One Date Wonder's photostream

I'm a photography knut! As you can see, I shoot a variety of subjects. My approach can best be equated to that of a smorgasbord. I'm a jack of all trades photographer. At the moment I think my passion for photography is waning. I think my style is very "mainstream" in the sense I apply neatly the basic rules like framing, rule of thirds, and simplicity. I am hoping I can find inspiration to continue to develop as a photographer. I'm just getting a little bored and maybe someone, or a club can show me an alternate way of seeing. My perspective seems too neat, too polished, and too mainstream. I seem to have stagnated as a photographer. I need a another brush!



I'm camera crazy! I have many Canon cameras. Currently I own, in order of aquisition, a Rebel G, Canon D30, Canon Rebel XS, and a Digital Rebel. The glass that mates with the cameras include a 50mm MKII, 28-70MK II (not the lotta bucks lens, but a great and severely under rated lens. Have 3 of them!), EF50 Macro, EF100 Macro, a Tokina 20-35mm (AF235), EF28mm 2.8, Canon 24-85 for $90, a Sigma 18-125 travel lens, and in the summer, got the Canon 17-40L for a fabulous price used. Recently I gave my Canon S400 to my brother when I got the Canon A710IS from a rewards program. The lighting of dark subjects is provided by the Canon 220EX flash, and 420EX flash. Most of my camera gear with the exception of the Rebel G, 50mm MKII, 220EX flash, and Canon A710IS were bought used for quite a discount. If you look hard enough you'll find that there are people who are willing to dump their almost new gear for cheap.



I have a number of point of shoots too! I started out with an Olympus Stylus Epic (went nuts with this little gem). I took it everywhere and took a lot of photos with this camera. Not long after I bought three Yashica T4 Supers, albeit not all at once. One of the T4s was a silver date model, which I later sold on eBay for a good profit. The Samsung Evoca 70SE doesn't get much use, but is excellent too. In June of 2006, I won the coveted Fuji Mini DL (28 to 56mm) on eBay. This has become my favourite point and shoot because of its 28mm wide angle and wonderful contrast, especially with fill flash. Hey, how about a Pentax Espio Mini/UC 1 for $1.99 at the Salvation Army? That's what I paid for it. Since there are gems at the Salvation army, I returned and picked up a Fuji Tiara in excellent condition for $10. It has a 28mm f3.5 fixed lens and this camera was appararently only sold in Japan. What a steal! A couple of weeks later a Konica S2 was scooped up for $10. I had to do some cleaning and fixed the light seals, but it is in excellent condition too! Oh...I'm seriously addicted now!

If you look at my photos, you'll see a number of excellent shots (my standards) taken with the Olympus Stylus Epic and the Yashica T4. Remember, if you don't shoot, you can't score mentality is all so true. Of course, you need a camera with you in order to shoot and that's where these cameras shine. Oh...btw, I have 5 Olympus Stylus Epics and 2 Yashica T4 Supers. I've got a serious case of GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrom)!

Rangefinders? Well, got too many of them! I have a Minolta Hi Matic E, three Hi Matic Fs, and one Hi Matic AF2. How about a Konica C35, Konica S2 (as mentioned above), a Vivitar 35ES, and Vivitar EE you say? Gottem too. Got one Yashica Electro G, and one Electro GSN in mint condition. A Canonet QL17 GIII in near mint condition, and how about a Ricoh 500G? My prized collection is my Olympus rangefinder trinity! The RD, SP, and RC are all in my collection now. The RD and SP got a good C.L.A. (along with the Electro GSN) in July of 2006. The trinity lives up to the hype. In November of 2007 I got the RD's brother otherwised known as the Olympus 35DC. Same lens, but all auto except for the focus. In 2008 the Olympus XA with an A11 flash was scooped up at a camera swap. It's cute, but its lens is not as impressive as the others I've listed. Almost all the rangefinders have super sharp lenses. These late 60s to early 80s rangefinder cameras are little gems, but I don't think I've captured anything really worth posting (or allowed to post) with these cameras. These cameras are just too slow to operate, but, they are fun and yield excellent results.



I learned a great deal about the relationship between shutter speed and aperture with the Yashica FX-D, a 28mm ML lens, a Zeiss Planar 50mm 1.7, and the rarely used 70-210ML lens. I still like the Yashica a lot and wish that Canon would make a system that is as easy to manipulate. The Canon Elph Jr. is a lonely camera these days. APS went the way of the DoDos and this camera is still around because it is small and cute. Oops, did I mention I got an Olympus Infinity Stylus (not the Epic) too? Got that off eBay for $10 I think. So, the line between hobby and addiction is a fine one and I've clearly crossed that line by a mile!

So...other than my camera addiction, I am a volleyball player, teacher, hiker, snowboarder, and bit of an introvert (hence why I like hiking so much). I appreciate a few excellent friends as I firmly believe quality is better than quantity. Maybe playing league volleyball weekly and boarding a few times a year are the only activities that keeps me from being a total photography nerd. In June of 2006, I took up jogging. Those endorphins are pretty addictive! :P

I watch the Canucks and I'm glad they traded Bootoozi. I like the new look Canucks, cos' they try hard and play as a team even though they can't score much. The acquisition of Luongo has now erased the memory of the Cam Neely trade for Barry Pederson.

*BTW, Onedatewonder, a play on one hit wonders (as in artists that only have one hit and disappear) , is an old title. I love the discussion the title generates.

EF28-70 MKII Lens Review:
www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/canon_2870_3545/index.htm

When you read the review, notice the consistency in center and edge sharpness. This sub $100 (got mine for $65 USD off eBay) lense easily blows away the EF 28-105 and 28-135IS. The EF 24-85 may outperform the EF28-70 MKII, but not by much. However, the chromatic abberations is way lower on the EF28-70 MKII. It's a gem!

I hope that you will enjoy my photos.