tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-126236352011-04-22T03:05:22.093+02:00Devoted to my photography and my always constant interest for retro cameras/lenses/techniquestafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.comBlogger1101100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-21615845238923838052008-04-09T22:03:00.009+02:002008-04-11T20:55:50.894+02:00

moving yet again*, please update your links to: singlecoated.wordpress.comold versions at singlecoated.com/blog and singlecoated.blogspot.com will be updated (and adjusted for redirection when possible) as I make my way through the arcane arts of technical blogging issues :)sorry for the URL tour !* after some disappointments with blogger itself and my FTP account in particular** and yes, another

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-46800899844172690702008-04-05T21:48:00.001+02:002008-04-05T21:50:34.594+02:00

Awaiting oblivion (or so it's said) if the new quarry project goes ahead.

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-16684588650710584802008-04-05T20:23:00.003+02:002008-04-05T20:37:12.566+02:00

This perfect vacuum was quite fresh in my mind when I walked by the local washing place for a morning walk.

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-91552459821683593192008-04-03T23:49:00.009+02:002008-04-10T21:26:42.001+02:00

It's starting to get fun again...

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-60578351490800946922008-02-03T15:00:00.000+01:002008-02-03T15:04:20.072+01:00

december 2007

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-54518595908894953392008-02-03T14:37:00.000+01:002008-02-03T15:00:30.958+01:00

december 2007

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-15664271576243964612008-02-03T13:06:00.001+01:002008-02-03T13:10:44.489+01:00

december 2007

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-29952709321605160382007-11-13T22:24:00.000+01:002007-11-13T22:36:44.975+01:00

Not willing to resemble Alexander Supertramp, but it's been quite an interesting, long, break...

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-70352739202081792652007-05-03T22:38:00.000+02:002007-05-03T23:17:31.452+02:00

Daydreaming again ?Could be.But, does it matter ?

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-41069061529055045512007-04-12T20:23:00.000+02:002007-04-12T20:31:38.455+02:00

Actually it was only three or four weeks ago, but they look like years. So many back and forth and sometimes one forgets that photos are actually meant to have something making you want to look at them.And last but not least, do not forget the fun factor present on toy cameras :) They help turn photography into the funny game it is.

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-19408710138497580892007-03-17T21:31:00.000+01:002007-03-17T21:43:07.972+01:00

Such as Lynn, to which this entry is specially addressed :)This specific one btw, after having spent the whole winter in the same place, was no longer there the weekend after this shot. A nice reminder not to pass on anything that gets our attention, and in a more general way, that nothing is for granted.

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-70281049979065567582007-03-08T22:28:00.000+01:002007-03-08T22:52:37.230+01:00

I think we'll never know what happened through the mind of the first person who looked there, to the nowhere, and then decided to go and find out. But if one spends some time looking, and as impossible as it is, tries to put himself in the shoes of that person, will soon realize that it had to be one of the most difficult decisions ever taken.

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-58331321204939777442007-03-04T16:55:00.000+01:002007-03-04T16:58:45.831+01:00

Because small things do matter as well...

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-22186397479712308832007-02-27T12:05:00.000+01:002007-02-27T12:11:19.772+01:00

It was a revelation, suddenly being able to get closer. Even more revealing was to realize that I badly wanted to do so.Fue una revelación el poder de repente acercarme tanto. Y aún lo fue más el darme cuenta de que había estado rogando por poder hacerlo.

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-3932205318398181282007-02-19T21:05:00.000+01:002007-02-19T21:27:26.793+01:00

Sometimes best things come in the most unexpected way, faster than we ever imagined, and seemingly out of nowhere. And it is probably a good thing that they happen that way. And what it's said is true, it feels real good. :)A veces las mejores cosas ocurren de la manera más inesperada, más rápido de lo que nunca imaginamos, y aparentemente como salidas de la nada. Y probablemente es bueno que sea

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-61978094536366619432007-02-16T00:05:00.000+01:002007-02-16T00:22:22.683+01:00

It finally seems that the little Yashica managed to come out of her dramatic accident two posts below quite undamaged. At first sight, and after checking that the focusing mechanism wouldn't allow me going closer than 3 meters I expected the worst, that is, a complete misplacement of the lens panel and mirror resulting into focus being all out of the plane.But wanting to be sure, I decided to

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-67718985821407168772007-02-12T15:57:00.000+01:002007-02-10T23:56:02.545+01:00

The brutal wind chill didn't really allow me to think a lot on which words to use to ornament the series of images I took there. Nor did the light leak on the Koni Omega (and later its frozen shutter) leave me with plenty of useable ones.So I'll post this one (rescued after some photoshop help) and as I did that day, run for a suitable shelter, picking up the mushrooms I'll find in the process

