“Another year over and a new one just begun.”
John Lennon
Well, here it is December 31st, 2022 and I’m left wondering where on earth this whole year went. When I was young, I remember all of the adults in my life telling me that time would seem to start moving faster and faster as I aged. That has certainly come to fruition. On the bright side, I do find myself being more appreciative of the experiences I have as I become more cognizant of the fleeting nature of everything.
The first item on my year end wrap-up I thought about including in this post was a review of my 2022 goals. That effort has certainly been tinged with some melancholy as I realize two facts in the process.
The first is that I have been completely neglectful of this blog (and my whole website, for that matter). The 2021 year end post is only three posts back from this one. Ugh. Seeing that makes me realize how in awe I am of bloggers like Jim Grey, Mike Eckman and Mike Johnston. They not only manage to put out lots of content; they also manage to put out lots of good content. While there are many other blogs I follow and enjoy, I simply can’t read every word of every post for most of them. Down the Road, MikeEckman.com and The Online Photographer are the exceptions to that rule as I read those thoroughly because of their wonderful, thoughtful content that I truly enjoy. My hat is off to you, Jim, Mike and Mike. I don’t know how you do it but I’m glad that you do.
The second part of my reflective melancholy relates to the realization at just how spectacularly I failed at my photographic goals for the year. I’m almost afraid to post a recap on this but here goes:
- I’m going to keep using the gear that I enjoy the most. For the most part, this will be the Z7 kit, the 8×10 kit and the Rolleiflex. I’ll probably throw in some additional stuff like the Coolpix A again but the majority of my work will be done with the gear listed above.
Fail. I intended the year to be simpler with regards to cameras so that I could get in a photographic zone with a few favored tools. While I did use those cameras quite a bit I also used other pieces of my collection and I added to the collection. Everything from an aging but unique Fuji APS-C mirrorless digital camera (more on that in my best of photos below) to an old Soviet FKD 13×18 view camera shipped from war-torn Ukraine (with many thanks to Vlad at USSRPhoto for the hook-up on a contact in the country who found and tested the camera for me before sending it here). I just like using different cameras and it’s fun to try out a variety of stuff. In an ideal world, I’d either have a lot more time to dedicate to using them or more commitment to sticking with a few favored cameras. Finding a balance on that problem will be among my goals for 2023 (see below). - It’s time to do the closet cleanout. We moved last year and it’s kind of scary to learn just how much stuff one owns. The camera collection contributed a particularly egregious number of boxes that didn’t need to be moved. I own a lot of cameras and a lot of camera related stuff. And there are huge chunks of that collection that don’t get used. In addition to the daily users listed above, I’m going to keep any cameras that I have been given as gifts and make a more concerted effort towards running film through them every now and again but the time has come to get rid of everything else.
Mostly a fail. While I did thin the collection slightly by sending off some gear to photographic friends, it’s more than been replaced by new acquisitions.
A lot of the new stuff I have yet to use, too. For instance, I have yet to snap a single photo with a monster of a lens — the Kodak 24″ f10 Process Ektar — that I picked up at a local Chicago area camera fair. These aren’t very common and it should be spectacularly good. It’s a process lens from an era when Kodak’s quality control was legendary. There isn’t a lot online about the lenses but what I’ve been able to find out makes it seem pretty special. The lens used Kodak’s rare element glass (slightly radioactive!) and it’s Lumenized coating process. It has a crazy double iris with 40(!) blades. I found a Kodakery issue from 1950 that discusses the release of this line of lenses. The list prices run from $575 to $1000. My lens is the second longest focal length offered, so it’s going to be closer to the $1000 than the $575. I checked the numbers with an online inflation calculator and $1000 in 1950 dollars is somewhere around $12,000 in 2022 dollars. How have I not shot with such a special, if slightly forgotten, lens? Here’s a photo of it with another Kodak product of the era, the delightful Retina IIa:
- It’s time to do some updating on the galleries on my website. There will be some new galleries and some organization of older galleries. I’m also trying to decide what to do with my gallery, At the Zoo. After looking into the photographic policies of most of the zoos featured in that gallery, I’ve come to the conclusion that most of the work there can’t be sold or used in any kind of commercial manner. So I’m not sure if that particular gallery is going to stay around. That’s kind of making me a bit sad as I have a lot of work that I’m very proud of there. Maybe it will remain as a display only gallery with a special notice that most images in the gallery cannot be easily sold. Something to ponder.
