Bill Smith's Photography

I dropped off the annual dues to the Caledon Ski Club and had an opportunity to hike the grounds in the off season which compared to Forks of the Credit Provincial Park on a Saturday, almost deserted. The EOS-1n, was my camera of choice this weekend with the Sigma 50 f1.4 lens. If I had the old kit lens form my Canon Rebel XS lying about somewhere, it wouldn't last long on a pro body due to the light construction.  Again I really want a Nikon F5, say it enough one might appear with some top shelf AF-D Nikkor glass.  Hiking The Caledon Ski Club was something I never really done off season and I quite enjoyed it because Forks of the Credit Provincial Park was a zoo. It felt weird a little with no snow on the ground but you get an idea the amount of work that goes into the hill off season. The last time I was up was on Sunday afternoon March 15 or as I call it the last day of normal to empty out the family locker in the West Lodge, that feels like a lifetime ago. I have no idea w...

I made it back up to Forks of the Credit a few weeks back with my friend and fellow photographer  Dana Kayes, it was her first hike inside the park and we made our way through the entrance through Brimstone. The camera of choice was my trusty Mamiya C220F TLR I wanted big negs with this trip and wound up shooting a couple of rolls of Bergger Pancro 400 which is fast become my favourite 400 ISO black and white film. I think though over time I should have rolled with one of my Rolleiflexes. Hindsight they say is 20/20. I'm waiting to see Dana's photos from this hike, you can find her portfolio here , she's only been shooting just under a year on her late mom's Nikon F. Dana shoots similar subject matter I do but I love how she approaches the subject  composing the photograph.  I look forward to further photo outings with her, I enjoy Dana's company. Camera: Mamiya C220F, Sekor 80 F2.8 lens, Sekor 55 F4.5 lens. Film: Bergger Pancro 400, HC110 B. ...

By the time you see this the leaves will be fully out. It was a fun hike into the woods on Victoria Day Weekend. Camera: Mamiya 220f, Sekor Blue Dot 80 F 2.8 lens. Film: Bergger Pancro 400, HC110 B.

I missed my Minolta SRT 202, it was a nice tank of a camera, gifted it along with 99% of my Rokkor lenses along with a X700 to my brother to thin the herd out a bit. A few years later I came across my dead Minolta XE-7(no repair techie in Canada will touch it) and it had a MC Rokkor X 50 f1.4 lens that was still great. Found a restored SRT 102 on EBay along with some lenses and I'm back shooting Minolta. I forgot how nice the Rokkor series of lenses were. I can see why Leica partnered up with them back in the 1970s to share 35mm SLR technology. Camera: Minolta SRT 102, MC Rokkor X 50 f1.4 lens, 135 f2.8 for Lindsey's portrait. Film: Ilford HP5 400, HC110 B.

I needed a good walk in the fresh air, so I went out with a friend. Instead of the usual walk into Forks of the Credit Provincial Park we took a side trail, yeah good idea at the time. The Trimble Side Trail was icy, actually quite scary in parts, now if your thinking where are the trail shots, I was too busy trying to stay on the trail. I pulled out my Rolleiflex TLR and shot with Ilford HP5 400, it's been a while and forgot how sweet the 75 f3.5 Zeiss Planar lens renders.

My brother Alex is my worst enabler. I now want a Rolleiflex after trying out his Rolleicord recently on a hike near Belfountain. For those not familiar, Twin Lens Reflex cameras have been around for about 80 years and use 120 roll film. The Rolleicord is the prosumer TLR derived from it's "big brother" the Rolleiflex and differs a little on features and ergonomics. So why beat around the bush, get the rolleiflex and be done with it. As much as people merit the versatility of a Hasseldlad 500 series 6x6 SLR system, personally I rather have the TLR. You only get one choice of lens on the camera as it is built in, mechanically it's really simple and it does not weigh a ton. What I love about medium format photography is you have to slow down, plan your exposures a lot more than 35mm and be really fussy with your metering of the scene. I used Ilford Delta 400 black and white film processed in Xtol 1+1. Not my usual choice of film, it's all Henrys Oakville had in st...