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Trail Greetings! Colorado Dogs on the trail.

Kodak Threatened with Stock Delisting as It Prepares to File for Bankruptcy

For someone like me (and my colleagues) this represents a final nail in the coffin Kodak began preparing for itself years ago.

I watched with dismay over the last decade and a half as Kodak continually shot itself in the foot. For a leader in the photography – and digital imaging – industry, somehow, everything the company did went South on them.

One must remember that it was Kodak and George Eastman who put photography in the hands of Americans in the late 1890s. The introduction of the Brownie Box camera was like the original disposable camera; you shoot the film, send the camera in and get back your pictures and a freshly-loaded camera.

I’m not going to get into the specifics here…I’ll let the business publications handle that…just do a search for “demise of eastman kodak” and you’ll find the financial debacle stuff. I just want to throw in my two cents (which, ironically, is about what the stock will be worth soon).

Wall Street Journal article (1/4/12)

Anyhoo…

Any of us from those days grew up with “the Great Yellow Father” in our lives. Whether your first camera was a 127, a 110 or a 35mm, chances are you loaded it with Kodak film. And, if you went on to become a photojournalist like I did, you shot Tri-X film. To this day I love Tri-X and keep 100′ of it on hand to feed my old manual Nikons.

So where did Kodak go wrong? Like I said, I’m not an analyst…just some guy on a soapbox…but here are a few dingers I remember:

1982 – 1990 – Kodak introduces the Disc camera series. This ridiculous cartridge-film camera used a piece of film 1/5th the size of the 110 format which was 1/5th the size of the 127 format. And they continued charging roughly the same price for the film cartridge. Consumer gouging?

1991 – Kodak DCS camera: a 1.2 MP camera which really got the ball rolling…cost? Somewhere over $10,000. I’m not dissing Kodak on this one…I mean, someone had to get the ball rolling and they did it.

Hell, nothing in digital was cheap in the beginning. I first owned ten 1GB Lexar 40x cards at a cost of $269 each! 

1992-96 – Kodak APS (Advanced Photo System): This baby was like a .357 in the foot…though, I still believe it was a test-bed for some type of film/digital hybrid. It was a joint project among Canon, Fuji, Minolta and Nikon to develop (haha) yet another film size. Another one destined for shelves and garage sales everywhere.

2002 – Kodak DCS 14n: I remember picking this up at the flagship Waxman’s in downtown Denver (speaking of demise). Outwardly, it looked very cool! But, once I had my hands wrapped around it, it was clear that it had been rushed into production; poor fit of parts and controls mostly. Once it hit the shelves, major image quality problems sprang forth. Kodak’s answer was continual firmware and software upgrades. It failed.

2005 – Kodak stops making Black & White photo paper. Good bye G surface.

Sometime in the mid-2000s I remember seeing a blister-pack Kodak “Digital” camera. Curious, I took a closer look. Lo and behold! It was but a film camera masquerading as a digital. “WTF,” you say? Me too! They were now marketing their disposable 35mm film cameras as digital; develop, print and scan the film!

I couldn’t help but think on two planes…

One, someone in their marketing department was a genius and deserved a raise. Or…Two, it was a very sad, pitiable attempt at grabbing back a bit of the market share. And, clearly, Number Two it was.

And so it goes. Today was the announcement that Kodak will file Chapter 11. And so ends an Era…

“I got a Nikon camera
I love to take a photograph
So mama don’t take my Kodachrome away…”

Sing it Paul…

So it was risky taking my Fuji X10 in hand, but I couldn’t resist this found light.

Look for my new website: HolgaToyCamera.com soon!

CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGES:

Don’t forget to check out my other new site ArapahoeBasinPhotos.com featuring images of A-Basin captured with the Holga Toy Camera!

And, don’t forget to LIKE on facebook!

I have been photographing at A-Basin with the Holga seeking to capture the vintage feel of this small Colorado Ski Resort. The Holga is perfect! I spend a lot of time perusing the old photos of skiing (from the 40s, 50s and 60s) for inspiration!

The image – Pallavacini Lift – is displayed as a 40×40-inch wrapped canvas! This is the same image which hung in a juried exhibition at Denver International Airport and, later, the Colorado Governor’s Office.

