Smena 8MA simple plastic Lomo camera This day's photography was all about experimenting and seeing what I could come back with from familiar places using not so familiar tools. In my hand, I had a very simple plastic camera, the Smena 8M, which was actually the camera I started my photographic endeavors with back in the 1980s.

It's a very simple fully manual camera that requires no power as there is not meter or any other electronics. Both shutter speed and f-stop are set on the lens. The shutter is cocked with a dedicated lever also on the lens and is thus separated from film advance. While that may take some getting used to it's not really a problem. And if you forget and click the shutter release button? No problem, cock it and fire away again. It's also very simple to do multiple exposures if one so desires. Focus is accomplished by zone focusing. The real bonus? Given the simplicity the camera can deliver some surprisingly good quality and sharp photographs.

To complete the Lomo experience I loaded the camera with a Lomography Metropolis color negative film, which delivers photographs featuring a different color palette and pronounced grain. Colors are mostly muted and somewhat shifted towards the greens. I used that film before and was not much of a fan for natural landscapes but enjoyed the results from urban settings.

BUFFALOA scene from Canalside, Buffalo, New York.

BUFFALO, a scene from Canalside, Buffalo, New York.
Photographed with a Smena 8M 35mm camera on Lomography Metropolis color negative film

For the first photograph I struggled a bit as the space in front of the building is limited and the camera has a fixed 40mm lens. At first, I was reluctant to raise the camera up as I am not a fan of converging vertical lines in architecture but I eventually had to accept reality. Plus, it was a lo-fi kind of a day so why not? In the end, I am now very glad I did. I like both the version above as well as the Cyanotype print I made with it.

Next up was a walk over to the Naval Park to see how the ships would look with this lomo combo. In the end, I opted for an obvious angle I had photographed before. I think the colors of the film go well with the steel hulls.

USS Croaker and CompanyBuffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park

USS Croaker and Company, Buffalo and Erie County Naval and Military Park
Photographed with a Smena 8M 35mm camera on Lomography Metropolis color negative film

And finally, away from the Canalside and waterfront, the next photo is on Buffalo's Main Street with its signature Buffalo Metro Rail.

Train on MainThe NFTA Metro Rail train on Buffalo's Main Street

Train on Main, The NFTA Metro Rail train on Buffalo's Main Street
Photographed with a Smena 8M 35mm camera on Lomography Metropolis color negative film

Overall, this photographic outing revealed that this extremely simple plastic camera is perfectly capable and I will certainly be using it again. And I still like the Lomography Metropolis film for urban settings. I guess they picket the name (Metropolis) well.

Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! #etbtsy

Instagram @danielnovakphoto - Facebook @danielnovakphoto - flickr @masinka

Do you enjoy reading my photography blog? Would you like to see more photographs from Buffalo and Western New York? Visit my Buffalo Cityscapes and Buffalo & Western New York Landscapes and enjoy! For more travel photography, my Travel Photography gallery offers an interesting mix of places all around. Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered, I will be happy to help! For a quick reference to all photo galleries and collections as well as all photo products currently offered through my site, please, visit the Products page.

Vintage USS Little RockBuffalo, NY Erie Canal Harbor à la 70sBuffalo, NY Vintage USS CroakerBuffalo, NY Spring Morning at the MuseumBuffalo, NY Morning ReflectionBuffalo, NY

Rolleiflex Automat1940s Rolleiflex Automat Welcome back to my cyanotype series and its tenth installment. After focusing mostly on the tiny village of "Horní Rozsíčka" where I spent a lot of time as a child, we're moving over to the city where I live currently. With city scenes, buildings, and architecture I remain a fan of the rough texture of the Shizen Design watercolor paper. After going monochrome, blue in this case, the rough texture obliterates a lot of the details and I am left wit a further abstracted photograph, which I like.

For photo number one we're headed to Broderick Park in Buffalo, NY and to the Bird Island Pier that starts there. It frequently suffers weather and winter damage, which is a shame, because it is a really unique and wonderful way to walk several miles literally in the middle of the mighty Niagara River. So far, it was always repaired in the end and I hope that continues, even though some of the recent damage has been slow to fix and the pier is cut short as a result.

Camera of choice on this day? A World War II time Rolleiflex Automat. It needed quite extensive repairs to be in its current shape but right now it's like clockwork. I loaded it with Fomapan 400, attached a yellow filter to the taking lens and headed out.

What you see in today's first cyanotype is the view one gets when reaching the unpassable damage area and turning around. It's the pier heading back to Unity Island and Broderick Park and the signature Peace Bridge between the United States and Canada.

Bird Island Pier CyanotypeBuffalo, NY

Bird Island Pier Cyanotype, Buffalo, NY, An Original Hand-Made 5" x 7" Cyanotype
Chemically printed on a hand-coated Shizen Design textured watercolor paper

Smena 8MSmena 8M 35mm Camera For cyanotype number two we're headed into the heart of the city. It's hard to believe Canalside really wasn't a thing until a few years ago. I did something different for this cyanotype. I normally select from one of my black and white photographs but for this one, I picked a photo captured on Lomography Metropolis color negative film. These cyanotypes are printed using a digital negative and even for this one I first converted the color photo into a monochrome.

However, I have heard of people printing their negatives in color and getting great results. Maybe I'll have to try that soon and compare with a monochrome one to see if there's a difference in practice. In theory, each color allows different levels of UV to pass through. That is similar with different density of black. Would the color negative result in more or less contrast?

