This warning sign is near the back (south side) of the Old Fourth Ward Park reservoir, where the water is quite deep. Whenever I see a sign like this, I wonder what triggered its installation. At the north side of the park, the reservoir has a shallow edgeContinue Reading
The 50mm focal length is a mainstay of photography. Budding photographers are advised to get a 50mm lens as their first purchase. Leica Thread Mount (LTM) rangefinders offered 50mm lenses before SLRs existed. And when SLRs arrived in the late 1950s, 50mm lenses were among the very first lensesContinue Reading
As the saying goes, “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.” When it comes to Lomography’s range of color films, this saying rings true. The traditional color films: CN 100, 400, and 800 are pretty standard in their renditions. The more artsy films–Turquoise, Purple, Metropolis, andContinue Reading
From 50 yards away, this looks like a cannon. That was my impression every time I drove by. It always seemed odd that a cannon would be in Old Fourth Ward Park, because I never read of it being a battlefield. But I went with my impression and decidedContinue Reading
Usually, by late November, all the flowers are gone. This autumn has been different. After a one-day freeze, the temps returned to the 70s, and flowers are still blooming. The coneflowers have new blooms, and the red sage is still vibrant. Even the sweet alyssum, which usually dies with theContinue Reading
The early 1980s seem to have been the glory days for manual Minolta zooms. The 24-35mm f/3.5, released in 1981, was among the early wave of MD III lenses introduced between 1981 and 1983. Many members of this group — 35-105mm f/3.5-4.5, 28-85mm f3.5-4.5, 70-210mm f/4, and the last versionContinue Reading
Starting in the middle of the pandemic, I began buying an assortment of films to experiment with. Prior to that time, I had used only Kodak and Fuji consumer films (UltraMax and Fuji Superia X-tra 400) bought locally. Black-and-white film entered my repertoire in late 2020, via UltrafineContinue Reading
A few weeks ago, I read a post recommended by Jim Grey. It talked about the “best” camera in terms of capability, quality, and dependability as compared to the one you use most often. After giving this idea some thought, I realized that I’m in the same boat asContinue Reading
The Vintage Minolta Love Project (VMLP) has been a key driver of Earth, Sun, Film posts from the beginning. The VMLP started with a simple goal—shoot all the major Minolta SLRs from the 1958 SR-2 to the 2004 Maxxum 70. In doing so, I hoped to learn photography, experience Minolta’sContinue Reading
It hasn’t rained in almost seven weeks. Despite the lack of rain, many flowers are happily blooming. I cut back the black and blue saliva, which had become yellowed and ungainly, to the point where only one-foot stalks remained. Six weeks later, it’s lush and loaded withContinue Reading
