Throwback Thursday View - 10 January 2019 Edition

Welcome To The Exploration Photography Daily View

Today's throwback is from January 9, 2015 and the subject is another throwback. I've actually done this before not too long ago. The post is from January 2015 but the photo is from March of 2000. And it was shot on film. The place of course is Chinatown in San Francisco California. As I say in my original post I only had two days there which is just not enough time to see a lot but at least the trip was kind of free. Click Here to read all about it.

Speaking of film I have a few projects and retro reviews on the horizon that I think you will enjoy. And I will also be making some updates to my website. If you haven't seen it yet you can check it out Right Here. It is a work in progress but I feel really good about it. It's a place for me to show some of my more in depth work. For today's photo though take a look at this.

Click For Full Size Image

 

 

 

And that about does it for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Throwback Thursday View - 6 December 2018 Edition

Welcome To the Exploration Photography Daily View

Today's throwback takes us to December 5, 2014. But it also takes us to August of 1992. Confused? Don't be. In my December 5, 2014 post I shared an image that I shot (on film) in 1992. It was part of my "Retro Friday" pics that eventually evolved into Throwback Thursday. Yeah I know it's not very original but it helps me take a quick break during the work week. Anyway, here it is and remember to Click Here to see my original post.

Click For Full Size image

Here is Yesterday's View.

Wednesday December 5, 2018

And that will do it for today. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Welcome To The "Throwback Thursday" View

Today we step back to December 5, 2015. A post which took us back to August of 1992 Washington DC. Here we see the Lincoln Memorial as it is going through a renovation. And there is also a commercial jet flying overhead. Something that you will likely never see again.

You can see the original post by clicking here.

Click For full Size Image

That's all for today my friends. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Welcome To the Daily View

Today I am switching things up a bit. Instead of sharing a photo of one of our cafe guests or some of our plants, flowers or other form of nature I would like to share one of my better "flea market finds" in quite a while. Or in this case a local thrift store.

I am always (and I mean ALWAYS) on the lookout for cameras. Doesn't matter if it is digital or film, newer or older. Though older film is what I like the most.  And I must have somewhere between two and three hundred specimens in my collection. So when I come across a brand I have never heard of let alone seen I jump on it. As long as it's affordable of course. The same goes for unique models from brands I am familiar with. Well today I found one. And aside from a sticky shutter and a minor dent it is in pretty good shape. Especially for its age.

Today for the bargain basement price of just $8.00 I procured this beautiful 1966 Petri Racer.

Click For Full Size Image

As with most vintage 35mm Range Finder cameras this one feels awesome in my hands. Though I must admit that I am a sucker for aluminum bodied mechanical cameras. And this one is as solid as they come. It's also the more sought after 45mm F1.8 lens version.

Here is some more views.

Top View

Side View

Note the dent at the upper left of the lens. Not a big deal. It's merely cosmetic.

Unusually positioned shutter release on the front of the camera. at least for a Range Finder

Petri Camera Company. Never heard of them.

Close up top of camera

Yep. She was last serviced on November 11, 1968. A mere 49 ears ago. That's two years older than me :) But it seems that Comet camera may still be in business at 1209 Walnut Street in Philadelphia.

Cool huh? As soon as I can find a shop that will fix the sticky shutter I will take it out for some field testing. And of course I'll report back to you :) Oh, by the way, this wasn't the only vintage camera I bought today. Wait until you see the other bargain.

And now...

Yesterday's View...

Friday May 5, 2017

And that will do it for now. Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

Exploration Photography Daily View - February 8, 2016

Hi and welcome to the Daily View!

I was going over some old photos today and came across some scans from some prints I made back in the '90s. If I were to try to pick an exact year I'd say they were made around 1998 give or take a year. I know this because they were shot with my Nikon Pronea S APS SLR film camera. This camera was produced between 1998 and 2000 and I bought one very early in production. It was a cool camera for the day and a good attempt at making the loading and unloading of film a bit easier for casual snap shooters but overall it just didn't catch on. Besides, digital was really taking off by this period in time and I suppose the rest is history. But enough history. How about today's photo?

This is Washington's Headquarters at Valley Forge. One of my favorite subjects. Not my best work but I like the composition. And I love the shadows. Oh and yes, I still own this camera :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time...

December 12, 2014 - Photo of The Day

Hi and welcome to another "retro" Friday. And being Friday I'm sure most of us have had a long week so why don't we get right to it. Sound good?

Let us go back 21 years to the Winter of 1993 and to one of my favorite places, Valley Forge. Today's photo was shot in 35mm. I am not sure what camera I used but it was probably my Canon T50. 

(Stock Photo)

 
The T50 was a fairly basic camera and was also my first 35mm. It didn't give me a lot of freedom to change settings manually but I did learn a lot about composition using it. And even with a basic set of lenses the quality was superior to the average  "point and shoot" of the day. And for the record I still have my T50. I may even take it out one day soon.

And here is today's photo.

I think this is just a bit too grainy. It could be the film I used but I think a more likely cause is the scan I made from the original print. I was able to smooth it out a little in Photoshop. Also coming from me this photo is a little unique. I don't shoot many sunsets at Valley Forge. The parking lots are usually closed at dusk so that of course makes it a little tough to park. I don't remember for sure but I think I may have just pulled the car over and shot this from the side of the road.

And speaking of side of the road photos here is a "stopped on the road" photo from my drive to work this morning. It was early and there was no traffic so I figured I'd give it a "shot" (pun intended).

