The Nikon F5, at first glance you might mistake it for a digital SLR. I certainly have been asked ‘what sensor is in that camera’ and depending on my mood and my general view of the person asking I might reply with something a little more sarcastic, other times a simple response is “oh a 36x24mm or full-frame as it’s called in digital photography.” The F5 was my second grail camera after switching over to a Nikon system from Minolta, in fact, I picked up the battery grip for the F80 to make it look like an F5 because at the time the F5 wasRead More →

When it comes to Nikon, you know most of the cameras in their catalogue, especially their professional offerings. But there are plenty of hidden gems in their camera line as well. Some even have a cult following, I’m thinking of course of their Nikkormat cameras. But what about the Nikon FG? Like many Nikon cameras of the 1980s, it’s often overlooked in favour of the semi-pro FE2/FM2(n) and for a good reason. The FE/FM series attracts a massive following because it followed the original Nikon design ethos of uncompromised industrial design and quality. But the late 1970s and into the 1980s brought a lot ofRead More →

I remember the first time I saw the Pentax 645; it was at Belle Art Camera in Hamilton, Ontario. It was sitting there in all its medium format beauty with the 75mm f/2.8 lens. The store employee told me all about the camera, what it did, how it worked. And I was looking to up my medium format game. The price was right, so I dropped the cash and left with a camera that would come with me on future trips, projects, and even some weddings. As a camera, the Pentax 645 is a workhorse and a working man’s camera, it has everything you wantRead More →

There’s something strange about the Smena 8M, it wasn’t my first experience with Soviet cameras and certainly wasn’t going to be my last. But the Smena 8m made me both loved and despised the cameras from the Soviet bloc. The camera is simple to the point of being demining, a chunk of plastic that has little to offer a photographer. Other than a strange joy and annoyance in general operation. Every time I used it, I wanted to give it away, tossing more images than those I kept. Yet now looking back at the three rolls I shot through the camera the resulting photos aren’tRead More →

There aren’t many cameras out there that I’ve picked up and loved right off the bat. I could probably count them all on just one hand. Oddly enough they’re all from the Nikon F series. The Nikon F2 came into my toolkit by chance and quickly earned a strong reputation for being a reliable camera in any weather and one that has been on the waiting list for a total CLA when I have the chance to send away. I can use all my manual focus lenses on it, and it doesn’t miss a beat. A constant companion on photo walks and trips, easy toRead More →

Before we begin, even still today I am primarily a Nikon shooter. Sure I have had a couple of Canon cameras come through my collection throughout the years, in fact this is my second AE-1 Program to come and go. The first camera went on to help out my friend Nick in Ohio with a photography course he took in University and the second, this camera, went to my friend Laura from the 49th after her T50 kicked the bucket. But when it comes to Canon cameras and if you are a friend and fan of the Film Photography Podcast, the Canon AE-1 Program isRead More →

When I call the Rolleiflex 2.8F the oldest camera in my toolkit, that doesn’t mean it is oldest by age, rather oldest having been in my toolkit the longest of any other cameras. I got the camera in 2010 after buying it from the original owner. The original owner having purchased it in Germany in 1969 along with most major accessories, and since then it became a near-constant companion. And the camera saw a lot of action from trips to abandoned buildings, nature to weddings and other portrait sessions. The Rolleiflex 2.8F is my third and honestly final TLR in my kit having solidified myRead More →

Ending off the year on a quiet note. I always make a point after the business of the holiday season to take a breather, go out for a drive and practice photography. I had been passing by this particular house going to my Opa’s place and always wanted to capture it. So I took the chance and headed out on Boxing Day. Thankfully the roads were quiet that I could easily slip onto and off the property without anyone paying too close attention. I’m glad I did, as a few days later, the entire place was gone, burned in a fire. Pacemaker Crown Graphic –Read More →

The malls have been playing Christmas carols since the end of November. Today I heard a Boxing day commercial on the radio. Yep, it’s that time of year again, Christmas! I had initially planned to get an exterior shot of my home church, but after checking what the exposure should be (metered for 4 minutes), then compensated for reciprocity failure (the more a film is exposed to light, the less sensitive to light it becomes, and tri-x has terrible reciprocity) and the app spat out 52 minutes. I love photography and tri-x, but standing outside at 8:45 pm on the main street in the snowRead More →

So the rather odd title comes from a story a friend tells of a D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) match where one of the players doesn’t know what a Gazebo is and proceeds to think it is a mystical creature, the DM (Dungeon Master) fed up by the player informs him that the Gazebo comes awake and kills him. Don’t worry; this gazebo is asleep and hasn’t been pushed into action. Yet. But after several weeks of wanderings, I’ve come back home here for week 48 and the gazebo that sits out over the Mill Pond. Also, this is where the town of Milton originally sprungRead More →