Category: Travel
FPP Infrachrome in the Land of Oz

This past September, I had the opportunity to visit the magical Land of Oz, a theme park in Western North Carolina that has been built to make you feel like you are on set of the classic MGM picture, “The Wizard of Oz“. Ever since reading about this park some 15 years prior, I’ve wanted to go visit and see what it was all about. Getting to go was exciting and while I had no idea what to expect, I’d say the visit was worth it for the production quality along the Yellow Brick Road alone. You really feel like you’re watching scenes from the movie play out right before your eyes!
So what type of film would be best to document this? Well, I took some trusty Provia and E100, but I also decided it was time to break out a very special film that I had received a few years ago, the FPP Infrachrome! This film is a color infrared film that is supposedly the same as Kodak Aerochrome and requires shooting with an orange or red filter. For my case, I picked the orange filter. I wish that I had had more roles of this film to test and really get the hang of the film, but I did manage to eek out some results from the Land of Oz. So enjoy these photos on Infrachrome that are really out of this world:




While I’d love the opportunity to shoot more of this film and work out a better exposure, this film is currently not available, and the last time that it showed up in the FPP store, it sold for $60/roll, which is quite expensive! Therefore, this is probably my first and last role of FPP Infrachrome or Kodak Aerochrome and I was delighted to get to use it somewhere as fascinating as the Land of Oz!
New Mexico Gallery Added!

I am pleased to announce that I have put a gallery on this site showcasing recent film work done in New Mexico. The films represented are Kodak Tri-X, Kodak Ektar, and Kodak Portra 800. The images have been made on either 4×5 film or 120 film in a 6x6cm format.
Visiting Northern New Mexico again for the first time in six years was an excellent experience! We flew into Albuquerque, spent some time there, and then relocated to the little town of El Rito, New Mexico, to spend a week exploring the area. If you ever find yourself anywhere near El Rito, New Mexico, you should take the time to visit El Farolito Restaurant. Hands down, this is the best New Mexican food that I have ever eaten. We had planned to go out to Rancho de Chimayo (which is also good), but once we got a taste of El Farolito, canceled that plan and went back for a second night. Yes, it’s that good!
Locations photographed from this past trip that have made the New Mexico Gallery include:
- El Rito
- Petroglyph National Monument
- Santa Rosa de Lima de Abiquiu
- Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
- San Francisco de Asis Mission
- Rio Grande Gorge
- Plaza Blanca
- Chimney Rock, Ghost Ranch
I hope that you enjoy looking through the images in this gallery!
Appalachian Summer

Summer in the North Carolina Mountains can be a fascinating time. It usually gets muggy, the wildflowers are typically done, but the waterfalls have good flow and there is greenery everywhere.
This past summer, I had the opportunity to make some large format images in this region and wanted to share those here in that post:





First Shots with a Kodak Tourist

I recently purchased a Kodak Tourist camera at an antique shop largely because it was in excellent condition and I’ve always been interested in medium format folders.
The Kodak Tourist that I have is the version 1, which was manufactured between 1948 and 1951. The lens is a Kodak Angston 105mm f/4.5 lens in a Flash Kodamatic Shutter that goes from 1/10s to 1/200s and features a bulb and timer mode.

It’s a great camera that’s not too large (considering the size of the film), but it does bring with it some difficulties that other medium format cameras simply do not have. Specifically, here are those difficulties:
- Takes 620 film.
- No rangefinder or focusing aid.
- Heavy enough to require significant effort in not shaking the camera while shooting.
The first difficulty, takes 620 film (which is discontinued as a format), is actually not too difficult to overcome. You can purchase hand rolled 620 film directly from B&H or the Film Photography Project Store. 620 film is 120 film rolled onto a spool that is a little shorter and skinnier. As such, it’s not too hard to find, but it does cost a bit more than 120 film, even though they are the same film as you are paying for someone’s time and effort in re-rolling the film. Another option that you have is rolling 120 film onto 620 spools yourself. Once you get the 620 film, the camera takes 8 beautiful 6cm x 9cm images, which are in a 2×3 format, or the same aspect ratio of 35mm film.
The second difficulty, no rangefinder or focusing aid, is actually quite a difficulty. Because of the lack of anything to tell you how far objects are from your camera, you have to guess this yourself. Hyperfocal focusing becomes important here (where you set the focus ring to have infinity at the f/stop you desire to shoot at). On the Tourist, hyperfocal focusing at f/5.6 is 25ft to infinity, at f/8 about 18 ft to infinity, f/11 gets you 14 feet, f/16 gets you 9 feet, and f/22 gets you 7 feet. But what happens if you need to photograph something that’s 5 feet in front of you and due to light need to stop down to f/5.6? At this point, you can dial in 5 feet on the middle of the focus dial and you’ll have a small area less and slightly greater than 5 feet in focus. But what if you miscalculated the distance to your subject? There is a great chance at that point, the image will be out of focus and you are out of luck. You can see how this actually poses quite a difficulty.
The third difficulty is one that I encountered when learning to use a Minolta Autocord as well and it simply requires that you train your muscles to be able to hold the camera steady while tripping the shutter. I’ve done some work with this on the Tourist and think I’ll have better luck on my next outing.
To help address the second difficulty, I’ve purchased on eBay a Walz Rangefinder that fits into the cold shoe. If this device is in good working condition as advertised, I’ll be able to use the rangefinder to accurately measure the distance to the subject and then (as the rangefinder will be uncoupled) dial that in on the focus ring. It was difficult to find information on auxiliary rangefinders in 2019 as these days, most models are laser rangefinders. For a good source on vintage auxiliary rangefinders, please take a look at Mercury Camera’s Range Finder Roundup.
And now, as promised by the title, here are 3 shots from that first roll of 8 images on Kodak Tri-X (developed in XTol) through this camera:



New Orleans – December 2017

Having grown up in Mississippi, New Orleans has always held a sense of mystique. From Tennessee Williams “A Streetcar Named Desire” to the dixieland jazz funeral processions, to it’s reputation as a serious party destination, there is no denying that New Orleans has a palpable energy and a uniqueness all its own.
I recently was able to get back down to New Orleans with a roll of Kodak Portra 400 and my Minolta XD-11. The weather had been cold and damp, which is the opposite of hot and muggy, the usual New Orleans weather. The cold and damp had led to a bit of a fog over everything, which only helped add to the mystique of the place.
To me, it wouldn’t be a visit to New Orleans without a stop by Leah’s Pralines (http://www.leahspralines.com/ – 714 St. Louis Street). Pralines are a wonderful New Orleans treat and there are an abundance of shops that sell them. That said, I’ve tried many of the different shops over the years and have yet to come across a better praline than Leah’s. If you’re in the area, definitely go check them out and try both the traditional and the creamy varieties. You won’t regret it!
And lastly, Jackson Square, historically known as the Plaza D’Armas.