paul Newman and Marilyn Monroe. Images range from thoughtful compositions to quick snapshots. Available online or at most local book stores this is an interesting look behind the scenes during one of America’s most entertaining time periods.

Image provided by Amazon.

Fun With Toy Cameras

As much as I like my new Sony Alpha 100 Digital SLR, or the wonderful Minolta Maxxum 7 film SLR, or even the classic Kodak Retina IIIc, there is something novel about using a twenty dollar, all-plastic (including the lens) camera like the Holga. Considered by many to be a toy camera, along with the classic Diana, and many single element vintage cameras such as the Kodak Brownie Hawkeye, Agfa Clack, Anscoflex, the Holga provides an artistic, silhouetted image that is unique to each individual camera. With a single shutter speed of around 1/100 and a single aperture of f8 the Holga makes medium format shooting quick and simple. I like to have one loaded with either BW or Color 120 film just sitting in my camera bag ready to be used whenever the bug hits me. For bright outside scenes ISO 100 is sufficient, if lower light situations are more common for your brand of shooting, I’d suggest using ISO 400 film.

Other even cheaper possibilities are the vintage Kodak Brownie Hawkeye, Agfa Clack or any number of Kodak, Ansco or Agfa box cameras. In fact the Kodak Brownie Hawkeye provides even sharper images than the Holga, in my opinion. I and many others also consider the popular Lubitel 166 line of TLR’s as toy cameras even though they feature a three-element glass lens. The body is plastic and let’s face it the lens is only sharpest (term used loosely) at f8 or f11. The Beacon 225 is another useable ‘toy’ camera with its Doublet lens and molded Bakelite body. Occasionally it’s just fun to turn your back on all of the switches, features, settings, bells and whistles of modern photographic equipment and succumb to the sublime simplicity of toy cameras. I’ve compiled a small gallery of toy camera images, and another great resource for this type of shooting is ToyCamera.com.

Mar. 23 - Bruce Davidson Lecture In Tucson, AZ

Friday, March 23, 2007
5:30 p.m.

Bruce Davidson: Fifty Years of Photography
LECTURE:
Part chameleon, part artist, Bruce Davidson revels in being an outsider on the. At 73, he captures the reality of his subjects, from a traveling circus to a Brooklyn gang to the Civil Rights Movement. He will discuss his career, illustrating his talk with images that express the human condition in his unique and lyrical visual language. Sponsored by Canon U.S.A., Inc.

Center For Creative Photography
University of Arizona
1030 N. Olive Rd., Tucson, AZ

Feb. 16 - Alexander Cockburn Lecture In Tucson, AZ

Friday , February 16, 2007
5:30 p.m.

Alexander Cockburn: When Marx stalked the darkroom: Populist photography in the American Century
LECTURE:
Cockburn coedits the political newsletter and website CounterPunch, and is a regular contributor to The Nation and the Village Voice. The 1930s to the 1960s marked America’s great years of populism in art and cultural propaganda, especially in photography. Cockburn will discuss the rise and fall of socialist realism, American style.

Center for Creative Photography
University of Arizona
1030 N. Olive Rd., Tucson, AZ

ASU School Of Art Photography Exhibits

In an attempt to support local Phoenix photographers and photography students, below is a list of upcoming photography exhibits at the ASU School of Art Galleries.

Step Gallery
Location: Tempe Center, Suite 174, Southeast corner of Mill and University, Tempe, Arizona
Hours: Monday – Thursday 12pm-5pm, Friday 12pm-3pm

‘A Homing Device’
Trisha Holt
February 12-16
Artist’s reception: Monday, Feb. 12, 7-9pm
A collection of color photographic images exploring the themes of looking into spaces and also of the home and its iconic status in the artist’s life.

