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Guy Lannewehr 6/3/26 Guy Lannewehr 6/3/26

My Past and Present Vehicles

Never had a “favorite” car, but none that I hated. A car was just car to me.

I know this has NOTHING to do with photography

I’ve always wanted to do a small blog on what I drove the past 47 years, it hasn’t been a lot. Each vehicle I post will have a little story behind it. All cars shown are of the same exact model, year and color that I owned. The last 3 vehicles on this list are the EXACT vehicle.

1973 AMC Gremlin

This was my very first car I ever purchased when I started working full time after high school. My uncle owned a car dealership in Oconomowoc, WI and one day he took me to one of the dealer auctions south of Milwaukee.

He said “Find a couple of cars you like, you can even test drive them if you want. Pick one you want, tell me about it and I’ll bid on it when it comes through the line.”

**1973 AMC Gremlin**

1st car every bought. Not the exact car, but same year, model and color.

And this is what I ended up with. It was pretty much a basic car, so basic it didn’t even have carpeting on the floor. I ended up paying about $900 for it and drove it for maybe 16 months or 2 years at most. I DID buy some nice chrome rims, 60 wide tires and jacked it up in the back. Pretty ridiculous now that I think about it but it was cool back then.

This had the 232.0 cu in in-line 6 in it. Made in Kenosha, WI it was nicknamed the “Kenosha Vibrator”.

1976 AMC Hornet Hatchback

**1976 AMC Hornet**

Silver hatchback with a V8 and stick shift.

My 2nd car, and even though my uncle was an AMC dealer, I did NOT buy this from him. I got it from some AMC dealer in Waukesha in 1978, I think. I remember I was sitting at the desk of the salesman and it was a very high pressure sale. There was him, me and I think 2 other salesman hovering over me just turning the screws on me trying to get me to cave in buy the damn car…and I finally did. I was young and naive.

Was it a good purchase? Well, I think I still owed money on the first car. Wasn’t bad car, it was more sporty. Hatchback, 8 cylinder and 4 speed manual transmission. Engine was a 304 cu in (5.0 L) V8. I took the tires and rims off the first car and put it on this one, which looked way cooler.

What was also cool is that one of my high school friends had the same exact car, same color. I don’t know who bought theirs first. This one was short lived as well.

1979 Honda Accord LX Hatchback

This was my very first BRAND NEW vehicle I purchased. I was little bit older, working a steady full time job and wanted something more practical.

I purchased this one from Wilde Honda in Waukesha, WI in April 1979 (it’s weird how I remember time frames). Still being a bit naive, I don’t think I learned how to wheel and deal with a sales person. I do remember paying FULL sticker price at $7500. Impulse buy? Probably. I do remember back then my car payments being about $250/month and at one point I struggled with the payments, refinanced it and seriously thought about selling to get from under the loan. I stuck with it and paid it off eventually. That was a lot for a young guy just at 20 years old, but I probably rolled my first 2 cars loans into that loan.

A lot of my friends remember me having this car, and I drove it for over 8 years. It was the LX model (Luxury). 5 speed manual, hatchback, 4 cylinder, soft velour seats. It was a nice car and great on gas. I drove this vehicle out to Philadelphia for a wedding, down to Florida and back at least once. I put a lot of miles on this one.

I do remember at around 140,000 miles that it was time for the engine to be rebuilt and it was a basic ring and valve job.

I put another 45,000 miles or so on it and since it was starting to rust and other things began to nickle and dime me, so I sold to a high school friend for $300.

1985 Pontiac Grand Am

Car #4. Wasn’t too crazy about this car, another 2 door that was hard to get in and out of.

I had this car at the time my daughter was born, so the 2 door thing wasn’t working. Not sure how long I had it but I’m guessing 7 years. I think it had a 2.5 4 cylinder banger in it. But…I needed something “family” oriented.

