I just got back the first roll of film shot with my new Rollei 35SE. It took some really sweet shots limited only by the skill of the photographer, damn him. It’s quirky to say the least, but it does have a great lens. I was really impressed, even considering the relatively small scan size done at Sam’s Club.

Here’s a typical shot:

That image has not been corrected by me, though I’m sure the developer did something or another as that stuff is pretty much on autopilot. It’s pretty darn good in my opinion though (maybe not the image itself, but the clarity and such).
Aloha!

It’s been a while since I played around with my collection of old rangefinder cameras. A while back I ended up buying way too many of the darn things, cleaning them up, and then shooting a few rolls through them. For the most part I’ve not used them a lot, tending to stick to a batch of Nikon SLRS I picked up the same way.

On Saturday, due to the tsunami keeping me home, I took out a few and checked which ones needed batteries I didn’t already have around. Later, when it was all clear – thankfully there was no damage anywhere – I picked up the batteries I needed.

But that got the bug going again. Apparently, just like bikes, one needs n+1 rangefinders. Thus I found myself on EBay again indulging that part of me. I lost out on a couple of FSU (former Soviet Union) models and perhaps that’s just as well. I may still order one from fedka.com. What I did win were these models:

Olympus Pen EE – Not a rangefinder actually, but a fun camera that uses half frames to double your pleasure.
Olympus XA – I have two, neither are reliable. I’m hoping this one actually works.
Rollei 35 SE – Again, not a rangefinder, but supposedly has a superb lens – we’ll see.

And today, I’m turning in a bit of film from another camera of mine, an Olympus Trip 35. It’s not a rangefinder either…hmmm…but is a cute little beast with zone focusing I’ve just run a roll of film through. Perhaps in an hour I’ll have a shot to put up!

Aloha!

I just returned from a lecture by Joyce Tenneson. If you don’t know the name you’ve probably seen some of her work. She’s a pretty incredible artist and quite a personable woman. I’m glad truly glad I went.

I should note that I’m not going to post any of her work here, but you can see it at her website: tenneson.com.

Her new project is “The View Project.” It’s going to be made up of submitted images of…let’s allow Joyce to explain it…

The View Project is about photographs that mirror something in the photographer’s inner life – images that are personal and powerful, yet perhaps not clearly understood, even to the viewer/photographer

Go check it out and submit your own view!

Here’s one from a while back that I played with just a bit. It’s view from the roof of my building looking into the mountains on a rainy day.

Aloha!