Rewiring the Thorens TP-16 Tonearm

Pictures only for now - text will be added later.

Detour: Back into Hi-Fi - Part 1

For the last several years, any spare time/hobby attention has been photography.  As with all things crammed into “spare” time outside of work, effort and attention has been characterized by spurts, stops and starts.  At least that’s how it works for me ... and throw in age.  Off-work hours summon one to just kicking back, accomplishing little except raging on Twitter against the current orange moron in the White House.

As retirement approaches, I’ve taken stock of what will be important other than non-attachment.  Oops! Well, there’s duality for you!

I’ve gotten pretty close to my last camera/photo gear kit - the detail is for another post.  So it was on to rebuilding a satisfying system for reproducing music.  HiFi.  In the current market of digital music and a dizzying array of equipment to deliver it to one’s ears, a true, two channel high fidelity system would seem nostalgic at best.  I mean, you’re confined to ONE ROOM, mostly one seating position. And you really need to pay attention.  How can you “multi-task”, pay attention to your iPhone, glance at the 24-hour news channel, respond to text messages?

But for me, it’s not nostalgic.  Not at all.  Digital “music”, no matter how high resolution, played through digital, solid state devices, doesn’t move me very much.  Oh, it will “do”, but sufficiency isn’t what music is about.  Music is about emotion, above moving one’s spiritual needle, not just filling the ear with anything other than nothingness.

Since the late 90s I’ve peripatetically followed a company called DECware.  The first product brought to market was the Zen amp - a single ended triod (SET) class A, tube/valve audio amp that puts out a whopping two watts.  Watt??? Er... what???  Tubes? What’s the appeal?

Before we delve into that, it’s more than twenty years later, and DEC/High Fidelity Enginerring is not only still in existence, but, if you peruse the website, has a vastly expanded product offering.  The range is not just various power amplifiers, but includes preamplifier, a phono stage (preamp for turntable cartridges,) a DAC (digital to analog converter,) speakers, cables and other HiFi paraphernalia.

The Zen Amp has been updated and upgraded through the years.  With a bit of cash available, I placed an order for what was, at the time, the latest edition, the SE84UFO.  A special, 25th anniversary edition (SE84UFO25,) had been released since I made my choice.  But at three times the cost of the SE84UFO, it wasn’t in the picture.  Unless I wanted to resume bachelorhood.

Most DECware products are built to order - there is no stock - and all products are sold direct; there is no distribution or dealer network.  So after about a 10-week wait, the SE84UFO arrived.  It was well packed and after a 25-year wait, unboxing and inspecting for any visually obvious problems (there were none,) I was finally able to connect it to sources and speakers ... and enjoy some sonic and musical love.

That is where the adventure began.  To be continued.

Using the Stearman Press SP-445 Developing Tank - Part 2

I have used the SP-445 three or four times since my initial post.  Executive summary:  It works.  Well.  If you need to develop 4x5 and don't have an actual/proper darkroom, get it.  If you have a proper darkroom and have an established, well-working workflow, it's not necessary unless you need an alternative to deep tanks.

Longer summary:  The only issue I encountered was loading film into the holders.  The user guide delivered with the tank advise to practice loading with some scrap film.  Did I do that?  As someone with 40 years of experience ... no.  While doing so would have saved some time for the first attempt, I did get the sheets properly loaded.  After some fiddling. 

The "issue" is that the tabs that keep the film properly loaded are "subtle" enough that until you have experience, you aren't aware of them.  Not practicing could result in disaster, but I got on OK.

During processing, when agitating I found the best for me was to hold the tank in one hand, gripping both at the side and over the top.  It's hard to explain without a drawing (my drawing skill is less than limited,) but think of it as gripping at a top corner - I am most comfortable using my left hand, even though I am right handed.  Even thought he lid seats securely, this grip makes me feel the tank and its contents are more secure - the lid can't fall off if you've got it in a firm grip.

That's it.  The system is simple, elegant, it works.  Highly recommended, it has saved me time and effort.

Using the Stearman Press SP-445 Developing Tank

Part 1

Nearly five years ago I moved house.  The new digs are an improvement in pretty much every way.  But there is one exception - I lost the darkroom facility I had crafted in the basement of the former house.  Admittedly it was s very crude setup, and only accomodated loading and processing film - no printing.  Since I was scanning, that was OK, though I don miss printing.

