Welcome to my photography page!
I have been photographing for over three years so far, and over the years I came to use a 4x5" large format camera. That means that the negative size is 15 times as large as with a regular 35mm camera (127x102mm compared to 36x24mm), and even 27 times as large as with an APS camera (127x102mm compared to 30x16mm). In addition to the much better image quality, I enjoy the working atmosphere with such a camera. A single photo takes as much time as shooting a whole roll with a smaller camera, but composition and concentration benefit very much from this highly involving process. Photography becomes very direct, original and comprehensible with such a camera. I also would like to note that my photography didn't actually get more expensive.
I started with a Lomo LC-A and a Canon EOS with what I'd call snapshot photography. Most of my work was travel/documentary photography. When I switched to medium format (Kiev-88CM) the focus moved to cityscapes/landscapes. Today, landscapes are my main field of work. I have always been feeling that my calling was outdoor photography, not studio work. I enjoy admiring and capturing the creations of mother nature more than creating artificial environments.
Today, I feel that for most of my work I would never like to return to a smaller format. I am even thinking about moving to 8x10", an even larger large format because that would allow for nice contact prints thus eliminating the need for enlarging. I am however searching for a 35mm camera for casual shooting, it should be compact, but with high-quality interchangeable lenses. I must concede that I have yet to find that camera.
I am now also developing my film on my own which I enjoy very much. It does not only save you lots of money, but it is also much fun and adds to your creative possibilities. To me it is rather strange that many photographers pass 50% of their photographic process on to a lab machine... I think that is mostly due to fears and laziness. So far I believe that darkroom work is no threat at all, but an exciting addition to your work.
Here on my photography page, I would like to invite you to browse through my photographic work, I would like to offer you equipment reviews and essays I've written as well as manuals for various Soviet cameras and much other content. Enjoy yourselves!
Galleries
view a selection of my photos at photo.net
my 21st century gallery with a selection of my finest 35mm, MF and LF images
my old medium format photo gallery [offline at the moment]
my old 35mm photo gallery
photos of me
Equipment Reviews
All my equipment reviews can be found on my equipment page.
Equipment Essays
My equipment
Some comments on digital SLRs as of September 30, 2002 NEW!
Rolleiflex: A short essay on the famous TLR camera system and its various models and lenses
Light Metering: an essay about a simplified yet effective zone system accessible to anyone
Which Camera: general essay on formats and camera types
my Kiev-88 buying guide
Soviet Rangefinders: short pictorial history and most recent models of FED, Kiev and Zorki
Equipment Comparison Tables
comparison of all Soviet lenses for Nikon F bayonet UPDATED!
comparison of various well-known cameras (Canon, Contax, Hasselblad, Kiev, Leica, Nikon, Olympus, Praktica)
comparison of all modern Soviet 35mm SLR cameras
Manuals for Cameras from Eastern Europe (online versions created/translated by myself)
Horizon-202 english / deutsch
Kiev-19/Kiev-19M english / deutsch
Kiev-35A english / deutsch
Kiev-60 english / deutsch
Kiev-88 english / deutsch
Kiev-88CM english
Lomo LC-A english / deutsch
Zenit-122 english / deutsch
Zenit-312M english
Miscellaneous
deeper knowledge of photography: collected thoughts
photo of myself with my Graflex 45 Super Speed Graphic 4x5" large format camera in Scotland in summer 2001
photo of my Graflex 45 Super Speed Graphic
photo of my Kiev-88CM