Interior Designer, Jill Creager makes the mark!

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RMRFall2011

This year, four of my students had work selected, including top spot for the cover! The theme for this publication is “challenging injustice” – and Zach Brace’s image “On the Cross” was selected.

Congrats to Zach, Hannah Glover, Brian Roecker (Fall ’11) and Guadalupe Laiz (Summer ’11).

Please respect each photographer’s copyright.

Guadalupe Laiz

Guadalupe Laiz

Hannah Glover

Brian Roecker

Zach Brace

Zach Brace

and last, but not least…the cover selection:

Zach Brace

I’ll also be posting images from my students who were accepted into the 2012 Rocky Mountain Reflections. This juried publication represents the work from students at all 12 of our campuses.

And, I’m stoked to announce that my student, Zach Brace, got the cover! More to come!

FALL ’11 STUDENT FINAL PORTFOLIO GALLERY

My last “happy snaps” camera – the Olympus 5050 – fit that bill perfectly and there have been few since that time which could match up on specs. Many try and the Canon Gxx (10, 11, 12), and Nikon P7100 come close. But where they failed in my eyes were in the small maximum aperture (typically about f4 or 5.6 ish). The Olympus 5050 featured a super large f1.8 maximum aperture. It’s RAW files were stunning and it had a nice manual ability with focus and exposure.

Apparently, though…it did NOT like being taken down the River and I done kilt that poor cretur on my last trip down the Upper Colorado! Let’s just say I was relieved that I did not jump the gun and buy the Canon or Nikon cameras. (luckily, my niece, Rebecca, had a G11 on our last Upper Colorado trip so I got to use her camera!).

When I first heard rumor (DPreview.com) of the X10, I was S-T-O-K-E-D! First off, it looked like a real, film Rangefinder camera…sleek lines, professional appearance – a real “poor-man’s Leica” for real photographers (i.e. poor). This is the first camera I have ever pre-ordered, sight unseen. Don’t get me wrong, I spent hours pouring over reports, forums, and previews. (credit where credit is due: Steve Huff has an excellent blog and an excellent report and sample photos from the X10.)

Based on the information I read there – and the exceptional quality of the photos, I pre-ordered directly from Fuji. (A note about this. I can not ever recommend ordering from ShopFuji.com. Their terrible packaging and rediculous shipping method – UPS handoff to USPS – forced me spend almost 5 hours tracking down this little gem.)

Anyhoo, that said…let me share my first impressions:

• Size: It’s actually smaller than I prefer. Anyone with large hands will find this true. I’m likely to get the case (the leather case is quite pricey…though, when you compare to buying a Leica you’ve got tons o’ cash left over!). I plan on purchasing the case only to use the bottom half. I think it will add to protection and grip-ability.
• Build: Again. Wow! I have never seen a compact camera with this level of build quality. It’s metal! It’s solid. It feels like a real camera! A little “tank” you might say.
• Maximum aperture: f2~2.8: of all the “happy snaps” out there, I can’t think of any others with a lens this fast.
• Sensor: I wish it had a slightly larger sensor. The 2/3″ sensor performs amazingly, however – even with the ability for shallow depth of field (coupled with the fast lens, that is). I’m not going to get into all the technicology of the EXR sensor and blah…I’ll leave that to my counterparts more geekily oriented! Suffice it to say that image quality (especially at the 6 MP settings) is phenominal!
• Image Quality: so far my testing has all been high-ISO, natural light shooting – pushing the limits! And again, wow. The camera excels at ISO 1600! Holds together well up to 3,200 and – as one would expect – begins to degrade at 6,400 and 12,800! Again, these images are shot using a mode which only uses half the available pixels (6 mp vs. 12 mp). And again, I’ll let the techinerds ‘splain that info in more detail!

