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I been a professional photographer since I worked for the US Government documenting Test and Evaluation of Research and Development projects for the US Army and US Navy in the later half of the 1980s. I came home to Maine to finish my Marketing Degree at USM and began to work full time in Market Research and Marketing for many years while documenting weddings and occasional photojournalist and commercial jobs on the weekends. In 2001 I again returned to photography as a full time trade and have never been a happier man. I love working with creative individuals, couples, small businesses and select Non-Profits and can’t imagine working in any other trade. In 1987 I was lucky enough to wed my high school sweetheart and we now live in a cozy little solar powered, recycled bungalow a mile deep in our woods in the Western Hills of Maine with our two brilliant home-schooled teenage daughters and our three cats.

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PAW 2005 - Wk 44 - Hasselblad Portraits





Quick Portraits of Nicole and Beth to test out my new Hasselblad 503CX with 80/2.8 Planar using Fuji's new Pro160S film. (Soon to hit the shelves to replace NPS.)

I wan't much using the Leica M4P any longer in favour of my little digital Canon SD300 so I figured if I was going to get excited about film at all any more, I should get that Hasselblad that I've always wanted. I used a 500CM when stationed in Alaska as an Army Photographer and loved the camera. Many pros these days are dumping their Hasselblad gear on the used market in order to buy new expensive high MP rated Digital SLRs.

The V system cameras (such as this new 503CX) will take digital backs as well as a variety of film backs. The digital backs are prohibitively expensive for most folks to just play with and are not all that practical for the type of 'for profit' photography that I do, but they are quite capable in the studio and in a few years the used market for these first and second generation digital backs will be well within 'play equipment' range.

It made sense to me to pick up a nice condition Hasselblad now and to enjoy 120 film with it while I wait for the market to come down on the digital backs so I traded the Leica M4P that I had been ignoring for the Hasselblad. This is the first time I've ever not regretted parting with a Leica (and I still have the ancient 1949 'clockwerk' IIIc and several wonderfully clean Leitz screw mount lenses anyhow.)
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2 comments:

Peter Berra said...

I agree with you about waiting for the price of digi backs to come down in price. I had the chance of mounting a phase one 20+ on my blad and found it not to be as exciting as expected as it isn't full frame! Right now I would say stick with film and wait it out till the full frame digi backs come down in price. More importantly I like your portraits and how the fuji film came out looking after it was scanned.

Peter
blog peterberra.com

23:11
anothermaine said...

Thanks for the comment Peter. Of course since this post was made, I've sold the 'blad and the IIIc. I have a Rolleiflex MX-EVS and a '54 IIIf now as well as a Zeiss Ikon 6X9 from the 30s and a host of old 35mm cameras...Retinette, Retina IIIC, Voitlander Vito IIb, etc... Fun stuff, but honestly, I enjoy the greater control I have shooting with my Canon S90 or Nikon DSLRs more than any of the classic film cameras.

10:21

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