To compensate after the move I joined the Flower City Arts Center, which has truly great darkroom facilities and bargain rental rates.  But I just didn't use the facilities that much; due to work I was only able to go on Saturdays.  So I didn't renew my membership every year.

So I've made do at home by loading 35mm and 120 film onto reels and into tanks in a dark bag.  As my desire to work more with 4x5 sheet film returned and increased, I still didn't have a way to process at home since I only have deep tanks, which require total darkness.  

Faced with renewing my membership at Flower City and not really using the facilities as much as I needed, I decided to research daylight tanks that might work for me.

In the past I had used a Yankee Adjustable Cut Film Tank, which accommodates up to 12 sheets of film.  In fact, I still have one, but damn if I can find the rack that carries the film! The problem this tank that I always experienced, though, was uneven development, particularly at the edges of the negative.  This was caused by the design not allowing proper flow of chemistry during agitation.  Before I adopted deep tanks as my sheet film processing gear, I solved this problem by not placing the lid on the tank and raising and lowering the rack for agitation.  But that means the tank is no longer "daylight" - so I was back to square one.

Another option is the HP CombiPlan tank, a discontinued daylight tank.  I actually have one that was given to me, but the loading guide is missing so even if I wanted to try it, I can't.  Add all the negative reviews of this overly complicated kit, and I quickly discarded this option.

I had heard of the Stearman SP-445 tank, the result of a Kickstarter campaign, but had mostly forgotten about it until a web search turned up links to the website, YouTube videos and reviews.  At $90USD it's not that expensive, though I had to evaluate whether I wanted to take a chance - $90+ is not chump change for me.

After cogitating for a few weeks, I decided to order it from Freestyle Sales, my go to for a lot of photographic needs. 

(Aside:  I can buy Kodak film from Freestyle cheaper than I can here in Rochester - the film is made here, shipped to Freestyle in LA, then back to me.  You'd think Kodak Alaris would promote the use of film here in Rochester with great pricing, where yes, there is a rich reserve of photographers who not only know and used film, but who actually helped design and manufacture the stuff!  But no.   Grumpy mode off.)

Earlier this week the SP-445 arrived, along with a new darkroom thermometer and a Nikkor 75/4.5 SW via Japan.

Six sheets of film had been exposed and were awaiting processing:  2 sheets of Delta 100 shot as EI tests and 4 sheets of FP4+ needing N+2 and N-2 development.  So I was waiting for the weekend to arrive when I could test out this new kit.

The two sheets of Delta are hanging to dry and I can judge my first test drive a success.  Details will in Part 2 soon.  But overall I am pleased.  I made no disastrous mistakes, but I learned enough to improve my technique.

I still plan to build a proper darkroom which will accommodate processing more than four sheets at a time, which is the limit of the 445 - get it?  4 sheets of 4x5 = 445.

Stay tuned for Part 2.

Dark Gene

No, not Gene the name, gene as in genetics, as in nature vs. nurture.

There had been a nagging feeling for years that I was fighting depression, or at least a depressive tendency. It seemed I was always fighting to present a positive, optimistic face. Not only to the world, but to myself. That is hard, hard work ... especially when you grow up in a millieu where anything but sunny-side-up optimism is proof that there's something wrong with you as a person ... as a being.

It all came to a head many ago when personal crisis opened the gate to full-blown, clinical depression, calling it from the shadows of dysthymia. Enter Zoloft, which was a big part of saving my life. Talking with my support team, researching the subject, I learned that duh, it's the brain chemistry, stupid. All the "it's all in your head" crowd that wants you to tough it out, control that which is uncontrollable through pure grit, are missing the point.

I should have known.

No, it's (probably) not all brain chemistry, but that is a big component and if you don't address that, you're stuck.

Happiness

The video is long, but, I think, worth the investment. Matthieu Ricard was a bit of an influence in my migration to Zen & Buddhism. I was reminded of him again when I read Change Your Mind, Change Your Brain, which was also an influence on me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_30JzRGDHI

The Kit

After much consideration and experimentation, I decided on the kit I will take to Paris.  I think.  