1994 Chevy Lumina APV Van

Bought this somewhere around the fall of 1996 because I had a new baby girl. I remember paying a whopping $13,500 for this thing…used. To this day, it was the most I every spent on a vehicle.

**1994 Chevrolet Lumina APV**

My first “family” vehicle.

This was a great mini van. It was large enough to cart my music gear in it, it had a large hitch that I towed a camping trailer with. Best of all, it had GM’s 3.8L engine. But, on the way home from playing a gig one night in late 2003, I deer took out the front end and that was the end of that.

I really had no major issues with it in the 7 years I’ve owned. APV, I believe, stood for All Purpose Vehicle, but really it’s All Plastic Vehicle. All of the exterior body panels never rusted due to being all plastic.

2000 Saturn Wagon LW1

Another nice vehicle, somewhat plasticy with no rust.

I found this one online at a dealership in Waukesha in 2003. I forgot what the asking price was, I think something in the low $7000 range.

Went back to the dealer and have them give me a price on it, and they did…which was reasonable. I told the sales person to write that figure on the back of his business card, which he did.

I ended going back a few days later and made the deal but they wanted a lot more than what they quoted me. I reminded them of the “figure” I got that was on the back of the business card. After going back and forth with them on it I ended up with exactly what they wrote down on that card. I think it ended up around $6,200 out the door, minus tax, title, blah blah blah.

I did like this car, not really a “looker” being a station wagon, but I needed practicality.

What eventually crapped out on it? Let see…fuel pump (of course with a tank full of gas), rear shocks, ignition coil packs, heater core (never did get that replaced), and the biggest repair…the timing chain tensioner failed. This allowed the timing chain to slip out of time and eventually the timing chain stopped spinning, causing major damage to the engine. You know, valves through the top of the pistons sort of thing.

Now what? My nephew found a used engine somewhere in Chicago for $650 and I think it had 50,000 miles on it. Him and a buddy of his had the old one out and the new one in and i had it back the following week. I don’t recall how many miles I had on it when this all happened but it was, I believe, less than 200,000 miles.

I drove this car until more issues started to nickle and dime me and decided to have it hauled away for scrap. It had 324,000 miles on it and had it for 12 years. Longest surviving vehicle so far.

2000 Pontiac Grand Prix GT

Purchased this from a friend that “flipped” vehicles off of Craiglist. It was an ok vehicle. Purchased this in the fall of 2015, but I don’t recall how much I paid for it. This also had the bulletproof GM 3.8L V6 in it, just like the mini van.

Things I replaced on it…

Fuel pump (days after I bought it), Starter, Coil Packs, Rear Trailing Arms, Fuel lines, brake lines.

Not a lot of repairs. My daughter ended driving this one more than me, she even drove to Ohio and back with it.

Had this for 3 years and ended up junking this one too. I think the scrap yard gave me $325 for it.

2003 Buick Rendezvous CXL

Another Craigslist “flip” I bought from my buddy. This was a nice vehicle and I enjoyed driving it. It has a lot of great options, leather seats, DVD player in the back, rear air conditioner. I remember paying $2,200 for it.

But…I ended up running into the back of another car during heavy traffic and everyone in front of me slammed their brakes on. Smashed a headlight, pushed the grille in (didn’t break it) destroyed the radiator. It was all fixable and I had it back on the road in no time.

**2003 Buick Rendezvous CXL**

My very first SUV. Liked it so much I ended up buying another SUV

Gave this to my daughter to drive and…she ended up rear ending someone on the freeway. Car in front of her slammed the brakes on and she slide into the back and caused a bit more damage. I wasn’t going to fix it anymore and she kept driving it.

One day my daughter called me and said she had NO brakes. Found out she blew out a brake line because it was so rusted. I crawled under the vehicle, cut the brake line in half and crimped one end tight so it wouldn’t leak anymore. Found a few more brake lines rusted and ready to blow out.

I ended up junking this one also after 3 years of driving it. Was paid only $150 for it but was glad to get rid of it…too much was going wrong with it and it was getting pretty rusty underneath.

