Gear Talk Archives - Luigi Barbano Photography

DIY UV Box Tested!

It passed quite a while since I built my UV Box but sometime life gets in the middle of our fun projects! Now finally I tested the UV Box and I can say it works great. . . I made a test with two different negatives: a very soft flower subject lighted with painted light and a very sharp subject lighted with a very contrasted light. I wanted to see how this printing process deals with different subjects. I proceeded with some step test to find the corrected exposure for my negatives. I did 2 seconds steps and as you can see in the video I was a little optimist with my first strip of 2,4,6,8 seconds exposure. At the end the correct exposure resulted of 11 minutes. . You can see the tests I made in the video below. I was expecting shorter exposure times ’cause I seen some other boxes made with the same LED giving short exposure times with other alternative processes. Still I like the slow times when I work with film and so I kinda like to have time to think while I wait for the paper to be exposed. The Arduino timer is working […]

Feb 10

by Barbano Luigi in BlogUpdates, Film photography, FineArt, Gear Talk, Uncategorized 0 comments tags: Carbon, Cianotype, film, filmisalive, fineart, Luigi Barbano, old techniques, palladium, photography, Platinum, printing, UV, UV BOX, Van Dyke

Luigi’s Drunk UV Box!

I was always told: if you have to do something, do it with your own style! So here my Italian style UV box to expose the papers coated with antique photographic processes. At the origin of photography many technologies of printing required the exposure in UV light. At those time sun was the perfect source and the exposure was usually made outdoor. The quantity of UV light from the sun can vary a lot in different seasons or with different weather, plus, baby it’s cold outside now in winter! For this reason I decided to build a UV Box. I was inspired by some similar projects videos on YouTube but I added a personal touch. First of all I used an old wood box for wine bottles instead of a modern plastic box. The wood box was in my cellar, free, and wood looks better and more coherent than plastic with old techniques. Second I decided to add a timer for a precise exposure instead of counting the seconds with an external timer and manually switch the lights on and off. . . Check out the video to know more about the UV Box and see how it works. . […]

5 Steps to PROPERLY start with film photography

Lately I made many videos talking about film photography and equipment. Thanks to that I had been asked, mostly by millenials, how to start with film photography. Here my answer. It is a little provocation but is exactly what I think. . . Let me know what you think.

Gear Talk: Holga 120S

Sometime a cheap plastic camera can be a lot of fun. This camera has character created by all the defects of a cheap camera put together! . . Here some images taken with Ilford HP5 and developer in Ilfotec HC. Click on them to enlarge. . . See you next time… perhaps with a little more serious camera!

Sep 17

by Barbano Luigi in Gear Talk, BlogUpdates, Film photography, News, Uncategorized 0 comments tags: 35, Camera review, Film camera, film photography, Filmcamera, filmisalive, GT, Minox, Minox 35, Minox 35GT, sharp lens

Gear Talk: Minox 35GT

After my last video about the huge Pentax 67 I had some jokes, on social media, about the size of the camera and the probable need for compensation for other attributes. Being an Italian and having to defend an entire tradition and culture, I evaluated various options. At the end I decided to talk about another camera I use so I can recreate an equilibrium! Ok, just kidding but I decided to talk about the Minox 35GT because is a fantastic camera and has an opposite philosophy to the medium and large format cameras I mostly use. . . Here a couple of example of images enlarged from the original 21.6″x30.8″ at 360 DPI. Click on the details to see them at original size. . . . As you can see the sharpness is pretty impressive. In the last example is easy to read the incision on the statue also if the light condition is not the best, being the incision in the dark shadow. See you for the next review!

Aug 24

by Barbano Luigi in Gear Talk, BlogUpdates, Film photography, News, Uncategorized 0 comments tags: Camera review, Film camera, film photography, Filmcamera, filmisalive, MZ-S, Pentax, Pentax MZ-S

Gear Talk: Pentax MZ-S

In my opinion one of the greatest camera of the autofocus era. I simply loved this camera and used it a lot professionally. . . More cameras to come, stay tuned!

Aug 24

by Barbano Luigi in Gear Talk, BlogUpdates, Film photography, Uncategorized 0 comments tags: Camera review, Film camera, film photography, Filmcamera, filmisalive, Pentax, Pentax PZ-1p, Pentax Z-1p, PZ-1p, Z-1p

Gear Talk: Pentax PZ-1p & Z-1p

Another very good camera by Pentax. . . Stay tuned for more camera reviews!

Aug 23

by Barbano Luigi in Gear Talk, BlogUpdates, Film photography, News, Uncategorized 0 comments tags: Camera review, Film camera, film photography, Filmcamera, filmisalive, K1000, Pentax, Pentax K1000

Gear Talk: Pentax K1000

Ok… I know… a lot of people will hate me for this… Pentax K1000, a great cheap camera at that times… a very overpriced camera on the used market! . . I promise, next time some camera I love more…

Aug 23

by Barbano Luigi in Gear Talk, BlogUpdates, Film photography, News, Uncategorized 0 comments tags: camera revie, Film camera, film photography, Filmcamera, filmisalive, Pentax, Pentax Spotmatic

Gear Talk: Pentax Spotmatic

One of the most classic and iconic Pentax cameras. This camera introduced the TTL integrated meter and was a revolutionary camera that changed SLRs. Beautiful lenses available with m42 screw mount. Watch the video to learn more. . . The camera in the video was part of my first Phoenix Photo Project that was recognized at the London International Creative Competition. . . Until the next camera!

Jun 04

by Barbano Luigi in Gear Talk, BlogUpdates, Film photography, News, Uncategorized 0 comments tags: film, Filmcamera, filmisalive, Luigi Barbano, MX

Gear Talk: Pentax MX

There are cameras that remained the preferred, no matter if other cameras were better with more options. For me the Pentax MX is that camera.I used many cameras and some of them gave the possibility to do more things than the MX, but still, when I take the MX in my hands and I hear the click, something gives me the desire to take pictures. . . See you soon with the Pentax LX!