My Peru Trip 2009

Original Post: 14AUG2018

This was the first trip that I went on as an adult that wasn’t to Orlando or Tampa. By this point I have never traveled outside of Florida let alone past the Daytona line. During this time I had anxiety. I wasn’t really sure what was triggering it. What I did know was I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin. Be it my health or what I was doing with my life, something was bothering me enough to translate into a anxious state of being. This came out in full force when I was at the airport with my mom and my sister and I couldn’t stop shaking before the plane took off. I didn’t know what I was scared of but I just didn’t feel right. Once the plane took off I was able to calm down, just enough.

When people talk about traveling it is usually pleasant and nice but for me it that wasn’t the case. At least not in the beginning. Later on did it I finally start to enjoy every part of the trip. From the Castle that we went to visit, the beaches and the bungalows, and the city of Lima. It all turned out pretty amazing. It showed me that there was a lot more world left for me to visit.

I remember we spent a lot of time with my aunts and it was all really fun to see how they lived their day to day. Just to see some life different from my own. I took the opportunity to take photographs with my film camera. I can remember most of the trip even though it has been almost 10 years since I wet. I remember the room where I stayed in, it was closet where the live-in-housekeeper usually stayed and it was different from what I knew and I found it interesting. It was small, hot during the day and cold at night. It was different from the usual AC life that I was used to. My aunt would make us fresh juice and cook us great food. I can’t forget that. We also wen’t to a lot of places to eat.

One instance where anxiety hit me was when I stayed behind while they went shopping or to run some errands. I had one of the first panic attacks I have ever felt. It felt like I was going to die right then and there and I didn’t know why. I wasn’t at my healthiest I know that for sure and when my body reacted I felt swayed by it internally. Like I would feel my heart rate elevate or my blood pressure elevate and it was a feeling that I was hyper aware of. I thought they were symptoms of my health being ready to take me to the other side. But it didn’t. I didn’t go anywhere, I just lived with that struggle internally. I didn’t tell my mom about it at the time, she just recognized that I wasn’t at my healthiest either and she made an effort to help me with that when we got back to see a physician. Which is story in on itself for another time.

Back to the nice part of the trip.

We went to the beach area called Chorrillos and I loved it there. I took quite a few pictures. It was all new to me and I found the scenery fascinating. Especially the few pictures I am sharing now.

We went to another beach spot soon after that was a resort dedicated to the Peruvian Military including family members. Club Esmar Fuerza Aerea del Peru (it took me along time to find and remember this place from a memory almost 10 years ago) I remember getting to the beach bungalow and laying down on the bed. I don’t remember if it was night time or the evening but I passed out completely and fully on the little bed in the room. I remember waking up to the ocean breaking on the shore.

I finally felt relaxed. All my tensions seemed to have melted away at this place. With good reason. There was no noise or chatter in my brain, just peace and the sounds outside of me. The sights as well took my mind off some of it. Just take a look at these photos.

This place definitely returned peace to me. It was incredible. It was really fun to shoot film as well. I think at this time I was stagnant on my creative avenues and this was a kickstart.

We also visited Ica, Peru and on the way we stopped by Huacachina. An amazing Oasis that I would love to visit some time again with some more time. I would like to spend some time there with the other backpackers and travelers. We did the dune buggies and the sand boards down the dunes but don’t have any pictures of that time though. I must have known better that the sand was going to ruin my camera.

We made it back to Lima to hang out with my cousin Sylvanna. She drove us to Miraflores where we had dinner. Here are some of the pictures I got from that day.

This trip would have been nothing with out my family. Every member from Peru which made the trip possible from so many different areas. My sister who was there to enjoy the trip as well (We’re going to go back sis, I promise). My mother who was there for me when I was anxious. The woman who will always be there for me regardless of my situation.

Nasha Kleimann, my beautiful mother, the strongest woman I know.

I no longer had the anxiety to fly after this trip. The flight home was comfortable and every flight after that has been smooth sailing. Even the next year when I went back to Peru. “My Peru Trip 2010”

If you want to reply to my post on facebook please do. I’d love to talk about this trip some more if you have questions. Subscribe to my blog if you haven’t, sometimes I forget to post the link to my facebook. Thank you again for reading and till next time.

Olympus Stylus 120 and Friends

Original Post: 01DEC2017

As my previous posts show, I don’t usually post too many personal life images. Although as of late I look at what I have been photographing and it only makes sense that I should start adding a few.

I am still using Fuji C200 film stock. I do have some other film that I haven’t gotten to but will. I just have a large amount of C200 film that I have to run through.

The Olympus Stylus 120 is a great pocket camera with a zoom range of 38mm-120mm. The size is perfect, really, it is a small golden compact camera the size of a pack of cigarettes that fits into any pocket or jacket pocket. You do lose some quality when you zoom and you lose some of the flash range when zooming but if you use it at the 38mm mark you get great shots with and without the flash.

I only took two photos during the day with this camera, I’ll post my favorite of the two. 

The focus was on the glass of the camera and not the dog because it works off of bouncing infrared light off objects, anything behind glass will not be in focus. Still, I like the feel of this image and it makes me happy to look at it.