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-48928635935205276112007-02-10T17:01:00.000+01:002007-02-10T20:23:20.090+01:00

Ahora que parece que por todas partes vemos aquello de que el 'revelar se va a acabar - para presumir hay que imprimir' me resultó gracioso toparme de nuevo ayer con esta caja de película Negra Pan 21 que a su vez encontré hace un par de años, aún sin haber pasado por la Halina Paulette de mis padres, y no en un baúl sino en una vieja maleta llena de recuerdos en el proverbial cuarto de los

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-5790327120843648142007-02-06T21:23:00.000+01:002007-02-07T22:40:18.441+01:00

Weekend of honeys, once more dressed as silver dots in a gelatin sandwich, and of course, honeys from the always changing sea. Weekend of lemons, sour and still painfully dropping their juice in the open wound as the loyal Yashica-D dropped from my shoulder and bounced against the pavement when coming from its, who would guess, last shooting session.However, if anything, having been a previous

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-35392659755697598652007-01-29T23:18:00.000+01:002007-01-29T23:48:36.230+01:00

Trust me, there were two realities going on at the same time in that beach. So close and so vastly different, yet back to back and apparently ignoring each other that I just couldn't believe it.Honestamente, había dos realidades existiendo al mismo tiempo en aquella playa. Tan cercanas y tan radicalmente distintas, espalda contra espalda y en apariencia ignorándose mútuamente, si no hubiera

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-90505795649033505002007-01-13T17:19:00.000+01:002007-01-26T12:44:24.146+01:00

Primer rescate: De un rollo de Tri-X que tras ser menos utilizado que los otros dos en Teià, se tiró meses y meses metido en una Nikon F2 que a su vez pasó esos meses metida en el armario, excepto para hacer algunos retratos caseros con el recién recibido (entonces) 55/1.2 Noct-Nikkor. Tras ser finalmente revelado, mi cerebro decidió pasar las pocas fotos de aquella noche por alto. Tampoco es de

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-20897585756880928642007-01-11T14:20:00.000+01:002007-02-17T22:43:02.416+01:00

Además de ser el título de una obra de teatro cuya versión para la caja tonta me dejó literalmente con el trasero pegado al sofá de principio a fin, resulta ser a veces un lapso de tiempo, relativamente breve, en el que las cosas que nos rodean no están ni aquí ni allí, sino todo lo contrario, en el que todo parece distinto y en cierto modo lo es.Claro, igual digo estas cosas porque ya ni

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-61123965883350974522007-01-09T20:58:00.000+01:002007-01-10T12:09:29.628+01:00

Igual a veces no hace falta que se busque ningún mérito ni nada más allá de lo que la imagen es, simplemente porque nada más es necesario. Por supuesto ahí ya entramos en el terreno personal y en lo que cada cual tiene corriendo por su cabecita, pero sabiendo eso, al menos yo no necesito nada más que ver mi torturante zapatilla Decathlon sobre la hierba para que aquel día de veraniega primavera

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-20024256210728745712007-01-02T21:11:00.000+01:002007-02-07T23:10:42.698+01:00

De dónde viniste, y cómo acabaste de esa manera en mi camino a lo largo de aquella playa, en la primera mañana del nuevo año ?---Where did you come from, and how did you manage to end in my path along that beach, on the first morning of the new year ?

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-72395010125013619442006-12-30T23:19:00.000+01:002006-12-30T23:35:18.054+01:00

The title of this entry reflects the process I went through with this image a while ago. Basically, it was a favorite image of mine since I took it, some years ago, on a late summer afternoon visiting Gavà beach, near Barcelona.It was in fact the same exact place (heck it was almost the same exact spot!) where my Off Season project was born, last September, some 4 or 5 years later.My dilemma was,

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-61489159047403896462006-12-30T22:50:00.000+01:002006-12-30T23:09:57.512+01:00

As long term user of PBase, I've always been happy with their services, but at the same time always had the strange feeling that I was waiting for ... something.Don't know, maybe a more flexible interface, or spam management, but over all, I think it was something small yet very powerful.What I was waiting for was plain and simply, tags, or more specifically, a simple and straightforward tag/

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1163520255987933942006-11-14T16:52:00.000+01:002006-11-14T17:04:16.206+01:00

As I said, they are the true ignition sparkle of the whole essay idea...

