Marcus Visic - Travel, Photography & other curiosities » Articles

Silver Mine Interview

admin — Sun, 23 May 2010 23:44:54 +0000

I was recently interviewed by the Melbourne Silver Mine – a group of enthusiastic analogue (film) photographers based in Melbourne. Read the interview here.

Home Developing

admin — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 05:17:26 +0000

For a while now I have been meaning to process my own film again. Over the period of a few months I started collecting the various bits and pieces of equipment necessary; developing tank, changing bag, thermometer, black and white film, chemistry etc.

Recently I purchased a beautiful looking 1953 Voigtlander Vito B camera from an Op Shop. I had it serviced in Lima, Peru whilst on holidays there recently. It has been an enjoyable challenge shooting without the aid of any light meters, focusing screen or rangefinder. I have been guessing the aperture, exposure and focal distance resulting in some blurry and/or under exposed shots. Whilst picking up my digital SLR is much more convenient, I occasionally going back to the fundamentals and appreciating the art and science that is photography.

At about 1am the other morning I finally realised that I had a full roll of film and everything necessary to develop it in my bathroom, so I quickly got to work. About half way through I realised it was not as easy as my university days when I had access to a large darkroom, pre-diluted chemistry and temperature controlled taps. About three-quarters of the way through I was convinced that I had probably stuffed it up and would not yield any results from the film. The first few frames unraveled from the reel were absent of images, but then to my surprise images started appearing us I unraveled it further. When I tell people I still shoot film sometimes they look puzzled. They do not understand how much more satisfying it is to unravel a roll from a tank and see developed images as opposed to downloading photos off of a memory card. The physical actions involved in loading the tank, mixing the chemicals, the smell of the chemicals, agitation and hanging the negatives in the shower are a world away from clicking a mouse.

This weekend, I look forward to shooting a few more rolls of Black and White film and processing them in my bathroom. Stay tuned for some more pics.

Perie Banou II sets sail

admin — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 02:28:54 +0000

Right now the flotilla of yachts is leaving the beautiful Sydney Harbour for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. I will be closely following the progress of one particular yacht, the Seahold Perie Banou II. I had the pleasure of photographing some of the crew 2 years ago as they refurbished the yacht to its former glory ready to compete in the Sydney to Hobart. I have also had the pleasure of sailing on Perie Banou around Fremantle and Rottnest Island in Western Australia.

The remnants of Cyclone Laurence will provide some interesting wind conditions for the race. I wish Jon & Bugalugs a safe and rewarding trip.

New site design

admin — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:32:54 +0000

After a few weeks work, I have finally finished putting together my new site.

My aim was to create a more user friendly site that I can easily update. I will now tweak it in preparation for my upcoming trip to South America. I hope to post blog entries, photos and gps tracks whilst on the move.

I welcome any feedback you might have about the new design or any suggestions for wordpress plugins that work well for travel blogs.