VMLP 42: Minolta MD Zoom 24-35mm, f/3.5 — A Good Thing in a Small Package
The early 1980s seem to have been the glory days for manual Minolta zooms. The 24-35mm f/3.5, released in 1981, was among the early wave of MD III lenses introduced between 1981 and 1983. Many members of this group — 35-105mm f/3.5-4.5, 28-85mm f3.5-4.5, 70-210mm f/4, and the last versionContinue Reading
Film Fare: Going Through the Freezer
Starting in the middle of the pandemic, I began buying an assortment of films to experiment with. Prior to that time, I had used only Kodak and Fuji consumer films (UltraMax and Fuji Superia X-tra 400) bought locally. Black-and-white film entered my repertoire in late 2020, via UltrafineContinue Reading
Best Cameras vs Most Used Cameras
A few weeks ago, I read a post recommended by Jim Grey. It talked about the “best” camera in terms of capability, quality, and dependability as compared to the one you use most often. After giving this idea some thought, I realized that I’m in the same boat asContinue Reading
The Vintage Minolta Love Project, an Update
The Vintage Minolta Love Project (VMLP) has been a key driver of Earth, Sun, Film posts from the beginning. The VMLP started with a simple goal—shoot all the major Minolta SLRs from the 1958 SR-2 to the 2004 Maxxum 70. In doing so, I hoped to learn photography, experience Minolta’sContinue Reading
Season Finale
It hasn’t rained in almost seven weeks. Despite the lack of rain, many flowers are happily blooming. I cut back the black and blue saliva, which had become yellowed and ungainly, to the point where only one-foot stalks remained. Six weeks later, it’s lush and loaded withContinue Reading
Minolta Chiyoko Super Rokkor 50mm f2—No Longer Neglected
Last summer, I wrote about my experiences with three LTM lenses: Super Rokkor 45mm f2, Super Rokkor 50mm f2.8, and the Canon Serenar 50mm 1.9. All were better than I had expected. Since then, I have obtained what is considered the best Minolta standard LTM lens, the 50mmContinue Reading
Lomography CN 400 with the 150mm f3.5 and Pentax 645
This has been the best summer ever for garden images. The Pentax 645 finally made it back into the rotation after two years of neglect. I bought the Pentax 645 expecting to use it mainly for studio shots because it’s too large to carry around. However, using aContinue Reading
It’s That Way…
After a few moments’ consideration and looking around, I could not find a clue as to why I should visit the trestle or go up to the roof. Continue Reading
Iron Ivy
The shadows made by the late-afternoon sun caught my attention. I walked around the iron ivy a few times, looking for the best angle to capture the feeling I hoped to convey with the image. Should only the ivy and the wall show? Would background beyond the wallContinue Reading
Made of Stone
Odd collections of stones are scattered about Old Fourth Ward Park. After passing by them a few times, I decided to photograph three. However, I could not quite decide on how to do so. They have no color at all, so color film is pointless. There are few shadows,Continue Reading
