Just a head’s up, the blog may go a bit quiet for a bit. I have two projects in mind, both just begun:
First, Adobe’s recent update to Lightroom, while exciting, has me looking at alternatives. Combine that with Apple’s current computer offerings (and the direction their products seem to be heading), I’m looking again at computer alternatives too. So I’m in the process of testing several programs. In the open source, FOSS space: darktable (version 1.4 was already tested on this blog—it’s now at 1.6), RawTherapee, DigiKam, and LightZone; in the closed, paid space: Corel AfterShot Pro 2, Affinity Photo (beta, mac only), and maybe some others, if I find them…
I hope to test one app per week over the coming months, and compare the usability, workflow, and performance to my current Lightroom workflow; only Allah knows how well I’ll do: if you’re interested, stay tuned.
And Second, if you paid attention to my Thirty Six review, you might have noticed something…
In the shot there, you see two Ansco Versapan Film boxes… Inside those boxes are two unexposed rolls of black & white Ansco film that expired in 1968 and that I picked up for a few bucks on ebay. Good times.
I was unsure what to do with these, and was hesitating shooting them, since I don’t really want to spend the money to pick up a new kit of chemicals and bottles, etc. for Black & White developing. Then I came across New55 Film’s R3 Monobath B/W Developer, thanks to a very recent episode of Ted Forbes’s Art of Photography show/podcast. I haven’t seen the episode yet, so if there’s a coupon code in it, I’ll feel a bit chagrined since I just ordered a bottle of developer.
InshaAllah, I’ll load a roll of that old film in the FG tonight or tomorrow, and maybe have a review of the developer and the old film in a month or so.
So stay tuned! There’s some excitement ahead, InshaAllah.
