Whilst sitting in a cafe last weekend, an older man in an adjacent booth, called out to me to inquire about my camera. He wanted to know if it was a manual Nikon as he had suspected. “No, it’s a Yashica.”, I replied, “My Nikon is at home.” He then launched into a conversation about old film cameras and we speculated over my camera’s age. I realised that I actually didn’t know how old my camera was (which made me feel silly) but he assured me that it must have been from the ’70s. I had thought it was more likely a later model from the ’80s. He seemed quite delighted that I was using something he remembered from his past. Conversation about cameras continued on with my new friend until my lunch arrived and he proclaimed, “Yes, I told my wife that that lady really knows her photography. She is using film.”

That sweet man was not the first to strike up conversation about my cameras. I have been stopped many times by strangers and never have they posed me questions of why. They’ve all greeted me with smiles and discussions of once owning similar cameras. Most of them walk away with a happy memory in their head. Experiencing these little interactions with strangers is just another reason why being a film camera user is so heart warming. Have you ever had these kinds of conversations with strangers?

p.s. I’ve since learned that my Yashica is from the mid 1980s.

Related posts:

1. I Have A Camera Confession
2. How To Use a Polaroid Camera Part ii

Apart from the obvious which is allowing me to shoot some photographs and making them look pretty, I love my cameras for their funny little quirks. When you spend as much time with a camera like I do, you start to think of them as friends, confidantes, secret keepers and often times, like your own children.

My latest family member is my Polaroid SLR680 and it has got to be one of the funniest cameras I have ever owned. No, it doesn’t tell me jokes, but shooting with it often ends in giggles. Usually the photographer controls the camera but in this case, this camera controls me. I have absolutely no say in where the Polaroids will end up once I press the shutter button.

It has a mind of its own and for some reason when I press click, instead of slowly ejecting the Polaroid which is supposed to remain in the camera, the Polaroid shoots itself out of the camera like a cannon ball. I never know whether to try to grab it quickly, run after it or giggle. One must be very careful when shooting around snow, puddles and sand. I have already lost a few Polaroids to snow diving suicide missions. I may have been seen chasing a Polaroid across the sand on the beach in Hawaii. Thankfully a nice lady caught one for me.

Yes, this Polaroid shooting is a dangerous business. If you ever find yourself with a cannon ball shooting Polaroid, be mindful of these things:

• wind and water are your enemies.
• you may end up with wonky shots because you will attempt the “shoot and catch” move that I myself am becoming most skilled at.

Do your cameras have any funny, little quirks that you’ve come to love?

Related posts:

1. Paper Cameras Print Store Sale On Now
2. The Things We Do For Those We Love
3. Polaroid NoteCards from The Love of Light!

I have a confession that no camerajunkie should admit…I have been looking at purchasing a new digital camera. It’s terrible, this disease. Always hunting for something different, something to inspire and recharge the picture taking mojo.

At present, I am in love with the idea of the Olympus E-P1. It has been built with the love of old school photography in mind. This gorgeous new thing looks like the old Olympus Pen cameras and has some awesome features that most digicams do not offer. I would LOVE to get my hands on this camera.

Check out some shots on flickr.

However, as we move into October, which I have dubbed U2 month, I have been pondering getting something good and strong to work that concert stage. I have been looking at the Canon G11 which does very well in low light and has the old flippy out screen.

Oh, decisions, decisions…

Does anyone have any compact cam recommendations or use the Canon G9/10? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

My sister in Centennial Park, Sydney

So you wouldn’t think that this is the dead of winter here in Sydney, right now. The past couple of weeks we have been having glorious sunny weather that only requires a light jacket. It’s that kind of weather where you instantly feel the urge to lie down in the grass to feel the warmth of the sun caressing your back. It’s like a hug, a warm, sun hug.

I absolutely adore this kind of weather, so this week my sister and I headed out to Centennial Park to have a mini photo shoot. Ducks and geese were splashing in the water (we think some of them were laughing at us), golden, curly haired puppies were scampering through the grass, while the sun was hitting the ponds, making them sparkle.  It made me feel warm and gooey inside.

