Ok, I’ll Go Back to Using Tri-X (I Got Rid of the Curl)
Tri-X gives beautiful, crisp images that have just the right touch of gravitas. I like HP5+, but Tri-X captures scenes in a way that better reflects my tastes. I used Tri-X when learning darkroom development and printing and grew comfortable with it. When I began developing Tri-X at home, theContinue Reading
Grafitti’d
Any sufficiently large wall space seems to be a magnet for those who wish to leave a memento of their presence. Usually, it’s barely readable scrawls in the form of broad strokes of paint. Symbols are common (few of which I recognize). Under this overpass, the typical expressions areContinue Reading
Vintage Minolta Love: It’s the Little Things…
I try to avoid thinking of myself as a collector. That way, I don’t allow myself to get caught up in buying items unless I plan to use them at some point. However, because of the VMLP, I am interested in historic or unusual items. This Super A meter isContinue Reading
Autumn Beauty!
I’ve watched our gardenia slowly regain its deep green color after being brown for months. Since the first wisp of emerald, I have inspected it, hoping for blossoms. We’ve had less rain than usual, and I have not watered once this year, so I never expected the hoped-for flowers untilContinue Reading
The Minolta Maxxum 7D—Wonderful World of Color
“The world is a carousel of color!” As a child, I watched Disney’s Wonderful World of Color TV show most Sunday nights. Tinker Bell would wave her wand and splash gobs of color paint on the screen, but they were shades of gray on my screen. Our first color TV wasContinue Reading
Who’s Watching Me?
Every time I see this video rental store, it makes me a little paranoid, and I hear the song, “Somebody’s Watching Me” by Rockwell. Having recently watched all five seasons of “Person of Interest,” and having done research in machine learning, I know the capability is there to monitorContinue Reading
My Funny Columbine (Focusing Mishap)
We’ve bought columbines for two years straight and did not get them planted before the heat came. The beauty of these flowers enthralls me, though it seems I will never grow them. They seem to be very delicate to the point of being impossibly finicky. While keeping them in pots,Continue Reading
Basic Black—The Lure of Black SR and SR-T Cameras
It seems everyone has written about Minolta SR and SR-T cameras, which only makes sense. They are the first and second generation of Minolta SLR cameras and are praised for their sturdiness and performance. These classic cameras, built like tanks, work great and produce excellent images. An SR-T 101 wasContinue Reading
Gardenia Resurrection
For nine years, each season has brought a fragrant outburst of gardenia flowers. Each year there would be maybe 50-60 blooms each season. Then one year, I noticed it was infested, which I treated in the off-season. The next year, and in years since, it produced hundreds of blossomsContinue Reading
Minolta-35 Buying Experience: A Dud, a Head Fake, and a Gem
I’ve just had a complete eBay buying experience. It began with an effort to buy a Minolta-35 rangefinder—Minolta’s Leica-inspired rangefinder. The Minolta-35 was manufactured from 1947 until 1959 and proved to be a capable Leica competitor during its run. Eight models were produced—models A-F, II, and IIB. While the Minolta-35Continue Reading
