Bagged Down
Details matter.
Clever Supply Co Sidekick Pro
Nice. No division between them, but The Sixes fit perfectly.
New bag day! My Clever Supply Co Sidekick Pro arrived today. Despite the number of bags I already own (including two from Clever Supply), this bag seemed to fill a size niche I’d hoped to find for a while. It looked like the bag that would allow me to carry two smaller cameras, notably The Sixes (my X100VI and my M6), at once, as a daily carry (with wallet, keys, extra battery, extra roll of film, etc.)—but without being so large as to look and feel like a camera sling when I’m walking through the grocery store. This could supplement my Long Weekend Monterey Sling, which I absolutely love, but which allows me to carry only the X100VI.
So I backed the bag on Kickstarter as soon as I saw the email about it and it arrived today. The cameras fit great, the bag itself is exactly what I’d hoped for. It fits the Leica M6 with Voigtländer 50mm f1.2, the Fujifilm X100VI, wallet, a pen, keys, extra battery, and an extra roll of film. Perfect.
However. The bag has a couple flaws that mean I won’t be able to use it.
I really blue it.
First, as soon as I put it over my shoulder, the back of the bag acted like sandpaper and instantly became covered in blue fuzz from my sweater. I’ve never seen a bag, including my other Clever bags, do that. A little lint over time here and there, sure. But this thing just grabbed all the fibers. Immediately. First time. As I tried it in different positions, it got more and more blue. And this isn’t a fluffy sweater. It’s slim, formfitting, and doesn’t shed on anything else. I even aggressively rubbed other bags against the sweater to see if they’d collect anything. Nothing. This is the first time I opted for the black version of a Clever bag, so it’s probable the tan version doesn’t have that problem.
It’s easier to access the back of the bag than the top. Maybe for cleaning off lint?
The worse problem is the strap. It is stitched directly into the bag, which is how the smaller size of this bag works, that doesn’t surprise me. Other bags—including the bigger Camera Sling from Clever—include a flap of some kind that lets the bag hang nicely against your body. But running the strap through the stitching at the back of the bag is probably okay on its own. The problem is that the strap is too low on the bag, which puts the center of gravity too low, and the bag tilts forward no matter how you wear it (possible exception, really tight around the waist might keep it from flopping forward). At its tightest shoulder slung position (which makes it difficult to get into the bag because it’s up under your armpit), it hangs at about a 45° angle. If you manage to get it loose enough to be able to get into, the top of the bag is nearly perpendicular to the ground.
Since none of the models wearing the bag in the Kickstarter campaign photos seem to be having this issue, I can only imagine that there was a quality control or testing problem somewhere in the process. The smaller Clever Supply Sidekick bag doesn’t do that. My Peak Design sling doesn’t do that. My Long Weekend sling doesn’t do that. My Bellroy sling doesn’t do that. My Patagonia Black Hole fanny pack doesn’t do that.
With padding like this, who needs cameras?
I have other gripes, like that the weirdly thick “Clever Camera Cube” completely blocks access to the inside pockets and takes up roughly half the interior space on its own. This aligns with the poorly designed, extra thick dividers in their Camera Sling, which feature leather flaps perfect for catching your camera on every time you put it in your bag (the flaps are meant for SD cards, but given how easy it is to catch your camera on the empty flaps, I imagine your cards would just snap in half.) And why does everything have to be so thick? Exterior padding, sure, but what is being protected inside the bag with so much padding? Interior dividers typically just need to prevent gear from rubbing on each other, not enforce geopolitical boundaries.
So now I have a useless but brand new bag (tag’s still on, hasn’t left the house) that looks like Cookie Monster’s snack sack. I would throw it on eBay, but I’m not sure I can sell it in good conscience, knowing its flaws.
The good news is this got me thinking about what would work well for a bag this size, so I did more research, pulled out the measuring tape, laid out the items the bag would need to hold, and identified a bag that should work brilliantly. My partner already has one, so I even tested it. More on that a different time.
I hope this doesn’t come off as Clever Supply hate. Their products have been a bit hit or miss for me, though I generally like the Camera Sling and use it often. Their leather strap was underwhelming (but did inspire me to make my own). Generally speaking, I think Todd is a good guy, their service tends to be top notch, and I appreciate the mission to create products that are a little different and visually beautiful. I can’t recommend the Sidekick Pro, but your mileage may vary. In fact, I know where you can get a black (and blue) one for a good price.