Just a little snow dusting from a quick overnight snow shower. The roads were actually dry.

And I'm going to call it a day folks. I thank you for reading and ask that you come back soon.

Until next time...

December 5, 2014 - Photo of The Day

Hi and thanks for stopping by. It's Friday again and that means I will be sharing another "retro" photo with you today.

This time we travel back to August 1992 Washington DC. I shot this in 35mm but I am not sure what camera I used. It's not the sharpest photo and there is a little grain but I think the composition is pretty good.

This is the Lincoln Memorial as it was undergoing a little cosmetic work. Oh and there's a plane overhead. I'm pretty sure planes cannot fly there anymore. Especially at that altitude. But anyway this is a little glimpse into my early photographic work.

Thanks for checking out my blog. I really hope you come back soon because I some cool stuff coming up.

Until next time...

November 14, 2014 - Photo Of The Day

Well we have had our first snow of the season so I figured I would use it as a theme for today's "retro" blog post. It wasn't a lot of snow mind you but it was snow none the less.

Today's photo takes us back to the winter of 1998 at Valley Forge. It was shot with my Nikon Pronea S APS SLR camera. The APS format was relatively short lived spanning from 1996 to 2011. It was a good idea in it's day being easy to load and yielding fairly nice images. I always thought it was cool that you could roll a partially exposed roll of film back into it's canister and load a different roll into the camera and then go back and load the original roll again. This was handy say if you needed to use a different film speed or perhaps change from color to black and white. You also received your negatives back in the film's original canister. You can read more about this unique film format here.

And here is today's photo.

There were many different APS cameras out there ranging from point and shoot all the way to SLR's with interchangeable lenses. I had or should I say have a Nikon Pronea S model. It uses Nikon IX APS lenses but could also use standard Nikon lenses that were designed for auto focus. I would love to take it out and shoot but even if I could find film for it there is no place to get it developed anymore. It is now part of my collection. You can read more about it here.

Thanks for stopping by and taking a trip back in time with me. After all isn't that what photography is all about? Being able to go back in time a get glimpses of days gone by? That's the way I like to see it.

Until next time...

A Morning Of Fun and Film At Valley Forge

Every once in a while I feel compelled to go out and shoot the old fashioned way. With film! Today was one of those days. Actually I have been wanting to fire up my Nikon N80 for a while but it needed batteries and I just always seemed to forget to pick some up. I finally remembered yesterday.

I got up and out early today and headed to Valley Forge Park with both my Nikon N80 35mm SLR film camera and my Canon Rebel T3 DSLR. 

Nikon N80 Circa 2006 (Stock Photo)

Canon Rebel T3/1100D 2014 (Stock Photo)

Right off the bat I was reminded of something that I have mentioned here before. When shooting film you have to be more "frugal". Every frame costs money. And these days it is a lot of money. It cost me $11.99 to get a roll of 24 exposures developed. That is on top of the price of film too. I figured that if I shoot 200 frames on film like I often do with digital that between film and processing it would cost me approximately $122.00. Wow! That is a lot of cash! Now think about this. I purchased my Canon DSLR about 6 months ago and yesterday I passed 10,000 frames shot. That would be more than 416 rolls of film at an average of $12.99 per 4 pack. Add to that the developing cost of about $4,987 and we are at a grand total of $6,337.00.

Now I realize that I could save money by purchasing film online and sending the film out for development. But I am trying to compare digital photography with film based on the fasted possible turnaround. The local lab I use is 1 hour which is rare nowadays. At least around here. On top of the hour it takes to receive my photos there is also time involved to scan each photo I want to use online.

Okay, money and time aside what really matters is results. here are similar photos from each camera. I shot these at Valley Forge this morning. Each is presented after post processing in Photoshop. Take a look.

Nikon N80 35mm SLR Using Kodak Ultramax 400 Speed Film

Canon Rebel T3 DSLR Using 100 Film Speed Equivalent

Nikon N80 35mm SLR Using Kodak Ultramax 400 Speed Film

Canon Rebel T3 DSLR Using 200 Film Speed Equivalent

 

Nikon N80 35mm SLR Using Kodak Ultramax 400 Speed Film

Canon Rebel T3 DSLR Using 100 Film Speed Equivalent

What are your thoughts? To me there is no clear winner based on quality. First of all comes the film. I had Kodak 400 speed film on hand and was not going to spend money on more. I would have preferred 100 speed to help with the bright sunshine. Second I had no control over the developing of the film. When I shoot digital I generally save my images in RAW format so in a sense I actually control how the photo comes out even before processing in Photoshop. The machines used for film at any local lab use a default setting to get "average" results. And third when I shoot with film I can't check to see how an image looks and adjust accordingly to get a better result.

All I can really say is that I am so glad I grew up with film. Now, I am by no means a pro photographer and don't claim to be. I am continually learning. That is what makes it fun. I can't imagine "knowing it all" and having nothing new to look forward to learning. I do however think that film made be a better photographer than if I learned strictly on digital. I am usually (but not always) more careful in composing a shot. But the big difference with digital is that after composing I can shoot using different settings such as a larger or smaller aperture or perhaps a different film speed. I also bracket a lot more now than I used to. I do this because it is now "free" to do so.

How about you? Are you all digital or a film purist? Or are you like me and use digital 99% of the time but every now and then shoot film for the sake of nostalgia and for a reminder of why digital is so great? 

Thanks as always for your time and I do hope you come back soon. I should have my "Photo Of The Day" posted a little later in the day.

Until next time...