2007 Hyundai Santa Fe

Currently driving this SUV at the time of writing this. Paid about $7000 for it from a dealership in Racine in August of 2018. I just really despise dealing with ANY dealerships at this point. During negotiations and in the finance office, they really push and sneak crap in on that contract. I really read it over from top to bottom and pointed out the stuff I DID NOT want from the beginning. I think I had them rewrite the contract twice.

This is an OK vehicle…nothing fancy on it. I had to replace the serpentine belt on it because it snapped at 11:30 at night coming home from work. I had the valve cover gasket AND alternator replaced under a recall because of oil leak…and it DID indeed leak oil. I had that replaced at no charge to me.

**2007 Hyundai Santa Fe**

An “OK” vehicle at best.

About 8 months after I purchased it I put on a trailer hitch so I could pull stuff with it. I mean, “I” physically put on…myself.

So far after almost 6 years of owning this vehicle I’ve had no major issues with it. So far, so good.

What will be my next vehicle? Thinking a Toyota or Honda SUV…probably Toyota though. I follow a handful of shop mechanics on YouTube and they say Toyota or Honda is a great choice.

If I was given the choice of bringing back ANY vehicle I owned in the past, it would have to be the 1979 Honda Accord…but maybe about 7-10 years newer, with fuel injection.

Guy Lannewehr 10/1/24 Guy Lannewehr 10/1/24

My “Flying Pervert Spy Camera”

That’s what I heard a YouTuber refer a “drone” as.

After debating the purchase for 2 years, reading, watching videos on the “Do’s and Don’ts” of operating a drone, I decided to purchase one.

The DJI Mini 4 Pro is a compact and lightweight drone that offers advanced features ideal for both hobbyists and professionals. Weighing under 249 grams, it is designed for excellent portability while still delivering impressive performance.

One of the standout features of the Mini 4 Pro is its enhanced camera system, which includes a 1/1.3-inch CMOS sensor capable of recording 4K video at 60 frames per second and capturing 48MP still images. The drone also supports HDR video and photos, providing improved dynamic range and detail in various lighting conditions.

The Mini 4 Pro is equipped with advanced obstacle avoidance technology, utilizing multiple sensors for omnidirectional sensing. This enables safer flights and smoother navigation in complex environments. Additionally, the drone includes a variety of intelligent flight modes, such as FocusTrack, Mastershots, and Quickshots, allowing users to create cinematic shots with ease.

With an upgraded transmission system, the Mini 4 Pro boasts a range of up to 12 kilometers (7.5 miles, but I doubt that), ensuring reliable video transmission and control. The drone’s battery offers a flight time of approximately 34 minutes under optimal conditions, making it suitable for extended shooting sessions.

The design features larger propellers for increased stability and improved aerodynamics, contributing to better overall flight performance. It also comes with DJI's OcuSync technology for enhanced connectivity and live-streaming capabilities.

Overall, the DJI Mini 4 Pro is an advanced drone that combines high-quality imaging, safety features, and user-friendly controls in a compact form, making it an excellent choice for capturing aerial footage.

***Farm field - June 2024***

This is one of my very first images (other than video) that I created with the drone..

I have watched countless videos on drones, on how to fly them, how to be cautions and mostly the FAA regulations on them. All of this the past 2 years before I decided to purchase one.

Drones are HEAVILY regulated by the FAA, which in fact sets all of the rules of the do’s and don’t of flying them. So, if you are out flying a drone and someone comes up to and tells that you CANNOT FLY HERE, that individual, state or local municipalities cannot set their own rules on flying a drone over their property, going over their property, or whatever their reasoning is. The FAA controls the airspace above any property.

The FAA does instructs you where you can and cannot fly. You can’t fly near large airports (without proper authorization), Nation Parks (state parks are generally OK), stadiums while games are in progress, or any other area that may pose a security risk. It’s the drone pilots responsibly to do their homework before they fly.

