Bill Smith's Photography

  I got this camera on a whim, I already had a black Nikkormat FT3 that was gifted to my by fellow Classic Camera Revival Podcast cohost and dear friend Alex Luykx but being the collector I am of course a chrome body had to join at some point. I owned a pair of Nikon FM's, reliable cameras until they weren't, lost the meter on one and the other is just a problem child and money pit. The only thing I had to do with the chrome FT3 was replace the seals, which took a leisurely afternoon with steady hands. The chrome Nikkormat FT3 looks pristine, and the meter was rock solid, this was a camera at the end of its design life. I plan to sell off both my FMs as is/parts/project cameras, the Nikkormat FT3s fill that roll nicely, especially the chrome one. I also added another Ai 50 F1.4 lens along with Ai 35 F2 lens filling my "Super hits of the 1970s" kit. The funny thing, both my FE's just keep on trucking while the FM's became problem children. The perils of heavily

 Dry running photo walks are important, we had the grand idea of hiking up the Moore Park Ravine along Mud Creek on the Beltline Rail Trail. Well, we found out, the Toronto Conservation Authority is rehablititating the trail along with flood mitigation with Mud Creek. With all the rain, we got mud, lots of it and Ukranian farmers are not going to bail our asses out. A route change will be in order, and that's ok. The start and finish will remain the same but the first part of the route will change bypassing the ravine, and that's ok.  We're planning some interesting routes for the Toronto Film Shooters FB Group photowalks this year, Toronto and surrounding regions is a big place with a lot of nooks and crannies to explore.  Camera: Nikon N90S, Nikkor AF-D 28-105 F3.5-4.5 lens.  Film: Lomo 400 C-41. 

Jo-Anne, John, Jeff and I went for a dry run for an upcoming photo walk with the Evergreen Don Valley Brickworks as a starting point. It's been three years since I last visited and it wasn't busy thanks to the very changable weather. Again the best photos happen in less than wonderful conditions. The other bonus is the large artworks installed including photographs for the upcoming CONTACT Photography Festival in May.  The Don Valley Brickworks used to be an industrial ruin  and turned into a park and sustainalibty hub. In warmer weather there is a farmers market, we were about a month too early for that by my guess. The big draw for The Brickworks is the grounds are right in the middle of Toronto and tie into the Beltline Rail Trail which is currently being rehablitated along the Mud Creek/Moore Park Ravine, more on that in the next post.  Camera: Nikon N90S, Nikkor AF-D 28-105 F3.5-4.5 Zoom Lens.  Film: Kodak Ultramax 400