DESTINATION UNKNOWN

I have been wanting to shoot an old abandoned brick factory about 30 minutes northeast of the house. I had seen the factory years ago during my college years. Things change so a quick check with Google maps and the factory was still there. So out the door and thirty minutes later and we are in Denton city limits. By now the sky has gone from partly cloudy to completely clouded over. The light was already marginal when we left, but now it is really flat.

We arrived at the brickyard and after some driving around facility and found the main gate. The obligatory “Do Not Trespass” sign. Seen those before, so no big deal. But then there was the razor wire? That was unexpected. And after closer examination, the facility is not quite so abandoned either. Evidently ACME brick is alive and well - and they take their security very serious. I should have Google’d the location a bit more - I did not realize it was “ACME” brick when looking at the road maps. ACME  advertise on television and even had Troy Aikman as spokesperson at one point.

After about 15 minutes of looking for a less painful way in, no luck. So it was onto Plan B. Plan B consists of desperate, aimless driving with no real destination in mind. As the light fades and desperation goes up, so back to one of the usual testing grounds by Denton police station.

PLAN B

Denton has many old buildings from the 1910-1930’s, so there is a nice gritty texture which photographers love. All these old Texas cities were found around the 1880’s or thereabouts. There is plenty of 100 year old buildings with a healthy dose of 1950‘a Americana mixed in. It is no Route 66, but when shooting for giggles & grins, it is not half bad.

The three pictures in this blog entry were at an abandoned warehouse area about a stone’s throw from City Hall. By now the light was a lost cause, hence the black and white post-processing. Nothing here really shows off what the Hasselblad 110mm F2 Planar can or cannot do. I had the best intentions, but mother nature (and security fences) conspired against us. There are oodles and oodles of pictures from Denton in this gallery.

A TINY RANT OR TWO

The 645AFD II weighs ~1700 grams according to its specification. I think it weighs less if just counting the body. Regardless, certainly 2+ pounds with batteries. The Phase One P25 weighs at least 1 pound with its battery. The Hasselblad 110/2 lens weighs over 2 pounds. The whole set-up probably tips the scales at 7+ pounds. And from stem to stern the whole kit is ~14 inches long. It is a large, unbalanced beast! With no vertical grip, holding all the weight with a small grip area is tiring. All the pressure is on the right wrist, and the right thumb is what “locks” everything in place. A couple hours of carrying the set-up, and my hand feels sore and fatigued.

Today the weight and size of medium format set-up was not a problem because it was only 20-30 minutes of actual picture-taking. But walking around with the combo for three or four hours during a vacation would be exhausting. Another challenge is handholding the camera and keeping things steady enough for a decently sharp image. ISO 50 plus clouded skies usually translates into low shutter speeds. A tripod would help for sure, but I still prefer the more relaxed approach of handheld shooting and just walking about.

When the 645AFD/P25 went to the car and 1Ds3 came out, the 1Ds3 felt so light. Pundits will say “horse for courses”. True, but if you have a digital back (and spent all that money) - the natural reaction is to use as much as possible. The file quality for the P25 is great, but having a 1Ds Mark III on-hand makes the Mamiya 645AFD II and Phase One P25 set-up feel heavy and woefully out of date (the P25’s rear LCD is cruel joke). While I love the Phase One P25’s sharpness and detail, it is becoming increasingly clear that a dSLR is more in line with my haphazard technique.