The general public CANNOT shoot down a drone if it’s flying over their property. That IS a Federal offense…and that also is protected by the FAA. Even if you suspect the drone on spying, call the police and let them handle it.

A drone pilot CANNOT make money with his/her drone, such as for real estate, land surveying, mapping, roof inspection, photographing and/or video record of a football game or anything that is considered commercial work…UNLESS, that drone pilot has completed (and passed) their Part 107 certification. It’s pretty much there to weed out the riffraff that want a drone to fool around with.

“In order to fly your drone under the FAA's Small UAS Rule (Part 107), you must obtain a Remote Pilot Certificate from the FAA. This certificate demonstrates that you understand the regulations, operating requirements, and procedures for safely flying drones.”

At this time I do not have my certification yet and it’s something I plan on obtaining at some point in the spring of 2025. So as of now, it’s just an enjoyable (and expensive) hobby. If you are flying strictly for fun, then the Part 107 certification is not needed, but you still need to follow the rules. If someone approaches me to do something for them, I have to politely decline.

***Jefferson County Fair - July 2024***
Drones also are very capable of doing night time images as well.

Have I crashed it? Oh yeah. Human error and not because of any malfunction. I was backing up to get a shot of a church recently and THOUGHT I cleared a 250’ water tower at night. NOPE, just clipped the top of it and it fell into someones yard. No major damage but I was able to repair it myself and had it up and running in no time.

Do these things float if you crash into water? NOPE! Even though it’s under 250g (.55 pounds or 8.8 ounces) and made mostly of Polycarbonate and ABS Plastic, it WILL sink. I do get a bit skiddish when flying over any water (expect any puddles) and keep it to a minimum. But I have seen stories of people recovering their drones after spending months underwater and have revived them to fly another day.

I Heard They Tend to Just Fly Away On Their Own? Not any more. With today’s technology, they have fail safe methods to prevent that. IF your drone and controller lose contact with each other, and it will at times, it’s programmed to return back to you. Also, if you are low on battery, it will also return to you with enough battery life to complete it’s mission. Plus the Mini 4 Pro, along with others) have Obstacle Avoidance Sensors that keep the from crashing into objects such as trees, buildings, etc. But…they don’t work at night.

What’s Awesome? The view from 400’ is spectacular. The sunsets, the lighting storms, the rivers, the lakes, the cities at night. That’s what’s awesome about it. It’s a view that most don’t get to enjoy unless from a plane or hot air balloon.

If you have any questions about it or just drones in general, just let me know. I’m no expert but I know enough to probably answer your questions.

guy@guylannewehrimaging.com

Just in case you’re interested….
https://www.dji.com/

Guy Lannewehr 5/20/24 Guy Lannewehr 5/20/24

2024 Total Solar Eclipse

This was the most spectacular natural event I have ever witnessed!

When the 2017 solar eclipse took place, I was living in Milwaukee, WI at the time. I really wanted to photograph the event, even though it wasn’t 100% total.

I took an extended break from work (a very long lunch hour) and set up my camera and tripod in the empty lot next to my place of employment. Not having the proper filtration, I fashioned a lens filter out of an old floppy disk that I cut apart and taped to the front of my lens. It worked…sort of. I could see the eclipse just fine, but it wasn’t crystal clear like I wanted. I found out that another eclipse was going to happen in April 2024 and I was determined to drive south to anywhere to photograph it.

Fast forward 7 years later…I made that trip.

About 2 weeks before the eclipse, I started my intense planning and choosing a small town on Google Maps. By this time I knew I wasn’t going to stay in some way overpriced Motel 6, it was too late for that. Just to let you know how expensive they were, a normally priced room was $87/night. Eclipse price….$807! And what’s funny, most of these hotels that were charging exuberant prices were nearly empty.

