When I got back into film photography in 2019, my knowledge of shooting film was meager. I still remembered the basics of using a camera, but I knew nothing about developing film or the nuances of exposure, metering, using filters, hyperfocal distance, and other essential topics. Naturally, I looked atContinue Reading
Df96 has an official shelf life of three months, but experience indicates that’s an underestimate. I began using Df96 right before the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Before then, I had access to a fully-equipped darkroom. I was just getting used to doing B&W darkroom development and printingContinue Reading
Description: Church against a perfect blue winter sky Background: Churches are everywhere, so much so that I rarely pay attention to them. This church is on a residential street but is set back about forty yards from the street. The intervening distance with a grassy, meadow-like lawn that dips down from streetContinue Reading
This is a story about reconciliation. Flowers have been the main focus from the beginning of my photography journey. I wanted to capture the garden’s color and vibrancy and make a few elegant floral portraits. During the 2019 flower season, I tried six color emulsions: Portra 400, Portra 800, Ultramax,Continue Reading
Description: Light band across columns in afternoon light Background: With plenty of windows on the western, southern, and eastern sides of the house, I witness changes in sunlight patterns over the year. For some reason, the specific set of windows through which the sunlight washes in conveys a mood and a feelingContinue Reading
I’ve tested a lot of new-to-me cameras and lenses over the last few years, and the process has become something I dread. Fortunately, all basic testing has been completed, and now I am in the “will I keep this” phase of testing. Most earlier tests were driven by the needContinue Reading
As regular readers know, I have taken a fancy to rangefinder Minoltas. That new itch has been scratched by three recent rangefinder buys: 7sII, Super A, and basic Minolta A. The 7sII (my second) was bought cheaply for parts, although the seller said only the meter did not work. TheContinue Reading
Mark Hama is a legend in the Yashica TLR world. He actually worked at Yashica assembling TLRs for years. I became aware of Mr. Hama after buying my Yashica Mat 124. It seems that, going back years, every mention of having a Yashica repaired referenced him. His continued provision ofContinue Reading
Shooting in natural light is so easy. Of course, using natural light means waiting for the sun to be in just the correct position, which can be a pain. Naturally, I assumed having a studio space would make life easier—much easier. As it turns out, playing with light in aContinue Reading
A while back, I shared my take on shooting flower portraits in low light. During that shoot, I had to deal with breezes that made the 1/8 sec shutter speed a headache. At the time, I was irritated by how the breeze kept moving the agapanthus around, wasting my time,Continue Reading