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1163107217233626212006-11-09T22:03:00.000+01:002006-11-16T12:03:55.876+01:00

The first thing I recalled on during that accidental visit to Gavà beach some weeks ago were beach fishermen. I have always liked how they become the true human soul of the place once the summer season is over and only the bravest swimmers venture into the sea.However, while shooting some frames on them and looking for scenes and compositions I liked, I couldn't stand from hearing subtle 'pings'

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1162762448343507472006-11-05T22:27:00.000+01:002006-11-16T12:05:09.486+01:00

It all started out of three very almost accidental things:The need to actually drive my car (and keep its battery charge) somewhere after quite a long period of inactivity; my recent browsing of Brooks Jensen's fantastic sea-related portfolios, and, realizing how fascinating a beach can be out of season, and specifically, how much life there is around the world of beach fishermen.Categorized: _

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1162761615285194152006-11-05T22:15:00.000+01:002006-11-05T22:26:08.510+01:00

porque no sería mucho que, habiendo sanadomi señor tío de laenfermedad caballeresca,leyendo estos se leantojase hacerse poeta,que, segun dicen, esenfermedad incurable ypegadiza. -- Miguel de Cervantes Categorized: _worn | _blackandwhite

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1162208149250258332006-10-30T12:02:00.000+01:002006-11-16T12:02:43.303+01:00

I'm ashamed but I admit that I had been around this place many times (it's our usual mushroom-searching zone) but it was only this time that I recalled on what at first sight looked like a natural little hill.Until this time I noticed the too regular shape and the huge number of piled rocks around...What I 'discovered' (!) is a sort of big circular construction, using the shape of the natural

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1161804977917298482006-10-25T20:20:00.000+02:002006-11-16T12:01:35.983+01:00

After 'discovering' what probably is an ancient visigothic tomb on one of my rural escapes, I recalled reading about the rests of what was a visigothic settlement nearby. If this time history and destiny doesn't fail me, this place, called El Villar, is exactly where that settlement was placed.Even though I tried to do my best, these pictures truly don't make justice to what was, under a warm

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1161168597358035422006-10-18T12:39:00.000+02:002006-10-18T12:51:36.290+02:00

Sometimes, having your friends wanting to ruin you a photo is the best possible thing to happen :)I'm still trying to find if JC (the red one) is the most cold-blooded person in this world or if he's just able to kill with bad words, lol.Categorized: _color | _iskra | _aran

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1160140574066898282006-10-06T15:13:00.000+02:002006-10-06T15:16:14.066+02:00

After several days processing color images, I felt I was really missing black and white...Categorized: _blackandwhite | _objects

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1160046969529914822006-10-05T13:10:00.000+02:002006-10-05T13:16:09.546+02:00

There was a time on which those rural zones were the kingdom of John Deere's green machines. This one seemed to be enjoying a well deserved retirement on a sweet spot near the Mesa river, between Calmarza and Jaraba.Categorized: _valledelmesa | _color | _digital

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1159869956033224682006-10-03T11:56:00.000+02:002006-10-03T12:05:56.050+02:00

This gentleman and his wife (I guess) looked so happy walking around the Coliseum, each one taking good care of their peanut bag that I couldn't stand from wanting a snap of such a bright looking moment.He clearly saw me but seemed to be glad to be immortalized in such a way, his wife though was more than busy on her own fight against the wind :)Categorized: _color | _rome

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1159644720077218992006-09-30T20:14:00.000+02:002006-09-30T21:32:00.106+02:00

Our old (and only!) wheelbarrow on its 'rest' position. I can't remember how many times I've pushed (or pulled!) it with who knows how many different kinds of load.And now that I think, I also liked playing the role of load on it when I was a kid, and wasn't it fun !This must be the kind of things you no longer even think on doing when adult, and to be honest, I'm sure it's still as fun as it

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1159478974850253482006-09-28T23:24:00.000+02:002006-09-29T11:51:14.396+02:00

Dear all,as you may have noticed, this site is now on a new location. I've found the hard way that all the photos upload to blogger no longer can be accessed from this new URL so please be patient while I replicate them on pbase so that I can link them from here easily.I'll try to go 'down' the list from more recent to the older posts.I'm afraid it's not going to be solved in 5 minutes, so,

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1159466159337736232006-09-28T19:43:00.000+02:002006-09-29T00:36:03.420+02:00

Even in the middle of paradise there's place for tragedy.This little fox had lived around that zone for several years, we found it during an early morning walk, blood still fresh on tarmac. As happens with most animal deaths on the road, probably he became flashed by the headlights and couldn't dodge the car. Seems he still had forces to reach the road side and lie there.Categorized: _

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1159224534666693002006-09-26T00:25:00.000+02:002006-09-29T11:48:12.266+02:00

Legend, or I ought to say, popular wisdom says this niche carved in the rock, placed between a cereal field and a rocky hill near the Mesa river is in fact the tomb of one of the muslim warriors living and battling in that zone during the ages of Al-Andalus.Truly, that zone and many others around there were scene of neverending battles, during the long gone years of muslim and christian conquer

