Mike Guinto 2/16/26 Mike Guinto 2/16/26

Iceland with a 4x5

Walking around iceland always does feel like you are in the setting that inspired so many sci fi and fantasy stories - this photo, is what communicates that for me.

I never got around to making this post, but I find myself with excess time today and in need of a distraction. So here we go. A few years ago I brought a yashica tlr to iceland, though on my first exposure the shutter stuck and I was without the tools to fix it. So I made do by taking all my photos with a DSLR instead. They came out great, I love them dearly. But I always wanted to shoot iceland on film. So a year later My wife and I planned another trip because we just wanted to get back there! This time, I took a 4x5. My 4x5 is my most reliable film camera I own, mostly because its operation is so simple, less moving parts means less things that can get messed up! The negatives we got from this trip are truly wonderful.

This image is one of my favorite frames from the trip (back in 2023). In any other image, the two silhouetted hikers in the top left would be the focus point, but here they are nothing more than a punctuation mark against the landscape. On the upper third horizon line, centered in the frame is the sun, masked behind an otherwise impervious wall of cloud. Here it works as a guiding star, drawing your eyes down the river into frame and out toward the sea. The green moss rises up the mountain side like fog rising in the air, and the river twists and tumbles on its path out to the ocean. The low, half sun reminds me of views from the moon, or another planet. It hangs in the air, low and misshaped, as if it is not the sun at all, but another celestial body orbiting the strange landscape. The way the cliffs reach outwards at odd angles, collecting never seems to make sense. There is always something that breaks the pattern, there are few clean lines here, nothing has had time to truly begin to erode. Growing up in the appalachian foothills, this is completely foreign to my eyes. Walking around iceland always does feel like you are in the setting that inspired so many sci fi and fantasy stories - this photo, is what communicates that for me.

Mike Guinto 4/28/25 Mike Guinto 4/28/25

Ghost tours Annapolis

Some lingering thoughts and breakdown on a photo I took in Annapolis while overhearing a “ghost-tour” of the area.

The sunset was stumbling right down main street at just enough of an angle to create some interesting shadows. The harbor area of Annapolis always screams wealth and privilege to me. Yachts anchored in the harbor calmly bouncing along the waves while people playing music and chatting with friends or family. Pedestrians shop or eat out at some of the fancy restaurants. The Naval Officer Cadets can be spotted here and there in their dress whites, like sharply dressed spirits. You can hear cars rolling over cobblestone streets, like vibrations accented with a satisfying clink of brick on brick. I always feel a sense of not belonging when I walk the streets. This feeling persists despite having plenty of friendly conversations with people who stop and ask questions about my 4×5 field view camera. I am happy to chat with them, they usually want to ask about the camera because they themselves use to be a photographer. Street photographers mostly try to be ghosts, unseen by the people they photograph. Street photography with a large format camera is an act of being both very visible and completely invisible. Most people don’t notice, or chose not to see me. They walk by afraid they will end up in my frame or they have no idea what I am doing. They stare as they walk by, averting their gaze when I make eye contact. I am like a ghost, invisible, to all but those who choose to see me. Photographers are the only ones it seems, who notice the ghost standing on the corner with a victorian era camera. Or at least the only ones who would be willing to approach them. Maybe next time I really try and sell the bit, dressed in full 1870’s fashion.
If you do look closely, really take in the scenes of Annapolis, you see the beauty and wealth but you also begin to notice some things that don’t quite fit the aesthetic. The paint chipping on a parked car, stickers covering a light pole, a spray painted trashcan or a walking “Ghost tour” led by a teenager tiredly explaining the history of the buildings and their deceased inhabitants. Those on the tour look towards the old windows in hopes of seeing a ghost staring back, but they aren’t really looking, if they were, they would notice the ghost with the camera, listening to the tired teenager as he fiddles with his frame.
That begs the question then, in the photo above, the man in the street, what does he see? what is he looking at that made him stop in the middle of Francis St. Does he see a ghost in a window? Maybe he is trying to take a photo on his phone? I like the thought that maybe he sees the light splashing against the side of the buildings and the top of the Maryland Statehouse. Another photographer would notice that - that I could relate to. Maybe he just had an epiphany, or maybe he is simply lost.
When I took this photo, I remember the guy in the white shirt who almost spoiled the frame, I remember the paint chips on the car and the way the flag was shaped by the wind. I remember the trashcan and the smoke-shop sign, the way the tree branches were splintering across the white building like a shattered pane of glass. The way the streets were shaped like a funnel, channeling the light down towards the harbor. I remember that all these details are part of why I clicked the shutter, but I don’t remember seeing that man standing in the middle of the street.

Mike Guinto 8/28/23 Mike Guinto 8/28/23

Portraits of friends

One of the curses of life post-military experience is that the friendships which remain are often separated by physical distance. Fortunately we still find excuses to come visit even if only for a short period of time. Dan and Hannah both share a love of art and creativity almost as strongly as they love each other and were there for some of the best sitters I could ask for. This impromptu portrait session was created using my Intrepid 4x5 camera and a couple new film holders loaded with ilford hp5 ISO 400. One of the film holders I discovered after development had a light leak, but I think it added a very pleasant flair to the final image.

Also, I cannot get over Hannah's expression in her portrait. After I set up the camera, I asked her to look at her husband, clicking the shutter as soon as the expression formed.

Mike Guinto 7/12/22 Mike Guinto 7/12/22

First batch of film processed at home

Hello everyone!

I am very excited to share my first batch of negatives processed in my garage. This process was incredible simple to do at home. The biggest challenges to overcome were the question of what to do with the chemicals after the processing, and finding a place to hang/dry the negatives when they come out of the wash.

My solution for the chemicals: I looked up the dates/times my county has home hazardous waste drop off sites, purchased a couple 2.5 gallon jugs to safely store the chems and will drop them off so they are properly disposed of.

The drying the negatives I have not found a good solution for yet… the biggest issue is the negatives started sliding out of the clips I was using. This was weird because the clips themselves are very strong! I did not expect them to slip out. So I've opted to keep them in the reel… as the 4x5 prints don't touch while in the reel. I then place the real in a cardboard box so that the negatives don't get dusty or get my pets hair stuck to them. I think in the future I may try to clear out a cabinet that they can sit in.

Without further Ado here are the first negatives. All were shot on my intrepid 4x5 camera with Nikon 150mm lens.

The outdoor portraits were taken after work with a couple co workers who had never shot on a large format camera before. Had a lot of fun setting up the shots. And taking each other's portraits.

My breakfast table in north light.

I think kitchen tables are a photographic genre onto themselves. There is something so social about the kitchen table… with or without people in the frame, photographers are drawn to this type of image. I can't tell you how many I've seen this type of photo. There is more about this subject matter I would like to explore when I can find better words for the draw of this subject.

Meredith

My wife, whom I adore, the person who doesn't always want their photo taken but humors me nonetheless. The light was absolutely stunning here. The pop of the hearing, the silhouette of the plant, the contrast in this film is all fantastic.

Mike Guinto 5/17/22 Mike Guinto 5/17/22

Stumped

First scanned image. Unfortunately my scanner is only a Epson V600 so if I want to scan the full 4x5, I will have to do it in two scans and stitch together… Time to make a jig!