Walking the dog...

[Alan7140]

So I made a commitment to "adopt" an 8½-year-old German Shepherd from the Hobart Dogs Home for surrendered, abandoned or unwanted dogs. Aside from getting me out for a 5km walk every morning now, I also took him for a walk in a nearby rainforest reserve a couple of days ago, deciding to carry a Pentacon Six fitted with a Mir 3,5/45 lens loaded with T-Max 400 film rather than take anything even vaguely digital. Aside from this scenery being totally new experience for the dog (it soon became apparent that he obviously had never seen a river before, nor a forest pathway, nor even a footbridge, let alone a waterfall), I was reminded yet again how shooting film is, for me anyway, a wholly more involving and satisfying way to take photographs than with the digital cameras and phones that have now swamped the photography field.

 

With only 12 frames for the whole walk at my disposal, thinking before pressing the shutter release became an active part of taking the photograph, rather than just clicking away and selecting the best later as we're so used to doing these days.

 

There's also something about the visual quality of a true medium-format negative that sets it well and truly aside from the digital world's attempts at providing "equivalents" for cameras with postage stamp-sized and smaller imaging sensors, and that even processing the film afterwards is a whole lot more satisfying than staring at a monitor with glazed-over eyes.

 

 

Unfortunately the waterfall at the end of this walk is at the end of a narrow and heavily vegetated, debris-strewn gully which limits possible viewpoints, plus the recent rains meant that it was literally thundering down, with clouds of spray all but obliterating the falls themselves, which, along with the fact that the sun is always behind this waterfall means that it backlights the spray, which makes things even worse for photography. Both the Pentacon Six and the Mir lens are of course not "weather resistant" either, but as neither shares so much as a battery, diode, wiring or anything electronic in their functioning parts, I thought maybe a shot for fun was in order, so we all got wet, the camera, lens, dog and myself, in order to get this almost indiscernible (but fun) photograph.

[Dallas]

He’s a very handsome fellow. Looking forward to your future adventures on the trails.  

[crowecg]

Looks like you’ve got a good companion there.  Doesn’t look too shy so it will be good to see more of your adventures together.   Hopefully he doesn’t have a habit of suddenly chasing something and yanking you off balance whilst trying to take pictures. 👹

[danielm]

Thanks Alan for your superb pictures. Everything is there: the subject, the story, the creativity, the technique. Bravo!

 

P.s. You are doing this to push us to a new analogic-film rush, I'm sure...

[Hugh_3170]

This dog I suspect has fallen on his feet with his new choice of master and associated walks! 😁

 

And thanks for the pictures.