I drove down to Albion, IL. the day before the event. Why Albion? It was dead center in the path and was away from large cities and crowds. I arrived there in the early evening on Sunday and drove around a bit trying to find a good location for the next day of shooting. No matter where I ended up at, I had to sleep in my car and I determined Albion was NOT the place to be alone in my car in the middle of the night. I decided to move on to another town.

I drove farther south about 10 miles and ended up in Grayville, IL, just 1 mile from the Indiana border and still dead center in the path of totality. I choose one of the hotel’s parking lot and camped in my car for the night.

Morning came, I’m up at 6:30am after a night of NO sleep and a stiff neck. Made coffee out of the back of my vehicle with a little camp stove and a handful of powdered donuts for breakfast. A few people rolled in about mid morning and by 12:15pm I was setting up my shots. There were about a total of a dozen people that arrived to witness the event and got to meet a few and we exchanged social media credentials.

*The main camera that captured the eclipse. Attached is a 100mm-400mm lens (at 400mm). The angle of the sun was at 56º so it really had to crank that camera pretty high in the sky*.

The first shots of the moon passing in front of the sun started at 12:45pm. I took a few bracketed shots and spaced them apart about 10-15 minutes each.

*This image was about 2:03pm looking north. There was a little bit of a glow in the sky and clearly the street lights were on. A weird and wonderful experience nonetheless.*

Then…TOTALITY! Off came my filter and I just kept shooting for those 270 seconds. It was the most spectacular event I have ever witnessed. It got colder but I didn’t notice any bugs flying around. I did see the stars and planets that you normally don’t see during the day. I looked around and was just in awe. I grabbed a few photos with my iPhone just to document what the surrounding landscape and buildings looked in near total darkness at 2:00 in the afternoon. It was bizarre as hell.

Full Totality

2:00pm the moon completely in front of the sun. 4½ minutes of pure bliss!

*Full composite put together in Photoshop. This will be hanging on my wall soon.*

Did my last set of images around 3:15-3:30pm when the moon finally passed to the other side of the sun. It was time to pack up and make my 6 hour journey back home. I was on the road soon, checked the traffic maps…all looked good. Within the next hour the traffic started to slow down to mostly bumper to bumper 3mph crawl because everyone was heading back home. And…because of no sleep the night before, I was starting to doze off behind the wheel. I was not going to make home that afternoon so I had to find a low priced hotel as soon as I could.

I found a Super 8 or something like that in Mattoon, IL, just 100 miles from my starting point. Price with tax and my old man discount was around $107. Got into my room around 6:30pm, walked next door to the Steak ‘n Shake for a burger and a shake and brought it back to my room. Lights out at 9:30pm. I was up and back on the road at 8:15am. I made it back home at 3:30pm and laid on my bed for another 3 hour nap, which I needed.

*Brand new hotel. I might have been the first customer in the room I booked.*

I do make these solo trips every once in awhile, but would I like to bring someone else along? Sure, but…it is what it is, and I do enjoy spending time with myself on occasion.

If there were to be another full eclipse within the next couple years, would I photograph it again? I don’t know. I don’t know how I would photograph it differently.

When is the next full eclipse? Aug. 12, 2045. Good chance I might be around at that time. But at least I witnessed a full totality eclipse in my lifetime. Cross THAT off my bucket list!

Guy Lannewehr 8/13/23 Guy Lannewehr 8/13/23

Did I Get the Shot I Wanted?

Almost!!

I’ve always wanted to get a spectacular image of a thunderstorm with incredible lighting strikes passing out over Lake Michigan, but…I live 50 miles from the shoreline. Plus, my timing has to be pretty great. What are the chances?

This past Friday evening (August 11th) I was watching on the radar these thunderstorms coming out of northwest Wisconsin heading my way. I’m like “this could be my opportunity”. I’m not going to drive all the way to the lake from where I live to hopefully get decent shot, if any.

I kept my eye on the radar and saying to myself “Yeah, I’m going out tonight” “No, don’t be foolish…it’s late.” I went anyways.

