New, Old Gear

Nine months have gone by since I last set outall of our gear for a photo. Today I took a few studio shots of some of my newly acquired favorites. Pictured above is a 35mm Nikon FG with the MD-14 grip and auto winder. Below is a Yashica Electro 35 GSN. This madness of photography is sickening. It's as if 9 months went by and I just had a baby. I keep buying it stuff. I keep collecting. I have new lenses, but not enough and not the right lengths or specialty. I never have enough. This baby keeps growing. I have to feed the baby. Ok, that's borderline madness speaking there. Seriously though, as if you couldn't already tell by the updates on this blog and my progression since day one, I love photography.

I spend nearly every free moment reading, reviewing, and looking for new challenges. So what's changed since the first blog post here? I carefully examine other photographer's work. I study their techniques, their composition, choice in subject, lighting, etc. I don't think of this as crazy or even obsessive. Ask a college student how much time they spend studying every evening in order to pull of that "A" grade. The only difference is that there is no mid term or final for me, just a hidden opportunity. Perhaps my final is that one moment where I just have to get out of my shell and prove that I can perform, create, and deliver. To answer my own question - nothing has changed since the first day. Nothing will change so long as I constantly strive to create better photos. My camera collection will continue to grow, but smartly with additions to further expand my creativity and learning experiences.

One of my latest pieces of gear is the Yashica Electro 35 GSN rangefinder (35mm). It was a steal at $10 plus $7 shipping. Admittedly, it was a gamble because the seller didn't know anything about it's condition. Luckily, the camera is in great shape and all of its features work. Early last week I made mention of this camera. It was the first camera I had ever seen anyone in our family use. My dad used to take it on all of our vacations and he would sometimes allow me to handle it. Because the camera is manually focused, the time it took for him to compose a shot after posing us all was an eternity. Most of the time we were annoyed because it would be hot or we would be in the middle of crowded tourist trap. Now that we're older we can appreciate all of the pictures he took over the years. Most of them were thankfully in focus.

For Father's Day, I bought my dad one of these vintage gems off of eBay. It came complete with the box, instruction manuals, and leather case. He was thrilled when I gave it to him. Prior to giving it to him I just had to run a roll of film through it to make sure everything was working. Since I didn't have too much time to wander off of the property, I did a quick walk around the house and looked for some interesting subjects. Not much came to mind, but below you'll see what I found. Simple. Afterwards, I went straight back to eBay and bought one for myself.



Sometime next week I will get back a roll of 110mm film. In case you don't remember what 110 film was, check my November 2005 post and look for the "Magimatic" camera. I'll give you a hint - the film looks like a tiny cartridge. These pictures should be interesting so long as the camera actually worked and my film isn't inadvertently ruined. More equipment = more photographs = more fun. This has so far been one great hobby. I never expected I would be this involved, but the feedback has been great and I have enjoyed the challenges of looking for new and unique images.

-EMC