I headed out yesterday and took some photos, but it was rainy. I also took my Leica with me so I'm going to wait until I get those developed and go from there.

Today turned out to be a nice day so I headed out to Trap Falls in Ashby, MA. I've never been there before and it looks like there are a few places out there that could be fun to explore again. I think in other seasons it could be interesting as well. I only explored there briefly and the adjacent park as well. I'm still photographing in black and white mostly to get the practice. I once again took my Leica with me and I'll be excited to get those photos developed in the next couple weeks.

Here's a glimpse of my short photo walk.

​Enjoy.

Its been really fun going back into the archives to look at some photos I have taken in the past. I've really enjoyed using Fuji cameras and have used a bunch of them. This was one of my short stints with the X100T. Its a camera that I want to love and be able to use for all my photo walks, but still find that field of view tricky. Also, having a fixed lens it can be a little pricey for what it is.

These photos are taken on the RI coast when I headed out to check out a wedding venue. It had snowed that week and it was quite chilly this day, but since I was in the area I decided to drive a little to get some photos. Nothing amazing here, but not terrible either.

I'll continue to post old photo walks I've taken in the last 5 years or so.

I've been looking at my archives as I know that I've taken a ton of photos through the years. On my last website I had a lot of photo walks which obviously disappeared once my website was shut down. I plan on keeping this site running for a very long time because I have so much to share and will continue to have content to put out.

From time to time I'll go back into the archives and post other photo that I've taken. Yes, sometimes things change a little, but that's ok.

These photos were taken way back in 2015 when I was trying out the Fuji X100T. This line up of cameras are so cool because they are in the style of a rangefinder camera, but with a digital output. I've bought and returned them several times not because they are bad cameras, but because I'm still not comfortable with the 35mm focal length. You don't have much of a choice on this camera because it has a fixed lens. The build is phenomenal and the ergonomics are great and I want to love it, but that focal length only works for me sometimes. So, in that sense, its actually really good to go back and look at some photos to remember how the camera handled things.

Looking at these photos makes me want to seek out one of these cameras again as the results are great, but I know I shouldn't. I did convert a few of these to black and white. 

Old Sturbridge Village

​Enjoy!

This past summer I was eager to get out with my camera. My Leica M3 had seen a couple rolls of film, but they were around the house and nothing too special. At this time I was shooting some color and some black and white. It was around this time where I decided that my Leica would take only black and white film and my Nikon FM2 would only shoot color film. 

Sometimes I like to drive around aimlessly and with my photo walks that was no different. I think I was headed towards the Mass Audubon in Worcester, but hopeful to find something nice along the way. It just so happened that as I was making my way there from Millbury I saw some vintage cars in a large lot. It looked like the beginning of a car show. I continued on because I passed it so quickly, but decided to turn around and check it out. 

I still had a roll of black and white film in my camera which was awesome because I knew this would be a great way to get these vintage cars. It just made sense to me. But, about 10 photos in I realized that my roll was done and the only other roll of film I had with me was in color. I was not even close to being done so I changed out the film and continued on. I spoke with a few nice people there and even met a guy who owned one of the Smokey the Bandit cars (77 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am). He was so happy to talk about the car and show it to me. He even met Burt Reynolds at an old car show. Needless to say I took a bunch of photos.

After I left I found another car showing going on in Shrewsbury so I headed there. They had a lot more Oldsmobile cars there but it got a little crowded so I didn't stay long.

Looking back at these photos I'm quite pleased with them. For color film I used Kodak Gold 200 film.

This past year I've been really exploring film photography and getting a hang of it. I've decided on a black and white film that I like: Ilford HP5. I've tried several color film as well, but given price increases I haven't tried out as many as I would like. I'm very partial to black and white, but there are situations where you really need color.

But I've also found myself talking a lot about film and how I'm enjoying it, how inspiring it has been and how my creativity meter has been fully recharged. Film photography is more a personal thing that I'm enjoying, but haven't introduced into my professional work. I'm having a lot of fun going on photo walks, taking a handful of photos and savings some frames for the next walk. I'm not rushing or forcing photos that might look ok. If I don't really enjoy the scene or subject I'll frame it in camera look at it for a few seconds and then just move on. Having the rangefinder system gives me a uncluttered look at the scene and I'm thoroughly enjoying it.

But, I'm also noticing that although I want to print these photos which I really love it only be me that would enjoy them. These are my photo walks and unless a major landmark others might not appreciate a photo of a random tree as I do. To put this in a different perspective I've decided to make a photo book filled with many of the highlights of the previous year. I'm still debating on how many I will print and if they will go for sale or if I'm just printing one for myself. My blogging mind tells me that I would love to share my adventures.

I'm in the process of trying out different printers and book/zine styles to see what I like, but this is an exciting chapter in my photography journey. My goal is to produce the photo book by the end of January 2023. I'll take much of December and January to figure out the photos I'll include and the layout. I'm excited, but also a little nervous. I hope to produce something well thought out and a great record of the year.

If you're interested at all please stay in touch and visit the site again. I plan to do a yearly book for my film photography although I have ideas for smaller projects along the way.

​Thanks and see you soon!

UPDATE: 1/8/2023
So I did create a photo book for 2022, but was impatient and only included photos taken up to Dec 1st and then I shot two more rolls after that. It was a great experience though as I made a sample one with a softcover and a slightly longer one with a hard cover. Hard cover is the way to go for sturdiness, but with the price difference I could easily add a few more pages of photos to the soft cover version. I used Shutterfly, which often has sales, and will most likely use them again as I now know what to expect. I know I will make one at years end, but I might opt to make another photo book with a more specific theme in mind. Please comment below if you would like to know more.

Getting into film photography can be daunting at first. Yes, some cameras don't cost too much and a starter lens won't be much either, but what do you do after that? You have to go out and find film. We recently had another price increase on most of the film out there and its getting quite expensive. But, if you're passionate about this medium you still buy it. 

Once all the photos have been taken you can't just throw it at your computer and hope something happens you need to get the film developed. When I was just getting into film I was vary wary of costs and what to do. I found a lab in Springfield, MA that I could go to with some rolls and have them done in about an hour. It was so fun to get them home and see how they turned out. I must have done about 12 rolls with them until I decided to venture into pro labs. I thought the results were ok, but everywhere online everyone tells you to get the best developing/digitizing possible as these are your end product. I had heard about several places, but The Darkroom kept coming up over and over and it was based in the US. So, I decided to give them a shot as I had seen some samples online and was curious how some people were getting such detailed results.

And I have to say that I'll keep using them for the foreseeable future. Because they specialize in this for all level of photography they truly care about the end result. They don't promise to develop your film in an hour, but they do stand behind their quality of work. They use high end scanners and have an experienced staff to quality control the work. All my photos have returned sharper than before with no dust spots or random artifacts on the image. Once the photos are ready to view they upload them to your own private gallery where you can view them and download them immediately. Then they mail you back your film negatives. I'm extremely happy with their quality. I'm aware that there is a cost here for good work, but you'd be hard pressed to do better or to even do it yourself better. I fully trust them to get my film developed and digitized with top quality.

If you're worried about cost just send them one roll and see how they do.
Of course they are not the only good lab out there, but its my preferred place to go . They do give you the option on small, medium and large files so you can be flexible with your spending.

They are based in San Clemente, California.