Even though I've been registered here since 2009, as you can see I was for the longest time not very active. Nor have I been very active in photography the past seven years or so as I got interested in other hobbies. In some sense, I feel like Rip Van Winkle waking up after a long slumber and realizing a lot of things have changed, especially in connection with film photography. Some of my film gear which I purchased between 2006 and 2010 has nearly doubled in price, while the value of my digital bodies have only plummeted. In that regard, I'm glad I got most of my gear when I did.
By way of background, I've had an interest in photography ever since I was a little kid. However, I was lacking two things: (1) money to buy gear and (2) knowledge of how to take good photos. As such, most of the photos taken in my youth were with cheap point-shoots. I remember having subscriptions to photography magazines, and dreamed of one day being able to afford the featured cameras/gear.
When I was in college, I inherited a Minolta XD-11, and eventually took a black/white photography course. Learned how to develop and make prints. But once I was done with that course, I was essentially limited to color negative prints as I didn't have any gear to develop anything on my own.
Fast forward nearly 10 years from when I took that course, and I finally had the time/money to get into photography. By that time (c.2006) digital was all the rage (and my XD-11 had gotten driven over by a semi truck on I-80 in Nebraska four years prior....another story in and of itself), so I looked into getting a digital camera. Because of my prior experience, I was leaning towards Minolta, but a buddy of mine was heavy into Canon so that's the direction I went. Purchased a 20d and then started acquiring L-series glass. However, I was still interested in film, so I ended up getting a Canon EOS 3 as well. Purchased all of the developing equipment off of Craigslist for peanuts. It was shortly after that that I started getting medium format gear... Hassy's, Bronica and Mamiya. I really enjoyed that stuff.
However, after several years, other hobbies surfaced and it seems my photography was put to the wayside. In the past year and a half, though, my interest has been rekindled, thanks a lot to millennials/hipsters on YouTube who put together some great content re: film photography. And, with the exception of my Bronica 645, I never got rid of any of my gear. And I've had a freezer full of film now which needs some attention.
TTFN
By way of background, I've had an interest in photography ever since I was a little kid. However, I was lacking two things: (1) money to buy gear and (2) knowledge of how to take good photos. As such, most of the photos taken in my youth were with cheap point-shoots. I remember having subscriptions to photography magazines, and dreamed of one day being able to afford the featured cameras/gear.
When I was in college, I inherited a Minolta XD-11, and eventually took a black/white photography course. Learned how to develop and make prints. But once I was done with that course, I was essentially limited to color negative prints as I didn't have any gear to develop anything on my own.
Fast forward nearly 10 years from when I took that course, and I finally had the time/money to get into photography. By that time (c.2006) digital was all the rage (and my XD-11 had gotten driven over by a semi truck on I-80 in Nebraska four years prior....another story in and of itself), so I looked into getting a digital camera. Because of my prior experience, I was leaning towards Minolta, but a buddy of mine was heavy into Canon so that's the direction I went. Purchased a 20d and then started acquiring L-series glass. However, I was still interested in film, so I ended up getting a Canon EOS 3 as well. Purchased all of the developing equipment off of Craigslist for peanuts. It was shortly after that that I started getting medium format gear... Hassy's, Bronica and Mamiya. I really enjoyed that stuff.
However, after several years, other hobbies surfaced and it seems my photography was put to the wayside. In the past year and a half, though, my interest has been rekindled, thanks a lot to millennials/hipsters on YouTube who put together some great content re: film photography. And, with the exception of my Bronica 645, I never got rid of any of my gear. And I've had a freezer full of film now which needs some attention.
TTFN
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