Note to followers:

Sorry about being so late posting this video. My 6 year old Windows based laptop finally died, it was my only computer at the time. But that event forced me to finally make the switch to a Mac. I've spent the past 2 weeks configuring my new system, moving files over, buying new hardware, and settling in to the Mac way of doing things.....and it's great. Thanks for your patients.

 

In the month of May my Analog Project 2012 continued with the the Olympus XA. This camera released by Olympus in 1979 is a 35mm rangefinder featuring a 35mm Zuiko lens that shoots at f/2.8, an aperture priority exposure system with aperture that range from f/2.8 to f/22, and shutter speeds ranging from 10sec. to 1/500sec., and an ISO range from 25-800. This camera also features an exposure compensation switch on the bottom that changes the exposure by +0.5 - it's kind of a backlighting option to be used when shooting in the shade. The same switch serves as a battery check, and a self timer. The XA line of olympus cameras were very popular and featured several somewhat similar looking models over the years. The Olympus XA1, XA2, XA3, and XA4 all featured scale focusing and various forms of automatic exposure but the original XA was the only one in the line-up that existed as a true rangefinder. This camera has an all plastic body featuring a sliding clamshell design that also served as a power switch and lens cover - when closed the camera was seriously compact and portable. Folks with fat fingers such as myself might find the XA's focusing lever (located just below the lens) a bit hard to find and operate. It's somewhat recessed but does allow for your fingernail to rest inside a little slot or groove built-in to the little lever - once you find it....everything works great. I also found the shutter release button a bit too flat and went hunting for it too often when holding the camera up to my eye. Like a few other point-n-shoot cameras that I own, it needs to be raised just a little to make locating it without looking much easier. My XA came with an Olympus A11 flash that attaches to the side of the camera with a built-in thumb screw. The flash runs on a single AA battery and puts off a pretty good burst of light when shooting outdoors at night or indoors with low light. It's not great for long range illumination but will get the job done for most lighting needs. I will admit that I only bought this camera because it was a rangefinder but later found that Olympus put plenty of engineering behind this little compact camera as well as outfitting it with an excellent Zuiko lens. The XA is a keeper!

Check out a short video about my XA over on my YouTube Ch.

Also check out my Lomography Home where I have just a bit more to say!

 

In the month of March my Analog Project 2012 featured the Mamiya U. This camera released by Mamiya in 1981 is an automatic exposure 35mm point-n-shoot that features a sharp 35mm Mamiya / Sekor f/2.8 lens, shutter speeds that range from 1/8sec to 1/500sec, a built-in pop-up flash, 12sec self timer, and an underexposure warning alert. With zone focusing, this camera is easy to use and serves as a great all-around pocket shooter. I think this camera is best suited for simple daylight shooting with 200 speed film and not too dark indoor shots with 400 speed film as long as you use the built-in flash. My little DIY thumb-tack shutter release button has held up very well over the past year - it saved this camera from a life of never being used as it would have sat on the back shelf. It's another in a series of big bulky PnS from the 80's that I've added to my collection - I seem to have a soft spot for this style of 80's retro cameras. In my opinion these types of cameras (80's point-n-shoots) sits squarely in first place as an alternative to over priced boutique cameras that are all the rage in the Lomography scene.

Check out my YouTube Ch. for a quick video about this camera.

When looking through the viewfinder of most medium format cameras of this type - up moves down, down moves up, right moves left, and left moves right.....plus the reversing of any additional movement. All of this can cause one to loose their sense of balance within the viewfinders frame. After using my Bronica ETRSi over the past few years I've learned to recover quickly but I've always longed for a built-in level for days when I'm just not feeling it. This is a Hasselblad Spirit Level which attaches to the side of the Hasselblad 500 C/M accessory rail. When the bubble inside the liquid filled chamber settles within the center circle, the camera is level.

