Photo of my grandpa

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I just added a couple of new 35mm photos to my website. Not rangefinder, but an Olympus OM-4T...the Leica of SLRs! Both shot on Tmax 3200 at EI 1600 developed in Tmax Developer. I used a Zuiko 50mm f1.4 lens. I think the one of the dog was shot wide open or at f2.

This one of the last photographs I made of my grandpa. He passed away on December 14 🙁 He had Alzheimer's Disease, and had been sick for several years.

This is grandpa's old dog, Apollo. He loved that dog more than anything, even though it was dumb as a post. His two evil cats used to terrorize the dog constantly, but he never sought revenge. He is a sweet dog though. I liked the cats better 😀

 

[MCTuomey]

chris, the photo of your grandpa is just perfect, from the exposure to the catchlights. and the choice of film is perfect to my eye as well.

 

[Dale D]

Chris,

I'm very sorry to hear about your grandpa's passing. I'm sure that you must cherish the photos that you took of him. I lost a parent a couple of years ago, and it was very difficult. Best wishes to you and your family.

Dale

 

[marke]

Oh Chris, that is the COOLEST grampa shot! What a great picture to remember him by. That film choice works great too. And to add Apollo in your gallery is quite tribute to this team.

So if I may, where did Apollo go after your grampa passed away?

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Thanks guys. The dog is still at his house, along with the cats. My aunt, a nurse, lived with him the last 4 years and took care of him so he wouldn't have to go to a nursing home. She's still moving her stuff out of there...living there that long she had a LOT of her own things there. She is going to take the dog and one cat, and I am taking the oldest cat, Molly.

She is 18 yrs old.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I like Tmax 3200 a lot, I use it for a lot of available light portraits. The one of Molly above was done with Tmax 3200 as well, but a few months before the ones in my original post. Also with an OM-4T and this time a Zuiko 50mm f1.8 lens.

 

[Krosya]

Cool pics!. I was just wondering, do you use RF? All you photos seem to come from SLRs - both 35mm and MF. I'd be interested to see some of your RF pics too.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Cool pics!. I was just wondering, do you use RF? All you photos seem to come from SLRs - both 35mm and MF. I'd be interested to see some of your RF pics too.

I don't own any rangefinder. Never have...I cannot afford one 🙁 I started hanging out here a few years ago because I liked the discussions of art (which are nearly nonexistant on other photo forums) and the people here.

I'd like to have one, but even a used Leica and 50mm lens costs more than I earn in 2 months. The OM-4T I used for these photos was given to me by Olympus when I was a teenager (I sent them a cheaper OM body for repair and after trying 4 times to fix i without success, they gave me the 4T). My Mamiya 645 was bought for me by my father when I was in high school and my Hasselblad was a gift earlier this year from a professional photographer I know who had gone all digital. My digital SLR was bought for me by a client several years ago.

I have never been able to find a 'real job' so I live off sales of my fine art work and a little commercial work I get. Since moving back to Indiana, it hasn't been much. The only time I even made enough to live on my own was when I was in Santa Fe, and instead of buying cameras, I spent the money on a lawyer to fight my son's mother because she wouldn't let him talk to me or see me. I have custody of him now though...YAY! Back to the topic, I have never made more than $10,000 a year except in NM so almost all of my equipment has been given to me except some used lenses I have bought on ebay for cheap.

That's the price I pay to pursue my art full time, and if I never use anything but SLRs, it won't kill me. i've been doing it for 20 years now! (got my first manual SLR at age 11)

 

[Keith]

I don't own any rangefinder. Never have...I cannot afford one 🙁 I started hanging out here a few years ago because I liked the discussions of art (which are nearly nonexistant on other photo forums) and the people here.

I'd like to have one, but even a used Leica and 50mm lens costs more than I earn in 2 months. The OM-4T I used for these photos was given to me by Olympus when I was a teenager (I sent them a cheaper OM body for repair and after trying 4 times to fix i without success, they gave me the 4T). My Mamiya 645 was bought for me by my father when I was in high school and my Hasselblad was a gift earlier this year from a professional photographer I know who had gone all digital. My digital SLR was bought for me by a client several years ago.

I have never been able to find a 'real job' so I live off sales of my fine art work and a little commercial work I get. Since moving back to Indiana, it hasn't been much. The only time I even made enough to live on my own was when I was in Santa Fe, and instead of buying cameras, I spent the money on a lawyer to fight my son's mother because she wouldn't let him talk to me or see me. I have custody of him now though...YAY! Back to the topic, I have never made more than $10,000 a year except in NM so almost all of my equipment has been given to me except some used lenses I have bought on ebay for cheap.

That's the price I pay to pursue my art full time, and if I never use anything but SLRs, it won't kill me. i've been doing it for 20 years now! (got my first manual SLR at age 11)

Chris,

Your grandfather's pic and others I have seen of him indicate a level of emotion that really stands out and one not necessarily at ease with the world.

As for your own life ... in Australia you would be known as a 'battler' ... I like your honesty about who you are and where you've been.

 

[ChrisN]

Agreed! It sounds like you have your priorities in good order. Keep up the good work, and thanks for sharing. I really like your photo of your Grandpa and Apollo looking out the window together.

 

[crawdiddy]

Hi Chris, very nice photos, all. Nice of you to take care of the elderly kitty.

The tonality and grain are very nice. I've never used Tmax 3200. I'm interested to try it.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Hi Chris, very nice photos, all. Nice of you to take care of the elderly kitty.

The tonality and grain are very nice. I've never used Tmax 3200. I'm interested to try it.

I love that old cat. She's evil. She's killed rattlesnakes, she's torn apart pit bulls (a dog bred for fighting in the USA, known for being viscious), and she once clawed up Apollo's face when he was locked in a cage! She stood on top of the cage and reached in to do that...I caught her doing it, but it was too late, the dog needed stitches. Despite all this, she has always been nice to me, except when I sinned by feeding the dog or petting the other cat. She once refused to have anything to do with me for 3 weeks because she saw me give Apollo a piece of meat after grandpa and I went out to eat one day.

The dog helped himself this time, so the cat couldn't get mad at me!

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Chris,

Your grandfather's pic and others I have seen of him indicate a level of emotion that really stands out and one not necessarily at ease with the world.

As for your own life ... in Australia you would be known as a 'battler' ... I like your honesty about who you are and where you've been.

I need to move to Australia! Battler sounds almost heroic 😀

In Indiana, the term is "Loser". I preferred New Mexico, where guys like me were called "Artists", but the cost of living is outrageous there.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Hi Chris, very nice photos, all. Nice of you to take care of the elderly kitty.

The tonality and grain are very nice. I've never used Tmax 3200. I'm interested to try it.

Try it, it's great stuff. I use a lot of it for available light portraits:

All these, and the ones in my original post of Grandpa and Apollo, were shot at EI 1600 and developed for 8 minutes at 24 degrees C, in Tmax Developer 1+4

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Agreed! It sounds like you have your priorities in good order. Keep up the good work, and thanks for sharing. I really like your photo of your Grandpa and Apollo looking out the window together.

Thanks, I love that one too. It is on exhibit right now in an exhibit of local photographers at a gallery here in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was actually shot with a Leica R4 SLR and 50mm Summicron R that a friend loaned me.

 

[marke]

Thanks, I love that one too. It is on exhibit right now in an exhibit of local photographers at a gallery here in Fort Wayne, Indiana. It was actually shot with a Leica R4 SLR and 50mm Summicron R that a friend loaned me.

Yup, my favorite too! I love it!!!