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1159103430783377122006-09-24T14:27:00.000+02:002006-10-03T15:02:06.483+02:00

A simple walk along the road (watching out for some drivers who think they own it) is enough to realize how many of these livestock cottages are still around, for sure plenty enough to feed what could be an interesting photographic essay. Almost always facing decay, some seem to mimic the environment so well that one has trouble finding them on views like the one above.The sort of rock 'fingers'

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1158698505639100382006-09-19T22:28:00.001+02:002006-09-29T00:47:32.950+02:00

And maybe you wonder, what it is ?Well I couldn't put it more simply, it's not fame, it's not money either, it's not a passport to a kind of heaven full of fast cars, glamour shooting sessions and top models.The most valuable thing you'll ever get from photography is, plain and simply, friendship, in the shape of all the wonderful people you'll know on your walk along the creative path.So, from

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1158359740394278132006-09-16T00:09:00.000+02:002006-09-28T23:50:12.996+02:00

This is part of an abandoned factory and workers residence complex that I found in a somewhat accidental way when looking for more abandoned watermills to photograph. Time and weather didn't allow me to go for the shots I had in mind, but I took a couple of quick ones to act as a reminder for myself so that I don't miss it on my next trip there. It will be also a bit tricky, since the place is

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1158349189238970032006-09-15T21:26:00.000+02:002006-09-28T23:53:24.506+02:00

By seeing the external shape on my previous entry about it one wouldn't be expecting to see too much of a difference when looking inside, but I can't stand from thinking it's kinda sad that part of a place's history is left to its decay in such a way.So it's good to know that some of these old watermills have been restored to working condition and play the role of private residences or rural

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1158244562606955082006-09-14T16:00:00.000+02:002006-09-28T23:55:01.690+02:00

Dead tree at Cabeza del MolinoMochales - GuadalajaraVoigtlander Bessa-I 6x9, 105/3.5 Color-Skopar, Kodak T400CN#4 of 6. Printed in Ilfospeed RC 3, about 2/3 crop from original negative.Well, the Catalan 'Diada' is over, and I find myself back here after some more days spent in the countryside and another darkroom session.This time I decided to keep to what I knew was the 'right' way. And to be

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1157568980578924412006-09-06T20:49:00.000+02:002006-09-29T11:43:11.386+02:00

Once upon a time widely used for keeping livestock near the pasture in the warm months and very useful in case of a sudden storm. Currently the lack of both is quickly sending them to oblivion.Categorized: _blackandwhite | _valledelmesa

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1157232403191542472006-09-02T22:42:00.000+02:002006-09-04T12:34:59.510+02:00

Fire eater, Teià (Barcelona), 2005 Lessons from the Darkroom, part one:don't start if you're not in the moodtime invested in making and evaluating the test strips is well invested timejudging a negative at bare eye is a lot more difficult than you guessskies use to ask for some burningto clean up the mess takes time !it's good to know where the negative focus point actually ISplace your estimated

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1157044656369932642006-08-31T19:13:00.000+02:002006-09-29T12:24:45.940+02:00

Again, a hidden surprise found on (as a friend of mine likes to say) my personal paradise :) In fact it's far from hidden since it has been there for as long as I can remember, but for some reason or another, I never ventured there before.Maybe the back then very active bee hives you can see on the background had something to do with it !Categorized: _blackandwhite | _valledelmesa

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1157019140431930652006-08-31T09:37:00.000+02:002006-09-29T12:26:23.590+02:00

Looking at this Watermill entry on the blog of my colleague Luis Miguel Castañeda was like turning my eyes towards a very familiar and loved landscape.The Mesa Valley follows the course of the river with the same name, and is the place where I spent (and in fact I keep doing it) most of my holidays when I was a kid. Located in the Señorío de Molina shire (whose name comes from its capital town,

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1156966920240568522006-08-30T21:38:00.000+02:002006-09-29T12:27:48.100+02:00

After summer holidays, some postcards from (my personal) paradise. The entry title relates to the name of the hill on the right of this picture.Categorized: _blackandwhite | _valledelmesa

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1155035250375016632006-08-08T13:03:00.000+02:002006-09-29T12:29:13.983+02:00

Yes, even now, I'm still with a backlog of unscanned/unedited pictures from my visit to Rome in late April.So, I sometimes wonder why I should ever need the immediacy of digital, knowing that files would be lying untouched on an optical/magnetic storage support for who knows how much ?Hope I never develop such a backlog of unpaid taxes or I'll have to ask them to blog from jail, lol.Categorized:

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1154944322642584922006-08-07T11:43:00.000+02:002006-09-29T12:36:19.166+02:00

