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

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So What is a PhotoHound??

A PhotoHound is a ShutterBug. There you go.

Truth is, I love black and white photography. I am a photography enthusiast, I guess you would say. I got hooked in high school. I was looking for a "filler" class that I didn't have to work too hard in. There was enough History, Math, and English. I wanted a brainless 45 minutes to take a break. I got just the opposite. Those 45 minutes turned out to be the most challenging of each day. I was using the right side of my brain (or is it the left?) like never before. Not until Junior year did I realize I was artistic! I got all kinds of awards (some regional, some national) for my work, but to me it was just fun. It always has been.

So here I find myself... 27 years old, just bought a new (new to us) house with plenty of space. Guess what I'm putting in... that's right... a darkroom. I actually have a whole room I can use for creating... for rediscovering one of my true loves.

This blog is dedicated to that rediscovery. I plan on documenting (from day one) the transformation of this old bedroom into a fully functional black and white darkroom. I will provide before and after photos, as the project progresses. I also plan on keeping the blog going, right into taking photos, developing, enlarging, and so on. I'm sure as I progress in "re-learning" this art, I'll remember all of the old tips and tricks I learned. Hopefully, together, we can help each other out and learn together.

Thanks for checking us out, and stay tuned... it's going to get exciting!!