Now lets get into the night shots. This was what I was using this camera for mainly and as you will see, the next blog post will be the same. Maybe even the one after that…

I’m not sure if the grain in this image is due to the processing chemicals being a little over used or if it is due to the camera not being as sharp as I would like it to be. Either way, I am happy with the image. As you can see the flash fills the space perfectly and doesn’t blow out the highlights. I will have to pass another roll through the camera to make sure that the grain is coming from the C41 chemicals that I used or the camera.

I promised a personal image and here are more than I promised.

I hope you enjoyed the small glimpse of the people in my life and I. The people that have been the subject of my photography and enjoy it. A shoutout to my selfie buddy Amanda who has been here to help me develop and scan the film! We have been adding a selfie with every night out.

The feel of the film is from the emulsion but I do a little fixing up in post. The little editing I did was in Lightroom and that was just to adjust some of the highlights but since these are basically .jpeg files, there is not much I can do with out damaging the image.

Overall, I really enjoyed this camera and I look forward to using it again.

The next camera is the Ricoh TF-500. Another gem of a camera.

Until next time Paisanos,

Canon AF35M II and Epson V550 Scanner

Original Post: 18NOV2017

I’d like to start with the camera. What a champion! This Canon has a wonderful sharp lens at 38mm f/2.8. The autofocus is spot on and it is the perfect size for a jacket pocket. The only extra option I would have liked to see is a telephoto zoom like the Minolta AF-Tele. The film I used was Fuji C200 film.

Now to the pictures. I took it to Seattle a couple of times out for some nightlife time. The best part about the camera was how unintrusive it was because of its size. No one was intimidated by it and there for I didn’t get much objection when taking a picture.

The flash fills in really nicely with out blowing out the highlights and that worked great for shots like this and like the one below.

If I were to use this for strictly night life photography I would be perfectly happy doing so. Another nice feature of this camera is the fact that it uses two AA batteries. Other cameras of this time used specialty batteries and are expensive and nearly impossible to find in the first store you visit.

This would be a good project to do while partying in downtown Seattle, photographing all the people in different streetwear. So much great style out there it deserves to be documented.

Here are a couple of photos that aren’t night life related.

All these film negatives were scanned by the Epson V550. The quality of the scans are great, the software, not so good. Actually the software that comes with it is atrocious and causes the scan process that should only take 10 minutes to over 30 if you forget to move the mouse. I’m still looking for another program that will work better with the scanner.

For the next update I shot using a Olympus Stylus 120. It was quick and easy to use. The negatives look sharp. Look out for the scans in the next post.

Until then my Paisanos,

Konik C35 EF

Original Post: 07NOV2017

Update: This post was written when I was scanning with a box and my digital camera. That is the reason I talk about the images being soft.

I would like to start by saying that this was not the best experience. I was pretty hyped up to use this camera as it was one of Andy Warhols favorites but it was really disappointing. A lots of the shots were out of soft, not sharp at all, regardless of me being at the right distance from the subject and the lens. It wants to look like a rangefinder but it is far from it. You kind of have to guess your distance to your subjects and set it on the focus ring. If the images were a little bit sharper I feel I would have loved it a lot more. Maybe I need to give it a second chance.

Here is one of the images that I would have loved if it wasn’t for it being soft.

If the image was a bit sharper you would have been able to distinguish more of the fall colors from the trees.

Here is a shot of my great friends Robert and Amy, still really soft.

I’m not too upset about it I guess. I kind of do like the softness in the sense that it gives it a certain feel. This would not fly though if I was shooting for a customer. Which I really don’t so I don’t know why I am so concerned.

I do have a select few that I do love, even if they are a bit soft.

The first one is from the same day that I went hiking with my friends.

The image appeared to be slightly better in focus around the bumper nearest to the camera and it just has this mobster kind of mood to it and I enjoy it.

Another is of a tangled mess of seaweed.

This one is Instagram worthy for me. I love the lines that lead into the braid of seaweed, even though it is a bit soft and difficult to distinguish.

Overall I would give this camera a 4/10 and maybe I will give it a second chance. But for now it will stay in its case and in the stack of other camera.

Look out for the Canon AF35MII pictures. As soon as I have another roll to develop with it I will have them ready. I also ordered a scanner which should be arriving next week. At last I will have nicer looking scans.

P.S.

Minolta AF Tele with Fuji C200

Original Post: 02NOV2017

This is a wonderful camera. The Minolta AF Tele is a 35mm point and shoot camera that be used by anyone and it was an amazing experience to use it. I want to say more but it is a really simple camera. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

I think this was expired film too, I’m not too sure. But out of the cameras I have used in the past few film rolls, this one has been my favorite. Another picture.

I just love the colors and the focus is exactly where I wanted it to be. If you can get your hands on one of these you will not be disappointed. I paid $4.00 at a goodwill. There is no losing at the price.

This is the picture I just shared on my Instagram. I noticed that I wanted to keep the full size of the image without having to crop it. One last picture.

