First of all, please accept my most humble apologies for not writing in a while. I have been updating my website and working on the darkroom!
Next up is water and waste. How fun. I happen to be gutting the adjoining room, and that room happens to be.......... a bathroom! I exposed the plumbing in the bathroom and found that the hot and cold run on the adjacent wall, as well as the waste as well! All it will take is a couple of T junctions, and I'm in business! Pictures to follow...
- John -
ThePhotoHound
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Water, water everywhere
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
Back to Medium Format
As my last posts described, I scored a couple of great 35mm cameras off of eBay and at a yard sale. I just need one more to complete the arsenal: a good medium format unit. I've been shooting on 35mm for long enough, and now it's time to re-learn the fine-grain detail and strong midtones of 120 film.
I'm having a hard time deciding, though. Hasselblad and Rollei are way out of my price range. Yashica, Mamiya, and Pentax are all reasonable, and that's where I run into trouble. Just like anything else, you have staunch supporters of each. I would love to try each of them, but that's not exactly feasible. I'm leaning hard towards the Pentax 67, but I learned on a Mamiya 645. Decisions, decisions. I'll keep you updated.
- John -
ThePhotoHound
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Monday, May 7, 2007
Great Score
So my wife and I visited some local yard sales this past weekend (we're avid "Yard-Salers") and among some great scores, I found the mother of all photo deals. An older gentleman has been an enthusiast for years, and has decided that it was time to pack it in. He's moved on to gardening and pruning his meticulous lawn. He had the following equipment with a sign stating "Complete Photo Outfit - $100":
1 - Olympus OM-1 Manual SLR
1 - Vivitar 100-300mm F/3.8 manual lens
1 - Olympus 50mm F/2.0 lens
1 - Vivitar TeleConverter
2 - Vivitar flashes
8 - Tamron filters
2 - Tripods
1 - New cable release
2 - Leather carry bags
For once, I didn't even hesitate, as I paid in cash, full asking price. Not to mention he was a nice guy that "just wanted a good home" for the equipment. He found a good home!
- John -
ThePhotoHound
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Is Darkroom Photography Dead?
Not until recently have I realized that there are a lot fewer B&W darkroom photographers out there than I thought. I mean, I knew I've been out of the game for a few years, but what happened?! I had this dicussion with an old friend the other day. It looks like B&W darkroom photography has become an art. What I mean is, it's always been an art, but when it was first introduced, it was the only way. Then in the 60's and 70's, it became fashionable to develop your own stuff. In the 80's and 90's, it was considered a bit Retro, but it was still mildly popular. Now, you're a dinosaur if you haven't gone digital.
Then I saw a glimmer of hope: if there are artists still putting brush to canvas, and one could argue that painting has been around since the dawn of time on cave walls, then B&W darkroom photography (i.e. REAL photography) will never go away. That's encouraging to a guy like me who believes that unless you're elbow deep in fixer, then you're not truly connected to the art.
- John -
ThePhotoHound
Friday, May 4, 2007
Going Retro
I recently blew the dust off of the old Ricoh KR-5 Super and my Tamron 80-200mm F/2.8 Telephoto lens... I have to be honest, it felt good to get that old manual camera back in my hands again. It felt so good, in fact, that I bought a pristine Pentax K1000 off eBay for $30. I bought the Pentax 50mm F/2 lens (also great shape) months earlier in a package which included multiple 48-60mm filters.
I can't wait to pop in a roll of Ilford HP5+ 35mm 400 ISO film and start shooting again. It's been a while! I've been shooting quite a bit with my Canon Rebel XS (stock 35-80mm AF lens), and it's great to be automatic, but there's nothing like the weight and feel of a classic manual SLR... Is everyone pickin' up what I'm puttin down?
- John -
ThePhotoHound
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