The Point and Shoot Pity Party Project

There have been times when I have felt like the proverbial "cat lady" of Vintage Cameras. These instances have occurred when browsing a Goodwill or seeing an auction lot of a handful of cameras online, only to take pity on a rather ordinary camera passed along for very cheap sale, on the expectation that I might somehow find a use for it. 

This tendency offers a quick cheap fix for the perils of GAS that pervade the photographic hobby and is relatively harmless, except that I make a point of shooting any camera I acquire as long as it is possible. 

The result is that I am now often saddled with taking along an extra camera or two to work through a roll to get some results from these adopted cameras to see what they can do. As the bulk of these cameras aren't coveted by collectors and have since been shunned by consumers, there is often little online to document them and of what they may be capable.  Therefore, I shall be featuring periodic posts with mini write ups of these cameras to spotlight them and their results, offering at least a small online glimpse at what they can do. In the interest of economy, film choice is likely to be "whatever I have laying around." 

Cameras that ideally fit the mold of this sort of feature should fit the following criteria:

• A point and shoot, focus free or AF consumer targeted camera, of compact nature.
• A camera with few if any special desirable features aside from flash settings and zoom. 
• A camera that cost me no more than $5.25 total, including tax or shipping. 
• A camera that wasn't anything I had an interest in an acquiring prior to me seeing it. 

I will continue to feature many point and shoot cameras in their own more comprehensive articles, but such cameras will break one or more of the criteria above. Hopefully this will prove to be a novel way to document some basic camera models that have been largely forgotten since digital cameras (and smart phones) took over the vast majority of the consumer photo business. Enjoy!

Eight Reasons Why I Shoot 120 Film

Not too long ago, I was asked by a friend and fellow film fan "So do you ever shoot 35mm any more?" It was a simple but good question, given that the answer at the moment is "No."

After all, there are a wealth of GREAT reasons to shoot 35mm film, such as the wealth and variety of equipment, including some with outstanding optics as well as many of the advanced technological features seen in present day digital cameras, with a number of these advanced cameras available for less than the cost of even a basic zoom digital camera.  In addition, 35mm is more economical, providing more frames per roll of film than my beloved medium format, typically allowing 3 times as many images per roll, which translates to more shooting fun.

So with all this going for it, why would I elect to shoot medium format instead of 35mm?  It's a question that bears thinking about, and certainly bears answering, and I've gladly provided some responses below.

1 - It's Easy on the Eyes - Since I shoot "slide" film predominantly, I find it handy to look directly at the film to assess photos prior to scanning them.  While I'm by no means "poor" in sight, my rods and cones are not exactly what they once were, and looking at a 120 slide, I can pretty readily evaluate exposure, focus, and color in my images at a glance, whereas I've picked out "good" shots on 35mm slides at a glance only to find that they are not at all focused when looking closer.  Besides, it is amazing to look at something that actually looks like a "enlarged" scene when looking at one's film rather than just a "thumbnail" type of view.

Long Green, MD - Agfa Billy Record.  I could readily tell by looking at this 6x9 transparency that it was properly exposed and focused before ever using any magnification.

Three Months of Blogging - Tying it all Together

It all started innocently enough on May 30th, with a text message from a friend chatting about my ever present interest in photography.  

"Do you have a blog yet?"

I had in fact created one just months earlier, but it was of a very narrow focus and ran the real risk of depleting the breadth of its subject matter.  Meanwhile, my photographic exploits went well beyond just that of this blog, and were beginning to broaden even further.  

"You should totally create one."

I had just been turned on to the world of mirrorless cameras months earlier, and had discovered the adaptability of vintage manual focus lenses.  I was beginning to amass a small assemblage of these lenses, learning a little more each day, and having more fun with the hobby each day.  I detailed this to my friend.

"You sound like a pro now."

My reply was that I was hardly a pro, but rather just "a quirky guy with a camera."

And it was with that response that her idea to me began to gel.  

The blogger account officially was established on June 3, 2014, but it sat idle for weeks as I tried to scrape together some ideas for a true focus and content.  I figured I'd plunk down an occasional equipment review of the digital cameras or vintage lenses, maybe comparing similar length lenses from time to time, and that would be that.

May-December Romance: Mirrorless Cameras with Legacy Lenses

A logic puzzle:

I am the proud owner of a pair of Olympus PEN mirrorless Cameras using the Micro 4/3 Lens Mounts. 

I have used over a dozen different lenses on these cameras.

I currently only own TWO Micro 4/3 lenses.  

Did I sell the rest off?  Did I borrow or rent lenses?

Nope, instead I have taken advantage of a clever method of fusing manual focus lenses of decades past with my mirrorless modern day camera body by means of some various lens-mount to camera adapters to make this possible.  Call it my blossoming "May-December equipment Romance" of the photographic world.

Interestingly, I stumbled onto this practice as an alternative to buying native mount lenses only AFTER I purchased the camera kit, and haven't looked back since. As a result, I have acquired a pretty nice collection of numerous various lenses for only somewhat more than the cost of a single Autofocus Micro 4/3 Lens!

An Intro

So what's this all about?

I was given a suggestion, and elected to work with it.  Start a blog, so here it is...

Some people have often referred to me as a "Photographer" but I rarely have.  There were some times when I had actively aspired to be one, but in hindsight, I am glad that I never became one.  

They often say "Doing something you love as your career means you never work," and I agree that is true.  However, it often comes at the price of not being able to do it in the way that you want to do so, at least if you truly plan on being able to make a living while doing it.

Photography has been a hobby of mine since 1989, and it has certainly been the one comforting constant, despite being a field that has changed immensely within that time.

As of the past few months, I've managed to rediscover the hobby in new ways, and I'm having more fun with it than I've had in quite some time.  This blog will serve to document this interesting new journey for me, not as a photographer, but instead, as "a quirky guy with a camera."