These are photos from shooting film on my Leica iiiF over the years.
My camera is from 1951, it was my grandfather's and I inherited it from him after he passed away. He used to repair them at some point in his life in Austria before moving to the United States. He was a collector of all things and overall it was in fantastic shape thanks to him, it just needed a tune up and I needed to learn how to shoot with it. The manual is a retro looking goldmine of info, glad I was able to find it online.
As someone who makes a living doing digital art and relying on technology so much, there is something so enjoyable about taking your knowledge and skills and applying it to something analog and totally offline. There's no battery, screens, plugs, everything is mechanical and physical, it really tests your patience and skill to take photos, and shows you how much more knowledge and craft went into the technique back in the day rather than the ease in which images can be captured with modern tech.
I started out getting the hang of the totally offline nature of it by consulting the "Sunny 16" rule to get my aperture and shutter speed synced up. It took a couple practice rolls of bad mostly pictures to get the hang of it, including some that will never seen the light of day because well, the entire roll of film saw the light of day so they we're ruined. But after a few years and maybe 8-10 rolls of film I feel way more comfortable with it nowadays.
I now use a light meter app on my phone, but I can usually estimate my values pretty close before checking it for something more exact. Also it's more about the enjoyment of the process, I'm not overly concerned if the exposure isn't perfect, it's purely a creative hobby to help me get away from anything too high tech.
Also there's something to be said about removing the instant gratification of seeing the pictures instantly as you take them. It is a fun feeling checking a mix and match roll of film months after you may have taken the photos. You feel thrilled when one came out great and a little bummed if something went wrong on another.
So yes my gallery is not perfect, these are untouched coming from the camera. Some are crooked, a tad blurry, needing some cropping and touch ups for sure. But I like the realness of them and there's just a great aesthetic of the film coming out of a 70+ year old camera that Instagram filters and Photoshop Actions. I especially like photographing subjects and places that feel like they belong in the mid century as well, so my destinations like Miami Beach, LA, Palm Springs, and Las Vegas are good places for that.
When carrying my camera around I realized that great moments can happen all around you, and by being ready to snap you can capture them. It feels less special to just make a moment into an Instagram Story than to capture it on film, the significance of capturing it on film it feels more intentional, purposeful and authentic.
I was in Joshua Tree National Park and a couple was doing golden hour wedding photos:
Dusk was pretty magical and I got some great photos capturing some amazing colors:
I once brought it to a fishing pier in my home town and was surprised how many small moments I grabbed from the short time there:
If you take your camera to interesting places (LA, Key West, Las Vegas) you are bound to find interesting subjects:
My best batch ever came from Palm Desert, I had the fewest misfires and all the mid-century vibes shined through:
Then there's just the best of the rest, glad to have them and will keep adding more:
