Archive for the ‘Sydney’ Category
Test roll from my SP
Took the Olympus out the other day and shot a roll of C41 b&w i had lying around. The temperature was mid 30′s and not a cloud in the sky, so the light was REALLY harsh.
The SP functioned great. Its a great camera to shoot with, really comfortable and easy to use. The only issue i had is that my light meter has bit of a mind of its own. It sometimes refuses to turn on when i take the camera out of its case. However when it decides to work it’s accurate.
This was predominately a test roll as i didn’t know if the camera would work. I didn’t even bother changing the light seals either, but they appear to be fine. The lens is super sharp and bokeh is nice and smooth. I have to get a proper film scanner now, im sick of scanning prints and getting results that don’t really reflect the quality of the negatives. Some of the shots turned out ok though i though.
Yashica Electro 35 GTN
Yeah, another camera, but this one wasnt an eBay purchase, and its not an Olympus!
Early this morning i found out about a small, relatively unadvertised Camera Market being held near the city. I was very curious so decided to go along. I’d never been to a camera market before so wasnt sure what to expect. When i got there i only saw one A3 size photocopied “sign” with “Sydney Camera Market” printed on it. It wasnt until i walked around a corner and saw a bunch of people waiting to get into a small hall filled with old camera gear that i knew i was in the right spot.
Initial observations were :
- Wow, i’m the youngest person here.
- Sweet, 99% of the stuff here are film cameras/gear
- Damn, these SLR’s are priced pretty high.
- Awesome, cheap rangefinders!
The only downside was that i’m pretty low on money after a couple of other camera purchases last week (more details to come), so i set myself a challenge….
What can i get for $5?
Surprisingly there were quite a few choices, some good, some bad. Several Olympus Trips, but i already have 3 of those. Some 90′s auto-focus rangefinders, hmm none of the models i wanted. But then, i saw something out of the corner of my eye that looked interesting. Amongst some dusty old camera cases and scratched up plastic point and shoots i saw this wonderful black Yashica Electro 35 GTN 
It was covered in dust to the extent that i couldnt even see if the lens had fungus or scratches on it etc. But it looked awesome, was black, and the guy sold it to me for $5.
When i got home i immediately got some cleaning gear out to see if i’d just bought $5 worth of fungus and corroded metal.
After a couple minutes of cleaning i was so happy to discover that the lens was immaculate with not even the slightest scratch or blemish! The body itself started to clean up really well also, with only some slight signs of wear on the base of the camera, but hardly noticeable. Maybe the layer of dust had managed to form a protective layer over the camera? haha.
So anyway, i now own a Yashica GTN is terrific condition at a cost of only $5…. I’m definitely visiting more camera markets in the future!
Here is a quick picture of the beast :
Still need to give it a proper clean, but its a damn good looking camera in my opinion. 45mm f/1.7 lens = happy times. I’ll need to do some more research on them also, as i’m not too familiar with the Yashica rangefinders, i’m generally into Olympus when it comes to film cameras.
Cant wait until i put a roll of film through it. Unfortunately it’s on bit of a waiting list though, as i have a couple other cameras i’ve been meaning to try out also
Circular Quay
I love my little 1 cent Olympus Trip!
I just got some photos back today that i took over the weekend, and im quite happy with them. One thing im not happy about though is my scanning of them, its quite poor, so i’m thinking of investing in a dedicated scanner or atleast getting the lab to do it.
Anyway, these were taken in and around Circular Quay on an extremely sunny day. The glare was insane, and i was pretty worried about how the photos would come out. Luckily they came out pretty good in most cases (better than the digital scan shows also), but i’d like to go back on a day that has some better light for photography.
Anyway, here are some that i’ve scanned so far (still have half a roll to go).
A Mobile View of Sydney Harbour
Whilst i’m waiting for film to be developed from a new photo lab, i’ll post up some pictures i took with my mobile phone yesterday.
No, mobile phone pics are scraping the barrel when it comes to photography. Its a legitimate photographic tool just like any other device in my opinion.
The thing is, my mobile phone camera isnt the latest and greatest. Its a W660i with a 2 mega-pixel cameras i picked up traveling through Hong Kong last year. I like the Sony Ericsson’s after changing over from Nokia originally. I’ve had two Sony’s now, and prefer their menu system,m and above all their battery life. I like not having to charge my phone for almost a week! (My old Sony lasted 10 days without a charge when i was in Canada once).
Anyway, yesterday i caught a ferry into the city (theres a ferry stop near my house). Its amazing how you can effectively get a tour of the greatest harbour in the world for less than $3. Anywhere else you’d be paying atleast 10 times that. The weather was perfect (mid to high 20′s), and the harbour looked terrific. I’ve been to many harbour’s around the world, but Sydney is still by far the most beautiful. The idea was to walk around get some lunch and take some photos with my little Olympus trip. We went for a walk along Circular Quay after getting off the ferry, then walked around the rocks, got some lunch and listened to generic live music which was pretty average. We (my girlfriend and brother) then decided to walk up one of the pylons of the Sydney Harbour bridge. We felt so much like tourists but it was well worth it. From there we could see most of the CDB and North Sydney, aswell as Sydney Harbour. Took some pictures with my Olympus then took a few with the mobile. The Opera house was particularly prominent. Its white surface stood out amongst the deep blue water. The harbour was pretty active that day also. Everyone was out and about as it was part of the Australia Day long weekend.Well here are some photos from the Harbour Bridge, and one from the ferry.
It’s easy to see how much fine detail is lacking from the mobile phone pictures. The camera seems to of over sharpened them also. But the colours can be surprisingly accurate, and im kind of impressed how it can pick up certain faint detail like the clouds in #3 and #4. These were very faint to the naked eye, so im curious as to why it picked up these but not other details that would seem more obvious. Oh well, its just crappy camera phone after all!
A Slow day
Just a photo i took near my house. t was a very Aqua Marine sort of day..
Had a go bringing it out in photoshop in a desaturated kind of way.
Might go around taking some arty farty pics with my Holga tomorrow… :p