Portland in Black and White
Bring twice as many batteries as you’ll likely need. Or go home early.
My battery died. The backup battery I smartly grabbed before I left the house was already dead when it entered my bag. I managed to grab a handful of straight out of camera (SOOC) black and white (B&W) photos I was happy (okay) with. A few of them were taken after the camera lost power and shut itself off. I muttered oaths of all colors, warmed the camera in my hands, and tried again. The next time I go out, I’ll just grab all my batteries in case I’d foolishly put a spent battery in the fresh bin.
This was the Fujifilm X100VI and the OG Portland, by the way.
Getting There
Modern RAW files give us so many options for editing.
Every once in a while I take a photo that I think is good but that I’m not sure which combo of exposure tweaking, coloring, and cropping is best. I took one of these last night and thought it’d make a good (Thanksgiving Day in the USA) post about getting to the version I’m happy with.
First, here’s the RAW as interpreted by Lightroom. Since taken with a Fujifilm X100VI, the Classic Neg profile I’m using in that custom setting on the camera is applied automatically by Lightroom. I rarely end up using Classic Neg in the final edit, but since I rarely use the SOOC JPG, I haven’t been motivated to update the camera setting.
1. Unedited RAW
Embarrassingly, you’ll notice that I have a fairly strong diffusion filter permanently attached to this camera (but none of my other cameras, oddly). This meant that I needed to throw that exposure compensation dial way down to not get a completely bloomed version of the snowflake light. I always forget these 40mp files have more wiggle room for editing, but that’s why the initial version is so dark. Bear with me.
I was shooting fast and not paying too much attention to whether the camera was level, too, so a little straightening will be needed here.
So this photo as-is is fine, maybe crop the edges off. There’s a genre of internet photo lovers (myself included) who would pound that “like” button based on the diffusion glow alone. Ooo, glow. Me like. Orders print.
But there’s a lot of negative space, particularly in the upper left. First, what if we embraced the space and went minimal?
2. 16×9 crop that uses that negative space
Ok, dang, that’s not where I planned to go with this post, but maybe that’s the right approach. I’ll stick a pin in that one and come back to it.
Let’s try a vertical crop that eliminates the cruft on the right, and add some of my typical color editing.
3. 7×6 center crop, my typical too-warm coloring based on Fujifilm Nostalgic Neg profile—sorry, “film simulation”
For the real version, I’d probably spend more time trying to get those glows looking a little more natural. This version is fine and is the typical thing I throw out into the world. But half the goal of this post is to see if I can arrive somewhere better.
What if I keep the crop and use a little more natural color?
4. 7×6 center crop with a more generic preset
I don’t hate the color, but I don’t think the crop is right. I’ve been experimenting more and more with wide panoramic crops when there’s not much going on in the sky or foreground. Plus, with the glow, a wide crop might carry this into “cinematic” territory. And “cinematic” will make every owner of a McKinnon product have a special moment.
5. 17×6 crop, overall exposure raised, shadows raised
Mmm-hmm. This I could live with. It’s a movie frame. But because this is not the direction I was going when I took the photo, I wish it included more on the right with the car left of center. On the other hand, the yellow line nicely leads into the frame and the lack of extra details on the right is probably better overall. Just a suggestion of more human activity down the street.
Out of curiosity, what about black and white?
6. Same 17×6 crop, black and white
Damn. Do you see why it’s sometimes so hard to decide? This is why people shoot film.
What I like about the black and white is it eliminates the distracting color mismatch between the bright LED snowflake and the classic halogen headlights—or maybe that’s a beautiful thing and I should embrace it?. Eh, I think I’ll stick to black and white.
So now I can’t help thinking how the B&W would pair with that first minimal crop that embraced the negative space. What was that, 16x9?
7. 16×9, black and white, eliminate right side distractions, embrace negative space
The thing I’ve learned about indecision is that sometimes you just rip the band-aid off and call it done. Here I’ve kept the black and white, but cropped to 16x9 with slight rotation tweaks from that first 16x9.
I could keep playing with it forever, but I like this. And me liking it is the only criteria that matters.
I understand the irony of reading this far in a post about photo editing and the payoff to be a black and white cop out. But this post is not “how to,” it’s “how I do.” It’s a subtle but important distinction.
