Bill Smith's Photography

Alrighty, it's going to be +13c today and +17c Christmas Eve, a year ago we had something more along the lines of this: Camera: Nikon F3HP, Nikkor Ai 28 f2.8 lens. Film: Kodak Tri-X 400, Xtol 1+1. Camera: Mamiya C220f, Sekor 55 f4.5 lens. Film: Kodak Tmax 400, Tmax Dev. 1+4. It just feels weird being the Christmas season with it feeling like more late October out there so I went back into the archives to pull some gems I shot up in Belfountain a few years back when there was snow on the ground. Have a very merry Christmas, or an extremely belated Happy Hanukkah and all the best for a happy healthy 2016. Hopefully we'll get some winter because I want to go skiing! 

I had a pair of Olympus OM-1s that recently went in for service, a Black "n" model that needed an overhaul and a chrome MD model that just need the meter re-calibrated. I wandered around the neighbourhood two weeks ago to give the black OM-1n test run, I had frame overlap which is endemic of OM-1s and a good overhaul by a tech who knows their stuff fixes it. From about mid November onwards to about Christmas time the light in Southern Ontario is just ugly with flat visibility from low clouds stretching on for weeks. It makes outdoor photography challenging to say the least. I put an orange filter on my lens to help boost contrast. It sort of worked but I had to do some work in Adobe Lightroom. Camera: Olympus OM-1n, Zuiko 50 f 1.8 MC lens. Film: Ilford HP5 400, HC110 B.

Shooting at Maclean's Auto Wreckers for the first time was overwhelming at first. Most of the cars, trucks and school buses were from the late 1970s to the 1990s. Now tucked away in one corner of the property is a section of cars and trucks from the 1950s and '60s. I wound up shooting automotive portraits and capturing parts of a vehicle. Seeing a few old VW Beetles scattered over the property was sad as well as '70s vintage Jaguar XJ6 sedan, elegant car, fiendishly unreliable. Maclean's has an auto crusher but it looks like it hasn't been used in years, my guess the cashflow is from car parts and truck repair. It is an interesting place to go photographing amongst the wrecks. I would love to go back in the spring when the light is different. Camera: Mamiya C220f, Sekor 80 f2.8 lens. Film: Ilford HP5 400, Kodak Portra 400

So I got an opportunity a few weeks ago to wander around an auto graveyard just south of Rockwood in Northern Halton Region.... Camera: Mamiya C220f twin lens reflex camera, Sekor 80 f2.8 lens. Film: Kodak Portra 400, Ilford FP4 125 processed in HC110 B.

I have shot so often within the boundaries of University, Front, Yonge and Queen Streets in Toronto but never get tired because I'm always discovering something new to photograph or even something I've already documented but the circumstances have changed. Camera: Olympus OM-2n, Zuiko 50 f1.8 lens. Film: Ilford HP5 400, HC110 B.

I love my Olympus OM-2n, I have a couple of them, one with a seized shutter, one headed down to the US for an overhaul with renowned Olympus repair tech John Hermanson and a perfectly functioning body which I used here.  Single digit Olympus OM bodies are great for travel, hiking and are compact enough to go into my briefcase when going downtown for meetings. I might use both my good OM-2n's next fall up in Algonquin to save weight. Camera: Olympus OM-2n, Zuiko 50 f1.8 and Zuiko 28 f2.8 lenses. Film: Ilford HP5, HC110 B.

I recently picked up a Nikon FM2n over a month ago, it's one of those workhorses that has a wide fan base in the analogue photography world and surprisingly held it's value in the used market. A trip up to Elora was a test run with this camera and as you can see it performed flawlessly. As for fall colours. Elora being on the shores of the Grand River has predominately cedars along it's banks, especially along the gorge. It was a fun hike inside the conservation area and surprisingly quiet on a Saturday morning when I was up there with a friend. Sadly Elora the village is still struggling without the Elora Mill Inn open and is drawing only day visitors on weekends off season. Camera: Nikon FM2n, Nikkor Ais 28 f2.8 lens. Nikko Ais 50 f1.8 lens. Film: Ilford HP5 400, HC110 B.

All good long weekends up near Algonquin Park have to come to an end at some point. I miss the Muskoka region and I have to get back up there more often. Until next year.... Camera: Nikon FM, Nikkor Ais 50 f1.8 lens. Film: Kentmere 100, D76 1+1 Camera: Series E Rolleiflex 3.5 planar TLR. Film: Fuji Reala 100

As I have mentioned earlier, we were early for fall colours this year, maybe only 20% of the trees changed, if that. The Bat Lake Trail was a great hike in the morning and we drove afterwards along Highway 60 to Whitney for lunch at the Mad Musher. On the way back we got stupid lucky, a moose cow and her calf were eating by the side of the road, this makes up for the lousy fall colours. We weren't the only ones there, my guess there was about 60 to 80 people on the side of the road as well trying to get a shot of the moose. I like to think I'm a decent photographer but I've never shot wildlife either in a controlled environment (zoo) or out in the wild in this case before. My two concerns were one, get something decent because chances me getting anything like this will be slim to none and more importantly have an exit strategy. While the momma moose seemed comfortable around humans we're still talking a 1000 lb animal that can do some serious damage if it felt threat

Last year, we hit the Bat Lake Trail around 3:30 or 4 p.m., a little later than we should have. Ok by the time we got to the view looking North East, it was about 5:30 seeing the fall colours looked spectacular, downside it was still a long hike back to the car. To make things even more interesting, we discovered fresh bear poop on the side of the trail and near the end we were still hiking after sunset in the dark and it was fast descending into a  re-enactment of the Blair Witch Project. For those who never been to Algonquin Park, it's one of those places if you walk a certain direction, you are neither seen or heard from again. This year we hiked the Bat Lake Trail in the morning and it was a totally different experience with the bright sunshine. Sadly though the leaves barely changed colours so you make do with what you have. I enjoyed the hike and next year, it's time to head elsewhere in the park. Thankfully no bear encounters but we did come across some wildlife aft