Complete fail. I’ve barely visited this site, let alone worked on it this year. Yikes. - Put together a best of 2021 album for a blog post. Normally, I’m really excited to post my best-of album on Facebook on December 31st. There were two problems with that practice this year. One, I’m still on a hiatus from Facebook and not really missing it enough to go back, even for my annual photo post. And two, I’m kind of down on what I produced last year. It didn’t measure up to my usual standards and I really haven’t put too much effort into processing the images for a year end gallery. After taking another look, though, I decided that while it wasn’t my best year ever, there were still images I was happy with and proud of. It will be good to showcase them here, if not on FB. Originally, I had hoped to include them with this post but since I’m running behind, I decided it would be better to make it a separate post.
Complete fail. Yeah, this never happened.
With all of that in mind, it’s time to work on some 2023 goals that are hopefully a little more attainable.
- Work on developing processes and rhythms that beget output. I’m actually really good at this at my job, so the skillset is in my wheelhouse. I really need to work on establishing some patterns that fit with my current time commitments. The most important of these will be figuring out how to maximize small pockets of time. When I was younger and had far fewer responsibilities, it was easy to dedicate huge amounts of time to my photographic hobby. I don’t think that will be possible again until retirement, which is decades away. What I do have are little free moments here and there that could be better utilized for photographing, processing and posting new work.
- Related to the above point, I really need to work on my workflow for shooting film. The end of the year has found me in a strong film mood. I really want to shoot my film cameras right now! But I also realize that my film processes are haphazard at best. My digital workflow needs work but at least it’s sort of functional. Shooting, processing and organizing my film photos needs a LOT of work.
- Figure out a balance between my collector and photographer hats. I really love cameras! Trying to ignore that last year and focus on just a few tools ignored a big part of my hobby and ultimately set me up for failure. However, I also like creating art! Indulging in too many new cameras/lenses can likewise set myself up for failure. Honestly, I think this goal will just be something of a trial and error year to work towards understanding what that balance looks like so that I can implement a better plan in 2024. Maybe I’ll try something month to month. January is already set up to be an acquisition month since I used some Christmas money to buy some more Soviet stuff from my Ukrainian contact. Maybe I’ll dedicate some of February to deaccessioning unused pieces of the collection. Maybe I’ll pick one camera for March to shoot with. Like I said, trial and error here.
- Post an album of my best 2022 work. I haven’t really organized my film stuff yet (see goal 2) but will share my best digital work below so that I at least get half credit when I refer to this post next year!
This was actually featured in the year end wrap-up post of last year but that post was late and this picture dates to 1/2/22, so it’s a part of this album. Taken with an iPhone since I only had the 8×10 with me on this outing as a “real” camera.
Apple iPhone 12 Pro
The spring equinox is only a couple of weeks away but shades of winter and even last autumn still hang on in Northern Illinois on March 7th, 2022.
Nikon Z7 with AI Nikkor 105mm f2.5
A lone tree stands among a sea of grasses in a tallgrass prairie resoration in northern Illinois. Tallgrass prairie once made up over 22 million acres of Illinois giving the state its nickname, The Prairie State. Today, only 2500 acres remain of this unique ecosystem.
Nikon Z7 with AF-P 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 VR on FTZ Adapter
Norwegian Spruce trees in the Spruce Plot of the Morton Arboretum reach skyward on a warm March day in 2022.
