by Johnny Martyr I know that everyone is frustrated by the continued price increases of fresh film - count me among them! Many people write me with the predicate that film cost probably doesn't matter much to me since I shoot paid work with it. But this is far from the truth. In many ways,... Continue Reading →
By Johnny Martyr MiNT is a Chinese company that got its start with expert vintage Polaroid SX-70 camera refurbishment and customization back in 2009. In 2015, they released their own, all new instant film camera, the InstantFlex TL70 twin lens reflex. The TL70 was only one of several new instant film cameras and accessories to... Continue Reading →
by Johnny Martyr Okay, so this isn't a true "mail bag" question because the most recent iteration of it that I've answered was posted to a Facebook group. But I have gotten this question a few times as a DM over the years too. "I just got my first Leica, an M6, how do I... Continue Reading →
by Johnny Martyr My daughter and I checking out the selection at the Leica Store Paris - photo by Stephanie Lee Isaiah Hervé and I follow one another on Instagram. He takes beautiful, serene landscape photos that just blow me away. His work is very fine and nuanced and nothing that I have the patience... Continue Reading →
by Johnny Martyr I got a great compliment from Andy at analogue_dreams (his blog can be found here) recently on the image above. He said: "I am always impressed by how you achieve focus of fleeting moments with a manual focus RF in low light!" It was very kind of him to post this, and... Continue Reading →
By Johnny Martyr If you process your own film and don't live in the tropics, you've probably run into an annoying problem that I see discussed in forums ad nauseam - curly and cupped film negatives. Let me set the scene: you've just taken some great photos, you've processed the film successfully and when you... Continue Reading →
by Johnny Martyr Do people still reiterate that once-famous line from the 90's movie Kindergarten Cop where Arnold Schwartenegger says "It's not a tumor" in his characteristically out-of-place Austrian accent? Well... (in my best Arnold) It's not a mirror bumper! Man, everything about this post is showing my age. It's been about 24 years since... Continue Reading →
by Johnny Martyr I've used a Voigtländer 15mm 4.5 Heliar Version II on my Leica M mount cameras for about eight years. In fact, I blogged about the basics of rectilinear wide angle lenses and the particulars of the Voigt 15 in 2019. But after some failed creative shoots, I relegated the 15mm to a... Continue Reading →
by Johnny Martyr You've probably heard by now that Ricoh/Pentax have announced that they have new 35mm camera in the works. Hopeful photographers are speculating that the product will be a re-released K1000; the classic, utilitarian, all-mechanical 35mm SLR that Pentax sold from 1976 to 1997. The K1000 was my first proper camera and I... Continue Reading →
by Johnny Martyr I get a fair number of DM's asking various questions about shooting film. I do my best to answer thoroughly; as if my response was something that I myself would depend on. If you've written me and not received a response, it's likely just because I'm trying to respond in the most... Continue Reading →
The Thoughts & Photography of Johnny Martyr 