Bill Smith's Photography

 I haven't shot much with my Minolta system this Summer, so I pulled out one of my SRT-101s for a workout. The early period MC Rokkor lenses with the metal scalloped grips from the late 1960s, in particular the 28 F2.8 delivered a really creamy look with Ilford Delta 100.  Camera: Minolta SRT 101, MC Rokkor 55 F1.7, 28 f2.8 and 135 F2.8 lenses.  Film: Ilford Delta 100, HC110 B. 

I'm a sucker for Minolta SRT models. Recently I was gifted an SRT 101 by my friend Alex Montagano of Restore Montreal  , it was an early 1970s version  with the chrome shutter speed dial. I put it aside for a while because I couldn't get the battery cover off. With some improvisation I managed to get the cover off and thankfully no corrosion. I popped a battery with an MR-9 adapter the meter fired up, a little jumpy on occasion but she's reasonbly accurate for black and white or colour negative film. College St. in Little Italy was the backdrop for this test run. My new to me Minolta SRT 101 works pretty good. I was smart to pack a handeld light meter just in case, and I shot Rollei RPX 400 near box speed at 320 for shadow detail. I had no light leaks which is great and the shutter speeds seam accurate. Camera: Minolta SRT 101, MC Rokkor lenses. Film: Rollei RPX 400, HC110 B.

I really have to explore this part of town more.... Camera: Minolta SRT 101 (Black Beauty), MC Rokkor lenses. Film: Cinestill 50D

I love my black Minolta SRT 101 but it has an issue where it looks like there's vignetting at the very bottom of the frame. I know what the problem is, there's a light baffle behind the mirror that's a little loose. I don't have the finger dexterity to fix it, I'm getting a tech to look at it. The photos have been cropped in Lightroom so no one is the wiser. Cinestill 50D, which is Eastman Kodak Vision 50D with the remjet removed. An interesting film to shoot with, of course, I choose to shoot on a day with very changeable light because hey, why not. Well, Cinestill 50D and Minolta Rokkor glass are made for each other, I've shot this film with Nikkor and Pentax SMC lenses over the years, I like what I got here. Sadly though Cinestill 50D isn't cheap in Canada, partly due to the exchange rate partly due to the film being expensive because of the remjet removal, pity. Camera: Minolta SRT 101 (black beauty), MC Rokkor lenses. Film: Cinestill 50D, ...

This is an interesting stretch of Queen Street, it is the very west end of Parkdale, King St. curves north and becomes Roncesvalles, and Queen St. becomes the Queensway. At the west end of King, there used to be the Sunnyside Train Station that served Grand Trunk and later Canadian National, it was closed in 1967 when GO Transit having took over commuter rail service decided not to serve that neighbourhood. One can wonder what Parkdale and Sunnyside would be like if GO Transit did stop there in 1967 onwards. The train station most likely would would have been preserved and Parkdale would not have declined in the 1970s. It would also affect the neighbourhoods to the north like Sunnyside and Roncesvalles Village, at this point it is pure speculation. GO Transit decided to stop at Exhibition instead. Walking up into Roncesvalles is always fun, it reminds me a bit of the neighbourhood I grew up in Montreal, particulary when you go further up towards High Park Boulevard. I love walkable ...

Parkdale is a constantly evolving neighbourhood always fun to explore. Camera: Minolta SRT 101, MC Rokkor 55 f1.7 lens. Film: Kodak Tri-X 400, Xtol 1+1.