Frequent visitors to this website know that I am far from being a “gear” guy. Most cameras are just a means to an end for me, and I generally swing to the cheaper end of the spectrum when it comes to equipment. Plastic craptastic cameras were a recent obsession; throw in a pinhole camera here, a busted lens there… you get the point. Nevertheless, this week I bit the bullet and upgraded my nicest 35mm film camera. Stimulus money was burning a hole in my pocket, and the premium glass I own needed a long-term body to fully live with. Not gonna get into the details of what I bought… you’ll have to watch this space closely to see if I spill the beans at some point. In order for me to make room on my shelf, I did decide to part with a particular camera that never quite fit into my workflow. My Texas Leica shipped out to a new home this week. I hope it finds a more loving, dedicated user. I never quite took to it, even though I had grandiose plans for it. A cheap plastic Holga stole my heart instead. In any event, as much as I try not to focus to much on gear, it is bittersweet that the Fuji 6 x 9 is heading off to another lover. “Goodbye, stranger…it’s been nice…hope you find your paradise.”
A Bible in the Bosque
2020: 44 (Hope and Change)
The weather is changing, autumn is in full effect. The colors in the bosque are at their peak. Golden yellow and reds dominate. Three visits this week yielded much comfort, and many photos. I wandered through the thicket on Thursday and came across this Bible, in the middle of the woods, not near any path. I snapped it with my iPhone (sacrilege, I know) while also doing a few shots with my Holga. I decided to revisit the scene on Friday, with some slide film in my Leica (again… sacrilege) that I intended to cross-process. Leaves had fallen on the open book since the day before. Change. Hope. In 2020 we need both.
I also voted yesterday, to complete the theme for the week.
2019: 39 (Cleaning Up)
Every autumn I get the urge to purge. I usually spend an afternoon going through bins out in the shed, throwing out ephemera that I’ve dragged from place to place. This year, my ritual has expanded into reassessing my photo related items. I have more cameras than I know what to do with, and film in my fridge and freezer that has been unused long enough. This week I parted with 15 boxes of Fuji peel apart film, committing to “moving on” from a camera and format that has been a thorn in my side long enough. This has me reassessing other cameras sitting idle in my office, and I’m taking steps to part with them as well. As much as I claim to love shooting film, the reality is I have film cameras I haven’t touched in years, and most likely will not be using any time soon. My Ebay account will be getting regular usage for the next few weeks. Nostalgia be damned, it’s time to move on.