Twenty Years of Random Camera Blog

My Nikon Df and a 50 yr old Nikkor lens. Bridging two worlds.

In 2004, blogging was becoming popular, and it seems like a lot of people were starting blogs to share their interests. Mind you, this was before social media and smartphones took over. It was also the start of Flickr, the long-time photo sharing site that I still use, 20 years later. It’s as much of an archive of my work as anything, and I am still happy with it. When I started Random Camera Blog, I was four years into my deep dive into photography, and have not wavered from that at all. Initially, I saw RCB as a way to share a few images and share my use of different cameras and films. My first post was on October 14, 2004, and 883 posts later, here I am.

Twenty years on the Internet IS a long time. A lot of things have happened in the photography world since 2004, one being the domination of the digital camera, which also led to the disappearance of new film cameras, the loss of many film stocks, the takeover by DSLRs among photographers, the rise of new and unexpected technologies -- such as the Apple iPhone, which caused a huge paradigm shift in how we interact and use photography. The rise of the micro 4/3 and mirrorless system cameras, which were at one time considered just an offshoot, are now a mainstream part of photography. Despite all these technological advances, one thing has been a bit of a surprise -- the rebirth of film photography. Some might say it never went away, and of course, it didn’t, but now we are seeing a younger generation interested in using film cameras, and discovering the creative possibilities that film and other alternative processes can offer. I should also add that digital photography has allowed millions of people to explore photography without the burden of dealing with chemicals, labs, and gatekeepers.  Many of them have never used film cameras, and some are now discovering that they are a whole new world.

My 10 year association with Mike Raso and The FPP has been a hell of a lot of fun

 I am someone that has shot with film since I first had a camera in the early 1970s. I lived in a rural part of upstate New York and did not know anything about the history of photography, nor much about the photographic world. In 1973,  I took my only class in photography, which was an after-school activity sponsored by my high school science teacher. I vividly remember the magic of cracking open the b&w Verichrome Pan 126 cartridge that I had used in my Kodak Instamatic, transferring to a developing reel and tank, and seeing my very first self-developed roll of film. You know what?  I still feel the magic of doing that to this day.  I think that if I had a mentor at the time, it’s quite possible that I would have chosen photography as a vocation, but I didn’t even know that you could make money being a photographer. In 1974, I received an Exa Ia SLR for Christmas, with a Kodak pocket photography guide as my only resource.  As clunky and limited as that camera was, I did learn how to photograph on my own.  

My first SLR.

Fast forward to the year 1999, and with the influence of a promised new world of digital imaging, I realized that my Apple QuickTake 200 just wasn’t getting the job done taking photos of insects. At 640x480 pixels, it was only good for making images for the web, but not much more than that. I had attended a presentation later that year, and saw how wonderful the presenter’s slides were of insect macrophotography using slide film, of course. That sparked my interest in using my Pentax ME to do similar things, and in 2000, I really started to delve into macrophotography.  The books by John Shaw were really useful, and also steered me towards the Nikon system. I also had a mentor -- William Brudon, who was tickled to share his knowledge, books, cameras and film with me. Bill was a well-regarded medical illustrator, painter, and very much a photography expert. It was his influence that turned me into a well-rounded photographer, and the only way I can repay him is to try and do the same for others.  Bill passed away in 2009, and I still have a lot of the books that he provided to me, as well as some cameras such as my Nikon F3HP that I use regularly.

By 2001, my kit was all-Nikon (Apple QT 200 photo)

Random Camera Blog arose from wanting to not just share my enthusiasm for photography, but also to educate others about cameras, the photographic process, and of course, the various film stocks. When I think about how cheap expired film was into the early 2000s compared to now, it’s a bit sobering. I could go into a local camera store (at one time, there were at least 4 camera stores in Ann Arbor, MI) and buy rolls of recently expired film for a buck a roll! Throughout the years, RCB has endured the demise of camera stores, the loss of cheap developing at a local lab, the sell-off of used film cameras for pennies on the dollar, and then the emergence of Lomography, the demise of Polaroid, the demise of much of Kodak, the sort of resurrection of Polaroid, the appearance of the Film Photography Project, and the gradual and significant rise of film photography. In this year, we have had two new 35mm film cameras arrive on the market.  The Pentax 17 has become quite a popular camera, and the new  Rollei  35AF will probably also be quite a good seller.  I wonder what next year will bring?

Camera swaps were something, back in 2004.

