Bill Smith's Photography

Recently the US Northeast got sucker punched with two feet of snow, irony in this part of the Great White North, Southern Ontario doesn't have a lot of the white stuff. The other think I got my early Canon F-1 back from Cam-tech (damn you auto correct), it had a problem with mystery flare in the middle of the negative that appears at random every few frames. My tech Roger re-sealed the back of the F-1 and was otherwise stumped. My theory now is there's something inside my camera that's shifting causing the flare, what's even crazier I got it on frame zero when the lens cap was on. Usually you need light coming in to create lens flare. That said, I love the early FD 50 f1.8 lens, it's a contrasty piece of glass. I put on my FTb and use that for a little while. I don't shoot a lot in Oakville partly because I have lived here so long I can't see potential photographs as well as I would elsewhere. One thing I'm doing is shooting a bit  more in my backya...

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 ...