Fiddlefye

The one on the left in the pic - Super Ikonta 531 - is loaded with HP5. First time out! On the hunt for some less-than-expensive 100 speed film for the 521. Same lens and shutter on both so you'd never be aware which took with image.

Finally putting a roll through the XG-M a friend found for me gratis at the end of a yard sale. Nice camera to work with.

My father passed away a decade ago, but my sister finally relented and let me have some of his cameras. Two of his favourites were Bronicas, the ETRSi and GS-1. He shot with the GS-1 for many years, but the ETRSi was the last camera he bought and he used it very little. I think the ETRSi will be my choice for some shooting at a local farm fair this weekend. First time shooting 645 - all of my mediu8m format experience to date has been 6x6.

I got self indulgent this week and bought this entire lot (all or nothing deal) - Leicaflex SL, 28 Elmarit, 50 Summicron, 60 Macro Elmarit (with extension), 135 Elmarit and some filters, cases and tubes. I've already been out with the Macro Elmarit on my SL-2 and a roll of Delta 100.

I picked up this Canon A-1 last week - bit of a flyer as I had no battery to test with, but the virtually as-new cosmetic condition seemed hopeful. It came with a 24 f2.8 and I don't have a 24 in FD mount so and a bag and flash. First roll on the go, HP5. Seems to work perfectly.

One of these was my first camera as an 8 year old, paired with a GE selenium meter. It did a very nice job and I loved it. When it was stolen in a house break-in my parents replaced it with an Instamatic and I stopped taking pictures for a few years as a result.

The F2s and 35 f2 are back from service (meter head too little oil, lens too much) and ready to play.

Only mid-week, but I'm pretty sure what I'll be shooting with the rest of the week and weekend. Today I picked up a Pentax MX to pair with the LX. I find I need two bodies for any given system as if I've slow film in a camera I suddenly want something faster and vice versa. Until I put the two cameras together it really hadn't sunk in how much smaller the MX is as compared to most of my 35mm SLRs the LX has always felt pretty compact.

Going away for the weekend to Point Pelee National Park for a "glamping" weekend at the oTENTiks doing an art show with my dear lady wife. Nikon D750 and the 50 f1.4, 24-70 f2.8 and 300 f4 for the digital component For Fall colour shots and to post to my wife's website. Also the Pentax LX with the full kit (28 f2.8, 40 f2.8, 50 f1.2, 135 f3.5, 200 f4) and a few rolls of HP5. Should keep me out of trouble (or something like that). Next week I really should give something else a bit of exercise.

Going "luxury" this weekend with the Pentax LX - I even pulled out the half-case. Loaded with HP5 Plus, but not sure what lenses I'll shoot. I have a few, but seem always to gravitate back to the 50 f1.2 as I love the results so much.

After the past week or so of shooting huge numbers of frames (both digital and 35mm B&W) I feel like I need to slow down - Hasselblad and a couple of rolls of HP5 on tap.

A bit after-the-fact perhaps and the cameras involved don't fit the forum category (but some of the lenses do), but last weekend I did rather more shooting than I've done all at one time for a very long while now. My wife and I crossed the border and went up to Frankenmuth, MI where she went to high school for the wedding of one of her high school friends. I was given the task of "official photographer" and so brought along my Nikon D3/80-200 f2.8 and D750/24-70 f2.8 (for the wedding itself) and 50 f1.4 and 35 f2 AI-s Nikkors for some walkaround fun. I had planned on bringing the Hasselblad and doing part of the wedding shooting in B&W, but while it would have been fun it would really have been just a bit much! I did one walk with the D750 and 50 f1.4 and another with the D3 and 35 f2 and both were fun (of course). Decades later and I'm still in love with the results from the 35 f2. 672 frames and I'm almost done with the editing. It was all highly-variable available light and so a bit of work to get it all to mesh, but we're getting there! Maybe one day someone will ask me to shoot a wedding in B&W medium format again like The Olde Days... one can wish!

Anyone here who knows me knows how much I adore these lovely creatures.