Initially I thought I would take the Fuji 18-55 kit zoom - after all, it’s autofocus and has image stabilization.  And it’s optically excellent.  But with practice I got better with manual focus lenses on the X-Pro1.  And I have just never got on with zooms.  Even the very nice manual focus Tokina 70-150 for my OMs has not seen the light of day for over a decade.

So the line up starts with the native, auto-focus Fuji 18/2.  It’s one of Fuji’s older primes and by some reports isn’t as good optically as later lenses, but it certainly is no slouch.  For the kind of work I do, it’s perfect - 28mm equivalent field of view, which I love for street work.  I have a feeling I will use it a lot.

Second is the OM Zuiko 35/2.8.  F2 might be nicer, but I don’t have one and it is larger and heavier than the 35/2.8.  I’ve always loved the rendering of this OM lens.  On the X-Pro1 it will provide a field of view of 53mm on a “full frame” camera/sensor.  If you only have two lenses for travel and street photography, 28 and 50 are the way to go.

I deliberated whether to take a longer lens and finally decided to go with it, so am packing the OM Zuiko 50/1.8.  I have a 50/1.4 which would give me one more stop exposure.  But the 1.8 is so small and light.  The 50/1.4 isn’t THAT much bigger, but it’s enough that the camera would balance quite differently than the 35/2.8 much less the Fuji 18/2.

What?  No film?  Well yes. Of course  I’m taking the Olympus XA.  It’s pocketable yet has rangefinder focusing and a lovely (if quirky to some) 35/2.8 lens.  It’s great at either quick street work or more deliberate shooting.

I had considered taking an OM body thus having use of the Zuikos on a film body as well as the Fuji.  I still may, but have pretty much decided to keep the kit as small and light as possible.  Too many choices does not promote good photography.

Mobile Test

Since I leave for Paris three weeks from today (!) I wanted to try a mobile app to be able to blog.  I am not taking my MacBook - travel light is my mantra!

I will have some access to my son's computer, but I certainly don't want to inconvenience him; and writing and posting from an actual computer draws me into a longer session. While not as convenient, posting from a mobile device may focus my attention along with supporting "real time" blogging.

So I downloaded the free version of Blog Touch for my iPhone.  Along with the iStick to transfer photos from my camera's SD card, I may have a workable suite of tools.

The photo below is just a test of inserting images - let me know if you see anything funky.  And subscribe!

© 2016 Earl Dunbar

"My name is Buddy, please adopt me!"

PS - I've finished this from my laptop.  It turns out the free version of Blog Touch supports what I need for mobile blogging except ... publishing what I've written.  Back to square one.  Maybe I'll just submit to using Tumblr for awhile.

Buddy

Buddy is the current foster dog in the house.

Young, full of energy and sweet!

https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/34703027

Fuji-Zuiko Marriage

I've resumed practicing using my manual focus Olympus OM Zuiko lenses on the Fuji.  I think I've made progress in understanding camera operations in manual focus meode and that I've gotten better.

I was out for a little while today at Lake Ontario, at the Irondequoit Bay access.  Both of these photos were made using the (legendary) Zuiko 21/2, which works out to a field of view of a 32mm lens on the Fuji APS-C sensor.  It's a nice compromise between 28mm and 35mm field of view.

I converted both of these photos from RAW.  The in-camera JPGs were very good, but I just wanted to gain further experience in editing.  The only changes I made were to work with the curves, light sharpening and resizing.

Buddy & Kalli

Today a new foster dog came to the house.  Buddy is an owner surrender - a new baby was severely allergic and even required hospitalization.

He's a little Shitzu and very busy.  It didn't take Buddy long to feel at home.  And while watching the Leafs and Sabres, Buddy decided he liked Kalli and wanted to give her a kiss.  Kalli was not impressed.

Sleepy Girl - Adapted Lens on the X-Pro1

OM System Zuiko 28/2.8 (with a bit of fungus on the front [I think] element)

This is cropped and with a minor amount of sharpening. ISO 3200, f2.8.  Love my dog.

