*photos and text depict July 2019 There they were, a continuous, almost organized line of middle-aged men in various stages of unfolding tripods, mounting massive DSLR’s on them, carefully aiming long lenses at indeterminate points in the darkening late evening sky. The LCD’s lit their faces with a soft glow as they took test shots […]
Read more "Photographing Fireworks with a 90 Year Old Leica"Film photographers love old gear. But what about NEW gear? As our equipment ages and continues to be used, things are simply going to deteriorate. When possible, I like to buy NEW photo equipment that’s relevant to what I do. It provides a better user experience for me than dealing with eBay returns and relentless […]
Read more "Nikon Film Shooters, Buy New!"Looking to buy your first rangefinder? Here’s a tip, start with the lenses! Effective Baselength, or EBL is often left with little or no consideration by SLR shooters looking for their first interchangeable lens rangefinder. Review after review will sing praises of a bright viewfinder, numerous (or lack of) framelines and a plethora other features […]
Read more "What’s Your Effective Baselength?"If you’re cheap or just enjoy a variety of glass in your quiver, it’s worth running vintage Leica Thread Mount (LTM or M39) lenses on your newer bayonet M mount Leica bodies. The fact that this can be done so flawlessly is yet another boon to the Leica rangefinder system and justification to buy a […]
Read more "Leica LTM to M Adapters"Instead of reviewing yet another needless classic camera, I wanted to talk about products that will actually help our photography while still indulging our universal fixation on gear; developing tanks. If you are interested in developing your own film or have been doing it for decades, hopefully you find this review useful in some far […]
Read more "Paterson Film Developing Tank Review"One day, you feel inspired to take some photos with your trusty old K1000. That old camera never lets you down! You open that cool, old case you’ve been lovingly storing your Pentax gear in, load some film and head out the door filled with high spirits. But when you uncap the lens and look […]
Read more "Is There a Gremlin Lurking In Your K1000?"I spent last week on vacation in North Carolina. I’m still working my way through this summer’s wedding photos so it will be some time before I process my personal vacation photos. But in the meantime, I wanted to share a rather unusual experience I had. We had the air conditioning of our beach house […]
Read more "Lookout! Camera Condensation!"I guess that I don’t typically shoot my Leitz 50’s in wooded areas. But slowly, an image here, and image there, I began to notice something. When I shot portraits at closer distances and wider apertures in wooded areas with my Leitz Summitar and Summarit lenses, I got something unexpected. Something that I’d always associated […]
Read more "Discovering The Swirl"When I was visiting New York City this past year, to photograph MY LIFE WITH THE THRILL KILL KULT, I accidentally damaged my 1930 Leica. I stopped by The Leica Store, SOHO and talked to them about the problem. I was told that Leica, only in the last several years stopped accepting service requests on […]
Read more "The 2019 Leica Repair Tech List"Unless you’re a studio photographer, the first time that most film shooters begin considering purchasing a light meter is when they fall in love with some beautiful vintage camera that does not feature a built-in light meter. When I was younger, I naively clung to cameras with built-in meters, not fully appreciating bodies such as […]
Read more "Metering the Meterless"