Bill Smith's Photography

This is my last roll with the Rolleiflex Automat I have been playing with for the past five months. Fear not I am going without medium format only until Christmas when I will get a Rolleiflex Series E with the 80 f2.8 Zeiss Planar lens from my mom and brother (he will be happy to get his Rollei back). I shot the below last weekend with Kodak Tri-x 400 processed in Xtol 1+1 in the Beaches neighbourhood in Toronto. I was blessed with a clear sunny day without too much windchill, offshore breezes can be bitter off Lake Ontario. Update: Just a quick note on the images, I have found Blogger crops the image a little bit, this is not intentional on my part. Please click on the image to get the original.

I used to shoot with a Canon AE-1 from 2001 to 2005 as my entry into what I term manual focus photography. I switched to Nikon when I received a Nikon F as part of my dad's estate, picked up a Nikkormat Ftn and a second F the same year, so the AE-1 had to go. Turns out you can go home again, I was gifted a 38 year old Canon FTb along with a later production FD 50 f 1.8 lens and a mid production FD135 f 3.5 telephoto lens a month ago. After a test roll, I am reminded how nice Canon FD glass is and it's a pity the mount is an orphan. Don't think for second I am liquidating my Nikon kit but I am going to keep my eye out for more Canon FD lenses. I am really happy my new to me FTb's shutter speeds are pretty much bang on. Now all I have to search for is a Wein Zinc Air 625 battery as mercury cells have been illegal for some time. The below test shots were taken around the Oakville waterfront yesterday with Kodak Tri-x and processed in Xtol 1+1. Thank you Elizabeth Reid for