When it comes to your photography, there is nothing more satisfying and frustrating as running a photography project. These projects can be big, small, span years or months. You can publish them in a book, hold a gallery show, or just stick them online. Thankfully you can easily run your photo project without having any formal project management training (although even a little bit of reading on the matter is helpful). Completing such a project will improve not only your photography skills but also your organisation skills. In this article, I will walk you through how I approach a photography project. Have an Idea AllRead More →

What is home? It’s a question that many people have asked and those well versed in philosophy and have come up with many answers. Is home where you live, or where you were born? Or maybe it’s where your parents live? If you’re looking for that answer here, you’re in the wrong place. This is a project about my home, a town called Milton. The sign that welcomed people to Milton has changed a lot since I first arrived here with my parents; my dad wanted to deface the sign by painting a giant one making the population 30,001. He didn’t, and that sign isRead More →

The first SLR camera I owned, a Minolta SR-T 102, came with the non-X version of this lens. Aside from a Kiron zoom lens, the Rokkor PF 50/1.7, was the lens that lived on that camera. And when I got the newer version, I made sure that even though I gave up my Minolta bodies, I kept a lot of my good Rokkor glass. And I’m glad I did, while these days I use the 45/2 pancake more, I make sure never to let this general-purpose, everyday use, fast prime that will never let you down. Lens Specifications Make: Minolta Model: MC Rokkor-X PF 1:1.7Read More →

We’re here to take that leap from the lion’s mouth and seek out that camera that we’ve been wanting. So today the gang discusses the cameras that they had been lusting after and either got, still looking for, or accidentally sold off. Voitlander Vitessa L For Trevor the Vitessa was the camera he wanted for many years, he lusted after this camera. And then one day he got an excellent deal on the camera he wanted. And he shot it for many many years. The camera itself is a unique rangefinder owing to its barndoor lens protector and even took the German word Scheunentor asRead More →

There were plenty of photographers out there who seemed happy that Kodak ColorPlus 200 came to the North American market. But the real question among many was what is the film stock exactly? If you look at the box lots of the standard text is not only in a foreign language but even in foreign characters. Once I opened up the box and popped out the canister, the mystery would be solved, the film canister clearly says Kodacolor 200! Kodacolor itself is an old film stock and was Kodak’s first colour negative film released and produced from 1940 to 1963. The next version, Kodacolor-X wasRead More →

Compared to printing your own black & white or even worse, colour film in a dark room, developing your film at home, both B&W and Colour, is a walk in the park. And the best part is that you don’t need a light-tight room, just a light-tight bag and tank. Yes, there has been many blogs and how-to’s written on this topic, but I thought I should throw my hat in the ring with my views on the subject of home developing. Before we begin, home development is both satisfying and frustrating. It’s incredibly easy to mess up, ruin a roll, waste money, and possiblyRead More →

Having a photo walk in the winter is not always the best idea. But we live in Canada, and I love getting out in the snow and taking pictures. But here in Southern Ontario Winter can be a trying time, with bitter cold, slate-grey skies, and generally not exactly lovely to be outside. Sometimes you have to roll the dice and see what you get. Last year we got treated to a snowstorm which produced some excellent images. This year, due to a busy January, I pushed the event up to February. It was worth the wait for a few reasons. We were treated toRead More →

I will always have a soft spot for a fixed lens rangefinder, especially one that uses Zeiss Optics. And the Contessamat SE is no slouch, despite being placed as the middle child in the Contessamat family, it certainly performs like a firstborn. While you will find it slightly different from its Japanese cousins, it’s compact nature, excellent optics, and semi-automatic functions will let it stand alongside those cameras. Thanks to James Lee for loaning this hidden gem out for a review. Camera Specifications Make: Zeiss Ikon Model: Contessamat SE Type: Rangefinder Format: 135 (35mm), 36x24mm Lens: Fixed, Zeiss Ikon Color-Plantar 1:2,8/45 Year of Manufacture: 1963-1965Read More →

While we could do an entire episode on one of the world’s most under-rated, hidden gem cameras out there, the Nikon F90(x). It’s a camera we’ve talked about so much before we just had to take out several other cameras that need a little more limelight. Zenit E When it comes to iconic Soviet SLRs, the Zenit E comes to the top of most people’s list. And it’s one of the ‘good’ cameras that came out of the Zenit line of SLR, a heavy metal camera that is built like a Russian hammer. And honestly, most people buy the Zenit E and its un-metered cousinRead More →

Here we are, there is always a certain bittersweetness about completing a project. And for me, this one was an eye-opener. It challenged not only my world view but my view of my own country and our history. But that is what history is supposed to do, challenge us to learn from the past and see how we can change the future. And here is the trouble with history, we can only see it through the eyes of those who wrote it and our personal bias. And trust me, it is hard to overcome your own bias. But the biggest problem with history that isRead More →