Just finished stitching together another leather film holder. This one is for a single roll of 120mm film. The plastic container courtesy of Rollei Retro 100 Tonal. I stamped the lower portion of the leather with the numbers "120" to represent the film type. It turned out so well that I went back and stamped the numbers "35" on my previous leather film holder which holds dual 35mm film rolls. My stitching needs more practice but with each leather crafting project I'm only gonna get better. Next up is a dark slide holder....stay tuned.

This 35mm leather film holder was totally inspired by Patrick Ng. I follow Patrick on flickr and last year he posted a photo of a leather case he crafted from sections of leather, rivets, snaps, a clasp and some thread all wrapped around a plastic Rollei dual film container. For me it was love at first sight, I had to have one. I'm sure many of Patrick's followers have offered to pay him to recreate his leather goods for them but I don't think he would - he's such a busy person. I was sure that if I had the right materials I could make one myself - so I set out to find what I needed. I got plenty of tools and supplies from Tandy Leather located here in the Bay Area as well as two sizes of clasps from Ace Hardware - the rest was donated by my mother-in-law who has lot's of leather crafting goodies stashed in her garage. I ordered the Rollei film with container on eBay and I plan to order at least one more. I've also got a roll of Rollei 120mm with container in route and should be here in the next day or so - it too will get wrapped. My mother-in-law gave me valuable tips and plenty of coaching before I got started, and my wife helped out with advise when I had to make decisions about cuts and rivet placement. This project took about 2.5 hours total and to be honest....it wasn't that hard. I plan to make at least two more of different shapes in the coming weeks. I don't own a fancy leather camera bag to hang my new little film holder from but I'll have one soon enough.

Patrick Ng is a connoisseur of fine writing instruments, elegant paper, travelers notebooks, leather goods uniquely hand-crafted by himself, vintage cameras, awesome GTD (getting things done) inspired organizational techniques, Moleskine art, world travel, and so much more.

Check out his flickr photostream at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/moleskineart/
And his website: http://scription.typepad.com/

The Sprocket Rocket

My Analog Project 2012 kicked off in the month of January with the Lomography Sprocket Rocket. The Sprocket Rocket is a 35mm film camera designed to shoot panoramic sprocket hole images. The camera is very slick looking with a throw-back retro design that looks like the Falcon Miniature from decades past. The Sprocket Rocket does great in bright sunlight with any color film - I can't wait to venture out at night with a roll of 800 speed film to see how it does. I haven't tried the double exposure feature which is done by winding the film backwards with the left-side top-mounted roll-back knob. I will admit that I've never been successful with double exposures.....but I'm willing to give it a try. The Sprocket Rocket is a wonderful and fun "not so toy" camera.

I'm kicking off 2012 with another analog project. I'm adding a few toy cameras into the mix as well as simple point-n-shoot plastic cameras because they are loads of fun when using fancy lomo films. Last year I split the project in to two parts each month - a video walk around of the camera used then a video sideshow posted over on flickr featuring images shot with the camera. This year I'm grouping several images in with the video walk around and discontinuing the sideshow.

 

 

For the month of January 2012 I'm featuring the Lomography Sprocket Rocket. A 35mm toy camera designed to shoot sprocket hole photography. The camera has an all plastic build with a classic retro design that resembles the Falcon Miniature from the late 1930's. Equipped with a 30mm super wide angle lens the Sprocket rocket can capture a 106º field of view making it a pretty decent panoramic camera. This camera also has the ability of rolling back the film to previous frames to create double exposures. The Sprocket Rocket sells for around $90 but you can find in cheaper if you shop around.

Adventures In Analog.

"Analog photography reconnects our inherent need to possess that which is real. Film and paper represents that which can be touched, held, and truly experienced - it's physical media in the purest sense. Adventures In Analog is my continuing examination of film photography through projects, discussion, and discovery."

I've carved out this spot on the web to host analog photos, video posts, and conversations about analog (film) photography. I'm not turning my back on digital - just simply giving analog photography it's rightful place amongst the things that I love. In addition to this new website, I'm kicking off 2012 with another Analog Project featuring film cameras from my collection. The videos will once again be hosted on my YouTube Channel (which got a bit of an update) and any additional photos will be posted here along with other content.