Old Fourth Ward Park—From Eyesore to Gathering Place
The Old Fourth Ward is a historic Atlanta neighborhood that lies east of downtown Atlanta. The northernmost border of Old Fourth Park abuts North Avenue, one of those streets where, for a long time, one only drove across to get somewhere else—how things change. The new park lies in anContinue Reading
Reflection
The idea for an image can arise from any experience or thought. This image exists because I had just received a new black SR-1, a camera I’d never heard of until seeing it for sale. The camera was in beautiful condition, and I bought it only because it was black.Continue Reading
VMLP 29: The Minolta X-570–Excellent Companion
The X-570 is not flashy. It is best described as a gracious, reliable, helpful companion. It doesn’t chew with its mouth open, expect you to laugh at bad puns, or eat the takeout you tried to hide in the back of the fridge. It is simply there when needed andContinue Reading
After the Polar Vortex, Survival is The Best Revenge
The Polar Vortex came through last winter and dropped temps into the single digits. I watched as my brown garden with defiant patches of green turned all brown. The gardenias suffered the most. The large seven-foot bush in the front of the house turned and remains brown, looking almost asContinue Reading
Bubblicious or Development Woe???
This was my first roll of Lomography Potsdam Kino. All winter, I’d been looking forward to shooting it. Opening the development tank, I was upset to find the negatives festooned with these odd patterns. I should have known better. While loading the film on the developing reel, it stuck,Continue Reading
Overwintering
Posh folks use “winter” as a verb, as in “We wintered in Palm Springs.” Although my unplanted sweet potato vines and geraniums do not count as posh items, I didn’t want to see them die, having never been properly seated in pots. I bought them along with 30 or moreContinue Reading
First Look–2x Teleconverters and +2 Close-up Filters
Buy enough multi-item lots on eBay, and there is bound to be at least one teleconverter in the batch. Cheap teleconverters have a bad reputation—for a good reason. However, since all I have are cheap, that is what I chose to test. In this case, I used a Tamron 2xContinue Reading
The Rules of Acquisition (eBay Edition)
Buying on eBay is an exercise in probability—that is, at some point, you are probably going to buy a dud. We’ve all been there—a “mint” lens with noticeable fungus, a supposedly working camera with a frozen film advance, and the ultimate sales pitch “I don’t know much about cameras, but…” OneContinue Reading
Perusing the History of Photography, Searching for My Muse…
As someone who got into photography for the pratical purpose of documenting my garden from year to year, I have no photographic home, so to speak. That is, there is no style or school of photography I gravitate to and no particular photographer whose style I admire. It is notContinue Reading
Love a Camera? Adore a Lens? (Go Ahead, It’s Okay)
Attachments to photography gear are not bad (I hope)—I certainly have mine. Ask people about their favorite cameras and lenses, and they will give reason after reason for their choices while tossing in enough about specifications and features to make the decision seem perfectly rational. However, look beyond the words,Continue Reading