Nikon Z7 with Z Nikkor 14-30mm f4S
Soft light from an open door illuminates an old lantern at Kline Creek Farm in DuPage County, IL. This photo was taken with a new to me but pretty old (in digital camera years, anyways) Fuji X-Pro1. I’ve always wanted to try out the hybrid viewfinder on this series of cameras and finally decided to give it a go with the first model in the series in April. Since then, I’ve developed a love/hate relationship with the camera. I’ll save the details of that for another blog post specifically on the subject.
Fujifilm X-Pro1 with XF 35mm f2
Somehow, I was born in Chicagoland, lived the first 20 years of my existence here and have spent the last 3 years here again after living in Colorado for awhile and had never seen the Tiffany Dome before. Thankfully, I finally rectified that situation in late April.
Nikon Z7 with Z Nikkor 14-30mm f4S
A sun flare behind the sign for the Art Institute of Chicago adds a dynamic element to an otherwise boring, cloudless sky.
Fujifilm X-Pro1 with XF 35mm f2
I don’t fancy myself a street photographer. I wish I had that skillset in my toolkit but I’m far to introverted and anxious to be a good street photographer. Still, every once in a while I can get a frame that I like in this genre.
Fujifilm X-Pro1 with XF 35mm f2
A city that burned to the ground so thoroughly in 1871 was bound to pay a lot of attention to fire safety during the rebuilding process. Fire escapes like these can be found all over the city.
Fujifilm X-Pro1 with XF 35mm f2
A pedestrian casts a passing glance at some of the hats on display at the Optimo Hat Shop in the Monadnock Building on April 28th, 2022. Stepping into the Monadnock Building is like entering a time machine.
Fujifilm X-Pro1 with XF 35mm f2
A woman takes a smoke break while resting on the statue of “Industry” on April 28th, 2022. This statue, along with “Agriculture,” seen in the backgroud, once stood over the old Board of Trade Building in Chicago. When that building was demolished to make way for the new Art Deco masterpiece in 1929, the statues were thought to be lost. In 1978, the DuPage County Forest Preserve District came across the statues at the estate of Arthur Cutten. How they arrived at the Cutten Estate is unknown. In 2005, the Forest Preserve District returned the statues and they now grace the plaza at the base of the Board of Trade Building.
Fujifilm X-Pro1 with XF 35mm f2
Water droplets add another layer of complexity to the already delightful patterns of leaves at the Wilder Park Conservatory on May 18th, 2022. When I picked up the Fuji, a friend and fellow photographer, Hong Joon Lee was kind enough to give me some extras for the kit. One piece was a macro focusing adapter for Leica Thread Mount lenses to X mount. I’ve used that adapter here.
Fujifilm X-Pro1 with Nikkor-H C 5cm f2 lens on Macro Focusing Adapter
One of the blossoms of a Shooting Star plant is rendered rather uniquely thanks to a classic lens — the Carl Zeiss 50mm f5.6 M1:1 Pro-Tessar. The lens was designed for the Zeiss Contaflex system but has been adapted to my Nikon Z7 for this photo. When I did the conversion, I managed to disable the aperture of the lens, so I was left photographing wide open. Doing so certainly let all of the lens’ quirks come through but I think the resulting photo is kind of appealing in a unique way. I’ve since used another dead Contaflex to make a fully functional adapter with the unique lenses for the system on my Z camera.
Nikon Z7 with Carl Zeiss 50mm f5.6 M1:1 Pro-Tessar on Homemade Adapter
The old wooden grain elevator in Junction City, KS is reflected in a puddle from heavy storms the previous night early in the morning on June 6th, 2022. I found myself in Kansas in June for a work trip. I didn’t have a lot of time to take photos but I did get out this morning to add a grain elevator to my project.
Nikon Z7 with Z Nikkor 14-30mm f4S
Despite the separation at the base of this tree, the twin trunks have carried on similar paths with similar goals and are still part of the same whole. The result is unique and eye-catching. A layer of fog paradoxically adds a layer of clarity to this beautiful organism by filtering out the competing scenic elements.
Nikon Z7 with AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 VR on FTZ Adapter
Autumn’s arrival on the calendar is less than two weeks away but this leaf has already donned its autumn attire and fallen onto an old stump that now serves only as fungus food.
