seymikins' photostream

The discipline of photography is an invitation to “Seize The Day” and an allegory for the kind of life that has the patience to wait for an opportunity, the eye to see one and the spontaneity to take it.

I use 35mm film in vintage cameras to try and capture the moment. I do not use any post processing or digital editing so what the camera saw is the final piece. As in life I don’t always get it perfect and the imperfections are left here to remind us that in “seizing the day” you do the best you can with what you have got. With manual photography there is always an element of guesswork in setting the exposure and taking the shot but at some point you have to commit to releasing the shutter and letting the light in for better or worse. We all have to do this in everyday life, how can you be sure that if you get on this train it will arrive at its destination? You commit to it based on a reasonable expectation and a little leap of faith mixed with hope. When the film comes back from the developers, I see if the decisions I have made in the field are the right ones.

I have a growing collection of analogue gear all of which is usually loaded up and ready to shoot. Currently in action, in order of antiquity:

Kershaw 110 (Medium Format Folder)
Asahi Pentax 3S (Manual SLR)
Mamiya ZE-2 (Manual SLR)
Fed 5 (Manual Rangefinder)
Fujica GER (Auto/Manual Rangefinder)
Fujica STX-1 (Manual SLR)
Pentax ME Super (Auto/Manual SLR)
Canon Sure Shot AF-7 (Compact Auto)
Minolta Dynax 3000SE (Auto SLR)
Pentax MZ-7 (Auto/Manual SLR)