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MSA O/N January, 2026 - "Disorienting"

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TheFlyingCamera

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I wanted to pose a challenge for this month's MSA to give people something to get creative about. The title can be interpreted broadly, but I want to see images that make me scratch my head and wonder what it is I'm looking at. They can be abstract, they can be extreme macro work, they could be reflections in water/glass/etc that distort, they could be images of clouds without a horizon to orient the viewer as to what is up/down/left/right/forwards/backwards. Lots of room for creative interpretation.
 
Interesting topic! Here are the...


MSA Guidelines
For first-timers, the following summary of standard procedures should help (we are indebted to Ken Nadvornick for putting most of this together, and not objecting when this member organized activity moderator proposed to re-use [aka borrow] it):
(1) Take note of the MSA assignment, which you will find inserted into the title of the thread.
(2a) For the NEW Category, take your photo(s) according to the assignment guidelines. You are expected to shoot something new rather than grabbing from your archives. The exposure must happen during the period of the current MSA theme - usually one month - and must of course be submitted during that period.
2(b) For the OLD Category, you can use thematically appropriate Photos that you have taken in the past.
2(c) For either the NEW Category or the OLD Category, photos must originate as something that is consistent with Photrio's Analogue only section principles - i.e. using traditional (non-digital) processes. Scans from prints, slides, or negatives are permitted, but any digital adjustments should be strictly limited to what would be acceptable in the Photrio analogue only galleries. Please be sure to label which Category (OLD or NEW) your submission belongs in. Film and exposure information plus any special technical information is also good.
(3) You can post your photo in the MSA Gallery, or you can host your photo elsewhere and link to it in the thread, or, you can post it as an attachment to a message in the thread and it will show as a clickable thumbnail.
(4) It's all for fun, there are no prizes.
(5) at the end of the MSA, the previous winner who chose the theme:
(a) is encouraged to nominate from each of the "OLD" and "NEW" categories one photo that is the best photo in that category that illustrates the theme; and
(b) in any event, will choose (from those category "winners", if applicable) the single photo that is the best photo submitted as part of the current MSA that illustrates the theme.
The member submitting the "winning photo" will be declared the MSA "winner" and will have the opportunity and responsibility to choose a theme for the next MSA, and then choose a new winner from the submissions that follow.
Additional hints about uploading your photographs...
(6) How to upload to the MSA gallery: You perform the upload in the same way you would upload to the standard gallery, except you press the "'All subscriber galleries", you find a drop-down menu and press the Monthly Shooting Assignment, thats it.
(7) You can instead, attach your image to a post in this thread. Or you can link to an image that is hosted elsewhere - please be sure all members will have access to such images, and that the links remain current.
8) Most importantly, have fun!
 
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Category: Old (from my abandoned Japan coal mine series)
4x5 HP5. XTol 1+1.

steps.jpg
 
An intriguing theme indeed.
I've tweaked the thread title very slightly to match the form of the recent ones.
I'll update the historical list of themes, and do my mini-moderator stuff with Sticky threads.
And let the (dis)orientation continue!
 
(New) January 1, 2026

Canon F1n, Canon FD 500mm f8 Reflex, Fomapan 200

New Years Day where I live was a perfect day for a walk through one of our city parks. Part of the trail features a walkway lined with percussive musical instruments. These are images of two of those.

1767531069270.jpeg




1767531194425.jpeg
 
(New) January 1, 2026

Canon F1n, Canon FD 500mm f8 Reflex, Fomapan 200

New Years Day where I live was a perfect day for a walk through one of our city parks. Part of the trail features a walkway lined with percussive musical instruments. These are images of two of those.

View attachment 415005



View attachment 415006

When I saw those I was going to ask if you shot that with a mirror lens - the doughnut bokeh was a dead giveaway.
 
Old, last March. Delta 3200 in a cheap medium format folder.

54361664329_9ead7d1bf2_k.jpg


Old, 2024. Slide film 35mm.

53486526292_2140ac1c87_k.jpg


Old, 2023. Acros 35mm.

53382596039_a29b1feca0_k.jpg


Old, 2023. Slide film 35mm.

53421642581_ce53352682_k.jpg
 
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Hasselblad 501C with 80mm lens. Tri-X 120 at 400. Developed in homemade D-76 1+1 for 9:45 at 68.1F/20.0C.

#1 and #2 New image: 01/12/2026
"Up we go!" - Two slightly different depth of fields and positioning. I couldn't decide which one to use so I used both, lol.

#1: 1/250 at f/6.7
#2: 1/60 at f/13

#3 New image: 01/12/2026
"Peek-a-boo, I see you!" - I shot through a hole in a rock statue. May be a little hard to see but there was someone walking in the skywalk and I immediately made the shot.
1/500 at f5.6
 

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New. Day before yesterday at the edge of a permanently closed landfill. Leica IIIc with a Jupiter 35mm lens Tmax 400 film.

1768389441575.png
 
Don.ih along the lines of yours. An old one on Agfa Brovira grade 5 single weight paper. Reeds and their reflection in a pond. I went back and forth making paper negatives to eliminate grays. This is a photograph of the final print that was too large for my scanner. The original negative was Tri-x 35mm._

reeds.jpg
 
@Andrew O'Neill: I really like the contrast and increased tension with position of the structures. The underexposure and two stop push worked out great. Also the coal mine series image makes me think of the ending scene in Labyrinth. On first viewing, sometimes the steps are facing upward. When they are up then eventually the steps shift downward. Sometimes this switching effect resets when taking a short break and viewing them again. Very cool effect.

@russljames: The first instrument looks interesting. Interesting shape. Do you know the name of that instrument?

@loccdor: Looking through the open square has my mind wanting to see more but can't. I like these kind of images.

@Don_ih: I can rest easy knowing that I don't have to climb that. Good image.

@jeffreyg: That is a neat technique. Could this effect be done with multigraded paper with a #5 filter or would the effect be better when using graded paper? I miss Agfa paper. Portriga was a favorite of mine.
 
Wow, these are wild! I like this topic.
 
@What About Bob I don’t know about multi grade paper for that. It would have to be single weight. I did this some time ago and forgot how many reversals it took. As I recall I also did some with Kodalith. I did one of a zebra . They are actually black with white stripes 😄
 
[Old - Sep. 2025] Turnaround

1768527236856.png


Leica IIIf, 35mm f/2.5 Color-Skopar, 400TX, semistand in Pyrocat-HDC, scan of silver print
 
Pinhole is always a good choice for me if I'm looking for the disorienting - this is an old one.
44f-res 1400.jpg
 
And another one from the same time - perhaps even the same roll:
53f-2017-08-16-res 1024.jpg
 
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