There is one small section in Centennial Park that has a little wooded forest and for a moment, you can imagine you are in a hidden woodland in Europe somewhere. We took Polaroids and played with balloons and heard the click and whirr of the shutter button. I handed her the holga and she inquired, ” What do I do? ” after she had just wrestled with my Canon 40D and all it’s wizz bangery. I laughed and replied, “point it, push that plastic lever”.

It was a happy little lomo moment.

If you are ever in Sydney, just before or around Spring, you must stop by the little wooded forest and pond with the giggling geese.

More photos to come but for now check out these lovely shots…

Image by Lawatt

Image by Hanna Davis

Related posts:

1. Shooting In The Rain

If you hadn’t heard yet, I’m a bit of a film photography obsessive. I get a lot of emails and flickrmail from people asking me about my cameras, how I use them, which ones to buy, so I thought I would put up a little feature here on why I personally love film cameras and how you can too.

So you’ve decided you want to get into film photography for whatever reason. Maybe you took a photography class back in high school or at university and want to get back into it, maybe you’ve only ever used a digital camera and you’re intrigued by this weird thing called film (what do you mean I don’t plug it into the computer?) or maybe you just love the look of what film can produce.

To me film tells a story, it creates something that could be, may have been or quite possibly wasn’t there, it weaves magic that I still don’t think digital can do. Don’t get me wrong, I love digital (especially the time aspects) and I have used it to shoot my 52 weeks project mostly. However, film can spin that web, can create the magic of story telling, which to me, is what good photography is all about.

So what do you buy? 35mm? Medium format? Polaroid? Toy camera? So much choice.

I would recommend starting out with a 35mm if you just want a straight up film camera that is going to do the job. 35mm cameras are the kind that normal every day film goes into. All old school automatic cameras that our mums and dads used to use were 35mm point and shoots. I own quite a few different 35mm cameras.

35mm:

Pentax K1000

I don’t own one myself but lots of people in the photoblogging world and in my list of flickr contacts do use the Pentax K1000. You can pick one up on ebay for around $100. Perhaps I should buy myself one for my birthday in the coming weeks seeing as they were made in 1976 and so was I. The Pnetax K1000 is a very typical camera used by film students at photography school.

Nikon FM

My workhorse 35mm camera is the Nikon FM3A. It sits in the Nikon FM family which are some of the greatest manual cameras ever made. They are strong, sturdy and built to last. The Nikon FM2 is a very popular camera and produces some gorgeous results. The special thing about the FM3A is that it is fully manual but nowhere near as old as the other FM cameras and it has an auto setting for when I’m feeling less than artistic.

The FM3A is a lot pricier than the FM or FM2 cameras, but I hear the FM2 is just as good.

Canon AE1

My grandfather owns a Canon AE1 and I really need to get my hands on it to have a play. It’s one of those cameras that I’ve always wanted to own and in fact, I was tossing up between it and the Nikon FM3A before I got her. The Nikon won out on newness which meant I wouldn’t be inheriting someone else’s problems. My aunt has shot some really fabulous Black and White portraits with the Canon AE1. I really should go and steal it from her. I know Pia Jane Bijkerk uses one of these babies!

Yashica Electro and FX

The Yashica Electro 35 G series cameras are also popular. Abby from Abby Try Again shoots with one if that’s anything to go by. I don’t know much about them other than over the years lots of people have told me to buy one. I never really had the chance, until I stumbled across a used camera store in Seattle a few years back. They didn’t have any Electros but I did find a Yashica FX3 which I’d also had my eye on. I use this camera for many of the 35mm photographs you see on this blog.

Olympus OM2

The Olympus OM2 has a cult following, as do many of the cameras listed here. This is one camera I have always been intrigued by, along with the Olympus Pen cameras. The king, Tommy Oshima has one, so you know they must be good.

Just remember that a lot of these cameras are fully manual. You can pick up auto point and shoot cameras that were made later but they don’t offer as much oomph. Any of these cameras would be a good choice to start your way in film photography. None should be too pricey, apart from maybe the Nikon FM3A, all costing you between $100-$200. Try ebay for a bargain or the safer KEH or B&H photo. I have bought from both online stores and have been very pleased with the results. If I ever get around to buying myself a Hasselblad, I will most likely purchase from KEH.

I hope you have enjoyed my little 35mm film camera feature.