Bill Smith's Photography

Not done with Belfountain by a long shot.  Camera: Leica M4-2, Canon 50 f1.4 LTM lens. Film: Ilford HP5 400, HC110 B. 

The hamlet Belfountain is located within the regional municipality of Caledon Ontario roughly an hour's drive north west of Toronto and was overdue for a visit after a month of crappy weather and lingering cold from hell slowing me down. Odd thing on the Saturday of this past Victoria Day Weekend, it was pretty quiet. Usually if the weather is nice Belfountain is slammed with motorcyclists and day trippers. I enjoyed the tranquility while I had it. Camera: Leica M4-2, Canon 50 f1.4 LTM lens. Film: Ilford HP5 400, HC110 B.

I was last here about 8 years ago and I took a spill into Grindstone Creek in early November with my gear at the time, I think it was my Minolta XE-7. Great camera, pity the meter has gone erratic and repair techs just don't want to touch it. Two weeks ago I returned to Smokey Hollow this time with my Mamiya C220f kit, a better tripod and was way more careful not to fall into the creek. Now, it was a bright day and that presents a problem because I don't have any neutral density filters that fit Sekor TLR lenses. To solve this I deliberately overexposed the film between 32 and 50 ISO and shortened my processing time with my go to developer Xtol. I'm happy with that I got from this. Camera: Mamiya C220f, Sekor 80 f2.8 and 135 f4.5 lenses. Film: Ilford FP4 125 pulled down to somewhere around 32-50 ISO, Xtol 1+1.

Hiking of another sort in Toronto. Camera: Leica M3 Dual Stroke, type one 50 f2 Summicron lens. Film: Ilford Delta 100, Xtol 1+1.

Below you will find an early production Leica M3 dual stroke rangefinder camera . It's considered one of the all time great 35mm film cameras, beloved by photojournalists and serious photographers 50 years ago, and still loved today by hard core film photography enthusiasts. This camera has a dual role, photography tool and family heirloom having a special place in my camera collection. Dad gave me this Leica along with a early production Nikon F a month before he passed, I have a lot of memories tied up with this camera, I remember wanting to play with it as toddler and wound up with a plastic Diana camera instead. This M3 has been overhauled twice, had a shutter curtain replaced due to some stray cigarette ash when dad was loading the film. Even after 10 ten years, my M3 still feels like it is dad's camera, I do own a second Leica, a made in Midland Ontario M4-2 from the late 1970s and consider it a workhorse. Now I was out shooting in the Beaches a few weeks ago on the f...

Every major software update in the iPhone ecosystem begets updates to the individual apps. Lo and behold Google re-did their Snap Seed app making it even better. What this app does along with VSCOcam is act as a third party interface for your phone's camera, now with Snap Seed you can also import photos in from your on board library and edit. I always recommend this to friends looking for a photography app.  Snap Seed is available in iTunes and the Google Play store, it's free and easy to use for both skilled photographers and those looking to add a bit of snap to their images without a steep learning curve. Now, if you are one of those tech outliers who uses a Windows phone, I'm sorry (correction, that might change with the introduction of Windows 10). If you were issued a Blackberry handset through work, there are work arounds for Google apps on certain models but most likely your IT department locked the phone down tighter than Fort Knox, sorry again, no app for you....

Shot yesterday afternoon in downtown Toronto between the Eaton's Centre and Hudson Bay Company. I was killing time waiting for a roll of Portra 400 being processed at Downtown Camera and running a few errands in the city. Camera: iPhone 5s App: Google Snap Seed, Drama Filter (no Kardashians involved).

Took long enough, welcome back. Camera: Nikon FM2, Nikkor Ai 28 f3.5 lens. Film: Kentmere 100, Xtol 1+1 for 10min at 20c.

