Little Camera, Big Money

Leica Camera Number 105 - Leitz Photographica Auction, LEICA CAMERA CLASSICS Everyone else is making money from Leica Number 105 so I figured I'd throw my hat in the ring for a few bucks too. Hey! Before you read any further, like and subscribe as they say!  😉  Don't know what I'm talking about? Last...

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...

The Final Moments of 9/11 Photographer, Bill Biggart

*I originally published the following article on Petapixel on September 11th, 2020, it is reproduced here in honor of the 20th anniversary“With a press pass around his neck and a camera bag over his shoulder, in the middle of a crossfire – Bill was in heaven.”  --Wendy Doremus September 11, 2001 was a sunny Tuesday...

Time Traveling with Papermoon Diner

There's a lot that I don't know about Papermoon Diner in Baltimore, Maryland. And what I think I know, I may not even remember correctly. Sometimes, I'm not even sure how to get there. I bet that with the quickest bit of Googling, I could easily find the basic information; when it opened, who the...

Martyr’s Leica’s vs. Eckman’s Copies: Introduction

It's totally unnecessary to write yet another article extolling the historical relevance of the early Barnack Leica cameras to photography.  After a century of influence, everyone knows the story of how Oskar Barnack, Ernst Leitz and Max Beret revolutionized photography with their tiny, intuitive 35mm cameras and lenses during the 1920's and '30's. Perhaps a...

Shooting Sports with a 90 Year Old Camera

What kind of sadistic lunatic photographs a sports meet using a 90 year old camera? The sadistic lunatic: Johnny Martyr The event: A youth gymnastics competition in Washington D.C. hosted by Frederick Gymnastics Club The equipment: 1930 Leica Model I which was upgraded in 1935 to a Model III with a rangefinder focusing system; 1935 Leitz...

These Photos, Taken by Two Little Girls in 1917, are Gorgeous

I recently watched a movie with my kids about the Cottingley Fairies.  The film was a bit of a snoozer but it was my introduction to the true story of two little girls who, between 1917 and 1920 took beautiful b&w glass plate photographs of one another interacting with fairies in the forest behind their...

My Life As A Production Still Photographer

What do House of Cards, Whale Wars, Michael Jackson's Beat It, the Walking Dead, Parks and Recreation, Wedding Crashers, and Sex in the City 2 all have in common? I've photographed members of their casts and crews! Being a photographer is reason enough to be somewhere special and meet interesting people.  If you shoot production...

Remembering NIGHT of the LIVING DEAD’s Chuck Craig

Actor Charles "Chuck" Craig passed away at age 87 on Sunday, February 24th. Craig's screen time was brief but impactful.  He played an integral part in George A. Romero's horror classic, NIGHT of the LIVING DEAD. Because of the low budget nature of it, Craig actually plays three roles in the film.  He plays a...

“They’re Coming to Get You, Barbra!”

Do you remember that old black and white zombie movie, Night of the Living Dead?  The famous line was "They're coming to get you, Barbra!"  That movie was released in October of 1968.  That's FIFTY years ago! NotLD was late horror director George Romero's first film.  It was put together on a shoestring budget by...