March Break with Daughter

March break for Ontario schools (and some other provinces?) is a wonderful time.  It's there in the middle of March, not dependent on the timing of Easter.  You've seen the backside of January and February (if not late winter storms) and you can see, even if in the distance, the end of the school year.

Students adore it, but teachers even more.  This year I was able to take my daughter on a little road trip to see her Grandma, who will be 92 the day after my daughter turns 26.  Mom is healthy for her age, but obviously won't be with us forever, so we want to take advantage of opportunities to visit.

Being a teacher, of course my daughter had teacher stuff to do.  So we headed to a good coffee house to take advantage of caffeine and free WiFi.  Dad was a techie and had an Internet connection, but after he died, Grandma reverted to her buggy whips.

The next day we met up with my "girlfriend", the retired French teacher who was my first date -- when I was 10 days old.  😇

Since my daughter teaches in a French immersion school and I am headed to Paris, it was a really fun time.

Great trip, I easily got into vacation mode and only responded to two work emails.

Martini Time

With my daughter on March break .. this was called a Raindrops Martini ... was tasty.

Fuji 18-55 @ 18mm

Paris - The Non-Plan

I have been "walking" Google maps street view ad nauseum.  My wife says "are you STILL looking at maps?"  Well, yeah, I am.

But I did set an arbitrary (and TOTALLY fuzzy) limit of the end of last week, then prioritize them so that I can set some sort of itinerary.  Yes, I am a silly, silly little man.  (Kelly, I hate you for that appellation.)

But the reality is that, for me (and by extension reality for ALL THE WORLD,) when you go somewhere both special and mythological, forget about the tour guides and "common knowledge" ... those guidelines are co-opted by two groups.

1. The local office(s) of tourism - these are designed to extract the maximum amount of cash for the least amount of cultural enrichment.
2. American/British (UK) tourism "experts", such as Rick Steves, who want to sell you something -- whether it's the latest in luggage or local, grubby souvenir vendor that takes advantage of American/western, glazed eye jet lag

I've tagged a whole bunch of sites, mainly cafés, bistros and hang-outs that promise to NOT be populated with tourists.  OK, some of them WILL BE no matter my effort.  But I will try and sit far away from them.

My son will likely be leaving his first floor sub-let this year.  Someone will need to take up that lease, right?  I mean ... 

Paris - Developing a Travel Plan

Those who know me personally may understand another reason I have been apprehensive about making an epic journey.  One would think that with a pretty solid foundation in French it would be a no-brainer.  (I heard what you're thinking, Roger!)

Time out for a little story ... my first father-in-law, Samuel Barnston Hunter Smeaton (aka Barnie Smeaton) was a linguist.  (That gene obviously passed to my children.)  If my memory is accurate he spoke about seven languages fluently and could read and write in quite a few more.  His speciality was lexicography, and for several years he was an editor for a major English language dictionary.

My mother-in-law, Rita Smeaton (née Burwell) would never travel overseas.  Because she "didn't speak the language," even with a translator as companion.  Sigh.  I loved her (RIP) but I didn't want to repeat to that mistake borne of irrational fear.

With rusty French there is some language fear, but not that much.  The nagging doubts were more about mobility and stamina - I  mentioned this issue before.

But once I took the plunge, my thoughts turned to both itinerary (too much to see - must be selective!) and the logistics of travel.  The latter weighed on me.  As in I want to travel as lightly as possible.

The luxury I have is lodging, so here is my strategy.

I will travel to Paris with the clothes on my back, a carryon containing my cameras, minimal toiletries and maybe one change of clothing.  The latter two are for the unlikely eventuality of being stuck some where in transit.  That's it.  What?

I will ship additional clothing ahead.  Yes, I could check one bag at no charge, but then I have to schlep it.  With mobility assistance at each airport, this would not be an issue.  But then there's transport from De Gaulle  (CDG) to my son's apartment.  I want to carry/handle as little as possible.

I will ship the rest of my clothing ahead of time.  Most of what I ship will be articles I can dispose of before I leave, older articles that I no longer need or care about.  Toiletries?  There's a pharmacy steps away from the apartment; I can buy travel sizes for use during my stay.