Left the house around 7:30pm, drove a bit north, then jogged over to the east to settle in Port Washington, WI, 80 miles away. I ended up down by the marina with this awesome lighthouse out on the breakwater. Plus, there was already a thunderstorm 70+ miles away in the state of Michigan that I can plainly see behind the lighthouse.

I took my gear and walked all the way out there, and it was really windy. Guessing the winds had to be 30-40mph, which made creating these images difficult. I was hoping the wind could take my gear flying into the rocks and into the lake.

The one of the lighthouse that I thought would look striking in black and white was one of the last images I created. The storm really didn’t have the cloud to ground bolts that I anticipated, but it was cool nonetheless.

Got my images I wanted, went back to the car to check the incoming storm from the west. The lightning had fizzled out. I decided to head back to my home and call it a night. I didn’t get home until 12:30am. I was gone 5 hours and put on about 160 miles.

Click on da images below for a large awesome experience!

Guy Lannewehr 5/21/23 Guy Lannewehr 5/21/23

Let’s Talk About…My 4x5 View Camera

Let’s Talk About…My Omega 45c View Camera

I really pondered the thought of purchasing a large format camera, as it’s referred to, It’s a love/hate relation of film photography…I do and I don’t love the process. Like anyone else, I want instant results as I got spoiled when shooting digital the past 20+ years.

Back many years ago while working for a large manufacturer in S.E. Wisconsin, I have the small opportunity to work with the in house photographer shooting products, and that included working with a view camera. So I wasn’t’ foreign to them, I did have some knowledge in their functionality.

But, being back into film again starting in 2022 I kind of wanted to shoot with the 4x5 again. I really don’t have the space to set up a small darkroom in my small 625sq ft. apartment. I mean, I can in my bathroom if I really wanted to. I do, however, load my black and white film onto reels in there and just process everything in my tiny kitchen.

I watched countless YouTube views of photographers with their large format cameras, and I”m like…”Man, I really don’t know if I should or not.”

Then…I spotted this old Graflex view camera for cheap on eBay and it came with a lot of stuff. So I purchased it. It was old…made between 1949 and 1967, don’t know the exact date.

But then…came along a newer camera, more goodies, large case, etc. It’s the one I REALLY wanted. That is the Toyo Omega 45c. It’s a monorail style and generally made for studio work, but you can used it in the field (outside of the studio) to photograph landscapes and architecture. It weighs about 7-8 pounds, not too huge. The ideal camera for lugging around is a fold-able “field camera'“, but those are more expensive. Maybe some day, I don’t know at this time.

There’s really nothing to these camera and they are pretty easy to understand, so it makes them pretty cheap. The 45c was only $279, including lens and all I need to get this up and running (not including shipping and tax). I have since purchased another lens for it and will purchase one more in the near future. Yes, it’s a pain in the ass to set up and break down. It allows you to slow down and think about what you are doing. Especially withe the cost of film these days, you really can’t afford to F%&* it up.

With the high cost of color film (10 sheets of practically any Kodak color film is about $65), I’ll stick to the less expensive black and white film for now. Once I get more comfortable with this camera, I may purchase a box of color film.

Happy Shooting!!

**Toyo Omega 45c 4x5 View Camera**

*My, actually 2nd, large format camera.*

Guy Lannewehr 3/4/23 Guy Lannewehr 3/4/23

Let’s Talk About…My Minolta SRT-202

It’s the very first camera I purchased after high school when I got serious about photography.

I believe, if my memory serves me right, I purchase this camera in the spring of 1978 from J.C. Penney (yes, they sold great cameras). It came with a 50mm f/1.4 lens and I also purchased a 200mm telephoto as well that actually had the J.C.Penney name on it. Along with the camera and lenses it came with a cheap brown hard case camera bag. I used this camera and lenses up until around the year 2000, give or take a couple of years.