Use the comments below to tell me which of these, if any, you would’ve picked. Or what else would you have tried? Is the photo a dog out of the gate and all of this is futile? Is it pointless to publish a blog post on a federal holiday? Let me know. I beg you.
When the shooting starts
If you’re breathing, you’re on location.
It’s easy to leave the camera at home or in the car. If you’re doing a 365 project, it’s really easy to snipe some obvious shot—and then leave the camera at home or in the car.
Today I forced myself to take the camera behind the grocery store—not to throw it in the dumpster, but to see what I could find. And as happens 102% of the time when I just start shooting, I found photos. Like Allex Baldwyn said in that one film (probably titled Gary and Ross), practice the ABC’s of photography: Always Be Clicking.
Speaking of Gary, congrats to our cashier Gary at Costco who is celebrating 40 years with the company. Costco was founded in 1983 and Gary has been with them since 1984. An amazing achievement!
Here are the better photos I found around the grocery store strip mall while my partner bought butter.
A Frosty October Morning
It's colder than my dead American voter’s soul.
There’s a chill in the air—and I’m not just talking about my cold, dead, American voter’s soul. It’s time to haul in some firewood and tweak the thermostat. The light is low and lovely. There’s too little of it. But while the Sun is shining and casting long shadows, and the ground is steaming, I must brave the chill and capture the world outside.
Here are some quick photos I took this morning while wearing a cardigan and feverishly rubbing my hands together. I will find the beauty in all weather—or be mildly uncomfortable trying.
Iron Mountain Pizza Hut
Who says you can’t go back and have cheese in your crust?
The sign says Pizza Hut Classic, now. I worked there 25 years ago, first as a delivery driver—which didn’t work that well in winter with our 1975 Oldsmobile, one night I got stuck twice; then as a shift manager. Our roadtrip earlier this year took us through town, so we checked it out. It hasn’t changed. The dining room has been updated a bit, but not to modernize, just to maintain. The salad bar is still there. The lights are still there. The kitchen looks identical. The employees park and smoke and bitch in the same place. I don’t remember the addition or the Subway across the street.
I ran back to the car to grab a camera and snap a few shots while we waited for our stuffed crust.
Early to Rise
Makes a man tired.
Here’s a follow up to the weekend’s drone photos. Getting, um, up before the Sun has its advantages.
Fall From The Sky
Lesson learned: exposure bracket, manually if you have to.
Just a quick post to share some drone photos taken during a quick stop in midcoast Maine.
I barely ever grab the drone when leaving the house. The sensor has less than no dynamic range. It’s awkward to launch the thing if there are people nearby. And yet much can still be done with it. In the off-season, especially, it’s easier to find a beautiful location where people won’t side-eye my takeoff. And once it’s in the sky? Wow.
I’ve lost interest in capturing video from a drone, since I piled up a bunch of footage and did nothing with it (it is epic, though). But I’m beginning to appreciate what can be done photographically with just a few minutes in a picturesque pull-off, if you’re not too picky about technical goodness.
Camping like an FPS n00b
Wandering around, being lazy, taking photos.
Every year we camp at Thomas Point. This year we went a little earlier, September instead of October. This had the benefit of not freezing our asses off at night. It was pleasant.
I took some shots with my newly serviced RB67 and M6, but I was pretty happy with some of these X100VI shots, too. So here are the latter.
The title of this post is a weak attempt to create a play on words with the word “camping.” If you don’t understand it, you’re better off.
Capitalism’s Trifecta and other twilight photos
Your wellbeing is our shareholders’ number one concern.
I took a stroll to get some movement and intentionally did not stop to take photos. Okay, obviously I’m going to stop to take photos when I’ve got my camera slung over my shoulder. The sun was going down, the city was lovely, the goose poop was minimal.
I’m especially pleased with this first one, which I’m titling Capitalism’s Trifecta (alt: One Stop Shop). Junk food, health insurance, and a for-profit medical care convenience store? It’s a bit on the nose.
(The same building also houses a vet and a dentist, they just have separate signs.)
Throw in some warning cones and I’ve got a photo that tells a story.
I don’t normally shoot during hours that have color names, but I’m pretty pleased with these results and will try to get out more often when I should be eating dinner.
Foggy Mornings
Mornings. Foggy Mornings.
My old timey country singer slash cowboy name would be Foggy Mornings. It’s an accurate description of my head before coffee, and of these photos.