There is a Lomography shop a 4-5 minute walk from the apartment.  For my film needs I will buy film there - probably Ilford XP2, which can easily be developed  during my trip (it's a C41/colour negative process film that produces black and white negatives) so I don't have to worry film going through multiple X-Ray inspections.  And yes I will have a digital camera with me (along with my iPhone 6s,) but nothing beats a pure, analog manual camera.  What would Cartier-Bresson do?

This will leave me with a nearly empty bag for the return voyage.  Can you say du vin et chocolat?

Bien sur/I thought you could.

Going to Paris - Deux

Taking so long to go to Paris was not optimal.  I could say that money was the reason, but that would be less than honest.  Over the years I have spent more than enough money on other things, such as cars, housing, etc.  Certainly those are essentials, but also certainly I could have made different choices and saved the difference.

So maybe the real answer is priorities and being clear with myself.  When after a few decades of no contact I reconnected with my oldest friend the French teacher, I began thinking about going.  Having her relate her experiences during and after each journey got the juices flowing.  And after all, she is my personal travel resource for Paris in particular, and France in general.

Somehow I got it in my head to use frequent flyer miles to make the trip "free".   I had a few thousand miles on United, but not enough for a return trip.  So I started accumulating more by transferring points from other loyalty programs when possible, and eventually got a United-branded credit card with a bonus of several thousand points for signing up, plus points awarded for all purchases.  This works really well when I use the card for travel and other expenses reimbursed by my company.  Win!

But of course there is a dark side.  What capitalist pig business wouldn't get you coming AND going?  As I approached the number of miles required for a free return ticket (30,000 as I recall,) the amount changed - the number of points required, that is.  I watched it go up from 30K to 40K and eventually 60K.  I detect bastages in the marketing department!

When my son moved to Paris for work I was thrilled for him - and myself, of course.  Free lodging!  So that became a key element of the plan.  Sure I could pay for lodging, but that would have meant a shorter stay.  I may never be able to afford to go again, so staying for longer than a few days, if at all possible, is important to me.

That also means I can relax.  No need to cram everything into a few days.  While I will succumb to visiting at least a few of the tourist sites that everyone considers de rigeur (for a reason to be admitted discussed below,) whenever I travel I like to seek out the hidden, unknown and even ordinary.  Especially cities are defined by the people who have built and are building them.  Obviously geography and weather are foundational to how a village, town, city, et., is shaped.  But the everyday breathing in and out of a city is defined by its citizens.

And is there a better major city to people watch?  I am certain there will be disagreement on this, some of it centring around certain beaches in Brazil, Cannes, etc.  I'm not allowed on those beaches -that has nothing to do with my current parole stipulations.

The real reason for visiting at least some of the usual touristy sites is that if you don't, you catch hell from everyone.  "What?!?  You didn't go to the Eiffel Tower?  What are you, a commie pinko?" (Someone knows who he is ...)

"You didn't even try to get to La Sainte Chapelle!!! I'm no longer your oldest friend!!!"

Ok, I'm using a bit of hyperbole to just say my aim is balance.   

Back to why the delay ... more than financing the trip, the other factor that kept me from booking for such a long time was the reality of mobility issues.  Paris is a walking city, which is a significant part of its appeal.  That's hard for me at the best of times.  But after a few years of weight gain, combined with reduced flexibility due to a sedentary job, I knew I could end up going and being disappointed.

I decided to turn that into a challenge - make Paris an absolute goal so that it became my motivation to get in shape.  I started that process near the end of December.  I went back to my physiotherapy provider, going twice a week for a few weeks to kick start me and provide instructions for continuing at home.  Once I booked the ticket this weekend, I was fully committed.

Once Christmas was past, I began reducing my caloric intake.  As I got more flexible I was able to walk more easily, which helped with losing weight, which helped increase flexibility, which helped ... the opposite of the vicious circle.

My goal is another 10 pounds loss minimum, but I'm not fixated on that.  In fact my real long term goal is another 15-20 pounds.  I don't know if that's realistic, but we will see.  I'm not going to defeat myself by trying to grab the unobtainium.  Anyone who does that usually ends up regressing, sometimes ending up in a far worse situation.

Once the weather warms up a bit more here at home and daylight lingers longer, I will go on walking photo excursions of increasing duration.  I may even buy a cheap-ish bicycle and get back my cycling chops.