Surfing Air BnB listings recently, dreaming, New York, it's been too long, two years already. I need a fix of your hustle, bustle and photographic inspiration. Well, ok a proper slice of pizza as well and a return visit to George Keeley  on the Upper West Side for a really nice pint of Brooklyn Brown Ale. This year is unlikely, maybe 2016 for the big return, hopefully with a much stronger Canadian dollar. Below are some shots I really haven't shared far and wide, all were taken on a rainy Monday south of Houston Street in SoHo mostly. When I do return, I want to explore more of Brooklyn and the East Village as well as revisiting the High Line, Central Park and the Upper East Side. Camera: Leica M4-2, Voightlander Color Skopar 35 f2.5 lens. Film: Ilford HP5, Xtol 1+1.

Scenes from the 501 route two weeks ago. 

I had a change of scenery last week house, dog, turtle and goldfish sitting in the Beaches in Toronto. The break was much needed and I got a lot done. This time out aside from two shots on my iPhone, I only used my Mamiya C220f. As I mentioned in previous posts, I'm toying of using the Mamiya kit for Algonquin Park this year at the end of September. The big plus for a medium format twin lens reflex camera is the interchangeable lenses, other cameras like that come only with a fixed lens.  The downside, it can be on the heavy, especially if you factor in a 10km+ hike, well another reason to step up my workout routine. Camera: Mamiya C220f, Sekor 65 f3.5 Lens. Film: Ilford HP5 400, Kodak Tri-X 400, HC110 B. iPhone 5S.

I have nothing to post this week, stay tuned for next week where I have lots of fresh material. 

Winter is coming to an end soon. Camera: Mamiya C220f, Sekor 65 f3.5 lens, Sekor 135 f4.5 lens. Film: Kodak Tri-X400, HC110 B. Bottom three images, Ilford FP4, Xtol 1+1.

The ski hill is my sanctuary on winter weekends and the rare weekday I can play hooky. Camera: Nikon FM2, Nikkor Ais 35 f2 lens. Film: Ilford HP5 400, HC110 B.

I love backroads. To explore and embrace the journey instead of the destination. I can't wait to explore more back roads when Spring hits. Speaking of new journeys, I made the switch for Apple's defunct Aperture program to Adobe Lightroom 5.7. Now I'm pretty much a babe in the woods with this bit of editing and archival software. For a while now I've recommended Lightroom to my fellow marketers and communicators as the photo editing software for it's feature to archive photographs. It's my turn to take the plunge. Camera: Mamiya C220f, Sekor 65 f3.5 lens. Film: Ilford FP4 125, Xtol 1+1.

I have this thing for exploring back roads and documenting what I see along them.... Camera: Mamiya C220f, Sekor 65 f3.5 lens. Film: Ilford FP4, Xtol 1+1

Been under a fair bit of stress on the personal front lately and photographing Caledon ON. after skiing has kept me centred over the past month and a half. Can't wait to head back up this long weekend coming up. Camera: Mamiya C220f, Sekor 65 f3.5 lens. Film: Kodak Tri-X 400, Xtol 1+1.

Yes, I like the square crop a lot. Camera: Mamiya C220f, Sekor 105 f3.5 lens, 65 f3.5 lens. Film: Ilford FP4, Xtol 1+1.

I confess I am a gearhead when it comes to cameras, one system I vow to shoot more with is the Mamyia C220f, a medium format twin lens reflex camera. Unlike Rolleiflexes which has fixed lenses, the C220f and the C330 series have interchangeable lenses with leaf shutters. Last week I was hanging out with my friend Lindsay and had an opportunity to grab a fresh portrait, I like this way better than the professional head shot I did for her back in the fall. Comes down the right focal length, 105mm is more flattering than 80mm in medium format. I also prefer black and white for portraits. The Mamyia C220f I think is going to come with me to Algonquin Park this year. The big question is which lenses come along for the ride, this is not a light system.

A few years back I did a photography project and my first exhibition with two friends called "In the Shadow of the GTA Greenbelt." Long after that was put to bed I still shoot within the Green Belt on a regular basis, part of it due to the fact Greater Toronto is a sprawling region and what was farmland 15 years ago is now a subdivision. It is my hope the Greenbelt is protected over the long haul regardless who is in power at the provincial level. Camera: Nikon FM2, Nikkor Ais 35 f2 lens. Film: Ilford HP5 400, HC110 B,