getOBphoto

I picked up my 6x6 cm medium format Seagull camera a few months ago. I wanted to consciously explore the square format as opposed to the 24x36 mm format that I am used to. These pictures are from my first roll, taken in August. It is a slow process since there is only 12 pictures on a roll of 120-film and they cost a bit of money to buy and develop. Also the process of taking pictures is slow, but in a good way. Slow for me at least, since I am rusty in using this kind of camera - a TLR (Twin Lens Reflex) held at chest level. This is a topic that I aim to come back to in future posts.

  Read another version of my Vito & Akarette review on the Emulsive blog!

Fed 2 with 35 mm lens On and off for a couple of months I've been trying to decide whether to bother to save up for a Voigtländer Bessa T. And I've not yet come to any conclusion. A T seems to be a very good camera, from what I've read about it. But apart from a couple of features, that I seem to be able to live without, other rangefinder camera bodies seem to be just as useful. I've only once held a T in my hands - in a camera shop in Stockholm - and the handling felt truly great. The thing with setting focus through one finder and composing through another doesn't seem to me particularly troublesome. Using most consumer grade rangefinder cameras from 1980 or earlier did consist of several movements that demanded previsualization of the desired outcome - i e: Metering the light (in or out of the camera); setting exposure; composing the picture - like with the T. Even the most automated cameras demanded that you at least set the focus before snapping away. In t...

I dug into a Belmira camera yesterday to find out what was missing from the rangefinder focusing. Once opened I discovered that there was no projection screen. It had been removed. The camera was returned to the remorseful seller. See on the left - the two gaping holes after the screws that held the rangefinder projection screen. A vital piece.

I'm treading the ground of wide-angle photography at the moment. It's an exciting time. Soon enough there will be a post about it.

I recently picked up an Olympus XA again, after a hiatus of two years or so. And during a week of using it and seing the first roll of my Olympus 35 RC developed, I realized that I feel priviliged to use the two best compact rangefinder cameras, hands down. These first pictures were the first taken with new XA. They were all taken in Gothenburg on a grey October day. The camera has a 35 mm wide lens which I am very accustomed to use, since I had my old XA always with me for almost ten years. The wide angle invites the surrounding context into the picture narrative. A 50 mm lens would cover a more narrow field, allowing a more concentrated picture. The Olympus RC that I've only begun to use has been a wonderful aquaintance. I like the focusing very much - it having a very short throw much like the XA. The best pictures from the first roll were also taken in very cloudy weather - even dusk. The Olympus 35 RC camera has a 42 mm lens, whic...

At 35mmc.com you can now read my two part review of the Canon Demi C and its lenses.

Here are some impressions of Jokkmokk and Norrbotten from two years ago this January. Please excuse the crappy scans and 'shopping. I used my Zenit 3m SLR camera which has no electronic features at all, so could not fail on me. The film did break, though. Perhaps due to the cold. Jokkmokk annual Winter Market. Signs galor at the market. An old Volvo PV 444.

I'm planning to visit Paris in five and a half years, with my daughter who will be ten years old. That would be eleven years since the last time I was there. I'm like most anybody - nostalgic about the classic French photographers, like my favourite Robert Doisneau. And about the Eternal city itself. Since I'm a bit of a francophile (some would say severe) I am preparing for the trip by teaching my daughter some french and presenting bits and pieces of French culture to her - and myself! Since I've also stepped up a level or two in photophilia recently I also make plans for the perfect camera kit to bring. I would need proper wide angled lenses for crowded streets, portrait/compositions lenses, and tele for far-off-ish scenery. Canon P with 20 mm Nikon lens on adapter. I would use a 35 mm on it. Fed 2 with 50 mm. This one would be fitted with the 20 mm and the external viewfinder of my own design. Olympus 35 RC. It sports a 42 mm lens. Ca...