I hear people ride bikes in Paris and they can easily be rented.  The bikes, that is, not the people.  Well, some of them can be rented, but that's not permitted.

Going to Paris - Partie la Premiere

I began taking in French in Grade 5.  Our teacher was the formidable Mme Foreman.  I can't recall if she was from Paris or elsewhere in France, but she married and emigrated to North America.  If there was a better French teacher for elementary level, I can't imagine it.  Even students who did not like nor did well learning French, liked her.  Most of us loved her.

For several years we did not see a printed word of French.  This is the way we learn language in infancy -- duh.  We were privileged to be in a laboratory school run by the local university.  It was very progressive and allowed for experimentation of curriculum and methods.

I can't say that everything that the school attempted worked, but the method of foreign language instruction was an unqualified success.  One of our classmates struggled with pronunciation - you could see his brain churning as he struggled to translate and speak.  Yet he ended up living in Belgium, becoming fluent and accomplishing a stellar career in marketing management for major corporations involved in both consumer and commercial marine operations -- en deux langues. Or more.

Another classmate, whom I knew from birth and thus is my "oldest" (she will hate that designation!) friend on this earth became a French teacher.  With undergraduate and graduate level studies at two universities in France, including La Sorbonne, she retired after 33 wonderful years of teaching high school French.  She is a true successor to Mme Foreman, ushering a huge number of students not only into the joy of learning a new language, but of being open to a cultural world holding wonder and fascination.  (She travels back to Paris at least annually, so I may have a travel guide ...)

At the end of high school I was nearly fluent.  I remember walking a path along the St. Lawrence, chatting with an innkeeper in Cap Madeleine, Quebec, and being nearly giddy that we could converse without any trouble on my part either to understand or speak.  Our conversation flowed easily; it was heavenly.  I managed to keep my giddiness concealed.

Fast forward a few decades and I am no longer fluent.  Or even close.  I can shift into gear, but the right vocabulary, the correct grammar is locked a few levels lower, encased in cobwebs.  It comes slowly.  Sometimes Google or an app are required.

But my children.  Oh my children ...

My daughter achieved her Masters at University of Toronto and has embarked on a career teaching in a French immersion school in Toronto (Scarborough) ... and my son gained Bachelors, Masters and PhD diplomas in linguistics, with heavy computer science qualifications.

My son now works in cognitive linguistics and computation in ... Paris.  He lucked into a wonderful apartment in le troisieme (le Marais) so it seems eminently logical that should Dad choose to visit, free lodging would be available.  And it is.

Next up ... why the wait?

More X-Pro/Zuiko Love for Kalli

I am in the process of "thinning the herd" - that is, selling excess camera gear.  So I've been bringing cameras, bodies, lenses, accessories and paraphernalia from storage to sell online.  It turns out I have two Zuiko 50/1.4 lenses, and I stuck the one I'm going to sell on the X-Pro to shoot my favourite subject.

I'm getting better at manual focus (I actually read the manual to learn about focus magnification!) so this time the focus was much better.  And I think  my post process sharpening was better, though I'm sure someone could comment about "sharpening artifacts".  Whatever, it's the dog that counts.  If I recall, this was shot wide open at f1.4.

Click the photo to embiggin.

Zuiko OM on the Fuji X-Pro 1

I bought an adapter to use my Olympus OM Zuiko lenses on the X-Pro.  With the APS-C crop factor and manual focus, the X-Pro is no longer a fully digital age camera.  But whatever.  I'm not addicted to autofocus, and if I can figure out how to do it with the X-Pro, I can accomplish manual exposure.

The adapter adds depth to the OM lenses, negating their small size.  Sigh.  With the superb Zuiko 21/2 (equivalent to 32mm on a 35mm "full frame" camera,) the combination is almost as large as the 18-55 zoom that came with my X-Pro.

My initial attempts with the 21/2 were ho-hum, but that has nothing to do with the lens.  I was just learning.  But with the 28/2.8 (equivalent to 42mm "normal",) combined with a little more skill, I seemed to find a sweet spot.

I missed focus (on the eyes) a bit, but this was low light and the EVF is not the best under those conditions.

I'll be using the combination more.