Gallery 100
Location: Tempe Center, Suite 199, Southeast corner of Mill and University, Tempe, Arizona
Hours: Monday-Thursday 12pm-5pm, Friday 12pm-3pm

Photography B.F.A. Group Exhibit
February 12-23
Reception: Monday, Feb. 12, 7-9 p.m.
Graduating seniors from the School of Art photography area showcase their work.

Harry Wood Gallery
Location: Room 120, Art Building, Tempe Campus
Hours: Monday-Thursday 9am – 5pm, Friday 9am-3pm

‘Assortment’
Paho Mann, M.F.A. photography
February 19-23
Artist’s reception: Monday, Feb. 19, 7-9pm

Ilford SFX 200 Film Returns In March

Ilford announces 35mm and 120 roll film return. Below is the original release from Ilford.

COMING MARCH 2007!! ILFORD SFX 200 RETURNS. SFX 200 is a medium speed black and white camera film for creative photography. It has extended red sensitivity and is especially suited for use with a filter to create special effects. By using the ILFORD SFX filter skies can be rendered almost black and most green vegetation almost white. Its unusual tonal rendition ensures interesting results for a range of subjects, including portraits, landscapes, townscapes and architecture. This product is a MAKE ON DEMAND item where stock is produced approximately on an annual basis. LOOK OUT FOR SPECIAL 2007 PROMOTION PACKS - AVAILABLE WHILST STOCKS LAST

Ilford SFX 200 Fact Sheet.
Image provided by Ilford.

Bluefire Murano 160 Film Available Soon

Bluefire Murano 160 (ISO 160) the first color 127 roll film to be manufactured in North America in years should be available by now from The Frugal Photographer at $6.99 per roll. Demand was so high that this Canadian-manufactured roll film has been out of stock for a couple of weeks. Bluefire Murano 160 is an alternative to the popular MACO or EFKE 127 roll films and produces a fine grain, is formulated for natural skin tones, and full tonal range. Processing options are found here. I’ll be ordering some to run through my Marvel, and Kodak Vest Pocket Model B. I’ve read that this film is actually cut from bulk rolls of Kodak Portra NC 160.

Festival Of The Photograph - Live Event

“Three days of peace, love and photography” is the description provided by the Festival of the Photograph official website. This first time event is taking place June 7 to 9, 2007 in Charlottesville, Virginia. The festival is organized by National Geographic photographer Michael K. "Nick" Nichols. According to the website, Charlottesville’s historic downtown will be transformed into a living image with Exhibitions, Master Classes, Insight Conversations, Outdoor Screenings and Special Events. A full 3-day Festival Pass is $99, while VIP Premium Seating is $450, and a Student Pass is $50. Master Class instructors include David Alan Harvey, Maggie Steber, or Alex Webb and Rebecca Norris Webb. Fees range from $100 to $400. This sounds like a very interesting and enjoyable photographic event and should be experienced if possible.

New Book: Scanning Negatives And Slides

A new book, authored by Sascha Steinhoff, has been published by Rocky Nook, titled "Scanning Negatives and Slides: Digitizing Your Photographic Archives” and is available for pre-order at such online sites as Amazon or Barnes & Noble. MSRP is $44.95 for this informative 304 page volume, however online it can be found for around 30-35 dollars. Apparently it will be available on shelves and for shipping on February 28th.

From the Publisher
A large number of contemporary photographers have either moved into digital photography exclusively or use both analog and digital media in their work. In either case, there is most likely an archive of slides and negatives which cannot be directly integrated into the new digital workflow, nor can it be archived in a digital format. More and more, photographers are trying to bridge this gap using high-performance film scanners. How to achieve the best possible digital image from a negative or slide, and how to build a workflow to make this process efficient, repeatable and reliable, is the subject of this book. The author uses Nikon's film scanners throughout, but all steps can easily be followed using a different scanner. The most common software tools for scanning (SilverFast, VueScan, NikonScan) are not only covered extensively in the book, but are also provided on a CD along with other useful tools for image editing, as well as numerous sample scans.

Image provided by Amazon.