Four Seasons – 2025

A new version of the Four Seasons article. 2025 went by just as fast, maybe even quicker, than last year. This year, I want to showcase four black-and-white images, three of which are analog.

Winter 2025

The image above is my choice for winter. I took the photo during a visit to Washington, D.C. The weather was nice, but cold. The camera used is my Kiev IIa. My copy is from 1956. Sometimes a bit rough around the edges, but mostly a smooth operator. The Jupiter-8 lens is the original (not the 8M), also from 1956. It is a nice lens: sharp enough, with enough contrast. It is the russian version of the Zeiss Sonnar 50mm f/2, with a noticeably lower price tag. My copy of the lens seems to be a good one. I enjoy the Sonnar rendering.

Spring 2025

I often stop at the Washington, D.C., memorials, mainly around the reflecting pool, after a visit to my dentist. This has to do with easy parking. It is always nice to have a stroll along the pool and look at the people and memorials. Here you can see the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian headquarters. It was also the first time I used the Helios-103 lens. It is a nice enough lens, but after all the accolades I saw online, I expected more. My copy has this glow wide open, and around f5.6, it will sharpen up nicely. Maybe my copy is not the best, but I don’t feel like getting another one.

Summer 2025

The hot days of summer. This photo was taken with my Kiev IIa, the Jupiter-3, and the Contameter 1341. The Contameter is a clever contraption that will allow me to get close to the subject I want to photograph. Not quite casual, but not too involved either. I love the grain in this photo; it looks great framed on our wall.

Fall 2025

Fall, last season for this year. This time around, a digital image was taken with my beloved Voigtländer Macro APO-ULTRON 35mm f/2 lens. This is the only image that started its life in color. I do like it much better in B&W. Maybe I should have added some grain to make it look less modern 😉