This was a Vital in Bellingham. It was such a fun time to watch these athletes compete. The only problem was that earlier in the day I had lost the shutter release button and I had to fire the camera with a paperclip.

Over all a wonderful camera and I hope you enjoyed the pictures. I am going to try my best in making a portfolio on this website but I ran into some issues last time I did that. Hopefully I get to make it later on.

Till next time my Paisanos,

Film Developed at Home

Original Post: 29OCT2017

I have recently reintroduced myself to film photography. Well, I have been taking pictures with one film camera or another in the past 5 years and I just developed the one disposable that I have been taking around from move to move since Pensacola, FL. The first picture I want to share is the one of a beach of Pensacola, It was early morning and there isn’t much detail, but it was a moment that I wanted to capture and here it is.

After a while I forgot I even had the camera. Once I found it again here in Washington I took it around my town and captured a few pictures just to finish out the roll. Here are a couple of them now.

I have recently reintroduced myself to film photography. Well, I have been taking pictures with one film camera or another in the past 5 years and I just developed the one disposable that I have been taking around from move to move since Pensacola, FL. The first picture I want to share is the one of a beach of Pensacola, It was early morning and there isn’t much detail, but it was a moment that I wanted to capture and here it is.

The initial investment was a little costly but it is a lot better that paying $10 per roll. With this I have way more control and accessibility to do it myself.

The interesting part of how I am scanning the pictures was posted on my instagram Stories feed, but if you haven’t seen it, check this image out.

This is just the beginning. Along with the film photography that I have been working on I will also begin working on videos. Maybe tutorials on how I mixed the chemicals to develop the film to the development process. Funny skits and maybe even monologues. It will be a while before I introduce those but when I do I will let everyone know.

Look out for more of my posts on IG.

Until next time my Paisanos,

Color Film

Now, I didn’t only photograph in black and white. After my intro to photography class ended I decided to take a color class as well. Which was a way more complicated method of processing and developing that I don’t want to get into here.

Unfortunately I dropped the class. I moved from where I lived, which was near the school, to about an hours drive away. But the distance wasn’t the only thing that caused me to drop the class.

What I was shooting my professor didn’t like. I wish I could show you what it was but the negatives are long gone. I was shooting these great murals that littered the streets on mid town Miami. From the Design district to Wynwood, all the walls were covered in beautiful graffiti. It wasn’t simple graffiti either, it was increasingly complex designs that boggled the mind. One quick googlesearch and you can see for yourself what is out there. The reason my professor didn’t like it was because there wasn’t anything exciting about it, sure it was beautiful and the colors were vibrant and amazing, but there was no “subject”. So I set out to add the subject. I asked around to meet these artists of the murals. The problem was that back then they were still done in secrecy and at night when no one was around. Now a days the “taggers” are revered as artists and are welcomed at every empty wall in those districts.

So I went away from shooting those murals, and I went way from being in the class room. That is when I started to shoot photos for myself. I was taking pictures of friends and of random things on my way to my other classes. But every now and then I shot something that really stood out to me and here is an example of that.

Full disclosure, this is not the picture I intended to share, not the security guard, but this is the closest I can find.

I always shot at 1/60 speed. I also used 200 Kodak Gold film. Nothing fancy, I didn’t even develop the film myself. I think I would drop it off at a local pharmacy and they would do it in house. Thats right, back in the day when they actually developed film in house.

This guy was totally happy, and when I pointed that camera he gave me a shot into his life. A loafer wearing, bike riding, security guard probably on his way back home after a long night of warding off the criminals that lurk in the shadows. I went way too far with that one. Anyways.

I was happy taking the photo as well. I mean, it was clean and simple, and gritty and even full of motion blur, but you know what? It is a darn good photograph. One that I am very proud of.

-Franco Pisano

P.S. Next time I will post something more recent.

My First post

If I waited any longer to post something I wouldn’t have done it at all. So tonight is the night. I’m going to pull a picture from a long time ago. One of the firsts. I don’t have many of my photo’s from when I was in the photography class. Unfortunately my book of negatives got lost in a move somewhere and they will not be seen again. Unless the person that somehow acquired it sees this blog. Although those are gone, there are still a few remaining from the ones that I converted to digital.

It was the fall of 2007… incredible, it has been so long since that time, almost 10 years now and I can feel it as if it was yesterday. The people that I was friends with at the time. The house that we temporarily lived at in Kendall, the job that I worked at (FPL), the time that I took from work to photograph. I can listen to Dance Gavin Dance and be instantly transported there. It was a band that I was introduced to by a friend that was nicknamed Nappy (If you see this, contact me!) The dark room work, the developing on silver paper, waiting for it to dry, all of it really. Seeing it all come together made the experience really stay with me, and I have a feeling it will stay with me forever.

Luckily I still have some of the pictures I took from that time and I would like to share one of them with you today.

This was one of the photographs that was liked by my photography teacher at the time. I didn’t understand then, but now I grasp fully what I was taking a picture of. It wasn’t just a snap shot, it was a moment/emotion captured in time that will be remembered forever and can be instantly interpreted by anyone looking at it (hopefully).

Stay tuned for more nostalgia.

-Franco Pisano