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,It isn't just one of your holiday games;At first you may think I'm as mad as a hatterWhen I tell you a cat must have three different names.T.S. Eliot,The Naming of CatsAnd this one, so far, is called Monster.Similarly, I just thought that every human should have at least as many names as days are in a week. Or at least, I'd like to. I think I already have

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1153928861498164722006-07-26T16:20:00.000+02:002006-09-29T12:38:42.893+02:00

Curious (to say the least!) set up on the Oceans pavillion during the Barcelona 2004 Culture Forum stating the importance of reasonable use of water reserves.Oddly adequate when we're having one of the driest and hottest summers of the decade !And in some strange way, I'm making this post a self-serving heads-up to make me remember that girl on the subway this morning who before completely

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1152609504951821612006-07-11T11:15:00.000+02:002006-09-29T12:40:22.010+02:00

Something I couldn't agree more with...Categorized: _blackandwhite | _worn

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1152569889952981262006-07-10T23:59:00.000+02:002006-09-29T12:47:07.706+02:00

It's fun that I've had the camera taking these shots since probably more than two years ago. It's a Canonet G-III QL19, the small brother of the ultra-well known 'poor one's Leica', the mighty G-III QL17.Apart from a bit different battery check control and lack of the funny 'barber window', the main difference is in the lens, and not that it's that much: this model features a 45mm f/1.9, slightly

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1152224008115295672006-07-06T23:52:00.000+02:002006-09-29T12:49:32.100+02:00

This is one of the places I liked the most in my short visit to Portugal a couple months ago.It's an ancient auxiliar dock on Porto's beach, leading to the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean. It's quite impressive to think that the horizon is just miles and miles of water, and nothing else until you'll reach the coasts of America.Yesterday I finally did the defense of my final degree project, shortly

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1151609430237922612006-06-29T21:25:00.000+02:002006-09-29T13:00:51.846+02:00

Sometimes one just feels so lazy that ends grabbing the Powershot from the table, the 8x neg. checking loupe, stacks them together and decides that the lava lamp on the table looks indeed cool enough...

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1150138853717067472006-06-12T20:47:00.000+02:002006-09-29T13:03:03.763+02:00

But not a single vehicle anymore.Categorized: _blackandwhite | _worn

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1150065628692194202006-06-12T00:23:00.000+02:002006-09-29T13:04:17.006+02:00

It's not indeed a fortress, but that's the impression I always get when I look back at this picture, a fortress out from a dream (or nightmare!) keeping inside all that stuff you can't even think about without a shivering going down your spine, and that in some way it's telling you that it's true, that your worst nightmares are there inside, and that no matter how much you run, because you'll end

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1149633469523288832006-06-07T00:30:00.000+02:002006-09-29T13:11:18.593+02:00

And after quite a long unactivity period, the mighty Powershot A20 walks again on my daily commuting time to work.It will probably become again unactive in a while, but I thought that for a machine which is condemned to spend almost all its life just taking pictures of other cameras for website or selling purposes, it could make it happy to go out there and feel as one of the main characters of

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1149590064402033272006-06-06T12:26:00.000+02:002006-09-29T13:07:31.126+02:00

For some reason, these kind of scenes always make me feel good. Even though this time grandpa had a bit of a bad time running after his grandson's dreams of lonely adventures :)Categorized: _blackandwhite | _rome

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1148667485387342622006-05-26T20:12:00.000+02:002006-11-09T23:49:56.123+01:00

and can sometimes be seen, wandering around along empty narrow streets, always looking for, under a partially unveiled moon as their only witness.Categorized: _blackandwhite | _15mm | _fromyourdreams

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1148322370444152712006-05-22T20:10:00.000+02:002006-11-09T23:55:47.233+01:00

Well, my adventures through scanning and (mainly) editing and postprocessing are going slowly, but still going.As (I think) I said somewhere, I came out quite surprised not to have too many hideous effects coming from the natural distortion one can expect from such a wide angle. Specially in shots where the main subject was not too close up and more or less centered, the general effect was just

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1147865271065850132006-05-17T13:23:00.000+02:002006-11-09T23:57:52.160+01:00

Again a 15mm shot. The lens proved to be really helpful on my visit to Lisbon's Oceanario. Children down there, on a school visit, were having a great fun time each time a shark passed near them, applauding, yelling and jumping so much for their professor's desperation ;) Our favorite though, was the huge marathonian-sprinter Tuna fish, lol.Categorized: _blackandwhite | _portugal

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1147715871745959722006-05-15T19:52:00.000+02:002006-11-10T00:00:41.270+01:00

Ok ok, I know that if there's something like a romanticism god out there I'll be crushed for this, but to be honest, I saw the scene and couldn't stand from laughing out loud (internally, of course). The Bessa-T ca-chlank! sound took care of making them aware of my presence, but the image was already taken :)This is the first shot I process from my first two rolls of Tri-X through the CV 15/4.5.