DRAWBACKS:

• My first overall complaint about this beauty is the optical viewfinder. At 85% the amount of crop makes accurately framing almost impossible. Bummer. But, practice of knowing what’s in the viewfinder and comparing to what’s in the big LCD screen will get me over that.
• ONE MORE…fairly pissed that the rear LCD screen does NOT come with any protective covering – not even for shipping. Within one day of very careful use, the screen is already scratched up. I have put a protective screen over it (better late than never?) – but am VERY UNHAPPY with Fuji for shipping the camera like this.
• I know that I’m going to find other facets of this camera I’m not happy with, glitches and the like, but for now…

FINAL THOUGHTS…

Okay, anyone who knows me knows there’s no such thing as Matt having a final thought! But anyway…

I love this camera! I plan on using it like film rangefinders of yore. That is, documentary-style, low-light, natural light, high-ISO shooting! I think this is actually going to fit alongside my D-SLR for the moment. As a travel companion to my Holga Toy Camera (since that’s the only real shooting I do outside my professional work), it’s going to allow me to produce (relatively) high-quality images.

I know for a fact (having spoken with a Fuji tech/rep) that there is a next generation of the X100 in the works. This next-gen rangefinder will feature interchangeable lenses and truly be a “poor man’s Leica.” So, I’m waiting to replace the S2 that my assistant used to test Newton’s law. In the meantime, I have complete confidence the X10 can fill its shoes!

Image Samples:

I’ve only had the camera for one day and haven’t had much chance to shoot. The following images samples include a Yoga training course, my ’67 Nikon F (doG, I love this camera!), and one of my photo students working on his final portfolio. I have posted the full-size JPEGs so you can really see detail. Except for converting a couple to B&W, I DID NOT make any changes to “noise” settings or exposure – i.e. I did not adjust the camera’s natural noise in LightRoom.

Crappy photo (!) but look at the detail at ISO 2,000!

ISO 2,000  f4 1/60  B&W mode  (6mp mode “M”):

ISO 12,800  f5.6   1/160    mode: 6mp mode “M”:

ISO 640  f2.8    1/40    mode  (6mp mode “M”):

ISO 2,000  f4 1/60  mode  (6mp mode “M”):

ISO 2,000  f4 1/60  mode  (6mp mode “M”):

ISO 2,000  f4 1/60  mode  (6mp mode “M”):

ISO 2,000  f4 1/60   mode  (6mp mode “M”):

ISO 2,000  f4 1/60  mode  (6mp mode “M”):

ISO 12,800  f2.8    1/80   mode  (6mp mode “M”):

ISO 6,400  f2.8    1/40   mode  (6mp mode “M”):

ISO 3,200  f4    1/10    mode  (6mp mode “M”):

ISO 1,600   f4   1/8    mode  (6mp mode “M”):

NEW IMAGES SHOT WITH THESE SETTINGS:

Full 12 mp setting, Fuji Velvia film setting, DR varies with the shots…

ISO 1,600   f2.8   1/250    mode  (12mp mode “M”): I believe DR was at 400%: NOT as impressed with “noise” structure in the 12mp mode! I believe Fuji is heavy-handed on the Gaussian Blur using all 12 million pixels.

ISO 1,600   f4   1/8    mode  (6mp mode “M”): I believe DR was at 400%: NOT as impressed with “noise” structure in the 12mp mode! I believe Fuji is heavy-handed on the Gaussian Blur using all 12 million pixels.

ISO 1,600   f2.8   1/200    mode  (12mp mode “M”): I believe DR was at 400%: (-1 EV) NOT as impressed with “noise” structure in the 12mp mode! I believe Fuji is heavy-handed on the Gaussian Blur using all 12 million pixels.

ISO 800   f5.6   1/12 mode  (12mp mode “A” ): Similar thoughts on the skin tones looking like too much Gaussian Blur has been applied to the Blue channel. Just a guess on my part, though an educated one!

ISO 400   f5.6   1/700    mode  (12mp mode “A”): This was a grab shot as we walked in Denver. Again, 12 mp…just not as impressive as the 6mb schemata. BUT – let’s face it…6 mp is plenty big enough for most everyday use.

ISO 200   f8   1/200    mode  (12mp mode “A”) – Fuji Velvita film emulation. Pretty F’ing intense on the color…like Velvita on steroids…all other color settings were standard:

DR turned down…from 400% to 100 %.

And yes, I’m aware I spelled Velvia like the cheese. Duh.

I photographed these four boys on Revere Beach, just north of Boston. My childhood recollections of Revere Beach were quite romantic compared to what the place is now. In my youth, there was a boardwalk and a ferris wheel and a roller coaster (if I recall) and all the trappings of a great Northeast boardwalk! Not so anymore.