But first, these photos from the road
I'll save that other post for later on.
This is not the post I planned to publish next (Do Go Chasing Waterfalls, with photos of waterfalls), but I had a nice walk. Here are some results.
Midcoast for the weekend
My home [not that far] away from home.
Here’s a mix of landscape, street, still life, and product photos from this past rainy weekend on Maine’s Midcoast.
A quick day in New York
A mass of people who couldn’t care less about cameras makes street photography perhaps a little too easy.
I have thousands of photos stacking up from various trips this summer. It’s overwhelming. But I keep a notebook outlining which outings were on which days and as I find time, I’ll tackle culling, editing, and sharing the keepers from those outings one at a time.
One of the easier sets to compile was these from a recent afternoon in NYC.
RB67 needs professional help
I’ll use the space for my X-H2 or some jerky or a TBD 645 I find in a shop.
I’m leaving on a 3 week road trip tomorrow (don’t rob my house, there are still people in it) and since I haven’t been happy with the results, I wanted to run another test roll through my Mamiya RB67 to determine whether to bring it on the trip or not.
I taped up all the seams to prevent light leaks, put a hood on it, shot half the roll with an ND filter and half without. The results are just bad. There is a weird flaring issue through the center of the frame, and (after some discussion on Glass, thanks Carlos and Anton) what appears to be a sticky shutter. Maybe the shutter, which is a leaf shutter in the lens, is causing all the issues, maybe not. I don’t have time to test further. So Arby is staying home.
Here’s the entire roll. I actually love the result of the last frame, but the rest are mostly unusable. Even if they were all accidentally great is some way, I need my equipment to work predictably, so it’s going in the shop when I get back.
Black and white, the colors of springtime
When the Sun’s behind a cloud, get creative.
Here are some SOOC (“straight out of camera,” for the uninitiated) B&W photos taken on today’s walk. I’ve been dipping my toe in monochrome once in a while, but usually with my X100VI not the GFX 50s ii with Mitty (Mitakon 65mm f1.4 lens, for the uninitiated). The results are predictably lovely.
Up High St and around the corner
Film or digital? You decide. (Obviously it’s digital since it looks like film and why else would I even ask.)
I’ve worked remotely (from home) for 15 years now. I will never work in an office again. My home setup is ideal and I love it. Plus, offices were a huge distraction for me and my work suffered.
But… I need excuses to go into Portland to take photos. Coffee shops are loud, typically have terrible wifi, and you’re obligated to buy stuff. However, my company pays for coworking spaces.
So I tried a coworking space for the first time yesterday and it was pretty nice! I found a comfortable couch, knocked out a bunch of work, hopped on a call in a closet, and ended the day in the center of the Old Port. People were in and out constantly, but unlike my last experiences in an office, it was quiet and no one was popping into my cubicle to ask a question or yelling “your mom!” across the room (yes).
This particular day I was rushing to meet my son for drinks after work, so I didn’t take any photos on the walk to my car. But I did grab the photos below on the walk to the coworking place and I’m excited about the opportunities this arrangement offers for capturing city life in the future.
If I had Half a Grain…
The Sixes.
I renamed my website. The new name is meant to reflect my growing love of film photography—and that I’m also primarily shooting digital photos. So… Half a Grain. Get it?
I also hope to launch my YouTube channel very soon, under the same name. Watch for that. I also have new projects in the works and will be posting them in the Work section of the site soon.
The Sixes.
A red Jag on the M6
Steve McQueen drove one of these.
I couldn’t tell what it was from Jennifer’s iPhone photo, but I hurried back across Belfast to shoot the probably-cool red car before the owner discovered there was a photographer prowling the area and bolted. Though, from what I’ve heard about E-Types, it’d be 50/50 whether the thing started.
I made it. I walked around the thing, squatting with my M6 and encouraging other men passing by to grunt and mumble, oh, sure, I guess I’ll get a photo, too.
“What is it? Is it a P—?”
“It’s a Jag, right?” I said. I walked around the back and pretended to read off the boot. “Yeah, a Jag.”
“Is that a film camera? Mirrorless?”
“I’ve got one of each,” I blushed, holding up the X100VI dangling on my other side.
“Neat.” Small talk quota fulfilled, the men caught back up with their families, likely headed for ice cream.
The car was gone later when I walked back down the hill.
