Trip 35 and color slides

Some of these go back to last fall, when I thought I’d try doing the tourist thing in my own town, but really just by snapping pics when I was supposed to be giving the tour.

I used an expired roll of AGFAPhoto Precisa CT 100 (aka Fuji Provia 100F) giving the Trip 35 the ultimate exposure test and I’m quite pleased that the selenium-powered autoexposure works perfectly fine, even after a period of 40-50 years.  I’m now starting to see that the Trip 35’s lens isn’t the most contrasty ever, especially when the sun sneaks behind the clouds, so I’m happy that I’ll be able to shoot slide film in here.

Armed with that knowledge I took the Trip 35 to Wales with me to shoot a few rolls of Velvia 100 and am very happy with the results (I’ve been posting them for the last few weeks).  The more I use this camera the more I love it.  At $8.00 from a thrift store it was a real bargain too, and one that I’m happy I sprung for.  Perhaps I shouldn’t have been so surprised that it did so well with slide film since that’s what people were shooting back when the camera was being made, but it’s nice to know that after such a period of time it still has what it takes.

Quo vadis?

I had a surreal moment recently, as scrolling through my Facebook feed was someone I know only from the WordPress world:

My worlds are colliding.  Also surreal: having a link to the Resurrected Camera from Petapixel (I’m #46).  But though I forgot about it in the 2 or so years since Jim first put me on this list, Jim’s description of my blog really bothers me: “Joe explores and discovers with his old film cameras.”  I don’t know if I’ve ever brought that up with you Jim, sorry.  Really it’s something that has caused a bit of an existential crisis for me.  If that’s the description that sums up what I’ve been doing here for almost 3.5 years now, I think I need to reexamine what I’m posting, what my motives are, and what this blog should actually be about.

It’s been a journey for me, and I started posting January 1st, 2014, after having taken an Intro to Photography class at my university.  I found that one photo class wasn’t enough and ended up going for a minor in photography.  Then I started shooting super 8, made a short film, and over the past year have been taking that to festivals.  My long-term photo project begun in Advanced Photo has been the chronicle of making the film from beginning to end, and photographing the film festivals has been the tail end of that.  But what is this blog actually about?

My intention at the beginning was to show the world that film photography is not expensive, and often cheaper than digital, as well as visually superior.  If that’s not what people think of when they think of The Resurrected Camera, I probably didn’t do a good job emphasizing this aspect.  Maybe it’s time to bring that back in again, or start finding a new theme, new direction.  The name itself, Resurrected Camera, came from the astonishing generosity of other people who have given me cameras, and the incredible deals I’ve come across for items that no longer hold value to people.  Is that still relevant?  And am I still following that goal?

Here’s a self-portrait with my beloved SPII.  I always talk about it because I paid $5 for it at a garage sale, it’s still my main camera, and really if I needed to, I could get by the rest of my life using nothing else.  Maybe it’s time for one of those one camera, one year challenges.  Or something.  The trouble is, since I’m done taking photo classes, I don’t really have a direction anymore.  All the stuff I’m down to are pics I took back in April (or earlier!) that I’m doling out once a week.  Sometimes posting even that much seems like a chore.  It was my goal to make what I’d already shot last all summer, but maybe it’s time to get all that out of the way quicker and start afresh.  I don’t know what direction I’ll take now, but it is my goal to make this blog a little less aimless in future.

(suggestions welcome)

Old stone

Some brick and stone work around South Wales.  Some of it is old, some of it is newer but made to look old.

Talking to Britons, one of the things that came up is architecture and how they feel so tired of everything being made to match Victorian architecture, and wished for more modern-looking buildings.  And of course, being American, I’m sick to death of modern architecture and love seeing buildings, houses, churches, that might only be 200 years old (or younger), but look like they’ve been there for a millennium.

Strolls around Cardiff

Maybe some aren’t the most iconic places ever, but some might be familiar if you know the place.

I wish I had more than two days there.