Herman

Click on any of the above categories to go there

TThis web site consists of photographs taken over a period of more than 50 years. After the box/bellows cameras and with early earnings, I purchased a German made Retina. It was a simple 35 MM. camera of post WW II design and manufacture. The 35MM format and the 36-picture capability, it was this camera that got me hooked on photography and I have made many snapshots with it using Kodak and Ilford b/w film of good quality (for that time period) but still with considerable grain by to days standards.

Since then, I have traded cameras often and owned some interesting "used" ones like Rolleicord (liked the format but did not liked the parallax,) Leica, Miranda, Vivitar and others, until in 1973, I purchased a Nikon F2 Fotomic and a Nikkormat with auto-winder. As time went on, I acquired a variety of Nikon and Vivitar lenses and the camera bag got bigger and heavier. It is this camera equipment that created many of the images displayed in this web site.

Back in the early fifties, I did my own enlarging until to much damage to the carpeting and to many late dinners (because I was using the kitchen sink) made the practice prohibitive. For domestic and political reasons I relied on the photo industry to make my enlargements until in 1998 I got involved in digital darkroom technology.

Near the end of 2001, I traded the Nikon equipment and the accessories (this equipment was more than 25 years old) for lesser bulky equipment acquiring a Canon Elan 7e of excellent capability with a 28/135 and 75/300 Canon IS zoom lenses fitted with UV filters. This allows me to travel with just the camera and the two lenses providing me with just about "all around" capability. This camera has fascinating capability weighting only a few pounds making it effortless to carry and the Canon IS (Image Stabilizer) lenses which have gyroscopic stability control, allows hand held shots at low shutter speeds thus eliminating the carrying of a tripod. The low hand-held shutter speed capability is important to me because I like to use 100 ASA or less in order to preserve picture quality. I have used 200 ASA for action related shooting and ventured once into the ASA 400 films. 400 speed film is nice for snapshots but to grainy for serious enlargements. This attitude has changed with the advancement of digital imaging teechnology.

About the same time I purchased a Hewlett Packard S20 photo scanner and an Epson 1700 printer spending a number of months digitizing thousands of 35 slides categorizing them at the same time anticipating a web site in the near future. The Epson 1700 Stylus lasted a mere three years replacing it with an Epson 2200 which did a nicer job yet! The printer however did not survive the 2007 move to Atlanta and again I was faced with replacing yet another printer.

For the Holidays of 2004 I purchased a Canon 20D digital camera. I had heard a lot and read numerous evaluations about the Canon 10D and had decided that I would go with the 10D when Canon announced the 20D which is an improvement over the Canon 10D and a deal maker for me. I will offer my experiences with this "machine" after I have had a change to get accustomed with the "total" digital workflow. (see the Canon User Remark page)

Then came the day that the computer needed to be replaced just about the same time when Microsoft announced the dreaded Vista operating system. Shopping for a new computer was nothing but aggravation for all new machines on the market had this new operating pre-installed dictating I needed to replace all my current software at an enormous expense. Apple's new iMac line (introduced in the mid 2006,) now had an Intel processor and software capable of running Windows XP thus capable of running all my current software. That was the way to go!

The iMac 20 is a nice machine. (see Imac 20 User Remarks) All my software was useable running under "Boot Camp." I replaced the Epson 2200 in Atlanta with a new Epson R1800 color stylus printer. The iMac is a 2.16Ghz machine with 250GB internal storage and a 500Gb external storage complimenting my current camera equipment consisting of, a Canon Elan 7e - 35 mm, Canon 20D, 8.2 MP and the new 50D 15.1 MP digital cameras. Current lenses are all Canon, 18-55 mm, 24-105mm 4L IS, 28-35mm f-4.5 IS, 70-200 mm f-4 IS L zoom and a Canon 100 mm f-2.8 macro lens. The above equipment provides me with a set of powerful image tools that go a long way toward excellent picture making.

Images from the Canon 20D were of excellent quality. 8x10 prints made from 35 MM Slides and color and b/w film scanned at 2400 DPI, were outstanding without up-scaling the image. However, printing at 13x19 inches required up-scaling and the need to upgrade to a camera which could deliver an image that could be printed to 13x19 inches without up-scaling became a desire. The arrival of the Canon 50D @ 15.2 Mp provided the answer. A 50D image shot at 100 ISO and printed at 240 DPI provided for a 13x19 non-up-scaled print thus maximizing the R1800 Epson printer. There was the match!

The Epson 2200 and later Epson printers such as the R1800, use UltraChrome Dye based inks of superb quality. Images printed with this ink on Epson Semi Luster paper are colorfast for 80 to 85 years according Epson product testing laboratories. The best photographic color process including CibaChrome start to fade in a few years when the picture is exposed to average room light. All commercial work is now done on Epson Semi Gloss and Luster paper printed @ 4400 DPI on the Epson 2200. The quality is outstanding. Recently I installed an Epson R1800 which has an 8 color cartridge color lineup including a clear lacquer eliminating the color voids where highlights and white areas are thus finally producing a uniform textured print and the need for clear lacquer spraying a thing of the past.

Digital photography is a marvelous invention. Almost instant results and no more wet chemical development, space robbing enlargement equipment and chemical damage to working environment. The digital darkroom with a decent computer and good software is a marvelous tool to create outstanding images or even interesting ones from mediocre shots. My experience with digital photography is detailed throughout this website with user reviews and articles related to equipment and situations.

My current equipment

At the moment my equipment is geared for minimum weight, maximum utilization/efficiency and compactness. It all fits into a standard 7 x 6 x 10w (int.dim) # -2400 Canon bag.

Canon Elan 7e 35 mm film camera
Canon 20D Digital 8.2 MP camera
Canon 50D Digital 15.2 MP camera
Canon zoom lens, EF-S USM 18-55 mm f 3.5 5.6
Canon zoom lens, EF IS USM 28-135 mm f 3.5 5.6
Canon zoom lens, EF-S USM 100 mm Macro f 4.5
Canon zoom lens, EF IS USM 75-300 mm f 4.5 5.6
Canon zoom lens, EFL IS USM 24-105 mm f-4 L
Canon zoom lens, EFL IS USM 70-200 mm f-4 L
Canon speed-lite 420 EX
Epson 1800R 13x19 photo printer
HP S20 scanner 2400 dpi @ 35 mm
Epson Flatbed HQ scanner
iMac20 Dual platform (XP/OS10 Computer
On-line hard drives for archiving & backup
Two tripods, a monopod with swivel/ball-head to allow camera portrait positioning and micro slide for macro work

Click on the above link to go to the proper section

Website picture quality

All images are of "web site" (72 DPI) quality and the large format make reasonable enlargements up to 5 x 7 without showing disturbing grain/pixels. However, anyone interested in obtaining a high quality digital print up to 1.5 x 18.5 can go to our Product Page for details.

Picture Identification

All photographs have a title, image number and an explanation indicating where they were taken however, no effort was made to include exposure settings for they vary from camera to camera depending on the type of light measuring technology employed. Until recently almost all color film used, is Kodak 64 & 100 ASA Kodachrome or Ektachrome. Current images are shot on Kodak Supra 100 ASA or Kodak Royal Gold and 100 Ektachrome VS slide film both 100 ASA. (Supra and Royal Gold are Kodak's new fine grain films and seem to work well producing superb color and unnoticeable grain in enlargements up to 13 x 19) * although I have heard that Kodak intents to discontinue the Royal Gold product.