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1147449002495008742006-05-12T17:47:00.000+02:002006-11-10T00:03:54.873+01:00

More grainy half-frame adventures... Categorized: _blackandwhite

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1147427021302247352006-05-12T11:42:00.000+02:002006-11-10T00:06:15.596+01:00

And... nothing else :)Categorized: _blackandwhite

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1146940869622438632006-05-06T20:31:00.000+02:002006-11-10T00:07:24.540+01:00

For sure I must admit two things:One, I fell in love with Rome, and I'll try to go back as soon as I can, andtwo, I'll bring the Iskra again :)I'm slowly going through the negs (damned real life, always getting in the middle, argh! :P), and can't cease to be amazed at how well that beast behaves. Those have to be one of the best $40 I ever invested.You can keep up to date with what comes out

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1146093753545996832006-04-27T01:15:00.000+02:002006-11-10T00:15:36.490+01:00

It took me way more than I would have liked, but finally my Rome shots are online. Well, some of them, since I have almost all them scanned but as you well know, there's something called Photoshop which goes after it :)So I decided to upload them by groups instead. We were lucky to arrive in time for the Pope's speech in Piazza Sant Pietro during Palms Sunday (April 9th). Lucky also because it

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1145746472943497802006-04-23T00:50:00.000+02:002006-11-10T00:12:58.690+01:00

In the same philosophy as the first Worn picture of a skateboard ramp, I was attracted by the incredibly textured surface of this public ping-pong table after it spend many days and nights under sun, rain, and after being the leisure support for who knows how many matches.And again, taken with a Iskra 6x6 camera using Acros 100 filmCategorized: _blackandwhite | _worn

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1145656531785644302006-04-21T23:46:00.000+02:002006-04-22T00:03:03.663+02:00

Quite some time without new entries, due mainly to the wonderful week I spent in Rome for Easter and the sudden load of work both before and after that...This is probably my favorite on the Devotion series. Taken with a Leica CL and a CV Skopar 35/2.5 inside the church of Montserrat, on January 2005.And what made me think of this shot was something that happened while reviewing some of those Rome

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1144325060052904792006-04-06T13:55:00.000+02:002006-11-10T00:09:02.440+01:00

It's fun how things happen.I was complaining to myself today for having lost a train by 10 seconds. I had to wait for another 10-12 minutes for the next one (how impatient can we get!).While waiting, I started to walk along the track side, looking at some small details from an old train parked there. I became aware of all that worn metal, showing rust and plenty of traces of time and use...And

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1143884853556613192006-04-01T11:45:00.000+02:002006-09-29T12:56:42.163+02:00

Olympus Pen EE-3 / Classic Pan 200 Categorized: _blackandwhite | _urban | _fromyourdreams

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1143670697759433862006-03-30T00:01:00.000+02:002006-03-30T00:18:18.076+02:00

On the very same warm and beautiful afternoon of my previous post. There's something very special in that first day when you finally can feel for real that the winter is over.Add to it that it was friday and I had just left from work, and you can imagine my joy while shooting all this I found on a 10 min walk by the sea... It was the day of students...coffee drinkers...smokers... a nice day for

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1143488144264196452006-03-27T21:21:00.000+02:002006-03-27T23:51:51.860+02:00

...a picture is being made.A warm and nice afternoon after an unusually long and cold winter, in Barcelona's Port Vell. M2 with Summaron 35/2.8 on Classic Pan 200.And I really hope this spring will bring many more afternoons like that one, mainly after the unusually cold, nasty and long winter we've experienced. I know I'm saying this twice, so imagine how cold and unusually long it has been...

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1143202781899645662006-03-24T13:09:00.000+01:002006-03-29T00:45:23.716+02:00

Last friday morning, at seven thirty or so the phone rang. I had a quick thought and I was right, my grandmother had died that same night. She was (really) 102 and a half years old.I can't really say it was something that caught me by surprise, as since half a year ago or so her physical and mental condition had been slowly but progressively getting worse to a point that honestly I strongly

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1143112758888311822006-03-23T12:13:00.000+01:002006-03-29T00:45:47.856+02:00

A bike and a passerby, and not really that I can say a lot more, except that I liked the scene.Categorized: _blackandwhite | _urban | _itsaboutyou

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1142940637544863142006-03-21T12:02:00.000+01:002006-03-27T18:12:31.020+02:00