Oh, and the camera of choice for this downtown Buffalo expedition? Smena 8M was the camera I started my (film) photography endeavors with back in the 1980s. Indeed, there was no discussion about film versus digital back then. Film was all there was and our family's film choice were black and white film stocks from Orwo. I don't remember why but my Dad was not a fan of Fomapan. He used to buy Orwo in bulk on our occasional trips to East Germany. I used that camera on several school trips and got alright results for the purpose they were supposed to serve. Some of them even saw the light of day as darkroom prints. Even now in 2022 I was rather pleasantly surprised about what one can get from a simple camera like this.

BUFFALOCanalside, Buffalo, NY

BUFFALO, Canalside, Buffalo, NY, An Original Hand-Made 5" x 7" Cyanotype
Chemically printed on a hand-coated Shizen Design textured watercolor paper, bleached and toned in green tea

Yes, a short post today, just two photographs. Come back soon and maybe there will be a new post with more to share. Do you like one of these two cyanotype prints or one from the past posts in this series? You can see them all in my Cyanotype Gallery and if you're interested, you can order one there too and get your own unique and original print. No two are the same. I coat the paper by hand and print of textured papers. As a result, they each have their own look and feel.

Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! #etbtsy

Previous posts in the Cyanotypes series: 1. First Cyanotype - 2. More Cyanotypes - 3. Highlands Cyanotypes - 4. How do Cyanotypes Happen? - 5. Cyanotypes V: Tweaking the Curve - 6. Cyanotypes VI: Toning - 7. Cyanotypes VII: More Toning - 8. Cyanotypes VIII: Toning Different Papers - 9. Cyanotypes IX: Horní Rozsíčky - 10. Cyanotypes X: From Black and White or Color

If you like cyanotypes you can explore the Cyanotypes Photo Gallery dedicated to my growing collection of them. Would you like to browse through traditional darkroom wet prints? Visit my Darkroom Photo Gallery and enjoy! Do not hesitate to contact me whether you would like to learn more or would like to purchase one of my prints.

House of Memories, Cyanotype IIHorní Rozsíčka On the Way from School, CyanotypeHorní Rozsíčka U Vlachů, CyanotypeHorní Rozsíčka

Mamiya RB67 I don't understand how it took me so long to post these photos. There's a bit of a gap between me taking pictures and then developing and scanning them but everything eventually makes it to a physical binder as well as bits on a hard drive. However, only a tiny fraction sees the light of day afterwards. Some of it is just a selection process when I don't feel like I should share the photographs but other times, it is just not spending sufficient time on the publishing task.

Whether it is digital posts on my website or social media, making inkjet prints, darkroom prints, zines, or cyanotypes, I feel like it is that phase that deserves a lot more attention. In the end, what is the purpose of capturing the world around us if the pictures cannot be seen again? To be fair, photo taking motivates me to spend more time outside in fresh air and under the sun so there's still that purpose for me. But is that enough?

So how long has it been? These photos are from summer 2020. It was only my second roll with a new to me Mamiya RB67 and as such I was mostly focused on learning to use it rather that having any high expectations. The camera is a beast, heavy as a tank, and requires a certain process to execute a photo session successfully. In many aspects, it is similar to large format work.

Yet, when I arrived on location my hopes of cooperating weather seemed to meet and exceed my expectations. The storm that was rolling through the area at sunset time was just clearing the western sky and moving overhead and over the city. While absolutely perfect that put a bit of a time pressure on me as I did not have time to waste.

Passing Storm over BuffaloDramatic Buffalo, New York

Passing Storm over Buffalo, Dramatic Buffalo, New York
Photographed with a Mamiya RB67 medium format camera on Kodak Tri-X 400 black and white film

As you can see, it all worked out. I got my photo! The scene lasted for a few minutes before the sun dipped under the horizon at my back, which gave me a chance to point the camera in a few different directions.

Erie Basin Marina after StormBuffalo, NY

Erie Basin Marina after Storm, Buffalo, New York
Photographed with a Mamiya RB67 medium format camera on Kodak Tri-X 400 black and white film

For the last photograph in this set, I decided to place the focus on the boats in the marina and use the city and the storm as a backdrop. I moved closer to one of the docks and the fence and framed the below photo. I really like how it all came together even now two years later. The clouds look like someone painted them in with a paint brush and their jagged edges fit the Dock D sign perfectly.

Dock D, Erie Basin MarinaBuffalo, NY

Dock D, Erie Basin Marina, Buffalo, NY
Photographed with a Mamiya RB67 medium format camera on Kodak Tri-X 400 black and white film

I was really happy with the results and yet, this remains the last Tri-X I used. It's been almost two years and maybe it's time to get a roll or two ready for the next summer storm? We'll see.

Enjoy The Beauty That Surrounds You! #etbtsy

Instagram @danielnovakphoto - Facebook @danielnovakphoto - flickr @masinka

Do you enjoy reading my photography blog? Would you like to see more photographs from Buffalo and Western New York? Visit my Buffalo Cityscapes and Buffalo & Western New York Landscapes and enjoy! For more travel photography, my Travel Photography gallery offers an interesting mix of places all around. Please, let me know if you have any questions about any photo products offered, or not offered, I will be happy to help! For a quick reference to all photo galleries and collections as well as all photo products currently offered through my site, please, visit the Products page.

Different Types of ShipsBuffalo, NY Edward M Cotter's Solo ShowBuffalo, NY Sailboat and a CruiserBuffalo, NY

Sideview of Kleinhans Music HallBuffalo, NY Black & White SymmetryBuffalo, NY