The Vintage-Minolta Love Project: Shooting Every SLR from the SR-2 to the Maxxum 5D
The day I held the Maxxum 7000i for the first time proved to be a turning point in my life. I thought I was buying an inexpensive AF camera to take pictures of my garden. In reality, I was joining the ranks of Minolta collectors. I started down this pathContinue Reading
All My Perennials: Coneflowers, Susans, Salvia, and Phlox
By the end of May 2014, I had mapped the sun’s movement, chosen plants, and bought topsoil, mulch, and composted manure. I owned two types of shovels, a garden rake, a hatchet, a digging fork, a kneeling bench, and various smaller implements— all I needed were the plants. I hadContinue Reading
DF96 Monobath? Yeah, Baby!
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
The Ghost of Kodak (Recent) Past
I took this picture in July 2019. The building has been empty for years. It’s sad to see its promise of one-hour development alongside trash and graffiti. Film photography declined quickly with the rise of “good enough” digital cameras. As to when that occurred precisely, I don’t really know. IContinue Reading
I’m Convinced Some Flowers Only Exist in Magazines
Gardening magazines have a way of filling one’s head with all kinds of blossomy dreams only to have them dashed by the local big box garden center. The perennials at most big box stores are usually limited to two types of daylilies (yellow Stella d’Oro and maybe an orange variety),Continue Reading
The Story of Why There Is a Minolta Gear Repair Page
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
Zombie Plants? Yes, it’s A Thing…
When people at a nursery warn you about a plant, believe them. Here are my four cautionary tales. I had never heard of bee balm before deciding to dig up the yard. It earned a spot in the garden because the flowers are so oddly shaped. They resemble jester’s hatsContinue Reading
In Praise of Autofocus Cameras
Viewfinder diopter adjustment is, for me, is an essential camera feature. Since many manual focus cameras lack this feature, using a manual camera can be problematic. However, even when adjustment is possible, it never compensates completely for my changing vision. Autofocus makes this problem moot. Viewfinder magnifiers are available andContinue Reading
There Are Way Too Many Hostas
Hostas were a favorite of my mother-in-law. I, on the other hand, was only vaguely aware of them, having seen them before but paid little attention. Once it became clear that the front yard next to the porch was always going to be shaded, I became interested in hostas. IContinue Reading
Life at 30…
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
