How to restart?

[tehabe]

In 2008 I got a Pentax K-m DSLR and began using it, after a while other things got more important and I also didn't really got into a community or shared many of my photos. Never could really say, that is good or that is awful. Now the Pentax K-m feels no only old but it doesn't excite me anymore like at all. Using it feels like a chore not something I enjoy. So I decided to give it away.

Over the years smartphones got good and nowadays I mostly use my iPhone but those photos are rarely thought out and are more documentary than anything else.

Recently I got an Minolta srT-303b, which I got repaired and it is working fine now. Also a Yashica T4. And I want to restart this hobby I kinda lost.

Both photos were shot with the Yashica T4 on APX 400

So, for this I would love some advise and maybe local groups in the Hamburg, Germany area. I live south of Hamburg.

 

[koraks]

I think I can relate. Trying to interpret what I gather from your question, it seems that you're looking for some people to team up with so you can exchange feedback on the aesthetics of your images. It's valuable and I hope someone chimes in with suggestions for groups of clubs. The challenge will be to find a bunch of people who are willing and capable of going beyond the usual tech talk about cameras and lenses from time to time.

I quite like your second photo. It brings another thread to mind that you might find useful: https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/best-book-on-photo-composition.200219/

 

[Nitroplait]

I imagine it could help to contemplate over what draws you towards photography. It may assist in pointing at a path to follow going forward.
I mean this the broadest sense; Are you attracted to images or perhaps the process? Do you have photographic heroes? Do you have artistic ambitions? Do you find that you see more of the world around you with a camera in hand? Could it be the process is more important than the results or is it the other way? Is it important that it is a film camera? Why? Is it less photography but more the social interaction that attracts?
etc.

Photographic communities (any community actually) have a tendency of moulding its members one way or the other and have a biases towards certain styles or ways to approach the subject - and thus what is mostly supported and appreciated in the community.

If you gravitate towards the process of seeing the world with a camera in hand, it would probably be advisable to seek out a community that favours photowalks rather than one focused on gear or intellectual talks about layered meanings in the image.

 

[BMbikerider]

If I were you I would concentrate on the Minolta. Spares are relatively easy and being a mechanical camera can generally be repaired. (As you have found out). Also if you go down the route of expanding your equipment (it can be addictive) Minolta lenses are both plentiful and good.

Do you also intend to go down the route of having your own darkroom? At one time you could pick up a good enlarger for next to nothing or even given away. The better ones are getting pricey again but still affordable. At the end of the day it is all down to what you want to do and how much you can afford.

 

[BrianShaw]

Don’t overthink things… just do it. Pick up one of your cameras and take pictures. Mind your exposure, though. Enjoy!

 

[Sanug]

Welcome. If you are looking for a local meeting in Hamburg, check the german analogue forum at aphog.com. They may have some locals that meet regulary.

I suggest to keep with Minolta (although I used Pentax and now Praktica). The SRT is a fine camera. The Minolta prime lenses on the secondhand market are affordable and good quality.

You may need to find your way how to deal with the b/w negatives. I recommend to install a darkroom, if possible, but some people may prefer scanning. It's up to you.

 

[Kino]

Looks like you have a good restart. Don't worry too much about anything; just have fun, be in the moment and be open to your surroundings.

You will find your path...

 

[Sirius Glass]

Just load up some film and start taking photographs. The details of how to take a specific photograph will start to come back to you.

 

[tehabe]

Thank you for all your words and advice. Hopefully I find the time to shot my remaining rolls of film so that I can justify to order more. I'm currently sent my films to a lab, I don't have the space for a darkroom or anything similar. And yes I agree, to get the Minolta because it is the camera I have. But I don't want to be "limited" to analog photography or to digital for that matter. But that is a topic for another time I guess.

I participated in a few photo walks in Hamburg like 10 years ago. I really think it makes photography more fun to be with someone. Also in a place you think you know and suddenly they find a spot or perspective you never noticed. But I lost contact with most of them. (Does anyone remember Google+?)

 

[Don_ih]

Does anyone remember Google+?

You mean the social networking site that Google overhyped and then refused to let people join until everyone had lost interest? No, no one remembers it.

There's a site called meetup that I know used to have people posting photowalks - you can search it for your area. Since Covid, though, it seems to be mostly advertising online tutorials...

 

[Dustin McAmera]

Maybe you can find some people at Flickr, though it's quieter than it used to be. My city has between ten and twenty Flickr groups associated with it; I guess Hamburg must have dozens. A few people in the big group here used to organise a meet on the first Tuesday of every month, for a short photo-walk and some drinks.

 

[Yashica]

@tehabe
Just go out and shoot, enjoy photography. Take care about composition & light. That's pretty much everything.
Never shoot for likes, only shoot for yourself. Have your own, creative vision, is all that counts...and fun with this
life-time hobby photography.