Nikon Z7 with Z Nikkor 85mm f1.8S
The unique grain elevator with the twin headhouses in Meriden, IL witnesses a nice sunset on the tail end of a low pressure system that moved through earlier in the day on September 11th, 2022.
Nikon Z7 with Z Nikkor 85mm f1.8S
My niece works in a greenhouse. I took her senior portraits this year. This photo in her workspace is one of my favorites from the set.
Nikon Z7 with Z Nikkor 85mm f1.8S
Bright leaves against dark quartzite are an autumn treat at Devil’s Lake State Park in Wisconsin on October 13th, 2022. This outing was mostly done on film with my Rolleiflex but I have yet to digitize and organize those photos. Oops.
Nikon Coolpix A
We took a quick trip to Minnesota for a wedding in October. Our schedule didn’t allow for a lot of site-seeing but we did take a scenic drive north out of Minneapolis and around Mille Lacs Lake. Alas, I didn’t bring my photography A game and didn’t come home with much. This is probably my best effort and it could have used a smaller aperture and a tripod. Oh well, sometimes it’s just nice to enjoy being out for an autumn drive.
Nikon Z7 with AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 VR on FTZ Adapter
The last hour of sunlight can be magical. On October 28th, 2022, the last rays of sunshine light up a bit of autumn foliage in a prairie restoration area in northern Illinois.
Nikon Z7 with AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 VR on FTZ Adapter
The very last rays of sunlight of October 28th, 2022 light up a stand of sumac along a railroad right-of-way in Northern Illinois like a stained glass window.
Nikon Z7 with AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 VR on FTZ Adapter
A single light on the side of JB Tower lends a dramatic feel on Halloween Morning, 2022. Long a fixture at the intersection of the EJ&E and C&NW railroad, today the tower still watches over the diamond for new tenants, Canadian National and Union Pacific.
Nikon Z7 with AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 VR on FTZ Adapter
Morning sunlight streams through lifting fog on November 1st, 2022. Despite the rural feel, this photo was taken on the side of a six-lane county highway in Illinois’ second most populous county. Photos are everywhere for those willing to look.
Fujifilm X-Pro1 with XF 35mm f2
I still need to work on this one a little bit but it’s a shot of the total lunar eclipse that was visible on the morning of November 8th. This is the windmill at Fabyan Forest Preserve along the Fox River on the border between Batavia and Geneva, Illinois.
Focus Stack of Two Images from Nikon Z7 and Z Nikkor 85mm f1.8S
While the calendar still says autumn, the scenery certainly has a winter feel along the West Branch of the Dupage River on November 15th, 2022. When I pursue landscape photography, I tend to avoid any hints of humanity as much as possible but I was rather taken by the way the utility pole’s lean along the river echoed that of the tree and decided to expand my landscape horizons a bit.
Nikon Z7 with AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 VR on FTZ Adapter
Recently detrained passengers stand on the platform and watch Metra’s train 43 depart to continue its westward journey from Elmhurst, IL on December 15th, 2022.
Nikon Z7 with Z Nikkor 24-70mm f4S
And, that’s a wrap! I wish you all a very happy and healthy 2023. Happy New Year!
2 Comments
My favorites are the lantern, the shoe shine, and the Tiffany dome.
I’m honored that you enjoy my blog. It’s become A Thing in my life. It started to build an audience after its first four or so years and the effort:reward ratio shot up dramatically.
Thanks, Jim! It’s interesting that I tried to reproduce the lantern shot on a tripod mounted, color calibrated, high-resolution camera (Nikon Z7 with a Color Checker Passport) and I couldn’t reproduce the magic from the old, hand-held Fuji. People talk about Fuji colors a lot around the web and I’m starting to understand why. The Nikon may have produced a more accurate file but the Fuji file just looked nicer. It’s kind of like shooting Velvia. It might not be a faithful reproduction to the world but man, it can be stunning in the right conditions.