The Pandemic, the Darkroom, and Me
After deciding I wanted to do more with photography than take pictures of the garden, I joined a community darkroom, The Photographer’s Studio (TPS) in May 2019. Membership isn’t cheap, but I was drawn to the range of classes offered and a chance to meet experienced photographers. My first classContinue Reading
VMLP 2: Sony–The Revenge of Minolta, the Re-birth of the Cool
I have before me a Minolta Maxxum 5D camera and a Sony a100. The a100 was a pandemic buy—I hadn’t planned to buy another digital camera because the Olympus e300 works fine for testing manual lenses. The a100 was the first A-mount camera Sony made after buying Minolta’s camera IP.Continue Reading
Opossums, Squirrels, Owls and Hawks
Living in the middle of Atlanta, one doesn’t expect many genuine wildlife encounters. I’ve had a few–I almost put my hand on an opossum one night on the deck. It was so dark that I didn’t see it resting on the railing. One morning, an opossum ambled across the frontContinue Reading
My Introduction to Pincushion Distortion
When I began looking for Minolta Maxxum lenses, I came across a now-defunct site (MaxxumEyes.com) that made specific recommendations. The site recommended the classic 35-105mm AF (1985), particularly pointing out its sharpness. At the time, the only AF Minolta lenses I owned were the 50mm f1.7, 100mm f2.8 macro, andContinue Reading
Frame Works? Antelope with Birds
Description: Still life of a metal antelope sculpture Background: I’ve always been drawn to the minimalism of this sculpture. I waver over whether it is a cow or an antelope. It was a gift to my wife from one of her friends years ago, so its origin and background are lost. Continue Reading
Why the Urge to Capture an Image?
I read a post on the Japan Camera Hunter blog in which the author posed a somewhat rhetorical question: “What’s the point in taking pictures?” It’s something I have thought about — a lot. When I bought the Maxxum 7000i, I knew exactly why I wanted to take pictures; IContinue Reading
Garden Frame: Catmint with Coral-Red Azaleas
Description: A sprig of catmint (Walker’s Low) against a background of coral azaleas. The shot was taken in the early afternoon while the sun was high in the sky. Background: Catmint blooms in early to mid-spring and has beautiful, small lavender flowers. Bees love it. I bought three plants from a smallContinue Reading
VMLP 1: A Visual Guide to Minolta Lens Mounts—SR to A
This is the first Vintage Minolta Love Project (VMLP) post. To learn more about VLMP, read this. Last year, I bid on a 35-105mm RMC Tokina lens intended for use with my recently-acquired Minolta X-570. There were plenty of pictures. When the lens arrived, I spent 10 minutes trying toContinue Reading
Rookie Mistake: Conflating Focus Points and Spot Metering
Until the Maxxum 7000i, I had never used a camera with focus areas, and my metering knowledge was limited to the SR-T 101. With the SR-T 101, I knew to get the circle and needle aligned before I snapped. I never had a flash, so shutter and aperture were determinedContinue Reading
Garden Year I: The Finale with Epilogue
Well, first of all, thanks for reading all the gardening journey posts. As best I could, I have taken you every step with me from the vague idea of creating a front yard garden in 2014 up to the end of the first season. A lot of sweat went intoContinue Reading