For whatever reason, that's the title I gave to the shot above these lines. That's just a wall of the building besides the one I work on. All the zone was previously one of the bigger (if not the main one) military quarters in Barcelona, dating from the XIX century.That specific wall was on the vehicle entrance to the main courtyard and it still has the traces of some guard house on it. The most

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1142526387751797132006-03-16T17:21:00.000+01:002006-03-29T00:46:21.026+02:00

I'm not usually very prone to PS work, but thought that this image could be a good candidate for some very different approach and tried a filter whose name looked promising, dilluted color plus tritone (over already existing tritone).Categorized: _blackandwhite | _urban | _itsaboutyou

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1142460856864802662006-03-15T23:01:00.000+01:002006-03-31T23:41:13.223+02:00

Some of my first M2 experiences, with my beloved 50/2 Summitar (sometimes scale focused for faster shooting which explains some of the fuzzy results, sigh) and my also first experience with Efke KB50.I souped it in Diafine, as always, and exposed it according to the sunny-16 rule for a 100 ISO film. I quite like this film but it's really prone to scratches so be very careful (or avoid completely)

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1142027117123778332006-03-10T22:35:00.000+01:002006-03-27T18:00:25.766+02:00

It was already time for an update... It's curious, I spend a lot of time day after day, week after week seeing almost the same scenes, and even often seeing the same faces.The other day a way fun idea crossed my mind. If we would put 50 chimpanzees on a subway car, I can't imagine the size of the party they would instantly make. however, as close to them as we are, we can put up to 200 people

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1141599513406605762006-03-05T23:40:00.000+01:002006-03-29T00:47:15.623+02:00

I don't consider myself a lucky person, but I don't think I'm unlucky either.Luck plays quite an important role in our lifes (I suspect that a lot more than we imagine), and if as some people say photography is about life, we should expect the A->B->C axiom to apply and thus having luck being important in photography as well... no ? Well I think I'm lost...Anyway, I mean, sometimes it's not

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1141597702667818562006-03-05T23:12:00.000+01:002006-03-29T00:47:51.160+02:00

If you've read this blog for a while maybe you remember my entry about the (happy) day I finally got my Leica M2 in the mail, and how I mentioned I received another great surprise as well in the shape of a wet print from my RFF Print Swap IV partner, David Widom.That really nice shot, apart from hanging on a wall now started a chain reaction of some kind, and I started to think seriously (or more

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1141503931171302222006-03-04T21:10:00.000+01:002006-03-29T00:48:29.446+02:00

He seems to be almost everywhere (see my Summitar post). I've seen him at work, showing me the way to escap eer... leave after a hard day...Inviting me to take a shower ¿?Telling me not to swim... on ice !?Sometimes I'd say I've even seen him on the corner of my eye when walking around...Geez, it's starting to scare the hell out of me... :PCategorized: _blackandwhite | _urban | _itsaboutyou | _

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1140226035219750122006-02-18T02:06:00.000+01:002006-02-18T02:29:53.530+01:00

Just another Summitar shot, I remember specially liking that mid-morning, when the clouds had vanished and the sun warmed everything while I was waiting for a never arriving bus.The street you see is (if I recall correctly...) called Nou de La Rambla, quite near the end of the famous Rambla, some meters by the sea and the even more famous Columbus tower.The zone right of the Rambla, where that

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1140224575659720782006-02-18T01:27:00.000+01:002006-02-18T02:02:55.756+01:00

This is a sort of essay that has been ongoing for quite some time, or not an essay, but just a short collection of pictures...Sometimes even in a 2 milion people city we just want to be alone with ourselves...

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1139489563416567292006-02-09T13:52:00.000+01:002006-02-10T23:32:20.103+01:00

I am a strong believer in the theory that one should always try to have as much fun as possible when doing something. Having fun is a very wide concept, and all but static.And sometimes I just want to have plain fun with the humoristic things that surround me. Sometimes they are just there, some others they only need a bit from our part to become a visual joke, in either case, from time to time

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1139422404752204302006-02-08T18:56:00.000+01:002006-09-19T23:31:15.170+02:00

...for taking myself this liberty.I had decided to keep this blog mainly centered in photography and try to avoid too many references to the gear we all lust after from time to time :)But this time I think the arrival of what has been a sort of holy grail for me since a couple years ago deserved breaking the rules at least once.The item in question is a 1965 Leica M2 35mm rangefinder camera. I

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1138921784110528412006-02-03T00:02:00.000+01:002006-02-03T11:25:05.736+01:00

Time to give images a chance, just some more photos from my underground/subway photo project. As all of them so far, they were taken with my Bessa T and a scale focused 35mm, loaded with some bulk Jessops 400 B&W film that came inside my used loader.Hope you like 'em !

