Happy Birthday, Kodak Tri-X

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...

An Odd Length; Voigtländer 75mm 2.5 Heliar

Most prime lens SLR kits are a 28-50-85 or 135. Most rangefinder kits are a 28 or 35-50-90. 75mm is an odd focal length. I don't think it's even available for SLR's and most rangefinder shooters fall on the side of either 50 or 90 - the distinction between normal and portrait focal lengths. 75....

Is Your Camera Due for a New Strap?

I wasn't really hyperbolizing when I said that the Leica 14312 is the best camera strap in the world. I own one for each of my Leica bodies and swap them onto my other rangefinders and SLR's too. So when Mark from Due North Leather Goods in Canada reached out to me about test-driving one...

Salute the Grain; The Passing of Peter Lindbergh

It was announced today that b&w fashion photographer Peter Lindbergh has passed away at age 74. I'll leave the detailed articles of his storied career for the big publications to cover and encourage all portrait shooters to seek them out!  But speaking as a grainy black and white film photographer, I wanted to share some...

Tempered Indulgence, the Leica IIIc

Between the years of 1940 and 1951, the skilled craftspeople at the Leica factory in Wetzlar, Germany painstakingly hand-crafted and hand-assembled one hundred and thirty one thousand Model IIIc 35mm rangefinder type camera bodies. The vast majority of which featured no unusual markings, no rare customization.  Just many thousands of perfectly mass produced, boringly precise...

A Well Organized Bag is a Good Start

Something that drives me crazy is when I see photographers with disorganized camera bags.  My wife's is absolutely terrifying.  Film photographers are probably the worst offenders but ironically have the greatest need for an organized bag. If you're an award-winning, world renowned photographer and keep a messy bag, fine.  Who am I to criticize you?...

Johnny Martyr. Walls.

Humpty Dumpty fell off one. Pink Floyd said we're all just bricks in one. And so for a time, I have been rather obsessed with, yes, WALLS. Specifically, really old ones with a lot of character and a story to tell. There's a bit of insanity in staring at walls.  We associate trying to convince...