I never thought about how long RCB would run. It’s now just something that I do, and I average 30+ posts/year. I don’t do a Vlog, or have a YouTube channel. The printed word is what I do, and an outgrowth of that would be the Monochrome Mania zine and whatever offshoots come from that. I am a sometime guest and contributor to the Film Photography Project, and knowing what Mike Raso has to do to put out a podcast, has certainly convinced me that I don’t have those skills, nor do I want to learn them. Writing for RCB is something that comes easily for me, and I enjoy doing the research that it often requires. It’s definitely a labor of love, and I hope that RCB has been helpful to many people.  I was watching one of my favorite YouTuber channels last night, and I thought,  I’ve been blogging about photography since you were in grade school 

A few statistics for Random Camera Blog:

• All-time views - 2,131,000+
• 884 posts (including this one)
• 414 followers

Most popular RCB Posts:

All-time most views -- The Argus 75- A toy or a tool? January 30, 2009 with 39,500 views. I still can’t believe how much attention that post has received. It also generated the most responses of any of my posts. 

Second most views -- a much more recent post - The Nikon Nikkormat -Today’s Bargain? It was posted on March 26, 2022, and currently has almost 10,000 views. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I like Nikons! I expect that it will overtake the Argus 75, that is, if in 5 years, it is still available.

Here are the top 10 posts:

I like researching my topics as much as possible, and thankfully, I have an excellent library on photo history and technology. Of course, there are various web sites, such as camera-wiki that are very helpful, but I consider them secondary to a publication.  For a while. I incorporated Google AdSense in my blog, and received about $100/year for the advertisements. However, I kept getting emails telling me that some of my posts violated community standards.  None did, and I am not going to let some faceless bot tell me otherwise.  So, I dropped AdSense. If you want to support Random Camera Blog the best way is to visit my Etsy store and purchase a zine or two. 

on sale in a week or two.

I have often thought about compiling a subset of posts from RCB into a book, but I haven’t forged ahead with it. Publishing Monochrome Mania is it, for now. If you have a favorite post or two on here, let me know which ones you liked the most.  

In closing, two decades of photography is a lot of photographs, lots of cameras, and lots of film and digital files.  You'll get a better idea of my photography on my Flickr site (mfophotos).  Thanks for reading and thanks for following me.

Own a Camera From RCB!

 A few weeks ago, I finally got my shop up and running on Etsy.  You see, I really don't need to hang onto every camera or item that I review on Random Camera Blog, otherwise, I would have cabinets and drawers and shelves filled with cameras that I rarely use.  I know, for some of you that sounds like a great thing. However, I have been to too many dead photographer's houses to want to leave my survivors with hundreds of cameras to deal with.  Sometimes. I'll pick up a camera and test it out with a few rolls of film just for the experience, and in some cases, it might be a camera that I am in the process of selling for someone that gets reviewed.  Then, there are the cameras that I had to buy because I was infatuated with them, and since then, my interests have moved elsewhere.  

So what does my Etsy shop offer? Take a look!  You'll find an assortment of cameras, maybe some expired film, lenses, and vintage items, along with issues of Monochrome Mania.   At some point, I may also sell prints of some of my work.   To be honest, I am tired of selling things on eBay since they parted ways with PayPal.  Etsy offers me a fixed-price alternative to auctions, and I think you'll get a better deal from me in the process.  

An apology to my readers

If you left comments and did not get a response from me, please accept my apologies. For some reason, I had not realized that Google had changed some settings that I did not fully understand.  This morning I saw that there were about 60 comments that I had not seen because the notification was not sent for them to be moderated.  I have fixed that, and sent away the spammers, and posted the real comments.  I am touched by the responses to my tribute to Marc Akemann.  I know that he influenced many people during his life, and he was always helpful to anyone that asked.  I still think of him regularly, and grief has given way to acknowledging that he would want us all to be happy with our lives, and to be good people.

I appreciate the comments on film and camera reviews -- I will try and answer those as much as I can, when I can.  Old cameras come our way, usually without a history attached to them.  If a camera isn't working properly, it may be why it was sold in the first place.  For others, it can sometimes be a simple fix, and others... a quagmire of possibilities and sometimes there is no fix.  My basic rule is, do no harm, and don't force anything.  But sometimes a quick bang on the bottom of the camera against my desktop can do wonders.  I am not a camera tinkerer, and certainly do not consider myself a repair person.  I have gotten bolder lately, as more people post fix-it solutions on the web. 

For film reviews, I am not doing extensive tests, but shooting/developing the film as I normally might.  A one-roll review is like that.  For films that I shoot a lot with, I use them because they satisfy my concepts of what I am looking for, whatever that may be.   They must also be easy to process.  If I have to resort to buying some special developer to get the optimum results, then it's pretty unlikely that I will use that film.  My usual developers are HC-110, D-76, Rodinal, XTOL, and Caffenol when I am so inclined.  For C-41 I use the FPP C-41 kit, and E-6 I usually send to The Darkroom because I don't shoot enough of it to fully utilize the E-6 kit. 