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1138574377097194992006-01-29T23:32:00.000+01:002006-01-29T23:40:43.870+01:00

Well seems I wasn't so clever and the Blogger software defeated me, I forgot to activate the new comments notification feature, so I had a bunch of very nice comments there, just waiting to be approved for publishing and I was wondering why everybody seemed so shy ! :)So please, to all who posted them, accept my apologies and receive my sincere thanks for your comments and support.And as this is

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1138536250995219732006-01-29T12:36:00.000+01:002006-01-29T23:19:01.536+01:00

It could be just anywhere, it's one of the many many tiny villages around the rural Spain, places that saw how most of their young people had to leave looking for a better life in the back then growing industrial areas around Madrid, Bilbao, Barcelona...Places that nowadays are happy to welcome some of those past migrants, now wanting to enjoy their hard earned retirement in the countryside where

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1137957411509025502006-01-22T19:48:00.000+01:002006-01-24T10:03:39.193+01:00

As you can read above this, I have a sweet spot for locating, acquiring and of course, using, vintage cameras and lenses.Some time ago I spent some time reading material about lens manufacturing. It was amazing to discover the number of calculations that are involved in the design of an optic, just think on all the ways and angles in which light can 'fall' over a lens, and all the refractions and

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1137695609299813392006-01-19T19:16:00.000+01:002006-01-26T15:22:33.343+01:00

Some years ago I became very interested in TLR cameras, and my first one was a $40 Lubitel 166 Universal which I bought from a Former Soviet Union online camera store. I decided for that one mainly because I enjoyed a lot using the one a friend of mine bought at a flea market some weeks before during a trip to Moscow.I must admit that the little thing can deliver some impressive results.

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1137540452581784512006-01-18T00:24:00.000+01:002006-01-18T13:39:06.903+01:00

Or what is the same, just another point of view to the Camera&Coffee thing .I think the first time I recalled in this was after reading a post in the RFF, I think it was from Rich Silfver (remember to visit his great blog, Batteries Not Included). What that said, more or less, was that if you're one of those people whose friends are constantly afraid of, mainly because you have the habit of

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1136907503925899052006-01-10T16:35:00.000+01:002006-01-10T16:41:41.210+01:00

First snow I meet this year, picture for week 2 on this new year's PAW, taken with the humble Powershot A20 I mention in that 'Los Olvidados' post.The Tri-X with the shots from 2006's first week is still to be finished inside the Bessa-T, so no, it's not that I'm going digital.Unless someday they can make one that can work without batteries, that is ;)

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1136410454195258062006-01-04T22:27:00.000+01:002006-01-10T00:11:22.670+01:00

The PAW, or photo-a-project is without doubt what put me into active photography, together with the wonderful community of the rangefinderforum.The idea is simple, be sure to have at least one decent shot worth keeping for every week of the year, ideally the shot should have been taken inside that week, but I admit that in some counted occasions I haven't managed to do that and had to use one

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1136235461297814372006-01-02T21:41:00.000+01:002006-01-04T21:15:50.846+01:00

One of my favorite shots, which makes a sort of one picture photo project. It's the Gavà beach, near Barcelona, a place where I used to spend many weekends each summer when I was a kid. In this case I'd say this is an early/late summer evening a couple years ago and probably I was there with my buddy Abel, flying the (mini) paraglider and taking some shots.This image was taken almost in a playful

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1136159980243833812006-01-02T00:42:00.000+01:002006-01-02T01:04:48.846+01:00

Barcelona is one of those cities with almost as much life below it as it has on surface level. As a template urbanite I have to suff.. ehh.. experience myself the fact of living under 30 meters of ground, pipes, cables corridors and concrete at least for 1-2 hours a day as a part of my transportation needs.A recent photo thread in the photo.net forum made the light turn on inside my head, so I

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1134511129734484912005-12-13T22:43:00.000+01:002006-10-10T12:10:51.100+02:00

Or that's what at least the first photo on this entry suggests to a good friend of mine, images of those good old times and magazine advertisings of Campari, Cinzano et al...I was not here in those years but sometimes I think I could have enjoyed them, mainly when one book or magazine or movie from then falls in my hands and I can't stand from having the feeling that everything back then was

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12623635.post-1134509597434401282005-12-13T22:08:00.000+01:002006-01-02T23:57:38.910+01:00

We all could agree that night has definitely something special, otherwise a ton and a half of beautiful movie scenes, writing passages, poems, loves, crimes, thoughts and ideas would just cease to exist.Night imagery has always had such an attractive component, but IMHO, that beauty is even more impressive when it's recorded in black and white.As somebody said, if a photography is a 2D

tafferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01891079109421279654noreply@blogger.com0