**The Minolta SRT-202**

*My first good camera after high school*

One afternoon I was photographing a friends band at an outdoor street dance event in my local town. The camera was attached to a handle mount flash when suddenly it became disconnected from the bracket and crashed to the hard cement parking lot. Since the camera was made entirely of metal, it put a sizeable dent on the top and from that day it never worked again. I think that dent jammed a bunch of gears and it probably could have been easily fixed.

To this day I don’t know exactly what happened to that camera and lens kit. I don’t recall if I sold it to a friend or just plain lost the entire system, or if it was stolen.

I liked that camera so much that I purchased another one on eBay for relatively cheap along with the identical lens (minus the 200mm telephoto). That eBay purchase was a great deal and the camera is in pristine condition.

The camera is entirely manual operation and no battery is used to operate it. There IS a battery to operate the internal meter, but you can surely use it without.

The Minolta SRT-202 came out in 1975 and there has been a few minor updates to it. Mine is a 1978 model.

**Minolta SRT-101**

*First generation from 1966 with the black shutter speed dial.*

I also purchased a couple of SRT-101’s, (3 to be exact) which those came out in 1966. The original ones have a black shutter speed dial, those are considered first generation. Of course they made a few minor improvements and went to the chrome colored shutter speed dial. My thought was to fix them and resell, as the shutter is jammed on 2 of them.

These are awesome cameras and there are thousands of them still available for a very affordable price on eBay, Facebook Marketplace, etc. If you want to learn the basics of photography, I’d highly recommend starting off with a fully manual camera.

Guy Lannewehr 3/4/23 Guy Lannewehr 3/4/23

Graffiti Train

A few miles south of where I live is this long line of, what it seems like abandoned rail cars, without an engine, sitting on a set of tracks parallel with the road. I checked Google Maps and it looks like, according to the date, that it’s been there for a couple of years.

I took out my RB67 with a roll of Ilford HP5 and shot a quick 10 shots this one was one of my favorites. I also took along with me my “new to me” Pentax Digital Spot Meter, which I’ll discuss in another blog post.

As you can see closely under the train there is a vehicle I captured, which was deliberate. My exposure was 1/15th of a second to capture some blur in the photo. I believe my f/stop was around f/11 or so. You can see against some of the dark areas that it was snowing lightly as I captured these images.

ALSO…it was my birthday that day!

Guy Lannewehr 2/26/23 Guy Lannewehr 2/26/23

Back into Film Photography

Since I’ve gotten back into film photography, I’ve been on this mission to collect a lot of cameras. I don’t want to get completely up to my chin in shit I really don’t need or want. I’m not the kind of collector that has to have everything they see because it’s there. I like stuff I can appreciate and use once in awhile.

My first 2 cameras I purchased were Canon A2 and A2e. Both nearly identical. A photographer about 35 miles north of me was selling them on Facebook Market Place for $50 each and they were in pristine condition. So, I bought them.

Then I purchased a few cheaper Minolta’s on eBay figuring I could fix the broken ones, which I haven’t done yet. Also I saw this yummy Nikon FE2 on eBay along with a nice zoom lens for $xxx (I won’t reveal what I paid for it). Never having a Nikon, it’s a great camera and I’ve been shooting the most with it. There’s ONE small thing I don’t like about but won’t go into detail of what that is.

Then…I desired a medium format beast…the Mamiya RB67. I use to own 2 of these with 4 lenses about 30 years ago. So…I bought one. I’m on the look out to expand this camera with another lens or two and some additional film backs. Lenses for the RB67 are really reasonably priced.

As of writing this post, I haven’t purchased any more cameras since the Nikon purchase.

**The Mamiya RB67**

A BEAST of a camera but I’m very familiar with it’s operation from owning 2 of them many years ago.

I’ve picked up a few more 35mm cameras since then, but not too many. I think I have a total of 18 film cameras. I’ve seen some guys with over 125 camera of just one brand, but many models.