I am glad that you enjoy Random Camera Blog, and please keep the comments coming.  I'll reply to the backlog of your comments as soon as I can. Again, I apologize for not replying sooner.

Here is an image from a recently-developed roll of the FPP-spooled  Kodak Vision 50D.  I developed it in the FPP C-41 kit, and will have a film review of it soon.

Happy Holidays

December is the month where the Winter Solstice occurs, and in human history, the end of the shortening days and beginning of longer days has not gone unnoticed. Lights have a way of chasing out the darkness, and while in our modern society we have no lack of artificial light, it is hard to imagine what our ancestors thought a few thousand years ago.  The Solstice became the focus of many traditions, and a celebration to mark the appearance of longer days ahead.  For me, Christmas has always been about the tree and the lights, and the excitement of the season.  However you celebrate this season, I hope that peace and happiness becomes more attainable.

Photography is one of those things that has sustained me over time -- in terms of creativity, activity, and making connections.  I think I have met some of the most amazing people that carry around cameras.  I plan on shooting more medium format this coming year, and also thinning down my accumulation of 35mm cameras.  I still plan on testing and reporting on random cameras -- hence this blog, and my association with the Film Photography Project. 

I hope that more people keep coming to using film and finding how fun it can be.   You can simplify everything down to one body and a few lenses (or just one lens) and yet have a bunch of film stocks that have such different characteristics that will open up the artistic and creative process to all sorts of possibilities.  Shoot at ISO 6 sometime and see how those films determine what is possible.  Black and white emulsions, C-41 color, E-6 color-- there are all sorts of possibilities in 35mm. 120 film has fewer choices, but those bigger negatives sure are nice.  Large format? I rarely shoot that, but of you are looking for a challenge, go for it!

This has been quite a year for me, and on top of everything else, I find myself retired after working for 36.5 years at the University of Michigan.  My career has been in Natural History, more precisely, Entomology, and managing museum collections.  I have some research projects that I want to finish, and that will happen in the coming year.  I plan to devote myself more to doing photo projects as well.  Over the years, I have accumulated enough of a body of work to proceed with some small exhibits, and perhaps some publications on Blurb or elsewhere.   

I hope that you like my cameras on the tree this year!

An Iron Horse and a Plastic Wonder

I briefly stopped by my local thrift shop this afternoon, and picked up a couple of cameras for less than $15.  A Nikon Nikkormat FTN body for $9.00, and a Minolta Maxxum QTsi in a bag for $4.50. Yes, I have paid far more for a sandwich than I did for the Minolta. I mean, $4.50 is less than even a pizza from Little Caesar's!

The mighty Nikkormat FTN

Let's take a look at the two.  Of course, I added a lens on the Nikkormat FTN for its portrait, because a lens-less SLR just looks pathetic.  I suspect the meter is suffering from a common malady that affects those old Nikkormats. It doesn't matter much, as $9 for a robust body that you can practically pound nails with is a great deal.  It seems to work great otherwise, and I will run some film through it soon.  I have always had a soft spot for Nikkormats. They are basic, no-frills Nikons that usually perform quite well.

Now, in contrast, the Minolta QTsi is a much newer camera, dating from about 2000.  Plastic, yes. It's also about as point-and shoot an SLR can get.  You have various modes, no exposure compensation, and no manual anything (other than focus and selecting the flash mode) -- a real beginner's camera.  On the other hand, it's pretty goof-proof, and is a camera you could give to anyone and they can just shoot with it.  I told myself I was never going to buy any AF Minoltas, because I just don't need more cameras with a different lens mount. Well, for less than $5, I felt sorry for that camera, so I bought it, put in new batteries, and a roll of film.  I'll see how well it performs.  Back in 2000, Tony Sweet gave the camera a very nice  review.  It's no Maxxum 7, but it's still capable of getting some good images.   It weighs 12 ounces.  It is by far, the smallest AF SLR I have held.  Yes, it is a glorified P&S, bit once I shoot a roll, I will have a better idea of its shortcomings.

$4.50. I hope I didn't over pay :)

What's in Your Camera Bag?

Not what's ON your camera bag, as in the photo above. Photographers often put more thought into acquiring a camera bag than they do buying a new appliance. Camera bags can be very utilitarian, such as the Domke F2 bag, or very specialized, such as some of the photo backpacks or camera sling-packs that are now popular. I prefer the Tamrac bags because I like the simple design and flexibility of adjusting the inner dividers. With digital, there are more small bags that are perfect for a P&S camera and a battery and a few memory cards, but can't carry much else. I like to have bags that will accept a variety of cameras:
There is a Holga, a Nikon Coolpix 995 and a Nikon N80 in this bag. Film - both 35mm and 120, memory cards, extra batteries, filters, etc. That was for a long weekend when I was traveling with a group and I could take only 1 camera bag.

