Over the years, many different manufacturers have offered many different types of accessory viewfinders that have taken on numerous forms. I have tried only a handful but am pretty committed to what are known as as "bright-line" accessory viewfinders. Unlike early viewfinders that consist only of wire frames of appropriate sizes or even simple optical... Continue Reading →
I've never been one to care very much about stylish camera bags. As long as I had something durable that I could organize neatly, that has been fine. I justified my position by thinking that a cheaper, more tatty looking bag was less likely to attract attention and get stolen. And hey, cheaper camera bag,... Continue Reading →
I'll admit it. As I shuffled around the streets of downtown Frederick, Maryland anticipating the paths of passersby and lifting my little black Leica to my eye, I imagined that this is what it was like for Henry Cartier Bresson before this equipment was legendary, new methods were standard practices and the genre was a... Continue Reading →
Kodak Tri-X, as a concept, has been around since the 1940's when it was a 200 ISO b&w sheet film. Because it was their first fast film, when Kodak released the 400 ISO roll film version, the Tri-X name was maintained. Just like Kodak TMAX P3200 revolutionized low light photography in 1989, Tri-X was an... Continue Reading →
Choosing Leica mount lenses is always a bit of a struggle for me. I can find things I like and don't like about them all. And the ones that meet my ideal specs are often out of my price range. So I will end up buying another lens as a reaction to something I did... Continue Reading →
Are you interested in shooting black and white and want to know what film to start with? Do you you use a lab to process your work, or do C41 at home? I highly recommend giving Ilford XP2 a spin. 35mm Ilford XP2 400 Super rated at 1600, scanned without ICE Ilford XP2 400 Super... Continue Reading →
A few weeks ago, I picked up a Yashica A TLR and was eager to test it. I bought a fresh 5- roll-box of Kodak Tri-X 120. When I opened the film, I was surprised to see that the backing paper design was different and had a waxy sheen to it. I found that, in... Continue Reading →
The Nikon FM10 is a camera that experienced/knowledgeable film photographers take pride in dismissing. The chorus is common: "It's all plastic!" "It's not even made by Nikon!" But look, what the vocal opponents don't seem to get is that the Nikon FM10 is actually a highly evolved, practical camera, capable of terrific photos. And it... Continue Reading →
I'm as much of a Leica fan as anyone but I have to admit, the Japanese reincarnate of Voigtländer seriously one-upped the German Leica gods when they designed their T-Winder. Let's begin at the beginning. Leica introduced a few rapidwinder devices for it's screw mount 35mm rangefinder cameras in the 1930's or 40's. The exact history... Continue Reading →
It's been a few weeks since I retrieved my Konica III from BP-ES where it's sticky shutter was repaired and rangefinder calibrated. I'm carrying the III with me daily, slowly working my way through a few rolls of Tri-X as I come across interesting scenes in my life. I have only owned one other Konica... Continue Reading →
The Thoughts & Photography of Johnny Martyr 