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What drives creativity? A theory

I've often asked myself what drives me to create, what inspires me. Over the years, I've developed a theory that there are three main drivers that inspire me to create.  It is particularly applicable to my experience as a photographer, which is why I am publishing this article on my photography blog, but it can also be true for many other forms of creation. After thinking about this theory for several years, I realized that it applied to a lot of different artists, and that almost every art piece can be seen through this prism. We can represent these sources of inspiration in a triangle. VISION DRIVEN: A Vision Driven idea came to you from sheer inspiration. I will not go in to dream interpretation, as I am not a specialist, but it represents an idea that came from within, either in a dream or a burst of inspiration, or after going through a multitude of sources of inspiration and processing the most potent ideas into something personal. TOOL DRIVEN: A Tool Driven idea came to
Recent posts

Using 120 medium format film in an old 616 camera

  I designed this little adapter for my Kodak Kodamatic 6 x 10 camera. The camera looks really cool and folds up so it's easy to carry.     As such, I don't know if all the designs are identical throughout 616 cameras. But if you want to shoot panoramic-ish medium format photos on a budget, try it out! And let me know how it went. BUY THE 120 FILM ADAPTER FOR 616 CAMERA (Tested with Kodak Kodamatic No. 2)

Using regular 35mm film in a 126 camera

I designed this little adapter for my 126 Fex Indo camera (the infamous   Fex Indo Compact 126 XR ! Because it's a super cute camera, that's why.).   As such, I don't know if all the designs are identical throughout 126 cameras. You'll have to hack off the protruding part of your 35mm film canister with a saw, and then fit this adapter onto it. Oh, and you also have to have an empty 35mm canister and then spool the unexposed film onto this empty spool before loading (in the dark obviously). Also, you might have to wind back into the canister it in the dark. I therefore recommend it for hardcore photograph tweakers rather than for first timer photo gear hackers.   Above tests were done with GP unperforated 135 film, I haven't tried with perf film but wonder if it might tear the film up. But if you want to shoot square format 35mm film with fun results, or just look cute hanging out with a Fex Indo toy, try it out! And let me know how it went. BUY THE 35MM ADAPTER FO

FabulousRice Ø49mm to 68mm x 0.70 Adapter Ring

  I designed some adapters to fit my Schneider Cinelux Anamorphic lens on a Ø49mm thread.   The adapter makes screwing and aligning much faster than other systems like clamps. It places your taking lens very close to your anamophic lens (5mm without a circular rotating filter, 15mm with a rotating filter), which will considerably reduce vignetting. It is also sturdy, made out of aluminium. On top of it, it brings way more precision to your rig than a lot of "homemade" systems, since you don't need to align both lenses on the viewing axis (you do need to rotate it however, to align the distortion). Aligning the verticals can be done either by adding a circular rotating filter (not included) or simply by loosening the screw and spinning the anamorphic lens before shooting. You can buy the first batch here, and I'll make new ones when they're all gone.  

Replacing the neon ink in lenses engraved numbers

A lot of the cameras I use from the 70s to 90s have fluorescent paint in the number or markings on the lenses. I decided to use neon paints to make numbers easier to read on some old lenses, or simply upgrading their looks. 1- I used Ikea Mala paints because they're cheap and come in 5 colors that will react to black light (pink, orange, purple, green and yellow) for less than $10 and have a needle point bottle. But you can also use any acrylic paints. 2-Daub paint on the numbers or letters you wish to paint after putting some tape to cover other areas, avoid making bubbles 3-Scrape excess paint with a piece of cardboard (like a business card, which is flexible). Wipe the other areas either immediately with fingers or qtip or wait for it to be dried to chip it off   4-The painted glyphs will now be more legible under low light and pop out under black light. Here, the orange paint I used very closely matches the one that was the manufacturer used on the zone focusing markings: Yo

Building the "Full Metal" ƒ=0.75 lens

 Or how I crafted a super fast camera lens from bits and parts... fun! As a photographer, I've had many photographer friends in my life, amongst which fast lenses were often a highly sought after item. The price of such lenses - for example the Leica Noctilux - is usually a ridiculous amount of money to spend on a camera lens, ranging sometimes up to 15,000$. Some of my photographer friends would save up for long periods of time before they could finally buy one, others would simply give up on the idea, bitter or saddened by the unattainable perfection of their dream lens. Among filmmakers and cinematographers, the sequence in Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon", which was lit only by the light of candles and shot using a very fast lens that Kubrick had the Nasa make for him, is also the stuff of dreams. After doing some research, I found that, there were lots of lenses that were built by various manufacturers and for various purposes throughout the history of optical le

Building a micro anamorphic setup for the Pentax Q

My project was to build two light anamorphic setups - one for my Pentax Auto 110, which I really love, and one for the Pentax Q, which I never use but does yield decent results in the "digital aesthetics" field.  Since the project didn't work out for the Pentax Auto 110 for now, I will share the more successful results of the Pentax Q. This was the base idea: Find a filter that can be screwed onto the best zoom lens (to avoid cropping) Remove the glass from this filter to keep the ring with the thread Replace the glass with a donut-shaped piece of wood or cardboard Fix a small cellphone anamorphic lens onto that  Here's how it went: Find a filter that can be screwed onto the best zoom lens (to avoid cropping) This one was easy. I decided to use the 02 "Standard Zoom" lens for the Pentax Q which has a thread of 40.5mm. And used a Fotasy Pro 1-D as filter. Remove the glass from this filter to keep the ring with the thread That was equal parts fun and dangero