Of course, for an extendend trip, I don't travel as light:


I think I have about a dozen bags with different cameras and camera systems ready to go. The Tamrac backpack has the Pentax 6x7 system. That camera and lenses are heavy enough that after a number of years, I realized that it was too damn heavy to sling over a shoulder (my bad one, especially). The backpack is perfect for it. The Domke F2 bag is perfect for the "blad and a few lenses, backs, etc.

I have a small Tamrac bag that looks more like a purse -- but it holds a Minolta light meter, gaffer's tape, filters, tools, and so on. Sort of like a photo toolbox. It goes in the car when I am on a longish trip, too. Back in 2003, Adrienne, Jorie, and I went on a long trip to NM. I forget exactly how many camera bags we had, but there were a few. This photo of just the Nikon gear I took, probably required several bags...


Looking back on that trip, I took way too much. I think it takes those kinds of experiences to make one a better photographer. I don't regret taking all that stuff, since most of it got used. But in the end, some of the most memorable photos were taken by a Holga and an Argus C-3. If I were doing that trip again, I would greatly simplify the gear and reduce the number of bags. Today, I would probably have three bags: One with a 35mm SLR (or DSLR) with a 28-105 lens, 50mm, and 80-200 (or thereabouts). A lensbaby, and maybe even one more wide-angle lens or a dedicated macro lens. One small bag with a rangefinder camera (Minolta 7s) and some film. Another bag would possibly have a TLR and a toy camera or two. Or something like that. I forgot about the 'blad...

One Subject, Many Possibilities

Those people that know my style of photography are never surprised when I am on a photo shoot - road trip and find me trying to decide which camera(s) to bring along on that particular day. We often hear the refrain "the camera doesn't matter." I beg to differ. The camera matters a lot. Whether I want to shoot with a toy camera, a Nikon SLR, film or digital, 35mm or 120 film, hell -- even a Polaroid, these are all choices that make the final image of any given subject a reflection of the camera and materials used to capture it. Here is a case in point:

Take one exotic vegetable that I have only seen previously on Flickr -- Broccoli Romanesque (actually a cauliflower), which I finally picked up at a local store. Could I capture its interesting quality? Apart from the obvious Fibonacci/Fractal connection, the broccoli head and the leaves surrounding it had great texture and possibilities for a still-life.

So, before we had the vegetable for dinner, I spent an evening photographing it with several different cameras set on a matte black backdrop and used one incandescent light for the light source.

Shot with the Nikon D70s and the 60mm macro lens:


Using the Polaroid SX-70 and 600 series film:


Using my Canon Powershot, and shooting in manual b&w mode:



and finally, shot with my Hasselblad 501C, 80mm lens, and a +3 diopter on Fortepan 200 film (probably shot at f5.6 here):



Obviously, each camera helped me create different images. I love the Polaroid image and the Hasselblad shot is very nice. So, I think this shows that the camera does make a difference, as does the person using it. Maybe the next test is to take the same camera, same subject, same set, and let a few different photographers shoot. Could be an interesting exercise!

Back with a load of film

On July 12, Adrienne, Marjorie, and I drove out to Amenia, NY to start our 11 days of vacation. My plan was to use film almost entirely, as well as leave the computer and DLSR at home. Some people thought I was being an idiot for leaving the computer behind, but given that we were going to have very sporadic internet access, I figured it would be somewhat liberating not using a computer. I was right. I shot just a few images with my Cooolpix 995, and shot 25 rolls of film. My equipment was a Holga, Yashica A tlr, Mamiya 645E, Nikon N80 and a Nikkormat FTN, and my Olympus XA2 pocket camera.




Our route was across OH and PA as we took I-80 over to Scranton, and then cut up towards Port Jervis, NY and the Taconic Parkway to Amenia. While in Amenia, Marjorie and I drove over to Sharon and Torrington, CT, which was a beautiful drive. I'll write more about some things we saw there later on. We also managed to hit a few antique stores in Millbrook and other towns.
We left Amenia on Monday, July 16 and proceeded to Poughkeepsie, NY and up to Hyde Park to see the Vanderbilt mansion. Amazing place. Then up towards Albany, and we should have stayed there a day, but didn't. We spent the night in Amsterdam, NY (ugly place), and went W on Route 5 the rest of the way to Syracuse. We stopped in Utica, which I had driven past many times in years past, but don't recall the city. It was actually pretty nice, and we were treated to viewing the interior of a fabulous theater that was being expanded and renovated. We managed to find a cool theater in every city we stopped at, which for Marjorie, was a great treat. I'll continue on with the story when I have photos to post.

I shot mostly B&W -- and I look forward to sharing my best images with you. Back to the darkroom...