Made a brief stop in Ithaca earlier this fall — ask me sometime about the insane travel mishaps that almost derailed this trip — and took a few snaps. These are the ones worth sharing! The camera was a Leica M4, the lens(es) were my usual set of M-Hexanons, and the film was Fujicolor 200 (the old emulsion).
Some fall foliage! The predominant color in most of these photos (other than the first, really) is red. I took each one on a Yashica-D camera with Kodak Gold film.
Every year, at the University of Virginia, the students who live on the lawn host a big trick or treating party for families in the area. We go each year, partly because it is a very easy way for the kids to get an insane amount of candy, partly because I always run into friends and acquaintances, and party because it is always a great opportunity for photos. It’s a bit hard to take pictures and wrangle two small children, but I managed to get a few decent shots to share this year.
Part of a continuing series of photos taken while I’m running errands on my bike. Here, I used a Yashica-D medium format camera and Ilford FP4 Plus film.
And here is our obligatory photo of an old car.
Every first and third Saturday local classic car enthusiasts gather in a parking lot near a coffee shop and show off their rides. I try to stop by every so often, always to take pictures. Here are my latest snaps from the last time I went over to see some cool cars.
A little while ago, during a stop in D.C., I walked by the famous (to locals at least) Florida Avenue Grill. As always I had a camera on me, and the light happened to be exceptionally good. I took a few pictures, about half the roll of film, and these two are the ones that looked best: one capture from head on, and the other from an angle, with a view of the sidewalk.
I used a Yashica-D twin-lens reflex camera and Kodak Gold 200 film. The film was processed by Pro Camera in Charlottesville, Va. I did the scanning myself.
A little while ago, I dropped a few dollars on a cheap 35mm point and shoot. It was an Olympus Infinity S, released in 1987. A fully automatic, zone-focus clamshell compact with a 35mm f//3.5 lens and a maximum shutter speed of 1/400s, it was a more or less a “next-gen” update to the Olympus XA series of compact cameras. You can’t quite tell in this photo, but it’s even about the same size.
There’s nothing bad about the camera — the only feature that doesn’t quite work are the buttons meant to adjust the focus to either close-up or infinity — but there’s nothing great about it either. Other than a nice big, bright viewfinder, it’s just a camera. I put two rolls of film through to test the lens — a roll of Kentmere 400, a black and white film, and a roll of Kodak ColorPlus 200 — and came away basically satisfied with the results. The lens is sharp enough to produce good scans and, I assume, good prints.
I’ll say, that the sheer simplicity (and apparent durability) of the Olympus Infinity S makes it an excellent camera for a small child, and my five-year-old has had a lot of fun using it to take pictures when we go out on errands or to do activities. Once he finishes a roll, I’ll have the film developed and maybe I’ll share the pictures. Until then, here are the shots I took during the month or so I kept this in my pocket.
My wife and I spent a weekend in upstate New York over the summer and while we were on our way to Lake Placid, we stopped to have lunch and walk around in Lake George. I took a few pictures with a camera that has become something of a personal favorite, the Panasonic GX8. It has its limitations, but when I’m in the mood for using something with modern conveniences — versus my usual vintage equipment or all-manual digital Leica — the Panasonic is my first choice.
Whenever we travel with the kids, I tend to use evenings and nights — after we’ve had dinner and put the kids to bed — to do a little more exploring. Cities can look very different after dark, and I’m always interested to capture that. These photos were taken throughout the week we were in Montreal, on different nights when I would wander, camera in tow.
End of the shift.
Street performer.
Taking an order.
On a walk.
Billboard.
Empty subway.
Waiting for the train.
On our fifth day in the city, we did a little more sightseeing — heading up to Saint Joseph’s Oratory — and went back to spots around the city we enjoyed, like a nice big park in Little Italy, where the kids could run around and yell at birds. Other than the first shot, which is digital, these photos were taken on a motion picture film stock that I bought from my local camera shop. I clearly underexposed at least one of these photos, but I think it still came out alright.
