photography

i do both digital and film photography. i've set up my own darkroom so i can make prints of my film, and i've recently purchased a digital slr. this page is about my gear.

to see some of my work, you may view my personal photos or visit my professional website.

glass

i chose the nikon d90 to be my digital single-lens reflex (slr) camera. being a minimalist, i wanted to own as little equipment as possible. so i got rid of my canon ae-1p film slr and bought a nikon fg to replace it. i did this because both film and digital bodies can use the same lenses—a great way to reduce the number of lenses i carry! i was later given a nikon fa, which is a useful addition because i can shoot two types of film simultaneously.


i absolutely love being able to share lenses between my digital and film cameras.

digital


this camera is so liberating coming from a digital point-and-shoot. i used to blame my canon sd750 for photos into which i put effort but remained awful. now i can only blame myself. i couldn't be more glad. <3

i chose the d90 over the nikon d300 and canon d40 due to my budget. i chose the d90 over the canon 450d due to better build quality and user interface (ui). i chose the d90 over the nikon d60 due to better image quality and the addition of an auto-focus motor.

after owning the d90 for six months, i see that the in-body auto-focus motor is essential for me. i wouldn't be willing to sacrifice image quality, build quality, nor the nikon ui either. in fact, often times i wish i had better image quality and build quality (i.e., the nikon d300). i hope to purchase an fx-format camera (i.e., the nikon d700) in the future so that i can appropriately utilize wide lenses.

analog

camera and film


perhaps i'm a bit superficial, but i really wanted a black body. i think they look more professional than their chrome counterparts. i looked around for an fg or fg-20 for a while before finally purchasing this one. i would have also considered the nikon fe, fe2, fm, or fm2; they are considered to be legendary cameras. however, they are heavier than the fg, and because i want to carry it everywhere in addition to my d90, i was willing to trade durability for lightness.

since then, i have been given a black nikon fa. now i have two film bodies. this is great, because now i can shoot two types of film simultaneously. also, program and shutter-priority modes may be useful in some situations. to be honest, i still want an fe, fe2, fm, or fm2 as well.

i want to work more with color film, but i don't have a scanner, so i don't know what to do with it! as a result, i usually shoot black and white film. there's a long list of different b&w films available—i want to try them all.

darkroom

i had lots of undeveloped and unprinted rolls of film, but i no longer had access to my school's darkroom lab. so i put together my own.

chemicals

i use a variety of chemicals. initially, i bought:


since then, i've fallen in love with liquid chemicals. they're easier to mix than powders, and it's possible to mix up small quantities on demand. some of them are a bargain compared to their kodak powder counterpart! now i use these:


i also use photographic formulary's residual hypo check and arista's hypo check as needed.

equipment—dry side


equipment—wet side