Soon after I began seriously considering buying a film camera, I read a lot of photography blogs. At the outset, the goal was to learn enough about photography and cameras to take decent garden pics. There was never any desire to be a “photographer.” It seems that the type ofContinue Reading
Description: An early spring violet with a Minolta lens resting beside it. I took the shot in late afternoon in mottled shade. Background: My second camera purchase was a Minolta Maxxum 5 that came with two lenses, one of which, the 35-80mm, is pictured here. The Maxxum 7000i, the first camera IContinue Reading
“Does this frame work?” is a question I ask myself when reviewing negatives. The question comes up because there have been so many times when what’s on the negative is not what I had in mind—not even close. Sometimes the discrepancy is due to a technical glitch such as motionContinue Reading
Generally speaking, I don’t like shooting cameras without built-in light meters—the process is too cumbersome. At times, however, it is unavoidable. For example, I have a Yashica Mat 124 with a busted meter, and the pandemic hit just as I was about to have it repaired. A light meter isContinue Reading
The Vintage Minolta Love Project is in its preliminary stages. Shooting every major Minolta SLR necessitates buying more cameras. Since I’m buying on a budget, every camera is tested when it arrives in case I have to send it back. I wish I could buy the remaining cameras from KEHContinue Reading
I started doing photography to get better pictures of my garden—the iPhone 4s was not cutting it. I never considered becoming a photographer; it simply wasn’t a consideration. Nor did I intend for photography to become a hobby. The cost and bother of getting film developed led me to takeContinue Reading
Photography for Dummies was the first photography book I read. The chapter on composition was brief, providing an overview of basic techniques. There were a few images offered as examples, but, in all, the chapter was not very helpful. The Rule of Thirds was the first rule I learned. ItContinue Reading
For the first few months after getting my 7000i, I shot only color film because local labs charged more for B&W and only processed it once per week. I wanted to try shooting B&W, and the only workable solution at the time was to use chromogenic film. Ilford XP2 wasContinue Reading
Once upon a time, I bought a Minolta XG-M to get the ultimate XG camera and the excellent Minolta MD 28-85mm lens that came with it. A review on the Rokkor Files had raved about the lens, calling it as good as a prime at some focal lengths. The bad news forContinue Reading
Between February and July 2019, I shot about 30 rolls of film. Except for four rolls, two Tri-X and two HP5+, which were shot for a darkroom class, all were done to test gear bought online. On receiving the scans, I gave them a cursory look to check for lightContinue Reading
