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Post by nikkortorokkor on Jul 4, 2008 5:48:37 GMT -5
OK, not my town, but in an island of only a million or so people, everywhere is kind of local! Murchison is a sleepy timber town that serves as whistle stop for drivers heading to the north west of New Zealand's South Island. It has heaps of wild west character (the South Island's West Coast is another wild west - linked to the American West by gold - the 49ers headed here from California via the Victorian Goldfields in the early 1860s. Those miners brought names from home with them - Americans may smile when they find out that you get to Murchison by driving through the Shenandoah ). Camera: Minolta XG9 Lens: Phenix 70-210 zoom. Film: Fuji 200 colour print. I was on a whistle stop too, and don't think I really captured the town's spirit. But by converting to B&W, maybe it gives a hint. Rush Hour on Fairfax Street Culture Clash The Midwest Cafe & Store - selling pies, postcards and bad coffee as long as I can remember - the archetypal intercity bus lunch stop!
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Post by Just Plain Curt on Jul 4, 2008 6:01:00 GMT -5
Hi Michael, Nice little town, reminds me of small town America. I avoid the Interstate highways when I travel. Love going thru these small towns, eating at these roadside cafes and meeting some of the great local people. Interstates are all truck stops, hotel chains and lunatic drivers going too fast and getting nowhere particular in a hurry. I like the slower pace myself.
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Post by Randy on Jul 4, 2008 9:33:51 GMT -5
Pretty cool place.
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Post by nikkortorokkor on Jul 4, 2008 16:45:21 GMT -5
Thanks guys. There is a helluva storm running up the Island today - Murchison will be under snow by now. I dug this film out of a jacket pocket where it had lain, forgotten for a year. Upon getting it processed, I remembered why I'd never bothered with it at the time. I'd accidentally left the XG9 on +2 exposure comp for half the roll (Doh!). Modern print film copes very well with such abuse! Looking at the shots again, and digging back in my memory, I'd say that the shot of the Midwest Cafe was made with a Phenix 28-70/f3.4-4.8 MC Zoom the "standard lens" that comes with many Phenix cameras. You can't really tell in these sizes, but there are some really crisp shots in the Murchison photos. This makes me very happy, as I hadn't been having much luck with the Phenix zooms thus far. The 28-70 is well made, but has some "built to a budget" features - a plastic and screen printed aperture ring and front plate. The 70-210/f4.0-5.6 MC Auto Zoom is a really well made, all metal and glass 1 touch zoom. No screen printing, just nice, deep engraving. It is a dead ringer for any number of Japanese 70-110 zooms, & I'd bet some parts are interchangeable. Taken with the Seagull 24mm & fast 50, they make a pretty useful kit for the XG 9 or Phenix's own bodies. Randy, I see you have what looks like an updated 70-210 on your DC888k. Is it still all metal, or has Phenix lightened it with plastic? Heh. Looking at the pic, I see Phenix have engraved MC on the lens' front plates & MD on the Aperure rings. Cover all bases!
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