Lightbox Wednesday #45: Should I get a zoom?

I've only shot one lens longer in focal length than 85mm in my photographic life; the Pentax-A 135/2.8. It was a lens I picked up on a lark this Spring and took it to a local college graduation ceremony.

Pentax-A 135mm  f/2.8 on Pentax LX body

Pentax-A 135mm  f/2.8 on Pentax LX body

Pentax-A 135mm f/2.8 on Pentax LX body

Pentax-A 135mm f/2.8 on Pentax LX body

Telephoto lenses really make you see the world differently and I've been thinking that maybe I should shoot this 135 more. I've also been considering a zoom lens. I've never owned one and really never had the desire to until now.

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I have so many different camera bodies, so the choices are vast. Manual focus or auto focus? Nikon? Pentax? Canon? Olympus? Minolta?

Right now, I am leaning towards finding an inexpensive Nikkor AF-D zoom and shoot it on my Nikon F4 body. Not sure. Suggestions are welcomed.

Lightbox Wednesday #44: Selfie Special Edition

I started taking self portraits with my classic film cameras for fun. As I became a more competent photographer, I used selfies for metering tests and close focusing.

My very first photography selfie was not with a film camera at all, but with my iPhone. I found a cool Kodachrome mirror on eBay and took a photo of myself after I had proudly hung it in my den.

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My second one was with my first Polaroid Land Camera. I shot this at the end of a very long night of doing some intense camera repair work to get this old camera to eject exposed film properly. I treated myself to a nice glass of wine after I got this image. Or was it two glasses?

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When I started this journey back into film photography, I wasn't very concerned with organizing my images. I was just shooting film and having fun. Earlier this year, when I started this Lightbox project of cleaning up my archives and labeling all of the images I wanted to keep, I realized that one of the unexpected benefits of shooting a selfie on many of the rolls I'd taken was that it allowed me to clearly identify the camera and lens I was using at the time.

Since that revelation, I have made it standard procedure to shoot one selfie either at the start or end of the roll to assist in future archiving. I am also considering adding a slate card in the shot to identify film used.

What started out as goofy fun became a benefit. Here are some of my selfies through the years.

Nikon F2

Nikon F2

Hasselblad 500c/m

Hasselblad 500c/m

Nikon F2AS

Nikon F2AS

Minolta XE-7

Minolta XE-7

Leica M3

Leica M3

Pentax Spotmatic

Pentax Spotmatic

Pentax LX

Pentax LX

Mamiya 645

Mamiya 645

Olympus OM-4

Olympus OM-4

Leica M9-P

Leica M9-P

Nikon F4

Nikon F4

Pentax ME Super

Pentax ME Super

Canon P

Canon P

Nikon F2AS Vertical Shot

Nikon F2AS Vertical Shot

Olympus OM-2n

Olympus OM-2n

Leica MP

Leica MP

Pentax MX

Pentax MX

Olympus OM-2n Black Body

Olympus OM-2n Black Body

Pentax Spotmatic Chrome Body

Pentax Spotmatic Chrome Body

Leica M-P typ 240 with EVF

Leica M-P typ 240 with EVF

Lightbox Wednesday #42

Fall is my favorite time of year, especially October. Four years ago, I had to move inland about 15 miles, renting a tiny cottage in the town of Freestone, CA for six months. The owners called the place "The BoHo Cottage" because it was located on the Bohemian Highway. 

The month of October was beautiful in the BoHo Cottage. Rays of warm sunshine sliced through the thick canopy of trees on the property, creating all sorts of photographic opportunities. I shot these one Sunday afternoon with my Mamiya 645Pro on Ektar 100.

My favorite place to enjoy morning coffee

My favorite place to enjoy morning coffee

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When fall turned to winter, the realities of living in a thin walled, uninsulated cottage became apparent. I've never been so cold as the winter I spent in the BoHo Cottage!

Lightbox Wednesday #41

All year long, I've been editing my archives of the images I have taken since re-entering film photography in 2010. Kind of like cleaning the garage, it's an exercise that you procrastinate over doing. Once done however, the results are deeply satisfying.

Just prior to buying my first film camera in 2010, I was snap-shooting with a Nikon Coolpix point and shoot digital camera. Most of my work with this camera is forgettable, but I like this one.

Seagull captured from the Alcatraz Ferry, San Francisco Bay, Winter 2009

Seagull captured from the Alcatraz Ferry, San Francisco Bay, Winter 2009