inexplicably
Choosing a Retro Film Camera to Photograph Kids
So you’ve decided you want to start taking old school film photos of children, but aren’t sure what kind of camera to get?
The first question is: “What is the look you’re going for?”
If you’re an 80s or early 90s baby yourself, you might be craving that saturated, indoor flash-heavy, darkly-vignetted 35mm film appearance that you remember from your own childhood photos.
A great film stock for achieving those striking greens from your childhood is Kodak Ultramax 400.
Here, I’ve used a purposely low-fi plastic “toy” camera (heavy on the indoor flash) to achieve a set of photos that could easily be accidentally dated to 1993.
Ode to a Pad Thai
As the song says: “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you got ‘til it’s gone?”
Continue readingGratitude Lately
My Journey with the Minolta Autopak 8 D6 Super 8 Camera
I first spotted my Minolta Autopak while perusing GoodwillFinds.com (now sadly defunct).
I was especially tempted by the promise of a Rokkor lens, the same type as my beloved Minolta XG-1.
Rokkor glass was made by Minolta in the 1970s, an impressive distinction when compared to other camera manufacturers who used pre-made glasses. The glass element was called “Rokkor”, in reference to Mt. Rokko, a mountain in Japan visible from the Minolta factory. The vintage Rokkor lenses have become a fan favorite among photographers for their sharp focus and soft bokeh. It’s hard to define the exact reason, but these lenses have a distinctive feel that I just adore.
She was on sale for $40. When I called my husband to get his weigh-in, his response was: “What’s $40? Get it.”
He did not yet know that the cartridges to actually make the camera run would run $39.95… but this is the same story with most of our vintage cameras. It’s not the cost of the camera that will get ya, it’s the film.
Continue reading
Unbidden Grace 