While not directly on the topic of the relationship of great cameras and great photographs, I got thinking about great lines of cameras, and I thought I’d share my thoughts while I work on the larger topic. In his New Yorker essay, Lane went further than saying that one camera model could offer tangible advantages… [Read More]
Leica
This is my first post as a blogger. The previous entries were recycled from my old newsletter column. I expect that I will be able to write more frequently, and I’m looking forward to not being constrained by the requirement to produce a certain number of column inches on a fixed schedule. I hope for… [Read More]
Waxing Nostalgic
Recently I scanned 2700 35mm slides from an archive of more than 5000. In the process, I became reacquainted with the lovely tactile qualities of that medium: the feel of the mounts in my hand, the rapid way I could go from a wide view of many images to a close inspection of one, the… [Read More]
Grace Under Pressure
Merle Travis wrote two songs in his career that overshadowed all his others. He wrote them in the same evening, under intense pressure. With an album contract in hand, a recording session the next day, and an order from his producer to write some “…songs that [sound] folky” Travis recalled his mining-country upbringing, and turned… [Read More]
Film Prices
Fifty years ago, I was buying a lot of film. In 1957 I was working for both my high school newspaper and yearbook, and going through 8 or 9 rolls of 35mm Tri-X a week. Even though it was the school’s money, I remember exactly what it cost. Twenty exposures were 85 cents, and a… [Read More]